Sisyphus Double IPA

I have a confession to make.

The Sisyphus Double IPA (Sam doesn't give his beers
 particular names beyond the style designation).

I had not heard of the French philosopher Albert Camus (his name, correctly pronounced, suggests two animals: Al-bear Ca-moo) until, as a teenager, I read a music review in Rolling Stone magazine, regarding the English band The Cure and their song "Killing An Arab", inspired by the events of Camus' major existentialist novel, "The Stranger." Once aware and intrigued, I set about reading his works. My interest in Camus has lasted much longer than my interest in The Cure. I gobbled it all up, the novels, short stories, plays and philosophical essays and treatises.

(That's not such an embarrassment, after all, considering how little the average American knows of Camus, or Sisyphus.)

the Sisyphus logo as it appears on the wall behind the bar.
At the far left, the  TV screen which lists the beers on tap.

One of the latter is a short tome titled "The Myth of Sisyphus", published in 1955. My paperback copy had a cover illustrated with a Rene Magritte painting of a boulder floating in the air, which seems to suggest a misreading of the myth. (Or does it? Who can tell with surrealists?) Those well-versed with Greek myths already know that Sisyphus was a man condemned by the gods for various crimes to roll a boulder up a hill, only to have gravity laugh at him, as it rolls back down again, and the process is repeated, for all time. If you'd like to know more about how Camus references the myth with his thoughts on the absurdity of human existence, I'd suggest you read the book, dummy, this isn't Cliffs' Notes, over here! (or, go here, if you can't get to the library.)

In July of this year, Sam Harriman, whose name is only one letter apart from one of my favorite cartoonists , and his wife Catherine Cuddy opened the Sisyphus Brewing Company in a building among the Dunwoody campus at Aldrich and Ontario, not far from the Walker Art Center's sculpture garden and the basicila of St. Mary's (from a different direction). It may be a little difficult to find at first, but once that task is accomplished, it's worth the struggle. And once they began their operation with four rotating beers on tap, they initiated two Sisyphean tasks: one, the eternal struggle of having to explain to visitors and patrons who the heck this Sisyphus guy was, and two, the never-ending challenge of keeping the taps flowing with a 2-barrel system, the smallest in the region.

Confused visitors have this handy flier
at the bar or table
to explain everything,
with Adam Turman's illustration above
 (you'll find it adorning the east wall
of the building) and a pertinent quote
 from Camus below, with more on the back.
You thought you were going out for a beer,
 you got a free philosophy lesson!

I've been trying to make it there on a bi-weekly basis ever since, but one reason they haven't appeared here yet is my reluctance to takes notes at a bar. Sam wants to keep everything at the taproom, with no interest in selling kegs or bottles. (Actually, because he's serving from the brite tanks, rather than kegs, he's registered as a brewpub, and according to our ridiculous Minnesota laws, he can't sell a keg to a bar or restaurant.) He may do growler fills some time, due to over-whelming demand, and I will certainly be there when he does.



I've had everything they've been pouring on my visits, and liked them all. (But one, but I'll keep that one secret.) I'd count the Brett IPA and the Oaked version among my favorites, and I've also enjoyed the double rye, imperial brown, black ale, oatmeal stout, oatmeal pale ale, English bitter, and Black Ale with coffee. I've missed maybe a dozen more, as he keeps on brewing. But I broke down and finally took notes when he had his second batch of the double IPA on tap (I'd missed the first batch.) Here are those notes:

Appearance: Lightly hazed, bright amber hue/nearly crimson, with a slim white head.

Aromatics: soft at first, then in come the fruity notes, the mango is there and  is more tropical goodness, some peach and such, more pleasant than bitter.

Taste: then comes the hop explosion, but not overloaded with bitterness, with a persistent hop buzz that doesn't tire the tongue. Deliciousness continues on through, with out any harshness, or any acerbic hop kick.. no astringency…incredibly smooth and tasty, fruit swirled delight.

As for ABV, this one rung in at about 10%, and according to Sam, the credit for all the hoppy goodness goes to the Nugget hop. I enjoyed this one immensely, but it was consumed early in October, and the notes waited in my laptop until I got this blog post out. So, don't show up just expecting it to be on tap. Keep tabs with their facebook, check their website, give them a call.

There's much more to Sisyphus, and this post is not intended as an over-view or a review of the taproom as a whole. Sam is a stand-up comic and his hosting a monthly comedy night, among other events, though the long range plan for the space is to create an actual theater with a large stage for comedic as well as musical performances. The funding for the construction of this theater comes from the taproom.

Until then, the struggle continues.