Off Color Brewing – Coffee Dino S’mores

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Beer, Beer Review, Chicago, Craft Beer, Off Color Brewing, Stout

Although I haven’t had this particular variant before, I do have some very fond memories of its base beer from a festival I attended a few years ago.  Needless to say, I was pretty excited when bottles of this hit my area a few weeks ago.

Beer Name: Coffee Dino S’mores

Brewery: O (Chicago, IL)

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 10.5%

Description: Per the website, the Imperial Stout at the base of this beer was brewed with graham flour, marshmallow fluff, vanilla, and cocoa nibs.  The coffee influence came two types of beans; one that added floral and citrusy notes and another for chocolate sweetness and body.

Appearance: Black body with a thin tan head.

Smell: Rich dark malt, mellow marshmallow sweetness, and fresh light roast coffee.

Taste: Rich dark malt and vanilla upfront, followed by a layer of bittersweet chocolate.  Gradually transitioned towards medium to light roast coffee and a marshmallow sweetness.  The finish was moderately boozy and swirled all the various flavors into one complete package.  Not entirely unlike a slightly roasty, boozy s’more served up with coffee.

Mouthfeel: Thick, full body with low carb nation.

Hype: Elevated.  There was much fanfare when this hit the Boston area and I was very curious to see if it would live up to my memories of an all too brief first encounter.

Overall: I really, really liked this.  An excellent big stout for those that enjoy the extra flavors, I happily savored this on a cold evening.  It’s not something I’d want a lot of at once, indeed the 12 oz bottle was probably the ideal amount, but I’d readily seek this out again.

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Pipeworks Brewing Company – Close Encounters

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Beer, Beer Review, Chicago, Craft Beer, Pipeworks Brewing Company

Continuing my adventures in non-standard IPAs, it had been a while since I last had a Black IPA.  The style seemed like it was really popular around the time I was getting into beer several years and then fell off shortly thereafter.  Not only did this beer give me a chance to revisit a style I once really enjoyed, I’d like to hope I made Captain Kirk proud as well.

Beer Name: Close Encounters

Brewery: Pipeworks Brewing Company (Chicago, IL)

Style: Black IPA

ABV: 6.0%

Description: The can called it a meeting of rich roasted malt and aggressive hops.

Appearance: Black body with bubbly tan head.

Smell: Citrus fruit and pine resin, with undertones of roasted dark malts.

Taste: Citrusy sweetness enhanced by piney hops and a subtle backing of dark malts.  The finish brought on a bit of roasted coffee then blended nicely with the opening flavors.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a fairly moderate level of carbonation.

Hype: None that I was aware of.  This brewery now gets pretty regular distribution in my area now and Black IPAs aren’t really trendy these days amongst hardened beer seekers,

Overall: I really enjoyed this and thought it was very tasty.  It offered a great blend of flavors and was a nice throwback to some of the brews that got me into beer in the first place.  Definitely recommend and definitely something I’d drink again when I get the chance.

Pipeworks Brewing Company – Blood of the Unicorn

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Beer, Beer Review, Chicago, Craft Beer, Fall, Halloween, Pipeworks Brewing Company

Apparently the ninja won the battle, though it was the unicorn that won the war by getting featured in another brew.  This next beer caught my attention by being a style that I love and by having some pretty cool can art, featuring the most bad badass zombie/metal unicorn ever.  I have a steady supply of brews left to get through now that Halloween is approaching and this seemed like the perfect way to lead the charge!

Beer Name: Blood of the Unicorn

Brewery: Pipeworks Brewing Company (Chicago, IL)

Style: Hoppy Red Ale

ABV: 6.5%

Description: Not much official information to go by other than style description.  I’ll add that this particular can was born on the day of my anniversary (9/18), which was a nice coincidence.  I think the single can cost me $3-4, with a four pack going for $11.99 in my area.

Appearance: It had a deep reddish-brown body with thick, foamy light tan head.

Smell: Sweet, caramel malt and raw, piney hops.

Taste: A slightly more subdued version of the smell.  There was some malt sweetness upfront, but piney hops were clearly the stand out flavor on the front end of this beer.  The finish did see a return of sweetness in the form of caramel malt and a bit of brown sugar.

Mouthfeel: Slightly sticky medium body with a moderate amount of carbonation.

Hype: I don’t think this is particularly hyped in the beer community at large, but I was immensely excited to try this.  I love the style and really enjoyed that other unicorn themed beer from this brewery recently.

Overall: I thought this was pretty good, though as I am always quick to point out, in being such a big fan of this style I am fairly particular in what I want out of it.  This may sound blasphemous, but I wish the malts stood out a bit more.  The bitterness level was fine, I just would have liked the malt profile to have been on a similar level.  This might be a “me thing” though, so don’t let that stop you from checking this out.  I do wish I had bought more than just the one can I used for this review.

Revolution Brewing Company – Straight Jacket

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Beer, Beer Review, Chicago, Craft Beer, Revolution Brewing Company

I’ve had this beer hanging around for a couple of months now but could never quite find the right to time drink it.  No time like the present.

Beer Name: Straight Jacket

Brewery: Revolution Brewing Company (Chicago, IL)

Style: Barley Wine

ABV: 12.2%

Description: Another entry in the brewery’s Deep Wood series of barrel aged goodness, the description on their website promises waves of dark stone fruits, bourbon, molasses, toasted coconut, and vanilla.  If memory serves me correctly the bomber cost $18, same as the previous one.

Appearance: Coppery brown body with a quick to fade tan head that formed with the pour.

Smell: Caramel and toffee sweetness mixed with rich dark malt.

Taste: Sweet upfront, with lots of brown sugar, caramel, toffee, and dark fruit.  A hot kick of alcohol comes on towards the end, with lingering bourbon notes in the aftertaste.  Upon sitting for a few minutes the sweetness and heat both intensified and blended into each other, while more subtle notes of barrel influence came out on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Silky smooth and slightly slick medium-plus body.  Carbonation level was low.

Hype: Primarily of the personal variety.  I really liked the last beer I had from this series and picked this up hoping for a similar experience.

Overall: Deliciously sweet and bourbony, this was exactly what I was hoping for.  Despite the heat and high ABV, this one left me feeling very mellow and relaxed upon finishing it which was pretty nice as well.  I’ll be keeping an eye for more from this series for sure.

Pipeworks Brewing Company – Ninja vs. Unicorn

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Beer, Beer Review, Chicago, Craft Beer, Pipeworks Brewing Company

I’m just going to come right out and say it.  I was feeling indecisive in the store and bought this based on the name and artwork alone.  I think I’d heard of it in passing at some point, but it was the branding that got me.  Come to think of it, this is the second time in recent months that a Chicago brewery has lured me in this way.

Beer Name: Ninja vs. Unicorn

Brewery: Pipeworks Brewing Company (Chicago, IL)

Style: DIPA

ABV: 8.0%

Description: There wasn’t much on the official site about this release, though a few other sources have this listed an unfiltered DIPA brewed with over 5 pounds of hops per barrel.  I don’t remember exactly, but I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $12-13 for a 4-pack of 16 oz. cans.

Appearance: Cloudy, dark straw yellow body with a thin layer of white foam on top.

Smell: Sweet, mostly tropical, fruits with a touch of resinous pine sap in the background.

Taste: Keeping in line with the smell there was a lot of fruity sweetness upfront, mainly pineapple, tangerine, and mango.  It finished with a dry, crackery malt base joining forces with mix of earthy and piney hop bitterness.  The initial sweetness lingered on through to the finish as well, culminating in a slightly hot aftertaste that lessened in intensity as the beer went on.

Mouthfeel: Fluffy, medium-plus body with pretty much the typical moderate carbonation you would expect for the style.

Hype: I was excited for this one.  Pipeworks in upping their distribution in my area so I was curious to try them out.  I also really wanted this beer to live up to the awesomeness on the label.

Overall: Definitely a quality DIPA.  I wish the finish was just a bit more tame, otherwise this would have been a smash hit for me.  Still a great beer though.  If I ever need a ninja or unicorn themed brew (which all things considered is actually pretty likely for me) I’ll be picking this up again.

Stout Season: Revolution Brewing Company – Deth’s Tar

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Beer, Beer Review, Chicago, Craft Beer, Revolution Brewing Company, Stout, Stout Season

Every now and then you come across something that just seems to call to you, like it was made specifically for your enjoyment.  For me, this beer was one of those things.  I had been in the market for stouts, and both the name and label aesthetics of this beer instantly drew me in.  I know that’s not always the best way to choose a brew, but this one felt special.

Beer Name: Deth’s Tar

Brewer: Revolution Brewing Company (Chicago, IL)

Style: Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 13.5%

Description: Part of the brewery’s Deep Wood Series of special barrel aged offerings, this beer is officially named as a play on the name of founder Josh Deth; though a careful reading of the box reveals a that this “fully operational Imperial Stout” gives a subtle nod to a certain film franchise as well.  As for the actual contents of the bottle, this beer was aged in two different types of bourbon barrels and brewed with a “variety” of malts and oats.  Check out the brewery website for more information.  The bomber was on the higher end of my usual price range at $18, but I was sold at first sight.

Appearance: Deep black body topped off by a dark tan head.

Smell: Sweet malts and dark chocolate underneath strong bourbon notes.

Taste: Sweetness upfront in the form of rich malts, dark chocolate, and a bit of caramel.  A creamy, light roast coffee taste arose roughly mid-sip but was soon overtaken by a massive surge of bourbon.  The finish was creamy and chocolately, with a subtle oak/roast combination underneath a sweet and distinct kick of heat.  Bourbon, sweetness, and chocolate were the main flavors here, definitely in that order.

Mouthfeel: Thick, full-bodied, and silky smooth with minimal carbonation.

Hype: There was some excitement about this locally, considering I found out about the beer’s existence and availability via social media announcements from various bottle shops.  It went pretty fast at my downtown spot despite a one bottle per customer limit.

Overall: I ended liking this just about as much as I had hoped I would.  It was definitely a beer meant to be enjoyed slowly on cold winter night (indeed I drank this during a snowstorm), but that’s pretty much the point of something like this.  Fantastic.  I would no doubt pick this up again, worth the price tag.