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 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

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.

You can also follow Angry Inch on Facebook and Twitter

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!