Review: Half Acre Daisy Cutter

Brewery:  Half Acre Beer Company

Locale:  North Center, Chicago, IL

Craft Circa:  2006

Style:  Pale Ale

ABV:  5.2%

Notables:  Chicago Reader “Best Local Brew” 2012

  

Label:  Wonderful name and label.  With a name like Daisy Cutter, you expect some twisted variation that will prove to be a stable and memorable beer.

Overall:   The beer smells a tad ragged, and the taste disappoints even more.  It’s rare I struggle to finish a brew, but for some reason, this one gives me a challenge.  I’ve had this beer a few times under different circumstances.  I’ve consumed this ale in a can, had it on tap, tried it with a fresh palate, as well as after multiple beers…  I just cannot find an instance that this beer is any good.  It’s a shame and there are a few close pals that will disagree with me, and order it voluntarily while out, but I do not wish this beer to reserve shelf space in my fridge.  The “No Vacancy” sign goes up. 

The big surprise is the fact that it’s advertised as “pale ale”.  Pale ales should no way be as bitter, sour, and rough as this one.  Any pale ale that would enter the party with this type of pins and needles pour should back it up with flavor, which this fails to do as well.  Help me out Chicago… I just don’t get it.  This beer was rated best local brew among a lot of great beers here in Chicago?  Is it this disturbing hipster trend of canning beer a la “PBR”?  It’s just not good, no matter the medium of delivery. 

Honestly craft lovers…. Help a reviewer out.

B&B is mystified by the recognition Daisy Cutter receives.  Help us understand, supply comments below.  As far as we are concerned this ale deserves a big ‘ol “Mr. Yuk” sticker on the label.

Acquisition:  4-pack canned ~ $9

Windfall:  Mr. Yuk is a graphic image created by the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh conceived to help children learn to avoid ingesting harmful liquids.  The concept was for parents, guardians, and caregivers to place these stickers on household items to warn children of its danger.  The original design of Mr. Yuk entailed skull and crossbones but it was soon realized that the design was not terribly helpful.  This due to the fact that there was too much of a resemblance to the local baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and their Jolly Roger flag that was flown often to symbolize fan support.

~gY

There's a Revolution a Brewing Here in Chicago...

Brewery:  Revolution Brewing's Kedzie Brewery Taproom

Locale:  Avondale, IL (Chicago)

Craft Circa:  2012 (Expansion of Revolution Brewing's Brewpub founded 2010 in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago)

ABV:  All over the board

*** There’s a revolution a brewing here in Chicago.  These fists of fury are out to take down the common beer drinker.  It’s an insurrection of artisan beers out to overthrow macros and micros alike.  Revolution Brewery hit the scene in 2010 and was a bustling neighborhood brew pub gem that bloomed into a regional success, prompting an expansion of a brewery and taproom. 

The reason B&B found itself in the taproom on this particular day was that Rev Brew announced that a couple of their brews were being bottled and hitting the market for the first time ever this first week of August, and were available for purchase at the taproom a week prior.  These bottled brews included a seasonal specialty Coup d’Etat; as well as a World Beer Cup gold medalist winner Cross of Gold (Category 66).  Well discovering this I dropped my day job items, and headed on over.

As you walk in, sit yourself down within this Hop Mecca of Chicago, you realize this is a serious drinker’s watering hole.  A building constructed not only for the production of Rev Brew crops, but also for the hardcore happy hour enthusiasts.  Upon walking in the stage was set.  There was a huge chalkboard on the wall, great indicator of any place.  There were about 12 taps for your enjoyment, with anything from tart summer ales to bourbon barrel infused concoctions.  And The Last Waltz was sounding on the speakers… only the greatest rock and roll concert documentary ever made.  Life is grand.

As I’m enjoying my Double Fist DPA, a guy walks in with a Dampf Loc Bierwerker shirt on.  Impressive, it’s a diehard crowd indeed.  There’s no food served here, even though you are allowed to order in some grub, you still recognize that the patrons are here for the brews and brews alone.  Hardcore indeed.   It’s a great atmosphere, filled with people looking to test their palates with flavorful beers.  There were people who were there out of mere curiosity, running through flights of each beer on tap.  Then there’s me, coming to simply get my hands on a couple 22 ouncers because I was too impatient to wait the following week. 

What makes this place great, among the crowd, among the atmosphere, among the barrels and barrels of beer fermenting around you is quite humbly the quality of beer. That’s what makes it when it’s all said and done.  They are consistent in each batch I’ve tasted thus far, and I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg for what brews are on the horizon with Rev Brew. 

A Snifter of a Review:

1.   Double Fist DPA – smooth and probably in my top 5 doubles to mind.

2.   Faustenstein – This is aged for 36 weeks in Jack Daniels and Woodford Reserve barrels.  Phenominal beer.  Quite thick for a summer day, but so happy I tried it.  In addition, the wife and I love Woodford and it’s our favorite standard bourbon.  Always a plus.  We even had a portion of our wedding events at the Woodford Reserve Distillery.  Yah, it’s that good.

3.   Bottom Up Wit – Quite refreshing after the Faustenstein.  Solid Belgian-style wheat beer.

So venture out to this hub to experience what Revolution has to offer.  Round up a caravan if you have to… 

Items to note:  The Anti-Hero IPA, Eugene Porter, and the Bottom Up Wit (their canned selections) are expected to be out on the streets about 2 to 3 weeks.  The Double Fist Double Pale Ale is scheduled to be bottled in the next week or so.  The Oktoberfest is in the making, scheduled to be released this September along with their Oktoberfest bash scheduled this fall.  There’s definitely a revolution a brewing here in Chicago.

~gY

Review: Big Muddy Brewing Pale Ale

Brewery:  Big Muddy Brewing

Locale:  Murphysboro, IL

Craft Circa:  2009

Style:  American Pale Ale
ABV:  6%

IBUs:  38

 

Label:  Big fan, and appropriate.  The artwork looks as something you may find on the Mississippi Blues Trail.  Big Muddy makes you think of Muddy Waters as well, and wonder whether Muddy Waters passed through Murphysboro, IL en route to Chicago in the 40’s from Rolling Fork, Mississippi.  Good chance.   

Overall:  Well, it’s Pale Ale.  If you were wondering what a basic pale ale tastes like, this is it.  Or if you were to start home brewing, and wanted to make a batch of pale ale, this would be it.  With other Pale Ales, there are distinctions that set that pale ale a part, no matter how subtle that distinction may be.  This one is very basic, and not enough for me.  I prefer other Pale Ales over this one, but that’s my taste.  

Calling this brew very basic is not necessarily a bad thing.  Some may prefer that.   However, appreciating pale ales can be a journey in itself similar to the musical journey the blues trail presents.  Much like gaining an appreciation of the blues, you may enjoy Robert Johnson, The King of delta and folk blues.  Born in Hazlehurst, MS, his music is the foundation of Blues today.  Would you call it basic?  Very.  Is that a bad thing?  Absolutely not.  The appreciation that blues music has for his works today is unprecedented and would not be where it is today.  He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame merely on "Early Influence" stature alone in the very first induction ceremony in 1986.

So whether you are beginning your pale ale journey, or appreciate an example of a modest pale ale, grab yourself a bottle.  They sell at a great price, so get ‘em while they’re red hot…

Acquisition:  22 oz. - $5

~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.  

Review: Smuttynose Summer Weizen Ale

Brewery:  Smuttynose Brewing Co.

Locale:  Portsmouth, NH

Craft Circa:  1994

Style:  American Pale Wheat Ale

ABV:  5.46%

IBUs: 15

Label:  Nostalgic. 

Overall:   What an appropriate beer for today.  A string of hot and humid days here, and what better way to end this run of Gainesville (shout out to Gooner) Swamp like weather than to give this wheat ale a try.  The beer pours almost as hazy as today, a nice golden haze.  It is lightly hopped, and quite refreshing, but lacks tastiness.  Overall, it is an average beer.  For the style of beer, it’s above average.  For a Smuttynose brew, it’s below average.  Probably my least favorite Smuttynose I’ve consumed, and I’ve been impressed with a couple other Smutty’s that I’ve tried.  There are plenty of other summer seasonal beers that are worth acquiring, and with so many options, I feel this one does not stand out in a crowd of summer seasonals like a Seminole fan would at a Gator game (Gooner again).  There is just not enough to it. There are some hints of what you may expect in a beer referring to itself as a Summer Weizen, but that’s the point…  they are only hints.   

There’s one person in mind that may be able to save this beer, with enough hard work and enough prayer.  This Man. 

Acquisition:  6 pack  - $9

Tidbits:  Smuttynose is named after Smuttynose Island, the third largest of the nine islands that comprise the Isles of Shoals, a small, rocky archipelago that lies seven miles off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. The name appears on nautical charts going back as far as the seventeenth century, so its true origins are lost to time.  Prior to the arrival of Smuttynose Brewing, the island was best known for a brutal double axe murder that occurred there in 1873.  This is per Smuttynose website.

~gY