Wizard King - Pipeworks Brewing Company and 7venth Sun Brewery

    Legends tell of an ancient kingdom besieged by gigantic insects. These monstrosities ate the kingdom's food entire fields at a time. The bones of those peasants unlucky enough to be tending to their fields when the swarm hit would be found by others the next day. Desperate for help, the royalty of the land sent out for a hero to assist in the kingdom's plight. Many mercenaries, champions, and hunters tried their hands at defeating the swarm. Each time their well-equipped bones were found the following day - stripped bare of flesh and lying on the ground. One day, a mysterious wanderer arrived in the kingdom. The man was of smaller than average height, walked with a staff, and wore a long robe with a hood over his head. The man was clearly from a far-off land, as he spoke with a strange accent which seemed to stress the letter "s" in a way that sounded almost like a hissing sound. The stranger met with the royalty and explained that he would rid the kingdom of its flying menace, but that in return he must be made king of the land. Having seen the many previous "heroes" fall to the swarm, the royalty agreed to the man's terms - secure that this strange man who required a cane to even walk would simply become another pile of bones. The foreigner spent the entire next day waiting in a field of ripe barley. Soon enough, the horrible sound of gigantic, insect wings filled the air. Reports of what happened next are sparse and are likely unreliable as most humans in the area fled to safety and were under great duress. What has been heard, however, is that the strange man was engulfed by the swarm immediately. Some witnesses reported great gouts of fire spraying from the man's outreached hands - burning insects out of the sky. Others swear they saw what appeared to be a great tongue darting from under the man's hood, skewering insects and returning them to his waiting mouth. No matter how it happened, the man returned to the castle and left a field full of uneaten barley and torched insect corpses in his wake. The kingdom's royalty, having seen from a distance what this wizard was capable of, scrambled to ready the crown. As the symbol of kinghood was lowered toward his head, the strange man removed his hood. To the shock of all who were present, a green, scaly face with yellow eyes slowly emerged from the cloth. Before the royalty was able to stop it's descent, the crown landed on the creature's head. This wizard was no man. This wizard was a lizard, and now, he was Wizard King!

    Wizard King is a collaboration between Pipeworks Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois and 7venth Sun Brewery in Dunedin, Florida. Wizard King is a fusion between the mosaic Pale Ale Lizard King from Pipeworks, and Electric Wizard, a strawberry citra IPA from 7venth Sun. As you might expect from it's parentage, the collaborative brew is a Double India Pale Ale which features cryo mosaic and citra hops alongside strawberries.

    Wizard King pours a slightly pinkish, hazy, golden orange color. I saw some huge bubbles on pouring which makes me worry about the beer having poor retention of carbonation. The beer sort of resembles peach soda when in the glass because of these bubbles. A foam of large bubbles makes up about a half-inch of head on the beer's surface, and what few big bubbles stick around leave some funky lacing down the inside of the glass.

A wizard lizard drinks precisely when he means to.

    The collaborative brew smells quite nice! Between the citra, mosaic, and strawberries there are tons of fruity and interesting scents in the beer's nose. I get everything from mango, lemon, grapefruit, apricot, pineapple, and obviously strawberry - to pine and some nice grassy and earthy notes. Clearly the hops are going to be the stars of the show here, though there is a slight malt sweetness in the nose.

    The DIPA has a medium body, though it feels almost full bodied. There is a slight stickiness to the beer which feels right for its fruit content. My glass started out being carbonated at around a medium level, but the gas definitely escaped this one faster than I would have expected. As the carbonation dwindled, the beer seemed to become thicker and a bit more syrupy. The Wizard King is a potent ruler with an alcohol content of 8.5% ABV.

    Flavor closely follows the scents in the brew, and I'm very glad for it! Tropical fruit flavors are probably the most prevalent of tastes in the brew. There are also the classic IPA pine and citrus notes, alongside mosaic's earthy hay or onion-like flavors as well. At first I was disappointed in the level of strawberry flavor in the ale. It seemed to me that since strawberry was called out as a main ingredient that it should be more pronounced in the beer's flavor. As I continued to drink the beer, I came to realize that the sweet and somewhat earthy flavors of the berries perfectly compliment those flavors from the mosaic and citra hops - which I really appreciate! The hoppy bitterness of an IPA is well balanced with the sweetness from the fruit and malts as it should be in a DIPA.

    I really didn't know what to think when I first opened up Wizard King. As I said, I was a concerned about the beer's carbonation level, and I do feel like I wish the bubbles had stuck around a bit longer. More carbonation might have kept the beer feeling lighter than it did toward the end of my glass. My biggest fear was that the beer would just taste like strawberry jam. Luckily, the balance between bitter and sweet ingredients is very well done - making the beer enjoyable even after it started to feel a little bit syrupy. I have had Lizard King before, and now I really want to try Electric Wizard!

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Coffee End of Days - Pipeworks Brewing Company

    The end of days are upon us. First came the beginning of the End of Days with its cacao nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and ancho chilies. Many fell in the first few hours. Those who survived saw the End of Days transform into Imperial End of Days with even more of everything that made the End of Days so powerful. Now, there aren't many of us left. Very few of us even bother getting out of bed anymore, and those who do require a strong dose of morning coffee to get started trying to rebuild. Recent news tells of another coming of the End of Days, and this time it's turning our very reason for getting out of bed in the mornings against us. We are preparing - struggling to piece together supplies and weapons. Even with these preparations, I don't think we can survive the Coffee End of Days. Farewell.

    Coffee End of Days is a Milk Stout created by Pipeworks Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois. This is the third rendition of their End of Days Milk Stout, and it builds on the previous release, Imperial End of Days, by adding coffee to the already delicious Mexican hot chocolate inspired brew.

    Coffee End of Days pours a deep onyx that is as black as the void from which it fell to earth. The beer's head quickly dissipates into a tan ring around the edge of the glass. The foam leaves little to no lacing.

People said they could smell it as soon as they woke up.
They knew that today might be their last.

    The Milk Stout smells nicely sweet, with an obvious scent of chilies punching you in the nose soon after. Coffee, chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla scents follow the spicy assault of the chilies. Honestly, the scent seems kind of muddled though. While I can work to experience each of these notes in the beer's aroma, without concentrating they all kind of mix together. It's almost like a band in which every member plays their own instrument as loud as they possibly can to the point that it all just become noise without really working to hear each part.

    The beer is full bodied, with a much tinglier level of carbonation than I had expected. The carbonation almost propels the chili spice up into my nose and stings it. The beer finishes extremely smooth and warm. I'm not sure if it's completely the chilies giving the warmth or if the brew's 10.5% ABV alcohol content is helping that along.

    The flavor of Coffee End of Days is quite layered. At first, the beer tastes smooth and sweet with cocoa and vanilla. The flavor then transforms into a bitter and roasty coffee flavor with hints of cinnamon. Finally, you'll notice a slow burn in the back of your throat from the ancho chilies. Personally, I love a little chili heat, but I know that some people are more sensitive to it than others. I will say that the strength of the chilies in this brew surprised me. I actually thought it was pretty warm, which pleasantly surprised me, but I could see others really being burned by the beer. To me, the best part of the beer was building up that chili burn, then taking another smooth sweet sip to mellow the heat and then do it all over again.

    I thought Coffee End of Days was extremely tasty. I was a little disappointed by the coffee part of the beer though. With it being a part of the beer's name, I really expected it to be a bit more pronounced in the brew's flavor. As it is, the coffee was a nice partner to the other strong flavors in the beer, but it doesn't become the star of the show as I was thinking it might. I have a feeling that Pipeworks will bring the End of Days back around again, but for now, I'm just glad I've survived one more round!

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Dead Inside - Pipeworks Brewing Co. and Angry Chair Brewing

    Dead Inside is an IPA created collaboratively by Pipeworks Brewing Co. in Chicago, Illinois and Angry Chair Brewing in Tampa, Florida. The beer is brewed with experimental "Idaho 7" hops, for a unique flavor profile.

    Dead Inside pours a hazy, golden orange with around an inch and a half of off-white head with great retention.

    There is a lot going on in this beer's aroma! The sweet scents of apricot, papaya, citrus and other tropical fruits are extremely strong and very enticing. A very slight piney, resinous scent compliments the fruit smells nicely. The smell alone of the beer has my mouth watering.

     Pipeworks' and Angry Chair's collab brew is full bodied with a mid-level of carbonation. The beer feels creamy and slightly oily in a pleasant way as the flavors stick to your tongue. The IPA has an alcohol content of 8.5% ABV.

I'm dying to get into that party!

     Dead Inside's flavor is nothing of the sort. Luscious stone and tropical fruit flavors burst from the beer with each sip. There's a very subtle hint of pine resin in the flavor as well, and it works just as well with the fruit flavors as it did in the beer's aroma. Hoppy bitterness is balanced very well by malt and fruity sweetness. I'm blown away by the balance that has been struck between these two opposing flavors.

    I have to say, this label leaves me with so many questions. Is this goat-man feeling beaten down and hopeless in a fit of nihilism? Is this satyr a graduate student? Does he literally have dead things inside him? If so, did he eat that entire skeleton, or how did it come to be in there? Was the skeleton animated when he ate it? Wouldn't this beer be better named "Undead Inside" if that were the case? Will drinking this beer turn me into a goat-man? Why does he have shoulder pad-like hair and no other upper-torso hair? At some point I had to just shut up and drink the beer!

    Dead Inside was an extremely tasty surprise. It's rare for me to find and IPA that surprises me lately, but Pipeworks and Angry Chair pulled it off! Massive fruit flavors, an amazing bitter/sweet balance, and managing to keep some of the classic piney flavors of an IPA coming through all make this one of the more memorable IPAs I've had recently. I've never had any of Angry Chair's beers before, but after drinking this collaboration, I'm definitely going to seek them out!

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Grapefruit Saison - Pipeworks Brewing Company

    Grapefruit Saison is a Saison brewed with grapefruit by Pipeworks Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois. This particular beer has only been produced once, so it may be difficult to find at this point.

    Grapefruit Saison pours a hazy gold color with an ample, foamy white head. The foam leaves some slight lacing as the beer is enjoyed.

    This fruit Saison's aroma is where it's at. Huge, juicy grapefruit scents make my mouth water in anticipation of tasting the brew. Other citrus scents are present as well, though nothing as striking as the grapefruit aroma. In addition to the fruit scents, the beer features a good bit of Saison yeast scents such as clove and other spices.

    The beer is medium bodied and sports a medium level of carbonation which gives it a nice mouthfeel while effervescing the brew's wonderful fruit aromas. The Saison finishes dry on the palette. Grapefruit Saison comes in at an alcohol content of 7% ABV.

Who said good beers don't grow on trees?

    I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed in the level of grapefruit flavor in the beer. After the wonderful aroma, I would have expected much more than the subtle hint of grapefruit juice. The grapefruit flavor is still nice and goes well with the slight sweet, bready flavors of the Saison. The yeast also lends a bit of spice to the ale as well as some fruitiness that complements the ale's citrus flavors nicely.

    Pipework's Grapefruit Saison definitely has a lot of good Saison flavors in it, I just find myself wishing that grapefruit had been more the star of the show. Without the grapefruit flavors coming out more fully, this brew seems to me to be simply a decent Saison with a little bit of disappointment mixed in.

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