Hop Slayer Double IPA

Tasted Friday evening in Glenview with a home delivered pizza from D'agastino's. Reviewed following a 10 miler with 3 x mile pick-ups. Thanks to John, the brewer at Wild Onion for giving me a couple cans to review while we were at the Great Taste of the Midwest.

Appearance: Copper colored with a bit of a rubied hue. There is an evenly distributed haze which means the beer was unfiltered, preserving much of the hop and organic flavors. Head nicely sustained  and is off white with somewhat of a speckled lacing. Still looking.

Aroma: Tangerine and tropical citrus! Fruity smelling with citrusy undertone and herbal scent. Oranges and mellowed coriander. Big time fruity presence.

Taste: Very balanced. Malt backbone maintains a biscuity sweetness with even a vanilla earthy character Caramel and a robust citrus punch right at the finish of the beer that is prominent throughout finishing with a rich orange flavor. Pine comes through to me as the beer warms, but only to make me realize that it was present throughout. Zesty!

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a bit of carbonation at the end, good for a DIPA. Finish is dry but not overly resinous. Palatably textured and smooth tasting.

Overall Impression: Tasty! I like the unfiltered organic taste that this beer preserves, especially with the pine citrus alpha acids that collectively balance the malt profile. Well crafted. I think a lot of breweries could achieve something similar to this if they didn't waste their time filtering. Oh well.

92/100

Paddy Pale Ale

Thanks again to John for giving me this beer at the Great Taste of the Midwest. Enjoyed following an evening run and some cucumber from the garden.

Appearance: Light sunny orange with a yellowed tint. Head is foamy and white, though not very dense. Dissipation is sufficient to demolish it into a film and a white ring. Lacing is styrofoamed and dry. Within the glass the beer looks very still with small bits of flocculents interspersed..perhaps hops.

Aroma: Huge orange zest aroma with a back-up coming from pine and other tropical citrus fruit. The scent is very fresh and outdoorsy. Nice floralness and tang.

Taste: Tart but zesty. There is a very mellow but apparent grapefruit complexity that can easily be confused for pine. Pine flavors are certainly present and the alpha acids do a phenomenal job pairing with a rather back burner base malt. Just as you'd assume the malt backbone is biscuit, the hops crash down and provide an alternative sweetness. The midtaste holds the most palatable flavor, while the finish leaves a bit of a grassy flavor on the back of the tongue. Afterburp is great and citrusy.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation foams the back of the tongue as you swallow. There isn't much of a bite, but still a singe to notice on the roof of the mouth. Body is medium and the end is very dry and resinous, yet a bit oily. Smooth but tangy.
Overall Impression: A great pale ale in a different direction. The tang from the hops....and well, that's all. A lot of hop complexity and minimal malt flavor. However the malt, I'd suspect encourages a blossoming multi-leveled complexity from the hops.


89/100

Pumpkin Ale

Big thanks to John, the Brewer at Wild Onion this past weekend at the Great Taste of the Midwest for giving me a couple cans that I had yet to review. I was especially stoked for this one, partially due to the rather appealing can, but also because I love pumpkin beers!

Appearance: Upon pour, the beer exhibited a strong bubbly off white head worth a whole inch. A nice coppered amber with a persistently rising carbonation. Somewhat hazy and I'd probably give an 8/10 on clarity.

Aroma: Sweet brown sugar and cinnamon hit the nostrils immediately. Pumpkin sweetness and boastful of the normative autumn spices

Taste: Well spiced. A basic caramel malt and brown sugared sweetness makes up the majority of the malt bill. The spices hit the roof of the mouth by the midtaste complete with a big cinnamon and notes of nutmeg embrace the palate. Bittersweetness and spiced. Even some notes of rye and fruit. Nicely constructed and simple tasting enough to draw out particular flavors.
Mouthfeel: Carbonation is nicely incorporated to complement a crisp finish to a rather refreshing pumpkin ale. Medium bodied with a drying clean texture left in the mouth
Overall Impression: The spices don't overwhelm like most beers, primarily because where the usual pumpkin beer has the spice as the finishing flavor, this one leaves a slightly sweetened taste at the end. Bigger cinnamon flavor, but nothing to the extreme. Something I'd seek out again


84/100

Jack Stout

Tasted during a Sunday night thunder storm following a day of moving and cleaning. Thanks to Jen for picking up a six pack of this. Still, it's something about canned stout that really captures my attention.
 

Appearance: Rusty black brown with a chalky texture. The head is frothy and tan in color worthy of a fingers worth, quite dense, but dissipates over only minutes. Black in the pint glass.
Aroma: Mild caramel malt with a rich chocolate aroma. Roastiness finishes the smell along with some licorice and molasses. Some smokiness rounds out the the beer. Expresso permeates the nostrils with a subtle roasted woodiness.
Taste: More of a dry stout, but enough balance in the malt to please the palate. Foretaste is sweet and roasty with some oxidation, but is hardly noticeable under the toasty chocolate malt sweetness. Coffee develops as the beer warms. Tannins and grain husk bitterness round out the flavor of the beer with a dash of alcohol. Hops are relatively negligible over the roasted flavor. A little grainy
Mouthfeel: The feel is a little watery. Carbonation is low and the body is somewhat light as well. Some tickles the front of the tongue, but the overall mouthfeel is unimpressive.
Overall Impression: The beer maintains a good flavor, but the texture is somewhat insufficient. I enjoy the balance of sweet malt and dry tannin, alcoholic bitterness and dryness. But as the beer warms, the dry tannic bitterness does become a little deterring.


77/100