Pipeworks Citra Ninja This represents another installment of the Ninja series of IPAs from Pipeworks, this one with an obvious focus on the Citra hop, a favorite of mine. The beer pours a nice medium amber color, hues of copper and orange with a nice solid finger of slightly off white head, very soapy with a little frothiness that leaves behind good lacing and has nice retention. The aroma is potently hoppy, resinous pine, bright citrus with a really nice amount tropical fruit before some caramel malt and alcohol come out, very inviting. The flavors are nice, lots of tropical fruit straight away, sweet malt, sticky pine are right behind it, a bit of astringent alcohol comes out at the end with a little bit of citrus. This beer is pretty straight forward with the hop profile, strong fruit, mild pine and bits of bright citrus, the balance is a bit lacking and the elements aren’t always complimentary, they sometimes seem to be fighting for attention, the maltiness is appropriate but I am a little put off by how boozy this IPA is. The body is nice and smooth, a bit creamy, coats the mouth well but does have some harshness from the alcohol. Verdict: A pretty good Imperial IPA from Pipeworks and probably the best hoppy beer I’ve tried from them to date. The fruit notes are really pleasant and the bitterness is spot on but the booziness and lack of cohesion is the difference between this being a good beer and a great beer.  (4.08/5)

Portsmouth Bluebeery Ale Thanks to my friend Chris from New Hampshire for tossing this beer in as an extra in a recent trade! I’m a big fan of blueberries yet I’ve only been impressed by a handful of blueberry beers so I go into this with tempered optimism. The beer pours a nice dark burgundy color, hints of ruby with touches of amber when held to the light, looks like blueberry juice for sure, a light slightly off white head rises to the top of the glass, almost a finger high but recedes almost immediately leaving a touch of lace behind. The aroma is of light tart blueberry but overwhelming rich grainy malt character with a touch of sweetness behind it. It’s quite one dimensional, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing when the focus is showcasing blueberry, but the fruit character is quite weak in reality and showcases more malt than I’d like, not the most inviting of beers on the nose. The flavor is a bit better, tart juicy blueberry greets the tongue nicely and lingers somewhat well, again caramel malt sneaks out and really dominates until the finish which has some nice blueberry skin flavors as it goes down. The body is very crisp and lively, a bit too carbonated for me, overly prickly in the mouth and a bit rough as it goes down. Verdict: Not a bad fruit beer but disappointing given my love of blueberries. The fruit never really shines here as the richer malts take control but all in all it was a pleasant beer to sip on. (3.58/5)

21st Amendment Hop Crisis Hop Crisis, part of the Insurrection Series, is described to be an Imperial IPA aged on oak spirals so I go into this expecting something a bit sweeter and maltier than many other DIPAs coming from California. The beer pours a light copper color, very golden with hues of peach, orange and light amber, very hazy with a few bubbles rising to the top. A nice frothy white head, almost two fingers high rises out of the glass and has great retention and leaves behind a great amount of webbed lacing. The aroma is of sweet oak, piney bitter hops with mild citrus with a lot of soft cereal grains at the finish, definitely malt forward as expected. The flavor is nice, chewy oak, very sweet with a touch of clementine and blood orange, strong cereal malt with some bristly pine on the tongue, it’s somewhat simple and not very exciting, the bitterness is surprisingly tame for 94 IBUs but there is a pretty heavy dose of alcohol as it goes down. The body is good, big and almost creamy, very smooth with a bitter alcohol laden finish.  Verdict: It’s a decent offering from 21st Amendment but I’ve only encountered a few oak aged IPAs that have really held their ground with the more hop forward fresh IPAs coming out around the country and this is certainly not one of them. (3.60/5)

Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ 2012 marks the return of Lagunitas Brown Shugga’ as this beer was shelved in 2011 due to high costs and was replaced with the aptly named Lagunitas Sucks, which was a fantastic beer in it’s own right, but now the popular winter release is back and in my glass!  The beer pours a really wonderful copper color, hues of amber, burgundy and orange when struck by the light and atop rests a really nice bone colored head, just under two fingers high that has great retention, a nice layer of froth always hangs around with a great web of lacing left behind. The aroma is nice, lots of rich caramel malt, sweet brown sugar, sticky piney hops with some nice juicy tropical fruit, potent alcohol and sweet maple syrup. The balance of hops to malts is really nice, but the strong alcohol presence is a bit disappointing. The hops really jump out on the tongue with a really nice bite of pine and earthy bark flavors but the beer really brightens up with nice citrus and tropical mango and pineapple like flavors that in a weird way blend well with the sweet rich flavors that the malts bring out. Caramel, toffee, brown sugar and sweet alcohol with a touch of maple are all detectable and well integrated. The body is nicely carbonated has a nice feel in the mouth, a bit lighter than I would’ve expected but it coats the mouth well without being cloying and has a nice crisp finish. Verdict: A well done beer, I am surprised how well the hoppy elements melded with the malty and sweeter aspects which was really pleasant. This can definitely satisfy on a cold day while not being a rich, overly malty seasonal beer. That being said, I am more excited about the return of Lagunitas Sucks. (3.93/5)

Pipeworks Pastrami on Rye Really excited to be able to do reviews of Pipeworks’ beers as they are still new to the beer scene here in Chicago, but are producing some really special stuff. This particular beer is an ode to the famous Pastrami on Rye sandwich found at many deli’s across the country, which is a personal favorite of mine, so suffice it to say I was very excited to try this, but still somewhat skeptical of what the final result may end up being. The beer pours a deep burgundy color, hues of bright garnet and ruby red when struck by the light, quite opaque but a bit of light does pierce through. A tan colored head rises atop the beer, about a finger high, recedes quickly leaving behind a touch of film atop the glass and no lacing. The aroma is very spice laden as to be expected, the mustard seed and peppercorn really shine here with a touch of carraway and rich smoked malt but unfortunately there is a dominant alcohol presence that detracts a bit from the experience. The flavors are a bit more complex and intriguing, lots of mustard seed and peppercorn up front, rich smokey malt, almost like a porter, faint carraway with just enough smooth sweeter dark grain flavors to counter the zestier and spice heavy flavors, really does a great job of keeping them in check. Alcohol is faintly present, but not nearly as potent as in the nose. The body is good, carbonation is on the lower end of the medium spectrum and has a nice smoothness to it on the tongue, however, the finish is a bit weak and thin.  Verdict: Certainly a bizarre concept and an intriguing final product but one that is well executed. The flavors are really well balanced and the spices are kept in check by a nice smokiness and sweet grain profile. While certainly not your every day beer, this was a fun one to try. (3.90/5)

The Bruery Sans Pagaie Finally back in business with better photos! This was a beer that I have had a few times since it’s release, but was never really impressed by. Having heard some really positive things about how this was aging, I decided to give it a go and see if time has done this beer some favors. The beer pours a light pinkish red color, very clear with a few bubbles rising to the top. A very lively off white head appears momentarily, lots of large loosely packed bubbles, much like a soda, but is gone almost instantly leaving behind no trace of film or lacing. The aroma is pretty nice, heavy on the cherry, mild funk, a good amount of pie spicing and sweetness. It’s simple, but to be expected of a Kriek style ale, the Cherry is a bit lighter than I was hoping for, a bit more reminiscent of sweeter canned preserved cherries rather than fresh tart whole cherries. The flavors are almost identical, more cherry than the nose and thankfully it’s more tart than sweet. Additionally, there is a decent amount of pie spicing, light vinegar, and a bit of sweet biscuit malt at the finish. The body is nice and light, carbonation is a bit lower than I would have expected giving this a bit of a syrupy feeling. Verdict: A decent Kriek style Ale, but I’m still not sold on this one. The flavors are almost there, but still come off too artificial and sweet and the syrupy body wasn’t doing it for me. I applaud the effort and definitely enjoyed this beer, but it’s by no means one of the better sour offerings from The Bruery. (3.88/5)

Short’s Brewing Peaches & Cream The beer pours a great golden color, reminiscent of a dark peach, copper tones, with orange hues, a thin white soapy head appears at first but vanishes almost immediately, spotted lacing is apparent. The aroma is of mild hay, sweet cream, tart yet sweet peach fuzz and astringent alcohol. It’s exactly what one would expect, fairly well integrated, but it lacks a bit of oomph, it’s very soft and can lack some impression. The flavors are right as the nose would suggest, the milk sugar really brings out the creaminess which is very dominant on the tongue, soft peach skin, a bit of hay and bitter peach pit comes out as well, prickly alcohol at the finish. Again, tastes as advertised, much more expressive than the nose, good integration, I wish it had a better showing of peach as the cream tends to dominate, but it’s still very well crafted. The body is great, smooth, rich, almost creamy but has a nice level of lively carbonation to prop up the flavors.Verdict: Very unique beer from Short’s, which isn’t to be unexpected, well executed and crafted, I really enjoyed this as a desert beer. I think the higher gravity detracts a bit from the beer, but all in all, really fun to try. (3.90/5)

Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break The beer pours a insanely deep jet black color, it’s like staring into the abyss. There is a tiny mocha head, tightly packed bubbles, but it recedes quickly leaving behind a modest layer of film and only the most minimal of lacing. The aroma is superb, vanilla, chocolate, roasted coffee, dark pitted fruit and a really interesting nuttiness, almost like a sweeter almond or hazelnut. The flavors are right on queue with the nose, big chocolate profile, almonds, hazelnuts, borderline nutella flavor, great pitted fruit with sweet vanilla and a great backing of roasted coffee and dark malts. They are so perfectly balanced, artfully integrated and executed, each flavor has a chance to shine but also enhances the other aspects. The body is so silky and smooth, rich and creamy that is perfectly drinkable and really helps intensify the rich flavors. Verdict: Fantastic stout from Evil Twin and by far the best beer I’ve had from him to date. The flavors are wonderfully balanced and massive enjoyable and the body takes this beer to a new level. The perfect desert beer. (4.53/5)

Hill Farmstead Abner Let me preface this review with an apology for the lack of posts lately, I’ve just moved back to my hometown of Chicago and have just started to settle in, high quality photos should return within a week or so. Onto the beer! Abner pours a really hazy copper color, hints of orange and amber, almost like an orange rind when looking at it. Cloudy texture, bits of sediment floating in there with a nice thick white head rests on top of the glass, great retention, lovely thick layer of film appears when the head recedes, fantastic lacing and the head is easily resummoned with a quick flick of the glass. The aroma is incredible, huge citrus notes, orange rind, grapefruit with a touch of lemon zest. There is a great floral aspect, like sticking your nose into a lovely meadow of wildflowers and great pine elements than plays into some earthier undertones, but the vibrant bright citrus really takes this beer to a new level. Light malt presence, some sweetness from the caramel malt, a hint of biscuit from the pale malt as well, but this is a celebration of hops. The flavors are wonderful, tons of citrus right away, grapefruit, light orange zest, lemongrass, floral flavors come out really well behind the lemongrass and highlight the citrus element so well. The earthiness is not far behind and is a great counterbalance to the bright citrus and floral notes, nice piney hops, earthier malt leads to a touch of alcohol at the finish, but this is easily one of the most balanced and perfectly balanced IPAs I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. The body is perfection as well, smooth, dry, dank, bitter, coats the mouth well, goes down so easily and really amplifies all the great qualities of this beer.Verdict: Sensational, another absolute knockout from Hill Farmstead. This is refined, balanced, artfully crafted and absurdly enjoyable, it’s what every IPA should strive to be. (4.65/5)

Arcadia Ales Barrel Aged Shipwreck Porter (2011) The beer pours a nice deep brown color, borderline black, very opaque. Hues of burgundy and tan when struck by the light, atop the beer rests about a quarter finger of foamy tan head, very tightly packed bubbles that vanishes almost immediately. A thin ring of foam remains at the rim of the glass with a very fine layer of film at the surface of the beer. The aroma is nice, hints of chocolate, oak, mild vanilla but unfortunately, astringent alcohol takes over the aroma and mutes it a lot more than I’d like. The flavors are much more prominent, great chocolate cake flavors, toffee, caramel, bourbon, oak, vanilla, so perfectly balanced, lingering alcohol pops out at the finish and does stick on the tongue, but isn’t cloying. A mild amount of coffee roast comes through that pairs well with the malt and chocolate flavors, but doesn’t overpower at all, subtly integrated and very enjoyable. The body is good, a bit thinner than I’d hope for a beer at 12%, it’s almost milky, but not quite full enough, nice smooth body, carbonation is great, just enough warming as it goes down however, there is a bit of a drier finish than I anticipated, but not off-putting.Verdict: Delicious porter, great barrel characteristics and nice complexity on the tongue, not overly boozy for 12%, but certainly a big warm beer. Arcadia certainly hit the mark with this one, a must try for anyone who loves a porter or barrel aged beer. (4.23/5)

Stone Double Bastard (2011) Double Bastard pours a lovely burgundy color, hints of ruby red and garnet when held to the light. Fairly clear, but a bit muddled, the deepness of the amber color helps this expression. A lovely finger of tight bone colored head sits atop the beer, survives for about a minute or so before receding into a soapy layer of film and leaves behind a great webbed network of lace. The aroma starts with some nice rich malty sweetness, caramel, nougat, soft brown bread, brown sugar with some faint alcohol sweetness. A nice amount of citrusy and piney hops spring forward as well, wonderful complexity. The flavors are right in line with the nose, rich caramel sweetness, brown sugar, dark fruits that pair well with bitter piney hops, hints of citrus, perhaps orange peel. The beer is certainly hot, alcohol is very present in the flavors, much more so than the aromas led on. The body is spot on, big, full, syrupy, yet carbonated to perfection that lets this beer be sipped or quaffed. Verdict: One of the gold standard strong ales. Great blend of rich and bready malts, pungent piney hops with just enough citrus to keep things interesting. This is aging spectacularly well, I’d love to try this after a full year or even 18 months to see if the alcohol will mellow on the tongue. (4.28/5)

Central Waters Brewer’s Reserve Bourbon Cherry Stout (2012) The beer pours a cola brown color, close to black, but still definitely brown, especially when held to the light. Lots of tiny bubbles race around the glass, a thin fizzy caramel head makes a brief appearance, but recedes quickly. There is no lacing to speak of, poor head retention, and just looking at the glass, I can tell there is going to be a lot of carbonation. My first real thought was that I had just opened a can of cola. The aroma is relatively off putting, tart artificial cherry aromas, almost like a maraschino cherry, unfortunate as the bottle claims to use real cherries in the barrel. Some chocolate comes out, richness from the barrel, lacking in oak, char, roast and really anything complex or interesting, overly sweet and artificial. The flavors are poor to say the best, strong, almost overbearing artificial cherry, tootsie-roll like chocolate sweetness, again, more sugary than anything. Some bourbon does come through with some caramel, but again, it plays up the sweetness. There is no real complexity, lacking barrel character, however, the alcohol, despite the overwhelming sweetness of the beer, never really makes an appearance, for which I am grateful. The body is way too carbonated for a beer this sweet and rich, really adds no redeeming qualities to the beer. However, it does coat the mouth well, and adds a nice subtle warming as it goes down.Verdict: This beer is a mess, artificial sweetness, overly carbonated, zero interesting barrel characteristics, really just a total fail. I had high hopes for this after sampling Peruvian Morning and a few other barrel treated beers, but this one is definitely one to avoid. (2.38/5)

Cantillon Iris (2012) Pours a great honey amber color, very cloudy, hues of copper and orange rind. A slightly off white head rises quickly, but recedes into nothing, barely a hint of film with no lacing to speak of. The aroma is very nice, a bit soft, but start with great fruit character, tart apple, citrus and white grapes. Lemongrass bridges the barnyard funk, hay and a bit of vinegar that come out so nicely behind the fruit, fantastic balance and integration, I just wish it was a bit more pungent. The flavors are wonderful, the fruit character really pops. The addition of the fresh hops really gives this beer something unique and special, great earthiness and grassiness plays with the tart fruits, lemons, apples, sweet oak acts as the bridge here and leads so well to the mild funk, straw, and yeast. Great body, nice and lively, but not overly carbonated, great drinkability that finishes smoothly, yet very dry.Verdict: Absolutely wonderful lambic from Cantillon and I feel like a broken record saying that. The hops really make this a unique treat, it adds a great fruit component that goes so well with the milder funk character. (4.38/5)

Cantillon Blåbær Lambik (2011) Wow. First off, just want to throw out a huge thanks to my friend Chris for bringing this over to my place for a tasting this past weekend, such a treat to have. For those that don’t know, this beer is only released once a year in Copenhagen and is made with Danish blueberries provided by Jeppe, the owner of Olbuttikken, and it is only sold at his bar in Copenhagen. On to the beer! Pours a fantastic reddish purple color, hints of pink and burgundy with a nice fizzy pinkish white head that is very lively but recedes quickly, no lacing or head retention to speak of. The color though is gorgeous. The aroma is amazing, huge blueberry notes leap out of the glass, nice amount of yeast and funk, but nothing too cheesy or vinegary either, perfectly balanced. Mild amounts of wood find its way out as well. The flavors are just about perfect, lots of fresh blueberries, acetic acid, oak and funk. The balance is perfect, such a jammy, yet juicy flavor, this could be a pie filling or muffin filling. The body is perfect, while it has the acidity of most lambics and sours, this one is so soft and smooth on the tongue.  Verdict: This is fantastic and warrants the hype. This is definitely a celebration of fresh and natural blueberry. (4.85/5)

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout (2011) I apologize for the Instagram photo, but as I share and drink more and more fun and exciting beers at tastings or on the fly, I’ll likely be using these photos as opposed to my traditional scheme to be able to post more frequently and with a wider variety of beer. You can also follow me and all the fun beer I drink on Instagram, my handle is @thelowtide. This beer pours a fantastic jet black color, as opaque as can be, no hints of brown when held to the light, just a deep dark abyss. A thin tan head emerges from the beer, but disappears promptly leaving behind no real trace of its existence and no lacing. The aromas are great, huge notes of burnt coffee, roasted malt, sticky bourbon, chocolate, cane sugar, graham cracker, pitted fruit and even perhaps some toasted marshmallow. Aside from Rare, this definitely has my favorite nose from any of the BCBS variants. The flavors are incredibly complex, lots of coffee, bitter and roasted, char, chocolate and graham cracker leap out at first. The bourbon is much more subtle and layered than the other common variants, a bit of marshmallow comes out and closes with some acidity and fruit. I did a bit of reading on the beans that were used for this batch and they are Bolivian beans that are known to have some nice fruit esters and as this beer warms, you can really pick up on the those notes which really balances this beer out without going overboard into the fruit like Bramble does. The one short coming of this beer is the body. It’s a bit thinner and at times cola like than most stouts of this size and style, but it’s still nice and rich, smooth and relatively silky, just wish it had more bravado in the body.Verdict: This is a magnificent beer and definitely my favorite of the recurring variants. The coffee adds such a nice elements of roast and char to the beer so it doesn’t get overly rich and decadent, but has a nice bitterness to it. The alcohol is almost completely hidden at 14% which is almost unheard of. This beer definitely warrants its praises and is a must try for anyone who loves a good stout, bourbon or cup of espresso. (4.43/5)