It's been an interesting week. We missed one rare release, we picked two up (one that we've reviewed before), I went to Urgent Care, and we landed this growler. So this will be the first review I do (and hopefully not too many more) with gauze shoved in a hole in my armpit from lancing an infected cyst. I was a big boy. I got a sucker. So, with a 3 1/2 day weekend, what is there to do, but drink good beer and tell my friends (the loyal readers) about good beer...
Elevator is an amazing company, based out of Columbus, Ohio. We filmed our pilot episode there (which, yeah, not going to bore you with details of where the status is). While doing a walk through, and again while filming, Dick and Vic were gracious to open their facility, and keg of Big Vic, to us.
Big Vic, clearly named after Masterbrewer Vic Schlitz (it's a caricature of him with a king's crown as the tap handle) is an imperial version of their Mogabi hoppy wheat ale. Not sure the ABV or IBUs on this, but believe me, when we were filming, it hit the spot (especially while looking at their hop selections). It's hard to find, as Elevator is self distributed, and this is only available on draft, currently. We picked up a growler of this from our friends at Savor Growl, which is one of their 60 beers on tap currently.
This pours a peachy orange color, clear, with a small amount of cream colored head that dissipates. The aroma is... damn it... dunked my nose in the beer. This is one of the more pleasant things of the day though. The aroma is citrusy and fruity, with some slight hints of breadiness to it. I'd call it 90% citrus and fruit to 10% bready in the aroma, if not more on the citrusy side. This smells amazing. The taste is a barrage of flavors on the taste buds. Hopsus be praised! You get citrus, almost mango at times, with some bready and wheaty tones, that ends with some spice, almost like a rye. The mouthfeel is smooth, very drinkable, and before I notice, this pint glass is gone, leaving beautiful lacing and a longing to enjoy more.
4.9/5
-Nathan-
Not only has it been an interesting week in our lives, tonight is a very interesting moon night. It's a full moon, there's a lunar eclipse, and it's a Pink Moon. Pretty cool stuff. Sorry, we were just outside basking in its glory. And yes, I stopped just shy of hugging a tree. The only reason I didn't hug the trees nearest our moon-viewing spot was because they are honey locust trees and have giant thorns.
Side note, this is the perfect time to give a shout-out to a Facebook page. Two weeks ago I became an admin on The Pagan Mama. Now do me a favor and go like them on Facebook. Hey, Ros gave us a shout-out, so we can do the same. Even if you're not pagan or a parent (we have a lot of papas, too), it's a fun page full of great insight, tips, and living mindfully. And yes, every now and then I talk about craft beer on there.
Back to the beer. Man, I love Elevator. They had just brewed the first batch of this when we met with them initially for pre-filming logistics. If I recall, the ABV on this is around 10-11%. A couple of these and what stage fright??? Especially when craft services on our shoots sucks so much (pretty sure I should be in charge of that). I've also had it at a pre-production meeting on another episode. Irony, no?
Nathan nailed the description of it. I don't pick up enough spice to be a rye, but it's a wonderful melange of hops, bready malts, and the patent smoothness of the wheat. This is technically an imperial version of Elevator's Mogabi, if you've had that. If not, it's a hoppy wheat beer, and it's fantastic. Mogabi recently was awarded a 92 (ostensibly on a scale of 1-100) and listed as one of the top 186 beers in the world in "All About Beer" magazine. They also started the trend that has shaped in the brewing industry for hoppy wheat beers. Thanks for the reminder, Dick and Vic, that not only did you do it first, but you also do it better.
5/5 caps
-Jennie
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