“Wager your backside greenback you’ll lose the blues in Chicago…” – Fred Fisher, “Chicago (That Toddlin’ City)”
If consuming nicely is a remedy for melancholy, then Mr. Fisher’s assertion undoubtedly rings true. Chicago is, certainly, a terrific meals metropolis. The latest version of the Michelin information awarded 23 stars (appropriately evoking the jersey variety of one of many metropolis’s most well-known athletes) with longtime molecular gastronomy favourite Alinea garnering a full three star score.
The meals for which Chicago is finest recognized, nonetheless, is extra workaday fare. Most out-of-towners will likely be accustomed to the new canine (all beef canine, yellow mustard, diced onion, neon inexperienced relish, sport peppers, tomato wedges, pickle spear, and celery salt, on a poppy seed bun) or pizza (deep dish) to which town lends its identify. Natives, in the meantime, take pleasure in all method of ethnic delicacies, from Devon Avenue’s quite a few Indian eating places, down by way of Greektown and into the Mexican culinary paradise that’s the South Facet’s Pilsen neighborhood.
Chicago has begun exporting one other native delicacy: Garrett Popcorn. From beginning in a house kitchen, to a Madison Avenue storefront within the downtown Loop district (in entrance of which there was almost at all times a line of consumers), Garrett now has outposts all around the Chicagoland space, a packaged retail providing, and a kiosk in O’Hare airport for these wishing to unfold the Gospel of Garrett worldwide.
The corporate’s signature snack is “Garrett Combine” (as it’s recognized within the USA; it goes by “Chicago Combine” on the firm’s 50 worldwide places): a sweet-and-savory mix of caramel popcorn and cheese popcorn initially tossed collectively by Garrett clients, and offered as a proper mixture starting in 1977.
Although Garrett has been round for greater than 70 years, the trendy historical past of craft brewing in Chicago is considerably extra transient. After the final of the small breweries petered out in 1978, a decade handed till Goose Island (now owned by Anheuser-Busch, of Budweiser fame) opened its doorways in 1988. Like… nicely, in every single place else on Earth, Chicago noticed an explosion of craft breweries prior to now twenty years. Among the many most profitable is Revolution Brewing, the brainchild of Goose Island alumni Josh Deth, who opened for enterprise in 2010.
Revolution’s mainstay Anti-Hero IPA has been a fridge staple for me since I first tasted it. My spouse as soon as joked that it now tasted like water to her, after consuming an untold variety of cans at dwelling, at bars, at sporting occasions and concert events and cookouts and anyplace else one may attain for a frosty brewski.
The corporate’s experimental forays into totally different types have been usually well-received. They’ve additionally been keen collaborators; I took a take a look at the Jameson Caskmates expression aged in ex-Revolution casks again in 2019.
The topic of right this moment’s evaluate is simply such a mash-up. Revolution’s personal web site for this beer signifies that it’s “The last word Chicago pairing, made with greater than 450 kilos of Garrett Popcorn.” The brewery’s weblog elaborates additional:
“A recipe that included Garrett CaramelCrisp popcorn within the mash, brown sugar caramelizing within the boil, rye malt and lactose for mouthfeel, and a end of kosher salt to finish the flavour profile.”
To say that my internal (OK, nice: outer) fats boy was elated once I bought wind of this concoction is an understatement. I’m each a Revolution fan and a junk meals junkie, so the mix of the 2 was nigh irresistible to me. I hightailed it all the way down to Binny’s Beverage Depot (itself a Chicago establishment whose fame is spreading farther and wider over time) and secured myself a couple of cans, considered one of which I will likely be revieweing for you right here right this moment.
Earlier than I pull the tab, nonetheless, a couple of ultimate specifics: This is available in at 7% ABV. A 4 pack of 16 ounce cans runs $11; I’ll be evaluating this as if it had been $2/ 12 ounce can, or roughly $12 for a six pack, which is in-line with a lot of the higher craft beers round these components.
Revolution Brewing CaramelCrisp – Overview
Coloration: Hazy medium-dark brown with ruby glints.
On the nostril: Malty, and nutty, within the method of brown ales. I’m getting a subtly wealthy, crimson fruitiness on this, in addition to some baked, honeyed notes of graham cracker. With time, the candy scent of molasses starting to emerge. I additionally begin to discover an appealingly herbaceous scent right here that brings to thoughts the freshly reduce pine boughs of Christmastime. In complete, this smells very autumnal.
Within the mouth: The primary sip produces a mellow sweetness that, certainly, evokes caramelized sugar. This tilts right into a extra savory off-bitter taste in the course of the mouth, although the impact is comparatively gentle in contrast with the full-on bitterness of the brewery’s closely hopped IPAs. That maltiness once more sings out momentarily towards the again of the mouth. On the end, the aforementioned lactose is clear in a milky, mouth-coating texture that’s the predominant lingering affect right here.
Conclusions:
That is good sufficient, however the beer performs it far too protected. Revolution is able to pushing taste to the varieties of extremes that earn the respect of hardcore beer geeks. In distinction, this looks as if it’s geared toward extra of a mass market viewers, maybe reflecting the need to enchantment to the Garrett fan base, which presumably consists of quite a lot of people whose beer expertise is proscribed to innocuous native mediocrities like Outdated Type. I’m glad I attempted this as a one-off experiment, and wouldn’t hesitate to suggest it to the equally curious customers on the market, nevertheless it’s in no hazard of supplanting Anti-Hero as my Revolution beer of alternative. To replicate all of that, I’m awarding a rating bang in the course of our price-sensitive scoring bands.
