Beer, Beer, Beer, vol 2

Greetings, gang!  It’s time for me once again to amuse my taste buds and share the experience with you.  Since the inaugural beer review was Fascist Pig, I thought I’d continue with two offerings from the same brewer, Finch’s Beer Co, hailing from Chicago. 

Chicago and booze have a rich history, a special relationship from the Prohibition days.  Al Capone is immortalized in our collective conscious, the most visible symbol of days gone wrong which brought us the mega-brewers and squashed many a great beer.  Chicago, quite rightly, now boasts more than one beer producer laying down some tasty treats.

Enough with the history lesson, let’s talk beer.  I found myself on the way to the lake, as I often do, and stopped at a great liquor store on the way that has a wall of coolers as wide as a politician’s lying streak.  Having enjoyed the Pig, I decided to give Finch’s another try, and picked up their CutThroat American Pale Ale. 

One of the store employees noticed my choice, and recommended, nearly demanded, that I also grab their Threadless if ever I liked an IPA.  Given that I do, in fact, enjoy a hop assault on my tastebuds, I complied with minimal resistance.  Given also that I had already filled my cart, my wallet may have whimpered for a moment, but otherwise there was no objection.  I drove on to the lake and boarded the houseboat, ready to take the pontoon boat out the next day for pleasant relaxation at what some lovingly call the Redneck Day Spa. 

And lo! it came to pass that I loaded several cans into the cooler, and set forth to tie up in a favorite cove to swim, skip rocks with Little Danger, and taste beers with his Pop Pop. 

After kicking the day off with a Pig, I pulled out the red can of the Threadless IPA.

Upon the first sip, I felt immediately grateful for the arm-twisting beernut in the boozehaus.  He’d not led me astray.  The aroma is quite nice, fruity and hoppy, and the flavor is right there as well, with a fruity sweetness to start and a bitter hoppiness on the backside.  As the sun came from behind the clouds to warm us, this beer cooled my tongue with delight.  You’ll find over at Beer Advocate that they score this one at an 81, a good solid percentage, and one I agree with. 

The next beer on deck was the Cut Throat (named for the finch, not the piratical activity) American Pale Ale.  This one is similar to its brother, but more mellow.  It’s a middle-of-the-road Pale, something that refreshes but still has flavors to savor.  It’s more pine and citrus in the palate, and less bitter in the finish.  The current Advocate score is 79, bringing it in just about in line with the Threadless. 

Finch’s has two more offerings I haven’t tasted yet, but I assure you I will before the summer is through.  There are more lake trips in my future, which means more opportunity to relax and indulge in taste bud hedonism. 

Threadless and Cut Throat, from Finch’s…give ‘em a try, and Bottoms Up!