Illuminated Brew Works
Microbrewery
in
Chicago,
Illinois,
United States 🇺🇸
Associated Venue: Illuminated Brew Works
Established in 2014
Contact
415 N Sangamon St, Chicago, IL, 60642, United States
Description
Illuminated Brew Works is a Chicago-based brewery producing beer for interesting times. From big, hazy IPAs, to yeast-driven urban farmhouses, adjunct-rich stouts and experimentally-driven sours and fruit beers, our offerings rotate seasonally to celebrate the annual cycle.
Please enjoy with people you trust.
Please enjoy with people you trust.
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
From can to glass. Part of a selection of a handful of local beers while visiting Chicago at Christmas. Solid all around with slight tropics. Slightly hazed yellow with yellow head. Flavor follows aroma - all a bit moderated for a double.
Tried
from Can
on 26 Dec 2019
at 02:43
6.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Can. Hazy golden color with white head. Aroma is sweaty, peach, grassy. Taste is sweaty, peach, hopburn. Silky mouthfeel with medium carbonation. Fun!
Tried
from Can
on 16 Dec 2019
at 22:03
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 10/2019. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy deep golden amber color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy orange juice, lemon, lime, tangerine, red grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew, watermelon, guava, strawberry, blueberry, red/green apple, white grape/wine, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of orange juice, citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big sour/tart/tangy orange juice, lemon, lime, tangerine, red grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew, watermelon, guava, strawberry, blueberry, red/green apple, white grape/wine, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang; and pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour/tart/tangy orange juice, lemon, lime, tangerine, red grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew, watermelon, guava, strawberry, blueberry, red/green apple, white grape/wine, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, hay, straw, herbal, floral, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of orange juice, citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; with an awesome malt/sour/tart/tangy/bitterness balance; and no puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp/clean finishing. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering sour/tart/tangy/bitterness and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy/acidic/tangy/sticky, and fairly resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 8%. Overall this is a fantastic fruited sour DIPA. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of orange juice, citrus/fruity/tropical/fairly earthy hops, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth, and fairly crisp/clean to drink with the modestly acidic/tangy/sticky/resinous/drying finish. Not overly bitter/lactic. Fantastic El Dorado, Lemondrop, Huell Melon, & Mosaic profile. Extremely juicy/vibrant hops/fruit, Lacto complexity, and fairly dank/earthy notes; with a great clean pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding spot on style example. Not overwhelming on any aspect.
Tried
from Can
on 30 Nov 2019
at 17:39
5/10
Maybe I don't like chocolate ales, I'm guessing this is some GABF test, love illuminated but this is a miss for me. Thin mouth feel, sugary sweet finish, I hope from the vanilla, sugar on the nose too.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Nov 2019
at 18:21
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6
750 ml. Aroma is chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, roasty, lemon peel. Pours lightly hazy brown with amber highlights and a quickly collapsing beige head. Taste is lightly sweet, moderately sour (?? no mention of this being a sour ale, making me think there's an infection here; 7/10 on a sour scale). Low carbonation, thin mouthfeel. I think this is fucked up, but I'll give it some benefit of the doubt.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Nov 2019
at 01:21
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
750 ml. Aroma is raspberries, chocolate, floral, cinnamon. Pours hazy ruby red with a one finger purplish-pink-white head with decent retention. Taste is moderately to highly sour (3.5/5) with berry and cinnamon flavors. Perfect creamy mouthfeel. I was half expecting this to be horrible. It sounds interesting on paper, so I had to try it, but I was a bit skeptical. I'm glad I did. Yummy stuff for sure.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Nov 2019
at 04:58
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 9/2019. Pours lightly hazy deep ruby red/pink/purple color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light pink head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy black currants, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, raspberry, peach, plum, pear, apricot, mango, melon, red/green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light peppercorn/lacto funk and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of black currants, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big sour/tart/tangy black currants, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, raspberry, peach, plum, pear, apricot, mango, melon, red/green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light peppercorn/lacto funk and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and light spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy black currants, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, raspberry, peach, plum, pear, apricot, mango, melon, red/green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light peppercorn/lacto funk and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of black currants, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; with an awesome malt/tartness and tangy fruit balance; with no puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp finishing. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering tartness, tangy fruit, and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy, and acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 6%. Overall this is an awesome fruited kettle sour. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of black currants, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/refreshing to drink with the mellowly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish; not overly lactic/tannic. Awesome balance of big juicy/jammy currants and Lacto complexity; with a great pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp acidic/tangy dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive style example as expected.
Tried
from Can
on 01 Oct 2019
at 00:27
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 8/21/2019. Pours very hazy deep golden/orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/zest, wood, light peppercorn/pine, wheat, biscuit dough, light honey/toast, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical hops and bready malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/zest, wood, light peppercorn/pine, wheat, biscuit dough, light honey/toast, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Mild pine, citrus peel/zest, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of mandarin orange juice, red grapefruit, lemon, lime, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, honeydew melon, blueberry, gooseberry, citrus peel/zest, wood, light peppercorn/pine, wheat, biscuit dough, light honey/toast, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops and bready malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, lightly sticky, and slightly resinous/rindy mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol for 7.5%. Overall this is an incredible NEIPA. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops and bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mildly bitter/drying finish; fantastic soft feel. Amazing Rakau, Mosaic, Citra, Meridian profile. Extremely juicy, vibrant, and lightly dank/earthy hops; with a perfectly balanced wheat/oat/malt backbone. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding spot on style example. One of their best ones.
Tried
from Can
on 31 Aug 2019
at 20:37
7/10
Lots of citrus, earth, pine and sweaty aromas on the nose. Flavors are a bit muddled and low carbonation...thin body. Slight dank & citrus.
Tried
from Can
on 24 Aug 2019
at 16:25
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Can from Holiday Market .Pours a clearish orange gold with a finger of off-white foam that lingers, then dissipates. Big aromas of pine, grapefruit, pineapple, earth and sweat. A bit thin and low carbonated on the palate. Muddled citrus notes with more pine and earth. Medium to low bitterness on the finish. Slightly boozy on the finish.
Tried
from Can
on 24 Aug 2019
at 01:21