Beer Of The Day: Necessary Evil

BOTD: Necessary Evil
Illuminated Brew Works (Chicago, IL)
( http://www.ibw-chicago.com/ )

Imperial Stout
11% ABV

It must be some kind of conspiracy. And if you say it's not, it just confirms that there is, and you are part of it.....

This beer has no presence on Illuminated's website. A search on their blog turns up zero results. Zip. Nada. Zilch. A big goose egg. A Beer advocate entry exists, but it has received No Reviews.....

I'll post one here, but I can't guarantee it will remain here, nor our safety in sharing it....

Served from a 25 oz. Bomber into a heavy glass liter mug.
Pours brown/black with a modest head & carbonation. The aroma is rich with cocoa and cinnamon, like something uncovered in a Mayan temple after being invaded by the ancient Indo-Chinese.
The mouthfeel tends toward the rich side, cocoa and especially the cinnamon overwhelm the dark malts. Some sweetness but not overly so, low in bitterness. On reflection, it is a liquid Truffle, a confection of the darkest chocolates and select spices. I would have like the malt to come through a bit more strongly, and I suspect this would do well if left in a barrel for 12 or more months; but if you want a dessert beer to share with a few friends, you could do worse.

My Rating: 4 / 5
Untappd: 3.81 / 5

Prost!

Barrel-Aged Stouts - Which is Best?

March Beer Madness occurs in April, no fooling.

Welcome back my friends. Rest assured your Brew Review Crew was not ignoring Cervisiarus Mundus over the Easter weekend, rather, we brought out The Crew to do some important research, and share the results with you. 4 Barrel Aged Stouts to choose from but only one can be called The Best. 

This was to be a blind test, where most testers were unaware of the beer's true identity until after the test was complete. 4 Tasters, four blind samples. At the end, there could be Only One.

All samples poured into 4 oz snifters at the same temperature.

Beer # 1  

Drago

Wild Onion Brewery (Lake Barrington, IL)

( http://onionbrewery.com/ )

Russian Imperial Stout; Barrel-Aged

9.2% ABV

"...Brewed with boatloads of roasted malt and Sumatra coffee beans."

Taster 1 Review: 

Pours black, impenetrable. No lasting head, minimal carbonation. Smells of oak and dark roasted malts. Rich, not too thick. Strong, slightly bitter finish, the oak tannins lingering. No alcohol burn. Barrel charred oak and roasted malts dominate. Rated 4.25 / 5

Taster 2 Review: Dark color, minimal almost non-existent head,  warmy boozy aftertaste, chocolate-y bourbon flavor, smooth mouthfeel, almost cake-like.

Taster 3 Review: Dark color, tan head, sticks to glass, warmth, bitterness, tingling in throat.

Taster 4 Review: No head, coffee dark smell - coffee beans / taste, dark taste, some fizz, slight burn going down. Low ABV for a stout.

Beer # 2

Islay

Goose Island (Chicago, IL)

( http://www.gooseisland.com/ )

Imperial Stout; Barrel-Aged

13.4% ABV

" ...brimming with aromas of peat and roast. Its opaque, jet-black color heralds intense flavors of smoke, earth, and tobacco"

Tester 1 Review:Pours viscous, black, no head. Prominnent "barrel" nose - very peat-y and smoked, salty - vert "Scotch-Barrel-like", like a good Scottish single malt. Definitely a sipper. If you like a good Scotch, you'll like this. Probably a love/hate for most people. I like it.

Rated 4.5 / 5

Taster 2 Review: Very Strong Scotch smell and taste. Peaty flavor, dark color, minimal head. Coats the glass, somewhat bitter

Taster 3 Review: Dark color, brown head, very thick. Smoky notes.

Taster 4 Review: Look? absolutely no head, dark smell? burnt tire, smokey taste - very bitter burnt tasting, hard liquor really shines through.

Beer #3

Bourbon County Brand Stout (2017)

Goose Island (Chicago, IL)

( http://www.gooseisland.com/ )

Imperial Stout; Barrel-Aged

14.1% ABV

"...an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and smoke"

Taster 1 Review: Dark, dark red, no head, smells of dark, molasses-y roasted malts, alcohol notes, oily, coats the glass, rich mouthfeel, sweet finish. Almost candy-like molasses/caramel taste. Rich and dessert-y, I'll take as scoop of vanilla, please....

Rated 4.75 / 5

Taster 2 Review:

Very sweet, chocolate flavor, oily, coats glass, smooth and dark / vanilla? Very little head, Dessert-like, no burn.

Taster 3 Review: Dark color, no visible head. Sweet, tingles too.

Taster 4 Review: Dark, no head. Smell? Sweet. Taste? Chocolate, soft burn going down, smooth, malty

Beer #4

Bourbon County Brand Stout - Rare (2015)

Goose Island (Chicago, IL)

( http://www.gooseisland.com/ )

Imperial Stout; Barrel-Aged

14.5% ABV

Taster 1 Review: Brown/Black color, no carbonation evident, coats the glass. Dark, malty, boozy flavor. Dark fruit & alcohol emerge, crossing over from Imperial Stout to aged barleywine/belgian quad flavors in a very good way. Drink slowly and enjoy, there's lots going on here.

Rated: 5 / 5

Taster 2 Review: More coating, boozy nose, slight boozy flavor, smooth, more complex. Dark.

Taster 3 Review: Dark Color. Thick. Burns. Rich.

Taster 4 Review: Brown color, little transparency, aroma boozy, oily and shiny in the glass, more of a burn going down, distinct liquor flavor 

So which is Best?

Drum Roll Please .....

By a majority ruling of the empanelled tastes we recommend Goose Island BCBS Rare (2015)

Naturally, this is the most expensive and hard to come by. Now you can't go wrong with a BCBS, and some retailers still have a few bottles stashed but it comes at a price;  Islay is currently easy to come by but there's that love/hate factor; if you just want a good stout without paying the premium, go for a Drago.

Beer Of The Day: Coffee End Of Days - Is this The One?

BOTD: Coffee End OF Days
Pipeworks Brewing (Chicago, IL)
( http://pdubs.net/ )

Imperial Milk Stout
10.5% ABV

22oz Bombers
Available at Binny's Beverage Depot, 11.99
Oddly, not listed on Pipeworks' web site.....

"Imperial Milk Stout brewed with chili peppers, cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate and Dark Matter Coffee"

After finding the Prairie Bomb! not peppery enough, and the Cappuccino Stout not Coffee enough, how about THIS stuff?

Well, I'm guessing that it has been a while since Pipeworks brewed this, as it's not listed on their website currently (caveat - may not have the same flavor as when "fresh". Doesn't mean worse, or better. Just different). And it's an Imperial, meaning I expect more. Of everything.

Poured black into a tulip glass, getting a nice brown head that dissipates quickly. Aromas are understated, roasted malt and some dark coffee predominate, along with....something else. The chilis?

A tasty coffee stout flavor, a little sweet, with a warm chili finish. The labelled Vanilla is not obvious, blending with the milk stout malt sweetness.

If you are a Stout fancier, if you find one, buy one. If you hate All Things Spicy, pass. Enjoy.

My rating: 4.25 / 5

Untapped: 4.03 / 5

Beer Of The Day: Lagunitas Cappucino Stout - Coffer or Beer? Why choose?

BOTD: Lagunitas Cappucino Stout
Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma, CA / Chicago, IL )
( https://lagunitas.com/ )

Coffee Stout
9.1% ABV
22oz Bombers
Widely Available "in season"



"Brewed with boatloads of roasted coffee in each batch for that extra Krunk… "

Well, I didn't ask for an Krunk. Sounds like something I'd scrape off my boot. (Just another chance to demonstrate my non-hipster-ness). I was interested in a good coffee stout. So on receipt of this bounty, I poured it into a Pint glass and watched the nice tall, firm tan head form; took a whiff of the roasted-malty-aroma; and took a sip. Hmmmm. Mostly malt is evident, the coffee seeming to impart more a dark roast bitter edge to the beer rather than overt coffee flavors. The beer off the top benefited from extra creaminess due to the nice foam layer. If you like your beer like you like your coffee, black & bitter, give it a try. A great value for the price, but probably not the Coffee Stout you've been waiting for all your life.

My Rating: 3.75 / 5
Untappd: 3.83 / 5

Prost!

Beer Of The Day: Skull Hammer - Where On the Beer-A-Mid?

BOTD: Skull Hammer
Finch Beer Company
( https://www.finchbeer.com/ )

DIPA; 8% ABV

"...New England Style IPA that is more sweet than bitter, this head banger hammers down with the juicy blend of everyone’s favorite hops including Citra, Mosaic, & Simcoe. "

I like IPAs. I really like DIPAs. Many craft beer nerds agree, to the extent that some people are SOOOO OVER IPAs and bitterness. Yeah, whatever. Drink what you like, and ignore the trends.

So here we go with another DIPA. Where does it fall on the scale? Should I run out and buy it, hoard it, savor it, ignore it? 

Imaging if you will a Pyramid of Beers. A Beer-A-Mid, if you will.

The base is broad, and as perceived goodness goes up, the Beer-A-Mid narrows, only a rarefied few can be at the peak. In the golden age  of craft beer, many are tried but few are truly chosen. I would place this entry in the top third of the Beer-A-Mid, in good company, but not go-out-and-buy-some-amazing. Why?  Read on.....

Served from a can, chilled, poured into a snifter. Pours golden, slightly hazy, with a firm white head, good carbonation. Nice, citrusy hop nose, and a hop blend of fruity and piney in the first  and subsequent, with a slight but not unpleasant acidic tang at the back of you mouth. It finishes grapefruit-bitter. Hop-forward, light in character for a DIPA, not as citrus and cloudy as most NEIPAs, this is a solid but not "Ooh....Aah....." example entry in the DIPA Derby. I would place it in the upper third of the Beer-A-Mid. If you're into hops, give it a try. Just don't go too far out of your way to get it.

My Rating: 4.0 / 5

Untappd: 3.73 / 5

Beer Of The Day: Villanous (IPA)

BOTD: Villanous IPA
Around The Bend Beer Company
(http://atbbeerco.com/)

6.3% ABV

FOUR yeast strains? Alrighty then.

I am openly hopophiliac - and I rarely find an IPA that I can't appreciate. This one was in cans in the cooler section of my local stockist and seemed a suitable candidate for both science and refreshment. It was also from a local brewery whose products I'd not yet sampled.

Ensconced in my easy chair, I poured it into a tulip glass and was greeted with a modest hop aroma on the piney side, and a flavor that was not as hop-forward as many - more malt character than may in this crowded segment, characterized by lingering sweetness and a bitter finish. Their website indicates that they use multiple yeast strains in this brew, but what effect was intended or achieved remains a mystery. It really came across as unremarkable, not nearly the hopcentric Villain it claimed to be. I wonder, were it's best days behind it? Or was I just hoping for more.

My Rating: 3.75 / 5
Untappd: 3.72 / 5

Prost!

Beer Of The Day: Son Of Juice - A chip off the old Hop block?

BOTD: Son Of Juice
Maplewood Brewing and Distilling (Chicago, IL)
(http://www.maplewoodbrew.com/home/)

IPA; 6.3% ABV

"...A hazy IPA dripping with fruit juice notes. Pilsner malt and oats make a perfect canvas for loads of mosaic, simcoe and nugget hops"

Poured from a can into a tulip pint glass.  Pours a cloudy light yellow with a firm white head.  A pleasant light citrusy nose is followed by a nice mild (modest IBU) IPA flavor, not high in bitterness. The mouthfeel is light and refreshing and finishes on the sweet side. A solid entry in the cloudy / New England IPA derby, this is refreshing and grapefruity. I hope I can still find it when the weather warms up and it really shines. Available in cans in Chicago area retailers.

Apparently this is derived from Maplewoods "Juice Pants" IPA, which reportedly changes its hop bill with each brewing. More research required ....

My rating: 4.0 / 5

Untappd: 4.05 / 5

Prost!

Beer Of The Day: Bourbon County Brand Stout (2017) - Find It. Buy It. Save it for later.

BOTD: Bourbon County Brand Stout (2017)
Goose Island (Chicago, IL)
(http://www.gooseisland.com/our-beers/bourbon-county/bourbon-county-brand-stout-2017)

Imperial Stout; 14.1% ABV

(Bourbon-Barrel-Aged)

"A liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with thick foam the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and smoke."

(Released November 2017). Poured from a bottle. Pours black, with a modest brown, quickly dissipating head.

Nose of Bourbon and Oak. Thick, rich, slightly alcohol on the first sip, with oak tannins at the finish. Reminds me of an imported high cacao dark chocolate or a rich espresso coffee served black, in all the right ways.

Superb.

This is worth about 3 of our regular beers in ABV, and serves a full 16 oz. pint, so tread lightly. But Oh So Worth It.  Pout it into your favorite snifter and savor it. This is dessert in a glass.

Your local stockist might still have one or two of these stashed behind the counter. Buy it.

If you imagine a pyramid of beers - let's call it the beer-a-mid - this would occupy one of the spots in that pyramidal peak.

I once had a friend tell me "I've got a fridge full of beers you recommended and they're all awesome, but I have nothing to drink tonight, because I'm saving these...

This is one of those beers. Let it mature, and save it for a special occasion. Like Thursday.

My Rating: 4.75 / 5
Untappd: 4.52

So many breweries, so little time. Make your time count.

http://thehopreview.com/blog/chicago-brewery-list