Chicagoist's Beer Of The Week: Tyranena's Scurvy IPA With Orange Peel

By Jason Baldacci in Food on May 17, 2013 9:05PM

This week, we look at one of our favorite beers from a brewery that manages to stay out of the spotlight, despite making amazing beers. We've covered them before, but their summer seasonal just launched recently, and it's just as delicious as ever.

Scurvy is an IPA from Tyranena Brewing Co that's brewed with dried orange peel. Not surprisingly, the aroma is laced with notes of orange rind, but we also get hints of floral hops and earthy pine. On the palate, those citrus notes kick into high gear for a nice smack of bitterness right up front, followed with a touch juicy melon to even things out a bit. Scurvy pours a beautiful reddish-amber in color, so there's a slightly caramelized, malty backbone to lend a little sweetness and combat all of those hops. At 6.5 percent alcohol content, Scurvy is a medium-bodied, but drinkable IPA that's pleasantly bitter and pretty damn refreshing.

Hoppy beers can be difficult to pair with foods because of their bitterness, but if you think about foods that can stand up to them, it's possible to come up with amazing pairings. A pulled pork sandwich with a sweet and spicy BBQ sauce would be wonderful with a Scurvy, especially if the sandwich had a vinegar-based coleslaw on it. The bitterness from the beer would stand up to the sweetness of the sauce and play well with the spiciness, and cut right through the fat of the pork. We would also recommend the Scurvy with spicy Thai dishes like Pad Khee Mao, or even curry, as robustly flavored foods usually do very well when paired with a more robustly flavored beer. Desserts would be difficult to pair, as would any dish that's lighter or delicate.

Check beermenus.com to see where you can grab a pint of Scurvy this weekend, just don't make a pirate joke to the bartender when you order it. We can assure you, they will most likely not think it's funny.