Brewery Visits

GRACE RIDGE BREWING – HOMER, ALASKA

Hoppy’s first brewery visit on his Alaska trip was at Grace Ridge Brewing in Homer. This brewery began in May 2016, becoming the second brewery in Homer. They moved into a new space in February 2022 doubling their size to a 2,400 square foot building, housing their brewery and taproom.

While there, Hoppy quaffed a Sadie Peak IPA described as a full-bodied English IPA with aromas of pine and floral. It clocked in at 6.5% ABV, 65 IBU.

Photos follow:

MIKERPHONE BREWING – ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL

At the start of his trip to Alaska, Hoppy stopped at Mikerphone Brewing in Elk Grove Village, IL, near ORD. They released their first commercial beer, inspired by music, in 2015. In that same year, Mikerphone Brewing was awarded Best New Brewery in Illinois by Ratebeer, as well as One of the Best New Breweries in the World by Beer Advocate Magazine. They continue to produce high quality, small batch beers inspired by music. Their tasting room is equipped with two bars and patio seating.

While there, Hoppy imbibed an I Want My IPA which is brewed with Mosaic and Citra hops. It clocked in at 7.25% ABV.

Photos follow:

TIDAL CREEK BREWHOUSE – MYRTLE BEACH, SC

On a recent visit to South Carolina Hoppy visited the Tidal Creek Brewhouse in the Market Common area of Myrtle Beach. Unlike most breweries that serve food, they serve breakfast and brunch as well as lunch and dinner. They are a coffee roastery, as well. They are a woman/veteran owned business that was established in 2018.

While there Hoppy enjoyed a Grand Strand West Coast IPA clocking in at 6.5% ABV, 60 IBU.

Pictures follow:

UPLAND BREWING – E 82ND ST, INDIANAPOLIS

Hoppy made his first visit to the Upland Brewing Tap House on E 82nd Street in Indianapolis yesterday evening. It opened last December, becoming the ninth location for Upland, and their third in Indianapolis (4th in the Indy area including one in Carmel). They opened their first brewpub in Bloomington in 1998 and they are currently celebrating their 25th anniversary!

Hoppy attended a Taproom Takeover there as part of the Indy Beer Meetup Group. While there he enjoyed sampling a couple of sours and imbibed an imperial IPA. They were as follows:

Raspberry Barrel-Aged Fruited Sour Ale – Described as having a fresh berry aroma with a touch of floral and wine-like notes, followed by a rich raspberry flavor. Reddish in hue with a pink foam appear upon pouring, with zesty amounts of carbonation. Finish is dry, with mouth-watering tanginess and raspberry flavor. It is 5.7% ABV; 9 IBU.

Boysenberry Barrel-Aged Fruited Sour Ale – Boysenberry is a barrel-aged sour ale that combines Upland’s take on a traditional Lambic-style base beer, with a fruit not typically found in traditional Lambics. They ferment their base beer, Basis, for six to eight months in oak tanks to produce tart flavors, fruity notes and funky character. Then, they blend individual batches before aging on boysenberry fruit for an additional month to extract the perfect balance of fruit flavor. 6% ABV; 10 IBU.

Coastbuster Imperial IPA – Inspired by the gloriously effervescent qualities of hop varieties common to West Coast style Imperial IPAs, Coastbuster displays the best of what these hops have to offer: their tropical, fruity, and floral aromas and flavors. With a light malt character and a dry finish, this is a beer designed to let the most succulent aspects of Simcoe, Amarillo, Columbus, and Cascade shine through while keeping the bitterness in balance. 8.5% ABV; 65IBU.

Pictures of the taproom and event follow:

CROWN BREWING – CROWN POINT

Hoppy arrived, back home again in Indiana, with a considerable thirst needing to be quenched. He arrived at Crown Brewing ready to alleviate that thirst. (Crown Brewing was founded in 2008, bringing back the Crown Brewing name to Crown Point, which had been used by a large regional brewery that closed in 1916.)

Hoppy happily arrived on a Thursday, which coincidentally happens to be half-priced pint day. While there, he appreciated two pints of their Special Forces IPA and a taste of their Marble Mouth Belgian Sextuple.

The Special Forces IPA is described as a deep gold colored brew with a strong citrusy, flowery hop aroma. The intense hop bitterness and flavor is backed by medium maltiness and body. It is hopped seven times during the boil with Summit, CTZ, Centennial, lots of Cascade, and dry-hopped for additional character. It is 7.2% ABV, 70 IBU.

The Marble Mouth Belgian Sextuple is a behemoth of a brew clocking in at 17.2% ABV. Flavor profiles listed on Untappd include the words Belgiany, Sweet, Dry, Bread and Alcoholic.

Pictures from the visit follow:

OFF COLOR BREWING/MOUSETRAP TAPROOM – CHICAGO

Hoppy’s next visit in Chicago was at Off Color Brewing/Mousetrap. They opened in 2013, and which of the following is a true statement regarding their beers: (a) They only brew lagers, (b) They specialize in IPAs, (c) They only brew according to the German beer purity law known as the Reinheitsgebot, or (d) They have never brewed an IPA?

The correct answer would be (d), They have never brewed an IPA!

Hoppy enjoyed tasting three of their beers and sipped an Imperial Stout. These were as follows:

Beer For Ball Games – This is a cream ale described as being designed to make America’s pastime proud using only American produced malt and corn with classical American hops (Cascade and Willamette). It is 4.2% ABV.

Beer For Golf – This style is a witbier that is Arnold Palmer inspired with lemon, black tea and coriander. 4.5% ABV.

Juicy Predator – A farmhouse ale described as more than just a beefed-up version of their Apex Predator (saison). They quadruple dry hop it with what they quantify as “way too much.” 6.5% ABV.

Dino S’mores – An imperial stout brewed with vanilla, chocolate, marshmallow and graham flour. 10.5% ABV.

Pictures of his visit follow: