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Episode 163 - Mystery Beers for Brandon
38 Plays11 days ago
We're FINALLY back in the studio for a full length episode. What better way to come back than another "Mystery Beer" episode. This time Tony has selected for random beers for Brandon to try and figure what they are.
Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli)
Outro music provided by @FluidMinds
Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Concept
00:00:01
Speaker
Alright, now let's say something. Hello, it's me, Tony. One of the hosts of The Malting Hour. Yeah, a little bit. like Let's it over. Here we go. Welcome to The Malting Hour. I am one of your hosts, Tony Golick, joined always with... Brandon Winninger. Yeah, no captains or first mates this time.
00:00:18
Speaker
How you buddy? Good. Still so coming in loud and clear. Weird. This week I pulled together four mystery beers for Brandon to try and figure out. This is episode 163 of the Malting Hour.
00:00:30
Speaker
What's the haps on the hops? Got yeast, that's peace. This the Malting Hour where we talk about our drink and tell you what we think every other week. And if we get drunk, well, we might slur our speech.
00:00:40
Speaker
Got the gift
Memorial Day Reflections
00:00:41
Speaker
of gab, the friends you wish you had. Join us for a drink, join us for a laugh. Time is never wasted, where you gettin' wasted? The Malting Hour here, people, people, takin' places.
00:00:50
Speaker
People, people, takin' places. People, people, takin' places. Welcome to the Malting Hour. I am one of your hosts, Tony Gullick, joined always with... Brandon Winninger. Third time's a charm. Brandon, how are you? Good, how are you? Doing great, man. Happy... so Thursday. And happy Memorial Day. You don't really say... You're not supposed to say happy Memorial Day. No.
00:01:11
Speaker
What do you say? Hey. Hey. Good job. you don't have to work today. Yeah. And in memory of all those. Yeah. I was trying to explain Memorial Day to the kid the other day. Because I've been completely oblivious to the fact that this month is like just blown through. It's insane. it's We're about to be done.
00:01:32
Speaker
Yeah. And I was like, oh, yeah. You've got a three-day weekend. He's like, why? And I was like, well, Memorial Day. He's like, what's that? Well, yeah. So I had to kind of explain it. And... I wasn't really, i mean, I knew what to say, but, you know, explaining it to a six-year-old is like... A little tricky. But anyway, in his head, it's like three-day weekend. Cool. Yeah, dude.
00:01:56
Speaker
But the weather forecast is not looking pleasant, so I'm not... It is not. I'm not overly excited. um I don't feel like we've had a nice Memorial Day weekend in years. Yeah.
00:02:08
Speaker
No, I guarantee it probably happened during the pandemic and we were shut in. Oh, yeah. No, everything was perfect during the pandemic. Everything was perfect during the pandemic. There were holidays on Fridays, holidays on the weekends.
00:02:21
Speaker
It was a fantastic... There were
Tasting Mystery Beers
00:02:24
Speaker
holidays. yeah Yeah, and it was a hot summer. It was it was great. Yeah. ah Yeah, i'm ah I'm going to, by the time this comes out, I'll so i'll be coming back.
00:02:34
Speaker
I'm going up to northern Wisconsin, up to Krivitz, Wisconsin. I mean, that sounds like a terrible time. but Yeah. But have fun. Thank you. it's it's ah Being in the middle of an hour. It is about 45 minutes from Washington Island. like Nice!
00:02:48
Speaker
I'm heading up that way, buddy. Nice! You know, right before, you know, get a little taste of it. Get road trip in. Yeah. that feeling. Mm-hmm. Can't wait. ah Yeah, and so, with that being said, I do plan on bringing some goodies back for us to do another episode. Lovely. So, hopefully, actually, maybe that episode after this might be some more Wisconsin beers.
00:03:07
Speaker
So, Brandon, what we're doing today is my curated mystery beer episode. Ooh! ho, ho, ho, ho. Be cool if I wanted to add some other things. I haven't been the recipient of a mystery beer episode in quite a while. Yeah.
00:03:27
Speaker
Because mostly they happen at random. when i just when what Usually it's when i have when I'm the one buying the beer and I'm like, yeah, let's make it a mystery beer. um Unless we have something specific. So I'm excited ah to blow this out of the water in the worst way possible. um But I haven't tasted it yet, but I have smelt it. Yeah, so this is the so I'll tell you this right now.
00:03:52
Speaker
I don't expect you to get every single beer. I went crazy. Yeah. Okay? But I am interested to see what you think maybe the style is or what is it. And if you want to take a stab at who the brewery is. that's Yeah. too Yeah, I mean, that's... what do you Shut up. Let's talk about beer number one.
00:04:10
Speaker
This is... So can I go, so I'm going to go off smell first. And what I would, I'm going to do this in stages of what I think it is. So off the nose, it smells like an orange wit beer.
00:04:24
Speaker
Interesting. Okay. So, because I'm getting a lot of orange and citrus.
00:04:30
Speaker
Okay. Okay.
00:04:34
Speaker
still getting a ton of citrus. Yeah. But now I'm getting more grapefruit, like orange and grapefruit, kind of tropical. But I'm still feeling that whit beer kind of wheat beer type thing.
00:04:46
Speaker
Because the aroma of it was very reminiscent to like a stronger blue moon. okay um Okay, I can see that. like With an orange in it like Somebody put orange like squeezed an orange and dropped it in there. So that's what I'm getting.
00:05:01
Speaker
I will tell you this. Based on me knowing what this is, um they have nailed it. yeah I've never had, I haven't had any of these beers. but I've had one of these beers before.
00:05:12
Speaker
Like from that brewery? No, from from what we're well i'm doing what we're doing today. No, no, from what we're doing today. Out of the four beers that I brought today. Oh, okay, okay. Like you haven't had a physical beer. I have had beers from this brewery before, but not a lot. um the What they're going for, I think they've nailed perfectly.
00:05:30
Speaker
You want to guess me what the ABV is on this?
00:05:35
Speaker
And also, while you're talking. I feel like it's deceptive. It drinks light, but I feel like it's a tiny bit higher. Okay. um I'd say like, I'm like in the six and seven range. Interesting.
00:05:50
Speaker
Okay. Now, the color of it, what do you think? what do you It's like an orangish hue. Well, yeah, and it's hazy. And it's like, so when you first poured it, there's no head on it either.
00:06:02
Speaker
Yeah, there wasn't a lot. um and That's what leads me to believe that they probably put a lot, like there's probably actual juice in here. um And I'm, you know, i because again, like I was going to go towards hazy, took a drink. It looks hazy, but I think that's coming from the juice that's in there.
00:06:20
Speaker
um I mean, it could be an IPA, but if it's an IPA, it's just been... packed full of juice which is fine because that's what they're going for so yeah don't know all right so you want to take a final stab or you want to keep talking about we can keep talking about this i want to keep drinking it yes i want to keep i'll tell you this i personally enjoy this delicious i love it it tastes really good like it is it it i almost said something i feel like would give it away and it's almost like a mimosa okay interesting
00:06:56
Speaker
I'm almost wanting to Google mimosa beers. um So I'll ask you one question. Yes. Is it a local beer? Yes. Okay. All the beers today are local beers. So when I say local, Chicago? Chicagoland area.
00:07:10
Speaker
Okay.
00:07:13
Speaker
Hmm.
00:07:18
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. I'm still kind of like in that wit beer. So you're leaning on wit beer. What makes you think Whitbeer?
00:07:30
Speaker
Because it it drinks like a Blue Moon. Now, does it drink like a Blue Moon because of the body or because of the orange? Well, because of the body, because it's packed full of orange. But again, I'm going off the idea of like there's a bunch of orange in Blue Moon. And by the way, Blue Moon is still delicious.
00:07:47
Speaker
I actually don't give Blue Moon... And the carbonation on it is so light, which throws me into that mimosa camp. Because it feels like feels like it drinks like a mimosa that's been overly juiced.
00:08:03
Speaker
Like, i mean, you put more juice in there than champagne. yeah there's There's a little bit more left in the can. you want me top you off? Sure. There's not a whole lot.
00:08:12
Speaker
I'm closing my eyes. You don't have to. i am I'm... You won't see. I saw it. Even with my eyes closed. I'm clairvoyant. Don't drop it. You look a little head.
00:08:23
Speaker
Thanks, Tony. Always coming through with the head. there go All right, there we go. I will say this. it is I think it's delicious. I think of what they were going for, they nailed. So, one other question. in the ballpark?
00:08:40
Speaker
I want to drink these all the time. Maybe not all the time, but when I wake up in the morning. You going answer my question? yeah go ahead. now i I already asked it. What I said, am I in the ballpark?
00:08:51
Speaker
with With what? My guesses. Yes. You are right about... Well, you don't to tell me if I'm right or not. I just want to if like... You almost spot on.
00:09:03
Speaker
But you're close, but you're not 100% there. You're very close. Yeah, so I don't like... It's like I'm getting wit beer or wheat beer. um I can't go lager because it does not have... And and if it is a lager, it's been overly juiced because... i'll tell you this. It is not a lager. Okay, good.
00:09:23
Speaker
Can't be a lager. Can't be a stout. and No, can't. You're not allowed to be a stout. Yeah, i don't know. I'm going to go in the... Yeah,
00:09:40
Speaker
because my only two guesses would be a ah wheat beer or an overly juiced IPA. Yeah. I don't know. I couldn't tell you the brewery.
00:09:51
Speaker
Okay. Well, I'll tell you this. It is 5.5%. That's close. imnna re close Yeah, not bad. I'm going to read the description. Here we go. And it gives it tells you what the name is right in the beginning. Acid Rainbow Beer Mosa is a fruited sour ale brewed with oranges.
00:10:07
Speaker
What exactly constitutes brunch? Is it determined by the time of day, food, offerings, or specifically a curated selection of bubbly libations? But why put labels on things when this orangey, effervescent sour will brighten your brunch, lunch, or any other meal ending with unch?
00:10:25
Speaker
And sure, dinner too. Brewed by friends for friends over at Riverlands Brewing out of St. Charles, It is Acid Rainbow Beer Mosa. So you got it. Ding, ding, ding.
00:10:37
Speaker
So the only thing you were stuck on was the wheat beer. It was not a wheat beer. yeah It was just a sour ale. Yeah. Not bad. i forgot about But it... Well, no. So I guess that... So you're right. Because that would complement it. Because I was focused more on the juice and not the sourness of the beer. Because like the tanginess I was getting, I was getting, I thought, from the orange juice. But yeah, that would make sense.
00:11:00
Speaker
I think the body... The oranges being in there, maybe adding a little bit, like the actual orange juice being in this may have added ah little extra body that maybe had you, because orange juice drinks kind of thick.
00:11:12
Speaker
I think maybe that's where you're going with wheat, maybe because of even the body of it, because it's not like just an ale. No, because this is a thin drinking beer, but it, yeah. It also says, re-fermentation warning, fresh fruit, live yeast.
00:11:25
Speaker
ah but This can could have exploded. Good thing it was cold. Bad shit could happen. Yeah. So there you go, Brandon. Good job on your first first try there. I wasn't able do something. So I figured, start with something like that.
00:11:36
Speaker
It's not too insane. Yeah. As we go on, I think it might be a little more challenging. Why don't you talk amongst yourself while I go grab beer, number two. So this one time at band camp. Dude, don't do that.
00:11:49
Speaker
He doesn't want to hear about Bandcamp. Anyway, so if I was going to rate that beer, now knowing what it is, I'd give this like a solid 4.1, 4.2. four one four two like that ah That was a delicious beer.
00:12:03
Speaker
i am with you on that. I don't know i would definitely buy it again, to be honest. like that's I
Analyzing Beer Profiles
00:12:09
Speaker
kind of wish this was a beer that was... available regularly i don't know if it is i i saw it on the site today and i was like that looks like a fun beer to try and i did not disappoint i'm i'm i for what it's supposed to be four four i'm gonna go with because it's it's a yeah it's a i'm gonna you know what i'm gonna rinse our glasses real quick too
00:12:33
Speaker
yeah i yeah yeah i mean It's, you know, and I i said it was it it was reminiscent of, like, a mimosa, and that's exactly kind of what it was.
00:12:46
Speaker
um Very well done. Very well balanced. i I blame myself for not going into the sour camp because... i mean I mean, who else are you going to blame?
00:12:58
Speaker
But, like, yeah, I mean, that's really what it was. It was like it was it was a sour ale. Man, why didn't I go there? I like eliminated all the like um like the things that were completely impossible to be a part of that. I was like, oh, so I'm a scourge, I'm a dish. It's got to be a wheat beer. I'm like, fucking sours.
00:13:18
Speaker
and And again, I'm not a connoisseur of the sour, it would have been a good episode to bring Grandpa Dan back on. Ah, Grandpa Dan. I tried getting Matthew to come join us, but he's having a board game night with friends.
00:13:30
Speaker
Oh, is that where they sit around and they're just bored? Ha ha ha, burn! Just joking, Matthew. I'm not. All right, so this is beer number two. this I have not had this beer before.
00:13:44
Speaker
o Yeah, this one is very interesting to me. Oh, RIP Richardless. Okay. Okay.
00:13:56
Speaker
So, I'm not getting anything from the aroma. Interesting. Maybe I'll swirl it a little. little swirl.
00:14:06
Speaker
Yeah. I'm swilling some dankness a little bit. Okay. I like what you did there. I'm just going to keep saying it.
00:14:14
Speaker
What the fuck is this? Interesting. He doesn't know yet, folks.
00:14:22
Speaker
What
00:14:26
Speaker
what are you getting from it? From the first... Citrus water. Okay. Are all of these beers? Yes. Okay.
Episode Reflection and Future Plans
00:14:41
Speaker
i Yeah, i When we're doing... If we do an episode of... is my Cicerone exam....of mystery stuff, I will um definitely warn, hey, some of these are not beers.
00:14:58
Speaker
This is perplexing. It is... it is ah This is a trippy... Trippy. This is a tricky one.
00:15:09
Speaker
Because I'm getting... I'm getting citrus again, and I don't know if that's just lingering in my mouth, but I'm smelling slight citrus.
00:15:20
Speaker
You did rinse the glass, and I'm tasting slight citrus, but it tastes really watered down whatever it's supposed to be. and and And is this your first time having it?
00:15:31
Speaker
Yes. So going ask you, does it taste like a watered down thing or is this all in my head? You're not wrong. It is not watered down as much as I'm getting a hint of I think what you're saying is citrus.
00:15:47
Speaker
um Now, let me see. And and that could be the hops. So... Could be. Could be. Let me see something here. a That is a sign of deliciousness.
00:16:03
Speaker
Do you have an idea of what the ABV is on this? it's drinking really light. But again, we found that that could be deceiving. But I'm going in the four to five camp.
00:16:16
Speaker
Okay, the 45 ABV. Yeah, 45 ABV. Wow. This is more powerful than that utopia. um No, 45%, I think.
00:16:27
Speaker
Color-wise, what are you what are you picking up on this? I mean, it looks like a Pal-El. And it it drinks like a Pal-El. Okay. Um, the mouthfeel is really light.
00:16:40
Speaker
Yes. Um, the bitterness is there. There's a bitterness, a little hint of like sour, but again, that could all be coming from the yeast and the hops. Um, Ooh, do you get anything else other than that citrusness?
00:17:00
Speaker
I know I thought about, we probably should have pretzels or something to this. Whoops. That saltiness helped. um but There's a little saltiness to it, too. Might be from your mouth.
00:17:11
Speaker
Or from your arm. yeah Let me try that again. Definitely no saltiness in here, just so know. This is a tricky one.
00:17:22
Speaker
This is a tricky one. you want a hint of something? Sure. there's You're right about there being a citrus, but there's also a another adjunct, so to speak, in there. Vanilla?
00:17:36
Speaker
Vanilla. Could be.
00:17:41
Speaker
I don't know. Dead men tell no tales. um Maybe that's what it is. don't know. I'm running out of beer, folks. Yeah, he's getting down to the end here.
00:17:51
Speaker
you Do you enjoy the beer? How's that? It's okay. ah Not my favorite. I'll tell you this. Now, um I left this out until the very end. I have had versions of this beer.
00:18:04
Speaker
don't know. and again So is this one Chicago or Chicagoland? Chicagoland. right Are they all Chicagoland? Not Chicago proper? Not all them are Chicagoland.
00:18:15
Speaker
Oh, this is interesting. At least one of them Chicago. No, to we're doing the Chicagoland ones now. i just remember what the other one is
00:18:25
Speaker
one Let me verify that. this noon whistle beer? Nope.
00:18:38
Speaker
Take it back. This is Chicago. I thought so. Yeah, that's why I was like, wait a minute. I think this is Chicago. So yeah, the other last of these other beers are from Chicago. I'm think if there's anything else I can give you a hint of here or if there's any other questions you'd like to ask about it.
00:19:00
Speaker
don't know. There is some left if you want a little bit more to try. right and But I think you're correct with I'm going to miss this probably completely. It is tricky because the other versions that I've had of this, I'm like, oh, that is in there, I guess.
00:19:15
Speaker
I keep giving you the nice hefty pours there, buddy. You're welcome.
00:19:27
Speaker
o Nice clean shot there. All right, so let's do this. isn't enough like That kind of cleared out... Where it wasn't as citrusy for me. Okay. Do you have a guess of... But I'm getting more... I swear I'm getting...
00:19:45
Speaker
and kind of get I'm kind of getting vanilla. Like almost like it's supposed to be like an orange cream type thing. so Interesting. interesting um So again...
00:19:58
Speaker
ah Definitely not sour. i'm not you know I'm not going to forget sour in this round again. But I'm going like pale ale or IPA. Okay.
00:20:12
Speaker
Almost like an orange whip. but like I whip my hair back and forth. But very light. so and And again, I don't know the brewery. so Okay. I submit to the judges. so are you So are you saying there's any citrus in here or no?
00:20:27
Speaker
Or you think it's from hops? Because you're saying citrus before. I think it might be from the hops. Okay. I mean, there could be some citrus in there. If it is, it's light. But I feel like because of how thin the beer is, that they use the hops to get the citrus.
00:20:45
Speaker
Okay. so that's So I'll tell you this. When I saw this beer, I was like, He will never get this. But I wanted to see how quick. You're not far off. You're not far off. I think you did a very good job.
00:20:57
Speaker
I'm going to go ahead and read what this is.
00:21:01
Speaker
This is from the brewery Around the Bend. Oh. This is the Valerie Pistachio. Is that like a Great Central? Was it brewed at Great Central? Because isn't it around the bend in like Kentucky or? No, it's, it's, uh, I don't know. it's so I looked up around the bend and i saw a Chicago occasion. okay It is Valerie Pistachio Cream Ale with Meyer Lemon.
00:21:23
Speaker
Okay. Have you ever seen, the Valerie Green Can, the Pistachio Cream Ale? No. Pistachio Cream Ale is, is tasty. It's good. Um, there is it There is a nice touch of pistachio in it. So it says, Vera, you'll love her cousin Valerie, who's visiting this for spring.
00:21:40
Speaker
For limited time only, we have a special treat for you. We've taken our popular pistachio cream ale and added a touch of sweet Meyer lemon for that fresh flowers are blooming spring feeling. It's as delicate in flavor as ever. Brewed with caravine malt for a touch of extra body.
00:21:56
Speaker
And at just 5% ABV, you'll be ready to tiptoe through the tulips. Where the fuck is the extra body? Yeah, i didn't get the extra body. So did get I did say cream ale. No, you didn't say cream ale.
00:22:08
Speaker
You said pale ale and... No, no, no. But i when I was describing it, I said ah like it was reminiscent of a cream ale. So you're saying vanilla, too. because i think the pistachio. yeah I guess cream ale is a style. It is. yeah It is. You're right, man.
00:22:22
Speaker
Fuck this place. Fuck this is stupid.
00:22:28
Speaker
This is the last episode, everybody. This place sucks. not so Not so fun when you're being put on the spot. going to go home. Dude, you are home. Get out! ah Yeah, it was... That one I knew because the p to me personally, that beer, Valerie... Valerie!
00:22:51
Speaker
Oh! So I confused Around the Bend with Against the Green. Yes, there you go. That makes sense. Um... Sorry, i guys. i The actual pistachio c cream ale is pretty good.
00:23:01
Speaker
Yeah. like it's You can get hints pistachio. And when I saw that with Meyer Lemon, I'm like, what? Personally, i don't get it. No. No, it was it was an okay beer, but like I would never buy this again. Just because like the flavors just don't really work for me. And again, they're there isn't much body.
00:23:22
Speaker
For me. if If I'm going to have a beer with Meyer lemon, I want to taste the Meyer lemon. and Yeah. dude And like a sour. Yeah. Like I want. Meyer lemon sour. Like I want.
00:23:34
Speaker
Or in a wit beer, you know. Yeah. I want that tartness. Yeah. And Meyer lemons are sweet. So I want their like a sweetness. But this is this is very like. Now I'll say this. I think there's a lot of people who would enjoy that beer.
00:23:46
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Totally. I mean, they wouldn't it wouldn't be on the shelves if it wasn't something that people liked. If I'm not mistaken, I believe they've done like a raspberry version of the pistachio ale as well. I should never tried because was like, I don't know why we're going fruit with this cream ale. I get a fruited cream ale with a pistachio. It doesn't make much sense to me. But, hey, people are drinking it. People are buying it around the bend. You're doing something right.
00:24:06
Speaker
fuck is wrong with people i don't know dude uh the can cut the can also caught my eye when it's very go ah very bright spring colors with the the fucking what do you call those guys the death people yeah somebody knows what's funny because someone will correct me i know what you're saying but when i first looked at it i was like oh it's like spy versus spy exactly yeah that is what it looks like spy versus spy um Should we take a break?
00:24:31
Speaker
but We should totally take a break. Okay, I wasn't sure how how close we were into it. because we can Close enough. All right, perfect. All right, well. Hey, everybody. Oh, wait, before we go. Brandon, what are rating this beer? um Now, you can rate it on what it's supposed to be or rate it on how you liked it.
00:24:47
Speaker
ah Well, no, minute what what I know it is and how I liked it I'm going to like three, e four, five. Yeah, I'm a solid three on this one.
00:24:59
Speaker
That's right in the middle. Yeah, that's right. It's a three. like i If someone had this at their house and they offered it to me, I'd like, yeah, I'll take half.
00:25:08
Speaker
I'll take half. Hey, bud, this is the only beer you can have tonight. I'll drink it then. Yeah. This when Tony shotguns a beer. Exactly. Hey, i think we're doing that in July. i think it's finally going to happen. It's happening. Absolutely.
00:25:22
Speaker
Yeah, overall, it's just not a beer for me, but it's not a bad beer. it's not I don't think it's poorly made, just for me personally. Didn't really care for it. Yeah. All right, let's take a break and hear some ads in Spanish.
00:25:35
Speaker
Hola.
00:25:38
Speaker
¿Qué pasa, mira? ¿Dónde estás el sanitario?
00:25:45
Speaker
Beep.
00:25:49
Speaker
And we're back! Welcome back, everybody, to my curated mystery beer episode. We've gone through two beers. The first beer was, uh, Riverlands?
00:26:01
Speaker
yeah Was Acid Test Beer Mosa? Acid Rain Beer Beer Mosa. Yeah, sorry. Acid Test is another beer from yeah another brewery. And then we did Around the Benz Valerie or Vera. Valerie, ye which is Vera. This is Valerie. but put it yeah the It's not in front of me anymore. The Meyer Lemon Pistachio Creme Ale.
00:26:22
Speaker
Now this one, Brandon, also comes from Chicago. ah This is... I'll be interested to see what you how you do with this one. Yeah, now I'm back into the fucking wit beer category.
00:26:35
Speaker
Interesting. I can see that. I have had this beer before. i can't go sour on this. No. You're right. This is not a sour. um I'm interested to see right off the bat what you think the ABV is.
00:26:49
Speaker
3.5%. Interesting. Okay. No, I know. um oh he's He's joking, folks. He's joking. No, but I think it's... Hmm. That is a tasty brew, though.
00:27:03
Speaker
This could be deceiving, but I'm to around four. Four-ish.
00:27:12
Speaker
but you Okay. Okay. Start from the top. What do you get on aroma?
00:27:17
Speaker
There is head on. I'm getting, again, like not as much as the first beer, but I'm getting citrus. I'm getting maltiness. A slight hop.
00:27:29
Speaker
um And then body-wise, this is more attuned to a wit beer than the beer mosa that was a sour that I mistaked for wit beer. but
00:27:47
Speaker
which This kind of reminds me of like something like Dovetail would do. Okay. Fair enough. Because this feels more traditional. It feels more traditional wit beer.
00:28:01
Speaker
It drinks clean. um
00:28:10
Speaker
and because of the lack of maltiness, like the, the malt that you would get from like a lager or an IPA, like again, um following um I'm I'm going to stick with wit beer in this wit or wheat.
00:28:24
Speaker
Okay. Like this is where I'm going. Um, I don't necessarily want to say Dovetail, but I feel like if this was a beer that Dovetail did, it would be done well. And I'm almost going like... Something done with lemon. I'm almost getting lemon out of this. Okay.
00:28:43
Speaker
Could be orange. um I mean, I'm in that like slight citrus category. Like, there's...
00:28:51
Speaker
There's no, there's really no bitterness that I would like attribute to the hop. I feel like it's coming from the whatever adjunct.
00:29:05
Speaker
So you saying there's are you saying there's an adjunct in here? Well, no, like if. Are you saying that? So like if, I mean, it it could all be. um, hot produced, I guess, but it just feels like it's something that they could have put like orange peel or like lemon zest. like Yes. I can see something like that in there.
00:29:24
Speaker
Um, yeah. Again, mystery. Now I will say that is not what I said. That is what he said. That's what he said. Um, I am probably, i am almost 100, 100% positive. You've had this beer before.
00:29:42
Speaker
No, you son of a bitch. No,
00:29:46
Speaker
um
00:29:49
Speaker
We
00:29:54
Speaker
we haven't had a beer from this brewery on this podcast in a while. And I'll tell you this. Well, the dovetail thing could have fit into that. Right. right And I'll tell you this. This style is definitely not a style we've had from this brewery on this podcast. You son of a bitch.
00:30:11
Speaker
oh we're or Making it more difficult for Brandon. That's my game. I hate this. look The only other time I did this, I think I nailed it. and then like um Would you like a little bit more?
00:30:26
Speaker
Yeah, sure. Throw your glass at me, please. Oh, I thought you were going to give me more of a hint. No.
00:30:35
Speaker
I saw it. know what it is. You saw it? No, I didn't. I just like my name. Oh, shit, my phone's exposed. Fuck, you may have seen it. I'm going to see your phone right here.
00:30:49
Speaker
What was up like this? It's so far away. This was blocked. Oh, yeah. it a brewery that we frequent?
00:31:01
Speaker
I have never been to this brewery. Have I ever been to this brewery? Probably. Oh, yeah, you for sure have been there. What? Yes, you for sure have been to this brewery. I have never been there. Oh, is it microphone?
00:31:12
Speaker
Mm-mm. Well, there's no... and this You said these are Chicago proper. Uh-huh. And microphone is in Elk Grove. I know, that's true.
00:31:22
Speaker
You'll be surprised when you find out that I've never been to this brewery.
00:31:28
Speaker
I can give you... Okay. Beguile? No, I've been to Beguile. I know you have. I'm like... So I'll i'll give you a hint about this brewery. Yeah. They have a series I'm particularly fond of.
00:31:40
Speaker
Revolution? You've never been there, did you? Oh, man. ah
00:31:47
Speaker
Oh, man. So this is like the real stumper. I'm like, where the fuck have I been that you haven't been? oh you've been to a lot of places I haven't been, but... That's not true. I go with you everywhere. What the hell? Why do I keep burping?
00:32:07
Speaker
Where could I be? It can't be there. So I'll say that, yeah.
00:32:14
Speaker
Oh, he may have something. He's thinking, nope, he doesn't have it. He don't got it.
00:32:21
Speaker
Weiner? What? Weiner beer? No. Oh. Not a bad guess, though. you're right like i could see that I could see this being a Weiner beer. Middle brow.
00:32:32
Speaker
No. God damn it. But I have not been to either one of those either.
00:32:38
Speaker
if you say and I've never been there, you're stupid. i I know you've been there. Because, yeah I know you've been there. I have a specific memory. don't go to places in the end.
00:32:52
Speaker
Yeah, I'm at a loss. Okay, so what are you going to go with for your final... So you're saying around... what what eight Let's do the ABV first. Like, around 4%-ish. Okay.
00:33:03
Speaker
And now that I'm drinking it a little more, it might be closer to 5%. Okay. um But I'm still going, like... Also, it's like kind of a hazy straw color. Yeah, so I'm i'm still going, like, wheat beer.
00:33:15
Speaker
Okay. All right, here we go. The this because I want to fucking know. I know, that's the most frustrating thing.
00:33:23
Speaker
Apex Predator is our best-selling beer featuring explosive floral and juicy fruit aromas produced by Saison yeast meshed with tropical hop notes followed by a pleasantly dry finish. That's right, folks. It's off-colors Apex Predator Farmhouse Ale. So you weren't far off.
00:33:39
Speaker
By the way, I didn't know this until today. It's 6.5%. And I will say, oh shit. Yeah. I don't know why I'm not drinking Apex Predator more often. I will say, I've picked up beers from off-caller. I've never drank there.
00:33:52
Speaker
Right. I didn't say you drank there. said you've been there. I said you've been Yeah. No, that's my own fault. I was going through the catalog of places I've drank. Yeah. I mean, and I remember you picking up beers from there. And the reason the series I like, Beer 4, and the beers that we've had most from them have been Dino S'mores beers.
00:34:10
Speaker
So there you go. There it is. Not bad though, but you were right. you yeah So a farmhouse ale or Saison, you know, it's kind of, when i was I was looking up to get a better description, it's like a Belgian pale ale with, you know. Yeah. And this is a free rising fermentation that they do. Mm-hmm.
00:34:27
Speaker
Now, the malts are pills, flaked wheat, and honey malt. So, I feel like you going to wit was a good jump off point. like you you i think like It's in that wheelhouse, but I was still wrong. No, but I mean... I was wrong. when i so I almost got beer for golf raspberries, but I was like, too many fruits. Oh, man. Sorry. It's still available, and it's still delicious. like golf. golf.
00:34:52
Speaker
I play all the time but didn't get beer I didn't get beer for beaches well I don't care for that I wonder if Topgolf is going to have like beer for golf they should yeah fucking stupid dude my mom is sending me laughy face emojis through TikTok because I send her funny videos in fact I send you and my mom similar videos sometimes Brandon are you ready for your final beer we don't need to rinse it don't worry but I do need your glass though
00:35:20
Speaker
Overall, what are you going to give this? I'm like 4.5. I like that. I like it too. i Having this, it's been a long time since I've had Apex Predator.
00:35:32
Speaker
like I'm talking years. I might start picking this up for the summer. um Maybe I shouldn't because it's dangerous that it's 6.5%. Yeah.
00:35:42
Speaker
yeah Like, I felt like I was going through that too easily. A little too rough. It can never be a little too rough. All right, go ahead and talk and grab the last beer.
00:35:56
Speaker
Yeah, so, I mean, I'm pleasantly surprised. i mean, off-color... makes beers that I enjoy and I'm pleasantly surprised that that was the the one that we had but also pissed off that I did not get any of the hints um again i was looking at like oh where have I drank before I'm also mad at myself that I haven't gone what the time I went to excuse me off color was during the pandemic yes and that's what I remember
00:36:31
Speaker
And I picked up stuff. And my lovely friend Jess that used to work there, she hooked me up with some other goodies just because she saw my name yeah on the pickup box. She hooked you up so much. I think didn't we you may still have some of those. It's possible. yeah She was awesome.
00:36:47
Speaker
um She's still awesome. ah She was awesome. Not anymore. No, she's still awesome doing other things. Yeah. And she was trying to hook us up with trying to get an interview.
00:36:58
Speaker
And we were getting close. And then it was just, it was a crazy time. no Pandemic and all that stuff. So anyway, um I'm glad i got to I got to have that. I mean, I checked my check-ins. I've never checked it in, but I'm sure I probably had it at some point.
00:37:17
Speaker
Now this one... is also like said local beer I am looking up further information okay well that doesn't help um I have not had this it I have seen it sitting around beer not sitting around but it's beer on the wall sitting around in the last two weeks um and the first time I saw it I go I don't know about this and then I saw it this time i'm like yep that sounds like a fun one to end the podcast with okay ooh okay
00:37:52
Speaker
Good luck, buddy. This one's sour. How about this? Tell you right now, you're right. It is a sour, fruited beer. um This is... Let's try and... This one, specifically, i knew was going to be next to impossible to get.
00:38:13
Speaker
But... but That's Oscar from The Office. It is. We have Caribbean enthusiasm on while we're recording, as we normally have something on. So it's sour.
00:38:26
Speaker
you think the aroma?
00:38:30
Speaker
I actually like it. That's funny because I don't. Not a bad way. It's reminding me of, and I'll say this as a hint, it's reminding me of rains remind reminding me of raisins, but there's not raisins in this.
00:38:42
Speaker
I'm not getting raisins. And I hate raisins. Oh. Raisins are just old dead grapes. Dude, you eat raisins every time you're here. Dude, shut up. I put it in every food that you shut up Don't tell anybody.
00:38:56
Speaker
I stand by my hatred of raisins. Yeah, no, I'm i'm not i'm not getting raisin. Raisin canes, maybe. the Overpriced chicken tendies.
00:39:09
Speaker
Never had them. Don't know. Their sauce is great. They used to be awesome because the tenders were huge. Now I feel like they're tiny little nuggets. I'm getting like cherry. Okay. Interesting. What do you... Like cherry or like a dark fruit.
00:39:25
Speaker
Okay. I will tell you this. You are right on the dark fruit. Yeah. um Do you have an idea ABV? It's tricky because it's a sour beer. but Oh, God. I feel like this one's high.
00:39:36
Speaker
i want feel like this would drink like closer to 7%. Okay. All right. I'm going with that. um But, yeah, it's a dark fruit sour.
00:39:47
Speaker
um
00:39:50
Speaker
Interesting. Okay. I just looked up something else.
00:39:55
Speaker
You are... I'll tell you this. Right now, you are getting closer than I thought you were going to get with this.
00:40:06
Speaker
Trying to dissect the flavor. But now I get it. Now I am kind of getting it. It's what I read on the can is what threw me off and made me... Get all weird.
00:40:18
Speaker
Yeah, like... Originally, I was getting, like, dark cherry. But now I'm thinking, like...
00:40:26
Speaker
There's like hints of blackberry in there almost. Okay. I feel like. um Maybe blueberry? and i feel like when you do a sour and you put in the darker fruits, like blackberry, blueberry, whatever, it kind of changes the way the beer tastes. Okay. Hmm.
00:40:50
Speaker
Hmm. Now the color of it. are you on in the color of that? I mean, it's definitely, you know, as a sour, you can tell, like, looking at it, you can tell there's dark fruit in there.
00:41:03
Speaker
um But, like, this one, like, it's funny because i I still stand by, like, my... It's, like, a higher ABV because I feel like it was...
00:41:14
Speaker
um fruited like during fermentation and then they may have added some after the fact but like it's i feel like that may have pumped up the abv and then they may have added some to kind of complement it um And I could be completely wrong.
00:41:34
Speaker
This is just my my amateur opinion. um but We're professionals. We've been doing this for years But then it's weird because then I tilt it more. don't have much my glass left because I'm chugging through this.
00:41:46
Speaker
yeah feel like What do you think of it? Oh, dude, this is delicious. I really like this. I didn't care for it at first because the aroma. The aroma to me was a little off-putting. It doesn't smell bad. No. but But it did remind me of like box of raisins for some reason.
00:42:02
Speaker
But i know the way this tastes, like, this is a very tasty and approachable beer. No, and I've gotten into the camp of like... Aroma...
00:42:14
Speaker
is very subjective. and And so is taste, but yeah. Well, yeah, so is taste. But like, for for my personal opinion, like the aroma could be completely off. Would you like a little bit more? There is some more left. to Okay, sure.
00:42:30
Speaker
No, just keeps giving me more and more beer. He's trying to get me more and more wrong.
00:42:37
Speaker
Oh, see, there we go. Yeah, no, see, that's that's the color I was looking for. You can almost like in the middle it looks like a strain of fruit.
00:42:47
Speaker
There's also a little bit of color to the head. Yeah, there is.
00:42:53
Speaker
Yeah, and I'm like, I'm not... Ooh. I'm not great at like describing... i will say this. you i You're closer than i you think. Yeah.
00:43:03
Speaker
You're missing the... i'll tell you this. You're missing the main fruit that is in there, and it's tricky because I don't think anyone would think about it. Dates? No, it's not dates.
00:43:17
Speaker
Is it a dark fruit? Yes.
00:43:22
Speaker
Rolodex running, Rolodex failing.
00:43:27
Speaker
So for the kids that are listening, Rolodex.
00:43:34
Speaker
Oh, boy.
00:43:38
Speaker
Yeah, I don't. So let's go over this. Yeah. You're you're saying high ABV. that Higher ABV definitely. Give me a number. I said closer to seven. Okay. So I'm in the six to seven range. We've we've just we've established is sour.
00:43:55
Speaker
Yeah. What kind of fruits were you mentioning? I said dark fruits. I was thinking like blackberry and blueberry. Obviously, I missed one. You mentioned another fruit. You did say cherry at some point. I did. I said like a dark cherry. Yeah,
00:44:15
Speaker
yeah I'm like... and And I know when you tell me, I'm going to be like, oh, shit, that's what it is. I don't know if you are You might. You might. Well, because I'm trying to think of the obscure that is not traditionally used, but has been used, and been like, oh, that makes sense. I don't know how many beers have been used, or have used this fruit. I'm sure there are, but it's not one that I see.
00:44:43
Speaker
Maybe you see one plum. ah yeah You got it. There's plum. Congratulations.
00:44:50
Speaker
so This Mars? no No. No, it's not Mars. This is... i mean but always i was thinking, like, who would use plum? And I think, did they... Well, I know they did the pochki beers, and I don't know if they did ponchki. I don't know if they did... Pochki.
00:45:05
Speaker
Come on. Pochki, pochki. Pochki. right. You want to what Yeah. It is called Plum Catcher, and it is from Pipeworks. Those sons of bitches. It's sour-fruited ale. It is 4.3% ABV. Okay. It is also... Oh, shit! that's It's that low?
00:45:21
Speaker
Sakura wood-aged sour plum ale. And here's the fun fact about the Sakura wood. Oh, fuck. I accidentally closed tab. Sakura wood, often referred to as cherry wood, is a type of hardwood derived from cherry blossom trees. Hardwood.
00:45:39
Speaker
So you got cherry wood. You got plum there at the end. yeah I think the dark fruit got sour. Off only by the ABV, buddy. and Well done, sir.
00:45:51
Speaker
i was i you know I thought this one was going to be a lot harder. um I think I'm very good at giving clues that aren't giving away too much. Yeah. ah But very good. Good job, buddy. Look at how crazy the can looks, too. Oh, shit. Dude, I'm like... I'm kind of blown away. Also, like for all the mystery beers, we're not going to show you the cans because it ruins it.
00:46:11
Speaker
Yeah. And I was not... um
00:46:18
Speaker
I wouldn't even have put that in the Pipeworks wheelhouse. but Me neither. I saw it last week and I was like, huh, plum? No, thanks. don't know why. You know why? Because I see plum. You know I think of?
00:46:29
Speaker
Prune. Oh, yeah. But you know what? I i enjoyed this. And would I get this again? like yeah what are you giving us a rating of this?
00:46:41
Speaker
For what it is, dude, this is like a solid four for me because... Yeah, I'm there with you. It's a four. For what it is, what it's described to be, that's fucking good. Yeah, it's really tasty. i will also say this about all these beers. yeah I didn't include the pistachio one.
00:46:56
Speaker
These are all, i think, fitting for Memorial Day, which I also had in mind. is I feel like these could be good summer beers here in Chicago. Yeah, no. Summer, springtime beers. Yeah, shout out to all these beers, man. like These were all fantastic beers. Thanks, Tony, for putting this together. Yeah, man, it was fun to do. i don't know why I haven't thought about doing this sooner. It's so funny because when we were talking...
00:47:17
Speaker
yesterday and today about like if we're recording or whatever and I was like after I said yeah we're good and then I was like ah shit what are we doing and then you're like I'm gonna stop by beer on the wall I was like okay and then you said oh I curated this mystery beer I'm like fucking perfect because i was going to such a I'm like I'm literally thinking, should we do like beers or drink for Memorial Day? But we've done that before. I think we've done that before. We have. went back to the idea of like the dark versus dank. I'm like, well, what else can I do?
00:47:47
Speaker
Something along the lines. Did you ask AI? I did. And I got 25 really good suggestions. That's a... Only the third time I've used AI to ask about the podcast. I use it every day in my life pretty much now. I did use it to answer a question for a resume recently.
00:48:04
Speaker
It was very good. like I wanted to help elaborate on what I was trying to say and yeah Gemini came or ChatGPT came through. Nice. um I didn't get the job but whatever. It's fine.
00:48:15
Speaker
Still applying different places. People that you work for like listen to this and know you're applying for jobs? Absolutely not. um One person might. One boss?
00:48:29
Speaker
ah Coop, don't tell anybody. ah Yeah, so I... It was fun to do this, and i like... I feel like this could be something that we continually do just to keep us both on our, our, our toes, uh, reminder. And also when you and I do the last minute planning of like, Oh yeah, we need to record. You know, I'm running a beer on the wall, baby. Well, yeah.
00:48:52
Speaker
When I feel like this should like the mystery thing, we can do that like once a quarter, know, Every couple of months, I feel like we should. Yeah, I'm not saying like every month.
00:49:02
Speaker
No, no. like throw Like, yeah, once a quarter.
00:49:07
Speaker
And my thought was like, as we get into like new beer seasons. Yeah. Like we start going into fall, start going into winter. Yeah. Like busting out some random beers and be like, right.
00:49:19
Speaker
I mean, I feel like you go into fall and winter. It's excuse me pretty much the same thing. But yeah like guessing the adjuncts and all that stuff would be fun.
00:49:30
Speaker
Absolutely. Or it'd be fun to find some pumpkin or seasonal beers that have other things with it. Oh, yeah. you pick it out. Remember when we had that Southern Tier fucking, I don't know what pumpkin beer it was, but it tasted like a vanilla wafer?
00:49:48
Speaker
oh yeah. Yeah. even remember it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be a pumpkin type beer. Southern tier. Come on. kids yeah Killing me, Smalls. Oh, excuse me. But yeah, overall, man, this was a lot of fun. It was fun to do. These are all very tasty beers. Agreed. I think they're great beers. If you know you you're running out to liquor store today on Memorial Day and need to grab a couple of beers and you heard this episode and you're interested in any of those, I'll tell you this.
00:50:14
Speaker
The most... Interesting one to me, though, was the beer mosa. Because it really, i mean, there's a lot of orange juice in there. I mean, that is, yeah that is like, that is legit. If you if you get a woman, ah lady friend, or a guy friend that doesn't like beer, but they like mimosas, this is like, that's the route to go.
00:50:37
Speaker
Absolutely. Acid rainbow beer mosa. There you go. like Acid test is from around the bend. What'd you say? Remember I said acid test earlier? I think around the bend has acid test.
00:50:48
Speaker
Oh, you'll be wrong with that. But acid rainbows, river lands. Yes, that is for sure. Yeah. Um, Around the Bend does acid test.
00:50:58
Speaker
ah It's their sour. I knew it. all I knew it. And they have a lot of different flavors. So, yeah, we should do that. Yeah, so there it is, everybody. There's ah the this this quarter's mystery beer episode.
00:51:10
Speaker
We hope yeah if you have the day off today, we hope you're enjoying it. If you don't have the day off, hey. Thank you for working. And we hope you get another day off that I have to work. and Have a beer after work. Absolutely.
00:51:22
Speaker
Have a beer on us. On the multi-hour. Brandon, love you, buddy. Love you, too. We'll see you right next week. Bye. Probably. Right? Yeah. Bye.
00:51:35
Speaker
This has been The Malting Hour. Be sure to follow us on all social media by searching The Malting Hour and at themaltinghour.com. You can also follow us individually on social media. Brandon can be found on Instagram as bmdub81, on Twitter bdub81, and on Untappd as bdubdrinksbeer.
00:51:53
Speaker
Tony can be found on Instagram and Untappd under AsaFelpsChicago, Twitter the AsaFelpsChicago. Clark can be found as Clarkowski on all three. Dan can be found on Instagram as hip underscore underscore hops and to hip hops on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe, like, and rate the show on your preferred podcast listening platform. Until next time, cheers from all of us at the Malting Hour.