Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week:" Revolution Brewing's "Working Woman Hoppy Brown"

By Karl Klockars in Food on Mar 4, 2011 9:20PM

When faced with a situation where solidarity is required, some sign petitions. Some protest in public squares. Some camp out in statehouses. I prefer to drink beer. Revolution Brewing's power-to-the-people motif seemed like a reasonable way to let my liver bear some of the weight of the social unrest going on in the country and around the world. Also, I hadn't been there yet even though they've been open for just over a year now (a shameful admission for a self-described beer dork). So, two birds, one stone.

While the Black Power Oatmeal Stout, the Anti Hero IPA and the Iron Fist Pale Ale all played to my proletariat sensibilities, it was the Working Woman Hoppy Brown Ale that I decided to go with. Described as a riff on the Working Man Brown but with a certain perfume-like characteristic on the nose, the restrained ABV of 5.5% was perfect for a mid-afternoon time-out from the world.

The Working Woman poured a nice deep toffee/nut brown and sported a body somewhere between light and medium, easy-drinking enough to refresh after a day on the job, hefty enough to remind you it's not just any thirst quencher. Toffee and caramel notes came through in the flavor as well, and rather than an aroma of perfume, the beer reminded me of Dark Horse's Rod Ale - an herbal, savory mixture of "aphrodisiac" plants that brought to mind a wild garden as opposed to any eau de whatever.

The Working Woman finishes off with a mild bitterness from the hops that lingers just for a bit, nowhere near as long as last week's Hoppy Feet. Working Woman is available on cask as well, but the hand-pulled version seemed to lose a lot of that pleasant herbal-ness I enjoyed, even though I liked the way the body smoothed out significantly. If you can, try both - but if you can only have one, take the standard draft.

Revolution Brewing's "Working Woman Hoppy Brown" is Chicagoist's Beer of the Week.

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