Tyranena Brewing Co.
Lake Mills, WI
Available: WI
Named for Aunt Cal, “an early resident of Lake Mills,” said to have been the disappointed sweetheart of the Henry Wasdworth Longfellow. The beer brewed in her honor is “very fruity and intensely bitter.” It is brewed with two-row, Vienna, carapils, wheat and caramel malts, and Amarillo and Cascade hops.
Alcohol (wt.): 4.5
Alcohol (vol.): n/a
Color: 9
Bitterness: 68
Gravity: 1060
Dab it behind your ear, or drink it neat, like an aged Islay whisky. Pours bright, a deep gold with an ecru head, filling the room with a perfume worth serious savoring before the first drop is drunk. Pleasantly medicinal on the tongue, a huge herbal symphony seduces every surface of the mouth, leaving a finish that lasts for an eternity. Overpowering to all but the most aggressive foods, I enjoyed it with several tomato-based dishes, dried figs and strong Stilton.
Very inviting pale India pale ale, with a classic American hop aroma that unbashfully exposes itself. It brings a smile to my face. Nice fruity ale character, complimented with a flash of hop flavor, followed by malt sweetness, finishing with a nicely lingering hop bitterness. Tyranena expresses itself as a symphony in many parts. Soothing, comforting and sure to quench. Enjoy on warm summer days and evenings. If it were a choice, I’d make it mine.
This brilliant interpretation of a 19th-century India pale ale has a pale bronze color, a good fluffy collar of foam, and a stunning aroma of hop resins, juicy malt and citrus fruit. There’s massive hop bitterness on the tongue with mouth-puckering lemon fruit and juicy malt. The long, bitter finish has a quinine-like note from the hops with tangy fruit and a good underpinning of malt. A perfect companion for blue cheese.
Founder of Merchant du Vin and the Pike Brewing Co., Charles Finkel is a pioneer in the marketing of craft beers in America.
Author of the New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, founder of the Great American Beer Festival and a Beer Examiner at www.examiner.com, Papazian is a leading voice in beer and brewing.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
