Flossmoor Station Lady Columbia IPA

Beer: Flossmoor Station Lady Columbia IPA
Brewery Location: Flossmoor, IL
Beer Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.5%




This is my second bottled offering from Flossmoor. I was a fan of the brown ale that I had, and I've got high hopes for this beer. They actually brew several varieties of IPAs, and you can tell what one you are having based on the wax top on the bottles. They use the same bottle for each of their IPAs. This blue wax topped bomber is the Lady Columbia IPA.

This beer pours a hazy golden color with one finger's worth of off-white head that faded quickly into decent spotty lacing. The nose hits pretty nicely on this beer and is full of pine, grapefruit, and other citrus spice, and only really a touch of caramel malt base on the nose. The flavor starts with plenty of hop bitterness followed by a big rush of citrus fruit and resinous pine flavor. The bitterness upfront settled down a bit about half way down my glass and then the caramel malt really provided a decent balance to the hops. I think this beer was brewed with only Columbus hops, but if anyone knows for sure please let me know. The wasn't much carbonation in this offering and it left an almost astringent bitterness lingering after the swallow. I am fine with that, but I can see how others would not like that in the finish. I think one bomber was just about perfect for me, and I would very much like to try the other IPA styles from Flossmoor.

I've yet to be disappointed in a beer from Flossmoor Station. This beer runs a bit higher on the IPA meter than most. It has a huge heaping of citrus flavor, but also has the bitterness to match, and many people just don't like that, but if you are a hop-head at all this beer is worth getting your hands on. Another great beer from the duo up in Flossmoor.

Cheers!
Matt

Flossmoor Station's Pullman Brown Ale

Beer: Flossmoor Station's Pullman Brown Ale
Brewery Location: Flossmoor, IL
Beer Style: American Brown Ale
ABV: 6%



I was recently at Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewery just outside of Chicago in Flossmoor, Illinois. I've been wanting to visit for a very long time, and they even won best brewpub and best small brewer in American at the GABF in 2006. When I heard they were bottling their selections over at the Flossmoor blog I really wanted to visit even more. I really enjoyed the meal I had there, and the people I was with also really enjoyed their meals. I had several selections from the bar that were also very good. I didn't bring my camera, so I didn't write any notes from those beers, but I remember Panama Limited Red Ale being very good as well as the station master wheat were well crafted and above average beers. I had to get a few beers to go with me though and this is my first review of those beers.

I am first struck by how nice of a bottle this beer comes in. I like the screen printed bottles from Alesmith and Stone, but I think this is probably the nicest bomber I've seen in quite some time, and you can tell some quality production went into these, but I am curious if plans are to keep them this nice as the bottling run increases.

Pullman brown pours a very dark brown, almost black, with brown highlights around the edges. It is capped by a small mocha colored head that left some spotty lacing on my pint glass. The nose is quite vibrant for a brown ale and is full of molasses, cocoa, hazelnuts, and chocolate. I am quite impressed with this nose. The flavor profile is equally as robust and pleasant as the nose. Roasted malt character upfront with a bitter chocolate finish with a slight coffee characteristic to it as well. It is almost porter or stout like in the flavor profile, but a little softer. The mouthfeel is really rich with medium carbonation with no alcohol present on the mouthfeel. The drinkability is really nice for this beer, and I certainly wish I could get more of this beer. I would make a session beer out of this in the winter.

I think this is an outstanding brown ale. It has the characteristics of an American brown, but has one of the best noses and flavor profiles I've ever had in a brown ale. If you are in Chicago or traveling there Flossmoor Station is well worth your time, and if you find this beer I would highly recommend it. Anyone want to send me some more of it?

Cheers!
Matt