OFF COLOR BREWING/MOUSETRAP TAPROOM – CHICAGO

Hoppy’s next visit in Chicago was at Off Color Brewing/Mousetrap. They opened in 2013, and which of the following is a true statement regarding their beers: (a) They only brew lagers, (b) They specialize in IPAs, (c) They only brew according to the German beer purity law known as the Reinheitsgebot, or (d) They have never brewed an IPA?

The correct answer would be (d), They have never brewed an IPA!

Hoppy enjoyed tasting three of their beers and sipped an Imperial Stout. These were as follows:

Beer For Ball Games – This is a cream ale described as being designed to make America’s pastime proud using only American produced malt and corn with classical American hops (Cascade and Willamette). It is 4.2% ABV.

Beer For Golf – This style is a witbier that is Arnold Palmer inspired with lemon, black tea and coriander. 4.5% ABV.

Juicy Predator – A farmhouse ale described as more than just a beefed-up version of their Apex Predator (saison). They quadruple dry hop it with what they quantify as “way too much.” 6.5% ABV.

Dino S’mores – An imperial stout brewed with vanilla, chocolate, marshmallow and graham flour. 10.5% ABV.

Pictures of his visit follow:

REVOLUTION BREWING – CHICAGO

While attending his first game at Wrigley Field last week, Hoppy had the opportunity to visit a couple of Chicago breweries. The first of these was Revolution Brewing’s Brewpub and Kitchen in the Logan Square neighborhood, where their brewing began. They are now the largest independent craft brewery in Illinois.

While there, Hoppy enjoyed a meal with a flight of the following beers, descriptions provided by Revolution:

Spirit of Revolt – This has always been brewed by the women of Revolution Brewing to commemorate International Women’s Day. The recipe was reformulated this year (2023) to help freshen up the older profile of the beer. It’s lighter in both color and ABV, includes rye malt now, and it received a fun new dry hop bill including Simcoe, Nectaron, and Cryo Mosaic at around 3.5 lbs per BBL! The rye malt lends to a little additional mouthfeel which works well here because the beer finishes light, and may fool you once you see the ABV. And while it finishes fairly light and crisp, it starts with a bright tropical fruitiness, followed by a zippy, whole wheat sandwich bread flavor dipped in clementine pith. It is a Rye IPA with 6.66% ABV.

Infinity-Hero – The universe has long been at odds between Classic and Hazy IPAs. Infinity-Hero sets out to unite these dimensions by weaving the best of both worlds into an extremely drinkable, forward-looking IPA. A next-gen dry hop including Nectaron, Strata, HBC #586, and HBC #1019 provides a glimpse into the future of hop innovation with seemingly endless juicy, citrus character. This clocks in at 7% ABV.

Unsessionable – One of the biggest and baddest IPAs we’ve ever made. Six hop varieties including tons of Galaxy infuse this giant IPA with flavors and aromas of pine, passion fruit, and citrus rind. Drink it fresh. 10% ABV.

Deth’s Tar (2018) – Witness the firepower of this fully operational Barrel-Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout. Brewed with English specialty malts and the addition of flaked and malted oats to create a rich, chocolaty profile and silky mouthfeel that cloaks its considerable strength. The American oak barrels continue to build layers of complexity, reminiscent of vanilla, toasted coconut and caramel candy after aging this dark menace a full 12 months. 14.8% ABV.

Pictures from the visit are below.

BIG LUG CANTEEN – INDIANAPOLIS

Hoppy visited the Big Lug Canteen, home of the Big Lug Brewery, yesterday afternoon. The brewery was opened in the fall of 2015 by restauranteur Ed Sahm and his son, Eddie. Their desire was to provide dining with the craftmanship of freshly made beer, in one location.

While there, Hoppy had the pleasure of imbibing a Trickledown IPA, described as a West Coast IPA with a citrus-pine-hoppy goodness with a smooth finish and a boozy kick. It is brewed with Cascade, Amarillo and Simcoe hops. It clocks in at 7.8% ABV; 90 IBU.

Images from the visit follow: