Beer Review: Hey, Careful Man, There's a Beverage Here! - Pipeworks Brewing Co

By Erika Kubick in Food on Feb 10, 2014 5:00PM

Last Friday, we went to the Logan Theatre to watch The Big Lebowski and sip on Pipeworks Brewing Co.'s newest brew, —"Hey, Careful Man, There's a Beverage Here!"—a white Russian imperial stout inspired by The Dude himself. Pipeworks is known for their unconventional beers, which are particularly sought after because they never brew the same beer twice.

Their newest brew intrigued us immediately; not only because The Big Lebowski is one of our all time favorite comedies, but also because there is no beer cozier than a rich stout on a cold winter night. This milk stout ranks in at 10.5 percent alcohol by volume, definitely packing a mighty punch. It's brewed with lactose sugar and aged with cacao nibs, vanilla bean and cold-pressed Ipsento coffee. It's deep amber in color with a reddish hue, dark but with some clarity. The head pours thick but fizzles away fast leaving a considerable amount of lace. It smells sweet and roasty, like praline pecans and fresh coffee beans.

This is definitely a dessert drinker. At first sip, it feels super creamy, as if you took a swig of half and half. Vanilla and caramel dominate, then fizzles away to roast coffee, mild cocoa, and finally, sweet malts. I get the feeling it would go great with spiced cake or poutine. My friends had previously tried this beer in a bottle, and said that it didn't really taste like a stout and lacked the rich body. While the draft beer had a lot of stout characteristics, it does feel a little too light. It's almost like a white chocolate bock. There is something that just doesn't quite give me that smooth, almost molasses luscious quality that warms my stomach from the pit. It's still a very nice beer though.

Because of the sweetness, we don't think we could drink more than a pint of Hey, Careful Man There's a Beverage Here! But it is very tasty and would most likely age quite nicely. We adore the ambition of Pipeworks and the concept is unbeatable, but that's just, like, our opinion, man. Get one while you can because this beer is in extremely limited supply.

Pipeworks Brewing Co. is located at 1675 N Western Ave