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.

Broad Ripple Brew Pub - India Brown Ale

India Brown Ale

ABV: 6.2%
IBU: Mid range, probably around 60 or so
SRM / coloring: Cloudy and dark amber / brown

The Broad Ripple Brew Pub has really established themselves as innovators in the beer game, especially in Indianapolis.  You're typically going to see the regulars out and about at other places, porters, IPA's, pale ale's and the like, but rarely do you encounter such beers like the Bigger Boy Beer and Black Hearted Ale.  This is yet another one that really pushes the boundaries of beer genres.

Disclaimer - The Brew Pub's India Brown Ale is not going to be for everyone, and I would go so far as to say it might turn a few people off.  It's a unique twist on their classic IPA, but infused with chocolate malts and dry hopped yet again.  As a result, this beer has that popular IPA hoppy bitterness complimented with the sweet hit of chocolate.

Personally, I have always been a firm believer that if two things are good then together they're great.  Examples: peanut butter and chocolate, RUN DMC and Aerosmith, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, Sunny D and rum, the list goes on.  I found it completely unique and eye opening to have that hoppy taste with the sweet mixed in, kind of like getting a fusion restaurant in liquid form.  Medium bodied with that dry hoppy smell on the nose, but tasting nothing like I've ever had before which was pretty exciting.  However, my dad took one sip and turned away.

Essentially it boils down to this; if you know what you like then stick to it.  But, if your view is that variety is the spice of life, then take a dive into a India Brown Ale pint glass and check out this mold breaking combination.