Brought to you by:
BrewTools Homebrewing iPhone App

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

Black IPA

Hideout Brewing Company
Grand Rapids, MI
USA
http://hideoutbrewing.com/

Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
ABV: 6.8%

Rings’s Rating:
   (Outstanding within its style.)


Comments:
I covered a bit of the background for Grand Rapids “secret” beer Hideout in my review of their Weizen.

The brewpub is a friendly little place, built within the confines of a stone block building that is vacant save the brewery. The former pool area outside has been filled and converted to an amiable beer garden. The clientele is regular and passionate with an active member’s mug club and plenty of banter around the dozen or so seats at a custom concrete bar.

A homebrewer’s delight, this is really an overgrown hobby brewery. Everything is truly done by hand. The day I happened to be there, a regular was willing to carry a pallet of brewers’ grains one-by-one through the bar and up the stairs to the front corner of the overhanging loft in exchange for a club membership and a few beers.

From the loft, grains are milled down to a homemade five barrel infusion brewhouse. The custom fermenters stretch out the back of the brewery and into the garden area, sheltered by additional coolers. The owners wander around regularly, chatting with friends and guests as they cater to the brewhouse, pour a beer, or work on one project or another.

On this session, I started with their Black IPA, a full, chunky dark seasonal brown ale reminiscent of a very good, bitter porter. It opened with a full, chocolate nose, big frontal flavor and a long, rolling hoppy bite before finishing with a dry bitterness. There’s plenty of legs and a full, rich blend of cinnamon, nuts, coffee, and chocolate before the herbal assault.

While it opens up as it warms, it probably will fit the weather better this fall or winter. That said, my pint went down just fine on a 85° day, thank you, and reminded me of many early brewpub efforts ten, fifteen years ago … and that’s a good thing.

Reviewed by Rings on September 23, 2010.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

BA creates label to distinguish true, independent craft beer from faux, corporate-owned "craft" beer. Cheers to that! The aptly named Tenacity Brewing seeks to emerge from the disaster that was the water crisis in Flint, MI. Chicagoans hopeful a recent announcement from Three Floyds will bring a much-desired brewpub to the city. Sam Calagione's brilliant response to the news that an AB/InBev subsidiary is now a part-owner of RateBeer. Wisconsin's Gestapo, the Tavern League, looks to tighten rules that will hurt small brewers. One of the original craft beer stalwarts of the Upper Midwest, Summit, ceases distribution in 6 more states, leaving only 5 from their peak of 17. How much does psychology play into perceptions of craft beer? An incredibly interesting case study by this Estonian brewery indicates it's a major factor. AB-InBev controls South African hop market, not allowing craft brewers access. Sounds like the actions of a company that "advocates for craft brewers". Dirty fucking liars. Denmark brewer creates "Pisner", brewed with human urine. As opposed to Bud/Miller/Coors, which is just straight up urine, human or otherwise. On the heels of the Wicked Weed sellout, Lagunitas announces it's sold the remaining 50% to Heineken. We've said it before... this is not going to end well.