Sun King Brewery - Wee Mac Scottish Ale

Wee Mac Brown Ale

ABV: 5.3%

IBU: 23

SRM / Coloring: Amber / Light brown

For those of you living in the Indianapolis / neighboring area, you've definitely heard of this brewery, and if not you need to get on your game. Sun King is one of, if not the largest brewer in Indy and the only one that actually packages their beers to sell in stores around the area. Their Wee Mac beer is one of their consistent favorites and one that they can, so you can buy it in four packs. I was downtown the other day and dropped in to get a growler, and decided to review this Hoosier beer standard.

This is a Scottish Brown ale, which means that it is going to have little bitterness from the hops and mostly defined by some caramel and malty flavors. It essentially is a more flavorful medium body ale, and a good middle ground beer. Sun King adds toffee into the mix to enhance the malty flavor with a little more edge to it. This would be the place to start for people looking to expand their beer repertoire; it's not a basic pilsner and the malt infusion and toffee flavoring adds complexity to a light / medium body.

Flat 12 - Joe Brahama Brown Coffee Ale

Joe Brahama

ABV: 5.1%

IBU: 28.5

SRM / Coloring: Deep Brown

Honestly they should call this Coffee Bitch Slap Brown Ale. RR and I ran down to the Flat 12 brewery on October 28th for the Bloody Blonde tapping party, which I might add is a fantastic blonde variation (see RR's post for more), but it isn't quite my cup of tea. In the tasting room I asked the guy behind the bar for something darker, to which he said,

"Well we got our standard porter and our milk stout. And then there's our Brahama, but that's pretty intense."

Either he was just giving me fair warning or he was a true salesman trying to peak my interest, at any rate I had to go for it. In the beer world, this would be a middleweight title contender, light in body but with a strong southpaw jab that can put you on your ass. In both smell and taste you get an intense coffee punch to the senses, but it isn't a thick smooth taste like with a porter, it's more of a sharp clean taste almost like an iced coffee. It looks like a porter, it smells and tastes like a porter, but it has the body of a bock or a lager. It's a crisp and cool beer with that strong coffee bite on the front, but instead of the bitter end with a normal cup of coffee you get a smooth sweet after taste which they attribute to infused lactose. Not a beer for the faint of heart or taste, you gotta know you want a strong and flavorful drink.

Brugge Brasserie - Cloutier's Farmhouse Ale

Cloutier's Farmhouse Ale
ABV: 6%
IBU: 22
SRM/Coloring: Light amber to golden orange

Well, it was another fine 70+ degree October day when RT and I decided (once again) to go visit a local brewery and try out their selection. We found ourselves sitting on the outside patio of Brugge Brasserie facing the setting sun in the late afternoon. It's located right in Broad Ripple and is right off of the Monon Trail, a great spot to stop for a beer while walking/biking along the trail.

Anyway, enough jabber let's get to the beer. I tried the Cloutier's Farmhouse Ale after a courtesy taste thanks to our server. Upon smelling the beer, I could immediately sense its tart apple smell without overpowering the malty beer aroma. The first sip surprised me with just how tart this beer was. It reminded of me initially of drinking a cider, but the aftertaste preserved the beery flavor we all know and love. Its acidic taste definitely makes you feel like it would be difficult to drink these one after the other, but it was a nice surprise from the typical ales, porters, and lagers we have already blogged on.

This, I would say, is one of the most Fall-y/October-y tasting beers, and goes along with the season perfectly. I look over to RT and say, "I could see myself going on a hayride, picking apples at an orchard, and enjoying this Cloutier's Farmhouse Ale." It's the fall drink, and even if you aren't a tart lover, I encourage you to at least taste this one. As microbreweries change their menu with the season, you better get the Cloutier's Farmhouse Ale while its on tap.

Brugge Brasserie - Black Ale

Brugge Brasserie – Black

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: 30

SRM / Coloring: jet black or dark ass brown

This probably has to be the best beer I’ve reviewed so far. Normally with darker beers there is an overpowering bitterness as with an Imperial stout or thickness like with a porter. But this bad boy pushes past those boundaries and personifies a smooth and rich dark beer that comes off clean.

The Brugge Black is a Belgian style black ale, which is infused with malts and other robust additives like chocolate to give it it’s dark flavors, but for whatever reason is not as dense or intense as porters or stouts. It’s a unique type of beer that I have yet to encounter from a micro-brewery around here, which speaks to the creativity of Brugge’s brewing team (this is a shout out to you Ted) as well as their broad range of beer options. Remarkably the Black has a big hit of chocolate roastiness, but then ends a little bit sweet with a hint of fruit…wtf.

It’s actually a shame that most people are scared off by darker beers, partially because they simply have never tried one that blew them away, and partially because they have an idea of what beer is and it isn’t dark. If you ask the people around Brugge what their best beer is, you’re undoubtedly gonna get those die hard Tripel de Ripple fans, but if you are interested in trying a super dope dark beer, go with the Black. I promise you’ll be more than surprised.

Broad Ripple Brew Pub - Monon Porter

Monon Porter
ABV: 6.0%
IBU: no idea, but it's pretty smooth, not too bitter
SRM / Coloring: malty rich brown





The Brew Pub's porter is a smooth and simple cask conditioned porter. For those of you who don't know, cask conditioned beers are unfiltered and unpasturized beers that are fermented twice in a separate tank, keg, or cask. As a result, they're naturally fermented and taste different than your traditional beer. If you ever go to a brewery and ask for one, you'll see the bartender pulling really hard on a large black handle, which literally uses pressure to suck the beer right our of the cask and into the glass. Pretty cool.

This porter is characteristically smooth for a cask conditioned beer, which could come from the lower amount of carbonation. It has a thick malty taste with subtle essences of coffee and chocolate, but it's a modest dark beer that would satisfy real lovers of malty beers as well as people just looking to try something new.

Brugge Brasserie

On an incredibly dismal Thursday evening in Indianapolis, RR and I decided to venture out for a beer and watch the second game of the word series. After testing out the waters at Bier Brewery and Thr3e Wise Men, we decided to try something new and head to Brugge Brasserie, a brewery / restaurant from Terre Haute located at the corner of Winthrop and Westfield in Broad Ripple.

The weather was absolutely awful, cold and spitting rain for the entire day, but we thankfully found an amazing parking spot right next to the place and walked up the stairs to the bar. Standing outside were two men braving the elements and having a quick smoke before their food came out. We jokingly asked them how they were doing out here in the rain, in which they agreed that yeah Indiana weather is unpredictable and lousy.

"What do you all do?" I asked, "Are you here to grab a beer and some oysters?"

"Something like that," the guy in red told me. "We kinda like the place. I'm actually the owner and the head brew master."

I immediately laughed and slapped RR on the back, the perfect piece of luck had fallen right inot our laps. Just after starting a microbrewery blog we meet another brew master. I of course had to ask the guy for a picture despite the downpour going on around us, and told him about our internet venture that we just started. He smiled and told us to try the Tripel De Ripple, a blonde Belgian Tripel style that is the bread and butter of the brewery.

Bruge is located in the old Net Heads building across from the Broad Ripple Steak house; surreal for me walking in there as I was used to the upstairs room being packed full of computers and people playing Unreal Tournament and Counter Strike. Now it's a different type of playground for me, one a little less violent but more delicious and age appropriate. The restauraunt serves a variety of options, most famous for it's Moules Frites, various styles of mussels, and paper cones of Pomme Frites, super dope french fries. Compliment those with some unique beer options from guest breweries as well as their own collection, and you got a winner.

Thr3e Wise Men - Longfang Abbey Ale

Longfang Abbey Ale

ABV: 7.5%

IBU: 36

SRM / Color: Deep amber

Thr3e Wise Men's seasonal beer, tapped on Oct. 17th, is the Longfang Abbey Ale, a classical Belgian style beer focusing more on the yeast and the malts in the beer than the hops. It's a simpler beer with only 3 different types of hops mixed together, though dominated by northern brewer and cascade hops. The beer has a clovey, flowery smell on the nose hinting to the yeast used in the process, providing for a more estery flavor.

The tapping party was pretty downplayed, but still exactly what I wanted; free food, a glass of free beer, and classic rock...what more could you want on a tuesday night? Omar, Thr3e Wise Men's Brewmaster, stood up and gave a brief description of the beer, and then offered a toast to the crowd, in which the mass gave an emphatic, "here here."

The taste is very similar to Hoegaarden or Thr3e Wise Men's Amber, clovey / flowery on the nose and tangy, light and crisp, but it differs in that its somewhat thicker / darker and has a fuller body. It's a nice addition to the cast of beers, but due to demand, will undoubtedly be gone soon.

Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co.

1021 Broad Ripple Ave.

www.thr3ewisemen.com

Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co.

Located in the old Sunflower Mart Building on the east end of the Broad ripple strip, Thr3e Wise Men Brewery opened last winter and has been tearing it up ever since. Owned by Scott Wise (Scotty's Brew House), the company has been a solid addition to the Broad Ripple microbrewery scene.

Inside the Brewery, the ambiance is synonymous with manliness and testosterone. With deer antlers hanging on the walls, 16 big screen TV's, full views into the brewing section in the back, and Paint It Black thrumming in the background, this is the ideal atmosphere for any self respecting man looking to chill out, watch the game, and drink some primo beer. Along with full access to wireless internet, iPads on every table connected to social media and a personally crafted Thr3e Wise Men app, this brewery doesn't disappoint, whether it comes to business or pleasure. Currently I'm sitting at the bar enjoying a beer and working on a couple of projects, I'll take the brewery over Starbucks any day.

Along with the beer selection, Thr3e Wise Men has a full service menu, touting pizza options in five different ways, as well as Scotty's award winning wings. If you love the spicy, get an order of the MoFo wings to go along with the signature DIPA beer; get a little tipsy for the colts game, just enough to numb the pain from another inevitable loss. Just make sure you come at the right time, peak hours during local sporting events and the dinner rush, everyone is willing to wait an hour or more for great pizza and beer.

Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co.

1021 Broad Ripple Ave.

Indianapolis, 46220

www.thr3ewisemen.com

Thr3e Wise Men - Centennial Martyr Double IPA

Double IPA

ABV: 8.00%

IBU: 92

SRM / Coloring : Pale to Amber

When you come to Thr3e Wise Men Brewery in Broad Ripple, this is the staple beer that they serve. I actually used to work here , and whenever people come in, it's the one thing I recommend and people rave about; intense, robust flavor, and who could possibly complain about 8% alcohol? Tastes like a win win situation.

A double IPA differs from a normal IPA in that it has more additives at work in the brewing process, thus it has a higher alcohol content and a more robust flavor. Also known as an imperial IPA, it has a rich color, full body, and thick defining flavor.

This double IPA is made with glacier and Falconer's flight hops, a mixture of hops from northern Indiana, as well as clover honey from a local farm in Martinsville. Looking at the beer it has a darker amber color than most single IPA's, and it has the distinct smell of hops, clovers, and flowers on the nose. Tasting the beer, it has a dense hoppy taste (as expected) but the honey infusion almost gives it a warming sensation on the back end like with whiskey or bourbon, eliminating any bite. It's the perfect beer for a cold fall evening, warming you up on the inside.

Bier Brewery - Cream Ale

Cream Ale
ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 17
SRM: 3

Cream Ale

Bier Brewery certainly has a variety of options for an ale guy like myself, so for my first review I went with the Cream Ale.  The bartenders were certainly willing to give RT and I a try of anything we wanted, and gave advice to help us find what we were looking for.  I tend to go for an ultra-hoppy beer, but today I was in the mood for something less bitter than the typical hoppy IPA, or whatever.  Cream Ale certainly lives up to the reputation for the stereotypical cream ale with repressed flavors of malt and hops.  As I near the end of my first glass, I can certainly say this beer has a light and refreshing personality.

The beer has a very smooth flow, as characteristic of cream ales.  Because flavors of malt and hops are generally hidden in this beer, it yields slightly sweet flavor somewhere between a wheat ale and a light pale ale.  It's definitely not too heavy, so if you're the person to drink one beer, then another... and another... and another... and another... this would be a good bet.  To the beer drinker without the tongue for a super-hoppy beer, this would be the ale for you.

Bier Brewery

5133 East 65th Street, Indianapolis

www.bierbrewery.com

Bier Brewery - Smoked Brown

Smoked Brown

ABV: 5.8%

IBU: 16

SRM: 17

Smoked Brown

When it comes down to it, I'm a dark beer man. Being a college graduate I was cultured to drink the normal "bottom of the barrel" options like Natural Light, Busch Light, Keystone Light, and now Boxer Light which, I have to say tastes like what I imagine horse piss would taste like. After four years of going after runny, light and tasteless beer, anything dark and flavorful tastes like a Tiesto rave in my mouth.

When RR and I walked into the Bier tap room and up to the bar, I asked the guy for the darkest thing he had, and he gave me a sample of their Smoked Brown, which truly lives up to it's namesake. In smell, color, and taste this brown has a smoky essence to it, all of which reminding you of a wood grill and smokehouse flavor. It's a very thick and malty brown which has the darker flavoring and color of a porter but drinks like a lager. Looking at the beer it has ideal coloring and body, dark brown with outlines of red and amber, but the unique thing about this brown is that through the middle it is so thick that you can't see any light through it at all; no translucence, again similar to porters and stouts.

Overall it's a good beer, robust smoky flavor and a good middle ground between light and dark beers. However, past the malt and smoky flavor, there isn't much else in the mix. Most browns would have hints of nut, chocolate, carmel, or other additives with a somewhat sweeter edge on the back end, but the smoky flavor either completely dominates everything other flavor or there simply isn't anything else. If you like smokehouse cheese, BBQ, campfires and burning leaves like every manly outdoorsman then this would be the beer for you.

Bier Brewery

5133 East 65th Street, Indianapolis

www.bierbrewery.com