April 2022 – The Tap Takeover

Beer Review: Revolution Brewing’s Straight Jacket Barleywine

Name: Straight Jacket
Brewing Company: Revolution Brewing Company
Location: Chicago, IL
Style: Barleywine – English
ABV: 15% (2021 canning date)

A world class Barleywine, comfortably on the proverbial Barleywine “Mount Rushmore.”

From Revolution Brewing’s landing page for the beer:

Our Barleywine Ale features American and Belgian malts which provide the base of this extraordinary ale. After 12 months in bourbon barrels the award-winning Straight Jacket® emerges with notes of stone fruit, toasted coconut, molasses, and vanilla coming in waves as you swirl the glass. Enjoy now or store cold.

Barleywines have become one of my favorite styles over the past couple of year. #BarleywineIsLife or #BiL after all. Unfortunately there aren’t that many being brewed, packaged, and made available in my market. Occasionally, some of the local breweries will brew a barleywine in small a batch, but I don’t think I need to get beyond one hand in counting how many breweries in NJ brew barleywines in batches intended for distribution or beyond small batches.

Enter Revolution Brewing out of Chicago. Unfortunately, I’ve only really seen their IPAs in stores around me here in Central Jersey. Enter the online beer reseller Tavour. Tavour is where my wife purchased all those awesome out-of-region beers for my 20th Anniversary. Revolution has supplanted Goose Island over the last few years as the local/craft brewery of Chicago and their big booze bombs are highly regarded, including Straight Jacket, a Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine which is part of Revolution’s “Deep Woods” series. When I saw this pop up on Tavour, I had to have it.

The beer pours from the 12oz can into the glass smoothly. The color is murky brown, what I’d imagine liquified caramelized sugar or toffee might resemble and as I pass the snifter in front of my nose, the bourbon elements make me smile.

The first sip brings strong burnt sugar to mind, hints of toffee, and aggressive malts. The first word that comes to mind for this beer is smooth…everything about it is delightfully, sinfully, sumptuous, and smooth.

As the beer warms, the sweet elements become more prominent as does the barrel character. The bourbon elements could easily overpower the entire beer and drown out the malt and hops, but here in Straight Jacket the name of the game is accentuation. Each flavor element (hops, malt, barrel) enhances the other elements to a wonderful and delightful degree.

I haven’t had as many Barleywines as I’ve had stouts or lagers. I’m just shy of 40 Barleywines according to untappd. That said, without hesitation I can say that the 2021 canning of Revolution Brewing’s Straight Jacket is one of the best Barleywine Ales I’ve ever had.

Highest recommended possible, link to 4.75 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Beer Review: Man Skirt Brewing’s Quadrupel Take

Beer Review

Name: Quadrupel Take
Brewing Company: Man Skirt Brewing
Location: Hackettstown, NJ
Style: Belgian Quadrupel
ABV: 13%

An extremely tasty and impressive interpretation of the monstrous Belgian Ale.

From the untappd entry for the beer:

Clocking in a whopping 13% ABV, our Belgian Quad is deceptively easy drinking. Golden in color, it’s rich and malty but without the cloying sweetness that can overpower a beer this strong.

Man Skirt Brewing is one of the “Hackettstown Trio” of breweries and a central brewery along the Skylands Ale Trail. Like Angry Erik Brewing, I visited Man Skirt for the first time during the 2017 Birthday Brewery tour. On the first leg of the journey through the Ale Trail with my friends, Man Skirt was the second brewery we visited. I’d visited a few times in the past and, by and large, I’ve enjoyed their beer and always found the folks at the brewery to be very friendly and welcoming. I don’t see too many Belgian Quadrupels on draft at the smaller/local breweries so I knew I had to try this one. Plus a friend on untappd gave the beer a very high rating.

The beer I’m handed is slightly more translucent and not quite a dark brown as I’d expect from a Quadrupel. The aroma is there, though.

That first sip…is quite impressive and flavorful. The beer delivers what I hope an expect from a Belgian Quadrupel. My impression is that this is a flavor-filled beer and quite sweet. The yeast evokes tastiness like stone fruits, like plum? and caramelized banana. Like the best Quadrupels, this beer is quite complex. What I find most surprising is that, despite a 13% ABV, it wasn’t as boozy as I’d expect. Don’t get me wrong, I noticed the alcohol presence especially as less and less of the beer was in my glass, but it wasn’t an overpowering hit of alcohol.

This is the biggest beer I’ve had from Man Skirt, out of the dozen or so I’ve had and it was maybe the best I’ve had, too. While I liked their pilsner, Czechs and Balances for its clean, straight-forward flavor profile, I like the complexity here in Quadrupel Take. My point here is that Joe Fisher and his crew at Man Skirt can make quality beer across a range of styles, and high quality in two of the more complex styles to brew.

I don’t know how often Man Skirt brews this beer, but it is worth seeking out when they do brew it.

Highly recommended, link to 4.25 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Beer Review: Angry Erik Brewing’s Two-Shoe Brew

Beer Review

Name: Two-Shoe Brew
Brewing Company: Angry Erik Brewing
Location: Hampton Twp, NJ
Style: English Bitter
ABV: 6%

A classic English pub-style ale that has excellent flavor whose relatively low ABV encourages multiple pints.

AngryErik_TwoShoe_Draft

From the Beer Description on untappd:

This copper ale is named for our late dog Brewer who loved to carry a shoe or two around the house! A fruity aroma (sweet cereal malt & subtle citrus), typical of traditional English-style amber ales complement a crisp, refreshing body with nutty/biscuity flavors and a lightly bitter Australian hop finish.

Angry Erik Brewing has been part of the New Jersey Craft Beer scene for 8 years, they were a stop on one of the early Birthday Brewery Tours (2017), which is when I made my first visit. Since then, owners Heidi and Erik have moved to a purpose-built production facility a few miles down the road with a spacious taproom and greater capacity of beers on tap. I visited recently since they are part of the Skylands Ale Trail and knew I had to finally give one of their beers a full review, but what beer in particular? Well, I figured I’d go for a style I typically don’t have and since this beer is named in honor of an old family dog, Brewer (whose handsome picture greets visitors to Angry Erik’s web site and graces the can art below), I had my candidate. After tasting a pint on site, I knew I’d want to tak some home

Two-Shoe Brew is an English Bitter and directly aligned with Angry Erik’s focus on English and German style beers. The can calls this a “Copper Ale” or “English Style Amber Ale” which is essentially an English Bitter. As I said, I haven’t had too many English Bitters, a few Extra Special Bitters (including the fantastic ESB from Odd Bird Brewing), but it isn’t one of the more prevalent beer styles in these times.

The beer I’m handed looks exactly like a beer I’d expect to be served in an English pub or an American interpretation of an English pub. First sip is very pleasing, mostly sweet malts.

I was enjoying this beer with friends at the brewery and it was the perfect beer to start the day. It has a prominent flavor of malts, mild bitterness, and some welcome fruit evocation from the hops. All these elements hit every button on my palate extremely well. It wasn’t a knock your taste buds out of your mouth kind of beer, but one that fits the mold of “beer flavored beer.” I’d love to try this on cask for the full English/British effect.

We had the opportunity to speak with co-owner and head brewer Heide quite a bit during the visit, she was able to help us out with our Skylands Ale Trail passports and despite the growing crowd at the brewery spent time with us, talked about the beers amongst other things. While my friends were settling their tabs, I was chatting with her husband, Erik about the brewery’s new facility which has a spacious loft that I think was being used that day for a private event. The main floor of the brewery was very welcoming and reminiscent of a Viking or Danish beer hall you might see (though much more clean, less bloody, and less profane) on The Last Kingdom or Vikings. Outside, plenty of seats were available around the building with firepits to warm people in cooler weather.

I’ve visited over 50 of the 130+ breweries in New Jersey and Heide and Erik rank near the top of the list of the nicest, most welcoming people in the NJ Craft Beer Scene. A brewery worth visiting for the tasty beers and a brewery whose welcoming atmosphere makes you want to stick around for more than just one pour.

As for the beer under review – Two-Shoe Brew – I was extremely pleased with the beer, which I found to be elegant and straightforward. Not too fancy, just a tasty beer. I think what speaks to my enjoyment of the beer the most: I liked it so much I was compelled to bring home some for my fridge.

Recommended, link to 4.25 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

AngryErik_TwoShoe_Can

Draught Diversions: March 2022 Six Pack

Draught Diversion

Draught Diversions is the catchall label for mini-rants, think-pieces, and non-review posts here at The Tap Takeover. We hope you don’t grow too weary of the alcohol alliterative names we use…

March did not go out like a mouse, the weather here in New Jersey the last couple of days of the month skirted all four seasons, in terms of temperature and precipitation. But I digress, you all visit for my “hot takes” (as the kids say) on beer, specifically, 6 beers I enjoyed or wanted to highlight from the previous month. For March 2022, the pack contains two IPAs and 4 lagers; 4 from New Jersey breweries, one New York brewery, and one brewery based in the Czech Republic.

Enough of my rambling, here’s the Six Pack for March 2022…

John (Bradley Brew Project) | Pilsner – German | 4.25 Bottle Caps on untappd

This is the third beer I’ve had from Bradley Brew Project and it might be the best one. A clean, crisp, extremely well-crafted interpretation of a German Pilsner. This beer does just about everything correct for the style. There’s a slightly lemon/lime presence on the finish, but overall, an excellent beer

Lake Shore Fog (Southern Tier Brewing Company) | IPA – New England/Hazy | 3.75 Bottle Caps on untappd

Over the last handful of years, Southern Tier seems to be focusing more on their IPAs than their stouts. I was a big fan of the stouts they had in regular rotation about 5 years ago or so and haven’t had too many of their beers in more recent years. This beer is their take on the New England IPA. It is a perfectly acceptable take on the beer, not the best I’ve ever had, but one I’d be happy to enjoy again.

Kozel Černý / Dark (Pivovar Velké Popovice) | Lager – Dark | 4 Bottle Caps on untappd

While this is not the original Czech Dark Lager, it is a Dark Lager from a brewery in the Czech Republic. I’ve come to enjoy the style a great deal over the last year as I’ve discovered it. Kozel is a is different, unique, and quite tasty, especially at 3.8%ABV and a beer that shows how complex lager beer can be.

BIČ (Carton Brewing Company) | Pilsner – Czech | 4.25 Bottle Caps on untappd

While Carton Brewing may be known for Boat, the O-DUB series of IPAs and the Coffee Cream Ales, what I enjoy most is their Pilsner game. Their base American Pilsner (Whip) is modified to fit the profile of several region’s/country’s Pilsner. BIČ is the Czech-inspired Pilsner and is absolutely delicious.

DDH Power Juicer [Julius] (Icarus Brewing Company) | IPA – New England / Hazy | 4.25 Bottle Caps on untappd

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Another month, another Icarus beer. Power Juice is one of the many “series” of beer Icarus brews in the IPA realm. I love the main/original version, but this one is very tasty too. As the name implies, this beer is double-dry hopped with Julius hops. Icarus really knows how to blend hops together harmoniously.

Black Orpheus (Sunken Silo Brew Works) | Schwarzbier | 4.25 Bottle Caps on untappd

When I visited Sunken Silo in February, the friendly beertender informed me this beer would be ready in about a month. I knew I had to visit again for this beer (and to make may way through season 2 of the Hunterdon County Beer Trail). This beer is a collaboration with Ashton Brewing and is just as good as the version brewed and canned at Ashton’s facility in Middlesex, NJ. A slight roast, wonderful malty elements with a great lager finish.

Another month with a plethora of new beers, mostly good. There was one experience; however, I’d be remiss for not noting. I’m not one to throw a brewery under the bus, so I won’t mention by name the brewery I’m about to discuss. Said brewery recently moved into a beautiful new facility, only a couple of miles away from their small, original facility in an office park. I hadn’t had beers from this brewery in over four and half years for various reasons including the beer being just “OK.” After all, other breweries as close (or closer) to me were making much better beer. But I figured I’d give them a try because I’ve heard the beer has improved and the new facility is supposedly quite inviting. Well, the new facility is really nice, I’ll give them that.

Well, I stroll up to the bar on a Friday evening and ask if they are serving flights. After an uncomfortable pause and an inaudible exchange with the manager(?), the beertender said not tonight and removed a sign that I can only guess mentioned flights. While there were a good amount of people at the brewery, there were empty tables throughout, so Strike 1.

My next question, “Oh, are you filling growlers or crowlers?” Response, “Sorry, only members of our ‘Special Club’ can get growler fills.” Call me crazy if I find that to be a thoughtless policy. You don’t want patrons to bring your beer home to enjoy? Better yet, you don’t want people yo share the beer with friends who may potentially be new patrons? To not offer growler/crowler fills as a blanket policy is one thing. But to offer them only to a special club that has a limited membership is short-sighted and an ill-advised business move. I’ll just say I’m not too surprised. I’ve had my fair share of beers from NJ breweries (75 NJ breweries), so I might be a decent judge of good NJ beer. While some of the beers I’ve had from this brewery have been good, on the whole, the beer from this brewery is by no means anywhere near good enough to warrant an exclusive club with privileges. There are maybe 3 or 4 breweries in the State that *might* be able to pull of something like an exclusive members only club. This brewery isn’t nearly established enough with the quality of their beer to do so, in my humble opinion. It is a barrier of exclusivity that works more as a turn off. I had one beer that Friday night and it wasn’t great, thus I will not be visiting this brewery or sampling their beer again in the future.

This has been my TED Talk.