Under the Empyrian Skyes: Lincoln NE

Empyrean Brewery, for me, is like that next door neighbor I never really got to know.  He waves when he's nearby we exchange a few words about the weather, but I never really got to know him and I never asked about the strange lights and sounds in his garage at 3am.  It's high time I packed a six pack, knocked on his door and introduced myself.

Empyrean is a bit of a staple of the Nebraska brew scene, such as it is.  The Midwest have been slow adopters, but Empyrean has one of those leading the way.  I've run into them once or twice but I've really not had the chance to see what they've been getting up to in Lincoln.  Here's a closer look.

Besides bottles at the local beer store, the place to get some Empyrean goodness is at Lazlo's Brewery and Grille, which confused the hell out of me.  To speak true, I never intended to visit Empyrean.  I would have liked to, but I couldn't find them anywhere in Lincoln.  Found a brewery called Lazlo's that looked good, and then it turns out they are one in the same entity.  Why not call their taproom Empyrean Brewery and Grille?  Only the gods and the head brewer know for sure. 

Chaco Canyon Gold:  Light beer with a slightly honey sweet aroma and flavor. It finishes just slightly dry and has a nice flavor for a light beer.

Burning Skye Scottish: I've had this before but, just for kicks, I'm reviewing it again to see how much my perception has changed over the years.  I couldn't pick up any aroma on this beer.  The flavor was bready with a light caramel sweetness too it.  I picked up hints of mocha and dark cherry as well.  Although it's hard to tell, it tastes light and slightly watery for the style with a fizzy mouthfeel.

Luna Sea ESB:  There was just the slightest hint of pine on the aroma.  The flavor was dominated by light roasted grain and caramel sweetness but there were some pine hops that stuck their head out a little at the end for a slightly dry finish.

Third Stone Brown: I was just able to pick up some sweet caramel aroma on this beer.  The flavor was sweet with roasted grain, bread and maybe just a touch of coffee to bitter things up a tad.

Watch Man IPA:  It came with a pretty standard citrus and floral hop aroma.  The flavor was an example of an IPA done right.  There is a decent amount of back-of-the-throat bitterness but it comes with a tone of citrus, pine and floral flavors that are powerful but not overpowering. 

Dark Side Vanilla Porter:  No aroma I could detect.  The flavor is pretty much as advertised. Strong vanilla flavor that dominates the palate with some coffee and chocolate thrown in for good measure.

Collapsar Oatmeal Stout: Nitruos stout with a nice woody aroma. The beer was definitely on the sweet side, but it was hard to pin down.   I picked up some wood, coffee and chocolate flavors but it was so smooth it disappeared almost as fast as it appeared.  Before I knew it, my sample was gone.  This is one of those beers that's almost dangerously drinkable.  Nitrous often has that effect as does oatmeal, which probably explains why this goes down so easy.

Fallen Angel Sweet Stout:  I couldn't pick up any aroma on this. It was very drinkable, not as much as the Collapsar, but in the ballpark.  Flavor was pretty straight forward, though.  Mocha, coffee, roasted grains... not much else to say.