As I mentioned in my last post, I picked up my wife from the train station in St. Louis, and we stopped at Bailey’s Chocolate Bar in Lafayette Square for a drink. I started off with their house beer, an amber wheat Chocolate Ale, brewed by O’Fallon. I was less than impressed, and decided to go with something bolder and hoppier.

Location: On tap and served in a regular pint glass at Bailey’s Chocolate Bar in Lafayette Square in St. Louis, MO.

Numbers: 6.1% ABV, 66 IBUs, 9.1 SRM, 183 Calories

Ingredients: Grain: Pale, White Wheat, Caramel 20L, Caramel 40L, Carapils, Victory, Bonlander; Hops: Summit, Cascade; Dry Hops: Cascade (11 lbs. per batch), Glacier

Appearance & Aroma: It had a golden-copper color and a bright white, creamy head on it, which left a decent amount of lacing on the glass. There was a lightly piney and grassy hop aroma with hints of bready malts.

Taste & Feel: The body was light-medium and the mouthfeel was fairly crips. There was a decent malt flavor that was detectable right before the bitterness of the beer kicked in. There was a bit of piney-earthiness in the hop flavors in the finish, but the middle was mostly just hop bitterness. The hop oils stuck around for a little bit in the aftertaste.

Food Pairing: I’m not sure an IPA pairs well with chocolate, so there was wasn’t much here for me to pair it with. However, I think this beer would go nicely with some fried cheese. The beer would help cut through the rich cheese flavors, and the bitterness and hoppiness of the beer would add a different dimension to the rich flavors.

Overall Impression: I’ve had this beer several times before, but it was the first time I’d had it since O’Fallon brewery had changed hands. I think I remember it having a much more pronounced hop aroma and flavor. There was a decent amount of hops, but they seemed to contribute more to the bitterness of the beer than actual hop flavors. I was also surprised to look at their site and see they used Cascade hops for this, as the taste seemed to be more piney and earthy than citrusy (which I typically associate with Cascades). While there was a decent amount of bitterness to it, it was still pretty drinkable. Overall, it was a decent beer that I’d easily have again… it just wasn’t as good as I seem to remember it.

My Rating:

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