Vishnu's Vice IPA
Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery

 

 

64oz Growler
$14.95
Flossmoor Station

7.7%

Vishnu's Vice occupies the clear growler and makes it glow orange. When poured into a pint glass there's no difference. The body has a slight haze to it and the carbonation appears almost still with only a couple rising bubbles here and there. The off white head grew to two fingers on the pour and left some solid lacing on its way down the glass. This is a good looking IPA.

The nose on this IPA is outstanding! It's loaded with tropical fruitiness including bitter grapefruit, pineapple, mango, and papaya all in that order from most to least. The malt profile is sugary cake like with a drizzle of caramel. My description of the malt doesn't matter a whole lot though because this IPA is 100% hop driven and those hops are magical. There's an alcohol so clean in the aroma the only way I know it's there is the drying sensation in my nose when I take a whiff.

The flavor follows the aroma very closely. A tropical fruitiness drips over every taste bud while the bitter pink grapefruit takes center stage. All the complex hoppiness fits into its own special little niche and contributes to the grapefruit bitterness perfectly. The malt has just enough presence to keep the hops from running roughshod, but the hops are in charge without a doubt. The depth of flavor in this IPA really is something else.

The body of Vishnu's Vice is right down the center of the spectrum. The carbonation that doesn't look present is there enough to add a smooth creaminess to the body but keep it moving fast enough to not get stale. The bitterness grows and grows the more I drink until my entire mouth is numb with hoppy goodness.

This IPA is toeing the line of being an IIPA. An argument could go either way as to what it really is but whatever it may be it is going down incredibly easy. These couple glasses are a sheer joy to drink.

I've had quite a few of the offerings from Flossmoor including most of the IPAs they've had on tap and Vishnu's Vice is one of their best IPAs and one of their best overall beers period. I actually tried this side by side against Surly Furious at the brewpub today and this was the better IPA hands down; and I love me some Furious. This is a must try if you're in the area.

 

 

***Will have to work on determining the specific identity of this one. The dark green wax could denote a couple of different possibilities, and since I received this one as part of a "care" package; just not sure. I'll work on it....***

Poured from a 650 ml bottle into a standard pint.

A: Dark golden hue. Decent amount of carbonation. Pours about a 1 finger, foamy, white head. Settles pretty slowly, leaving some sticky residue behind as it does. Eventually, leaves a blanket of bubbles on the surface. Plenty of beer ring lacing.

S: Hoppy, piny, and very floral; with just a little baked bread.

T: Very hoppy. Lemon citrus.

M: Mouth puckering but hearty hop tone. Steely, dry finish.

D: The hop here will dictate a slow paced drink.

Atmosphere is good. Nice golden hue, and a decent head with plenty of lacing. Nose is full and floral. Flavor is not complex, but heavily hopped while maintaining a hearty graininess. Overall, this is a really good quaff.

 

 

 

 

Review from backlog, Summer 2010.

A - Pours a hazy orange-goldenrod, and is capped with a moderate-lived head.

S - The nose is dank and citric, offering pine, mango sap, cannabis and orange zest. There is also a sweet sugar cookie note that I know as jaggery.

T - The flavor is more sweet / less bitter than the nose suggests, and has a lot less dankness; it is not a bad thing, though. Herbal and fruity notes abound, including lemongrass, tangerine, and mango sap, and the malt is mildly toasty. Tastes good.

M - IPA. Good.

D - Easily crushed; could drink this all the time.

Reviewed from notes. I believe this bottle was from Masterski. Thanks, Alex.

Pours a light copper color with a single-finger white head that dissolves a bit quickly. Nose brings forward some strong line and citrus. A bit of pale malt backing, but not much. The hops are more subtle in the flavor with a pretty good backing bitterness for a nice dry feel. Drinkability is nice. A nice refreshing IPA.

Big thanks to Jim for passing this along - dark green waxed bottle.

Pours a dark, hazy amber that shows a much brighter orange when held up to the light. There is a small soapy beige head that recedes to a thick collar and leaves very good lacing.

The aroma is all about the citrus - lots of orange peel, lemon zest and pineapple. Some sweet caramel malt and a bit of floral as well.

The taste is more citrus with the pineapple being joined by some pithy grapefruit bitterness. There is a definite caramel malt sweetness in the background and some floral bitterness in the finish.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and thick with resinous hop juice.

Another solid IPA from Flossmoor, a balanced citrus-forward beer that goes down very easy.

2010 Release

Aroma:Sweet grapefruit and pineapple in the nose.

Appearance:Honey in color with a big white head.

Taste:Lots of hops right in the foretaste. After a few sips, I can start to get some mild sweet apricot/peach flavors in the midtaste. The aftertaste is mostly just bitter hops that fades into a slightly sweet nutty malt flavor.

Mouthfeel:The huge hop load on this give the entire drink some astringency. The carbonation is good.

Drinkability:This is a quite enjoyable IPA, but not as good as some of the others that I have had. It's a little to harsh to be sessionable.

I picked up a few of these bottles in Chicago this week, $9.99 each. Dark green wax, July 2010 release.

The beer is clear, light copper color, with some floating fines. Thin white foam and just a little lacing. The aroma is strongly citrus but also has a good amount of malt in it, a grainy quality to the smell. After a few whifs I get more floral hops, I like it more the more I'm exposed to it.

The beer tastes really complex hops-wise, loads of west coast style hops abrasiveness, unfortunately the grains are noticeable too. It's delicious but not what I'd hoped based on previous reviews, probably not my favorite Flossmoor IPA which is unfortunate. The mouthfeel is light and casky as appropriate, definitely this has the "Flossmoor" DNA, great but not super-great.

Thanks to Sean for the tip to head over to Flossmoor a couple days after this hit. 2nd bottling.

Nice looking mostly clear light amber color with a solid white head.

Smells mostly citrusy.

Taste is mostly citrusy as well. A sharp bite of the hops is the first thing you'll notice. Nice bitter orangey hops like orange zest and grapefruit. A decent amount of malt in the bill but the hops definitely dominate. The bitterness lingers nicely.

The feel is a little slick and resiny buy not too much. Just the right amount of fine carbonation.

Nice job Flossmoor! Overall an outstanding IPA. I look forward to trying more of your offerings.

Beer poured from a bottle into a DFH snifter. Its dark amber and forms a thin head of small white bubbles that leave a little lacing on the glass.

Aroma is piny and mildly malty, its nice.

Beer is medium bodied and leads with a some maltiness, moderate to high hoppiness in the back and there is a kind of late palate chewiness. The flavors and bitterness lingers in the mouth but not as an aftertaste but as a kind of growing bitterness that frames the total feel. Its pretty good.

Got a 22oz bottle of this from yeahnatenelson. Green wax. Into two New Belgium globes, split with my girlfriend.

A: Nice copper in color with a stark white head, mostly cloudy, some carbonation moving through the glass. Not much head retention from the 1/4" or so that came from the pour. Nice gobs of lacing from what was there.

S: Pungent hops, man, this is dank with hop resins, insanely resiny. Smells a lot like sweetgrass initially. Juicy hops, citrus and fresh pine sap as well really is present. The hops are thick enough to taste them. Awesome. Underneath that there is a pretty decent amount of caramel, but you really have to look for it. Excellent.

T: Follows the nose nicely, excellent citrus but also the nice sweetgrass note comes through in the flavor. Slightly grainy underneath that, and there is a definite presence of caramel. Strong bitterness, with a great lasting power on the tongue. The bitterness reminds of biting right into a grapefruit peel. Wow, this is every bit on par with any West Coast hop bomb. It may have faded a touch, but not enough so that this isn't true to the original beer. This is something else. Excellent.

M: Spot on in the mouth, medium body with a medium-low carbonation that is excellent for IPAs. Excellent lingering bitterness that aids in the dryness that this beer has. Excellent here.

D: This is not hard to drink at all, the hoppiness is huge, and definitely in your face, not to mention the excellent bitterness, perfect dryness helps to keep this one going down. This is a great hot weather beer. Excellent IPA, one of the better ones out there.

Thanks Nate!

Thanks goes to BeerFMAndy for another beer to sample.

Poured into my pint glass the beer is lightly cloudy orange gold with a thick two fingers of off white head. Huge sticky lace gobs remain.

The aroma is heavy on the cedar and pine. Holy hampster cage. I'm not sure if that's what they were shooting for but I'm not a fan.

The flavor is again loaded with cedar and pine. Like cedar chips drizzled with pine sap. Pretty one dimensional.

Medium bone dry body. Moderate carbonation.

Overall a bit to woody for my taste. I struggled to finish my glass for sure.

22 oz bottle split and poured into a Sierra Nevada imperial pint. "Keeps best in ice box", "O.G. Does it really matter?", "Color: Gold to Amber, Bitterness: Plenty 40", no date.

There was no beer name on the bottle but it had green wax as shown. I assume it's the correct IPA. [Given the correct IPA name from DavidEddie and emerge077, thanks guys!]

Thanks to emerge077 for this beefy IPA!

A - Clear golden amber beer is brilliant looking with a phenomenal bone-white head and fantastic lacing coating the whole glass on the slow way down.

S - Am I in the berm cleaning up grass-clippings and dry wood chips? That's what it smells like! Tons of earthy, mulchy hops really bust out and overwhelm the malts in this. Normally I really don't like this aroma but I find it intriguing from this beer.

T - Toffee and honey coated biscuit malts are overshadowed heavily by very mulch-like, grassy, wood chip-flavored hops.

M - Medium-bodied and fairly bitter with a good balance to the finish despite the overwhelming hops. The maltiness balances nicely leaving a smooth mouthfeel and a dry, hoppy bitter finish.

D - Thankfully I'm sharing this bomber because the woodiness and grass is getting to me towards the finish of my pint. It's a good IPA but it has become a bit of a chore to finish.