Evil Twin Brewing and Lervig Aktiebryggeri: Big Ass Money Stout 3

Evil Twin Brewing and Lervig Aktiebryggeri: Big Ass Money Stout 3

ABV: 17.2%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Limited

@untappd says: 4.05/5

We’re all getting rich and wordy on the Windowsill today… Where’s the pizza?

Leave it to Evil Twin Brewing to concoct what is easily the craziest beer I’ve ever had on the Windowsill. The soon-to-be-Brooklyn bound brewery teamed up with Norway’s Lervig Aktiebryggeri to brew the Big Ass Money Stout 3, which features three essential bits of insanity. First, it has a 17.2% ABV. That’s knock-you-on-your-ass strong. Second, it’s made with a super popular Norwegian snack: a ham and peppers pizza named Grandiosa. Third—and I’ve saved the best for last—it’s made with Norwegian money. Yes. Money. Filthy, dirty, disgusting money. The currency is added after fermentation, essentially like a dry hop. Money! I had to try it.

Why would they do this? Well, for his third collaboration with Lervig, Evil Twin’s head nut, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø wanted to make a truly Norwegian brew. He asked Mike Murphy—an American currently living in Norway and brewing for Lervig—to suggest ingredients that would make this beer uniquely Norwegian. Well, Norway’s roughly 5 million people consume 40 million of those pizzas, making it the country’s de facto national dish, so Mike suggested that. Jeppe wanted something to put the brew over the top, and Mike mentioned that Norway is one of the richest countries in the world. Money became the obvious choice. Has Evil Twin finally gone too far?

Oddly, no. I actually really liked the Big Ass Money Stout 3. If you’re into stouts, this is a good one to try. I think the beefy alcohol level—Jeppe and Mike set out to make the strongest beer in Norway’s history—covered up any residual money and pizza flavors (although, to be fair, I was eating pizza when I drank it). This just tasted like a really sweet and delicious stout. It was also really smooth, which I didn’t expect from such a high-alcohol brew. Evil Twin… you’ve done it again! I just hope Jeppe never brews in Iceland, which is known for a delicacy involving rotten shark meat.

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To Øl Brewery: Mr. Pink 2018 Edition

To Øl Brewery: Mr. Pink 2018 Edition

Hops: Citra, Mosaic

Malts: Pilsner, Unmalted Wheat

Special Ingredients: Beets

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Limited

@untappd says: 3.49/5

We have our first ever re-post on the Windowsill today… or do we?

Last year, I posted To Øl Brewery’s Mr. Pink. I lauded the creativity behind the the Mr. Series of brews, which are named after the characters from the 1992 classic film, Reservoir Dogs (Mr. Pink was Steve Buscemi’s character). The beer was a Berliner Weisse made with lychee and pink Guava. It was pretty tasty, and my wife really liked it, so I picked one up for her at @beertable the other day while we were stranded at Grand Central Terminal due to inclement weather. Imagine our surprise when we popped the can and found a completely different beer inside!

To Øl Brewery: Mr. Pink

See that image just above this line? That’s last year’s Mr. Pink. As you can see, it looks nothing like the 2018 edition. That’s because this year, To Øl scrapped the lychee, the guava and even the Berliner weisse, and filled their Mr. Pink cans with an IPA made with beets. Now, like Doug Funnie before me, I love beets. I actually kind of liked this beer, too. It’s hazy and juicy, made with Pilsner malt and Unmalted Wheat, and hopped with Citra and Mosaic. And beets! Who makes beer with beets? I like that! I was just caught completely off-guard by the color, and the fact that a brand new beer was in my can. It threw off my experience, for sure. I’m hoping this becomes the branding for this series—a new [insert series color] beer every year (the other beers in the series seem to also be different this year)—but with more warning next time! OK, this Windowsill rant is now over. Cheers!

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Evil Twin Brewing and Omnipollo: Half & Half Lemonade Iced Tea IPA

Omnipollo and Evil Twin: Half & Half Lemonade Iced Tea IPA

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.55/5

There’s no half steppin’ on the Windowsill today, just a little Half & Half!  

Omnipollo and Evil Twin Brewing are two of my favorite gypsy breweries, so imagine my excitement when I heard that the two have collaborated on an entire series of Lemonade-based brews. Thus far, in the series, the tag team has released Coffeenade, Rainbownade, Pink Lemonade, Old Fashioned Lemonade and today’s Windowsill brew, the Half & Half Lemonade Iced Tea IPA. I love the collaborative spirit of these two breweries, and am happy that they can make such experimental brews together.

That being said, I didn’t love the Half & Half. First of all, it was very heavy on the lemonade flavor. The sweetness from the iced tea was the next thing I noticed, and that wasn’t bad. In all, this was a very good lemonade iced tea mix. However, I didn’t like the way it worked as an IPA. I look forward to tasting the other collaborations someday, but this one missed for me. Too lemony, too sweet. Here’s hoping for better luck with the next one. I dig the label, though!

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Armada Brewing: Bikini Island

Armada Brewing: Bikini Island

Hops: Mosaic

ABV: 10.0%

IBU: 100+

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 4.24/5

Is it summer yet? Cuz I’m getting my bikini on on the Windowsill today!

Connecticut’s gypsy brewery, Armada Brewing, makes its solo debut on the Windowsill Remember the Candy Castle collaboration with BAD SONS Beer Company?). Bikini Island is named after a real life place, the northeastern most island on the Bikini Atoll, which is a ring-shaped coral reef in the Pacific Ocean. The fun fact about this area? From 1946-1958, the United States tested 23 nuclear explosions all around it. The reef’s natives, who was promised they’d be able to return home in no time when they agreed to give up their home, are still out of luck. They ended up shuffled around to two other Atolls, and the area is unlivable to this day. Good job, U.S. Government!

Now that you know the history behind the name, let’s talk about how incredibly delicious this beer is. The Bikini Island is a triple IPA hopped only with one of my favorite hop varieties, Mosaic. This beer has three things I really like. It’s hopped to the gills with a high IBU, it’s bright and tropical and, at 10% ABV, it really packs a punch. It was really a great brew, and once I had it, I was pretty much set for the night. Can’t wait to try more from Armada Brewing!

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Oliver Brewing Company (with Stillwater Artisanal): Whipped 2.0

Oliver Brewing Company with Stillwater Artisanal: Whipped 2.0

Hops: Citra, Simcoe

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Limited

@untapped says: 3.91/5

Are you ready to watch the Windowsill whip? Great! There will be no nae naes, though.

Maryland’s Oliver Brewing Company and Stillwater Artisanal—a gypsy brewery based in Brooklyn, NY—have collaborated on many beers. Although Oliver started in 1993, and Stillwater is just a baby (2010), the two seem to work really well together. This is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of hosting one of them on my Windowsill, but it won’t be the last.

The Whipped 2.0 was a really interesting choice for my first from this team. It’s a double IPA brewed with over 500 lbs of pureed mangos, flaked oats, lactose (for mouthfeel) and vanilla beans. The hop profile is actually really nice, too. 130 lbs of Citra and Simcoe hops are used to give it a nice, juicy, tropical deliciousness. Top top it all off, it’s a Nitro beer! This brew combines everything, from aroma to flavor to mouthfeel. Superb effort!

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