It Goes To 11
Piece Brewery & Pizzeria

 

 

 

Served in a tulip glass at the brewpub.

Nothing like a Spinal Tap reference with my beer (if only that was on the screen in front of me, rather than the damn Olympics...gotta be the most boring collection of sports videos ever!). This stuff pours a clear amber-gold topped by over a finger of lightly off-cream foam. The nose comprises orange zest, light leek, yellow grapefruit peel, sweet caramel, and a light musty quality in the background. Considering the awesome smell of the normal IPA, I expected this one, replete with tons of hops, apparently, to have a bit more of a hoppy brightness to it, but alas... The taste brings a healthy amount of citrus rind and leek and lays them on a bed of sweet caramel. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and an almost dry finish. Overall, a solid IPA, but one that just doesn't do much to stand out from the wide field of IPAs out there.

 

Served in a tulip. Darker orange in color with a hint of brown. Comes with a smaller off white head that dissipates to virtual nothingness. No lacing. Aroma Is lightly sweet, with lots of citrus, most notably orange, though lemon to a lesser extent. Taste starts with a moderate orangey sweetness, more citrus and just a hint of pine. There is a sweet maltiness, but the hops are really what ce through on this one. Finish is surprisingly quick and there is virtually no bitterness (which is odd given the amount of hops). On the heavier side of medium. Sweet, mildly slick mouthfeel. A decent (certainly better than average) beer, but would have liked to see a bit more bitterness on this one to balance out the sweetness.

Piece's 11th Anniversary Ale. On tap, served in a tulip.

A: Pours a clear dark amber color with a thin white head forming the pour. It recedes quickly to thin ring, but still leaves some sticky splotches of lace down the glass.

S: Nice sticky nectar with some mild resin and dankness. Tropical fruits with a mild, malty sweetness, but the hops are the star of the show.

T: The taste follows the nose nicely. Same delicious fruity nectar with nice tropical fruit notes. The dankness gives it another dimmension and there is a little most sweetness from the malts to give it a touch more balance. Minimal alcohol is present.

M: Medium to light bodied with a nice carbonation. The finish is slightly sweet and oily from the hops. This thing is scary drinkable. It drinks like it's 5%, not 8.5%.

O: This one was really good and super drinkable. Keeping the body a little lighter made it work extremely well. Would definitely recommend while it's still on.