Broad Ripple Brew Pub - BRV 175

BRV 175

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: relatively low, not bitter at all and a bit sweet

SRM / coloring: Mid range

Guess what y’all? The Broad Ripple Village Association is turning 175, which is straight insane in my mind, especially since I’ve just been kicking it around the Ripple for twenty some years. Best way to celebrate that anny is Broad Ripple Brew Pub style with their new creation, the BRV 175.

The BRV 175 is a full-bodied amber with a bit of a twist to it. Instead of that characteristic tangy amber taste, this has more of a deep malty flavor with a sweet after taste. I guess I kind of picture ambers to be the perfect balance between browns, hefeweizens and pale ales, the lights and the darks. This is a unique take, the opposite end of the amber spectrum, instead of starting sweet and ending tangy / sour, this starts malty and ends sweet.

“(He curls his moustache tips) …intriguing.”

Triton Brewing Company - B-Java Brown

Getting back to beer has been somewhat hard for me and pretty much it has been all March's fault. The storm of dates, St. Patrick's day, and wonderful weather requiring cheaper mass quantity beer has really pulled me away from my roots. I'm here to say though faithful fans that I'm back and here to provide you all with some brew information.

It's been a hot minute since I've visited the boys at Triton, so when my friend who lives on the Northeast side invited me over, I had to jump on the opportunity. Final Four basketball and a couple of growlers couldn't fail in any circumstance.

The only bad part about spring and the warmer weather is that I can't get the dark beer that I love so much, it's all transitioning to pale ales, blondes and saisons. Walking into Triton though they still had a couple of options left on the menu, of which the B-Java Brown caught my eye.

Typically browns are a good middle ground between your thick porters and stouts and lighter options. I'm used to getting that dark coffee flavor with a thick ale, but with the warmer weather outside having a lighter beer is somewhat of a necessity. The B-Java Brown solves this problem; really heavy on the coffee / nutty flavor but with a crisp light body. And, since this is a variation of their sweet Brown beer, it came off smooth and seet on the end instead of the normal coffee bitter. Honestly one of the best beers I've had in some time.

Upland Brewing Co. - Schwarz Black Lager

Schwarz Black Lager

ABV: 5.3%
IBU: 25.3
SRM / coloring: 28.3, pretty much black go figure right

Winter is dwindling fast so I gotta get my dark beer fix in before everyone transitions into the lighter varieties.

Schwarzbier, literally meaning black beer, is a german variety lager that typically is characterized by those malty flavors and additives of other ales.  The only difference is the body is much lighter and it comes off smooth and crisp at the end.

Upland's Schwarz is the epitome of this style of beer.  It looks pretty scary with it's jet black color and large head, but when you dive into it it tastes about as clean as any other lighter beer option.  The smell is very strong with hints of chocolate and coffee, but take a sip and it's much more subtle, actually tasting like a classic lager.  Coming off clean makes a fantastic beer for malt enthusiasts and people just looking to try something new.  This is a good one.

Upland Brewing Co. - Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh Flanders Red Ale

ABV: 10.5
IBU: 21
SRM / coloring: bright red almost to orange

Beer is a funny thing.  Initially after trying it for the first time, most people think to themselves why would anyone consistently drink this stuff?  Then, as time progresses and you're around beer more often, you get used to it and it grows on you.  The grainy flavor and different variations become intriguing and you have to explore more options and different styles.  I'm the perfect example for this, starting off hating beer to now being in love with it I'm on a personal quest to explore every nook and cranny of the beer world and to find something truly unique and out there.  Ladies and gentlemen, it comes in a champagne like bottle from Upland Brewing Company.

Disclaimer, most people would be very opposed to this beer and to be honest, I'm not quite sure if I like it yet either.  The flavor of beer comes as an acquired taste, and to then find a beer that is so far from tasting like beer that it borders on something else entirely is a little bit shocking.  Still, sometimes you just have to roll the dice and try something crazy.

A little background first, flanders style red ales are sour beers, which do in fact taste sour.  In order to make a sour beer the brewers allow in bacteria and other yeast strands into the brew which alters the flavor, something that traditional (or should I say typical) brewers tend to avoid.  By doing so the beer comes off with a yeasty kick and does truly taste unique.  Other ways to achieve this is to add fruits into the mix to add another fermentation cycle.  As a result you get a sweet, yeasty flavored taste that borders more on sparkling grape juice or alcoholic cider than your average beer.

This is a medium bodied beer that looks like an amber, smells like a strawberry daiquiri, and tastes like a yeasty variation of the fruitiest beer that you've probably ever heard of.  Even just smelling this beer you get an overwhelming kick of fruit and yeast, but then take a drink and it seriously attacks your senses.  It has been bourbon barrel aged which kind of mellows out the flavor at the end, bringing it down a notch, but this is a super sweet beer bordering on too sweet.

Personally, I'm a dark beer malty man and I like to stay away from fruit flavored variations, so this ain't exactly my thing.  I do know one thing though, that this is one of the strongest beers I've ever had, in taste, alcohol, and just overall feel.  Too many of these and your head will probably explode the next morning.

Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co. - Wise Ass White IPA

Wise Ass White IPA

ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 93
SRM / Coloring: Cloudy Gold

I gotta say Thr3e Wise Men has been impressing me lately.  To be perfectly frank they don't have the same focus on beer that most other breweries in town have, offering on average of five beers, one seasonal and four standards, all year round.  While most other breweries would have upwards to ten beers on tap, Thr3e Wise Men Keeps it simple.  Recently though, they've been stepping up their game in a big way and pumping out some different variations on their beer, including this one.

Scotty Wise is known for naming all his beers after his experiences: Golden Zoe is named after his golden retriever, Two Lucy's after his daughter and wife.  Wise Ass makes complete sense in that regard, and the best way to describe this white IPA is as a cross between a more moderate IPA and a wheat beer.

Looking at this one you'd even guess it's a wheat beer, but the nice thing is it has a light hoppiness on the back end, complimented with the sweet wheat flavor.  There's a hint of orange and fruit on the nose, but the taste is light and crisp which doesn't overpower one way or another.  This is a great springtime beer to welcome in the warming of the weather (or in our case the cooling of the weather off again to most likely warm back up to a snotty rain which will then freeze over and make my morning commute a real turd).  Not a beer to push the maximum boundaries of taste and flavor, but ideal for people on the fence with regards to IPA's or Wheat beer.

Fountain Square Brewing Co.- Winter Warmer

Winter Warmer

ABV: somewhere between 3 and 8 % would be my best guess
IBU: Mid range, I'm gonna say about 40?
SRM / Coloring: Light amber to heavy red

So It's getting cold in Indiana, and then warm, and then freezing, and then wet, and then frozen again.  I truly don't enjoy what global warming is doing with us at the moment.  Forget about the polar bears, I'm just trying to survive at this point.

This flip flopping of the weather has me more confused than Michael Lohan at a PTO meeting, but one thing is for certain, the warm days seem way warmer as a result and the cold days seem way colder.  As such, you're gonna need some beer to meet both ends of the spectrum.  Fountain Square Brewing Company has got you covered for the frigid days, i.e. Monday Wednesday Friday Sunday.

Most of the time with newer anything, whether it's restaraunts or interns or breweries, you gotta give them a bit of time to really work out all the kinks.  It's unrealistic to walk into a place and expect them to be exactly on point when they just recently started business.  Still, with that being said, I wanted to see what the newest Indianapolis brewery had in store for the opening. 

I walked inside and took a quick look at the menu, which consisted of the year round standards of Blonde, Pale Ale, Amber and Porter, but when I asked the guy behind the bar what his favorite was, he recommended the winter warmer most bodaciously.  However, he warned me that it had a unique flavor with hints of spice and fruit, and that most people wouldn't go for it.  Clearly he was oblivious as to whom he was speaking with.

The Winter Warmer is definitely a different twist in the beer world but definitely not in a bad way.  It's a medium bodied Ale with spices of ginger and something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  The real kicker though was the hint of rasberry that pulled the beer to the sweeter side on the end.  It tasted like some kind of an exotic cookie, and a cookie that can get you a little bit intoxicated is a win win in my book.

Flat 12 Bierwerks - Glazed Ham Porter

Glazed Ham Porter

ABV: 6.3%
IBU: 34.1
SRM / Coloring: Dark as the night

Everyone typically associates the holiday season with either turkey or ham, that's just the way it is.  Personally our family goes turkey, but the ham is a golden standard that has men and women alike pulling raw slices from a dish and acquiring taco-neck syndrome to reel it all in. 

I saw this and thought there's no way that they were able to put the essence of a glazed ham into a beer.  First off, it would taste awful funky, and secondly, how would you even go about doing it in the process?  Just throw a whole ham into the fermenting tank and let that puppy marinate for three weeks?  My mind was being thoroughly freaked and so I had to try this bad dad out.

This beer is more of a complimentary style to go with while eating ham rather than actually tasting like it.  It's a super dark porter, borderline stout that starts off a bit sweet like brown sugar or caramel, somewhat similar to the glaze on a ham.  Despite all that though it has a smokey flavor added in with a kick of bitterness on the back end as if it were whiskey barrel cask conditioned.  Definitely a winter beer and for those really interested in maxed out taste.

Bier Brewery - PDG Pale Ale

PDG Pale Ale

ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 45.2
SRM / Coloring: 7.6 light and crisp

Just by association this beer is now top of my list.  Maybe it's because of the crisp hoppy taste, or maybe because it almost flew out of my hands as I was watching the Hoosiers nail a last second, buzzer beating three to knock off the top seeded Wildcats.  At any rate, this is a fantastic beer.

Most pale ale's people associate with your run of the mill beers, thus they often get overlooked.  So far as a brewery goes, pale ales are clean, a little bit fruity, and crisp which is great for the typical ber drinker, but going to a brewery most people want the crazy stuff.  Hell, I'm totally guilty of this fact.  I walk in to the breweries around here and want something full bodied and flavorful, and I don't really think of pale ale's in that instance.  However, when I visited Bier Brewery this past Saturday, I ran into a former coworker who spoke highly of Bier's PDG, so I decided to give it a go.  Without a doubt unlike any other pale ale I've ever tried.

The PDG Pale Ale is unique in that it almost transcends most beer categories.  It's a pale ale with the characteristic grainy and bitter flavoring, but it also has a hoppy aroma and taste like an IPA, which then comes off a little citrusy at the end like a blonde.  I knew in my head that I was drinking a pale ale, but my tongue was all like, "Whoa, pump the brakes what just happened."  Proof that complex beers aren't in the style of ber, but in the creativity of the people making them.  Well done.

Broad Ripple Brew Pub - Bigger Boy's Beer

Bigger Boy's Beer

ABV: 8.4%
IBU: Up there, gotta be over 100
SRM / Coloring: red to amber

This is identified as a bigger boy's beer.  Let's go ahead and identify a little boy's characteristics.

First off, a little boy would be identified as a beer nubile, i.e. someone who has yet to embrace the tender loving touch from beer's philanthropic heart.  They go up to the bar and ask, "What are your specials," stop the bartender in mid sentence and ask for the low calorie vodka soda...extra limes.

In most circumstances, hard cider or wine would be the best option, sadly even when those circumstances are tailgating parties and beer pong tournaments; sad I know.  When and if they do choose beer, it's something with light in front of it and out of a can.  Sarah McLachlan should be sponsoring these poor souls instead of ratty alley cats, there are people in the world who could use pennies on the dollar to open their eyes to the tre world of Adult beverages.

If you're going to put on the man't pants and try a big boy beer, you might want to look elsewhere because this truly is a manly man's intense hoppy beer.  Created and named for the birth of their brewmaster's baby boy, The Bigger Boy's Beer's intense smell is rivaled only by it's intense flavor and alcohol content.  Originally brewed to be an intense ale with highlights of toffee (which is very prevalent on the nose), the mad scientists at the BrewPub dry hopped this sucker to the max, transforming it into a Double IPA Frankenstein that would scare off any non-beer lover.  Though it may be intimidating, this monster has got some dance moves and would surely woo the majority of hop heads.

Triton Brewing Company - Gingerbread Brown Ale

Gingerbread Brown Ale

ABV: 6.2%
IBU: 20
SRM / Coloring- Deep brown, though fairly low and translucent

Most holidays have a specific identifier associated to them.  New Year's eve is riddled with confetti and partying with an occasional splash of smooches if you 're in the right place.  Valentine's day has everything arranged in pink and red heart shapes, and I tend to think of those chalky little hearts everyone hates to love with dumb little phrases like 'UR 2 Cute.'  St. Patrick's Day (which will be amazing this year with all the breweries celebrating) has green, irish, and booze to go with it; perfect for a ginger such as myself.  The fourth of July has heat, hell yeah Americana, and of course the bevy of sparklers, snakes, and other fireworks.

Yes all holidays are marked by touch, smell, sight, and feel, but strangely enough though, only a few holidays universally have the fifth sense associated with them; taste.  Halloween of course has chocolate, sugary sweetness.  Thanksgiving is undoubtedly turkey mixed in with stuffing and mashed potatoes.  The other holidays are more generalized with how people may celebrate, but these specifically focus on a few key flavors and tastes, and Christmas is marked with eggnog, turkey, and of course gingerbread.

It starts to get cold outside and the holidays begin to fully rev up, lights go on the houses and the malls become packed with frantic shoppers, and for whatever reason I crave that spicy sweetness of gingerbread.   My mom always made intricate gingerbread houses when I was younger covered in candy and frosted icing, and despite how nice the presentation was you always just wanted to rip it apart and snarf it down.  I get the same feeling when drinking Triton's gingerbread beer, this time it's just liquified.

The gingerbread brown is a deeper brown lager infused with that spicy characteristic associated with gingerbread cookies.  It's a medium bodied beer, which is nice because most winter associated beers are ales and thus full bodies and super thick.  This one has the spicy smell and gingery taste of gingerbread and comes off sweet and clean just like the cookie.  It's not likely to top egg nog as the pure christmas drink, but it'll do everything but disappoint.

Broad Ripple Brew Pub

For the most part, microbreweries in Indianapolis double as restaurants to cover their overall costs. While still touting the title of brewery, they serve food as well and are family restaurants where anyone and everyone can sit down and have a bite or a brew. Unfortunately though, the average place like this is unable to to work well in both fields; they either have great beer and shitty / no food, or fantastic food and the beer is only sub par. And, as Indiana laws stand, in order to serve beers to drink in the facility, the company has to provide some kind of food, limiting some companies to only providing growler and bullet carryout. Quite the unfortunate situation. One of the few place that is able to transcend these issues and provide fantastic food, beer, and an OG tavern atmosphere is the Broad Ripple Brew Pub, which is most likely why they have been a staple in the Indy brewing scene for over two decades.

When you walk into a sports bar, there are certain criteria that you want met; fast and deep fried food, televisions everywhere, rock or some kind of pick me up music, cheap beer and maybe some golden tee in the corner. With the Tavern, you are instantly taken to the chillest of chill spots, surrounded by a tight knit atmosphere, wooden cabinets and ceiling beams, intricate inlay and stained glass looking in on the brewing tanks, and the sound of conversation around you giving you a true neighborhood tavern feel of an english pub; a great change of pace from Applebees and Outback Steakhouse.

And how else might they differ from these large chain bars and restaurants? By offering a unique english style menu with loads of vegetarian options and a world class beer selection, packed with their award winning brews along with some select others. Add in some super serious trivia on Tuesdays and you undoubtedly have a winner. Head on over to the Brew Pub for some herdsman's chili, craft beer, and some darts for a more personal take on the broad ripple beer scene.

Triton Brewing Company - Bourbon Barrel Deadeye Stout

Triton Brewing Company - Bourbon Barrel Deadeye Stout

ABV: 8.0 %

IBU: 28

SRM / Coloring: 51 light to dark brown

This beer comes with a story. So I was speaking with both brewmasters and owners Jon and David about which beer I should choose for my first taste of Triton Brewery, and of course they recommended their standard and most popular beers, the Railsplitter IPA and their Wheat Beer, but you all know me I'm the dark beer man. I requested something with some girth on it, and they said that I had to try their Bourbon Barrel Stout before it ran out.

Triton brewed this beer a while ago, but a few weeks later they learned that there was a stout beer competition that was accepting applicants. After entering this beer at the last minute, they ended up coming in second place, which is a fantastic rank considering the other breweries involved, such as Sun King, Flat 12, and Bier Brewery.

This is their Deadeye stout that has been fermented and slightly aged in whiskey bourbon barrels, and after talking with Jon I learned that fermenting in bourbon barrels is always a unique experience. Each barrel has it's own unique properties, and so you just have to judge the aging and brewing of the beer based on the personality of that individual barrel. Clearly, Triton figured out what this barrel's deal was and said, "Yo MoFo, you're gonna make us a beer and you're gonna make it a doozie."

As a result, the beer is given an oaky, almost smokey flavor and aroma which adds to the beers already malty flavor. With a toasty smell on the nose, sweet toffee and coffee undertones, and a creamy finish, this beer is a nice stout that isn't too tick or full bodied, but is an array of melding flavors and ingredients that won't disappoint. If you want to try this one though you better get to it son, it's running out fast and will be gone before you know it.

Triton Brewing Company

After taking a week off and going on a bodacious vacation in the Caribbean, I decided that I needed to get back into the beer game and try something new. I live in Broad Ripple and so far have tried and reviewed most of the microbreweries in the area, but I wanted to stretch my wings and go somewhere different, so RR and I went on a little field trip to Triton Brewery off of 56th street and Post Road.

From Indianapolis, it's kind of a hassle to get to the actual brewery; it's in a newer development off of Post Rd near Fort Ben and the large park there, and you have to wind your way around to find the actual building. Once up close though it's hard to miss the massive grain silo out front of the building with the Triton logo on it. There are a few other places in town that serve Triton's beers though, including Fat Dan's and the Pepsi Coliseum, so you can enjoy some good craft beer closer to the city while watching an Ice hockey game or a Naptown Roller girls bout. Yet, for the real feel of the brewery you have to go and check the place out; full brewery view from the bar and tours several days of the week, complete with beer and free giveaways. What more could you want?

Surprisingly the building is set up more like a restaurant than bar despite not serving any food (besides the food truck parked outside). Still the ambiance is just what you want; classic rock playing in the background with the owners, brewmaster, and seasoned beer professionals surrounding you helping you out with the menu and getting you in to the spirit of beer. It's perfect for the surrounding area which is predominantly young families and people looking for a fun place that is far from the packed bustle of a city bar. And with the restaurant set up, you can bring the kids and the family to grab a few beers and a walking taco from the truck outside.

We sat down at the bar and were immediately greeted by both the brewmaster Jon and one of the owners David, who offered their take on the brewery business, the beers they liked and how each of them were made and matched up to other beers like them. It was a welcoming experience and a nice change from the standard push through the crowds and get a beer as fast a possible routine. If you're looking for an oasis just outside of the city and want some award winning beer, then do yourself a favor and check out Triton Brewery, and ask about the bourbon barrel stout. Trust me.

Triton Brewing Company

Fort Benjamin Harrison

5764 Wheeler Rd.

Indianapolis, IN 46216

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.