Angry Inch Brewing Company - An Introspective

It's hard to believe all that has happened to me since starting this blog early last year. All the people I've met, the places I've gone, the events I have attended and so forth; But what I'm about to tell you is something so unexpected (in a good way) that even I am still trying to comprehend that it's even happening.

It all started back in January of this year when I connected with Angry Inch Brewing, based out of Rosemount, MN. We started to hit it off right away when I was asking about the name and the close proximity of the brewery to where I used to live. It was mainly batting around ideas of where their future brewery would be located and during that time, we rattled off about half of the streets in the South Metro area.

A few months later during Minnesota Craft Beer Week, I stopped in for a private tasting with Jon & Josh from Angry Inch to see what they were planning on offering, which included their Beer Dabbler Award winning Saison & Dubbel. What was supposed to be an hour long tasting event turned into 3 hour discussion about our experiences in the craft beer industry, hearing the story behind each of the beers they had on tap as well as their plans to one day open a brewery.

As I drove back to Duluth that afternoon, I remember thinking to myself how excellent the beer was and how much love and care they put into each batch which they brew. I also thought to myself that once their brewery opens up, which I thought at the time would be in a few years, that it would be a welcome addition to the South Metro, which lacks the number of breweries as say.....Minneapolis.

During Labor Day Weekend, I was given some samples to review in depth and I enjoyed each and every one given to me. There were some minor changes to a couple of the beers I had tried before but for the better. Again I was still holding onto the belief that a production brewery for Angry Inch was still a few years out.

Now imagine my surprise when, a few weeks back, this exchange happened....

Upon finishing my double-take, my first reaction was that it was an auto-correct typo, as you can see from our conversation above. Of course, I was informed almost immediately that it was, in fact, NOT a typo. It was at this time I had a startling realization:

I was witnessing the birth of a new commercial brewery in Minnesota and I had a front row seat to all the action.

Last week I published my Angry Inch Opening Press Release on Northland Beer, the other website I write for (which you should totally check out.) For those who don't feel like doing more reading, I'll give you the Sparknotes of the Press Release:

• Angry Inch is planning on opening their brewery sometime in Spring/Summer 2015
• They will be located at 20730 Holyoak Ave, Suite 160, Lakeville, MN.
• They plan on having nine draft lines in their taproom. They will consist of six year round offerings, one 6 month rotating seasonal, one 2 month rotating seasonal, and one tapline for an experimental brew.

It has been such a privilege to see how much Angry Inch Brewing has grown this past year and I cannot wait to see how much they will grow in the upcoming year. I also wanted to extend my sincerest thanks to Jon from Angry Inch for giving me the honor of writing & publishing the press release for their grand opening; It is something I am truly grateful for. 

While you wait to try out some of their fantastic beers, for the time being you can do your part by following Angry Inch on social media. You can find them at:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/AngryInchBrew

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angry-Inch-Brewing/632502360094820

 

I am truly looking forward to writing more about Angry Inch Brewing in the near future, and I cannot wait for the day when beer drinkers everywhere will be able to try out some of their fantastic beers.

Cheers!

- Nick

Angry Inch Four Horseman IPA Review

Name: Angry Inch Four Horseman IPA
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.3%

And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder:

One of the four beasts saying: "Come and see." And I saw.

And behold, a white horse.

"The Man Comes Around" - Johnny Cash

It has come time for me to review the final beer I received from the guys at Angry Inch Brewing. For this review, I've decided to end it all with the Four Horseman IPA. I actually took a look at Four Horseman back when I was visiting them in May but like many of the beers I sampled from them, I never got to do a proper review until tonight.

Despite the rather ominous-sounding name, Four Horseman doesn't draw its name from the bringers the end times. In fact, it's called that because it utilizes four different types of hops in the brewing process.

Four Horseman IPA pours a very hazy orange color. Not really too much in terms of head aside from a very thin filmy appearance and it possesses some fairly moderate visible carbonation.

The nose is very citra & resin hop forward with a solid caramel malt base and some nice toffee sweetness.

The flavor, on the flipside, is actually fairly piney hop forward which is followed up by some mild citrus hoppiness. The caramel malt sweetness is actually more moderate here than in the nose and is placed second in favor of some musky-bitter hoppiness with an equally bitter hop aftertaste.

The palate is moderately weighted as a whole with a bit of thickness. The carbonation is a bit more on the moderate side so there's a slight kick to the overall mouthfeel.

While the flavor could've used a bit more maltiness to help balance things out, it's still a very good and quite hoppy IPA that hop heads will no doubt enjoy. It's a good beer from Angry Inch overall, and I cannot wait to see what other beers these guys will churn out in the future.

Angry Inch Four Horseman IPA - 8.5/10

P.S. I also wanted to Angry Inch for providing me with the tasty beer that made all these reviews possible!

Angry Inch Menage a Trois Review

Name: Angry Inch Menage a Trois
Style: Tripel
ABV: N/A

I'm on the second half of my beers from Angry Inch Brewing, whom are based out of Rosemount, MN. The next beer up that I received from Angry Inch Brewing is yet another offering which I have not had before. Switching it back over to the Belgian Style, I give to you Menage a Trois, Angry Inch's Tripel-style ale. To my understanding, this is one of the newest beers that they have brewed.

Also, if I have to tell you what Menage a Trois means, then you're probably not old enough to drink (And probably shouldn't even be reading this blog.)

Menage a Trois pours a very hazy yet bright orange color with a very thin and filmy. The visible carbonation is surprisngly active for the style; Not really getting anything in terms of lacing though.

The nose starts out very Belgian Yeast forward with some candied caramel malts, tropical fruitiness, mild cloves and citrus hops.

Likewise, the flavor is Belgian Yeast strong upfront with the cloves taking on a more active role. There's also some mango fruitiness, citrus hop and candied caramel malt notes on the back end of the taste. There is some booziness in the flavor itself, which doesn't interfere too much with the overall flavor but it is noticeable.

The body is really heavy with a fair amount of thickness to it, but not enough to be chewy. The carbonation is on the lighter side, contrary to my early observations which helps bring some balance.

Menage a Trois is a solid offering from Angry Inch. With that said, it isn't the best Tripel I've ever had but to be fair, the kinks still need to be ironed out with the flavor but it is still pretty good. My advice would be have a glass and decide for yourself.

Angry Inch Menage a Trois - 8.5/10