Kyle Nabilcy
Every week here at the Two Cent Pint, I take a look at what’s going on in the world of beer and try to decide what to write about. Sometimes it’s a beer event, other times I’m traveling and report back on a new brewing destination. More often than not, it’s a new beer on the shelf that inspires a broader discussion.
So what the heck do I do when two new-to-Wisconsin breweries drop beers in town, and a third brewery inaugurates its brand-new distribution to the area with four beers of its own?
Drink them all, I say. Drink them all and then tell you, dear readers, which ones are worth buying and which are skippable.
Let It Roll IPA, Indeed Brewing Company
The cold weather counterpart to Let It Ride, Let It Roll is what can only be described as an old-school West Coast-ish IPA, clear and burnished gold. It has a big hop bite, but a lot of malt too. If you’re done with soft and hazy IPAs for a while, this should do you fine. Verdict: BUY
Stir Crazy, Indeed Brewing Company
The last time I had Indeed’s Stir Crazy was almost four years ago, and I found it to be a fine but not noteworthy porter. With what the brewery bills as a new recipe this year, gone are the spicy and estery notes (think banana bread), replaced with chocolate, roasted coffee and a little bit of tobacco on the nose. The adjunct ingredients are well integrated; let this warm up a bit before drinking to really let them bloom. Verdict: BUY
Caramelized Chocolate Churro Baltic Porter, Moody Tongue
This name alone almost guarantees I’m going to jump in with both feet. And yet, I have to break it to you: This is the most disappointing of Moody Tongue’s four introductory beers in Madison. The body’s all wrong — too thin, with flimsy carbonation, and the name conjures flavors that don’t quite assert themselves. It has a great nose, though. Verdict: SKIP
Sliced Nectarine IPA, Moody Tongue
I enjoyed a pint on the patio at the Purple Pig in Chicago one May not too long ago, and the bottled version basically holds up to memory. It’s not a fruit bomb, not particularly juicy, but clean and clear with just enough citrus acidity to register. Worth a single at least, but if you find it on tap, that’s probably the way to go. Verdict: BUY
Smoked Applewood Gold, Moody Tongue
On the flipside of the churro porter, a smoked American lager feels like the beer chosen as Least Likely to Be Enjoyed by Kyle by the yearbook committee. Surprisingly, though, it’s a well-made and drinkable lager that also has an appreciable but not forest fire level of smoke. The applewood delivers a little flavor on its own, too. Easily my favorite smoked beer of the moment. My wife, who dislikes rauchbiers even more than I typically do, also chose it as her favorite of the Moody Tongue releases. Verdict: BUY
Steeped Emperor’s Lemon Saison, Moody Tongue
Tart saisons in the United States have been A Thing for a while now. I’m mostly okay with this; I’ll drink Casey saisons all the live-long day. Heck, I’m wearing a shirt with a lemon slice printed on it as I type this. But dare I say, the lemon going on here totally overrides the saison character of the base beer. It’s on the bitter side, too. Oddly, it drinks better on the warm side, but ultimately I can’t get with it. Verdict: SKIP
Dank Frank Juice, Odd Side Ales
You could argue that Odd Side is the House That Dank Built, with twelve variants listed on the brewery website. Dank Frank is the imperial version of Dirty Dank Juice, and yes, it’s a New England IPA. The label features Danny DeVito’s goofy mug to complete the apropros-of-nothing It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia reference. This very fresh beer came off as too hot for the style, and I got an oniony note out of the hops that doesn’t do it for me. Your mileage may vary. Retailers are billing this pricey imperial IPA as “very limited,” so you really gotta want it. Share a sixer with your friends, if you can find one. The sixer, I mean, not a friend. Verdict: BUY
Note: the two beers from Indeed were provided pre-release from the brewery.
