Angry Inch Speedy's Happy Pilz Review

Name: Angry Inch Speedy’s Happy Pilz
Style: Pilsner
ABV: 5.5%
IBUs: 27

Next beer up from Angry Inch Brewing is Speedy’s Happy Pilz, which is listed as a Czech-style Pilsner. I recall the name Speedy from my first visit to Angry Inch back in 2014 when they were still brewing out of their garage and it’s brewed in honor of owner Jon’s old foreman who had passed away a few years prior. Back when I first visited them, the beer was simply called Speedy’s Lager and was, according to my notes, a darker lager with a chocolate malt finish. In other words, not the same beer we’re looking at today.

Appearance – A clear golden color with a ton of visible carbonation. The head is quite thin and the lacing left behind is spotty.

Aroma – I’m getting a potent pilsner malt scent along with some nice floral hop notes and just a hint of barley.

Taste – Nice Pilsner malt notes with some nice yet subtle floral hoppiness which linger throughout the palate, along with that light barley flavor. A  light bitterness briefly makes an appearance at the end before fading away in what is an otherwise dry aftertaste.

I have to say, I enjoyed having this a great deal. It’s an easy drinking beer with a nice & clean finish. It’s one of those beers that you can just sit back, relax, turn your brain off and just enjoy it; Especially after a long day at work (Maybe that’s the whole point?) Much like the name suggests, this beer will, indeed, make you happy.

Angry Inch Speedy’s Happy Pils – 8.5/10

Angry Inch The Balvinchie Review

Name: Angry Inch The Balvinchie
Style: Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale
ABV: 8%
IBUs: 23

So since visiting taprooms is out of the question for an extended period of time, I figured the next best thing I could do is grab some beers to go straight from the taproom. With that said, I’ve got some new beers from the crew over at Angry Inch to take a look at. First up is The Balvinchie; What's a Balvinchie? Heck if I know!

In any case, this is their Wee Heavy. Come to think of it, I haven’t had a Wee Heavy in a long time, despite my love of the style. With that said, let’s check this one out.

Appearance – Mildly hazy dark crimson color with a light amount of visible carbonation. The head itself takes on a foamy khaki color and there’s some mild lacing left along the sides of the glass.

Aroma – Caramel malts and potent peated scotch notes. I’m also picking up on some mild smokiness and floral hops, along with some light spicy notes.

Taste – Like the nose, the flavor starts out with a hefty caramel maltiness and a nice, smoky peated scotch taste that lingers throughout. On the back end of the palate is where you start to see some of that light floral hoppiness and just a hint of spiciness. The aftertaste itself is mainly more of that caramel malts but it’s on the lighter side. Otherwise the finish is surprisingly dry.

Angry Inch has bestowed on us yet another fantastic beer and it’s a great way for me to be reintroduced to the Wee Heavy-style. Like many breweries, this one is available in the taproom for to-go orders only so if you find yourself in the Lakeville area, check this one out; You will not be disappointed!

Angry Inch The Balvinchie – 9/10

Congratulations to Angry Inch Brewing (with photos!)

When I first met John & Josh from Angry Inch Brewing a couple years back, they were brewing beer out of their garage in a quiet neighborhood in Rosemount, Minnesota. I remember the time we spent talking about their plans for what they'd like to have for a brewery someday. Fast forward two years later and now that "someday" is today. They finally have a bona-fide brewery to call their own right in the heart of downtown Lakeville, Minnesota.

I could go on about these guys but I've been doing that for two years now so I'll make it short & sweet: Congratulations guys, it has been a privilege and an honor watching these guys grow over the past couple years from a small (but complex) homebrew garage operation to a legitimate brewery.

Here's to your success, both present and the future. As for my readers, be sure to check this place out when you get the chance. Otherwise, look forward to seeing much more from these guys in this blog in the not-too-distant future.

The Angry Inch Brewing Kickstarter

To all my fellow readers,

You all know that I love Angry Inch Brewing and I have written about them on several occasions. Some of you may even remember my excitement when I announced that they were going to finally open their doors later this year.

Right now, they are on track to open their brewery sometime this summer in beautiful downtown Lakeville, Minnesota. However like many starting their own small business, not everything goes according to plan.

Recently a good friend of theirs, who was also an investor, had to back out due to a life-changing family emergency. So now they need our help to cover the cost of finishing the construction, which is why they have launched a Kickstarter campaign.

With this Kickstarter, they are looking to raise $30,000 to complete their taproom build out with an extended goal of $50,000 to help furnish the taproom, purchase glassware and finish their pilot system so they can focus on making great beer. For rewards, they've included rewards which include limited edition growlers & apparel and exclusive AiBfriend membership. They've also sweetened the deal by giving people the opportunity to be assistant brewer for a day and, for the highest reward tier, being able to design and brew a batch of beer with the brewers that will be served in the taproom.

I'll say that again: You get to design and brew a batch of beer with the brewers themselves.

I am sharing this all with you because I believe that, with all the ideas and innovation they have going on, they are going to become one of the next big craft breweries in Minnesota. I remember first meeting these guys back when they were nothing more than a garage set-up and now they're on the verge of becoming a fully fledged production brewery; To say these guys have come a long way would be an understatement.

I'm asking everyone to help spread the word about this Kickstarter and, if possible, help Angry Inch Brewing reach their goal. At the time of writing this, they've raised just over $7,000 over the course of four days.

As always, If you'd like to get up to date information about Angry Inch Brewing, you can follow them on both:

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

I think we can do this, everyone!

Cheers,

Nick

Angry Inch Brewing to open later this year!

I have a special announcement for all Minnesota Craft Beer Drinkers out there and it is something that I simply cannot contain my excitement on any longer!

It is my pleasure to announce that Angry Inch Brewing will soon be joining the ranks of Minnesota's Craft Brewing Industry. Today on February 23, 2015, Angry Inch Brewing signed the lease for their building located at: 20841 Holyoke Ave in downtown Lakeville, Minnesota.

Angry Inch Brewing has a tentative opening date of Spring or Summer 2015, with more details to follow at a later date. They will have 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.

If you'd like to get up to date information about Angry Inch Brewing, you can follow them both on

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

Want to be able to try out their beers before they open the brewery? You're in luck! They will be hosting one final tasting party on March 21, the details of the event which you can find here by clicking on this link.

I want to thank Jon for giving me the opportunity to break this news to the world. I have been a believer of Angry Inch for a while now and nothing humbles me more than helping these guys out! As I've said before, it's been awesome to see them grow over this past year and now they will be able to finally bring their beer to the masses later this year.

Great job guys! The years of hard work you've put into all of this are finally paying off. I look forward to see what you guys will do once Angry Inch opens its doors in Lakeville!

A look back at 2014 (Yeah, it's one of these)

So I was going to start working on this post early next week since I was originally going to designate this holiday weekend to playing video games and not much else. However due to Playstation Network being down thanks to a hacker group that hates humanity and not being able to play Destiny (You need an internet connection to play the game,) I decided to pass the time by starting to write about this year in review.

2014 has been a year full surprises and life-changing events; Some of which I saw coming and others I did not expect. Here I'll be writing about the beers I've had as well as some happenings to mix it up. So without further ado, I give you my recap of 2014!

**Disclaimer: I'm also going to point out right now that this is also a fairly long post, so just a heads up**

January

What can be said about January? To be honest, not a whole lot. I guess the only memorable things I could take away from January would be the record breaking god-awful cold temperatures we had and a little something called Deschutes The Abyss.

With its rich and complex flavor, this beer easily stood out as the best beer in a month that I considered to be lacking. New Glarus' Raspberry Tart also was pretty good but The Abyss edged that one out, though it did make for a good trade a few months down the road.

February

The month of love was also a fairly slow month. However there was one beer that stood out to me...for all the wrong reasons. My regular readers probably know what I'm talking about but I'll explain a little further. I follow a philosophy that I never turn down free beer, regardless of who it's from. In other words, you have to screw up pretty badly to make a beer so horrible that even I wouldn't take it even if it were free.

Lo and behold, a beer matching that description made its way into my hands and it went by the name Miller Fortune.

I promise this is the last time I talk about Miller Fortune. Fortune was Miller's answer to Budweiser Black Crown and was no doubt marketed to the craft beer drinking crowd by promising bourbon-like flavors and toting a higher-than-normal ABV; Which I've mentioned a couple times before is pretentious and unnecessary. 

Needless to say, this ended up being one of the worst beers I had ever had. How could somebody take a wonderful thing like beer and make it so awful? I understand that it's a Miller product and all, but even their regular stuff like MGD, Pabst & Miller Lite, while not great, I would still consider to be tolerable at the very least. In any case, I hope Miller's next attempt at trying to gain a share of the craft beer market is....less terrible.

March

Finally a month that isn't mediocre! In early March, I was contacted by David Grandmaison and was offered the opportunity to help promote The Duluth Experience's North Shore Craft Beer Roundtable, which was a series of four roundtable events pertaining to the craft beer scene in NE Minnesota & NW Wisconsin. 

I cannot express enough how great it was to see well-respected individuals in the craft beer scene sit down, talk, and share their experiences in the industry. On top of that, I got to meet and network with so many great people.

April

April saw the continuation of the The Duluth Experience's Roundtable event, which featured the head-brewers from the various breweries located in the Duluth-Superior area. Much like the first event, the second part was just as engaging and interesting as the first one. 

So what made this month as interesting as March? Well for me it was the interviews I conducted. The first being the interview I did with David Grandmaison from The Duluth Experience, which I found to be extremely interesting and insightful. The second interview I did was with these guys....

I met Seth from Regular Guy Brewing on Twitter in the wee months of 2014 and we have since become good friends. Seth was awesome enough to give me the chance to interview him, which we managed to pull-off despite Google Hangout's attempts to cut our connection. Overall it was a fun month but it was only a prelude to what was to come.

May

During the first half of May, I spent a week down in Minneapolis/St. Paul for Minnesota Craft Beer Week, in which I covered various events which celebrated Minnesota Craft Beer. It was a week full of fun and it made memories that I will remember for the rest of my life. Needless to say it was also a very busy time but they always say time flies when you're having fun.

Among the thing I did during that week:

• Went to Dangerous Man for the first time and checked out Northbound Smokehouse's Buckwheat Honey Porter
• Going to Great Waters Brewing for the first time and going to a keg tapping of Surly Blakkr with Simcoe & Centennial Hops at the Four Firkins
• Making a trip to Pitchfork Brewing in Hudson, Wisconsin (It's not Minnesota beer, but I still consider it local)
• Checking out The Freehouse in downtown Minneapolis & going to Barley John's keg tapping for Warrior's Passage 2.0 Imperial IPA w/ Falconer's Flight Hops.
• Attending the food truck rally at Harriet Brewing, complete with barrel aged sours and Nutella and Bacon covered chocolate chip cookies

Those events were awesome and all, but they don't hold a candle to what the final day of Minnesota Craft Beer week had in store for me. That's because on the last day of Minnesota Craft Beer week, I met these guys for the first time....

I met with Jon & Josh from Angry Inch Brewing in Rosemount, Minnesota for a private tasting event. Originally it was supposed to be an hour long affair but it ended up turning into a 3 hour conversation about their experiences in brewing as well as the story behind each beer and just getting to know them; All the while drinking some fantastic beers which they made for the tasting event. 

June

June started off with me moving into my new place, which put me in close proximity to all the breweries & brewpubs located in Duluth. It was during this time I started doing weekly roundup posts which continued until the end of July; I would also like to take this time to point out that those posts WILL be making a return in the near future. As for when, I don't know yet.

June also marked the final event in The Duluth Experience North Shore Craft Beer Roundtable event, which focused on the role of women in the Craft Brewing Industry. Of all the roundtable events, I found that one to be the most educational and interesting of the topics that were covered during the Roundtable series

As for the beer, there was a lot of great beers that I had that month but the one I found to be the most memorable was Heady Topper from The Alchemist. Talk about a great and well balanced Imperial IPA, I can see why all the craft beer fanatics love to post pictures and boast about this beer online.

July

July brought about something new for me: an interview with a film director. I sat down with Dave Okar, director of Crafted to Last: Minnesota Beer Blossoms, a documentary which covered the rapid expansion of Minnesota Craft Beer movement thanks to the Taproom Bill that was passed back in 2011. It was a fun interview and it gave me a really good appreciation for all the local beer which we here in Minnesota have the pleasure of drinking.

Next up is The Duluth Experience Saturday Evening Brewery Tour, which consisted of tours at Vikre Distillery, Bent Paddle Brewing Company & Fitger's Brewhouse. For me, it was my own fun little mini-bachelor party that I threw for myself. It was a great time and it gave me a much greater appreciation for the craft beer scene in Duluth.

I ended July by going to camp.....Beer Camp that is! I acquired a 12-pack of Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp, which featured collaborations between Sierra Nevada and twelve different breweries across the country. Some of my favorites included:

• Electric Ray IPL - Brewed in collaboration with Ballast Point.
• Yonker Bock Tropical Maibock - Brewed in collaboration with Cigar City Brewing.
• CANfusion Rye Maibock - Brewing in collaboration with Oskar Blues (Probably my favorite of the bunch)

Just a few days after I finished with that 12-pack, a big life changing event happened to me....

August

I got married.

Wait, that doesn't count? My mistake!

I suppose if I were to talk about anything beer related, the first order of business would be my mini-honeymoon up to Ely, MN for a couple of days right after we got married. It was my first time going through the Mesabi Iron Range and the sights were truly something to behold. 

Nestled deep in the northern edge of the Iron Range is a small brewery called the Boathouse Brewpub. It was a far cry in terms of size and scale when compared to other brewpubs in Minnesota. With that said, it was a nice and cozy place to eat and drink. 

Speaking of which, the beers were fantastic and quite tasty. I can also tell that it doesn't possess the same traffic and reputation as Town Hall & Fitger's but any craft beer fan owes it to themselves to check this place out. On top of that, the drive up there is gorgeous.

September

This the month of homebrew reviews. I reviewed not one, not two but seven homebrews. Remember Regular Guy & Angry Inch Brewing? Well I finally was able to sit down and do a proper review of their beers. 

From Angry Inch Brewing:

• Daddy's Honey Pot Saison
• 42 Short & Portly
• Menage a Trois Tripel
• Four Horseman IPA 

From Regular Guy Brewing:

• Smokey Grove Porter
• Hot Blonde Jalapeno
• Unnamed Extra Pale Ale 

Also worth noting is my interview with Sarina Otabi, who is the co-founder of Bluenose Gopher Brewery, an upcoming brewpub that will be based out of Granite Falls, MN which is scheduled to open sometime in the near future. It was a fun interview and I enjoyed learning more about the brewpub and what the future plans are.

October

The big thing to happen to me in October was being brought on board by Northland Beer, a website that is dedicated to raising awareness of the craft beer scene in the Upper Midwest. I am extremely grateful to be part of such a wonderful team and I really enjoy having another outlet to get my name and writing out there.

November & December

Finally to wrap up the year, a couple of pretty big things happened and the first thing I'd like to bring up is finding out that Angry Inch Brewing is planning on opening up their own brewery sometime next year in Lakeville, MN. They were also kind enough to let me officially announce the opening on Northland Beer's main website. 

During a tasting party I attended for Angry Inch Brewing back in November, several people who were at the event were familiar with my blog thanks to word of mouth by Angry Inch and quite fond of my work. To me, it was a very humbling experience and it was fun talking with everyone. 

Overall, it was a fun year and I am looking forward to what next year has in store for me. In fact, I know 2015 is going to be a great year. How do I know this? You'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks for reading and have a Happy New Year!

- Nick

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

Angry Inch 42 Short & Portly Review

Name: Angry Inch 42 Short & Portly 
Style: Porter
ABV: 8.3%

It's time to take a look at the second beer given to me courtesy of Angry Inch Brewing. For this review, I'm taking a look at one of their newest offerings which happens to be their 42 Short & Portly Porter. What makes this porter unique is that it's aged on cocoa nibs and it's also the first porter I've had from Angry Inch.

42 Short & Portly pours a pitch black color with a thin khaki colored head with some mild carbonation and lacing along the sides of the glass.

The nose is roasty yet malty at the same time. I'm picking up on roasted barley & chocolate malts at first. However the further in I go, I start to pick up on some vanilla sweetness and the cocoa nibs used in the brewing process. It smells almost like a cross between a porter and an imperial stout...almost!

The flavor very roasty upfront, but once you get passed that, it starts to taste surprisingly sweet! At first, it's roasted barley which transitions into a chocolate maltiness with cocoa nibs and that distinct vanilla sweetness that was in the aroma manages to make it into the flavor as well. The aftertaste is fairly roasty with some bitter hoppiness.

The palate is pretty heavily weighted and has a good amount of thickness to it. The carbonation is pretty light and it makes for a reasonably easy drinker.

42 Short & Portly is a very well put together porter. The cocoa nib and vanilla flavors in particular make me absolutely enjoy what this beer has to offer. Another excellent offering by the guys from Angry Inch Brewing and definitely one of the better porters I've had!

Angry Inch 42 Short & Portly - 9.25/10

Angry Inch Daddy's Honey Pot Review

Name: Angry Inch Daddy's Honey Pot

Style: Saison

ABV: 8.6%

For these next few reviews as I will be looking at some beers from breweries that are currently in the works. While they are technically still considered "homebrews," I will be treating these beers the same way I would from any brewery in terms of scoring.

Also, new logo!

My first review comes courtesy of Angry Inch Brewing based out of Rosemount, Minnesota. I've been talking with the guys from Angry Inch for about a year now and even did a write-up on them a few months back where I sampled their beers. This time around, I'm able to sit down and take a more in-depth look into their offerings. The first beer I will be taking a look at is their Daddy's Honey Pot Saison, which is a Saison brewed with honey. 

The monkier of this beer comes from a nickname that a friend brewer/co-owner Jon's goes by. This beer also won them 1st Place at last year's Beer Dabbler in the Belgian Homebrew Category and is a crowd favorite at tasting events.

Daddy's Honey Pot pours a very hazy yellow color with little in terms of visible carbonation. The head pours a thin white color before fading away, although it does leave behind some soapy lacing.

The nose is fairly Belgian Yeast forward with some sweet honey notes, cloves, and toffee-like malts. There's a bit of mild hoppiness in here too but it's tucked away in the back.

The flavor strikes more of a balance with prominent Belgian Yeasts & Honey notes upfront followed by some floral hoppiness and cloves. The back end of the flavor and aftertaste is a cross between honey and caramel maltiness with a hint of hop bitterness.

The palate possess a reasonably heavy body but has some mild carbonation. It's the type of mouthfeel you'd expect if you want to experience the flavors that this beer has to offer.

I mentioned a few paragraphs up that this was a big hit at the Beer Dabbler and the reasons are apparent: It's a flavorful saison with a sweet and unique spin to it. Should you find yourself at one of their tasting events, I would highly recommend checking this out.

Angry Inch Daddy's Honey Pot - 9/10

Minnesota Craft Beer Week 2014 - Angry Inch Brewing Company

Sunday morning had come around and I woke up to the realization I would have to go home soon. It had been a fun filled week full of many different kinds of beers but I realize that all good things have to come to an end eventually.  Before I made my way back to Duluth, there was one final stop I had to make...

Earlier this year, I got in touch with the guys from Angry Inch Brewing Company, based out of Rosemount, Minnesota and have been keeping in touch with them in regards to their beers and plans for a commercial brewery. A few weeks ago, I was invited by to try out some of their beers at a private tasting and since I am always looking for new beers to try out, I gladly accepted. And frankly, what better way to end Minnesota Craft Beer Week than with beer from an up-and-coming brewery?

Now a little background about the brewery. First off, the guys from Angry Inch are still technically considered "Homebrewers" but they are looking for a place to set up a production brewery. When they set up shop in the Rosemount/Eagan/Apple Valley area, they will be the first production brewery in the Southeast Twin Cities Metropolitan area, to my knowledge.

Secondly, the brewery name comes from the movie title "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", a musical about a rock band whose lead singer is an East German Transvestite. It was a film that Jon's old roommate once recommended to him and it would later serve as the basis for the brewery's name.

Lastly, Jon and Josh recently took home first and second place in the Belgian Category at The Beer Dabbler festival for two of their beers, which I will be looking at.....

So you probably are wondering to yourselves: How is the beer? Well, thankfully for you I have alot to say about it. That's because I had not one, not two, but twelve different beers from these guys!

Solar Eclipse White IPA - The first beer that we started out with in our tasting. It had a very nice and lightly tart citrus hop flavor with a solid malted wheat base. Very smooth texture and easy to drink.

Speedy's Lager - Named after an old foreman of Jon's who passed away a few years ago. The plans for this beer are to donate a portion of the sales of this beer to charity. This is a darker amber lager with some light hoppiness and a chocolate malt finish. Nothing complex, but what a great way to honor someone!

Easy Amber - Both a deliberate use of a double entendre and it's considered the easiest beer to brew according to both Jon & Josh. It's got a surprisingly fruity nose that smells like strawberries, but upon drinking it, you're treated to a pretty smooth and tame amber ale.

Easy Amber on Strawberries - On the other hand, the nose in this beer is actually pretty tame and barely shows any fruity characteristics. Once you drink it, the strawberries really start to shine through which compliments the flavor nicely.

Angry Inch Pale Ale - An APA with some nice citrus hop and yeast notes. APAs don't tend to break the mold much but this was very tasty! Not overly complex but still a very easy to drink beer.

Nyctophobia Black IPA - A beer which derives it's name from a fear of the dark. This Black IPA has a fairly strong roasty characteristic but also a strong citrus and cascade hop flavor. Quite tasty I might add, especially since I'm seeing Black IPAs slowly gaining traction in terms of popularity 

Nyctophobia Black IPA w/ Cold Pressed Coffee - A variation of the original brew. This definitely is dominated more by the coffee and roasted barley flavor but the citrus hops still manage to poke their head though. I'd say resembles a cross between an IPA and a Porter.

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Smoke Signals IPA - A smoked IPA and definitely more of an offbeat IPA-style. Starts out with a pretty citrus/fruity flavor with a lightly smoked oak/rauch malt flavor on the back of the palate.

AiB Milk Stout - Very nice lactose and chocolate flavors along with moderate roasted barley. I homebrewed a milk stout earlier this year and thought it was pretty good. However after having this, I think mine paled in comparison to this!

Four Horseman IPA - Another IPA offering which uses 4 different types of hops. This IPA has a little bit of everything: Citrus Hops, Piney Hops, Floral Hops, and a nice malty backbone. I found this to be very flavorful and well balanced.

Daddy's Honey Pot Saison - The first place winner of the Belgian Category at The Beer Dabbler and derives it's name from friend of Jon's. This is an incredibly smooth and well put together Saison. Everything from the Belgian Yeasts to the sweet honey used in making. I was told that this was a crowd favorite at the tasting events and I can totally see why!

Dubbel Trouble - The second place winner in the Belgian Category at The Beer Dabbler. There is one way to describe this beer: Lots of stopping power. Rarely do I stop drinking mid-sip because of the sheer intensity of a beer flavor. It's got it's share of booziness but it also has some very strong and vibrant dark fruit and candied caramel malt notes.

After having their beers, I can honestly say that I am very excited to see how their brewery unfolds in the future. Though they may not considered "professional" brewers as of yet, these guys make some really tasty and flavorful beers.

What I originally thought was going to be a 1 hour get-together turned into a 3 hour discussion about their beer, their experiences as well as sharing our knowledge of brewing and beer with each other. I could've been back in Duluth in the time we were talking. You know what, it was totally worth it! Jon and Josh are fun guys to talk to and I can safely say that I had alot of fun at the tasting event.

It was a fun week and I think my visit really helped it end on a fitting note. Thanks to Angry Inch Brewing Company for having me over, I cannot wait to try your beers again!