Brewery Taste Test: Local Option
Last week at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis, I came upon a beer tasting for a little-known brewery known as Local Option.
Local Option is out of my home city of Chicago, just south of DePaul University.
From what I have tried so far, these beers are not typical. They are some of the most interesting flavors I have had. I am going to do my best to rate the four beers I tasted but unfortunately, because it was a tasting, I doubt I had the full experience or pleasure of these beers to truly give them justice.
Dampf Loc California Common / Steam Beer
An all-barley ale, this style of beer is inspired by the old dampfbier, a style of beer first crafted by medieval peasants in the Bavarian Black Forest (pretty awesome, right?).
Look: Rose-Golden pour with a white foam
Smell: yeasty and malty with slight citrusy hop smell.
Taste: Very malty and slighly nutty. Mild of the hoppy bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Light, crisp, almost weak feel to it. I personally like a little weight on my tongue.
Overall I give this beer a 3.75/5 on Beer Advocate. It's a very decent beer and for what I only got to experience at a tasting, it could only be better with a full bottle or on draft.
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Voku Hila Helles Bock / Maibock
The Maibock style of beer is a lager that is lighter in color than other Bock beers and often has a vast hoppiness. Maibocks are popular in spring and are oftentimes featured at spring festivals and celebrations more often in the month of May. Think of it like a Maifest (as opposed to Oktoberfest)
Look: A golden color with a large, creamy white head.
Smell: Very grainy and bready. A light spiciness in the back ground.
Taste: Scattered. There's the breadiness, then theres the spice, then the pale sweetness.
Mouthfeel: High carbonation and medium body.
Overall: On the BA cite, I give this beer a 3.5/5 because of it's scattered taste. There is a lot of potential here but as of now the taste is a little too unconcentrated.
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Blood Ov The Kings American Pale (Amber) Wheat Ale
Here's what the brewery says about the beer: "At the peak of summer 1631 King Gustavus Adolphus led thousands of Swedish troops into Northern Germany. Following the destruction and subsequent plundering of Brandenburg Adolphus’ army marched through the endless wheat fields en route to Bavaria. Brewed with copious amounts of red wheat, Blood ov the Kings is aromatically driven by bread, biscuit and notes of exotic fruit. Hazy and medium bodied the beer has a rich and creamy mouth feel with a dry, bitter, and slightly sweet finish. Unbound by the Reinheitsgebot Blood ov the Kings would certainly have been the vital fluid of victory for the Swedish monarch as he spilled blood across the wheat fields of Northern Europe."
Now that the history lesson is done, let's do the rating.
Look: a thick amber with a beige head - a nice sight.
Smell: spicy wheat and biscuity aroma with a light fruity background
Taste: more biscuit flavor with a lot of spice and bitterness; a pleasant bite.
Mouthfeel: medium body and slight extra weight from yeast sediment.
Overall: I give this beer a 3.75/5 but I really want to try it from an actual bottle or on tap.
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Morning Wood Oak-Aged Coffee American Amber Ale
This was the best beer I tried from the tasting. Local Option says they use "Fresh American oak used during the aging process and Dark Matter’s El Salvador San Jose pulp-natural coffee aromatically drive the beer; while remaining subtle components of the beers’ complete flavor profile." What makes this so interesting is that it has the coffee flavor -- which is often used in darker beers.
Look: A dark and cloudy amber with a creamy head.
Smell: Coffee and malt. Blunt, I know but that is exactly what I can say about the beer. However, there was a cocoa scent in the background.
Taste: Sweet and malty coffee. Think of a beer-flavored Starbucks Frapp.
Mouthfeel: Creamy and thick but lively all at once. A complex mouthfeel that can only be experienced by trying the beer.
Overall: BA score of a 4/5 but I really want to try this fresh out of the bottle or on tap.
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Overall Local Option has some decent beers but there is potential to make improvements. Give these beers a try and you'll see what I mean.
