Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week": Lucifer

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Oct 18, 2006 3:45PM

It's getting close to Halloween, one of our favorite times of year. Down here on our block, families have had their houses decorated like "B" horror flicks for the better part of two months. And yet none of them had the foresight to put up a devil. Then again, it's a largely Catholic block, and they're pretty superstitious.

Leave it to us to gravitate to a beer called "Lucifer," although the wicked cool label helped, as well. This golden Belgian ale weighs in at a hearty 8.4 percent alcohol, due in large part to secondary bottle fermentation. As a result, you'll pick up a huge whiff of yeast on the nose, along with some orange. Lucifer has a spicy taste to it, which complements the citrus and wheat you'll also find on the palate. It's a medium-bodied beer; coupled with the alcohol content (relatively low for a bottle-fermented beer), you'll be able to have a couple of glasses and be able to walk of your own volition.

You can find Lucifer in bottle or draft. When Hackney's opened their Printer's Row location years ago, we would stop by regularly for a glass on tap. Otherwise, you can buy it at Sam's, where it costs $8.69 for a 750 ml bottle. Lucifer is a bottle of temptation, and Chicagoist's "beer of the week."