Who's Your Voodoo Daddy?

Located in Meadville, 80 miles North of Pittsburgh, Voodoo Brewery brings it with their unique brand of Black Magic!  And, bring it they do. With beer names like Pilzilla, Wynona's Big Brown Ale, Voodoo Love Child, and White Magick of the Sun, to name a few, Voodoo Brewery would, at first glance, appear to be not for the meek or timid.  However, after a closer look, one finds the opposite to be true.  The names and labels are merely a front . . . A voodoo trick so to speak, to bait you in for a closer look. The REAL magick is held within each bottle.

Each beer is treated with such care and diligence that you will find yourself immediately caught in the Voodoo spell, helpless and unaware that it has a grip on you, and that you are already being converted to the Voodoo ways.  The beers are so full-flavored, yet smooth, that even a novice beer drinker will fall under this Voodoo spell and find himself wandering, like a Voodoo Zombie, stuck on the thoughts of wonderful flavors abound, and subtleties rarely captured in an elixir so readily available.  

Who is in charge of such powerful, magickal feats?  Matt Allyn . . . Matt is the Voodoo Witch Doctor in charge of this debauchery.  He, and his assistant, Justin Dudek, are hard at work replicating these potions, eager to convert more unexpecting mortals, and satisfy the thirst of the already converted thousands.  Vapor can be seen bellowing from the Voodoo Laboratory a few times a week, as the pair diligently works on their diabolical concoctions.

How can the locals allow this to continue?  I'm afraid that everyone in a 150 mile radius has already been infected, and the virus has reportedly spread as far as Philadelphia.  Matt Allyn once handed me a box of these wonderful craft beers - The Kiss of Death.  Ever since the moment that I laid eyes on the labels and lips to the liquid, I have been a convert.  So much so, that Matt and Justin once found me knocking on the brewery gate . . . moaning . . . mumbling . . . muttering . . . searching for more Voodoo Brew to ease my pain and quiet the noise inside of my Voodoo Zombie brain.  Thankfully, they left me in and medicated me, as I was beginning to annoy myself.  We sipped on some Pilzilla straight from the fermentor as my eyes began rolling back into my head, and I began to speak in this Voodoo tongue:

Voodoo Brewing Pilzilla, 50 IBUs, 6.7% ABV:

Beautiful pale golden color with a bright white head. Crackery malt character in the nose accented by nice hop spice. Hits the mouth creamy, bright, and balanced. Malt coats the mouth wonderfully, while hop bitterness and flavor builds. Spicy hop complexity hangs around nicely and continues to coax and tease the malty slick that coats the mouth. This beer is bright and clean like its traditional European brother . . . However, I can assure you . . . If Pilzilla walks into a room, which he can't, because he's too monstrously large to fit through the doorway . . . But if he could, his European brothers would be screaming and running the other direction. This beer takes the great qualities of a European Pilsner, hits them with two atom bombs, and out walks Pilzilla . . . He's big . . . He's bad, and he's righteously angry.

My fit rolled on . . . Justin handed me some White Magick, as I began to tremor and shout:

Voodoo White Magick of the Sun, 30 IBUs, 6% ABV:

Spalter Select Hops, coriander, sweet orange peel, juniper berries, and 12 varieties of peppercorns . . . No lie. Sounds full of stuff, and it is, but drinks super clean, super dry, and impresses with its subtleties. You get a nice hint of orange peel late, mid-palate that immediately moves onto a spicy Spalter hop characteristic which sets off the wonderful, delicate balance of the additionally added spices. The spice of the hops definitely paves the road for the coriander, juniper berries, and variety of peppercorns . . . Wonderfully selected hops for these specific spices. Everything is kept in check, and this Belgian Yeast strain is a beautiful complement aiding to create a very dry finish.
Definitely one of the most unique and satisfying "White Ales" that I have ever had.

My rage began to subside, much to the delight of Matt and Justin, and I began to stabilize.  As I was coming down from this Voodoo withdrawal, Matt pulled out a bottle of Big Black Voodoo Daddy from storage.  Once he was certain that I wasn’t going to destroy anything, and I quit drooling on myself, they cleaned me up and poured me a glass of the ever-elusive Big Black Voodoo Daddy:

Big Black Voodoo Daddy, 65 IBUs, 12.5% ABV:

Pours to the glass with a very dark brown color.  This Dark Horse's appearance is opaque and accented by a nice brown colored head.  In the nose, one finds heavy aromas of bitter sweet chocolate, coffee, and molasses.  There is some detectable weight to this stout!  The liquid hits the palate with silkiness and a hint of smoke upfront that is quickly accompanied by big, rich, chocolate, molasses and roast.  The finish is dry and lengthy, leaving cocoa nib, smoke, and plenty of roasted bitterness clinging to the palate for minutes. As the mouth enjoys this wonderful ride and finish, a subtle, pleasing, warming effect becomes present in the chest.

I am told that this bottle of Big Black Voodoo Daddy has been aged for 2 years, and frankly, it tastes delicious!  Not sure that I have ever had a stout with such heaviness in the nose and silky smoothness across the palate.  If it weren't for the slight warming effect in the chest, I would not guess that this stout was well above 10% ABV.

The day is coming when you will hear the wicked whisper in your ear, "Who's your Big Black Voodoo Daddy?" . . . I suggest that you do not fight it. There is no fighting this Voodoo virus.  Instead, embrace it.  You will find this life better than the one you knew.  Although loud at times, the noise inside your brain will be quieter than the squeaky wheel on the hamster Habitrail you currently run.  

Break free . . . become infected . . . get Voodoo-ized!

Voodoo Brewing Company
217 Arch Street
Meadville, PA 16335
(412)369-0295
[email protected]
www.voodoobrewery.com