Happy Anniversary Fountain Square

It seems like it must be the popular thing to open a brewery in Indiana when it's freezing cold outside! We have been going to anniversary parties and grand openings non-stop, and with the number of great breweries popping up, it doesn't look like it'll be slowing down anytime soon.

This past Friday was the Fountain Square Brewery's second anniversary luau party. I was lucky enough to go to their anniversary party last year by accident with the Little Lady and El Duque. It was so much fun, I had to make sure I didn't miss it this year. The brewery was packed with barely any room to move without shoving someone, but the bartenders did a great job keeping lines moving and getting beer to all the excited patrons. There were two bands, the first one was called Embryonic Fluid and the second one was El Guapo. Surprisingly, I was a big fan of El Guapo. They were a metal surf rock band without a singer... and I promise it was pretty impressive.

The reason I keep coming to Fountain Square's parties is always the beer. This year did not disappoint. They had the following on tap:

-Smoked Porter
-Escape from Alcatraz Bock
-1221 Imperial Stout
-Bourbon Barrel Aged 1221 Imperial Stout
-Flahute Belgian Pale
-Soul Ride IPA
-Count Nibula Chocolate Milk Stout
-Coffee Hour Amber
-Dubbel Dog Dare Belgian Dubbel
-Barrel Aged Belgian Dubbel
-Bourbon Barrel Aged Shelby St. Strong Ale
-HOP YOUR FACE
-Mounds Porter

Last year my favorite beer from these guys was the 1221 Imperial Stout, made in honor of the end of the Mayan world. I liked it so much I had to buy the shirt. (and yes, again I am that guy that wears the brewery shirt to the brewery). This year I was thrilled to see a Barrel Aged version. Sadly, it didn't come out until the end of the night so I'm not comfortable giving it a full review. I can say that I absolutely loved it.

Honorable mentions this year were Bourbon Barrel Aged Shelby St. Strong Ale, and their Smoked Porter. The BBA Shelby St. was rich and complex with a ton of malty toffee goodness. The sweetness balanced out the high ABV and the barrel really mellowed the whole thing. I was also a fan of their smoked porter. At my last tasting it was called Up In Smoke, an obvious nod to Cheech and Chong, but they've since left it at Smoked Porter. Whatever they decide to call it, the beer was great. It has a mild smoked flavor with a great roasty malt bill. Its nice, because its easy drinking even with the smoked flavors. HOP YOUR FACE is always outstanding, and I hope that someday they start bottling it because it would make an amazing seasonal. I think its one of the best DIPAs in town. I was not expecting to like the Mounds Porter, because so far I've been underwhelmed with the amount of coconut flavor most brewers get into the beer. Fountain Square knocked it out of the park. The beer totally tastes like a mounds bar. It would have satisfied anyone's sweet tooth.

The party was awesome. We got a few more Barons there this year, and we really had a blast. Congratulations Fountain Square! Can't wait for next years party.

Benji's Chipotle Smoked Imperial Porter

I love when brewers get batshit crazy and make beers that buck style and try to create something fun and delicious.

Notice I didn't say "I love to drink..." because lets be honest, six beers in, drunken brainstorming of ideas of malt and hop combos, or what to throw in the fermenters followed by oohs and ahhs are fun until you actually drink that I'd swill and realize that the Germans may be onto something with their strict beer laws.

For a creative beer to be successful it has to have three things: 1.) A base ale that is actually good on its own 2.) Flavors that make sense to the most sober of Debbie Downers and 3.) Artistry.

Tyranena's Brewers Gone Wild series has been doing a good job of nailing all three of those things and making my liquor store trips way more fun.  Benji's Chipotle Smoked Imperial Porter is exceptionally dynamic and surprising with its exceptionally nuanced flavors.

It poured black and the head was extremely interesting.  It was like a root beer float.  Foamed up, and as fast as it fluffed up, is fell apart into a thin like of lacing.  When I got a good whiff, it was full of chocolates and malt and smoke and.... no pepper?  Most pepper ales I've had have been like snorting Stake'n'Shake pepper juice, so I was worried how the taste would lay itself out.

My first reaction was that this was a really good imperial porter.  Chocolatey notes, mixed with deep, smooth, and creamy malts.  It was like porter ice cream and the smoke was just enough to help enhance those flavors.  Too many times I shy away from smoked beers because I'm not a big fan of drinking campfires, but this was a great example of how smoke can smooth a beer out and help combine those big beer flavors.  As the beer was on its way out, its friends Booze and Chipotle showed up.

The most surprising thing about this was how there were so many flavors and they were all combined so subtly it create a nuanced beer that is billed as "a series of big, bold, ballsy beers."  All the flavors were soft, but wrapped together, left you with a rich and warm feeling, so yeah, this beer is camping, and I'm okay with that.

Word of advice: Let this sit out of the fridge for 10-15 minutes.  A little warmth and air really bring out those subtle flavors some more.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5.  Sheer artistry in this one.

O-Dawg:  Smoked Coffee nose with a little Mexican heat at the end.  Tasty and balanced overall.  Easy choice to give it a 4.  If you are looking for a similar character only in an IPA I would suggest Hatch Blower by Triton Brewing.

The Big Guy: I'm with El Duque, this beer was really well done. I found the smoke to be perfectly balanced with the porter. I think the amped up imperial side gave it a nice big backbone to round out the smoked malts. I would have liked to see a bit more Chipotle flavor in it, but not a huge deal. Solid beer. I give it a 3.5