We’re up in Chicago today for my sister’s football game (she plays for the St. Louis Slam women’s tackle football team), as she’s playing the Chicago team. We headed up this morning and took the kids to Shedd Aquarium. It was a great morning and I planned ahead to have lunch here at Piece on our way up to the game in Evanston. I’d heard many good things from guys in my homebrew club about both the beer and the pizza here at Piece, so I was glad we were able to squeeze it in and give it a try.

Location: Enjoyed an imperial pint glass at Piece Brewery and Pizzeria in Chicago, Illinois.

Numbers: 5% ABV, ~ 150 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It was dark brown in color and it had a thin, foamy head, which fell after a few minutes. The aroma was mostly sweet caramel maltiness with some hints of breadiness.

Taste & Feel: The body was fairly light and the mouthfeel was crisp. The flavors up front followed the nose, with a lightly-sweet caramel maltiness. The maltiness continued through the middle with some hints of lightly roasted nuttiness in the background. The finish was a little dry with a very slight hop bitterness and rye spiciness. The aftertaste was brief and was mostly light caramel and nuttiness.

Food Pairing: If you’re enjoying this beer at Piece, you have to have it with a pizza, no question. The light caramel and bready flavors mixed nicely with the crust and cheese, and the somewhat dry finish prepared your palate for yet another slice. In order to match the nice roasted nuttiness, I’d suggest a pizza with pepperoni and bacon.

Overall Impression: The flavors in this beer were present, but a bit lighter than I was expecting. However, this made it pretty drinkable. Because I had heard so much about this brewery from friends, I think I was expecting a bit more from the beer. This was a decent beer, but for a rye beer, it noticably lacked a decent rye flavor, leaving it with little more than lightly sweet caramel and nutty flavors. It reminded me more of a nut brown ale in flavor.

My Rating:

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