The Ill Peripheral
Marz Community Brewing

Rediculous!

Poured into a pilsener glass, the appearance was a glossy bright yellow color with a two finger white foamy head that took it's time dissipating. Two light rings of lace wrapped around the glass in a sticky manner.
The aroma had the schisandra berries up front, light spice with a certain sweetness and a sly berry-ish tart like skin. Lingering hop spice with some grassy hop effects. The sweet corn seemed to get stronger as the beer warmed.
The flavor was moderately sweet with a sly peppery spice making an effort to try and balance it out. Sly aftertaste of berry sweetness and corn sweetness, slight breadiness on the back end.
The mouthfeel was between light and medium bodied with a fair sessionability about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV seemed as projected. Berry sticky sweet and corn-like sweet in the finish.
Overall, part of me wishes the brewer just stayed with the schisandra berries and not put the sweet corn in this. But it's still a solid lager with a nice creativity about it.

500ml Bottle
$6.99
Binny's - Montgomery, IL

The Ill Peripheral is a damn fine looking beer. Pale golden with a soft haze that diffuses the light and makes it glow. It looks like the best of zwickels. The head is as pure as the driven snow. It even goes so far as to drift like the real thing. A big, bulbous glob of stiff foam peaks and valleys as it slowly settles to a finger cap. It leaves behind near sheet lacing. THis really looks great.

Damn, this stuff will make your mouth water. Bright, freshly cracked grain gets things moving. A faint whisper of corn comes along for the ride. The hop notes are floral and a little musty, exactly like walking through a batch of wildflowers, which the berries may or may not add to. fresh cut grass also makes itself known. There is a touch of fruitiness as it warms a bit, that I'm assuming is the berries, but it may be my mind playing tricks. Either way, yum.

Ah, yes. The berry comes out a bit more in the flavor. Freshly cracked grain and and the softly sweet corn get it moving again. These two aspects are the stars.The wildflower and grassy hoppiness isn't as bright as the nose suggested but they're still there and they're still good. The berries add a bit of berry like sweetness on the back end and just a whisper of tart which then brings with it a unique depth. I like this stuff.

The mouthfeel may be the best aspect. The body itself sits a touch below moderate with an incredible silkiness upfront. It quickly becomes airy and eventually frothy on the finish. It manages to do this without being prickly or overly carbonated. The finish leaves behind a whisper of sweetness before drying with a soft bitterness pervading. Hugely drinkable.

Well, Marz has created another killer lager. The addition of the berries is subtle, well done. It's a bright, crisp, delicious beer. Clean and just right. I could slam back a lot of these in a sitting without uttering a single complaint.

i could not be more stoked on this beer, a world class pilsener jazzed up with some really one of a kind ingredients, yet drinking non exotic, however still exciting, i mean, squarely a pils, but unique enough to be unforgettable, perhaps my favorite beer i had from marz in chicago, which is really saying something. brewed with schisandra berry, which is apparently also known as five flavored berry, because it hits all parts of the taste spectrum, but is more medicine than food, at least thats what wikipedia has told me. id love to taste it on its own, as its integration into this excellent base pils is tough to appreciate in that way, however it is sort of floral and even briny or acidic for a moment, which i would think this berry could provide. its also made with corn tea, which i dont know much about either, but i assume it sort of fills the adjunct malt role here, and it does it well, with a cream ale sort of sweetness and body, and a smooth earthy slightly sweet character, really enjoyable, lathery and frothy and so refreshing from the tap. the beer is radiant and golden and sexy in the glass, and it has dried berry and astringent elements in the nose, but also blooming flowers, noble hops, and light crackery graininess. compelling and awesome, i love it, perhaps my favorite lager of the year so far. absolutely sensational glass of beer, a unique twist in a style i thought had seen its final evolution!