Dan Carey's Imperial Period: Imperial Pilsner by New Glarus Brewing W/Dan Carey

Upon hearing that New Glarus was to release an imperial pilsner, my mind immediately said, "I've had one of those before!" and I recalled thinking that the ostensible pils was really just a helles bock given an "imperial" moniker for marketing cachet. Wasn't it from 3 Floyds? Then I recalled that Point had brewed one for their Whole Hog series but I never reviewed it. Going back through my blog, I realized it was, in fact, an imperial helles from Southern Tier that seemed to me better described as a helles bock.

I also discovered that Lakefront brewed an imperial pilsner as the 9th entry in their My Turn series, Pilo. Furthermore, Chicago's 5 Rabbit Cervecería brewed one as well called Super Pils. (R.I.P. 5 Rabbit.)

New Glarus' brewmaster, Dan Carey, discussed the beer on the latest episode of New Glarus Brewing Podcast W/Dan Carey which I listened to with great interest and, by the time it came for me to sample one, I had forgotten everything he said about it except that it wasn't a big version of their regular strength pilsner, Pilsner. The label doesn't say what variety pilsener this is an imperial take on, though. It does say, however, that there are German and Czech malts in the recipe along with a trio of German hops: Diamant, Hersbrucker, and Spalt.

While I still feel that imperial pilsners are just helles bocks trying to get above their raisin', I chose this brew over New Glarus' other new beer, Tailwagger, as it is spring, the season for pale bocks.

This has to be one of the few beers from New Glarus that has the A.B.V. on the label - 8.7%. Dan Carey is not a boastful man, from my experience, so maybe this was to alert consumers who might stumble across one of these thinking, "Oh look, a pilsner! Pilsners are light colored, easy going, highly quaffable beers with a reasonable amount of alcohol."

Imperial Pilsner is of a slightly darker yellow than your typical German pils yet not quite the golden color of a helles bock. There was a smattering of bubbles inside that floated up to the big head of pure white foam. The aroma was very pilsnery with cracker, bread, and hay/grass to be had.

My first sip had a medium dose of fizz to it and revealed a medium-heavy body, the first real sign of the imperial here. That variety of grains in the recipe yielded a rich bready flavor (after decoction) [Mmm...decoction...] along with some honeyed malt sweetness. My tongue was pleased to also taste a bit more than enough grassy-herbal hops to balance out the big malty taste. The bready sweetness lingered on the finish for a bit until the hops, having taken on a spicier flavor, really dried things out and gave a firm dose of bitterness.

My sampling began with Imperial Pilsner right out of the refrigerator. At the nice cold temperature, sweetness was moderated and this stuff went down easily, not unlike a regular pils. As the liquid warmed, the honeyed sweetness became stronger and the beer became more bock-like. I scrambled to down the stuff before it became cloying and soon enough I had an empty glass before me as my head buzzed. I also found that I was a bit peckish.

I suppose that it was the extra hops that gave this brew a pilsner quality to distinguish it from a run of the mill helles doppelbock and I really appreciated the extra bitterness they gave to the cause to counter all that malt and the very dry finish. And that bready malt flavor was simply savory and delicious.

Imperial Pilsner is a fine spring beer but go easy on it and/or share your can with a friend or loved one.

Junk food pairing: Pair your Imperial Pilsner with a bag of Herr's Carolina Reaper Cheese Curls. Actually, with this beer's potency, get multiple bags. They have a rich cheesy taste and the chili dust adds a firm, though not deadly, heat to complement the hearty hops.

By the Way, This One's Pink: Paletas Guayaba by 5 Rabbit Cervecería

I am going to continue the aestival brew theme and even stick around my hometown of Chicago for today's review. Yesterday I started things off with Goose Island's Calm Radler and am going to continue today with 5 Rabbit's Paletas Guayaba. "Paletas", the bottle helpfully informed me, are named after the Spanish word for "popsicle".

This is 5 Rabbit putting their characteristic Latin American spin on the radler/shandy epidemic and in this case we have a guava flavored brew. I was pleased to see that it comes in at 3.5%, a wonderfully summery sessionable strength.

Paletas Guayaba is a glorious shocking pastel pink color. It is a wheat cerveza and so I was not surprised that it was quite turbid. I did my level best to pour the Paletas so as to produce a nice head and I was generously rewarded for my effort with a glass adorned with 1"+ of pure cloud white foam. And it lasted as long as the Duracell bunny. The combination of the pink cerveza and white head makes it the Sonny Crockett of brews. (Jan Hammer music is optional.) The brew was so cloudy that I couldn't see inside it so it may have a modicum of effervescence or it might not have had much to speak of.

The aroma smelled of tropical fruit, quite unsurprisingly, but it was not very strong. There was also a really nice fruity tartness, which I appreciated as I had been hoping for something less sweet than Calm. Surprisingly, I caught a little sour funk. No, "brett" was not plastered across the label nor was the scent particularly potent. But it was pleasant and added another layer to the perfumatory profile.

I had to drink my way through the head to get to the cerveza and the foam turned out to be luscious and creamy. The cerveza itself was no slouch in the mouthfeel category either and was quite smooth with the silkiness cut a little bit by a fair touch of carbonic bite. Would you believe me if I told you that guava was the order of the day on the flavor? It was moderately sweet but there was also an equal dose of tartness too.

On the finish the guava sweetness faded to a lingering tartness which brought the proceedings to a fairly dry close. Lacing abounded with big streaks and patches lining my glass.

I am a big fan of 5 Rabbit Cervecería and their use of coffee, chilies, spices, and, yes, tropical fruits. And they deliver here. Paletas Guayaba is light-bodied making it perfect for the dog days of summer. It also has a great blend of sweet fruitiness and tangy tartness along with a heaping dash of carbonation to make it even lighter and fizzy to boot. A perfect summer refresher.

Junk food pairing: Paletas Guayaba goes very well with Kettle Chips Avocado Oil Lime Ranch potato chips. The lime adds a nice tang while the ranch flavoring and fat complement the cerveza's smooth body.

Taste the Depths of Winter: Yodo Con Leche by 5 Rabbit Cervecería

Ooh! Two brews from 5 Rabbit in a row. It's my lucky week.

5 Rabbit Cervecería co-founder Andrés Araya is originally from Costa Rica and he tells us gringos on the label of his Yodo Con Leche that "yodo" is Costa Rican slang for coffee and, more generally, means "something rich, dark and intense". This beer will be quite different from Huitzi, a Belgian pale ale infused with floral flavors and named after a hummingbird god who battles winter to allow the return of spring. No avian heroes flaunting their flora to be had here. This is an imperial porter (doesn't that make it a stout?) laced with Costa Rican coffee which means it's an Orphean descent into the Stygian gloom we denizens of boreal climes know all-too well.

In addition to the coffee, Yodo Con Leche is brewed with milk caramel. I will also admit to being quite pleased to read that amongst the grains used was chocolate rye. Being enamored of both dark malts and rye, I had very high hopes for this beer.

Yodo Con Leche looked as I expected – black. While it is really a very deep brown, in a glass it looks positively pitch. No hint that the rebirth of spring is anon to be had. I think that the beer was clear but it was basically opaque and so difficult to tell. My pour produced a moderate light brown head that was gone all-too quickly. The beer's opacity meant I could not tell if there were any bubbles inside.

The aroma smelled very boozy to me. This caught me by surprise as the beer is "merely" 8% A.B.V. and not barrel-aged. But it had an earthy, astringent kind of smell which was alluring. Coffee was also prominent and, being from Costa Rica, had a certain brightness to it, a certain sharpness that I generally don’t taste in African varieties. From the aroma alone I knew that, as the Dave Bowman simulacrum said in 2010, something wonderful was going to happen.

As befitting an imperial porter, Yodo Con Leche has a medium-heavy body. Not motor oil but definitely not a brew to be quaffed. I immediately tasted coffee on my first sip but not the coffee. The rich, roasted flavors of the dark malts hit my tongue first so that coffee flavor was joined by dark chocolate. The coffee coffee then made itself known. While not a big flavor, it gave a nice earthy bitterness underneath the malt. As the ebony elixir made its way to the back of my tongue the rich, creamy sweetness of the milk caramel appeared from out of the gloom. It added just enough toothsome caramel flavor to balance the earthy, roasted flavors of the malts and coffee.

While there was a little lingering sweetness on the finish, a modicum of bitterness from the dark malts joined with some grassy-tasting hops for a surprisingly dry ending. I think I caught just a hint of the spiciness of the rye here too. Sadly, there was no lacing to be had on my glass.

I believe that the 2015 batch of Yodo Con Leche was released in July. I bought my bottle here in Madison later in the summer or perhaps early in the autumn. The bottle sat in my cellar during the interval until last week. I am just not that keen on drinking imperial porters in the heat of summer. February proved to be the perfect time for this beer. Still, while not fresh, it was filled with wonderfully rich flavors. I was surprised that the dark malts contributed relatively little bitterness yet the roasted grain taste shone through. There was just enough coffee and milk caramel to get all of the flavors to harmonize into an exquisite gestalt.

Junk food pairing: Try Yodo Con Leche with some Reese's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. The dark chocolate will complement the roasted grains of the beer while the peanut butter's sweetness will do the same with the milk caramel. The overall effect is to amplify the already big and rich flavors of Yodo Con Leche and take them to a new level of goodness.

A Midwinter's Ale: Huitzi by 5 Rabbit Cervecería

Chicagoland's 5 Rabbit Cervecería really seems to be feeling its oats. They have a shiny new webpage and have revamped their marketing with new beer categories. And they have no shortage of new beers either. I have said it more than once but I will repeat it here that I am a big fan of 5 Rabbit. The cervecería penetrated the Cheddar Curtain and began distribution here in Wisconsin last year. Unfortunately they don't appear to be shipping their core annual – The Fives – here yet. That's too bad because I find 5 Lizard, a "Latin-style" witbier, and 5 Vulture, an "Oaxacan-style" dark ale, to both be outstanding beers.

Instead we are getting the more limited brews with bottles of their ChocoFrut beers, fruit-flavored stouts, gracing store shelves. Today, however, I am reviewing Huitzi ("wee-tsee"), a self-styled midwinter ale. It's a Belgian golden ale by style that was brewed with hibiscus, ginger, chamomile, and honey. The beer is no longer brewed and it seems that early batches omitted the chamomile. My bottle was purchased in the autumn of 2014 and has been sitting in the dark in my cellar ever since. It's 8.7% A.B.V. and I felt it a suitable candidate for a gentle aging regimen.

I promise that, once warmer weather returns, my photos will get better. Either that or I'll take some time to backlight my pictures. Until then you'll get a thousand words and I will start off by saying that Huitzi (short for Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war) pours a lovely dark gold with a pronounced reddish tint from the hibiscus. It was rather cloudy but this may be the result of aging as my last pour was rife with sediment. Huitzi was nicely effervescent. My pour produced about a ¼" of light tan head that hung around for a little while and there were lots of bubbles inside working their way up.

The aroma was intriguing with the hibiscus and honey standing out. But there were also those fruity Belgian yeast esters and a touch of malty sweetness. Huitzi had a medium body that was flush with the typical tasty Belgian ale fruity flavors from those esters/phenols along with the accompanying dryness. Atop this were the botanicals. The chamomile stood out here but the hibiscus wasn't too far behind and they gave a slight bitterness. Ginger was relegated to the background where it added a little bit of earthy flavor along with just a smidgeon of that malty sweetness that I caught in the aroma.

The finish had the floral tastes lingering and joined by some alcohol heat as well as a moderate amount of grassy hop bitterness. Sadly, my glass was left with no lacing.

Truth be told, I do not drink Belgian ales very often. And so Huitzi was something of a treat for me in that sense. I really enjoyed the herbal/floral taste here from the hibiscus and chamomile. They are nice flavors but here they tacked a course that complemented the fruity flavors as well as the dryness that the yeast provided while still standing on their own. The small alcohol burn in the finish certainly helps in midwinter and those hops offered more botanical tastiness. Huitzi is a fine way to chase away Jack Frost while also offering hope that spring is not that far off.

Junk food pairing: If you are lucky enough to still have a bottle of Huitzi around, be sure to have some Chicago mix popcorn with it when you pop it open. You'll get the saltiness and mellow cheese from the cheesy popcorn that will enhance the botanical in the beer while the caramel corn will add a little sweetness and body.

Cerveza for Gringos: Super Pils by 5 Rabbit Cervecería

5 Rabbit Cervecería opened in 2011 and has developed a reputation for creative Latin American-inspired cervezas as well as for telling Donald Trump to go f*ck himself. I jumped onto the 5 Rabbit bandwagon early with trips to Chicago being like Christmas no matter what time of year they were as long as I could bring home some of their beer. Christmas came early and unexpectedly this year when their cervecería began being distributed in Madison. From what I can tell not every one of their cervezas is available here yet. Indeed, my bottle of Super Pils was purchased on a recent venture to Chicagoland.

The beer is part of the cervecería's Gringolandia series. ("Gringolandia" is term of endearment used by some Latinos to refer to the United States.) These beers eschew the Latin American influences and instead are slightly more conventional "interpretations of some popular craft beer styles". In this case we have what is essentially an imperial pilsner although an English yeast was used as were some decidedly non-Noble hops.


Super Pils pours a lovely light gold/straw color. The beer was hazy but this is by design – it is unfiltered. And so it was unsurprising that I got a good, pillowy off-white head that was in no hurry to dissipate. There was a country ton of bubbles going up the glass. The aroma had a pronounced grain/breadiness to it which was wonderful. It also had some honey sweetness as well but this was rather mild. As for hops, there was a distinct peppery smell.

This beer is 7.2% A.B.V. so a lot of malt was used and it shows. That great bready bouquet came through in the flavor as well. The honey sweetness was there too but content in a supporting role. All those bubbles I saw added a nice sparkling dryness to counter the malt. The beer is brewed with a combination of Celeia and Saphir hops, the lupuline intricacies of which are unfamiliar to me but it seems that both of them contributed to the peppery/spicy hop flavor here. Oddly enough, I found the hops to be mild side.

A pils is best when fresh and my bottle wasn't fresh. But I don't have reason to believe it was particularly stale either. The beer did not taste oxidized. Perhaps it's just my expectations set by "imperial" and "drinks like an IPA". Probably a combination of things.

The finish saw some bready sweetness fade to a mild dryness undergirded by the carbonation and topped by peppery/herbal hop bitterness. Schaumhaftvermoegen was medium with a fair amount of webbing connecting patches littered around the glass.

While I have not had occasion to taste much of Celeia and Saphir hops, I really liked the peppery and herbal flavors they brought to the table. I suspect that a fresher bottle would have had brighter and bolder versions of these flavors but, as it is, I really enjoyed them here. Super Pils also had a strong malt flavor that was short on sweetness, which was great. With all the booze and all of the malt flavor, the beer surprised me with its medium-light body and a dangerously easy drinkability.

Junk food pairing: Pair your Super Pils with some lime-chili tortilla chips or, alternatively, some garlic plantain chips. All of these chips have flavors that can withstand the extra maltiness of the cerveza and complement the hops.

Drinkin' La Vida y Muerte: Vida y Muerte from 5 Rabbit Cerveceria

I've been a fan of Chicago's 5 Rabbit Cerveceria for a while now and have sought out their beers on visits to Chicago over the past 3+ years. Their beer is now being distributed in Wisconsin which means that I can drink their suds more frequently. The brewery is inspired by the founders' Latin American backgrounds: Andres Araya is Costa Rican while Isaac Showaki hails from Mexico. (Showaki left 5 Rabbit in 2013 and has since relocated to the only Waunakee in the world to found Octopi Brewing.)

Rather than simply fabricating a line of Latin American IPAs, 5 Rabbit are more interested in utilizing tropical fruits, Costa Rican coffee, chilies, et al in a variety of ways to pay tribute to Latin American culture and history. I have previously reviewed 5 Lizard, a "Latin-style witbier", and 5 Lizard, which is billed as an "Oaxacan-style dark ale". I highly recommend both but especially the latter as the weather is about to get chilly.

Some of 5 Rabbit's fall seasonal, Vida y Muerte ("Life and Death") made its way to Madison. The brewery refers to it as a "müerzen" as it "loosely based" the beer on the märzen.

I lucked out and got to drink a Vida y Muerte on a gorgeous fall evening and so my photograph is pretty fair. The beer was a lovely amber color and slightly turbid. My tulip glass was graced with a couple fingers of nice white head that hung around for a while. There were lots of bubbles in the glass going upwards. This is one effervescent brew.

While Vida y Muerte may be a distant cousin of the Oktoberfest, it also trades on the so-called pumpkin beer with the addition of Mexican cinnamon along with other unnamed spices. That cinnamon was readily apparent when I took a sniff as was nutmeg. There was a caramel sweetness here too but I'm unsure if it came from the malt or the dulce de leche or milk caramel. Perhaps both. I could also smell grass which I'll put down to the Glacial hops, a variety with which I was unfamiliar until now.

The taste is similar to the aroma with the spices being the first thing my tongue noticed. While the spices were front and center, they didn't overwhelm and allowed that caramel sweetness to come through. Milk sugar is added to the beer so there is a definite sweetness but this isn't a syrupy sweet mess. Vienna and Munich malts are used and while I didn't end up in melanoidin cielo, there was some tasty bread flavor. Although a kusine of the festbier, Vida y Muerte is an ale and I tasted some fruity flavors as well which were like cherry. Lastly, the carbonation added a little bit of bite.

At the finish the cinnamon and nutmeg ebbed away and were replaced with grassy and spicy hop bitterness which brought a moderate dryness to the close of the proceedings. My glass was left with some decent webs of lacing.

I was rather surprised at just how light-bodied Vida y Muerte is. With its beautiful amber color, a 6.3% A.B.V., and all that milk sugar and caramel, I expected something a bit heavier. I recall drinking this beer immediately after coming home from work and being very thirsty. It went down quite easily, I can assure you. The spices were pronounced but they weren't oppressive. The malt and milk sugar/caramel added just enough sweetness to provide a base for the cinnamon and nutmeg while the carbonation and hops kept everyone in line. While I prefer a little more body in my autumnal beers, Vida y Muerte was still a nice sweet treat for Halloween/Día de Muertos.

Junk food pairing: Having lost my brother earlier this year, Día de Muertos took on especial significance for me. Ergo I paired Vida y Muerte with some Pan de Muertos. The extra bit of sweetness was fine but I really liked how the bread added more heft to the mouthfeel, a little more base for the spices.

Prost, my brother.

Rolling Out the Summer Brews - 5 Lizard by 5 Rabbit

With the weather finally moving into summer territory I thought the time was right for some 5 Lizard, a Latin-style witbier by Chicago's 5 Rabbit. I first time I had it was at The Great Taste of the Midwest a year or two ago and loved it on that 80+ degree day. A fantastic summer brew. The witbier is a Belgian wheat beer commonly spiced with coriander and bitter orange peel. Here the folks at 5 Rabbit replace the orange with lime and give it a tropical twist with the addition of passion fruit.

5 Lizard poured a hazy yellow and had a nice, frothy white head. (I believe both of these characteristics are due to the wheat.) The glass really glowed in the sun on my porch. It was well carbonated too. Upon smelling it, my nose was struck by the passion fruit first and foremost but there was also a slight bit of herbal hoppiness in there.

The beer has a light and bubbly mouthfeel along with a lovely creaminess on the tongue which I think it owes to the oats in the grain bill. The passion fruit is prominent here with its succulent sweet and sour flavor cozying up to your tastebuds. The tanginess of the lime was also present making this a very fruit forward beer with the carbonation accenting these flavors. While fainter, the coriander was unmistakable. To top things off there was also some graininess present that was vaguely sweet. That's a lot of flavors to juggle and 5 Lizard pulls it off well. The fruitiness dominates, to be sure, but the other flavors don't let it run away with the show. Everything balances out in the end.

The brewery states that 5 Lizard has Motueka hops in it which I discovered to be a variety from New Zealand that has a citrus/tropical fruit flavor and a Noble hop aroma. While I caught the aroma, I'm not sure about the flavor. I didn't find it hoppy; then again, this is probably the first and only beer using Motueka that I've ever had and was expecting more of the Noble flavor since it was in the aroma. More fool me.

The finish is smooth with the lime zestiness and more passion fruit goodness that lingers for a short time.

I have to admit that I liked 5 Lizard even more than when I had it at The Great Taste. My tongue hadn't been battered with a dozen other brews when I had it this go round like it had been at the festival. It is light and smooth plus it has a delightful myriad of flavors that balance well. At 4.3% ABV this beer is quite sessionable and incredibly refreshing.

Junk food pairing: 5 Lizard pairs well with friend plantain chips.

5 Vulture Oaxacan-Style Ale

My first encounter with Chicago's 5 Rabbit Cerveceria was a couple years ago at the Great Taste of the Midwest when I sampled their 5 Lizard Latin-style witbier which was great, especially on that hot day. 5 Rabbit was an Aztec deity who sybolized excess and over-indulgence and so the brewery aims to infuse Latin flavors into their craft beers.

5 Vulture is billed as an Oaxacan-style dark ale with piloncillo sugar and chile ancho. I'm not quite sure what makes this brew Oaxacan-style. Perhaps piloncillo sugar and anchos are more commonly used in Oaxacan cooking than in other areas of Mexico.

Regardless, the beer pours a nice dark amber. Head was minimal and what there was of it dissipated pretty quickly. It smelled very sweet. Part of the aroma was the roasted malt but I think most of it came from the piloncillo which gave it a prominent caramel scent along with some plum. You could also catch a hint of the smoky chiles.

This stuff is smooth. I'm not familiar with piloncillo sugar but the Interwebs say it's unrefined. The beer has a prominent caramel flavor along with a peach-like sweetness. There are lots of smoky undertones here which surely come from the combination of the sugar and the chiles. This is one of those brews where the flavors hit you all at once instead of revealing themselves as the liquid goes farther back in on your tongue. Hops here are moderate as they impart some bitterness to contrast all the sweetness but they don't add much flavor. For such a full-bodied beer, it doesn't taste thick. The non-smoky chile flavor is present in the finish and aftertaste, but only just. Here they give a faint pepper heat. By the time you've quaffed the bottle, your tongue tingles slightly but isn't burning in pain.

With the full body and an ABV of 6.4%, 5 Vulture is not ideal for 90 degree summer days. Having said this, I absolutely loved this beer and can see me with a snifterful come the autumn. The palimpsest of smoky sweetness and faint capsaicin burn that lingers make for a perfect autumnal warmer.

Junk food pairing: Some tortilla chips. The salt contrasts nicely with the sweetness and enhances the smokiness and chile flavors.