The Brew from the Center

The Ultimate Indy Beer Tour

by Ed Wenck — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:52:00 GMT

A while back some craft-beer fans from Upstate New York came to visit Amy (Mrs. Wenck) & I here in the Hoosier State. We took our pals, Jean and Lance, on a trip through Broad Ripple and SoBro to sample some faves and nosh along the way. We hit four pubs in five hours and took a cab home, and it got me thinkin’…

What if travel were no object? Well, not NO object – just not an object for Indy and her nearby suburbs? Suppose you could hop from pub to pub, only to be met by a barkeep at each tavern or taproom well willing to give you two or three ounce taste – suppose you could swing the perfect Indy flight of beer?

So here are the parameters: you’ve got your superhero superspeed, you’ve got accommodating pub owners, and you get to build the perfect flight of micro-brews from light to heavy. We’ll stick to the locally-owned joints (even though the northern Rock Bottom is slammin’). (I would love for folks to either comment below or send me their route and their picks via email (ed@wibc.com) or via Facebook. This is purely subjective and based on what I usually favor at each place.)

Okay, we’ll start with the most popular craft beer in Indiana, Upland’s Wheat – a wit, actually – at the Indy tasting room at 49th & College. Sales of this variety are off the charts and climbing, cementing Upland’s rep as a force to be reckoned with. A nice, citrus-y, entry-level session beer. Another fave of mine at this locale is Upland’s Preservation Pilsner.

Next we head south to Greenwood – Oaken Barrel’s Indiana Amber is about as accessible to a newbie as Upland’s Wheat. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m nearly certain this was the first craft beer served at Victory Field.

Now over to Broad Ripple proper – we’ll hit Indiana’s oldest micro-brewery, the Broad Ripple Brewpub. You could get a Lawnmower Pale or a cask ale, but the ESB here is What a Pint of English Bitter should taste like. These gents also were responsible for a dark German lager they named after me: Wenck in the Dark. (It was MUCH better than the name.) The bitter is so authentic it arrives like it was carried over from Yorkshire by a five-ounce swallow. (European.)

Barley Island used to save us a trip to Noblesville by installing themselves at the corner of College and Broad Ripple’s main drag. Alas, now that satellite operation sis gone – so north we hike. The wheat’s good, the IPA’s good, but Dirty Helen Brown Ale seems like the best representation of their talents.

Downtown now – Indy’s newest taproom is Flat 12 Bierwerks. I’d had their milk stout, which was my favorite, until I’d had their Glazed Ham – a dark with all the spices of an Easter Dinner – and that was my favorite…until they rolled out Tangerine Porter. This is candy in a glass for craft beer fans. Pretty amazing stuff, it’s an orange/chocolate/malt mashup that is utterly revelatory. A taste of the Half Cycle IPA would ruin you for everything else – its hops will murder the palate for an hour or more – so save it for another trip. Back north – there’s two potent picks at our next stop:

Brugge has a brilliant array of Belgians, The Black would be neat here, but we’ll go with Tripel de Ripple, a golden quaff of this variety that’s a little scary – in fact, Brugge limits the drinker to two per sitting. The ABV is monumental.

Downtown again. Still awake? Now we move into the hoppy stuff courtesy of Sun King. Indy’s taproom can provide a blast of Osiris, a hoppy, full-bodied pale ale. All of Sun King’s stuff is big and delicious, and if you want to bring your macro-drinkin’ friends along, toast them with a Sunlight, a cream ale that’s a nice sip on a hot day. Stop back for the Wee Mac, it’s a Scotch ale that’s won medals.

Finish your tour with a Double IPA at Three Wise Men. Taking a cue from Bell’s Hopslam, the Wise Men cut their hops with honey to mellow out the bruising nature of this floral monster (whereas Flat 12 makes their IPA more palatable with a note of grapefruit). We bring you here to finish because you’re probably hungry now and there’s some nice pizza to be had – Three Wise runs a close third behind Some Guys and the heavenly Napolese for artisanal pie in Indy.

New Belgium’s Fat Tire Amber Ale

by Ed Wenck — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:56:00 GMT

This is the flagship amber from New Belgium brewing out of Fort Collins, CO – a popular entry-level craft brew with a TON of marketing savvy behind it. Home-brewers love cloning the thing – mainly because there was a time when you couldn’t buy it out side of a few western states. New Belgium prides itself on: 1) alternative energy for all its operations and 2) brilliant ways to get their message and their beer in front of consumers. Example: New Belgium rolled out in Indy in cans in the month of May a few years back. ‘Cause the track doesn’t allow bottles…get it? It worked. I took 6 to the 500 that year. Other brewers have followed suit; Sun King notes that canning its brews is a more environmentally-friendly approach, and Brooklyn Lager has turned up in cans made by the Ball company.

Not much of a head when bottle-poured, but the color is a lovely dark honey gold. A: 2.1

The nose is mainly yeasty, a bready thing not unlike cutting into a fresh egg bagel. After the grain creeps in, more brewer’s yeast. It’s like you’re standing next to the vat. Nice. N: 2.1

Drinks a bit like a cream ale! A bit of oats, a bit of grainy bread, a bit of caramel. The hops presence here is slight, but this a session beer, not a hop monster. Some spice – other reviewers have claimed apple, but I can’t find it. Malty – malted milk balls malty. After the cream, a trace of caramel. The body’s a bit slight and soda-poppy. T:2.2

And the finish is a bit slight and soda poppy too – but here’s where a little bitter twang of hops show up. Lingers, a little more caramel – and hey, did I just have a bowl of Total cereal? F: 2.1

ED’S SCORE: 8.5 out of 10

Bell's HOPSLAM!

by Ed Wenck — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 16:07:00 GMT

If there were ever to be an ‘American Maibock’ style – or maybe, a better definition would be ‘US Doppelbock’ – a traditional spring offering with a lighter color and a load of US of Ale flavor, I’m going to nominate balanced hop-mad beers like this behemoth – it’s a monster with ballet toes. It’s listed on Bell’s site as a seasonal brewed in winter, and the early spring arrival of this Kalamazoo-based brewer’s expression of this Double (or Imperial) IPA has rabid fans aplenty, and with good reason.

Lovely color, a deep-honey-amber similar to a fossil that might’ve trapped an ant several million years ago for a modern paleontologist. Sudsy head, consistent and persistent, and the foam leaves a bountiful lace. The insect would’ve died happy. A:2.4

Ever-so-slightly sour citrus smell, hops, honey, and…is that ginger? (I changed glasses – still got a vague pickled nose.) Weird, but tantalizing. N: 2.2

AGGRESSIVE hop character at the first quaff – immediately tempered by the honey in the mix. The hell with ‘reinheitsgebot’; the addition of the sweetener in just the proper ratio keeps the thing from other brewer’s hop-bombers; you don’t feel like you’re chewing on the actual plant. Marvelous – can I pick out the six hops in the vat and the dry-hop added at the end? Maybe – nahhh. Just enjoy it. The initial wallop of hops settles into a terrific drinkability as one progresses through the glass. The mouthfeel borders on a Belgian of the finest caliber. T: 2.5

A lingering, bitter finish, a trace of honey on the tongue, which is exactly what I’d want and expect from this bottle. Now that I’m done – wow, lest ye forget - the ABV IS 10%. Don’t stand up too quickly. F:2.4

Ed’s score: 9.5 out of 10.

P.S. – Dropped by the Upland Tasting Room on College Ave this past weekend, alas, without pen and paper. Don’t know if the Upland folks have tweaked their recipes a tad or if there’s a more rigorous approach toward monitoring ingredients, but I really think this is a craft brewery that’s about to make the leap from ‘good’ to ‘great’. You’ll hear much more about their brews here shortly. Meantime, stop by the Room and taste a flight of their six varieties NOW. The current offerings are all splendid.

Goose Island Brewing’s Sofie

by Ed Wenck — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:51:00 GMT

Chicago’s Goose Island has branched out considerably, now offering us lucky Midwesterners a number of takes on classic continental ales. Sofie is their saison brew, and it’s a truly remarkable expression of a style that’s not terribly common. Brewed with a blend of Belgians – 80% unflavored, the other twenty aged in wine barrels with orange peel, this ale is a stunner.

The color is pale summer-wheat orange-golden, not transparent. The heavy carbonation here demands a very delicate pour, a frothy head of champagne-like bubbles establishes quickly and remains at length. The lace is hardy; looks like the tub after emptying! A:2.3

The nose carries a trace of the orange, lemon zest creeps in and a light earthy/yeasty background is faintly present. You’ve been transported to a country farmhouse in the old world. N: 2.3

The first quaff offers that tart, slightly sour but not at all unpleasant zing you’d expect from a proper Belgian. Nice malt, gentle hoppiness. The sipping then reveals a sweetening citrus – imagine if you’d just peeled a carbonated Clementine with less sugars. The fruit lingers on the palate along with those wonderful bubbles – soda pop was never this satisfying. Orange to lemon to – little Mexican limes? A spice that’s almost peppery? Sublime stuff. T: 2.4

Nice finish, hangs around just long enough. Some macros might’ve once claimed it, but this is the champagne of beers. The alcohol isn’t terribly off the charts here, which makes for a fine spring drink. F: 2.3

(A NOTE ON SCORING: I know some beer sites go with a 5-point system; other critics go with the ‘100’ measure. I like the idea of a perfect ‘10’ – I’m an old guy who remembers Bo Derek once upon a time – so that’s what we’re shooting for. You’ll note I’m breaking the beer down in four categories now for a more complete explanation of my method: Appearance (A), Nose (N), Taste (T) and Finish (F). It’s an idea totally ripped off from the genius behind ‘The Whiskey Bible.’ Each category is worth one-quarter of the total score.)

Ed’s score: 9.3 out of 10.

Bee Creek Ale

by Ed Wenck — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:41:00 GMT

Bee Creek’s Ale was on sale during my last foray into the shelves at my local supplier of hoppy stuff. I had a full basket of powerhouse stouts and Belgian-style trippels, so I threw in a few odd bottles from the cooler, this among them. This offering from Brazil, Indiana, was a surprisingly nice treat.

This is a very, very friendly beer. I’m immediately reminded of mainstream stuff with this in much the same way that Sun King’s Cream Ale presents itself – this is a session beer. Bee Creek Ale conjures copious consumption around summertime campfires. (Say that quickly after three of ‘em.)

The color’s a wonderful honey gold, but this particular bottle head a head that dissipated all too quickly – I’ve heard other pours yielded better results. The little trace of lace was as delicate as the nose – nice, gentle, floral hops, a tea-like blend of lemon and honey again – true to the name, eh? Not a complex drink, just a bit more citrus-hoppy than a macro-draft. Upon the second taste: first a lovely malt, then a light bitterness, gentle carbonation. Dry finish. Not too much alcohol. This is the perfect introduction to craft beer for the Bud Light consumer: non-threatening yet tasty, a great quaff after mowing the yard on a hot July day. Buy your macro drinker a six of this. They’ll love it.

Ed’s Score: 8.7 out of 10 for a solid B+. Workingman’s brew! Bummer about the head, alas.

North Coast Brewing's Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

by Ed Wenck — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:39:00 GMT

When I gave the missus a mission: “Pick me up a nice stout on the way home” (she was foolish enough to ask if I needed anything on my day off), she did the smart thing: she stopped by Kahn’s on Keystone and asked for a good brew. She came home with two: a workingman’s expression of the style from Australia (Sheaf – more on that in the future) and a big bombing Russian Imperial style from North Coast Brewing, a monster of a beer called Old Rasputin.

Damn.

No, wait a second…damn.

This stout is flat-out lovely. Brewed with the copious amounts of alcohol that would’ve preserved this variety for its trip from the British Isles to the lips of Catherine the Great in years past, this oil-black brew immediately sets up a head built to last. And last – the creamy top never fades through the consumption of the entire glass; a glass whose body is as opaque as the best espresso. The nose is a bit understated – dark chocolate notes are better expressed in the drinking, a wonderful malty mouthful of cocoa, coffee, a trace perhaps of smoke and roasted chestnuts and a finish that lingers with just a smattering of licorice. Undeniably delicious and dangerous as hell, the brew ends with a warmth in the belly that belies the liquor within. Just one, barkeep, just one.

Ed's score: 9.5 out of 10 - lack of depth in the nose kept ol' Raspy from perfection.

Three Floyd’s Alpha King

by Ed Wenck — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:58:00 GMT

One of Indiana’s premier craft brewers lives in Munster – da Region – and is, in fact, responsible for a brew some have claimed is the single best beer in the world. The beer is Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout - which is available for exactly one day in April every year at Three Floyd’s. While we wait, there’s a monumentally hoppy pale ale sold year round, and it’s the flagship brew from the Floyds; Alpha King. Lucky us.

Cloudy and copper-colored with a hefty head, the nose is assertive and rich, signaling that this beer will deliver what’s promised both in the nostrils and on the label: big, citrus-y hops that are bitter but balanced: Centennial, Warrior and the unmistakable Cascade hops are ingredients given on the company’s website. The lace is strong and hearty, the finish is complex – this beer seems to reveal every kind of expression of fruited Vitamin C possible. Was that a Clementine? A tangerine? Lemongrass? The beer’s feel in the mouth seems closer to the head than the body; almost Belgian for a pale ale of the American ilk.

As ales of this variety go, a true hophead will likely be ruined for most others; only Sun King, Bell’s and Dogfish Head breweries have mastered the monster-hop expression so vividly and with such poise. A near perfect experience.

Ed’s score: 9.9 out of a possible 10 (only because I’ve yet to taste the Dark Lord)