79. Indiana City Brewing Co. (Indianapolis, IN) - Fruit Brüt

"Bone-dry, effervescent beer brewed with strawberry purée and orange peel."

Crisp and subtle and drinkable, but not quite as special as their original brut IPA. (And truth be told, that original was so good that I probably had my expectations raised to an unrealistic degree for this one.) Really looking forward to our visit to the Indiana City taproom next month.

78. Revolution Brewing (Chicago, IL) - Anti-Hero

“Our flagship IPA is supremely aromatic, crisp, and drinkable. This iconic ale features a blend of Citra, Crystal, Centennial, and Chinook to create a crisp clean bitterness and imparts massive floral and citrus aromas. An American hop assault for all the ambivalent warriors who get the girl in the end. ‘Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, Princess.’”

Bragging about the bitterness once again, but this one’s not so bad. They’re all kissing cousins, really. This one is possibly slightly more tropical than the other ones. Maybe. It’s definitely more balanced. In order, then…

1. Crystal-Hero
2. Anti-Hero
3. El Dorado-Hero
4. Cashmere-Hero

77. Revolution Brewing (Chicago, IL) - Cashmere-Hero

“A mountain of flavors rise above this silky, Cashmere-hopped IPA—lemon, lime, and ripe cantaloupe with a touch of grapefruit.”

Still. Haven’t. Rinsed. Out. The. Mug. Also still sitting upright. Rated the least bitter of the three I have tried, this one actually feels at least as bitter as the one that bragged about its bitterness. The flavors are a little less pronounced in this one—or possibly my taste buds have gone numb—and when I read lemon and lime in the same sentence, I think of Sprite. That sort of kills it for me.

76. Revolution Brewing (Chicago, IL) - El Dorado-Hero

“The continuing expedition for perfect hops has uncovered a new wonder-the-gold-veined El Dorado hop and its pear, watermelon, stone fruit and citrus flavor bounty.”

Anarchist, eh, White? Well, how about this? The mug was no longer frosty, but I didn’t rinse it out after I drank the Crystal-Hero. This one is less forthcoming than the Crystal-Hero, but the stone fruit sneaks up on you the same way. This Hero series in general seems to work better once they warm up a little. I got these in a 12-pack, and saved the last four to blog about all at once. I’ll rank them after the fourth, but they’re all moderately drinky, so I suppose that presumes that I am still able to sit upright after the fourth. Onward!

75. Revolution Brewing (Chicago, IL) - Crystal-Hero

“A crisp and refreshing IPA exploding with fresh floral hop character, named for a somewhat forgotten yet amazing hop variety named Crystal. A unique hopping program gives this beer a massive, clean bitterness and fresh hop aroma bursting with hints of citrus and fresh fruit.”

That bitterness is a little bit aggressive at first, but it makes way nicely for the bright lines of lemons and stone fruit. Maybe even a little tropical fruit action in there, after it warms up a little.