Brewery – Urban Artifact
Beer – Phrenology
Style – Wild IPA
ABV – 7.3%
IBU – 55

Phrenology is the debunked pseudoscience of determining psychological characteristics by the shape of the skull and facial features.

This beer uses a big addition (22lbs) of both Mosaic and 22lbs of Chinook to kick it into a really great fruity IPA category when fresh.

I have to specify when fresh, because there is another side to it that really makes this beer what it is – Brettanomyces.  This wild yeast gives it a funky side, which only keeps coming out more and more as it gets some age on it.

The brewery just released this for the first time in bottles for 2017 – so in the coming years you’re bound to see more and more tasting notes that give you a glimpse into what the funk will bring to the party.

My Thoughts On Phrenology

It’s hard to give this a good tasting note… because of the vastly different experience that you’ll find depending on how fresh your beer is.  I can encourage you as loudly as possible, though to grab a couple six packs of this for every release.  If you’ve ever had the urge to dip your toes into beer cellaring, this might be a fantastic experiment for you to get your feet wet!

I will try to start getting some tasting notes together over the coming years as this beer really starts to develop in the bottle so you know what to expect from it.