Ranch Double IPA

This is the first beer in a long time I've reviewed from 8th St. Grille in a long time. Served in their new Omni glasses with a slanted rim. Enjoyed Sunday afternoon at their pub while researching Foudres.
9.0% ABV

Appearance: Glimmering and brightly golden. The head is a soft densely bubbled film across the surface. Very little retention and stature. Consistent and uniformed carbonation rises in single file to the surface of the beer.
Aroma: Piney, grapefruit and a tremendous amount of tropical elements that perfume from the glass. It's something you can keep going back to and it doesn't lose its strength and aroma.
Taste: An enormous juicy hop element is central to this beer. The pinnacle of pineapple and melon with a grapefruit rind, bittered finish. The start maintains enough of a sweetness for the hop complexities to ride on and to further encourage a tropical character. As the beer warms, the beer develops somewhat of a sweet honey flavor to constitute the base.
Mouthfeel: Fine carbonation and a formidable body that lightly fizz the tongue as the liquid goes down. The finish is left very resined and piney, leaving the bitterness on the palate long after the beer has left the mouth.
Overall Impression: Ultimately this beer has the fresh character from late addition west coast hops but incorporates a balance of sweetness and bittering early addition to complete a fantastically quaffable, tropical profile. I'd come back to this any day.

Headwater's Pale Ale

Thanks to Jennifer Misewicz for bringing a six pack of this from the Binny's in Plainfield. Tasted with Dan last night after getting back from a run and hitting the mat for some recovery yoga. Served in a snifter.

Appearance: Golden copper that remains quite hazy. The head is hardly present, only to reside as a slight soapy white bubble accumulation around the inner perimeter of the glass. Pretty still looking. Some wet lacing caress' the sides.
Aroma: Citrusy with an undercurrent of bread malt to formulate the malt base. Subtle hints of orange peel as well as and earthy character are present at the nose.
Taste: Faint sweetness at the front of the beer. Earthy at most. The hops present a substantial formulating a dominant character in the second half of the beer. Orange peel with a mild element of lemon. There is an element of sourness at the end in conjunction with the bite of the carbonation. Metallic at places. The end is extremely bitter, but still maintaining a very pale-esk character perhaps utilizing some Summit hops. After having a couple bottles [at a later date] I find the hop flavor resembling lemon pith, while being peppery as well.
Mouthfeel: Micro-bubble carbonation but in a concentrated form leads to the "sour" perception at the finish. Body is light and crisp. Finishes dry and resinous.
Overall Impression: Dry and bitter, but utilizing hops that one wouldn't too often find in most pale ales. The crisp refreshing character is still prominent but with little malt backbone to re-inforce. Nevertheless, it remains quite drinkable and worthy to try.


84/100

Hop Wallop

Tasted the Wednesday evening before thanksgiving just as Luke and I arrived at my Mom's new house in Galena. Enjoyed with a fresh bowl of Lentil Soup and of course Hummus! (of course). Victory never ceases to impress me.

Appearance: Golden and clear with a dense stable cream colored head. Lacing is dry with an entire design. Clarity is semi-optimal, with perhaps minute elements of chill haze but enough to allow carbonation to be visible as it slowly rises to the surface of the beer. Swirled, on can pick up fain
Aroma: Initially, I find myself smelling rather a stale hop scent amongst a faint biscuit malt backbone. Swirled, on can pick up faint citrus and orange peel notes with a leafy, peppery profile
Taste: Wow! the flavor is in your face and bursting with hop complexities. Right from the start I think pear, pine and apricots, but as the palate adjusts more orange peel, tropical fruit and citrus take over with vengeance. By third and fourth sip, orange zest makes the primary hop element of this beer, while pine takes an undertone. With a mild base malt backbone, the integrated hop flavors force a fruity grapefruit and pineapple foundation, While preserving a fresh crisp flavor. Finish is dry with a bit of grapefruit and green hop resins in the aftertaste. Some alcohol at the end (though well masked) to complement the drying, yet enticing hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium to heavily bodied with a smooth forgiving texture. Microbubble carbonation helps maintain a lot of the complexities that would have otherwise been destroyed with a high VCO2. Dry, but crisp at the end. Mouthfeel/body makes it a little less refreshing.
Overall Impression: Great hop complexities: Fruity, citrus, balanced and bitter, while still retaining a residual sweetness. Smooth textured and richly flavored. Definitely for the hop heads, but still a beer to lure the developing pale ale and IPA enthusiast.


92/100

Summer Love Ale

Celebrated the beautiful day by lounging in the pool for the first time this summer and enjoying a nice cold beer or with Charlie. I picked this beer up from the Bolingbrook Binny's; there were so many to choose from I searched for a half hour before making my final decision. If Tim with me, we probably would have stayed for an hour before he made up his mind...I kid, but it's true! Truthfully, I half chose this beer because I loved the label and it reminded me of little doodles I used to draw in my notebook while spacing out in a summer school class.

Appearance: Clear, light golden-yellow color that poured with a half in fizzy white head that eventually dissipated into a ring that clung to the side of the glass. A few island-like patches of bubbles in the middle, produced by slow rising yet moderate carbonation. Leaves a bit of wet lacing.
Aroma: Aroma is primarily grainy and smells of light, sweet malt. Slight notes of citrus fruit (mainly lemon it seems), grassy and floral hops contribute to an earthy aroma which nicely balances the smooth sweetness of the German pilsner malts. Alcohol is not present in the aroma.
Taste: Flavor is pretty nice and simple. Upfront, the flavor is mild and sweet; malty. From there, a bit of graininess develops, followed by the complementary flavor of lemon citrus. Finishes with an earthy collaboration of grassy and floral hops that leaves a bit of a drying effect on your tongue. Slight bite of bitterness, but because it didn't linger, I regarded it as refreshing.
Mouthfeel: Mouthfeel is of light-medium body. Carbonation is fairly moderate and hits the tongue with a fizz. Brings forth the slight bitterness and floral flavors. Finishes quite smooth and crisp.
Overall Impression: Nice, drinkable brew for the summer or anytime for that matter. Quite refreshing and lives up to its name. Love summer.

Jen: 90/100

Whirlwind Wit

Found this from the Plainfield Binny's assorted beer bin. I tried this back in March of 2010 when Jen bought a 6 pack from Hy-vee. Oddly enough it was completely flat. We returned it and went through a hassle to do so. Nevertheless I figured I'd give it another shot

Appearance: Golden straw yellow with a lot of flocculated particles floating around, not necessarily contributing haziness but just plain turbidity. There was not really any head to even acknowledge but a bubbly white ring, and not really any visible carbonation either.

Aroma: Quite yeasty with a mild buttery banana smell. Some graininess as well as citrus and the normally occurring farmhouse funkiness. A strong finishing spiciness of clove rounds out the beer, tending to be a lot more bold than most wheat beers I've encountered.
Taste: The beer is sweet and citrusy with a strong honey and wheat backbone. Interestingly enough it also maintains a prominent vanilla character that is melded deeply into the flavor profile.
Mouthfeel: Light body with an overly abundant carbonation. The feel nevertheless was quite crisp and refreshing for a witbier.
Overall Impression: A decent wit, though it was very complex by way of flavor, I thought the vanilla came off too strong. And apologies for the shorter post, but Jen knocked over my near full weissbier vase, leaving one sip left for any last thoughts. Oh well.


80/100

Prima Pils

Tasted Thursday evening while watching Minority Report and eating crackers and cheese. I've been a fan of Victory brewing Co and made it a goal to try whatever I could get, but this was one of the few I somehow managed to pass up every time I headed to pick up a six pack. Fortunately the Binny's in Plainfield had this available in individual bottles.

Appearance: Clear and straw colored with a bright clear color. The look is watery and unflavorful (like most pilsners). Minimal head with a very thin foam right. Looks very still and uneventful except for the occasional carbonation bubble rising to the surface.

Aroma: A very light pungency and lagered smell. Some straw and hay grain elements to the beer. Grassy and herbaceous and extremely floral for a pilsner. It boast some lemon zest undertones as well as an extremely light breadiness with a touch of pear/tart apricot.

Taste: Starts candy sweet as the beer gradually transcends into its primary complexity with a thematic lemon flavor. The hops and the contribution from the yeast make for a spicy and herbal bitter second half that I really have never experienced before. The beer has a warming sensation from the alcohol in comparison to the light pilsen malt used. It graduates into a lemon zest bitterness that then finishes in a strong grassy herbal bitterness. A lot of these beers end on a pungent crisp note, while this beer maintains a lot of complexity. Lemongrass and palm oil.

Mouthfeel: Crisp and clean obviously defines the style, and there isn't too much wiggle room from that. Nevertheless this beer has a strong dry flavor and a mild carbonation making it not overly spiked but very drinkable. Light body and

Overall Impression: The cleanliness of this beer is reminiscent of soap, but is not at all a deterrent. I really liked this beer for its complexity which is pretty uncommon to the strict style guide of pilsners and the difficulty to make them. The grassiness isn't overbearing and complemented well with the lemongrass taste and flavor. The best Pilsner I've had.

92/100

Yakima Glory

Tasted in the evening while concoction a crock-pot soup composed of 10 mixed beans, organic brown rice, leftover pickled beet juice (thanks dad), potatoes, sweet potatoes, chili powder, and hickory smoked salt. The result ironically smells like bacon. Enough of that, beer served in a snifter.

Appearance: Very dark in color, but up to the light it exhibits a beautiful somewhat clear rubied hue. In this case carbonation is visible too, but otherwise it looks very rich and chocolate brown. Not much of a head exists aside from a foamy ring along the side .
Aroma: Rich caramel and roasted malt take the stage only to finish with a semi-sweet dark fruit character complemented with an alcoholic aroma. Grainy, but some spicing as well. Hop profile emits a nice bouquet of complexity revolving around cherries, bittersweet chocolate and other nutty, wood-sap and fruit tannins.
Taste: Starts bitter and finishes with a unique and highly distinguishable combination of dark roasted barley and hops to produce a raisin and cherry complexity. Carameled malt notes hold a foundational character in the sweetness which only develops the intricate flavors of this beer. The hops ad delicious notes of pine and citrus with paralleled undertones of vanilla, oak and rye. The higher alcohol is a positive addition to the flavor, as it clears the sweetness only to leave the drying resins of the Yakima hops. In combination one could easily pick out chocolate and coffee flavors in both foretaste and finish with a roasted charring.
Mouthfeel: Heavy but noticeably smooth. The texture is chewy and somewhat tacky, but overall it's certainly a mouthful. Finishes dry and resinous.Carbonation is minimal, only briefly braising the mid-tongue.
Overall Impression: Extremely flavorful and complex. Both the hops and malts exhibit their own contradictory flavors against each other, yet together they nicely transition and produce a big beer with tremendous flavor. I wouldn't call it a black IPA, but more so some other beast.


88/100

Golden Monkey

Jen was in town and we headed to The Yardhouse at the Glen following a day of work. We ironically saw Aubrey and Monte there as well. Enjoyed at the bar in a small goblet.

Appearance:  Copper hue against a hazy yellow color.  There wasn't really any head

to note. No visible carbonation.
Aroma:  Aroma is sweet and phenolic with an accompanying orange zest that fumes the nose. Some basic citrus component as well. Quite floral, banana/clove esters and vanilla.

Taste:  Taste is quite peppery with some yeast character.  Some murky earthy notes with a combined hotness. This burn at the finish makes the beer finish with a slight fruity note.  Orange zest assists the finish as well.  Bite from the hops is in the foretaste with a light toasted biscuit malt that aids in holding up the foundation.  Some bread and yeast leave a leathery dry flavor.  Dark smoked fruit and dates. Maybe blood fruit and toasted malt? The phenols in this beer give the character of some minor medicinal qualities, but they are ultimately well masked y the alternative complexity of the beer. Some bread qualities develop through to the end of the beer. The dry finish is balanced with an orange peel fruit sweetness and bitterness. 

Mouthfeel:  Mouthfeel is delicate with a medium body and minimal carbonation. There is a drying prolonged bitterness. Nevertheless the texture is still smooth and boastful.
Overall Impression:  This a delicious complex Belgium strong ale, or at least an American interpretation. It has nice sophisticated layers. I care little for what style it may fall under and/or if it misses those marks, it's still a good beer.

86/100

Old Horizontal Barleywine

The succession of barleywine throughout the night. Luckily I had someone else to share this with because otherwise it would be extremely difficult to finish, let alone taste.

Appearance: Bronzed brown with a turbid look that remains entirely murky. The head being slightly off white, is well maintained and leaves a sticky permanent lacing along the side of the glass.

Aroma: Dark fruit immediately permeate the olfactory with a nice desert like/angel food cake sweetness transcended with a caramel sweetness.

Taste: Boozy off the bat, but delicately extinguishing any ounce of bitterness. Some tartness complements what fruitiness that is maintained. Some medicinality, but common to the style. The malt of this beer reveals a wealthy of sugary and malted flavors resembling robust toasted and caramel malt along with phenolic undertones. Hotness finished slightly pepper but with a resinous aftertaste. Brown sugar also takes a notable toll to the flavor of the beer. As it warms more of the flavors expose themselves, specifically the caramel and honey as well as candied sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a light and well complimented carbonation that helps maintain the flavor through to the end of the taste. Not too tacky, but still has some of the quality. Very smooth and nothing really aggressive about it.
Overall Impression: Basically a style definer, and for those who actually know the style. Still may be a surprise to some. I'll admit, I haven't fully acquainted myself with the Barleywines, but this is one of the best I've tasted.


86/100

Moonglow Weizen Bock

Tried this the first Monday night back from thanksgiving break, following a 17 mile day (double). Picked this one up at Binny's in Highland park (of which I now have a job at over break) after discovering the amazing Hop Devil. I was hoping to taste more tonight, but after realizing the ABV, I doubt that will happen.

Appearance: Slim to none when it comes to the head. Color is a toffee red with brown tint. There is an orange cloudiness. Micro fizzed carbonation slightly visible among the cloudy glow of this beer.

Aroma: Fruity with a strong caramel malt background. There is a phenolic nose with clove and diacetyl esters that carry a large weight to the smell. Some yeast character as well. I think I sense some honey and brown sugar sweetness too. As the beer warms, there is some citrus and orange zest elements.

Taste: Tart with a yeasty citrus finish. The beer starts by exhibiting a flavorful caramel toffee malt with extra adjuncts of candied (brown) sugar. Nevertheless, the wheat malt makes its appearance by finishing off the flavor. Lastly the beer ends on a slightly spicy clove note with a alcoholic taste to finish. There are banana notes as well as a very subtle medicinal quality to the sweetness. There is little to no bitterness to speak of. Given the huge amount of malt caramel, phenolic, esters and wheat, this beer hardly finishes boozy given the huge ABV. Yeast and clove taste remains on the palate after the swallow.

Mouthfeel: Overwhelmingly drinkable and refreshing. The Body and mouthfeel are light, carbonation breaks the liquid just enough to quench the desiring taste buds. Doesn't finish clean, in fact semi cloying. But served cold, this beer gets it done.

Overall Impression: Neglecting the 8.7% ABV, this isn't a bad beer once you can get past the smell. This beer delivers a decieving first impression. Finding myself semi-perplexed and reluctant to consider this beer anything but ordinary, the deeper one goes into the glass, the more they may find themselves taking bigger gulps. Quite interesting. Careful now.

87/100

Saison du Buff

Tasted after a 7 mile morning run and after a curried vegetable omelet. But interestingly, as I sit here tasting this beer, there is a line-up of spices sitting in front of me, inclusive of Sage, Rosemary, Parsley flakes, and Thyme. I want to make sure I get a full sense of the herbs used so I don't miss a beat. In fact I bought this 12 Oz bottle by itself from Binny's early on Saturday. Felt kind of funny purchasing this bottle for only $2.99, but my original purpose there was to create a shopping list for later in the week to bring back to school. Anyway, this is what I think:

Appearance: Incredible white soapy foam head that stands 3 fingers strong within the large wine glass by which it was poured. Well sustained. Hardly dissipates by the 5 minute mark. Color takes on a strong straw color with an ever apparent chill haze that took hold the moment it was placed in the fridge. Micro-bubbly carbonation is evident as well. Clarity is minimal, yet evenly distributed.

Aroma: Aroma takes a strong herbal smell with distinct notes of pine, particularly from the rosemary. Malt sweetness complements this subtle smell quite well. The other spices take a far background status within this category. In combination, this beer is well balanced with its earthy, herbaceous aroma.
Taste: The taste is quite interesting. The aftertaste is of salad greens, reminiscent of the thyme leaves. The sweetness isn't necessarily of malt, but of an interesting combination of sugar adjuncts and still spicy tropical fruit hops. The earthy sensations felt on the palate are very complex. Gradually the sage accompanies the thyme in the aftertaste, where the rosemary and hops take hold the sweet combination in the foretaste. I'm not sensing the parsley anywhere (good). Finally grapefruit peel and citrus are a continually emerging flavor within the sweetness. Alcohol begins to creep up towards the end of the glass.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a perfect carbonation. Mouthfeel is heavier. Alcohol makes little impression to the texture. Nevertheless this beer has a creamy feeling on the back of the tongue.

Overall Impression: As much as I don't want to say it, this is a pretty special ale (what am I saying, Of course I want to say that!).  Enjoy the combinations of spices that are hardly overwhelming to taste, but just enough to be palatable in between the normal wheat/pale malt and the citrus tastes of the hops. This is totally a beer to try -- just to try. It really epitomizes the experimentation with beer if people would just be more open minded to the vast potential of different flavors compatible with today's beer. I'm fascinated by this one. I would like to try those other two that were brewed at the other breweries to taste the flavors resulting from the difference in water and technique and how they differ.

Note: I found an interesting document online (http://www.stonebrew.com/news/100225pr/BUFF.pdf)

and I found the "Buff" part of Saison du Buff to mean Brewers United for the Freedom of Flavor (BUFF).

This beer was made three times, once at each brewery. I bought the one made at Dogfish Head's Brewery in Milton, Delaware.

Hop Devil Ale

Enjoyed last night before bed following a night  full of studying for my 8:30 a.m. Microbiology exam. Needed to relax before the 3 x exams (two of which I didn't get to looking at). Whew.

Appearance: Snifter. Thick pour with no head at all. A deep cloudy amber color that is the pinnacle of eye-to-taste flavor. Hardly any visible carbonation either. Perhaps a rubied hue.

Aroma: A bouquet of caramel and toasty notes with a floral undertone that speaks dark mahogany smoked fruit and biscuits. Very effervescent and sweet.

Taste: Sweet to the tongue, of all malts noted above, especially biscuit and caramel make themselves present throughout. Finishes dryer than most IPAs with a grassy touch with interspersed pine bitterness and a hot touch in the back of the throat. I think this one is similar to the Rogue YSB (from what I remember), with a sweeter toasted flavor to hold the backbone. Towards the end some chocolate and nutty flavors emerge to the foretaste. Subtle characteristics of a red ale within the hop flavors. Mm!

Mouthfeel: Thicker than usual. Carbonation is at a bare minimum, very fine and micro bubbled (I've experienced this once before but with a Flat six pack from Victory with their Hefeweisen). Nevertheless this perfectly complements a nice mellow flavor and texture. Robust body that is slightly cloying to the cheek.
Overall Impression: A spectacular ale. Well worth the $10 for it. The complexity and overall delectability of the biscuit/caramel sweetness finished off with a rich dosage of hops make for an extremely complex beer worth every drop. A grapefruit aftertaste to finish it off goes far if you like the sweet but dessert on the bitter. If you see it, buy it. You won't be discouraged!


95/100