Forbidden Root (2018)

Just stickin' this here since it's too late to put in the "what beer are you drinking now" feed I usually contribute to. Last night's visit to FR included the lamb ribs (OF COURSE), and finally had the cheeseburger with the Frame & Canvas IPA in the background. To quote the great George Takei: "ooohhhh mmyyyyy..."

 

their fries taste like McDonald’s fries (that’s a good thing by the way). The burger is dope AF and frame and canvas is my favorite offering from them in a long time. Maybe I’ll go get a burger and fries for lunch today and a growler of F&C to go

 

Yeah, it's pretty damn good. And agreed on F&C - though I think I missed a release or 3 these past few weeks. Good choice @ISpendTooMuchOnBeer !

 

I hate their fries. But man, that grain bowl is the joint.

 

Will be in town next week for FOBAB. Doing some brewery hopping and then the GI dinner on 11/9. Forbidden Root is definitely on the list to check out that weekend, but it sounds like Thursday is the best day. Is there timeline for new beer tapping and cans? Or will they be on at open? Thanks!

 

I generally eat lots of meat; steaks and pork chops and fried chicken and whatnot. But that grain bowl is amazing. If I for some reason chose to become a vegetarian, I would be able to survive off of that dish.

 

Grain bowl disappeared off the menu recently I think

 

Usually 6pm. But I'll let @KrajDoesBeer confirm.

 

Well, rats. That's disappointing.

 

Currently drinking a night moth can. It is delicious, however (not necessarily a bad thing) it has a slight tartness and funkiness to it. In a similar vein to what I taste in a lot of barrel aged saisons and barrel aged Brett beers.

@BJP Any idea what led to that? I've noticed in my own homebrrwing that introducing oxygen during the brewing process to a beer with Brett or even to lesser extent certain "saison" yeasts that a similar flavor profile tends to developed. My guess would be the wood added to night moth introduced some oxygen while the yeast was still active and developed those flavors (which again is actually very enjoyable). Or maybe the beer fermented at a higher temp than usual (which can also be influenced by oxygen presence). Any hypotheses here. Was this flavor intentional?

Didn't pick up on this flavor in the original batch. Was the wood added earlier in the process in this batch?

 

Not disappeared... our menu will always be seasonal!! the mushroom pot pie and Chicken and dumplings are some fun fall/winter time dishes! Grain Bowl will be back at some point!

 

Grain bowl b1 was OG. I hear grain bowl b2 didn’t pop as much. Grain bowl b3 may have more flaked oats?

 

Batch 3 is infected. FYI.

 

Had 3 of my NM cans a couple weeks ago and absolutely loved this beer. Read your post and thought "that guy's crazy" and took out my last can tonight. Well, if you are crazy, so am I. I so wanted you to be wrong. I have no idea what caused it, but it is there for sure. No where close to the beer it was before. Definitely a phenolic flavor going on now.

I found this: https://beerandbrewing.com/off-flavor-phenolic/
This point intrigued me: "Eugenol is found in cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla" Something to do with the vanilla? Not much of a brewer, so what do I know. But it is definitely there.

 

Welp, I think now is a good time to tell you all...

I left FR almost 2 months ago.

I haven't made any public announcements because I wanted to wait until they found a replacement.

It wasn't a decision I came to quickly or easily but rather one I wrestled with for the better part of a year. In the end I had to make the best decision for my career, future and family.

The past year, learning to brew the nepas out in the open...with you all, was an amazing experience. I'm proud of the beers we were putting out and feel like I got to check some big things off my bucket list in a short time. 3 dream collabs: FFF (bonus points 'cause Todd Haug), Publican and Fernet Branca. And then ending with some of the best pales in Chicago. I had a good run and I have no regrets.

Thanks for being passionate and honest. Thanks for taking time out of your busy lives and spending your hard earned money. I'm not one of those brewers who "brews what I like" and fuck everyone else. I wanted to brew beers that people got excited about. The feedback I got from here and from talking to people in the pub made me a better brewer. Sincerely, thank you.

Where did I go?

I have re-booted my market research career in corporate America. Not exciting, I know. But I'm back at it with a renewed enthusiasm, confidence and determination.

I'm not completely ruling out something in the beer industry but for now, it's on the back burner.

Cheers,

BJ

 

Dang well good luck in your future endeavors!

 

Thank you for everything you did. Forbidden Root made massive leaps and bounds with you around, not just in NEIPAs but with all the beers that you guys put out. I was initially not a fan (way, way back), but seeing all the progress the brewery made on all beer fronts has been incredible. FR is now a top three brewery in the city for me (Dovetail and Off Color are my other two, in case anyone is curious, no ranking). Your communication with us on here was amazing as well. You'll be missed.

Thankfully we still have Kraj and now Nik who are also great at communicating. Again, thank you!

 

Wish you all the best @BJP ! Thanks for all your open communication about your brewing process here in the forum and being such an amazing kick ass brewer. After moving to Chicago half a year ago Forbidden Root quickly became my #1 favorite brewery and that's due the beers you were putting on the map here and the brewery continues to be my #1. Thanks!

 

Good luck and don’t be a stranger to BA and beer in general.

 

@BJP congrats on the new adventure. You will definitely be missed. Thank you for always being responsive on here and helping make forbidden root my favorite brewery in Chicago. Best of luck man.