Now approaching its 10-year anniversary, Pearl Street Brewery is about to enter the realm of the big brewers. Hundreds of bottles of Dankenstein, its new Imperial India Pale Ale, sit at its St. Andrews Street headquarters, naturally carbonating and bottle-conditioning in the traditional beer-making style. When brewmaster Joe Kvetcher deems it ready, four-packs of the ale will hit local markets, and with it PSB can properly slug it out with the heavyweights of the American craft beer scene. The awesomely named Dankenstein checks in at about 9.5 percent alcohol by volume. Although those sorts of measuring contests are often the bane of American beermanship, Pearl Street enters the rarified double IPA realm with an offering that is both original and restrained. Couple that with a wider distribution range and one of the coolest labels I’ve seen in months, and this La Crosse brand should be getting in the hands of more and more Midwest beer snobs. As of press time, though, you can only get the Dankenstein on tap at the brewery's Tasting Room.
Out of a growler, the Dankenstein pours a hazy copper color that looks brown in low light and has a nicely laced head with long retention. The aroma has a strong banana presence with some grapefruit-y notes underneath, but while this beer is billed as a big hopper — four different varieties of hops are added at four different stages in the brewing cycle — the smell is hardly overpowering, and it’s closer to sugary sweet. The hops stay hidden through the first sip, and it only becomes bitter when it hits the back of the throat. Until then, this full-bodied beer tastes more like sweet bread, a testament to the special British malts used for cask-conditioned ales. There’s some alcohol astringency before the finish, but although the Dankenstein leaves the mouth puckered, this is probably the least hoppy-tasting double IPA I’ve ever encountered — which can be good or bad, depending on your preference. In the end, despite ancient bottling techniques, heavy hopping and high gravity, the Dankenstein never tilts to any flavor extremes, which is a compliment to Kvetcher’s brewing skills and the reason Pearl Street Brewery is going places.

– Adam Bissen