A weekly review of Vas Foremost’s craft beer offerings.

Dreams can come true. For Clint Bautz and Lynn Ford, Lake Effect Brewing Company is the realization of a dream. In dog years, this brewery is still a puppy. In this week’s Vas Review I sample two beers from the new brewery on the northwest side of Chicago that everybody is talking about.

Lake Effect Snow

Ugh, don’t remind me.

Style: Witbier

ABV: 5.5%

I’ve prepared well for this one. I’ve assembled a couple of extra blankets, some hand warmers, and a 60-pound dog who loves to cuddle. Grab the bottle opener and lift the cap off of Lake Effect Snow. (No, not the dreaded precipitation that causes us to have an impromptu car abandonment party on Lake Shore Drive.) Lake Effect Snow is a Witbier from Chicago’s own Lake Effect Brewery.

Lake Effect Snow (Snow from here on out) pours out the middle of a blizzard, cloudy and temptingly opaque. With my snow pants, gloves and jacket on I push forward into the beer. The aroma makes me forget about the cold with orange citrus, coriander spice, and fresh cut hay from the farm. If that weren’t enough, a slight woodiness from the hops and a touch of lemon and pepper from the yeast have me pulling out my grill thinking my friends are coming over for a summer BBQ.

It’s time to embrace the inevitable and welcome the Snow into my life.

Be prepared for a spicy, peppery and coriander taste upon the first sip. The citrus from the aroma translates into a lemongrass taste with a very gentle bitter orange settling in mid-palette. Into the vocabulary of a beer geek we must go for the next taste – hay. Yes, hay. I’m sure most of us without an older brother have never tasted hay. But we all know what it smells like and could take a guess on to what it tastes like. In this case, the hay flavor is most certainly welcome as it balances the citrus and pepper tastes, lending a drinkable dryness to the beer.

So embrace Lake Effect Snow and have a snowball fight, go sledding or make a snow angel. Just make sure you drink this beer after the festivities, and not during. (After all, spilling beer is one of the seven deadly sins.)

Falcon Dive IPA

Rodents beware!

Style: American-Style India Pale Ale

ABV: 7.0%

Ah, the American IPA. The most popular and best-selling style of craft beer in the United States. Known for its more pronounced bitterness and flavors of citrus and pine, this style of beer has burrowed its way into our hearts and set up a nest in there. Lake Effect Brewing Company tries its hand at the style with Falcon Dive IPA.

Falcon Dive pours out a copper tangerine hue, proudly showing its feathers. Darting quickly out of the trees is a fruity aroma highlighted by a fresh squeezed orange citrus aroma. Hidden a little bit more in the forrest are some biscuit, toffee and toasted malt aromas.

Squawk! What about the cracker?!

Crackers? Yes, they’re in there. But…aren’t you a falcon?

Interruptions aside, the first thing that hits you in the taste is a mineral-like tingle. Don’t worry – that’s supposed to be there. I’d get into a water chemistry lesson to explain, but wouldn’t we just rather drink the beer at this point? Caged up inside this brew are several distinct flavors: pine, resin, citrus and that biscuit/cracker-malt taste that Polly likes so much. There is a fairly potent bitterness that comes through, especially on the back end. It mellows out on the after taste, leaving behind some melon and toasted malt flavors.

Don’t be afraid to let this bird out of its cage. It’s friendly, doesn’t bite, and could perform some nice tricks (if you drink enough of it). And if you twaut you taw a puddy tat, put some Falcon Dive IPA in a saucer bowl for it. Cats like beer, right?

Another offering from Lake Effect available at Vas Foremost is Cruisin’ for a Brewsin’ .

Steve Pasko is a Certified Cicerone® and the Beer Content Writer for Vas Foremost. Follow him on Twitter or Untappd at Gardemybiere. Email him at Gardemybiere@gmail.com.