2011 Day 56: Revolution Working Woman Brown Ale

Name: Working Woman Brown
From: Revolution Brewing, Illinois, USA
Type: American Brown Ale

I've been looking forward to trying Revolution Brewing's beers for some time now. Almost all of the feedback I've heard has been "Great beer, great food". Katie and I had dinner there last night, and I sort of have mixed feelings about my experience. I'd hold off on my thoughts on the other brews, in case I make it back there this year, but the Working Woman brown was interesting, to say the least. I got it on cask - and it had a surprisingly dense and fluffy head for a cask ale, but the temperature was perfect for cellared beer, which I appreciated. I was shocked at the amount of citrus hops in the aroma and taste of this one. It reminded me much less of a brown ale and much more of a brown ipa....sort of like DFH's India Brown Ale. The bitterness wasn't very well balanced - the citrus sort of sat on top of all the other flavors, and left a long, lingering hop bitterness behind on the finish. Katie was drinking their First Anniversary ale (an India Black / American Black Ale) and the flavor profiles were VERY similar. I'd go back, but I was hoping for a little more from these guys.

2011 Day 55: Lakefront Organic ESB

Name: Organic ESB From: Lakefront Brewing, Wisconsin, IL Type: Extra Special Bitter (ESB)

I wasn't feeling well Thursday (or Wednesday to be honest), but I also wasn't going to let a little sickness ruin my beer a day quest. Because my nose was pretty stuffed up, I thought I'd go with something "ordinary" like an ESB. I like this style, but they're usually pretty mild and muted, which was what I wanted. Organic ESB is pretty good, certainly my favorite out of the Lakefront Beers I've tried so far. Nice and balanced, with earthy hops and a nod to the English brewing traditions. I'll have to try this one again at 100%, but I liked it, even a little under the weather.

2011 Day 54: Half Acre Callow Knife

Name: Callow Knife
From: Half Acre Beer Company, Illinois, USA
Type: American Pale Ale

This is a fantastic beer. Sadly, it's limited edition and they're not even bottling it, but if you live in Chicago you should get your hands on it while it's available. Callow Knife has a ridiculously fabulous hop aroma (they used new Citra and Falconer varieties) and enough malt backbone (I was told these were Belgian malts) to balance out the taste. Hoppy, but not overwhelming, and low ABV (4.2 I think) so you can have a few of these full-flavored beers without feeling wrecked. I wish Half Acre would consider brewing this on a regular basis, it's like Daisy Cutter's sexy older cousin.

2011 Day 53: Lakefront Fuel Cafe

Name: Fuel Cafe
Type: American Stout
From: Lakefront Brewing, Wisconsin, USA

Once again I'm behind on my posting, but not on my drinking. The last beer I reviewed was my 3rd Biere De Garde. This is my third coffee stout. This beer wasn't terrible, but was pretty weak. The coffee was too faint, and the roasted grains were a bit too bitter, and it didn't interact well with the bitterness of the coffee. Tasted like a pretty decent base beer, but all and all I wasn't super thrilled with this one. Better options out there.

2011 Day 52: Lakefront True Evel

Name: True Evel
From: Lakefront Brewing Company, Wisconsin, USA
Type: Biere De Garde

Hmmm....Mid-February and this is already my third Biere De Garde, which I consider to be a pretty under-represented style. Interesting. We visited Lakefront Brewery, hoping to catch a tour, but they were sold out for the day. So instead we grabbed some to go, including a 22oz bomber of "True Evel", a tribute beer to Evel Knievel. Why they decided to go with a French-style farmhouse ale to show their love for an American badass, I don't know. The most exciting thing about this beer was that I only paid $3 for the bomber. What a deal! The beer itself was only okay...the grain bill tasted similar to those found in German lagers, but the yeast did give it a slightly bubble-gummy quality that interacted well. Not even remotely funky (boo), but crisp and easy to drink. I wouldn't mind having another bottle around, at least not for $3!

2011 Day 51: Victory Yakima Glory

Name: Yakima Glory
From: Victory Brewing, Pennsylvania, USA
Type: American Black Ale

This is a relatively new style of beer - which BeerAdvocate has apparently dubbed "American Black Ale". I've also seen them called Black IPAs and Cascadian Dark Ales. Whatever you call it, they're malty, highly hopped brews. They seem like something I'd be really into. I love porters and stouts, and I love American IPAs. But I've never found one of these that really gets me going. Something about the interplay between the bitterness of the charred/roasted malts and the bitterness of the hops makes it sort of trying. Don't get me wrong, this is a well-done brew. The hops are complex and really come through in both aroma and taste, and it's balanced in a pleasing way, but the sum of the parts just isn't quite there for me. Certainly worth trying though.

2011 Day 50: Pull Chain Pail Ale

Name: Pull Chain Pale Ale From: Milwaukee Brewing Company, Wisconsin, USA Type: American Pale Ale

Alright, Day 50! Only 315 to go. We were in Milwaukee this weekend to see a live performance by most of the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000. They go by Cinematic Titanic now, but it's the same concept. The show was great, and I really like Wisconsin. I took the opportunity to bring home some mixed cases of out-of-market beer, and also tried Pull Chain Pail Ale at a local brewpub. Terrible name aside, this is a pretty decent ale. Nice citrus hop notes and some caramel to balance it out. It had a tiny touch of the "homebrew taste" (i.e. off-flavors) but overall I came away happy.