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: Ska Brewing Modus Hoperandi

Brewery:  Ska Brewing

Locale:  Durango, CO

Craft Circa:  1995

Style:  American IPA

ABV:  6.8%

IBUs:  65

Notables:  Website indicates this is also available in bottle, but I have only seen Ska in can form.

Label:  I love it.  Love the play on modus operandi, love Pinstripe the villain, and the story behind their Legion of Ska.   



Ska Brewing website.

Overall:   I thought I was pretty certain a while back that I had this brew at a bar, late in the evening, and wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, disregarding it quickly.  Now looking back after trying it with a clean palate, I am figuring I must have been hammered.  I was going into this with low expectations and this beer simply put me in my place. 

I really enjoyed the brew.  It has a unique trait compared to other IPAs in that it doesn’t kick you off your stool like some hopped up brews can do to you; but instead, it coats the palate, and wears on you slowly like an anaconda preparing dinner.  There is less carbonation than just about any other IPA I can recall, and maybe that is why it came off so poorly mixing it with other IPAs while out and about. 

Modus operandi per wiki is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as “method of operation”, detailing someone’s habits or method of working.  In essence, one’s M.O.   Appropriate given that IPA appears to be one of Ska’s M.O.  It’s a quality brew, and the more you savor it, the more you want to take down.  Quite smooth, some pine, nice dose of citrus, it’s a great rapport. 

Have to steal this from the Ska Brewing website, because I like the analogy:  “A mix of citrus and pine that will remind you of the time you went on a vision quest with Native American cousin and woke up in a pine-grove full of grapefruit trees.”  Throw in Jim Morrison and you got yourself one hell of a dream sequence.

Hard to imagine this quality brew came from a can, and even more impressive is that I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Cans are not my M.O. but glad to see Ska provided some hope for the IPAs behind aluminum walls out there. 

Acquisition:  6 pack canned - $9

~gY

Review: Firestone Walker Double Jack DIPA

Brewery:  Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Locale:  Paso Robles, CA

Craft Circa:  1996

Style:  American Imperial IPA / Double IPA

ABV:  9.5%

IBUs:  75

Notables: 

2012 - - World Beer Cup Champion Brewery and Brewmaster, Mid-size Brewing Company

2011 - - Silver Medal in the Great American Beer Festival; 1^st Place in the Double IPA Fest and the Denver International Beer Competition.

2010 - - World Beer Cup Champion Brewery and Brewmaster, Mid-size Brewing Company

Label:  Great looking label and bottle.  As you are opening this gem, it has the feel of something vintage, and quite special. 

Overall:   First off, happy IPA Day.  I like to usually crack open a bottle or 6 of something I haven’t necessarily tried before for B&B purposes. However, because it’s a holiday and an important one at that, I wanted to write a little piece on one of my favorites, if not my favorite brew out there, and that is Firestone’s Double Jack.  There is usually one or two in the fridge on a consistent basis.  What better way to celebrate IPA day, than to drink a double dose of it.   

Start to finish it is an exceptional brew.  Initially, the aroma is that of a pine tree forest and intrigues you to jump in.  The color of amber lures you in even further.  Once you do it’s like jumping into Scrooge McDuck’s pile of money it tastes that good.    It’s amazing how smooth the brew is for the hops and bite that comes with it.  Double Jack is full of flavor and full of enjoyment.  It’s an aggressive, supernatural beer, but in no way shape or form does it abuse its powers.  It’s out there for the common good, and you should be thankful this beer exists. 

It being an Imperial, or Double IPA, keep in mind these are superior, bolder, and if you are lucky higher in flavor from the traditional IPAs.  Firestone delivers on all accounts, and then some. It’s a great combination of bittering, kettle and dry hops, a melting pot of sweetness.   

For beers, this is the Breaking Bad of TV dramas, the Exile on Main Street of music albums, the Steel Curtain of NFL defenses.  Very few compete with this style of beer from Firestone Walker.  Imperial IPAs are a genre of beer I love to find good ones of let alone phenomenal ones of.   

So happy holidays, get yourself a bottle, celebrate and take another drink from your soon to be Loving Cup. 

Acquisition:  22 oz. - $8

A reminder from Firestone Walker:  Remember to watch for bottled on dates located on the necks or bottom left corner of the label for each of our beers.  Our beer is not pasteurized, so it is best when stored at 44F or below, out of light and within 120 days of the bottled on date...this ensures freshness and ultimately a great Firestone Walker beer!

~gY

Review: Lakefront Brewery Fixed Gear American Red Ale

Brewery:  Lakefront Brewery

Locale:  Milwaukee, WS

Craft Circa:  1987

Style:  American Red Ale

ABV:  6.5%

IBUs:  34

UPDATE:  2012 GAFB Silver medalist for American-Style Amber / Red Ale

Label:  A good or bad thing that the labels of Lakefront are inconsistent.  Hard to spot Lakefront brews in a crowd. 

Overall:   Where were you in 1987?  I was cheering on Barry Bonds as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates before his neck became the size of a mutant experiment gone wrong.  I believe my favorite song at the time was “The Gambler”.  And I believe I was taking my first sip of beer from my dad’s MGD.  Well Lakefront Brewery was brewing beers.  Now when the American Red Ale hit the market I haven’t a clue; but it’s a fair beer.  Where else you going to find ‘fair’ and ‘Barry Bonds’ in the same paragraph on the world wide web?

It’s slightly bold and smooth as it should be for a Red.  It came off initially a tad sour, but mellowed out as you progress.  The flavor comes and goes, and actually as I was typing up some notes a flavor or two popped up like an arcade gopher.  At one point I even got a hint of something that may have come from a whisky barrel.  I know that isn’t the case, but this is a learning process for pinpointing specifics, especially on American Red Ales.  Overall it was a worthwhile beer to explore if the hankering for a Red persists.

An American Red Ale, also called American Amber Ale, is a richly flavored, sweet, hoppy beer popular on the West Coast of the United States, and especially in the Pacific Northwest. It usually features a reddish or orange color and a sweet malt flavor from the use of caramel malts, and a strong hop character often including grassy notes from dry hopping.  This is taken from HomeBrewTalk.com; a wonderful site for the beer intrigued like us.

Quite honestly I did not mind the brew a bit.  I usually do not consume red ales, and I bought this through a 6-pack sampler, but it was everything an American Red should be with a little bit more attitude with the 6.5% ABV.  Smooth enough that you can take down these in the masses.  Just don’t be making out with any mannequins. 

  

… also from 1987.  It was the #1 song ending the week of April 4^th believe it or not. 

Acquisition:  6 pack - $9

  

~gY

Review: 3 Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf

Craft Circa:  1996

Style:  Imperial IPA

ABV:  9.5%

IBUs: 100

Notables:  Year round double IPA.

Label:  It’s not their best, but still pretty good.  Should we expect anything else from 3 Floyds?  It’s another flamboyant, effective label.  

Overall:   It has an initial bite similar to that of Jon Voight.  You think to yourself: OK, these 22 ounces are not going to be a relaxing stroll in the park.  It’s going to be more of a Space Mountain kind of ride, hitting you fast and often with unexpected turns and drops.  However, as you are bracing yourself for the next dip, the brew starts to smooth out, and become quite pleasant.  Not that I am any expert by any means, but this beer is one of the more complex ones I have come across.  The bottom line though is that it is a strong finisher, and the more you consume it, the more you want of it.  It’s a very solid beer.  Hops all over the place, full flavored, a malty backbone, and a voyage that will leave you wanting to get back in line for another spin. 

Imperial IPA, is basically a double IPA.  Breaking it down, Imperial is defined as an empire.  The Yankees of IPAs if you will, wanting more, taking more, buying more, incorporating more… you get the idea.  It’s basically more of everything…. and that explains the wild ride.  I’m just thankful I was tall enough TO ride and enjoy the trip.  

Imagine if they served this at the Epcot American Pavilion instead of Budweiser.  At 9.5%, we’d all be singing it’s a small word after all.

Acquisition:  22 oz. - $12

Windfall:  The "it's a small world" attraction was first designed for the 1964 New York World's Fair and later moved to the Disneyland Resort in California along with 3 other attractions, including Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln (which became part of the Hall of Presidents) and the Carousel of Progress. ~ Disney.com

~gY

Brewery:  3 Floyds Brewing LLC

Locale:  Munster, IN

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

Review: Victory Summer Love Ale

Brewery:  Victory Brewing Company

Locale:  Downington, PA

Craft Circa:  1996

Style:  American Blonde Ale

ABV:  5.2%

IBUs: 25

Notables:  Summer Season

Label:  Appropriate.   Although it feels at times the NFL offseason via transactions and hard knocks gossip have overthrown Baseball as the official ‘Summer Love’ representative.  If they can replace the baseball with a football, and the silhouette of the slugger with Drew Rosenhaus comforting T.O., that would suffice.

Overall:   Quite Good.  Not quite great.  It’s 100 degrees currently and yes this photo has not been altered. 

This is in fact Chicago, and what better circumstances than to give Summer Love, this lovely American Blonde, a whirl.  Being married to one, I must have something for blondes, although this one is natural.  She’s also a Polish beauty… not the beer, my wife.  In fact this ale is a moderately attractive German Blonde as there are some sneaky German Pilsner flavors that creep up into the mix. 

If it’s possible to create White Sangria in the form of suds and ale, this is it.  I get some pears, some apples, some peaches even?  There is almost too much to intake.  There’s no consistency, however it is rather refreshing.  The heat index may play a role in the refreshment aspect, but kudos for the brew… isn’t that the point of a flavor of the season?  Again, it’s quite good, not quite great.  I would like to reference some Magical Mystery Tour into the mix proclaiming “All You Need is Love”, but I feel that Mr. Heat Miser is doing the talking and skewing the refreshment assessment of this ale.

Whenever Heat Miser skulks up, this beer serves its purpose, and that is kicking Heat Miser in the fire crotch when his reign is felt on this ehhhhem…. 100 degree June day. 

Acquisition:  6 pack $10

~gY