Photo by Mark McDermott.
Let's peek into another local beer this time around.
Two Brothers in Warrenville began offering Heavier Handed in November. It's a stronger version of their seasonal Heavy Handed IPA. This one goes from 6.7% to 8.1% alcohol by volume, and piles on the hops, tipping it into the category of an "Imperial" IPA. Heavier Handed is also the first Two Brothers beer from their new "Foudres," French oak barrels used for aging a batch about four weeks. These are not the bourbon barrels used to give heavy Imperial Stouts their whiskey-like taste, but intended to add a touch of oak and maybe some wild yeast character as various beers pour through.
I poured my beer in a narrow tulip glass, where it showed dark amber in the stem, dark brown in the center, with a two finger wide yellowish head. The hop smell is not too heavy, and comes across like a cross between pine resin and honey. Taste, however, is a big wide paintbrush slapping a hop tea reduction right on my tongue. Plenty of sturdy malts are there, but the main feature is the pile of hops, almost but not exactly masking the alcohol. A studmuffin beer!
This beer has been available at various Binny's locations, and at Kenwood Liquors, Barley and Hops, West Lakeview Liquors, and other stores. Beermenus.com reports it is sold by the bottle at Limestone Brewing.
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