Congratulations

Raise a glass. Congratulations to O-Dawg on his wedding tonight. I have been friends with these guys so long that I remember when a relationship was sitting next to a girl on the bus ride home not talking to each other for a week. I am so happy that you have found someone who actually talks with you and is as great as your beautiful bride to be. Best wishes in everything you do as a family.

-TBG

Oarsman Ale

Creation:  Oarsman Ale

Style: Weissbier, sour mash, wheat beer
Masterminds:  Bells Brewery, Inc.
Location:  Kalamazoo, MI
ABV: 4%
Hops:
Drinkability:  Have you ever had a canoe beer that went bad?
Awards:

I like sours, seriously...  Monks Flemish Style Sour Ale? Delicious!

Ok... now the incumbent...

Pours with a watery clouded pale yellow.  Reminds me of a really watered down wheat beer.  Oh wait...  Appears flat with limited head.  Not much carbonation.

Has a sharp tart/sour nose to it with wheat undertones.  

Slight tart forward with really mellow wheat and ever so slight lemon notes.

Finish is... unremarkable

O-Dawg:  1.5 heads

Postmortem:
To be fair I brought this over to a friends house to watch Peyton Manning (big Bronco ex-Colt not little Giant) on his opening in this years 2012 NFL season.  Yes I support ex-Colts, even watched Green Bays opening game to watch Jeff Saturday get in a few snaps.  Skip had a few people over and he grilled out per usual during the start of the NFL season.  Note the brats in the foreground.  When popping the top off this treat I was expecting a complex sour, one that played the classic good cop bad cop with your senses.  You know what i am talking about!  Sour pungent nose that reeks of vinegar bitterness that gives way to a complex and robust sour ale that really is in shocking contrast to the smell.  This was none of these things.  I likened it to canoe beer for the shear lack of any taste.  The notes too subtle for my liking.  In the end didn't offer anything up to make this beer a treat that I have come to know and love from Bells.  I split it with Skip and I think I made him cry because he was expecting the same.  Pretty sure he cried himself to sleep, on his huge pillow.  Sorry Julie...

Kook - ee

I am not a small man. I have been known to eat a cookie or two in  my day. When I found out that my friends at Sun King were trying to make a beer that tasted just like a cookie, I got excited.

  

Kook - ee is fantastic. This American Blonde Ale starts off with a nice auburn color. The head is a good looking off white that sits on the top of the beer just briefly before it dissolves into a ring around the glass. It has a sweet aroma, sort of like you would expect. I was a little disappointed it didn't actually smell like my wife backing cookies, but for a beer it was pretty darn close.As you can see, the ABV is 6% and it has 14 IBUs. (that is not many IBUs)



Shameless IU Plug, go Hoosiers!

The flavor was malty and sweet. It was a heavier beer than I expected for such a light colored Blonde. It had a very slight bitter finish at the end, but really nothing serious. It had a great drinkable flavor. I would have liked a little bit more complexity with a bit more hops (shocking) to balance out the sweetness, but all in if you take into consideration that it was named for sweetest tastiest treat I could have as a kid, its pretty good. By the way, not sure if there are any trade mark issues here, but love the poster.

I give it a solid 3, and yes I do want a cookie.

500 Monks

So I have had some stuff from Triton Brewery at bars and festivals, but I had never made it out to Fort Benjamin Harrison to check them out. For this post I decided to make the drive.

When I got there it was totally warm and welcoming. I sat up at the bar with about five other drinkers and asked the guy next to me for a recommendation. He told me I had to try 500 Monks, so I did. I had it there, and liked it so much that I brought a bullet back for my wife and I to enjoy that evening.

This is a fresh pour at home

500 Monks is a barely wine produced by Triton. I like everything to be bigger, and this one is. It has jacked up alcohol and jacked up taste. The ABV was 9.5% and the IBUs were 29.

The beer was a dark amber color. It had a light head and a fruity malty scent. It had a strong malt start. Heavy caramel taste with a creamy feel and a hint of pear. It had a light hoppy finish that added to the complexity. It was a strong flavor that was totally in your face in all the right ways. It was full bodied but drinkable (again it should have been done in an 8 oz tulip or snifter glass, but I have no class). This is one to sit down and enjoy in front of a fire on a fall day or outside with a cigar.

Probably my favorite part of this was the aftermath. My lips had a sweet fruity taste for at least the next five minutes and that was outstanding. After trying a half pint of this at the tap room, I had to take a growler home for later. It stood up even days later as a great beer.

Great job Triton. I will be back. 

I give it a 4

The Scene: Triton Brewing Co.

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Triton Brewing Company
5764 Wheeler Road Indianapolis, IN 46216
(317) 735-2706
tritonbrewing.com

First Impression:
An informal meeting place for friends, family and pets. Yes, I said pets! No food is prepared on premise so they aren't breaking any rules by letting you have your four legged friends in the tap room. They do have these superb soft pretzels made off site and brought in if you need something to snack on. Fool hearted or ingenious?! I lean on the ingenious.




From seasonals to the usual suspects, a variety of beers are on tap. My preference is the Rail Splitter IPA, Magnificent Amber, Dead Eye Stout, and the Official Beer of the Indiana ICE Sin-Bin Belgian Pale.

They are two blocks southeast from Fort Harrison State Park. My suggestion is take the family out for a leisurely weekend romp through the park and make a pit stop at the end over at the brew pub.

Bit-O-Trivia:
Triton snagged their brewing tanks at auction from one of my most beloved breweries when they closed their doors for good, Warbird. There is a little shrine in the back of Triton's bar for the now closed brewery.

R.I.P
Warbird
Founder: Dave Holmes
Fort Wayne, IN
2004-2009
"We'll always remember your Shanty Irish"

 

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