Good afternoon brew crew! I bring you a quick bit of reviews I have been meaning to post. This was only possibly due to the wonderful and kind Caitlin Malone, so a big shout out to her on the help acquiring these.
First, a little back story on the brewery, because the brewers have a cool history to tell. As kids, they knew each other and played hockey together. As fate would have it, they would end up teaming up again when both were in situations they decided were not ideal, and the idea machine was roaring away. How about opening a bar? Well, in Chicago, there are plenty of those around, so that scrapped that plan. Eventually, microbrewery was tossed out and it was barely out there before they were off and running. Starting off as homebrewers, they have become the true definition of a small brewery, almost a nanobrewery. The thing I have to truly respect is that they get to do it all on their terms and have a blast the whole time. Also, from what I can tell, they appear to have no filter when it comes to interviews, which I can relate to at times.
Now, the beers I got from them are their GFY stout (it is up to you to figure this bit out, but I assure it is funny) and Burning Bridges brown ale. I'll do a separate review for each, so here we go!
GFY stout is a Russian Imperial Stout (RIS), which means most people already know where this is going. For those lacking the background, the style should have a ton of complexity in aroma and flavor, ranging from chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, and even some specialty items like vanilla or fruit. The body should be thick and viscious, with a oil-like color to match from deep brown to jet black. Lastly, this should be a bit of a bigger beer, from 8% on up.
Color: The color on this is on par with any others in the mix. A deep black with touches of brown when held up to a light. The head on this is a nice velvety brown color, which invites sipping.
Head: The beer surprised me to an extent with the amount of head on this draft, but it dissipated pretty quickly. Still, pretty good for a style that doesn't always have the best retention.
Aroma: Overwhelming notes of caramel interwoven with chocolate and coffee. Hints of sweetness and spice try to peak through, even if they are easily missed by anyone that rushes.
Taste: Coffee and roasted flavors are the dominate player here, but some sweetness does try to break through. I found the flavor just a bit of a let down considering the way the aroma made me keep rethinking, but still a very satisfying beer. The mouthfeel is what helped this out immensely, because this sticks to your mouth and keeps the velvety texture around for a while, allowing the bitterness of the hops to finally make an appearance as a bittering additive with the aftertaste to help cleanse the palate.
Overall: As far as RIS go, this is a very good example. The aroma is probably my favorite part, and it would be a total home run if the lingering features in the aroma could be more prominent in the taste. Still, I cannot deny a fantastic beer for what it is and ask simply to try oaking this bad boy and see what happens with some extended aging (salivating).
Score: 7.0/10
As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!
No comments:
Post a Comment