While we missed our last Friday Four Pack because of a scheduling issue, we’re back this week to recap the month of August and the best beers we enjoyed during summer’s final month. Friday, we’ll kick off September with 4 additional beers for the Labor Day weekend and what we’re looking forward to as the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler. But for now, let’s take a look back at the beer’s that helped us beat the heat in August.
Hop Butcher for the World- Giardiniera (7.5% ABV DDH DIPA w/ Citra, El Dorado, & Mosaic Hops).
One of our favorite double IPA’s from a brewery that puts out nothing but the best, Hop Butcher for the World’s Giardiniera checked all the boxes for us. Huge nose, great color and a balanced tropical sweetness that is worthy of it’s namesake condiment. We’re so glad Hop Butcher finally paired Citra, El Dorado, and Mosaic Hops with their 7.5% DIPA malt bill and can’t wait to see it back. A truly fantastic brew.
Brothership collab w/ Wax Wings- Switch to Hyperdrive (9% DDH Triple IPA w/ Citra, Citra Cryo, and Citra Incognito Hops)
Switch to Hyperdrive is up there with our favorite Triple IPAs of the year. The color is radiant- like an exceptionally bright full moon and a cloudless summer night. It drinks like Sunny D and bombs the palate with a smooth orange marmalade. It so easy to drink, you’d hardly believe it’s 9% ABV. It was so good, I think I even smelled the can the next day.
Revolution Brewing- Straight Jacket (15% Bourbon Barrel Aged Barely Wine)
While it’s older brother VSOJ was featured in one of our Friday Four Pack’s this month, we recently cracked our last can of Straight Jacket. This barleywine ale pours a rich mahogany amber and the nose brings some farmhouse funk along with toffee and caramel. Take it slow with this one- there is a lot going on.
The palate starts with some bourbon heat and sweetens into almost a liquid Werther’s. It finishes with dried fruits- plums and apricots with some vanilla and more caramel.
An editor’s note- we enjoyed this guy for desert after a lovely homemade dinner. We paired it with a dark chocolate caramel which I thought really amplified the dark fruits on the finish of the beer. To round out the pairing, we were enjoying while rocking to Sympathy for the Devil on the Sonos the night Charlie Watts’ passing. A truly sublime experience.
So there are our top beers from August. As we slide into fall, we look forward to bringing you more great beers from Chicagoland and abroad, as well as more information rich content to cover all of your most frequently asked high purity process questions. Stay tuned!
