Saint Errant is a new brewery in the Chicagoland area with no space to call their own so they brew out of Mikerphone Brewing in Elk Grove Village. Their set-up is similar to how Mikerphone Brewing started out a few years ago when they used to brew out of the now defunct SlapShot Brewing on Chicago’s South Side. Saint Errant brewers started out homebrewing; enjoyed a few trips to VT as inspiration; and now with the support and space of Mikerphone are releasing their own beers.
Some of their inspiration from Vermont is evident in Watasha, a double dry hopped IPA that is about 6% ABV. This NE style DDH IPA exhibits the three characteristics that define this new style: First, the appearance is nearly opaque and this particular IPA is one of the most opaque IPAs you’ll ever see. Second, the beer is characterized by a soft bitterness as opposed to many IPAs that can have a sharper or harsher bite. Finally, by adding hops near the end or after the boil is complete, aka “dry hopping” the hops aren’t chemically altered in the same way and strong citrus notes from the hops remain. Watasha has strong notes of pineapple and mango throughout. Two different hops were used to dry hop this beer; Mosaic (an American hop) and Vic Secret (an Australian hop).
Watasha is the nickname that Hank Williams Jr gave to Waylon Jennings and it means “Old #1” in Japanese. Saint Errant Brewing isn’t just brewing NE style IPAs though, they also do wild ales and stouts. Be on the lookout for Red Tuxedo, an Imperial Stout with raspberries, cacao nibs and vanilla that is currently available in the area.
By Chad Faber
To learn more about Watasha, check out our video on You Tube here!
