Piece Capn' Kickass Double IPA

Getting sick of all this Piece coverage? Well it isn't going to end any time soon guys. You see they have this deal on Sundays- $25 gets you a growler and a huge pizza. Excellent beer and excellent pizza? Count me in.

Today when I called up Piece had an almost completely different line up of beers than they did last week. Its great that they have a rotating beer list and all except that it rotates so damn fast. The bartender, who I was speaking to, was extremely helpful when I asked him for something 'hoppy' and 'light'. Capn' Kickass it is.

The strange thing about this beer is that it doesn't taste very hoppy at the onset and then it all comes rushing at you like a bitter wave of hops. I find it enjoyable, but you might not if you aren't into the bitter. I taste some caramel in there somewhere as well and some strange flavor that reminds me of ciabatta bread. Bizarre it but it works just fine. This is a good beer and easily in my top three Piece beers, which at this point is saying quite a bit. Pretty looking thing isn't it? Amber in color, a nice thick head to it and some sexy lacing.

It also went well with this movie.

Musical pairing: Blue Oyster Cult- Fire of Unknown Origin (aka the one with the synthesizers)

Piece Brewpub Continued

I don't know how I slept on piece as long as I did. I blame the crowds. I am kicking myself for living so close to this brewpub for over a year and being scared away by the yuppies.

I decided to start the afternoon out with something light so I chose the wheat beer currently on tap- The Baron Von Awesome. I found it to be very standard except for how extremely carbonated it was. The citrus flavor combined with all the bubbles made me think of sparkling lemonade. Nice summer beer, went well with the pizza and all but still didn't have much going for it. A nice distraction, time for something more my speed.

Cue the Wingnut Double Ipa. I think Piece does an excellent job with their hoppier beers. If you read my last entry about them you might remember me raving about the You Will Fail Ale. Well, some of my friends took my advice to heart and I received the response 'its too hoppy for me' from each one. Sorry guys.

The Wingnut doesn't only double up on the hops though-there is plenty of malt added to round it out. This beer reminded me of a nice cider chock full of cinammon. More of a hoppy ale than an IPA in my book, but my friends might disagree. I was surprised to see this beer had 9% ABV to it, the alcohol is masked very well. I approve.

...And then there is the Flat Iron Stout. Guinness with a little more nuttiness and a lot more carbonation. There is the carbonation again! Chill out on the bubbles guys. I found this beer to be fairly forgettable. Not bad by any means, but nothing compared to a lot of the stouts I have had since I started this journal.

I find that Piece's beers are geared for two types of people- beer geeks and the people who come to watch sports. This seems like its for the latter. I don't see myself picking up a growler of Flat Iron any time soon, but I might grab a pint of it here and there.

I haven't had many Rye Ales so I chose the Worryin' Ale. A little experimentation never hurt anyone, right? Well I learned that I am not a fan of rye ales, at least not yet. Worryin' Ale tastes like cold Earl Grey tea to my taste buds. Does that sound like something you would want to drink?

Still this beer has some nice qualities. It's a mild, breezy, smooth drinker that I think I could get used to given time. Maybe Rye Ales are my next project, just like IPA's were at one time. That worked out well.

Great selection. See why I love this place?

Piece Brewpub

The You Will Fail Ale was my first beer of the afternoon and it was excellent. There is plenty of hops, spices and citrus crammed into this beer. It is a little thicker than most ales, but not in a molasses way at all. I could have drank this beer all day long and in retrospect I wish I had ordered three of these puppies. Piece has a deal on Sundays that nets you a growler and a pizza for $25 pick up. This beer is definitely growler worthy and will make for quite a few good Sunday nights. If you go to Piece and don't at least try this beer, you are really missing out. It really is that good.

In fact it is so damn superb it made the other beers I had at Piece seem mediocre in comparison. Granted I stuck to the lighter varieties in this excursion, in the next few weeks I plan to chip away at the rest of the brews they have here.




The Golden Arm is Piece's Lager, which I opted to go with once the food had arrived. I prefer milder beers when I am eating. Mild is what I got, thats for damn sure. It was nice and refreshing and was a great palate reset but I was still somewhat disappointed by how plain Golden Arm was. I don't know what I was expecting from a lager, but the You Will Fail Ale certainly raised the bar too high for Golden Arm. I remember thinking to myself 'This is the beer they make for NCAA tourneys.' So yeah, its a bland lager. Go figure. I now would like to dub all lagers 'March Madness Beer'. I hope you like the new name!

The sausage and spinach 'White Pizza' we had was insanely good. You probably figured that out by the bearded guy in the background trying to fit the entire piece into his mouth. That is Andy, you might remember him from DarkLord Day and Stout Fest pictures. He is the yin to my yang.


Collars and Cuffs Blonde Ale seemed like a nice neutral way to end the afternoon, and it was. Another thick unfiltered ale that has flavors that make it quite 'delicate'. Whereas the You Will Fail was all hops and spice the Collars and Cuffs is fruity and creamy. The malts in this beer are nice and sweet. Still a fairly balanced beer and very drinkable. This was my second favorite beer of the day, but it is a distant second behind the magnificent You Will Fail.

A nice summer beer, but with the great selection of beer on tap at Piece I doubt I will be ordering this any time soon. It is wonderful that I can walk three blocks and get a selection of Three Floyds beer on tap as well.

After having a sip of the Black Mariah and Cameltoe that they have on tap I definitely will be checking out their darker beers next time around. Yes, we sip eachothers beers. No, thats not the same as kissing.