Brewery Visits

BEERCATION 2022 – SIERRA NEVADA BREWING – NORTH CAROLINA

Hoppy visited Sierra Nevada Brewing in Mills River, NC this summer. Here he had a flight of the following beers:

Dankful IPA – A hop-forward West Coast IPA that supports nonprofits working in their communities. 7.4% ABV; 55 IBU

Barrel-Aged Life and Limb (2022) – An American Imperial/Double Brown Ale having roasted malt caramel-like and chocolate-like characters and a medium hop flavor. 12.8% ABV: 20 IBU

Barrel-Aged Oro De Roble – A tequila barrel-aged golden ale with oak, bready, vanilla and tequila flavors. 11% ABV; 35 IBU

Hoptimum (2022) – An intense triple IPA made with Amarillo, BRU-1, Pahto and Simcoe hops. 11% ABV; 75 IBU

Pictures follow:

BEERCATION 2022 – GIRDWOOD BREWING – ALASKA

Hoppy visited the town of Girdwood, Alaska this summer where he stopped by Girdwood Brewing. (It is located near Alyeska Ski Resort.} There he enjoyed a No Woman, No Cryo Hazy IPA. It clocked in at 7.5% ABV, 50 IBU. Pictures follow:

Another must visit in Girdwood is the Double Musky Inn, home of “the best steak in America,” per Jill Cordes of the Food Network. and here it is!

TRADERS BREWING VISIT – INDIANAPOLIS

Hoppy also visited Traders Brewing on Saturday. It is located on the NW side of Indianapolis in an Industrial Park off of Zionsville Rd. Here Hoppy sampled a Sour Ale and Pale Ale before imbibing an IPA. The information on each beer is listed below:

Kettle Sour Vol. 3 – 4.7% ABV, 5 IBU

Building 1 Pale Ale described as a dark, earthy pine smash pale with Simcoe hops. It is 5.6% ABV, 40 IBU.

Badass IPA is brewed with a simple grain bill to accentuate the hops – dry hop additions of Simcoe and Citra add the flavor and dankness the hopheads love. It is 7.5% ABV, 80 IBU.

HARD TRUTH (QUAFF ON) AT THE GARAGE FOOD HALL – INDY

As you are probably aware, Quaff On Brewing offerings are available at all Big Woods and Hard Truth locations as they are all part of the same company. Hoppy paid his first visit to the Indy Garage Food Hall location of Hard Truth Distilling on Saturday.

While there he quaffed a QTFO! IPA. It is described as having a solid malt backbone with a hop punch and aroma that follows through to the palate. It is 6.5% ABV, 75 IBU.

FOUR DAY RAY BREWING VISIT

Yesterday Hoppy visited Four Day Ray Brewing in Fishers. Their name recalls their Nickel Plate District heritage drawn from the nickname of a railroad employee who continually called off work one day per week.

While there, Hoppy drank a flight of four beers that included the following:

Strawberry Lemonade Blonde which is described as having soft aromas and flavors of strawberries and cream with lemon citrus. The slightly tart finish is dry and refreshing. 4.5% ABV, 8 IBU.

Fishin For Hopliments, a Pale Ale brewed with Mackinac hops from Crazy Horse. It is fermented cold like a lager but hopped like a pale ale. It is bursting with pineapple and orange juice flavor and aroma. 5.4% ABV, 35 IBU.

Monks Blood Belgian Dubbel with dark fruit and grape nut aroma with hints of toffee, pleasant clove and esters with fruitiness in the finish. 7.2% ABV.

Monks Tears Belgian Quadrupel has an earthy aroma of spice, dark fruit and caramel. The flavor starts off with a caramel sweetness followed by fruity date characteristics and finishes with fresh plum as you exhale. 10.5% ABV.

BARE HANDS BREWERY VISIT

Hoppy’s last visit of June 4th took place at Bare Hands Brewery in Granger. He’s a fan of their year round beers, the Westy IPA, and thai.p.a., but on this day he went for higher octane brews. This included a glass of A Ton Load Citra described as a single hopped hazy DIPA. A simple grain bill of American 2-row Barley, White Wheat and Oats combine with premium honey and Vermont Ale Yeast to create a clean, soft base to showcase the selected hop. A ton of hops were added during whirlpool, and loads more for a dry hop to display its unique qualities. It is 8% ABV, 50 IBU.

Hoppy also sampled a Honey Badger DIPA, stated as fearless enough to raid a bee hive to fill itself with luscious honey backed by American malts and the elusive Citra hop. Pungent hop flavor and aroma are balanced by hints of sweet malt and honey and a moderate bitter finish. 10% ABV, 85 IBU.