Friday Four Pack- Halia, Mikers Mark, Riwakamania, & K.I.S.S.
Posted by Andy Soukup on
As we head into SuperBowl weekend and National Hangover Day, we’re back to help you with your beer selection for the big game. This week, we have a nice variety, including an incredible Belgian Farmhouse Ale, a big ole’ barrel aged stout, a tribute to a wrestling great, and the perfect beer for your Valentine. So let’s get into it!
Goose Island- Halia (7.5% ABV Saison)
Regular readers of this post know I spend a disproportionate amount of time discussing barrel aged stout and hazy double IPA. Halia, meaning “remembrance of a loved one”, in Hawaiian, is very nice change of pace from the styles currently in vouge. A classically well done Farmhouse ale, originally bottled in 2017, Halia brings tons of banana and clove on the nose with the familiar notes of wet hay and earth. The palate starts tart before a sweet peach develops. The finish is not overly acidic and balances well with the flavors mentioned above. Goose might be big beer, but that doesn’t mean it’s not great beer.
Mikerphone Brewing- Mikers Mark and the Binny’s Bunch (14.3% Barrel Aged Imperial Stout)
In keeping with our effort to taste through every single Mikerphone barrel aged release, we made sure to swing by the Blue Room and grab a pour of their new Binny’s exclusive barrel aged stout. Mikers Mark is a big ole’ imperial stout aged for two years in Maker’s Mark Private Select barrels provided by Binny’s Beverage Depot. While most of the barrel aged beers I’ve been drinking seem to have settled in on the 12-18 month time, I was excited to see an extended aged beer from Mikerphone. This beer spent 24 months in Makers Mark Private select barrels and patience has been rewarded. I get a nice licorice and whiskey notes with soft notes chocolate. While the beer smells somewhat sweet, it dries out nicely with a little bittering going on. The finish is complex, lots going on, with a nice balance of chocolate sweetness, oaky char, and whiskey heat that hangs.
Hop Butcher for the World- Riwakamania (6.5% ABV Hazy IPA)
What’cha gonna do when…. As a big wrestling fan, this beer speaks to me. I also happen to love New Zealand hops, specifically Nelson Sauvin and Riwaka, so this beer was perfect. This vintage of Riwakamania is absolutely gorgeous and has a huge nose of grapefruit, citrus, and ever so soft grape. The palate is a deft expression of all things good with New Zealand hops and is refreshingly dry and crisp. The finish has nice bittering that is balanced by soft jammy orange.
More Brewing- K.I.S.S. (7% American IPA)
At Triplex, we keep it simple not only with our approach to process equipment, but also our choice of Friday night dinner- pizza. Always. We paired last week’s pizza with this hazy American IPA from More. This Valentine’s day beer is simple and straight forward. A juicy pineapple and peach nose with a balanced palate that has some malty heft and a little bittering. The finish is tropical and aromatic, very true to style.
And just like that, these four beers wrap up another week. We hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did and is looking forward to Joe Burrow dominating Matt Stafford & the Rams this weekend. Cheers!