515. Two Brothers Pillar of Salt White Rye Ale

It’s been a while since we’ve sampled the wares of Two Brothers. Which, I will note, is a tragedy—it’s been far too long since we had a good glass of lakewater. However, it appears that it is time to start paying attention, at least in the short run, as the label describes Pillar of Salt as “Retro Release 4 of 15,” and that Two Brothers is “Celebrating 15 years with 15 beers.” And if all those retro releases have names even close to being as solid as this one, you can count us in for the remaining eleven. We’ll add this to the previous list that includes Atom Smasher, Hop Juice, Long Haul Session Ale, Resistance IPA, Domaine DuPage, Bitter End, Heavier-Handed, Moaten, and Cane & Ebel.

Pillar of Salt pours a clear straw with an abundant and persistent white head that laces the glass profusely. The nose is spicy citrus—spicy from the rye and citrus from the hops—that is delicate, perfume-y, and slightly grainy, while flavors open with a touch of caramel and spiciness before heading into citrus and bitterness in the middle. The spiciness picks back up in the final third, and there is a fair amount of bitterness in the finish that lingers on the palate. I also detect a touch of herbal hop flavor to complement the spice, bitter, and resin flavors that round the beer at the end. The carbonation is bright and lightly spritzy; it matches well with the beer, even though the description of flavors may not seem to back thus up. The medium mouthfeel is slightly creamy with a slight tackiness on the tongue. The lighter malt bill does allow the rye flavors to overwhelm the beer a bit too much—it is not as clean and crisp as we might like it to be; even with the brighter carbonation and hop bitterness in the finish, it is a bit muddy across the profile. Nonetheless, Pillar of Salt is an interesting beer, and certainly a different take on traditional rye beers. Congratulations, Two Brothers, on the 15 year anniversary, and here’s to many, many more.

From the bottle: “This one off beer was produced in 2007 as the antithesis of Cane & Ebel. We produced an Imperial Cane & Ebel batch a couple of months earlier and thought we should finish the trifecta with a light colored version. Pillar of Salt is a White version of our Red Rye ale that uses no coloring malts and different hops. The resulting beer is still boldly hoppy, but with a strong citrusy dry hop.”

ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 68

P.S. When I first saw the name of this beer, I thought “Hot damn! Two Brothers brewed a gose!” But then I got closer and read the fine print on the label, and was disappointed. Maybe some day. And if you need a diagram to get the joke, you can go talk to this guy.

(5/30/2012)

487. Goose Island Fleur 2010 & 2011

Somewhere along the way, we pulled out bottles of Goose Island’s Fleur from 2010 and 2011 and drank and compared them. I’m not sure exactly when, but I have discovered both the notes and photographic evidence to prove it—how’s that for your classic forensic evidence? I even think we invited Jeff and Jeffrey over to enjoy the fun, but at this point, who knows? Either or you two care to validate my spotty and shoddy memory? We’ll just call this our beer for “today,” and move on—after all, if you can’t learn to roll with it, you’re gonna have a painful, shitty life. Take that, Albert Camus—you can suck my existential dread. Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write. Anyway, this is our fourth beer from Goose Island. Previous ventures include Bourbon County Stout 2009, Summertime, and Honker's Ale. And in a shocking new development, future ventures will include Sophie and maybe even Matilda. That’s right—I can predict the future when we’ve got bottles awaiting us in the fridge. Does that make me a beer tease?

Fleur 2010: Fleur 2010 pours a clear tan with a thin white head; the nose is sweet candy mixed with floral and hibiscus. Flavors start dry, tart, and floral before moving into gentle sweetness and floral hibiscus in the middle. The finish is clean and even; there is a tart tang than increases as the beer warms. While the mouthfeel is gentle and delicate, the carbonation is sharper; yet both balance well in playing across the palate. My rudimentary descriptions aside, I can safely assert that the last year has been very, very good to this beer—it kicks the crap out of 2011.

Fleur 2011: Surprisingly, this beer is more carbonated than the 2010, with a darker red and pink coloring to the beer. The nose mixes caramel and candy; flavors start with floral and candy components, giving way to caramel in the middle with a muted candy sweetness, and a non-descript finish. This beer is not nearly as clean or as dry as the 2010. There is more body in the mouthfeel; however, while creating a more rounded feel on the palate, this same effect paradoxically limits the most subtle and enjoyable characteristics of the 2010. My advice: wait. This beer is an easy lesson in cellaring—it’s cheap, and you can buy another bottle next year to host your own comparisons. Just don’t misplace the notes...

From the Goose island website: “A Belgian style pale ale blended with hibiscus and kombucha tea, Fleur is a beautiful, rose-colored ale with an aroma of strawberries and hibiscus flowers. Her flavor balance starts with a hint of sweet, ripe berry and finishes tart.”

ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 32
Hops: Super Styrian, Styrian Golding, Saaz
Malt: 2-row, Caramel, Sugar

Does anyone besides me find the use of the pronoun “her” to describe a beer slightly creepy?

(10/17/2011)

414. Two Brothers Atom Smasher

Our first Oktoberfest-esque beer of the new year, this one from Two Brothers. The long litany of beers from Two Brothers includes Hop Juice, Long Haul Session Ale, Resistance IPA, Domaine DuPage, Bitter End, Heavier-Handed, Moaten, and Cane & Ebel. This makes nine, unless our math has gone horribly, horribly astray somewhere. Which is possible.

Atom Smasher pours a hazy copper caramel color with a thin white head and a fruity, oaky nose—it is more subtle and gentle than American oak, although we’re not sure where the fruitiness is coming from. There is a bit of sweet maltiness to the nose as well, but it is secondary to the fruit and oak aromas. The body starts with a slightly sweet malt character that is both restrained and soft on the palate; in the middle, more of the fruit and oak combination detected in the nose emerges, along with a slight hop spiciness. There is a slight juiciness to the finish that seems in contrast to usual parameters of the style, with a drying oak bite that cleans up the palate but does leave a bit of lingering spiciness and fruitiness on the tongue and the back of the throat. Atom Smasher has a medium body that has a slight cloying sticky sweetness to the mouthfeel (although the oakiness helps mitigate and minimize the cloying part) and a medium to low carbonation that gives a slight zesty touch in the final third while still feeling somewhat under-carbonated. We tend to like Two Brothers, but this beer did not really interest either of us—I guess we can see what they’re doing, but we’re not really sure it worked out the way it should. Overall, slightly disappointing for a Two Brothers beer.

From the bottle: “With a little tip of the hat to our scientific, pioneering neighbors we created the innovative Atom Smasher limited run artisan beer. A hefty, full bodied lager reminiscent of Marzen beers from days gone by. However, this beer is aged in our oak foudres to add a complexity unmatched by the imported versions of Oktoberfest beers today. Just add Lederhosen! ”

ABV: 7.7%
IBU: 22.6

Everyone loves a Lederhosen reference!

(9/27/2010)

369. Two Brothers Hop Juice DIPA

“We squeeze to please.”
Calm down, you perverted Mr. Whipple...

Happy Birthday, America, you beautiful contentious bastard.

Our eighth beer from Two Brothers. The list includes Long Haul Session Ale, Resistance IPA, Domaine DuPage, Bitter End, Heavier-Handed, Moaten, and Cane & Ebel. And of course, we can now add Hop Juice to that list. And, as normal, Two Brothers delivers, although this beer might not quite be the “hop blast” the label declares. Oh well. Still delicious and excellent. Get down with your bad self, Two Brothers.

Hop Juice pours bright and fizzy with a refreshing hop nose emerging as soon as we cracked the bottle. With an orangish copper color and an ivory tan head, Hop Juice starts out strong in our book, and the nose keeps it going: bright hop aroma with a sticky resin and pine dominating, and a biscuit and caramel malt backbone that has a touch of creaminess to round things out. Our mouths like it too; beginning with a sweet but subdued caramel and a bit of spiciness, Hop Juice moves into a bitter middle that maintains some of the drier malt flavors while also showcasing some of the resin and pine hop flavors found in the nose, along with a good dose of hop spiciness that spikes right with the bite of the carbonation. The finish is rather clean for the size of the beer—the bitterness from the middle carries through to the end, and some of it does linger (rather softly and pleasantly, might we add), but a return of some of the biscuit and caramel rounds the finish a bit. Hop Juice has a medium body with a creamy, light, but also chewy mouthfeel—the chewiness is lighter, though—think lighter scone, not hearty sourdough. The carbonation is medium with some bite, and some drying that is mirrored (well, and overcome, most likely) by the hops. There is a good hop tang and bite on the tongue, and a limited amount of grassiness, which is nice. As it warms, we do detect a touch of alcohol bite and flavor at the end, but the hop bitterness does cover it over quite well. Hop Juice is a delicious beer overall; there is enough malt to balance out the hops, but not enough to make it cloying or sticky on the palate, and a good range of flavors. Or, in other words, damn fine drinking.

From the bottle: “Hop Juice is one of a series of special limited-run beers in styles that are more extreme or unusual. This one is a real hop blast, dripping with the resiny soul of fresh Northwest hops. Don’t come crying to us if it’s too much for you; this one’s for hopheads only! And get it now, ’cause when it’s gone, it’s gone. Boo hoo.”

From the Two Brothers website: “Hop Juice is a powerful Imperial IPA. It is brewed to 9.9% ABV, 100.1 IBU's, and dry hopped with a pound of hops per barrel. Hop Juice has a very strong aroma of pine and citrus. This hefty beer is balanced at the start with some nice caramel and brown sugar notes. Then it has a massive hop flavor and bitterness with some complex fruity characters.”

From the website of a random dude I found: “Let me start by saying I really enjoyed this bottle of Hop Juice. I preface that way because I’m about to be somewhat unfair. If there’s a ‘hop blast’ with this beer, it lasts no longer than the first fleeting sip. It boasts a 100.1 IBU rating that seems more a product of theoretical math than actual analysis (when adding hops to beer, 2 + 2 can equal far less than 4). But even if we take that rating at face value, the sweet caramel malt is so strong that it effectively negates the strength or pervasiveness of hop flavor. ‘Hopheads only?’ Not at all — in fact, junior apprentice hop heads are strongly encouraged to apply! BUT THAT’S OKAY! This is a good beer! I really enjoy the flavor; in particular, I love the way its piney hops mingle with and lend a spicy accent to the sweet, vanilla malt. In fact, caramel malt is the real shining star here! I’ve experienced plenty of crystal/caramel malt during my one-a-day challenge, but none of those beers had a vanilla aroma or taste that entranced me quite like Hop Juice. Hop Juice filled the bulb of a tulip glass with a deep amber beer topped by a band of off-white, not-quite-tan foam. The sweet vanilla and brown sugar aroma that wafted from the glass was decadent and delicious — even my hop-hating wife agreed to its allure. I was quite surprised that the aroma contained only the slightest hint of spicy hops. (Now that I mention my wife, I realize why I may like this aroma so much: it reminds me of a scented moisturizer she used when we first began dating, called ‘Warm Vanilla Sugar.’) After such a sweet aroma, the hops do take you by suprise with the first sip. They are oily, piney, and cut through with citrus — but the sweet crystal malt subdues them quickly and dominates the remainder of the experience. The hops become a supporting player, adding depth and spice to the strong, dessert-like quality of the malt. Combined with the luscious and silky mouthfeel, Hop Juice’s spicy vanilla and brown sugar flavors create a thoroughly satisfying experience.”

I like that he connects Hop Juice to his wife’s scented moisturizer. Damn, that’s some dedication to beer.

ABV: 9.9%
IBU: 100.1 (we’re not sure what that extra 1/10 of one percent does, but we’re impressed)

(7/4/2010)

339. Two Brothers Long Haul Session Ale

More from Two Brothers, which is all good with us. This marks our seventh beer from Two Brothers—Resistance IPA, Domaine DuPage, Bitter End, Heavier-Handed, Moaten, and Cane & Ebel make up the list of beers we’ve sampled from Two Brothers. As well, Long Haul is the second in the J Series from Two Brothers.

Light and lightly nutty at the start, Long Haul pours a clear reddish-brown, or about the Crayola definition of burnt sienna. The head is white and clings to the edge of glass, leaving behind small amounts of lacing; there are low levels of biscuit malt aroma in the nose, which follow in the opening flavor of the beer, and it is also lightly oaky and tannic. Beginning with a combination of biscuit and nuttiness, Long Haul is smooth and oaky in the middle, along with a light brown malt flavor; the finish is bready with a slight rise in sweetness and a bit of sharpness that tastes tannic. The body is medium to light with a low to medium carbonation; the main bite in the body comes from the oak—the mouthfeel is clean with an almost sour-like quality that comes from the oak flavors present in the beer, ending smooth on the palate, but not as clean as it could. Pretty tasty, although Long Haul seems to be between styles—it’s not quite a red, it’s not quite a brown, although it does have some of the characteristics of each. We do appreciate the effort on Two Brothers’ part to make a smaller, session oriented beer, one that has complexity, nuance, and flavor. And for that, we are thankful.

From the bottle: “An incredibly drinkable ale, light in body but full of flavor. Oaky notes blend with the complex balance of malt and hops. This is a beer you can enjoy for the long haul.”

From the Two Brothers website: “Another offering from the J Series. Long Haul is ages a minimum of four weeks in our oak foudres. This incredibly drinkable ale is light in body but full of the complex balance of malt and hops. This is a beer you can enjoy for the long haul.”

Somewhere, far in the distance, I hear a rim shot sounding...

ABV: 4.2%
IBU: 27

(6/4/10)

329. Two Brothers Resistance IPA

Described on the bottle as an ale aged in French Oak Foudres, Resistance IPA is the first beer from Two Brothers’ new J Series: “What is the J Series? A fusion of updated styles and techniques with old brewing traditions. These are beers that age in our French oak foudres. The tanks impart a complex character to the beer. The depth of vanilla and the subtlety of oak cannot be achieved by using oak chips or even small oak casks. Our J Series beers spend at least 4 weeks in oak to develop these flavors. The beers we produce in these foudres are designed to be enhanced by these complexities as well as evolve the styles by adding our Two Brothers signature to them. Why the J Series? Two Brothers is a family owned and operated brewery. It just so happens that everyone in our family has a first name that starts with the letter J. So this is a simple nod to our family for having sacrificed for years so Jim and Jason could follow their dreams and bring these great beers to market.” This is our sixth beer from Two Brothers; we’ve had Domaine DuPage, Bitter End, Heavier-Handed, Moaten, and Cane & Ebel. We certainly haven’t resisted the subtle allure of Two Brothers.

Resistance IPA pours a hazy copper with a creamy white head; the nose has a sweet malt and lightly hoppy aroma with just a touch of oak in the background. Flavors begin with caramel and light sweetness—the bottle describes it as honey malt, but I’m not sure we could pick that out without having been told—before moving into a bitter middle with a small tannic bite and some pine and evergreen hop flavors; the finish is dry and oaky with lingering bitterness and more of the tannic oak bite. Resistance has a medium body and a medium to high carbonation—there is a decent bite at the end that combines with the tannic oak flavors to dry out the finish. As well, there is fair amount of puckering via the combination of hops and oak. Nonetheless, Resistance is a delicious and delightful beer; the oak and hops balance well in the beer, creating nuanced flavor while also contributing to the crisp, dry finish. This beer is just another reason why we love Two Brother Brewing.

From the bottle: “Complex aromas of oak, honeyed malt sweetness, and piney citrus hops, leads to a full hoppy middle and a finish that’s crisp, oaky, and pleasantly lingering. Why, oh why did we resist the subtle allure of IPA so long?”

ABV: 6.9%
IBU: 70

(5/25/2010)

301. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2009

Our third beer from Goose Island, although this one rates far far better than Summertime, which was featured as a part of our Summer Beer Leftover Trifecta. Well, at least according to me it does. The other Goose Island beer was the Honker’s Ale.

Bourbon County Stout pours an inky black that is thick and dark with a minimal light brown head. Add any other appropriate descriptors that you feel you need to convey the darkness of the beer—Greg Hall, Goose Island Brewmaster, chooses “black hole,” which is good. And since we can’t top that, we’ll stick with thick and dark. The nose is full of creamy oak and bourbon, with vanilla and caramel sweetness jockeying for position behind the first two. Bourbon County Stout starts thick and sweet; the dark caramel and roastiness build a solid front before giving way to vanilla and oaky bourbon flavors in the middle, and finishing with burnt sugar and charred wood flavors plus a decent amount of alcohol warmth that lingers on the mouth, throat, and chest. Bourbon County Stout has a thick, rich, and creamy mouthfeel. It’s also hella chewy. Elli says it is too sticky and cloying; I agree it is a bit much currently, but I like this beer a lot more than she does. There is also a good amount of alcohol heat and burn—the alcohol does taste a bit young, so we’re guessing that a bit more aging (“up to 5 years in the bottle” as indicated on the label) would certainly help lessen the young alcohol flavor. We’re also guessing that further aging might smooth out the body, both in terms of thickness and marrying of flavors. Nonetheless, a delicious and excellent beer. Elli is less forgiving, but I do like me some Bourbon County Stout. I do wish we could find it in bottles smaller than a 22 oz. size, as powering through that much 13% beer does take some doing. And as you can guess, Elli is not so interested in helping me out with this beer in the future.

From the bottle: “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, vanilla, caramel and smoke. One sip more flavor than your average case of beer. Cheers!” Greg Hall, Brewmaster

From the Goose Island website: “Brewed in honor of the 1000th batch at our original Clybourn brewpub. 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. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer. A great cigar beer.”

ABV: 13%
IBU: 60
Malts: 2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roast Barley, Debittered Black
Hops: Willamette
Bottled on 10/09/09

(4/27/2010)

297. Two Brothers Domaine DuPage

Our most recent sampling in a long line of delicious Two Brothers beers; we had this on tap at the Trolley Stop. Served to us in a pint glass, Domaine DuPage is a dark copper with a persistent but thin white head; the nose is a mixture of brown malt and caramel sweetness. Domaine DuPage starts sweet and bright on the palate; the carbonation foregrounds the sweetness of the front. The middle is dry & lightly sour but crisp, and it finishes a bit sticky on the palate, although still dry. Domaine DuPage has a medium to light body that carries a bit of creaminess, and the carbonation is sharp and bright—almost biting, in fact. French and Belgian characteristics are present in the beer—the drier and thinner body with slightly bigger carbonation. As Elli observes, it has something of that “juicy saison taste” that imparts a sweet and fruity element to a much drier beer. While we know Domaine DuPage is a good beer, this one, for whatever reasons, was not that stellar. So we’ll chalk this one up to experience and try it again later.

From the Two Brothers website: “Inspired by the Brothers time living in France, this food-friendly ale is deep amber in color, with a toasty and sweet caramel start. It finishes with just enough hops to clean off the palate. Bon appetit!”

ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 24

I also came across this story on “50 Beers to Try Before You Die.” I guess even CBS is ready to cash in on the craft beer industry, which pretty much makes it about as mainstream as you can get. The list is a bit tame, but then it is being aimed at the mass market, so you wouldn’t want to get too esoteric, especially if you are trying to expand the palate of middle America. So I’ll offer at least a small nod to CBS for making the gesture.

(4/23/2010)

256. The Summer Beer Leftover Trifecta

In one of our periodic cleaning-out-of-the-basement stints, we came across these beers tucked away in a box. Why did I stick them in the basement? Who the hell knows? All I know is that we've got three “seasonally challenged” beers. So what do you do when that happens? There’s really only one logical and correct answer: Summer Beer Leftover Trifecta.

Saranac Summer Brew:
Described on the label as a mix of lager and lemonade, Saranac Summer Brew has a grainy and lemony nose with a crystal clear straw color. Starting lemony sugar sweet, Summer Brew moves into a tart even middle and finishes grainy and slightly stale. Light-bodied and crisp; the carbonation is light but sharp and bright. Overall, a bit too sticky sweet for us—none of the tart bite of the lemonade has survived; it tastes too much like a cooler and not a beer, even taking into consideration the shandy background of this beer—we’ve had better shandies. This one’s so bad, we’re making it a Top 10 Worst contender.

From the Saranac website: “For nearly 100 years, Europeans have mixed lemonade and beer as a refreshing beverage during the summer months. We continue this tradition with Saranac Summer Brew – a refreshing blend of lemonade and lager. Kick back, relax, and enjoy!”

ABV: 3.5%

Goose Island Summertime:
Summertime has a malty, papery nose with a bit of residual sweetness, a clear gold color, and a thin white head. Beginning with a mix of malt sweetness and dryness combined with small amounts of grainy and paper flavors, Summertime’s middle mostly fades into the finish, which is dry and lightly tart—the refreshing Kölsch tang that marks the style—and generally clean with a low amount of bitterness rounding out the beer. Medium to light bodied with a soft profile and a crisp bite from the carbonation at the end. Clean, fresh, and enjoyable, and a pleasant surprise in our current line up.

From the Goose Island website: “The color of sunshine, with a light fruity aroma and a hint of fruity acidity, Goose Island Summertime is the perfect summer session ale. A Kölsch beer brewed in the traditional German fashion, you’ll find yourself enjoying and savoring each sip of summertime as much as you do those hot summer days and cool summer nights.”

ABV: 4.7%

IBU: 20

Malt: 2-row and Wheat

Hops: Mt. Hood and Saaz

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis:
Kellerweis has a banana clove nose with a decent amount of malt sweetness to back up the yeast ester and phenol aromas; pouring a hazy gold, it has a white head. Opening malty and citrusy with low level of spiciness—the banana and clove are a bit overpowering—Kellerweis hits more yeast ester flavors in the middle, rising into an estery sweet citrus finish that lingers with the bitterness at the end. Kellerweis is medium bodied with good carbonation and a rounded flavor that is dominated by the yeast ester and phenol characteristics, although it is a bit sticky in the mouthfeel. Good beer, but not working too well on a cold wet night—this one does seem to be better for summer drinking.

From the Sierra Nevada website: “Kellerweis is one of the only American Hefeweizens made using the traditional Bavarian style of open fermentation. This difficult and labor-intensive technique adds uncommon depth and flavor complexity. Our hazy-golden hefeweizen is deeply flavorful, refreshing and perfect for a sunny day. To serve, pour two-thirds into a glass, swirl and pour the rest.”

ABV: 4.8%

IBU: 15

OG: 12.3° P

FG: 3.5° P

Malt: 2-row, Wheat, and Munich

Hops: Perle or Sterling

Overall:
Gold Medal: Goose Island Summertime
Silver Medal: Sierra Nevada Kellerweis
Bronze Medal: Saranac Summer Brew

We both agree that we’d never drink Saranac Summer Brew ever again if we could help it; with the other two, we’d be willing to give them a second shot: we’d accept Sierra Nevada Kellerweis as a suitable free beer at a party, and we’d even go so far as to order Goose Island Summertime at a baseball game, or even possibly buy a 6-pack this coming summer to see how it stacks up on a hot summer afternoon.

Summer Beer Leftover Trifecta Suicide:
Since we had leftovers of all three, we decided to combine them and see what happened. Elli finds the combination “moderately O.K.” She might even prefer the mix to any one of the three beers—for her, it cuts down the sickly sweetness of Summer Brew and Kellerweis, and balances out the banana and clove of Kellerweis. While it is still “a bit too Sprite-like” in the finish, she still likes the net result of combining the three beers. I would agree for the most part—we’ve lost the sickly cooler flavor of Summer Brew, and the banana and clove has been brought into check, but the sugary-sweet ending limits the success of the combination—I’d still take Goose Island Summertime over the Summer Beer Leftover Trifecta Suicide combination.

(3/13/2010)

227. Goose Island Honker’s Ale

Our first beer from Goose Island in Chicago, IL. Honker’s Ale has a bready and lightly roasty nose; the color is a dull copper with a light white head that quickly reduces to a ring, but laces the glass quite nicely. Opening with a bready and slightly toasted malt profile, Honker’s Ale moves into a rounded malt middle with low levels of bitterness peeking through. The finish is soft and malty and is reached through a light carbonation bite in the second third of the beer, and there is a bit of lingering bitterness. The body is light to medium with a bit of dryness that strikes the palate as a bit flat. A well crafted beer, but not terribly exciting, although very drinkable.

From the bottle: “Inspired by visits to English country pubs, Honker’s is the perfect blend of hops and malt. A smooth, drinkable English-style Bitter for drinkers who want more from their beer.”

From the Goose Island website: “Inspired by visits to English country pubs, Honker’s Ale combines a fruity hop aroma with a rich malt middle to create a perfectly balanced beer. Immensely drinkable, Honker’s Ale is not only the beer you can trust but one you’ll look forward to time and again.”

ABV: 4.2%

IBU: 30

Malts: 2-row, Caramel, Wheat, & Roasted Barley

Hops: Styrian Golding

(2/12/2010)

214. Two Brothers Bitter End

This is our fourth beer from Two Brothers: we’ve enjoyed Heavier-Handed, Moaten (the collabo with Urthel) and Cane & Ebel. We had this on tap at the Trolley Stop, where we got to watch Skilless Villains do a cover of Miley Cyrus. Seriously. Totally awesome and hi-larious.

Damn good beer. Even better on tap. We didn’t take notes. Our bad, but you’ll live. The beer is awesome, however.

Bitter End is a bullseye! (How is that for cheesy?)

From the Two Brothers website: “The Bitter End is a classic American pale ale that has a subtle malt character and noticeable hop flavor and aroma. We use three American hop varieties to add a citrus and floral hop complexity making this an incredibly drinkable beer.”

Villains doing their thang (and yes, my cell phone camera blows)

(1/30/2010)

182. Half Acre Daisy Cutter Pale Ale

Our second beer from Half Acre Beer Company; our last one was Baumé, their hoppy rye stout. Daisy Cutter has a pleasant hop and malt nose; the hop aroma is floral and slightly spicy, and the malt is pretty straight forward malt—there is not any real bready or biscuit aromas, and no real fruit either. The beer pours a hazy copper, although it could potentially be much clearer—I didn’t realize this was bottle conditioned, so I just dumped it all in; the head is an off-white ivory with decent retention. Daisy Cutter starts with a soft sweet malt front, along with some light biscuit flavors. As Elli offers, “it’s not as good as I would have hoped; it’s like a biscuit with too much sugar on it.” The sweetness does dominate the front, but I am not so sure it is egregious as Elli implies. The middle is characterized by mild bitterness and some spicy hop flavor, and Daisy Cutter finishes dry and biscuity—there is more biscuit in the end than in the front—with some lingering spiciness. Medium bodied with medium carbonation; the carbonation bite merges nicely with the bitterness to create a delightful tang in the mouth. Solid and very drinkable across the board. Elli is more disgruntled than I am about this beer; she thinks it is a bit too mild all around, although most of her comments did center on “why this is not an IPA.” When I reminded her it wasn’t an IPA, she sneered and said that this confirmed that we should be drinking more IPAs. She did concede that she would be happy to have this served to her on tap. Me, I like this as it is—the hoppiness is pretty big, but not for an American Pale Ale, although it does taste more West Coast than Chicago. The front is a bit soft, and it could use a bit more complex malt flavor to build the body, but overall, it was very enjoyable, and the spiciness of the hops gave it a nice touch.

From the Half Acre website: “A West Coast Pale Ale chock-full of dank, aromatic hops. This one's a screamer, horde it.”

I guess I get bonus points for calling that one...

ABV: 5.2%

(12/29/2009)

161. Two Brothers Heavier-Handed Oak Foudre Aged IPA

We’re hitting up Two Brothers again with what should be just about the last of this year’s fresh hop beers; this is our third beer from Two Brothers—we’ve tried Moaten, the collaboration with Urthel, and Cane & Ebel.

Heavier-Handed pours a burnt sienna/orangish copper—as Elli put it, it is “definitely a Crayola color”—with a tan head that leaves behind some lacing. The nose is malty with resin and floral hop aromas. Opens with a caramel malt flavor to start, with some tannic bitterness and resin hop flavors in the middle before ending with some dryness but also more of the caramel sweetness, coupled with lingering bitterness; the finish is not the cleanest. We’re not sure if the tannic bitterness in the middle is hop or oak derived—we’re guessing a bit of each. Heavier-Handed has a medium body with some stickiness and creaminess; the carbonation is medium, and there is some light puckering on the back of the tongue at the end of the beer. Again, we’re not sure is this is from the oak or the hop bitterness. Heavier-Handed is a well rounded and well balanced beer; there is not as much oak flavor or aroma in the beer as we expected, especially for this being the first beer run through their new tank. While the foudre is French oak, and thus less intrusive, the only place we can potentially locate oakiness is in the middle of the flavor with the hop bitterness and the tang on the back of the tongue at the end. There might also be some oak in the creaminess of the mouthfeel, but then again, it is nothing definitive. As well, Heavier-Handed could use a bit more hop flavor—for a “heavier handed” fresh hop, the hop flavor is pretty minimal. Some of this may get lost because of it being a bigger beer (8.1% ABV), but the idea with a fresh hop beer is to foreground hop flavor and aroma, particularly the volatile aromatics and oils that are lost through boiling and fermentation and also though preserving hops for later use. Fresh hop beers should be designed to showcase these qualities, and while Heavier-Handed’s nose was good, the hop flavor was lost in the caramel and sweetness of the body. Nonetheless, we both thought Heavier-Handed was an enjoyable beer all around—while not a good as Port’s High Tide or Rogue’s First Growth, it is still a step above Deschutes’ Hop Trip (sorry Deschutes—you know it hurts me to say bad things about you!).

From the bottle: “Heavier-Handed is one of a series of special limited-run beers in styles that are more extreme or unusual. This artisan beer is in celebration of our new French oak tanks, called ‘Foudres.’ Tons of fresh, wet hops from Washington State power through this stepped up version of our seasonal IPA.”

ol’ crazy octopus head!

The Two Brother’s website is lacking any mention of Heavier-Handed. They do mention Heavy-Handed, the smaller version of their wet hop beer, but no Heavier-Handed. They’re obviously not brewing-challenged, but they could be technologically-challenged. And in this case, that’s a good thing.

ABV: 8.1%
IBU: 84.3
OG 19.2° P

(12/8/2009)

72. Two Brothers Cane & Ebel

Our second beer from Two Brothers Brewing Company, and this one actually has a write up on the brewery website! We had this on tap at the Trolley Stop—the open mike this evening was really rather annoying. Hello, you two chord clowns, it’s called variety—look into it. If I wanted bad acoustic covers, I’d go hang out in the college bars. As for the beer, we’ve had several different versions of Cane & Ebel. While I know that a craft brewery is not supposed to have “versions,” some of the kegs of this that have run through the area have been distinctively different—we’ve seen at least three different versions pass through our neck of the woods. The first one we dubbed “lake water”—it was brown, murky, and, while slightly spicy, was also somewhat non-descript. Since we’d already had it in the bottle, we knew this wasn’t what it was “technically” supposed to be, but, well, we kinda liked the lake water/dirty dish water version for what it offered. And that was before the most recent couple of versions—we still do, however, affectionately refer to Cane & Ebel as “Lake Water.”

This version of Cane & Ebel had a dry malt & hoppy nose with a dark ochre color and a creamy rich head that was full and thick. The soft creamy malt start built into a hoppy and spicy subtle middle with some crisp sharpness that also combined with some burnt yummy maltiness before closing with more bitterness and some slight chocolate notes across the palate. With a medium body, Cane & Ebel had a bitterness that lingered as the beer warmed, although it was a bit more brown-ale-like and less spicier than it was last time. This one tastes more like a hoppy, well-balanced brown ale and less spicier than it was last time (the version between “Lake Water” and this one)—it is not as clean or complex in body and has less of the spicier and nuanced pepper notes of the most recent version. And it is most certainly not the Lake Water of yesteryear. But across the board, Cane & Abel has been drinkable, interesting, and certainly worth the price of admission.

worst photo of the year...

From the Two Brothers website: “This unique red rye beer is full of hop flavor and aroma. We add 70 pounds of Thai palm sugar to each batch. The sugar does not add much sweetness to the beer, but rather a fruity and vanilla-like flavor. A new hop variety call Summit is really showcased here. This 18% alpha hop is also very aromatic which gives a pungent citrus aroma. Then we heavily dryhopped the beer with Simcoe. Original, yes and that is no sin.”

(9/10/2009)

65. Two Brothers/Urthel Brewery Moaten

“If this weren’t a fancy beer, it’d be a very good beer.”

Two Brothers Brewing Company is in Warrenville, IL, home of John Maynard Woodworth, the first Surgeon General of the United States (yes, he’s dead now). Urthel Brewery is actually “a brand, not a brewery; it is brewed and bottled at Koningshoeven in the Netherlands ‘under the authority of Hildegard Van Osteden.’” Well shut my mouth!

Moaten is an oak aged sour Flemish style red ale—as it says on the bottle, “Flanders meets Chicago.” The nose starts with light malt and small oak hints; there are also hints of plum and currant, and some slight vegetal notes. Moaten is a light walnut color with red highlights—dark in color, but very clear—and has a fine white head. Flavor starts softly, with rising malt sweetness and light candy flavor, and there is also some third flavor (maybe biscuit) that we can’t quite pin down. From there, Moaten moves into bready dark fruit flavors, although only lightly, and finishes by dropping almost completely off the palate, with only a slight tang left in the mouth. Seriously—like, where did it go? It has a smooth, clean mouthfeel, although it is also a bit rich and heavy. There is also some dryness and light tannic in the mouth from the oak. The sourness increases slightly with warmth, although it is still very light—kinda unsour for a sour beer, but still enjoyable. As well, there are none of the puckering sour notes in the nose, or the slight adhesive smell characteristic of Flemish sours. So while a bit lacking on some of the Flemish sour amenities, nonetheless a solid, interesting beer.

I’d tell you what it said about Moaten on the Two Brothers website (I'm going with unmarked November release), but I can’t find any information there. This means one of two things: either they are too busy doing more important things, like brewing all of us more yummy yummy beer, or their web designer is royally screwing them and they don’t know it. Actually, it could be a little from column A and a little from column B, to tell you the truth...

(9/3/2009)

43. Half Acre Baume Hopped Rye Stout

From the Half Acre Brewery in Chicago, IL comes Baume, a limited edition hopped rye stout brewed to commemorate their new brewery at 4257 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago. As the bottle informs us, it is a “handsomely hopped rye stout.”

Baume is an opaque mahogany—dark brown with hints of red—with the brown head normally indicative of stouts, and the nose is both burnt and roasty. Starting out with spicy rye flavors before moving into hop bitterness and roasted malt flavors, Baume ends with some lingering coffee and roasted malt flavors, as well as slight amounts of bitterness. While there is a full mouthfeel, the beer is only medium bodied—it tastes more like a dark lager or a black beer than it does a stout. As well, it is not as creamy or as heavy as one would expect from a stout. The rye spiciness is a nice touch, and the flavors are well-balanced and interesting, but it needs a bit more body and substance to make it a full-fledged stout. Nonetheless, an interesting and enjoyable beer.

From the Half Acre website: “Big, but not huge at 7%, this American Chocolate Rye Stout fires off a lot of coffee and chocolate notes. Balances well, but rides high on hop character at 60 IBU's while the Rye finishes it dry.”

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: 60

(8/12/2009)