Rooftop IPA

In the last twenty years Bloomington Brewery has been flying under the radar with their awesome brewpub in the heart of IU's campus down in Bloomington IN. They've been making awesome beers, but they were mostly just available at the pub and a few other beer bars. In the last few years, they've really been stepping up and getting their beer in a lot more places. Last year they brought their IPA, Rooftop, to the brewers cup at the state fair and they brought home the gold. With that success in mind they've gone ahead and put it in some pretty good looking 22 oz bottles and started distributing it to liquor stores all around Indy.

Rooftop IPA pours out a nice light copper color with thick fluffy white head. The head pushes forth with big citrus fruit peal aromas mixed with a piney resin smell. Right from the get go, you can tell this IPA means business and the hops have come to party. It has a great sweet malty backbone that gives the citrus fruit hop flavor an almost orange slice flavor. Its big and juicy with a pretty even handed bitter finish. With all the hops in the nose I expected a ton on the finish, but this kept it nice and laid back. The beer was incredibly drinkable for being about 7.4% abv.

I give it a 4/5

We keep looking to new breweries that are springing up around town to change the market place. Sometimes we don't think about some of the guys that have been around for a while without distribution. This is an excellent IPA and I'm really excited that after twenty years in business BBC is starting to put it on the shelves. Keep up the good work guys, and maybe we'll start seeing more tasty treats on shelves around town.

Indy Beer News

Upland's next sour lottery is open, and Scarlet Lane has another way for you to support Chris Gerard from Bare Hands Brewing. Lots of events from Flat 12 Bierwerks, Girls' Pint Out, Tomlinson Tap Room, Chilly Water Brewing, Devil's Trumpet Brewing, 18th Street Brewing and many more!

 

A(dog)fish in a much bigger pond

You may have heard (or not) that back in 2011 Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales (DFH) and Avery pulled out of Indiana, because they weren't able to supply states in their respective home regions with enough beer. Back then I thought, "well that sucks". Flash forward to June 2013 when DFH made the announcement that they would be returning to Indiana and a couple other states they had left "before the end of the year". Back then I thought "oh cool, it'll be nice to have them back". December 2013 they made another announcement that beer would be available in northern Indiana the week of December 30th; okay well I guess they made it back to part of the state, just before the end of the year. In that update and a more recent update in April they've continued the "coming months" mantra. It's now been a year since they announced they would be coming back, and it's still not clear when they're coming back to central Indiana and why it's taking so long. Instead of getting upset about the delay I find myself thinking "who cares?"

This is not so much about the quality of DFH beers, but instead about how the Indy (and surrounding region) craft beer scene has changed in the last 3 years. It's unlikely that DFH beers have gotten worse over that time, but the selection of beers in Indiana has certainly gotten better. There's been a moderate explosion of new breweries around the state, with a dozen or so opening within the city during 2014 alone. While not all of these breweries package their beers for the shelf, most distribute kegs of their beer around town and can be found with relative ease. The amount of growth has even caused outcries of "enough already with the craft beer!!", while that outcry is ridiculous it does illustrate that people are taking notice of the growing options. 

On a larger scale there's been an explosion of breweries nationwide raising concerns that a dip or bursting bubble is looming for the industry. Whether this dip will occur is unknown, but for the time being it's a boon for consumers locally as new beer pours in from breweries outside Indiana. 

The other big factor in change is the slow rise of craft beer beers around town since DFH left: Twenty tap, The Aristocrat, The Pint Room, and Hop Cat (coming soon), Yes, this is a small list, but still a big leap in 3 years. Not to mention all the other places that might not be "beer bars", but host beer events and have high quality offerings. Hopefully we'll see more beer bars and more craft beer taps in the future to relieve some of the congestion that's being caused by all the new beer showing up. 

A lot of people involved in the Indy beer scene would agree that Indy's beer scene has come a long way since DFH left, but still has a ways to go before being a major factor in the national scene. We need more neighborhood beer bars, more educational events, and maybe different laws, With much respect to current breweries, we still need a "destination" brewery, a place that combines quality beer, events, a well thought out and executed space, etc. in to one package. The fact that we can complain about such things shows how we've grown since 2011.

DFH makes fine beers and I've been known to enjoy some of their seasonal offerings now and again, plus they do a great job with glassware. People that got into craft beer since they left will be drawn to a big name "new" to the state. Others may go pick up old favorites, or try new DFH offerings, but DFH's impact here won't be as big as it once was. 

Dogfish Head use to be a big fish in a little pond, now they're a big fish still, but returning to a much bigger pond... whenever that happens. 

Stout Glass

What's in a glass? Hopefully some good beer, but does it matter if you use the proper glass for your chosen beer style? In short, yes, but now there's a been a few beer specific (Rastal teku) and beer style specific glasses (e.g. Sierra Nevada x Dogfish Head Spiegelau IPA glass) popping up recently, the newest being the Left Hand x Rogue Spiegelau stout glass. So do you need this glass for your stouts? Maybe. 

Methods

I purposely picked 2 beers that were different in a few aspects to compare the stout specific glass against their normal proper glassware: 

Short's Empress Catherine-  Russian imperial stout, 8.0% ABV, new to me, and proper glassware is a snifter (I used an oversized snifter)


Modern Times Black House- Coffee stout, 5.8% ABV, a proven favorite of mine, and proper glassware is a pint glass (I used a willi becher glass). 

Results

Appearance 

In both cases the stout glass provided a bigger more constant head at the initial pour and throughout the comparison, but only slightly. 

Edge: Stout glass (slightly)

Aroma

The oversized snifter performed just as well as the stout glass, but Black House had stronger coffee aromas in the stout glass versus the willi becher. This really isn't a surprise as both the snifter and stout glass have designs that funnel aromas to the nose. 
Edge: Stout glass (only over the willi becher)

Taste

No difference at all. 

Edge: None

Mouthfeel

With both beers the stout glass helped provide a smoother creamier mouthfeel. The lip between the "stem" and bowl helps agitate the beer, creating this mouthfeel trick. Overall this seemed to benefit the regular stout more. 

Edge: Stout glass

Conclusion

The stout glass clearly provides a better mouthfeel and head, both of which are important aspects of enjoying a stout. The rest is a mixed bag; the beer won't taste better and it might smell better, but whether or not you should buy this glass will depend on a few things:

Black House

• Drink a lot of stouts? Yes? Maybe buy; No? Don't buy
• All you have is pint glasses: Buy
• You have a snifter and mostly drink imperial stouts: Don't buy; your snifter will work well enough. 
• You mostly drink non-imperial stouts: I'd lean towards buy; this is where I think this glass will shine as it should help bump up the mouthfeel of a regular stout. 

It should be noted that this glass comes in 3 flavors: Blank, Rogue Brewing branded, and Left Hand Brewing branded. I opted for the blank version, which much to my great annoyance, does not have etching on the bottom like the branded ones do. This etching provides nucleation spots for bubbles to form on, further enhancing head and mouthfeel. "Don't want to advertise a brewery?!? No extra bubbles for you!!" The lack of nucleation spots on mine does not change my opinion; the versions with nucleation will just be better at what I think this glass already does well, but won't help the other aspects. 

In sum, whether or not you buy this glass will depend on your stout preferences and your existing glassware collection. 

Empress Catherine

Indy Beer News

Lots to talk about this week!

 An Indiana Judge has upheld a law saying Grocery and convenience stores still cannot sell cold beer.

 There are two new videos floating around this week documenting some recent beer festivals. Here's the Sour Wild and Funk fest and then there's this one from Anderson Brew Fest.

 Volunteer to pour beer at this year's Dig In with Girls' Pint Out

Tour de Upland registration is now open, as well as their next sour lottery.

Tickets to the Mad Anthony Oktoberfest are on sale. Quafftoberfest tickets are also on sale this week. Rooftop IPA bottles are now on sale in Indianapolis. Upland is releasing their Upland Valley Weizen on June 20th. Events this week from Tomlinson Tap Room, Triton Brewing Company, Sahm's Place, Flat 12, Bloomington Brewing Company, Broad Ripple Brewpub and Girls' Pint Out.

 

Thunder, Thunder, Thunderbird HO!!!

Thunderbird is a trendy place in the Fountain Square neighborhood with upscale modern cuisine and an impressive array of custom prohibition style cocktails. In a classy bar like this, it shouldn't surprise anyone that they have a pretty solid  number of craft beer taps. Brie and I have been in a few times with friends and I thought it was about time I put up a review.

The atmosphere at Thunderbird is awesome. It has cozy booths along the walls with large communal tables in the center of the bar. There is a great horseshoe shaped bar in the center. There are even small bar areas in the windows that let you check out the people walking around Fountain Square. The decor is like a rustic ski chalet in the middle of Indiana. There is tons of dark reclaimed wood and bright hanging pendent lights. The ceilings are tall which opens the whole place up, and having the two windows up front allows a ton of natural light in.

The menu changes regularly, but what we've had has been outstanding. The croquette's are amazing. For all of you who are not used to yupy food, croquette is just a fried dough ball of stuff. The ones at Thunderbird have ham hock inside. Hush puppies were also excellent. They took a nice home-style dish and really did a good job elevating it. There service has been good whether we've ordered from a table or the bar. The servers are just as knowledgeable about the drinks as they are the food.

Now since this is a beer blog... It looks like they have about eight rotating taps, and so far they've done an impressive job of keeping some unique things on.
There are always a few local Indy beers and normally a bunch of interesting regional options. They are starting to get more active with things like tap takeovers and other beer related events. We were able to go out for an Urban Chestnut takeover and tried a bunch of exciting one offs. Although this is not necessarily a beer bar, they do a good job keeping fun options on the menu, and for those of us with significant others, sometimes its good to go somewhere that doesn't just have beer.

I give the food an outstanding 4.5/5
I give the beer menu a solid 4/5

Check them out on socail media:

Facebook: tbirdindy
Instagram: Thunderbirdindy
Twitter: Thunderbirdindy

Lets Give a Warm Welcome to HopCat!

Where can you find unique beers on tap in Indy? Right now you can count the great spots we have on two hands. With the huge boom in craft breweries here in central Indiana, it only makes sense that we're going to need a lot more places to drink that beer.

Our growing craft community has caught the eye of the big guy up north. HopCat, a titan in Michigan's craft beer scene, is opening their third location right here in Broad Ripple. HopCat, Grand Rapids, was rated as the number 3 Beer Bar on Planet earth by Beer Advocate and number 1 Brewpub in the US by Ratebeer.com. They have one hell of a reputation. Here they will have 130 taps available which will be the largest draft system in the state.

There are a lot of bars here in Indy that do a good job with craft beer, but not many that specialize in it. We have such great breweries that have been around for a while and that are brand new, it's awesome to see more bars that specialize in craft beer popping up. This will mean more unique beers on tap on a regular basis and more servers trained to talk about beer. It will help the overall education of the community. If we are going to keep the revolution moving we need more places pouring our beer all the time, where geeks like us can go in and try new things and talk to someone who really knows what's going on.

To bring a little more Indianapolis excitement HopCat had a hops planting instead of a formal ground breaking ceremony last week. Local news outlets came out to see the skeleton of the space that will hold the bar and restaurant. Clay from Sun King, and President of the Brewers of Indiana Guild came to talk about the new bar and what it would really mean for Indiana beer.

The official launch is August 16th and they are hosting a huge tap takeover with all 130 taps pouring delicious Indiana beer. That's more local beer than you see at some Indiana festivals! With HopCat already being engaged with the guild, I'm sure there will be some rare treats and crazy brews tapped at the take over.

"HopCat Founder Mark Sellers said the Hoosier tap takeover event will provide patrons with a chance to experience the incredible variety, artistry and creativity within Indiana's craft brewing community."

The first 200 customers in line before 11am will all get a magic card that gives them an order of deliciously addictive Crack Fries every week for the next year. For those of you who hate lines, everyone will get a free order of Crack Fries on opening day.

I'm really exited for another great craft beer bar. Hell, I'd be excited if we got ten more true craft beer bars. I'm excited for more great beers on tap regularly. I'm excited for a better platform to show off the great beer made here in Indiana. I'm excited for a menu that's all made to pair with beer. I'm excited to wait in line at HopCat Indy's grand opening!

Right now HopCat is hiring to fill more than 100 jobs at the Indy location. If you want to be part of the beer community here in Indy email them at indy.jobs@hopcat.com

Check out HopCat on Social Media.

Facebook: HopCat - Broad Ripple
Twitter: hopcatbr
Instagram: hopcatbr

Mashcraft IPA Review

Andrew Castner (head brewer) and friends just opened up Indianapolis' newest brewery Mashcraft on the south side in Greenwood IN. A few of us stopped by for the opening this past Friday to check out the space and beer, one of which came home with me for a detailed look. 

The space is nice and roomy with picnic tables spread out amongst the occasional bar top and old stadium seat. I'd say this is already one of the nicer breweries to hang out in around town. Parking is also easy as Mashcraft is in a shopping center off State Road 135. Despite the lack of natural light and acoustic dampening, future brewery owners should stop by and take some notes on the ample hang out space and layout.

Space bla bla bla, acoustic dampening, bla bla bla, beer, yay! That's what we're really here for. Initial offerings from Mashcraft are:

• • Mashcraft Gold
• • Mashcraft IPA
• • Scotts Ale
• • Hopjam Double IPA

Since I was using my ABV credits carefully, I went with my go to beers, the IPA and Double IPA. Both were fantastic, and the general consensus around our table of 6-7 was that these 2 are the best of the bunch. Battles raged over which was the best of the 2, but I sided with the IPA faction and took some home with me. 

IPA Review

At home from the bullet/howler/prowler/32oz fill into a Mashcraft tulip-snifter the 6.4% ABV IPA pours a golden orange with a 1 finger white head. The beer gives off floral notes, but the big note is candied grapefruit. The taste is oranges, grapefruit, light caramel, and bitter citrus rind. The body is light to medium, with soft carbonation to buoy the beer. Some of the best features of the beer is it's slightly juicy mouthfeel and pleasantly dry finish. Off the bat this might be one of my favorite IPAs around town. It has a good citrus focus, the balance and bitterness you want from an IPA, and it won't destroy your palate. If this is any indication, I would love if Mashcraft offered multiple IPAs- Andrew please brew some more IPAs! 4.5/5

The Big Guy: I'm always excited to go check out a new brewery around town. Its great to see the craft beer community really growing up here in the Indy metro area, and guys like Andrew are a big part of our growth. He has such a great pedigree, I expected nothing but excellence when trying out his beers. Mashcraft IPA did not disappoint. I picked up a snifter of it at the brewery. It poured out a beautiful orange color with a nice thick white head. BOOM! Right from the aroma this beer packs a big punch. There are big floral and citrus aromatics that remind me of vacation. The taste follows the aroma nicely with a delicious citrus fruit sweetness with a nice bitter finish. I was also a huge fan of the Hopjam DIPA. It had a lot of the same awesome qualities as the IPA has with a big boozy finish. I give them both a 4/5

Indy Beer News

This week, I've got info on MashCraft Brewing, which opened for business this past week. Bloomington Brewing will be releasing their Rooftop IPA in bottles this week in the Indianapolis area. Indian Brewers' Cup registration is now open. Tickets for the Indiana Microbrewer's Fest are on sale. Iechyd Da has a new outdoor beer garden. And as usual, there's a plethora of events coming up in the next couple months, including several beer festivals.

Three Floyds War Mullet Review

Obscure name? Check.

Artwork that may invoke nightmares in your children? Check. 

Reference to D&D or a metal band? Ummm maybe not? 

Aggressively hopped double IPA? Check. Yep it's Three Floyd's beer time!!!

This edition features War Mullet, one of FFF newer and perhaps semi-regular bomber offerings (like Permanant Funeral). It's been available at the brewpub a handful of times, but has not made it to Indianapolis yet. 

From the bomber into a Teku glass the beer pours a vivid orange color, with copper highlights and a two finger off-white head. Laces well. Aromas of pine, resin, citrus, and tropical fruit. Very similar in taste: spicy hop resins, orange, mango, citrus rind bitterness. Medium to heavy body, but strong carbonation keeps it from being syrupy. Mouthfeel is oily with a very dry finish. 

Another must try DIPA from FFF. Big citrusy and resinous beer, but shows some restraint while being a solidly bitter beer. Great balance all around. Worth a trip to the brewpub just for this? Probably not, but worth getting if you happen to cross paths with it. 4/5

Indy Beer News

Support local Indiana brewer, Chris Gerard, by stopping at Three Pints brewpub on June 10th, or Tomlinson Tap Room throughout the month of June. Chris suffered a brain injury a few weeks ago and although he's expected to recover, your help is appreciated.

Events this week from Sun King Brewing, the Elbow Room Pub, Scarlet Lane brewing, Four Fathers Brewing, Flat 12 Bierwerks, Burn 'Em Burning, Shoefly Publich House, and MashCraft Brewing.

Other events this week include the Anderson Brewfest, Upland Upcup homebrew competition, and Evansville Zoo Brew.

Hinchtown Hammer Down

For all you Indy natives, you know the end of May means one thing, and one thing only, race week. People outside of Indy don't understand this is not just an event, it's the official start of summer around here. The track is open for two straight weeks so you can watch your favorite drivers practice and warm up their cars.

If you've never been to an Indy car race it's hard to describe. The thunder of thirty three engines all starting up at the same time and the roar of the cars passing your seats can only be described as awe inspiring. I'm by no means the biggest race fan but as an Indy native, I love watching the race live. There is something that goes beyond words about watching the speed and control of these cars flying around the oval. After 18 consecutive 500 races, I've learned a thing or two.

1. Never forget your butt cushion
2. Seriously, never forget your butt cushion!
3. Always bring extra beer because you never when you might make a friend

This year I had to turn around and go back for my butt cushion, but I didn't forget the extra beer. Local Brewery, Flat 12 Bierwerks, just changed their standard lineup, removing Upside Down Blonde and replacing it with Hinchtown Hammer Down Golden Ale, named after James Hinchcliff a great Indy car racer. Spoiler alert, even with a beer named after him, Hinchcliff didn't win this years Indy 500. Because this is supposed to be a race beer, the brought it out in bottles as well as cans, so you can bring it just about anywhere. I figured I should give the new brew a try, plus what better beer to take to the 500 race than one named after a driver.

Hinchtown Hammer Down Golden Ale was designed to be a track beer. If you've ever been to an Indy car race or a NASCAR race you know that you need a crisp flavored light bodied beer that will quench your thirst in the hot summer sun, and that won't get you sideways too quickly. It needs to be light and sessionable, but as craft beer lovers we never want to sacrifice flavor and total experience. Flat 12 did a pretty good job packing as much flavor as you can into this 5% ABV beer with a nice, light 27 IBUs.

Hinchtown Hammer Down pours out a crystal clear straw yellow color with a thick white head. It smells sweet and grainy with hints of corn. The flavor is light and crisp with a hit of cereal sweetness. The beer has a light mouth feel and is bright and effervescent.

This is probably one of the most approachable beers that I've had and it does a good job of maintaining a solid craft appeal. Next time you're packing up for the big race, or just a summer afternoon of yard work check out Flat 12's Hinchtown Hammer Down. You wont be disappointed!