Half Acre Tend Winter India Pale Ale

 Half Acre Tend Winter India Pale Ale.

6.8 % ABV. Half Acre Beer Company, Chicago, Illinois.

Largely clear, rusty toned, slim white head.

In the nose: malty and moderately hopped.

In the mouth: a little spice up front, with just a dose of hop bitterness gliding across the palate and slipping down the throat. Caramel-y malt flavors. Rich and delicious. Toasty delights abound. A delightful winter IPA. 

Tend Winter IPA. Seasonal beers, more than most, are big for beer makers to fiddle with the associations living in the recesses of your brain. In Tend, we’ve looked at the cycling, Gregorian hold-down that is Midwestern cold. Brewing beer for the cold, we think hearty, chewy beer. Give us color, increased density and heft to live with the sunken temps, but hopefully beers brewed in rhythm with the season push on associations. In Tend, a range of specialty malts tilt us into a Caramel, baked & toasted bread landscape ~ chord wood, simmering soups, wind-licked skin. Some of our favorite hops, Mosaic and Simcoe, bake-in the notes of pine and orange, berry marmalade ~ Norway Spruce, dense outdoor soundscapes only heavy snow can provide and fractalized horizons sliced-up by naked trees. Weighty Winter IPA brewed for wood smoke and fire to lift your mind out over the dim, long cold.

Half Acre Magic Power IPA,

 Half Acre Magic Power IPA.

6.3% ABV. Half Acre Brewing, Chicago, Illinois.

Lightly hazed, bright golden hue, slim, but lasting, milky white foam atop.

In the nose: the general aggregate of citrus and pine, nothing really stands out, though it is bold and pleasant.

In the mouth: orange zest and peel, with a twist of grapefruit. Some bitterness, but it smooth smooth out far too soon. And there’s a bit of muck in the mouthfeel. Too much muck. Or murk, whatever they want to call it these days. No crisp, no clean, like I expect in a good IPA. 

I got fooled by Half Acre again, another hazy under the radar. When I don’t see that word, I think maybe there’s a chance. I dream, I hope, but I never pray. 

If you’re into the haze craze, you’ll like this. I’m just disappointed. I’m going to buy some Daisy Cutter, next.

Comforting hazy IPA brewed with experimental hop HBC 630 for a soft mouthfeel and balanced bitterness with a touch of sweet caramel malt, ripe berry, pineapple, and spruce.

Half Acre Hallow Double IPA

 Half Acre Hallow Double IPA. 

8% ABV, Half Acre Brewing, Chicago, IL.,

Observers of this blog know a few things to be true. I greatly enjoy a double IPA. Also, I do not care very much for the hazy style of IPA. Further, I do admire Half Acre Brewing of Chicago. I thought I could trust them. I mean, only five of their beers have appeared here so far, so I really don’t know them that well. I felt that I could trust them. Because I wanted to. I wanted to believe in the makers of Daisy Cutter. 

And I bought a four pack of this one because it wasn’t $20, it didn’t say it was hazy, and I wanted a new Double IPA to add to my regular rotation. Another Ninja vs. Unicorn, Sticker Fight, Big Little Thing. And I got this. 

Hazy, cloudy, bright golden hue, small white head, leaving a little lace.

In the nose: citrus and pine, with a side order of fuzz. Orange and lemon, behind guaze.

In the mouth: bold, zesty bitter blast, juicy mouthfeel, citrus aplenty. Also, murk and muck. It’s not that bad, actually, but when I want is clarity and crispness, getting this is disheartening. I’ve learned this lesson over and over, and keep getting burned. 

Hallow is the result of many other double IPAs, all leading to one that we felt collected the qualities we wanted to share in a year-round double IPA. Just over the IPA equator line of ABV into northern territory of higher impact hoppy beers. Hallow has all the covet hops – Nelson, Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe — bent toward the way we understand hazy DIPA, big aromatics, full and round flavors with apparent bitterness. 

Half Acre Vallejo India Pale Ale

 Half Acre Vallejo India Pale Ale.

6.7 % ABV, Half Acre Brewing, Chicago, IL.

For a minute, I wondered why the label appears to be a paint by numbers of a seashore scene, possibly California. And then I got it. 

Clear, bright golden hue, small ivory head above.

In the nose: floral, citrus, lemon zest, orange rind, grapefruit, together in harmony. 

In the mouth: liquid sunshine explodes on the palate. Hop bitterness blasts over the tongue and down the throat. Powerful and expressive, yet balanced and palatable. Medium bodied, easily consumed, highly Hopped. Refreshing and exceptionally likable. I would never say no to another.

An India Pale Ale we brewed with coastal spirit. This hop crasher sharply dives into the very deep waters of bitter beers. 

Does this make it a West Coast style IPA? Very close, if not exactly. 

Half Acre Bodem India Pale Ale

 Half Acre Bodem India Pale Ale.

6.7% ABV, Half Acre Brewing, Chicago, IL.

At long last, Half Acre is in Minnesota. At the retail store where I currently work, four of their beers appeared last week. One of them was a $20 4-pack of a DDH double version of Daisy Cutter, which I allowed other people to buy. And Daisy Cutter, which has appeared here before, after my Chicago visit of nine years ago. Third, a hazy which I will only review once I get it for free, which I haven’t, and fourth, an IPA which I did get for free, and which will appear here soon.

 

Last week, a rep from the brewery appeared at the store and we sipped those last three with him. He went out to his car to fetch three beers which would not enter our market. How I wish they could have all wound up with me. Yeah, I’m a greedy bastard, ain’t I? I got one of them and now I will drink it. 

Clear, bright golden hue, large white head.

In the nose: citrus and pine, and everything nice.Grapefruit, orange, lime. All the goodness is here.

In the mouth: a flood of hoppy deliciousness. Bitter, but none too sharp. Sharp, but smooth. Mellow, with slightly sweet malt flavors in the underflow. I’d love to know what sets this apart from other IPAs (I want to say the malts), but until I can uncover that information, I’m just enjoying it. 

I’ll be happy to see many more Half Acre beers showing up locally. I want to put my squid-owl glass to good use.

A reflection of how we're feeling about go-to IPA in today's spectrum of plants and brewing  Ripe tropical fruit flesh with soft melon and berry.

Half Acre / Short's Freedom of '78 IPA

Half Acre Brewing / Short's Brew Collaboration Freedom of '78. Brewed and Canned by Half Acre Brewing, Chicago, IL. Pure Guava India Pale Ale.

Lightly hazed, bright golden  lasting white head.

In the nose: Fruity aromatics, big citrus and sweet tropical, low bitterness. Kinda nice.

In the mouth: Juicy/fruity at first. Little bit sweet, with minor hop bitterness. After pouring this can, the fact that it is brewed with guava completely left my mind, unless I started drinking. Guava's all over this. A little bit of apricot/tangerine in here, too. Below it all, some of the alpha acids are peeking through, just enough to make it an IPA, not an APA. The guava flavor seems to tamp down, just a bit, but it's juicy all the way through. Very nice.

Pure Guava India Pale Ale. A true juicer, brewed in collaboration with Short's Brewing Company. Gallons of guava puree turn this IPA into a true hoser. Check for it around fireworks season. 7% ABV

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.

Half Acre Daisy Cutter Pale Ale

Every now and then, I look at what states have I had beers from (as represented on this blog), how many beers, how many breweries. Etcetera. My home state is tops, of course, and the other top spots are occupied by the usual suspects, the top brewing states, your Californias, Colorados, Wisconsinses. And when I look at Illinois, I'm embarrassed to see a mere eight, 3 from Goose Island, 3 from Two Brothers, and 2 from Wild Onion.
The first two breweries are, I am fairly certain, the only two Illinois breweries distributed in Minnesota, but those are still low numbers, especially for the first one. Wild Onion cans were purchased in Wisconsin. But as anyone who pays attention to the beer scene knows, Chicago is not slacking with new beers and breweries. Two ways to remedy this egregious oversight: trade or travel. I've cut back on trading, lately, and was itching to visit, especially since I haven't been to Chicago in 20 years, and that visit, well, the less said, the best. And, it pre-dated my passion for beer. Also, my usual updates with the ongoing world of beer makes it painfully clear that I have to check it out in person.
So, one day, months ago,  Cal and I decided that a summertime, weekday beer vacation to Chicago is definitely in order. Full details of the trip are coming soon. For now, I present my first review from the beers I brought back, and this is one I've had before, in the months before I turned this blog into my one-stop shop for reviews. That made it easy to sit back last night after work, open the can, pour it into my newly purchased SquidOwl Half Acre Willi Becher glass, and enjoy. Here come notes from October, 2010. A can sent to me by ...I wish I could remember who, sorry.

Daisy Cutter Pale Ale, Half Acre, Chicago, IL. 6.5% ABV.

Wonderful haze in the glass, shot out of the can, lovely golden coloration, bountiful head on it, big, rocky, marshmallowy, lace-leaving snowy white cloud of delightfulness.

Smelling it: Dang! hops explosion! Rip roaring full-on fresh, perfumey, citrus-y, a little pine, little honey, soft, but powerful.

Tasting it: fresh and zesty, pleasingly bitter, lean bodied, nice, bready malt. Excellent balance, great match of ingredients, utterly refreshing. Long, satisfying finish. Very similar to Two Hearted, from Bell's, in hop character and flavor.

Hop lovers dream in this can. The hop-head's lawnmower beer, truly, a great sessioner. It's a mark of American innovation, I think, that a beer so hop forward, so beautifully bitter can be seen as a session ale. In the craft beer revolution, we won't accept mediocrity in the session ale. here's to daisy cutting!
..................

Note: The can was part of a 4-pack bought at Binny's in Schaumberg, Illinois. This will be one of only two Half Acre beers to show up from this trip. The other was purchased at the taproom. Other beers available at Binny's, however, were not in my favorite styles, so they got a lower priority over other beers that I was staring at in amazement.