Latest Reviews

Double Dry Hopped pseudoSue
Toppling Goliath
Modus Vivendi
Wild Beer Co.
Spaceman
Brewfist

Recent Articles

Shameless
Craft brewer sellouts become as tone-deaf and underhanded as their new overlords. Great Taste Eve
Check out the burgeoning Madison beer scene the night before the best fest in country. Good Beer Makes Good Conversation
The effects of drinking beer worth talking about. The Beers of Walmart
The largest retailer in the world now has its own line of beers. Our Take on the Lagunitas-Heineken Deal
Fuck Lagunitas. archives »

Beer Reviews

La Femme Amére

Tyranena Brewing Company
Lake Mills, WI
USA
http://www.tyranena.com/

Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)

Eddie’s Rating:
   (Recommended)


Comments:
Yet another Belgian-IPA hybrid, this one from Lake Mills, Wisconsin’s Tyranena, La Femme Amére (the bitter woman for those of you non-frog speaking folks out there) named so because this is a “Wisconsin Belgique-style India pale ale” based on Tyranena’s “original” IPA, Bitter Woman.

(Frankly, I think using the French translation of the beer name was a bit of a cop-out, since it would’ve been cooler to use the Flemish term for “bitter woman.” Then again, there aren’t any free Flemish-to-English translation sites out there on the interwebs.)

A short, fizzy head disappears within a few seconds on top of a crystal clear, yellowish red pour. Two big aromas twist out of my trusty Tripel Karmeliet tulip glass, dueling back and forth: spicy Belgian yeast phenols and citrusy American hops. Weird, it seems I can only pick one of them out at a time, without any melding of the two going on.

The sip starts with a surprisingly heavy body alongside a shot of bitterness. Sugar-tinged spiciness cuts some of the harshness out of that bitterness, paving the way for a medium-length, flowery finish.

Although La Femme Amére is certainly tasty, the Bitter Woman bitterness and Belgian yeast character don’t play all that well together, as it seemed each flavor was trying to win over the tastebuds instead of working together to create a new taste altogether. Definitely worth a try to see if it’s more up your alley, and even though I plan on grabbing another couple four packs for the fridge, there are (admittedly only a handful) more interesting Belgian IPA brews out there.

Reviewed by Eddie Glick on June 30, 2010.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

Want to know how healthy the craft beer industry is? As always, look to Portland. Craft pioneer Bridgeport announces sudden closure, adding to a growing list of PDX casualties. Did Anheuser-Busch Chicago offer their shit beer to Cody Parkey before his missed field goal? Because that may explain why he "accidentally" biffed it. Chicago now has the most breweries of any city in the country. Other things Chicago has the most of: murders, mobsters, and Ditkas. Trying to spin it positive, BA releases end of year graphic. Only 5% growth in the craft sector when nearly 1000 new breweries opened? That's a collapse waiting to happen. R.I.P. Tallgrass... another casualty as the regional/national craft beer market continues to get squeezed. Wait... Constellation Brands cut all of the Ballast Point and Funky Buddha sales staff? They merged it with their Corona/Modelo staff?? We're SHOCKED!!! Pizza Beer founder crying about failure of company, blames everyone else. Reminder, the beer tasted like vomit. Try having better ideas or making better products so you're not a failure. It's Bud Light so doesn't really matter, but we expect this beer to be sitting around for awhile. Indiana brewery to open with controversial beer names to "get the conversation going". Translation: taking advantage of serious issues for free publicity. Hundreds of amazing beers in Wisconsin and the Cubs took back the one everyone drinks just because it exists and people have heard of it. How fitting...