Pipeworks Blizzard King Mosaic Dry-hopped Black Pale Ale

 

Pipeworks Blizzard King Mosaic Dry-hopped Black Pale Ale.

5.5 % ABV, Pipeworks Brewing, Chicago, Illinois. 

Pretty much black, impenetrable, opaque, with a lush, creamy, light brown head. 

In the nose: highly hoppy, mixed with malt. Mosaic berries dance with dark malts. Especially inviting.

In the mouth: brisk bitterness on the palate, with a clean, smooth mouthfeel. Goes down extra fine. Medium bodied, long, chocolatey finish. I’m digging this long time. 

Mosaic Dry Hopped Black Pale Ale

Pipeworks Emerald Grouper Double IPA

Pipeworks Emerald Grouper Imperial IPA. Brewed with honey and Citra hops.
Collaboration with 4 Hands Brewing.
9.5 % ABV. 75 IBU.
Pipeworks Brewing, Chicago, IL.

Clouded, bright orange hue, large white head.

In the nose: Big, bold citrus and stone fruit notes in the aroma. Orange, grapefruit, pineapple, and mango.

In the mouth: Juicy, aggressively bitter, grips the palate with powerful hoppiness. Blasts of citrus and more. My kind of IPA. Robust hop character, juicy, fruity, malty, easy drinking, despite the alcohol. Slightly out of balance, but I don't mind that. Various levels of dank and sticky-icky are getting it on up in here. Yes, it's that kind of DIPA. And there ain't nothing wrong with that.

Dudddde.... we put in like what was it... honey. No, like insane amounts of honey. Annnd... pssshh... seriously dank hops I got from this one guy I know. I think it was like... dude.... I am so gone. Simcoe and some Citra and some Mosiac and what if the colors I see are like not the colors you see... what was I saying? Right, right, 4 Hands. They brew the stickiest of the ickiest.

Pipeworks Ninja vs. Unicorn Double India Pale Ale

Pipeworks Ninja vs. Unicorn Double IPA. Pipeworks Brewing, Chicago, IL. 8 % ABV.

Lightly hazed, bright golden hued, vast, lush white head, looking great.

In the nose: Brash, bold, fresh citrus-y aromatics. Beautiful.

In the mouth: More of that, and more. Bright and wonderfully bitter. Medium body, yeast-y, malty texture. Great play on the palate. Thoroughly enjoyable. World class double IPA, all the way. Abundantly excellent, I'll go through the whole cart of superlatives before I get tired. That good.

Ninja vs. Unicorn celebrates the epic battle between two of the biggest hop-heads of lore. Brewed with over five pounds of hops per barrel, this unfiltered double IPA is sure to please the most discerning hop lover.

ABV: 9.0%

Malts: 2-row, munich, special roast, white wheat, acidulated malt

Hops:  CTZ, centennial, falconner's flight, zythos, cascade, chinook, falconner's 7Cs, simcoe


Adjuncts: dextrose

Pipeworks Lizard King

You know, I've noticed that I've done a lot of IPAs lately. Sometimes it seems like that's all I drink. But it's not true, of course. Here we have a dry-hopped pale ale, and that's something quite different.

Pipeworks Brewing Company Lizard King Mosaic Hopped Pale Ale. Ale. 6.0% by Vol. Brewed in Chicago, IL.

Clear, very pale yellow color, vast ivory head, looking great.

In the nose: flowery and citrusy. Abundantly citrusy. Lemon and lime dominate, some orange lurks below. Big load of sunshine in this.

In the mouth: Big citrus, big bitter, and a mighty pucker, as well. Juicy, tangy, and oh, so tasty and refreshing. Ah! Pretty much nothing but Ah! Lean bodied, light malt, crisp and lively. A little juicy meets with the bitter. Nice stuff.

Goose Island Sofie Saison

Goose Island Sofie saison. I can call this the first beer I ordered for Acadia Cafe. We were set to do an event with Goose Island for their Migration Tour back in July, on a Wednesday, and I was filling in for Jeff, who was on vacation. Our distributor rep told me that we were doing 312 Urban Wheat and Bourbon County Stout, and just for kick I tossed on a 1/6 barrel of this one, too. Imagine my surprise when I sold faster than the Bourbon County. It is July, after all, and as I said when I wrote these notes from a bottle originally, back in January of 2010, it is a good saison.


Goose Island Sofie saison, 6.5% ABV.

Clouded, "white", prodigious head, lively and lovely.

Beautiful, spicy aromatics, coriander, ginger, clove....bright and sprightly.

Spice hits the palate right up front, very spritzy, with delightful spice...Mmmm, smooth,wheaty, easy-drinking, delicious....nice, grainy/grassy texture. Some malty, spicy flavor, then all is smooth...

Spice never quits, never never flags...really great saison!

By the way, I waited a bit too long to snap this pic. The keg ended halfway into the glass. Close enough, I decided.

Pipeworks Close Encounter Hoppy Double Stout

Pipeworks Brewing company Presents….Close Encounter Hoppy Double Stout. Alc. 8.5% by Vol. Batch #93. Pipeworks Brewing, Chicago, IL.

I like blue-skined, pointy-eared ladies from space riding a beer bottle rockets in a sexy red one-piece. It's the four eyes that are throwing me off. Enough about that, let's open up the bottle.

Black as night, under a solid, lasting dark tan head with random dotting.

Aroma: Hops aplenty in the nose, grassy notes meshing with chocolate malt. Sometime I like this, sometimes I don't. So far, I like it.

Taste: From the start, the palate is greeted with alert and lively hops, blended with dark malts. Deep and full-bodied. And remarkably smooth. Flavors of coffee, cocoa, and charcoal mix well in the mouth, under a blanker of bittersweet hoppitude.
Long finish, hangs hard on the palate, warm, bittersweet, delicious, and satisfying.

"Close Encounter is a bold venture into depths unknown. The best of both worlds co-exist between rich roasted malt character and an aggressive hop presence that will probe your taste buds like nothing you have experienced before. Don't fear the unknown, embrace it! you never know who or what you many encounter…"

Pipeworks Murderous Barley-wine Style Ale

Pipeworks Murderous Barleywine Style Ale, Alc. 9.5% by Vol. Pipeworks Brewing Company, 1675 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL.

Murky and dark, looking very purplish, maroon-y, magenta-esque, with hardly a sliver of head on top.

Wait, there's something on the label that screams out: STOP: Read Before Opening, although I already have. Let's read it anyway: "This beer is unfiltered. Sedimentation may occur. For best flavor, allow bottle to chill for two hours before serving, allowing for the natural yeast to settle out. Pour slowly into your favorite glass, being careful to leave sediment behind." I'll keep that in mind. It has been chilling for weeks, so that's covered.

There's more: "Cellar worthy! Store Cool!"
Why the exclamation points? Why is the bottle yelling at me? And why do I read that as stating that a cellar is worthy and that a store is cool?As read by a caveman, of course.

Enough of that.
We did appearance, now aroma: sweet and malty and deep. Dark fruits aplenty here, raisins, plums, dates. Brandy, cognac. Vastly flavorful, growing more so as we go. I'm going to take it real slow, then.

Taste: Heat from the first, big, fat, full to bursting. Massive malt, full fruit, plenty of hops holding in just in check. Bitterness only holds it's own against the vast wall of multitude.

There's a poem on the label, but they decided to do red letters on black backgrounds, and I can't read it. Something to with crows, murders, crimes. Looks like it rhymes. Quoth the raven, terrible design choice.

Tasty, tasty stuff. Batch 3, according to a Sharpied notation, black ink on white, quite sensibly. And © 2013, so it's fresh.
Big time barley-wine, but not particularly remarkable. Adequate, but far from awesome. I'm drinking it, I'm liking it, but I feel it could be better. Should be better.
Sigh…maybe just not to my taste. They're nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't really have to force and power that a big, booming fresh barley-wine often does. More mellow, and subdued, how a bw ought to be after some aging.

Metropolitan Krank Shaft Kolsch (-style Ale)

Hey, I just had a kolsch by Peacetree Brewing, of Iowa. Why not do a head-to-head with another kolsch, one from Metropolitan Brewing of Chicago,( the only bottle from Metropolitan that I took home with me)? The truth is, the styles they do aren't the ones that grab me. Yep, I like the hoppy ones, the dark ones, and the Belgians. I actually like everything, but the lighter styles rank lower in my favor. Oh, they've got their place and they are wonderful, but don't grab me. Maybe next time…on with the beer….

Metropolitan Krank Shaft Kolsch-style beer. Metropolitan Brewing, Chicago, IL.
We have to say "kolsch-style", because Chicago is not Cologne, is it? Just as we can't make a Champagne in Sheboygan or a cognac in Kentucky.

Lightly hazed, highly carbonated, yet with a dead head. Straw gold hue.

Aroma: lightly fruity notes, minor hops. Slightly sweet and honey-ish.

Taste: Pear comes out first, then apple. Dry, and slightly bitter, with a still minor hop presence. There's flavor, but it's fairly slight as well and finishes swiftly and dryly. Light bodied and easily consumed, no fuss, no muss. But there's little pleasure in it.

Let's read the tiny type copy on the side of the bottle: "Brewed in homage to the beer of Cologne, Krank Shaft is a pale straw hued smile in a glass. We throw in a little wheat to round out an easy  Santiam (?) hop bitterness."

Huh. Well, okay. I'm not especially thrilled by this. All in all, rather blah. No delights to be found.

In this head-to-head, Peacetree wins out.

Revolution Dos Osos IPA

Revolution Brewing Dos Osos India Pale Ale, with Firestone Walker Brewing Company. 6.5% ABV. No gobbledygook, nothing but some cool graphics of a lion fighting a bear. And why don't I know what "dos osos" means? "Two fists"? Must find out. ("Predator", I've learned.)
Chicago Beer #9.

Beautiful, clear  tangerine appearance, 12 inch of foam above. Looking the part, alright.

Aroma: ripe with citrus notes, lemon-lime-y. Kind and mellow. Ever so nice.

Taste: Mmm! Aburst with vibrant hop notes, but never too much, not so loud or boisterous or abrasive. Gives just the right buzz on the palate. Lean malty body, small amount of sweet, kept in check with tidy ol' hops. Sumptuous. MMMM, yummy, yum. Gets my full seal of approval.

Half Acre Ginger Twins India-style Red Ale

Half Acre Ginger Twin India-style Red Ale. This makes Chicago Beer #6. One of my small regrets about the trip was not taking home more Half Acre beers. I wrongly assumed I'd see them in stores we would visit on the way out, and was disappointed that only the cans were found at Binny's, some of which weren't of interest to me. This is the one bomber I bought at the store adjacent to the taproom. Only bought one, because I could only fit so many bottles in my bag as we bounced from bar to bar.

Enough of that, let's get to the beer. What else can we learn before opening? 6.5 % ALC. by Vol. There's the name, the address, the website, the legal obligations, and no gobbledygook whatsoever. Let's crack it!

It's a rich, deep red with a lush, creamy head, looking great, simply lovely.

Aroma: Ah, beautiful hops! High hop bitterness, piney touches amid grapefruity breezes. What are they? Simcoe, Amarillo, Centennial? Cascade?
How'd I do? Probably wrong, I know…It's a righteous mix, whatever it is.

Taste: there we go, there it is, very expressive hop blend bursting on the palate, then softly fading into the malt. Great balance, everything evenly matched. Could it be maltier? Maybe, but no, that'd be too much. Could it be hopper? Yes, but then it might end up being Surly Furious.

Terrifically drinkable, and totally tasty. Mmmm, this rolls around the palate, and gets down, stays comfortable

This is great stuff. I could drink it all day long. Now I'm regretting not getting more of their other beers, but not getting more of this.