Review: Finch's Fascist Pig Ale

Brewery:  Finch’s Beer Co.

Locale:  Chicago, IL              

Craft Circa:  2009

Style:  American Amber

ABV:  8%

IBU:  72 

Label:  Clever label, would expect some radical ideology of a brew.

Overall:   Trying to learn anything about a Finch’s brew, other than one of their standard year around brews is hard to do.  I like to rely on information straight from the source, but Finch’s does not make it that easy.  If anything, you would think they would want to advertise one of their artisan brews, detailing out what’s in it, thus intriguing us beer nerds, but what do I know?

The brew has plenty of caramel, strong malt presence and a bit of rye almost.  The brew pours awesome, smells awesome, and looks awesome. 

Unfortunately, something’s coming off too scorched for me.  It’s like a great wood fired pizza with a completely burnt bottom to it.  It comes out looking amazing, the smell is amazing, and then once you bite into it, it’s soured by the burnt bottom.  Bit of a letdown.  The initial sip was promising, but the burnt crust immediately follows and over powers the ale.  If the beer was bolder and smoother, it would be a quality beer no doubt.

One upside to the beer is that it’s surprisingly high in alcohol, and impressive for a standard Amber Ale.  I enjoyed this beer more so than other Finch’s, but that isn’t saying much.  Decent ROI.

Maybe the Fascist Pig is on the label because this would make a great basting mop sauce for pulled pork.  I could definitely see that for this brew.  That would be pretty good.   What a radical ideological idea.

  Fascist Pig - warning: adult language.

Acquisition:  22 oz. - $8

Windfall:  Speaking of pizza... ever looking for great NY Style pizza in Chicago – Jimmy’s Pizza Café.  Quite good.

~gY

Review: Finch's Cut Throat Pale Ale

Brewery:  Finch’s Beer Co.

Locale:  Chicago, IL 

Craft Circa:  2009

Style:  American Pale Ale

ABV:  5.6%

Label:  Like it.  Nice artwork and slogan: “Enjoy the Beer in Here”.

Overall:   It smells very pleasant, and provides a great deal of intrigue to dive in.  This Pale Ale is bold and bitter.  The hops hit you quite forwardly, but they are not overwhelming.  It’s indicated to have orange peels brewed within but I did not catch that.  I captured toasted or burnt nuts of some sort on the back end, and it stuck around a little while.  This brew is much darker for a pale ale.  It comes off as almost a harvest or amber ale of sorts.  Overall it’s middling.  For the price, it’s fairly good. 

Now typically Finch’s are served out of cans or on tap around the region, but this was sampled and consumed in a 22 oz bottle. I am typically not a fan of any beer particularly in a can, but that’s just my taste.  Canned beer has come a long way.  Technology has improved in regards to the elimination of the aluminum flavors.  We read a recent study a while back that had consumers take a blind taste test between bottles and cans.  3 out of 4 tasters actually preferred it in the can, and 54% of consumers were able to indicate which brews were canned beers.  Canned beers are designed to prevent light pollution and cut down on skunked beers.  With all that said…  I still prefer the bottle.  It’s probably psychological, but who cares, it’s all about preference.  It’s your liver right?  It may as well have favorable taste even if it is mind over matter, in the process.  The poll associated with the first link indicates that I’m not alone on this preference either.

I would rate this merely the middle of the road, but I would consider giving it another shot if I come across it on tap.  I would probably pass trying it in the can down the road, unless it was January 24^th, then I would consider another try.

Acquisition:  22 oz. - $4

~gY

UPDATE 7.13.12:  Consumed Cut Throat Ale on tap and noticed an improvement over the bottle.  The lingering effect of the burnt nuts does not last quite as long making it smoother.