At the beginning of a new year, resolutions are a constant. Beer drinkers are no different. While I haven’t made the commitment that Midwest editor Mike Zoller has to “no hazy IPAs” in 2019, I have decided that I’m going to push myself to drink new styles and try new breweries.

A brewery that has been on my radar for a while that I haven’t given a lot of attention to is 18th Street Brewery in northwest Indiana. I’d had a couple of drafts at a couple of places, but never sat down with one of their offerings and dissected it.

I went to my local beer shop and picked up a four pack of 18th Street Disciple’s Revenge. Discipline’s Revenge is an Imperial IPA coming in at 9.8% ABV. I was particularly excited for this because it wasn’t a juice bomb, which I’d been drinking too much of and didn’t feel right for the bitter Chicago winter. The idea of an Imperial IPA filled with malty goodness that could keep you warm during the winter was right up my alley.

Originally packaged as a 24-ounce bomber, I found Disciple’s Revenge in a 4 pack of 16 oz cans with an attention-grabbing label of a coyote skin hanging over a goat(?). The label was designed by Joey Potts.

This is a flashback to IPAs before the era of juice bombs. This beer was NOT formed at the intersection of beer and orange juice. The beer pours a beautiful copper with a nonexistent head.

The smell brought me back to a time before juice bombs. Upon my first sniff, I got a major whiff of the spent barley smell that anyone who has been to a brewery knows well. Along with a few hop traces of pine, this beer felt like a flashback Imperial IPA.

Upon first taste, the malt comes through big on this one from taste to finish.  Little tiny flavor bursts of hoppiness punctuate the beer, giving it a nice balance for an Imperial IPA. I didn’t detect many obvious fruit notes, but a whiff of pine and alcohol that adds balance to the beer.

Disciple’s Revenge is a nice dip into the “past” of the IPA. It’s a strong, balanced Imperial IPA that helps keep you warm through a chilly winter season. I made good on half of my resolution – I just can’t pull myself away from those IPAs. Cheers!

 

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