Piece Amarillo Brillo

Brewed by Piece Brewery & Pizzeria
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Chicago, Illinois USA

Nice and cloudy. Smells like, you guessed it, hops. Mad citrusy. Well constructed IIPA. better than thlse west coaster monstocities.

I visited the Piece brewery the last time I visited Chicago. This beer wasn’t on the menu, but was on the big chalk-board above the bar, and sounded a bit intriguing from our server’s description. Appearance is an opaque color the shade of milk chocolate. Not a shiny/brilliant looking beer, but inviting nonetheless. Odor was hops, hops, and more hops. The odor was an accurate predictor of the citrus-hop taste. Flavor was extremely hoppy, with a pleasing orange-pineapple flavor. As I drank it, there was an abundant super-sticky head. The head didn’t appear to be lacing, rather it appeared to be one giant sheet of foam hanging on the glass as I emptied it. I bought a growler of the Worryin’ Ale to take home...in retrospect, I wish I’d bought this instead.

Sampled on premise while watching the Bears get stomped by the Dolphins. I’m not sure if I got the beginning or end of the keg or what but my sample was unappealingly cloudy to the point of looking muddy. The head was practically non-existent at the time of serving as well. Really, this is more of a barleywine than a IIPA, not that that’s a bad thing. Nice citric hop nose, very fruity, sticky sweet w/ a long bitter finish. The reson I say it’s more of a barleywine is because the hops are actually reasonably well balanced by a huge malt presense (though, don’t get me wrong, this is a hop monster). The stirred up yeast, in addition to killing the appearance, also lent this a milkshake-like thickness that didn’t quite work. Too bad more care wasn’t taken in serving this. Otherwise, this could easily have rated over a four. Bad form from the Piece staff.

Barely translucent and cherry-lacquered brown in color with a creamy, café fluff, half-inch whitish head and retracting marshmallow lace. Aroma is a fitting tribute to the glory of amarillo – sweet sugary truncations waft up the nose in resilient offense. Cherry-mango-pineapple concoction is a triumphant tympani beating to a well-executed dry hop formula. Some sequential wafts yield buttery cherry toffee and grassy daffodil fields, but this is aromatic amarillo at its best. Sweet, bitter palpitations are ridden most with sugary beets and the glorious two-step of a bitter flavoring hop performed of amarillo. Toffee-like, cherry Nip accents provide a constant, sweet flavored testament. It’s not a righteous double IPA congregation – it’s what an aggressively balanced IPA should shoot for. A swish in the mouth and the flick of the tongue bring out the more boisterous qualities, including grapefruit and starfruit for a bitter-sweet trajectory. Palate bespeaks of balance. Sweetness of cherry toffee allegories perfectly compliment the hop flavors. Carbonation is perfectly in tact, and when this brewery nails it, it’s seashells and balloons across the continent. Hot alcohol hints at the tongue flick in the finish, but never fear – amarillo sweetness to the rescue, rounded out with herbaceous grass. Quite an enjoyable 13 ounces.

Hugely hopped and grapefruity but I can’t really tell the difference in flavor or aroma between this and Dysfunctionale or Wingnut for that matter. Like a lot of Piece beers I think this is too sugary sweet and focuses your palate away from the hops. Full bodied, went well with the pizza.

the brewpub calls this a "double red ale." i dont know what they’re smoking, but props to the original poster for correctly categorizing this an IIPA. and a pretty terrific one at that. very fruity in both smell and taste. very sweet as well. it would be nice to have this side by side with the wingnut for comparison, but both are very close to Dreadnaught. this beer is a delight.

Hazy amber with white head. Excellent pine/grapefruit hops aroma. Flavor is reasonably well balanced between hops and malt. Not a session beer, but great for the hopheads.

Great big piney and citrusy hop aroma. Moderate caramel sweetness, but this one is MEANT to be over the top bitter, and it certainly is. Nice combination of pine and grapefruit PNW hop blasts the tongue and tonsils. Enjoyable!