Cap'n Kickass
Piece Brewery & Pizzeria

 

 

 

 

Every store that makes and sells pizza must have a terrific IPA on their menu to redeem and sort of credibility. And Piece does not disappoint. Packed with sharply resinous bitterness, the beer effortlessness slices through the pies with confidence and sheer refreshment.

Light caramel in color, the beer casts highlights of orange and amber when back lit. Mild in carbonation, the beer seems influenced by English cask ales with a low shouldered off-white head that caps the beer and laces gently. Although the beer gives the eye all that is needed, it's somewhat underwhelming.

What it gives up in aesthetics it makes up for in scent. Ripe citrus fruits, tropical sweetness, and the slightest backing of caramel malts provide a hop-dominant aromatic matrix that favors potency over complexity.

The focus on hops continue in taste as the malts coat the palate with a thin crystalline caramel sweetness in preparation for the spicy and acidic lupulin flavors to come. The mid palate delivers the citrusy onslaught of ruby red grapefruit juice, freshly zested oranges, apricots, mango, freshly muddled grasses, herbs, and chives. There's just enough sweetness to provided a 'candied' effect to the fruits and happens just before the citrus taste turns resiny bitter to finish. Clean, crisp, and refreshing the beer lingers in aftertaste with the cleanest of hop bitterness.

Medium bodied throughout, the beer's low-lying carbonation allows the beer to sit weightedly on the tongue for its style. With the zesty hop flavors and pizza pairing, I need the the additional zip of carbonation to create more of an impression of acidity, bite, and snap. A late waiver of malt allows for minty alcohol warmth and hop dryness to close the beer cleanly and refreshingly.

Cap'n Kickass is a wonderful IPA that settles both the palate, stomach and mind with confidence and pleasure. Even though the beer is absolutely dominated by hop character, there's a lot of finesse and skill working behind the scene to avoid any harshness or blandness from occurring.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the source. This was my first beer of the night. Served in a pint glass.

A: Pours a hazy peach color with a one finger light yellow head forming on the pour. It recedes to a thin film and leaves soapy lace on the sides of the glass.

S: Nice citrus aroma with a mango sweetness, light pine and some mild resinous hops that are balanced by a pale malt body.

T: Floral and citrusy up front. There are nice tropical fruit and pineapple flavors with a light lemon grass and mild hop bitterness as well. The finish is of Hawaiian sweet bread and pale malts.

M: Medium to light bodied with a semi sticky, tongue coating texture. Nice carbonation with a sweet malt finish.

O: Very surprised to find out this is 7.50% ABV. It really doesn't show at all and drinks like a heavy pale ale. I recommend you try this nicely balanced IPA.

On-tap at Piece while killing time before No Tell Motel at Debonair. Served in a pint glass.

A - Served in a quarter-finger of foam that settled to a thin cap, thick collar, and a few splotches of lace. Hazy dark orange-bronze body. I suspect this would have had better head volume, but I appreciate the honest pour.

S - Big ripe citrus flesh and zesty rind, touch of grass, a bit of sugary malt in the periphery. A tad understated, but quite nice.

T - The taste is again heavy on orange citrus juiciness - guessing there is a hefty dose of Centennial and/or Cascade hops here - as well as a touch of grapefruit and tropical fruit. Finish is a tad herbal, with bitterness that grows to a moderate level by the end of the glass. Malt character is largely in the periphery, and there's no perceptible alcohol either.

M - Zesty carbonation, medium body, dry finish, some residual hop oils. No obvious alcohol presence. A few too many bubbles for my liking.

D - A solid, well-crafted IPA that is a bit of a Chicago-area sleeper. I like this better than the majority of hoppy offerings from Haymarket, Revolution, or Goose Island. The listed 7.5% ABV seems a touch excessive for the style, but I strongly considered getting a growler.

Served in a pint glass at Piece 3/10/12.

A: Exceedingly cloudy, bright copper color. Just off-white head that does a decent job of sticking around before melting away and not leaving too much lace.

S: This just stinks of hops. Grapefruit, pine, and tropical fruit.

T: See above. A hint of earthiness that is complimented by the aforementioned citrus, pine, and tropical hops.

M: Very well balanced. Just the right amount of malt heft and restrained sweetness. Spicy hops lay a beautiful beating on my tongue.

O: Very nice IPA. Could nail a growler if this...more so if it weighed in at 5-6%.

 

 

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a light copper color with a white head and some good lacing. The nose brings some bright pine hops and a tad bit of pale malt. Taste is slightly resinous and has a bit of backing malt. Nice and bitter with a light to medium body. Drinks well and is a nice offering.

pour is a bit paler than most IPA's. an orange amber with a off white head. a tint caramel. smell is lemon, a mild pineapple, a bit candy and some woody yeast. the foam is delicious. lightly sweet pineapple with a hint of vanilla. the beer has great balence, fruit character, lemon zest, mango, breadiness, and a hint of astringent drying hop. lightly peppery. a great beer. one of the best i've had here.

Somehow I got a growler of this, which at the time I didn't realize how lucky I was. It's their policy not to growler higher ABV beers (7% isn't really), but the sun was shining that day, and a holy hand came down and filled a growler for me. Hallelujah!

Dense orange body, dense foam as well. Lazy carbonation, at a somewhat low level.

Tropical aromas of peach, mango, and orange. This was one you couldn't help but sniff before every sip. Absolutely lush and packed with fruit.

Fairly full bodied with a zesty citrus punch of hops. Maltiness plays a supporting role, and the hop bouquet is deep and resiny. Long bitter finish.

I really wanted to drink the whole growler myself, but it was better that it was passed around. Captain Kick Ass lived up to his name, and would be a challenger to the reigning champion Dreadnaught in the ring.

Let me start out by saying that if you're in the tri-state area you owe it to yourelf to get down on some Piece Pizza. That place flat out freakin' rocks. Awesome pizza, excellent beer and Captain Kick Ass was the perfect growler to drag back to Wisconin.

Appearance and smell were both very good if slightly unremarkable. Nice and citrusy in the nose, a bit mellow.

The flavor of this brew was fantastic. Great malts. A bit dark, but mellow. Very pleasant.

Due to the slight heaviness and the higher alcohol content I rated a bit lower for drinkablity. I hate having to moderate myself ;-) so I prefer a bit lighter, lower alcohol beers. But that's just me.

this was quite dark for an ipa, more brownish than orange with a slight haze. good head and lacing. loads of nutty malts and piney, floral hops in the nose. medium malt sweetness upfront with big, bittering hops throughout. there were roasty/nutty qualities to the malts rather than the usual caramel malt flavors in most IPAs. moutfeel was medium-heavy. this was very good but at 9% i can't have too many of these.