One of them was Dark Gourd by Short Fuse Brewing Company in
Schiller Park, a near northwest suburb. Since The Beer Temple Insiders
Roundtable has gone off the air, I sadly no longer hear about Chicago area
breweries that don't make beers with "Deth" in their names. And so
Short Fuse was all-new to me. In my defense, even Josh Noel, who covers the Chicago
area beer beat more or less full-time, has admitted that even he cannot keep up
with the flood of breweries opening there. So how could I, a mere Cheesehead
with not a journalistic bone in his body be expected to know every brewery down
south?
The interwebs tell me that Short Fuse opened in 2017. Looking
at their tap list, I see a lot of fruited this, pastry that, and hazy whatchamacallits.
Had I known this, I probably would have gone with my first instinct and bought
some Polish piwo that I can’t get here in Madison. (I was in Jefferson Park,
after all.) Luckily for Short Fuse, however, I was blissfully ignorant of their
transgressions and bought some of what I presume is their fall seasonal. I can find neither
hide nor hair of Dark Gourd on their webpage so I cannot confirm this.
The can says that Dark Gourd was "Made to replicate the
flavors of a pumpkin spiced coffee." Again, had I read that at the liquor store
instead of in my kitchen, I would likely have ended up with some Polish porter. It reads
like they want to offer a simulacrum of a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte but in beer form. Not
exactly something to endear me to your brew. But the die had been cast.
As is my wont, I paid attention to the carbonation on my
first sip. Considering the soda pop-like head, I wasn’t surprised to find a nice,
firm fizziness. This was something of a relief because I was worried about it being
too sweet after catching that sugary scent. Underneath all of that effervescence
was a medium bodied beer with a fine smoothness to it. Caramel sweetness and
roasty coffee flavors were joined by a touch of cinnamon along with a tad of
that fine gourdy earthiness from pumpkin.
Mild herbal tasting hops and a modicum of dryness were revealed
on the finish as the malt and coffee flavors receded. This also allowed what I
think was a bit of ginger to peek through as well.
Despite all of this beer’s handicaps (i.e. – my biases), I
rather like it. If my notes are to be believed, it’s "really good". The various
spices were not overly prominent and neither was the sweetness. They and the
coffee flavors found a nice balance. Plus there was just enough pumpkin. The
beer didn’t taste squashy but there was enough pumpkin to perfectly accent the
other flavors. "Balance" is the watchword here. No taste overwhelms the others
and they all found a way to live harmoniously on my tongue.
This was an unexpected yet very pleasant surprise for me and will buy it again if I happen to see it while I am in Chicagoland next autumn.
Junk food pairing: Dark Gourd will pair well with pizza-flavored
snacks and I recommend Snyder’s Brick Oven Style Pizza Flavored filled Pretzel
Sandwiches.
3 comments:
I am pleased you like the beer. Short Fuse Brwg. is one of the few suburban venues from where I can get back home from at 11:00pm. There are two Pace suburban routes which run north to the CTA Blue Line "L" Rosemont station that late in the evening.
The major hazard is having to cross River Rd. There is no traffic signal here. Motorists are unused to viewing pedestrians at any time of day here. Dark evenings might reduce further their awareness. Oh yeah, there is that state law about yielding to pedestrians at intersections. I somehow do not relish risking my life expecting an oncoming vehicle to halt. So crossing involves picking a certain spot in the traffic flow.
What do you like of theirs? Their website makes them out to be haze and fruited sour merchants, neither of which interest me all that much.
Stay safe out there!
I like malty beers. Generally, I go for their Chocolate Malt Stout (5½% ABV), and one of either German Chocolate Cake Stout (6½% ABV) {pastry}, Peanut Butter Cup Stout (6.8% ABV) {pastry}, or Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Stout (6.8% ABV) {pastry}.
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