A little rain came our way Saturday evening, for the last weekend of October and it’s getting colder. But that rarely stops most people from firing up the grill, so I’m throwing on some sausages while I pop another beer that I have purchased for review.
Empirical Brewing is a small brewery with its stainless and taproom at 1801 W. Foster Ave. They are slowly building a distribution footprint, but I was able to find this seasonal at Binny’s.
Heliotropic Hoppy Pale Ale is described as a rye pale ale “brewed with generous amounts of wheat and rye, producing a beer with a dense mouth field and spicy mart flavor. Come at hops in part right notes of grapefruit and pineapple. Turn your face to the sun and enjoy this easy drinking pale ale.”
Well this is not a day to turn your face to the sun, but it will probably brighten our cloudy day.
I am admitting that this bottle is been around for a bit of a while, but when I popped it open, there was a nice bright smell of some fresh hop. It pours a slightly hazy gold which doesn’t quite show as well in this picture in the dark.
The taste is also pretty hoppy and there’s some spiciness with the wheat and rye in the malt. It’s not too overpowering, having just 5.5% alcohol by volume and 38 IBU. The hoppiness does gets bigger as I work my way through the glass. I found this is a good go-to with the sausages in this picture, as well.
It’s positioned as a spring/summer seasonal, but it also stands up pretty well into the autumn.
