Brewery – Cellar Dweller
Beer – Corporal Khaos
Style – Pale Ale
ABV – 6%
IBUs – 45
Corporal Khaos Pale Ale honors the memory of my life-long best friend USMC Corporal Steven L. Kohus. Steve’s life was cut short by a tragic accident on March 2, 2014, at the age of 26. Steve attended Little Miami High School and graduated in 2006. After high school he worked at Morgan’s Canoe for a few summers before joining the United States Marine Corps. During his service in the Marine Corps, Steve served one tour of duty in Afghanistan.
I knew Steve since kindergarten. We were best friends throughout school, coworkers at Morgan’s Canoe, and brothers from different mothers. It is very difficult for me to describe Steve to someone who did not meet him. You might describe him as funny, caring, crazy (in a good way). But those words alone don’t do him justice; his personality was larger than life. Everyone who knew Steve has a “Steve Story.” They are the things of legend that people who didn’t know him would never believe. These are the memories I wanted to preserve and reminisce about.
When you try Corporal Khaos just take a minute to honor Steve’s memory.
I don’t ever want it to get old when I tell you that craft beer is about so much more than what we put into our glass. This is an industry that has sprung up and created a community of people who genuinely care about each other… and this beer is one of those that represents that on so many different levels.
On the surface, this is an easy story – it’s a beer that was crafted as part of Cellar Dweller’s “So You Wanna Be A Brewer?” series. It’s a program that enables local home brewers to make one of their beers on Cellar Dweller’s system, and have it released in the taproom.
On the next level though, as you read above – for the guy who created the recipe, Ben Martin, it’s about a lot more than that. It was a beer brewed in honor of his best friend since kindergarten, 26 year old Marine Cpl. Steven Kohus (pronounced Chaos). The beer represents a memory that carries on now from Cellar Dweller.
This aggressively hopped American Pale Ale is brewed with a healthy dosing of Columbus and Citra hops, giving it what head brewer Steve Shaw calls an “unbelievable aroma”. After first making an appearance on tap, it has since made its way into 22oz bombers, and now 12oz four packs which can be found all across Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
My Thoughts On Cellar Dweller Corporal Khaos
This beer doesn’t hint at what you’re in store for by the “American Pale Ale” tag given to it on the bottle. It isn’t until you start pouring into your glass that you get a burst of the hopped up aromas that tell you that it’s not “just a pale ale”.
I love the big fresh burst of citrus and herbal hop aromas that almost literally smack you in the face in this beer. It’s like taking a trip through an outdoor farmer’s market in the summer time – You’ll find something new with each pass of your nose over the glass top.
The flavor brings a great resiny hop bite to the journey, with the earthy, grassy notes building a solid background on top of which the bright citrus bite of a finish can sit upon.
When you pack all of this into an easy drinking 6% ABV package – you end up with a pale ale that more people in Cincinnati need to be talking about!
