So what are you bringing to the track???

Last year I put together a post with some canned beer options to bring to the motor speedway. I decided to keep the tradition going and give you some of our great new Indiana options. The requirements are the same this year as they were last year as far as coolers are concerned:

Coolers must be no bigger than 18x14x14

Purses and backpacks must be no bigger than 14x14x14

Food and beverages are allowed, but no glass containers

Carts and wagons are allowed everyday BUT race day

Personal items are your responsibility, the Speedway does not care if they are lost or stolen 

Cans ONLY! no glass bottles allowed

Since we can't bring bottles into the Speedway we have to look to canned beers. There have been a ton of canned beers popping up in liquor stores in the last year, so there are a ton more options than we had last year. With all the options available now it can be hard to narrow them down. Not everyone has spent a lot of time checking out all the canned options we have here in Indy so for the second year in a row we've asked the Barons what are their favorite canned beers. So here are my favorite Summer canned options:

The Big Guy: 

1. Sun King's Fistful of Hops Green. Nice crisp hop profile with an easy drinking malt profile
2. Two Brother's Side Kick Pale Ale. Light hop profile with a clean refreshing flavor that makes it crushable sitting at the hot track
3. Daredevil's Liftoff IPA. Easy malt profile with a great big hop backbone. Get it fresh for biggest impact.

Russ:

1. Daredevil's Liftoff IPA
2. Bell's Two Hearted IPA. The classic Midwest IPA. Nothing says summer like Two Hearted
3. Two brother's Side Kick Pale Ale

Kevin:

1. Oskar Blues' Dale's Pale Ale. An almost perfect Pale Ale from Colorado that just came to Indy last year
2. Founder's Centennial IPA. A big Midwest IPA from Founders now in cans
3. Sun King's Osiris Pale Ale. An Indiana favorite, light clean and crisp

O-Dawg:

1. Brooklyn Brewery's Summer Ale
2. Founder's All Day IPA. All Day IPA because this is so light you can drink it all day in the blistering sun of the track
3. Two Brother's Dog Days Dortmunder Lager. A lager that goes down clean and smooth

El Duque:

1. Daredevil's Liftoff IPA
2. Sun King's Osiris Pale Ale
3. Sixpoint's Sweet Action Cream Ale. Light and easy drinking, perfect for a hot day

Professor Beer:

1. Sun King's Wee Mac
2. Sun King's Fistful of Hops
3. Daredevil's Liftoff IPA

Brie:

1. Brooklyn Brewery's Summer Ale
2. Sun King's Fistful of Hops
3. 21st Amendment's Hell or High Watermelon- If you could get your hands on this it would be amazing for a hot day at the track.

I would also like to give a shout out to Flat 12 for their Hinchtown Hammerdown. On their website Flat 12 says, "We live in a racing town. In tribute to one of the brightest racing talents out there, we created Hinchtown Hammer Down, a crisp and refreshing ale perfect for the month of May."  I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, but I will make sure it finds its way into my racing cooler. 

SideKick Extra Pale Ale

As you may or may not remember we just did a post about all the great canned beer options here in Indianapolis that you can take with you to the race, or tailgating, or a park... I really don't care. O-Dawg recommended a beer by Two Brothers Brewing Company out of the Chicago-land area called SideKick Pale Ale. I am not the biggest hop head by any stretch, and bringing a hoppy beer with me to a hot May race just seemed like a bad idea.

It seemed like a bad idea, until I tried it that is. O-Dawg hit the nail on the head for this one. SideKick is a delicious mildly hopped up pale ale. It pours out a light yellow to golden color. There is a solid amount of head and it has a wonderful tropical fruit / citrus fruit aroma.

The beer was everything I wanted in a race beer. It was crisp and sweet with a nice bit of hop backdrop to round it all out. The flavors were big and vibrant while still being sessionable. SideKick tastes like summer should taste, bright and alive with just enough sweet flavors to help quench your thirst. This is by no means the most complex or well balanced beer I have ever had, but it is super drinkable and perfect for the race. At 5.10% abv this beer goes down fast and easy. It cleanses the palate without making you feel full or giving you a syrupy mouth feel.

So many beers that we have deemed, American Sessionable (under 5.5% abv), have left me wanting so much more. This brew really delivers. Out of everything that I filled my cooler with on race day, this was by far the stand out.

I give it a solid 4

O-Dawg: My discovery of this not too lauded/discussed beer came about after a discussion with my Hippy Beer Guy.  I asked him what would be a great beer to take over to a friends house that isn't as much of a hop-head as myself, but would be something I would enjoy drinking as well.  The immediate response was "SideKick!  I'll be right back!"  I literally saw the aerial streaks and outlined puff of smoke as he sped off to introduce me to this delightful gem of a beer.  The only thing that would have made it complete would be the comment painted on a wooden sign spinning in the wake of his departure.

I drank it so fast that I did not even think to check it into Untappd or write a review.  It was just a great every-day/post-lawn mowing beer.  I do not know what else to add to The Big Guy's post and my previous recommendation other than "Thanks Hippy Beer Guy!"

I hope you all enjoy it! Solid 3.5