Brett Trois IPA

A while ago I brewed a Brett Trois IPA and was too lazy to post the recipe and such.  Being doubly lazy, I also forgot to post the tasting of it!  The Brett Trois IPA follows a general IPA recipe, but in a bought of naming creativity, uses Brett Trois as the choice of yeast.  Although brettanomyces is often associated with given funky/barnyard tastes, that does not accurately reflect its capabilities.  Luckily, there are individuals to explain its complexities for those of us who lack the ability to communicate effectively.  Long story short, Brett Trois can give off some pretty great fruity characteristics that work perfectly with the hops in an IPA.

Brett Trois IPA

Appearance- A very murky orange brown with a small bubbly white head.  Noticeable lacing on the side of the glass.

Smell- A lot of grassy hops with noticeable resin.  Some sweet pineapple behind the hops along with caramel and a rich malt.

Taste- Grassy hops hit firs but meld into a well balanced pineapple and slight mango flavor.  Ass the beer slides into the finish, there is a slight candy quality before inching back into the grassy hops and a slight alcohol taste.

Mouthfeel- Full bodied with moderate but prickly carbonation.  Slightly sweet finish.

Overall and Notes- Probably my best beer to date.  However, next time I will beer on dry hops for less time in order to avoid the large grassy character.

Chicago Craft Beer Week: The Bruery

Second stop for craft beer week here in Chicago was a Bruery tap takeover at the Lion Head Pub.  I was a little surprised about the location, but unsurprisingly I didn't care too much about where I had to go to find the Bruery on tap.  Even better was that they brought some great sours.  The beers on tap were: 6-Geese-A-Laying, Autumn Maple, Rueuze, Sour in the Rye, and Mischief.  Even better was that it was only $6 for a glass.

Having tried all of them before, I decided to revisit a couple that I figured you aren't as likely to see on tap again.  First, I went with the 6-Geese-A-Laying because being an idiot, I forgot to pick up a bottle of it to age (you can exhale, I ended up finding a local store with a couple left over bottles.  You were worried, I know).  Strangely enough, they pulled a pitcher out of fridge and poured me the beer instead of grabbed it from the tap.  Even more surprising was they were using a pitcher when I seemed to be one of the few partaking in the Bruery event.  Something seemed a little off about the beer, but I think i likely just convinced myself of that.  More than likely there was probably just something wrong with the tap.  And as someone told me, that just means they had more of it!

For #2 I went with Rueze.  Although I was stuck between Rueze and Sour in the Rye, I wanted something a little bit lighter but that still packed the sour punch.  Good news is I have a couple bottles of each stashed away.  The Rueze was luckily on tap so I did not have to worry about psyching myself out, and it delivered.  I would love to have written a proper review, but I figured it smart not to be that guy in Lincoln Park writing in a notebook at the bar while everyone else is watching the Blackhawks game.  I am a big enough asshole as it is.

Chicago Craft Beer Week: Jolly Pumpkin

After finishing lawyer school, I was lucky enough to have the City of Chicago celebrate Chicago Craft Beer Week.  Even better, there seems to be multiple events involving sours.  Luckily, I checked the site earlier enough in order to grab some Jolly Pumpkin.

On Monday, Jake Melnicks had a "Sour Love" event that include a tape takeover from Jolly Pumpkin and Upland Brewing.  Among the Jolly Pumpkin beers were Ale Absurd, IO, Biere de Mars, Saison Y, and Fuego.  I went with the Biere de Mars and Saison Y (I would have liked to have more, but surprise surprise, the 10 oz pours of sour beers were fairly expensive.  The Saison Y was my favorite, as it had the light peppery taste finish of a saison along with a citrus middle, but a wonderful barnyard finished.  It also helped that we had some barbecue nachos to go along with it.

Hopefully this will not be the last event and I will update throughout the rest of the week.

Three Floyds Belgian Style Double India Pale Ale

So, I have documented my love for the slowly growing trend of Belgian IPAs; however, what about Belgian Double IPAs?  Since I am American, bigger should mean better, right?  I saw Three Floyds new Belgian Style Double India Pale Ale and thought I might as well find out.  It doesn't hurt that the label has a guy with a mustache and a cigarette.  I imagine that has to make it taste better, right?

Three Floyds Belgian Style Double India Pale Ale

Appearance- A very hazy orange gold color with a small egg shell white head the becomes increasingly patchy.  Low amounts of lacing on the glass.

Smell- Grassy hops stick out, although they are nicely balanced against a pineapple and lingering clove esters.  Behind the hop character there also seems to be an almost candy-like character.

Taste- The grassy hops are more aggressive in the taste as they jump out with hop resin in the beginning of the beer and continue in the middle.  Ass the beer transitions into the middle, a slight clove taste is distinguishable with underlying Belgian phenolic flavor.  However, bitterness picks up at the same time limiting the esters and phenols' contribution.  Large bitter finish with just a touch of the candy character and a noticeable alcohol taste.

Mouthfeel- Full bodied with moderate carbonation.  Hops leave mouth a little raw.

Overall- Tastes almost exactly like a double IPA.  I am not sure the Belgian yeast lends itself to this style.  Nevertheless, look at that label.  In the name of being cool, I will allow it.

The Bruery Or Xata

Well, while I try to find my notes for my Brett Trois IPA that I brewed, I figured I might as well get this beer up here.  Last year I joined The Bruery's Preservation Society club for a short time (moved on to the Reserve Society now), and as a result I got this beer.  For friends who know me, I have a bad habit of frequenting the Mexican restaurant across the street from my apartment to grab 32 oz. horchatas and consequently drinking them until I am sick.  I am really going places in life.

The Bruery Or Xata 

Appearance- Golden and slightly orange in color.  Bubbly egg shell white head that becomes patchy fairly quickly.  Slight lacing on the glass.

Smell- A lot of spice comes across first with the cinnamon unsurprisingly leading the charge.  A rich vanilla emerges the cinnamon that is subsequently complimented by a slight pepper character.  Overall sweet smell.

Taste- A lot of cinnamon to begin with, although the pepper character plays a more prominent role.  Towards the middle is a milky vanilla taste.  However, the flavor becomes more medicinal than I enjoy out of a saison.  Some very slight bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel- Medium-light in body with moderate-low carbonation.  A fairly dry finish.

Overall and Notes- Interesting beer, but as someone who loves horchata, it is not there quite yet.  Not sure if there is a better way of getting a more rounded out horchata taste though, and I suspect the problem might lie in the base beers that could even be used in such a replication.

The Yule Against Perpetuities Brew Day

Well, I need to get back to this on a regular basis.  What better way to make my tenth comeback to the interwebs than with some brewing and bad puns?  My firm once again asked for a beer for their Christmas party and I obliged with another Christmas Ale.  This time I changed up the name of the beer to another bad law pun, mostly because I have no friends.  Or something like that.  For those unaware of my lame sense of humor, check here.  It is fairly similar to last year's recipe, except it turned out a little bigger.

The Yule Against Perpetuities

Batch size: 6.0 gallons
Original Gravity: 1.082
Final Gravity: 1.022
Boil Time: 60 minutes

Grain

18.5 lbs. English Maris Otter
0.75 lb. Crystal 80L
0.25 lb. Black Patent Malt

Hops

1.0 oz Horizon @ 60 minutes

Spices

1/2 broken up cinnamon stick @ 1 minute
1/3 tsp Ginger @ 1 minute
1/8 tsp Nutmeg @ 1 minute
1/8 tsp Allspice @ 1 minute
1/8 tsp Cinnamon @ 1 minute
1/8 tsp Cinnamon @ bottling

Yeast
Wyeast 1028 London Ale

This time I remembered to keep a 90 minute boil, unlike my last effort, therefore helping to boost the final gravity in the process. As a result, the beer ended up bigger than last years, but that is alright with me, and seemed to be alright with the firm. Although I am still not as cool as this guy.

Founders Mango Magnifico

Unfortunately, I have slipped back into seldom updating.  In my defense, I am trying to be a real human being.  I have a lot of things to post, so hopefully in the next week I can get everything back in order.  In the meantime, I meant to post a review of a Founders beer I have been wanting to try for a while.

Founders Mango Magnifico

Appearance- Golden orange with a puffy white head that sticks around longer after arouse it again with some circling of the glass.  Some noticeable sticky lacing hangs around the edges of the glass.

Smell- Initially a strong malt presence.  The habanero character sneaks up and by the middle of the beer  my nostrils begin to sting very slightly.  Slight vegetable character, possibly from the habanero.  Very slight mango, if any.

Taste- Burst of a strong malt backbone to begin the beer.  In the middle, the beer develops into a distinct mango character, but only moderate in intensity.  Some other sweet citrus character rounds out the middle including lemon with a touch of the vegetal character.  A noticeable rising heat in the back of the mouth to finish.

Mouthfeel- Medium-bodied with moderate-light carbonation.  A noticeable heat was left on the back of the tongue and throat.

Overall- The taste was above and beyond better than the smell.  I made tilapia tacos to go along with the beer.  Round out the day honoring Lou Reed as it was the day after he died.  Well known fact: You will never be as cool as Lou Reed.