Caraway IPA
Schlafly Beer - The Tap Room

The Saint Louis Brewery, LLC "Schlafly Caraway IPA"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, "Bottled With Love On 08282017 07 40"
$2.99 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: So what is this, a beer made with caraway seeds? Yeah, wow, it says "ALE BREWED WITH CARAWAY" right on the front of the label. Well let's give it a shot. The creamy off white head seems to be holding quite well above its hazy golden orange body. The aroma is malty with some caramel, and citrusy and lightly piney. Not bad. On to the flavor... well there is caraway there, how weird! On the other hand, it doesn't taste weird, but it is unusual. At first I got the flavor of the caraway, but now I'm getting some spiciness from it. Where did the citrusy and piney hops go though? They're there in the background, and I guess it's best that they're not right upfront, that would be too much of a mess with so much going on all at once. It's a little bit like a rye beer, which is interesting. So right up front I'll say I like this. It's unusual and interesting, and well put together with sweetish malt upfront and spicy and earthy and herbal notes in the finish. The questions are - will I like it at the end of the glass, and would I want to have a second serving? I'm guessing probably not, but that's not a bad thing, that just goes to drinkability, or a "more-ish" character as the Brits say. And what does my personal taste have to do with it anyway? Maybe you'd like to have another one. It is pretty nice, maybe I'll change my mind. In the mouth it's medium bodied and creamy and smooth with just enough bite as any more might amplify the spiciness and make it seem too biting. Looking back I've got a very decent patch of broken lace running around the glass, so I'd say it's got very good lacing. Overall it's pretty nice. I'm still not sure where I stand on it's drinkability but I will say that it's nicely rounded and balanced. None of its components pokes out at you, or gets left behind. Rich and flavorful, somewhat unusual, sweet and then spicy, and 7.2% ABV - what's not to like?

 

Pours a pretty deep amber, 2 finger head that dissipates to a thin lacing. Wow, the nose on this is incredibly inviting. Heavy pine and resinous hops. Even pick up the faint malts. Taste is complex, hops hit you up front but then are quickly mellowed by the malty backbone. Really pleasant. Consider the 7.2% ABV, this guy has a VERY easy-drinking feel. Even Mom liked it. It's a damn shame it's not a year-round beer from Schlafly!

the beer is pretty good, but the idea is wonderful! this is the direction i want to see ipa go, there are enough fruited and multiple dry hopped ones at this point, and i think spices and herbs are the next frontier. this is a cool leap in that direction, a well made ipa with shades of pumpernickel bread or something, a dry rye type spice, a balancing caramelized crystal type malt as well, and a sturdy northwestern hop complexion, also a little spicy it seems, vegetal and fresh and balanced more than anything else. lots of interesting flavors here, almost sounds like it shouldnt work, but it does in reality. it has a lot of bread qualities to it, when i focus, i can get fennel, brown sugar, and bread yeast, its earthy and hearty nd even strong enough to be autumnal or wintery, and there is good bitterness from the hops at the end, but for an ipa, this seems only moderately hop forward, enough other things going on that they are obscured a little bit. i think this is pretty darn clever and i want to see a lot more hoppy beers move in this direction, its fun and unexplored. nice to schlafly leading the innovation here. well worth a try this fall, this had my attention from the first drop...

Pours a clear amber color. 1/2 inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of spicy hops, sweet malt, pale malt, resin, and slight citrus hops. Fits the style of an American IPA. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of spicy hops, sweet malt, pale malt, resin, earthiness, hint of spice, and slight citrus hops. Overall, good appearance, feel, body, and blend.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured out a clear, golden amber color with a small, off-white head of foam. It smelled of caraway and toasted caramel. Fairly spicy flavor with some sweet caramel.

Amber color with a light haze...this brew had a slim white head. The aroma is herbal, hoppy, and has a bit of caraway aroma. The taste is balanced, with malt and decent hop bitterness. Earthy spice notes and a firm finish. Not bad.

Copper colored with an inch of thick creamy beige. Light lacing. The aroma is of piney hops. I'm not picking up the caraway. I'm tasting the light pine flavor along with light crackery malt. The mouth is lightly resinous and sticky.

I'm a beer fan, not a beer pro, but I've been a lot of places in the world and have tasted many great beers, with my favorite being Delirium Tremens fresh from the tap in Belgium. The Schlafly Carraway IPA is the closest thing that I have tasted to Delirium. Wonderful aroma, hoppy and still smooth, nice on the tongue. Wonderful with steak or a burger.

Beautiful burnt orange, discernible hop haze, rich tan head. Aromas are piney, fruity hops and a healthy malt bill, with caramel and rye leading the way.

The taste has a significant hop presence, especially the pine notes, and then the caramel and rye malt notes take over. This is an excellent fall IPA, IMHO.