As always, I have a backlog of beers I want to write about tin this space. I’ve especially wanted to shout out to local brewers that I haven’t had much change to highlight before.

Like Lo Rez Brewing. They’re located in a repurposed industrial site in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, 2101 S. Carpenter St. The principals, Dave Dahl and Kevin Lilly, were programmers in the tech sector. Like almost everyone in this field, they got hooked on homebrewing, and went through extensive training, getting certified by the Siebel Institute. Kevin made beer at Metropolitan Brewing and 5 Rabbit, while Dave traveled through Belgium and also put in hours at Metropolitan. They opened their own brewery in 2016. Yes, the taproom is open, and they have home delivery options.

Their beers have a small distribution footprint so far, but I did have their Local Logic Pilsener a few years back at the Red Arrow Taproom in Elmhurst. And now I’ve found some of their cans at Whole Foods in Darien.

For this article, I picked up Voxel, described as an “American Saison.” That’s normally a Belgian style, made with some wheat in the malt billed, and fermented warm, imparting some spiciness, for farmhouse consumption. The “American” part apparently is based on dry-hopping with Mosaic.

Now, it’s not mentioned on the can, but Saisons are usually packaged unfiltered. Meaning there’s still some fermentation that can go on. Meaning you might open your beer to a bit of a gusher. At least this time, I prepared by opening the can over the sink, and let the glass settle before taking the photo above. But there is a big pear nose when I first poured the foamy beer into a tulip glass. It takes while to settle, but the fluffy big head is still there, under a slightly hazy yellow beer body. Dry hopping plays up a fruity aspect that goes with the coriander notes of this style. The finish is dry, but overall it has more maltiness than bitterness.

It’s nicely filling, and the alcohol does not affect you much while drinking (Stats: 6.2% abv, 35 IBU). You can’t go wrong pairing this with “farmhouse” food: roasted meats and/or veggies, and creamy, soft cheeses. I quite enjoyed it, though, all by its lonesome.

Disclosure: I purchased this beer for the purpose of reviewing it.