Hoppy was sorry to learn that A Taproom in Indianapolis will be closing soon (no later than January 7th, 2024). If you can, get out there and show support by visiting them prior to their impending closure! Hoppy visited them earlier today and sipped on the following brews:
More Brewing Barrel-Aged Henna: Birthday (2022) – An Imperial Stout from a brewery in Huntley, IL. Made with Coconut, Pecans, Vanilla and Cocoa Nibs. 15% ABV.
Windmill Brewing Pecan Panana Bancakes – A Double Pastry Stout from Dyer. Described as a big pastry boi brewed with loads of banana puree, Vermont maple syrup, and a ton of cinnamon pecans from our friends at Miller and Company German Roasted Nuts. 13.5% ABV
Heavy Reel Brewing Pacific Swell – A West Coast Triple IPA brewed in Seaside Heights, NJ. 8% ABV.
TIS THE SEASON – DEVIATE BREWING & SUN KING CARMEL
Tis the season to be jolly and what better way to get jolly than with high ABV ales that are part of this season. Hoppy visited Deviate Brewing yesterday and drank a couple of recent West Coast IPA releases. These were:
Hop Transparency – IPA brewed with Cryo Simcoe hops. 7% ABV.
Power To Survive – DDH Triple IPA made with Cryo Citra and Mosaic hops. 12.9% ABV.
Following this, he visited Sun King in Carmel where he imbibed a flight of the following:
Atomic Armadillo – IPA brewed with Azacca hops, a native Southwest American strain that produces strong citrus and stone fruit character. 7.5% ABV, 65 IBU.
Centennial Sphere – Cold IPA collaboration with Pittsburgh’s Necromancer Brewing. It features flavors of tropical fruit, mango, pineapple, guava, and orange with a grassy, woody pine presence and a slight bitterness. 7.2% ABV, 47 IBU.
Double Jump Front Kick – Imperial IPA with pronounced pine, citrus, grapefruit and melon character. 10.3% ABV, 59 IBU.
Valentino Delight – A blend of Port and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Scotch Ales aged with chocolate and coffee for flavors of chocolate, caramel, vanilla and toffee. 13.6% ABV, 13 IBU.
While there he also sampled the following brews:
Krampus Claws – Brown Ale with coffee and chocolate character. 5.7% ABV, 20 IBU.
Soul Shakedown Party – Scotch Ale that uses rum barrel aging to round out the huge toffee and port character of Sun King’s Wee Muckle Scotch Ale, with flavors of molasses and orange peel. 13.7% ABV, 30 IBU.
Please remember to have a designated driver or use ridesharing or a taxi if you’re quaffing high alcohol beers.
Hoppy wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Hoppy New Year!
Pictures from these visits follow:
Monon Trail – CarmelDeviate Brewing’s Power To Survive Triple IPA and Hop Transparency IPADeviate Brewing Draft BoardSun King Brewing’s Valentino Delight, Double Jump Front Kick, Centennial Sphere and Atomic Armadillo
Sunlight Cream Ale celebrates American brewing tradition by balancing smooth malt complexity with a crisp, clean finish. Sunlight was the winner of the Bronze Medal at the Great American Beer Festival and Gold Medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival and the Silver Medal Winner at the 2010 World Beer Cup in the Golden or Blonde Ale category.
Orange Vanilla Sunlight Cream Ale joined our everyday lineup in 2021. “OV” has won a Bronze Medal at the 2022 US Beer Open, and continues to be a popular offering for those looking for creamsicle-like character. Orange Vanilla Sunlight’s unique flavor combines crisp malt character with the notes of vanilla and orange.
Pachanga is a Mexican-Style Lager that has won both Gold and Silver Medals for International Lager at the 2019 and 2023 US Beer Open, and Bronze for Light Lager at the 2020 Great American Beer Festival®. Pachanga’s easy-drinking malt character is balanced with a subtle lime note.
Wee Mac Scottish-style Ale is an enticing and malty brown ale with caramel, cocoa, and hazelnut character balanced with toffee undertones. Wee Mac was the Gold Medal winner at the 2010 Indiana Brewers’ Cup in the English Brown Ale category.
Sun King Keller Haze is an IPA with pronounced flavors of pineapple, citrus, tropical fruit, and orange peel finished in a slightly hazy kellerbier style.
Centennial Sphere is a Collaboration Cold IPA brewed with our friends from Pittburgh’s Necromancer Brewing. Centennial Sphere features flavors of tropical fruit, mango, pineapple, guava, and orange with a grassy, woody pine presence and a slight bitterness.
Conner Scary is an Oliebollen-Inspired Spiced Amber Ale. Oliebollen (or oly koek) was a fried cake dessert, similar to donuts, but without the sugary sweetness. The original recipe we took inspiration from includes cinnamon, ginger, anise seed, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, mace, cloves, white pepper, many of which we used in making the beer.
Hawt Chocolate Stout is brewed with chocolate malt, roasted barley, flaked oats, cocoa powder, real marshmallow, and lactose sugar for authentic hot chocolate character.
James Naismith invented basketball when he invited players to toss a ball into a peach basket nailed to the wall. In honor of that invention, we’ve brewed Hoops There It Is, an American Wheat Ale with a light body and a subtle peach finish.
Sun King has joined in collaboration with hundreds of breweries for the international beer collaboration with Bow & Arrow Brewing Co. and the Native Land Beer Mexican-Style Lager. This year’s Native Land beer is a Mexican-Style Lager brewed in Fishers, IN to honor the ancestral lands all America beer is brewed on. A portion of the proceeds benefit the American Indian Center of Indiana.
Cherry Busey is a Flanders-style Red Ale produced using a complex cocktail of wild yeasts and aged in a bevy of barrels. A multitude of Montmorency cherries were lovingly liberated to give the beer its tart cherry tang. Cherry Busey was the winner of the Bronze Medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival® in the Belgian-Style Fruit Beer Category, the Silver Medal at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival® in the Belgian-Style Fruit Beer Category, and the Bronze Medal at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival® in the Belgian-Style Fruit Beer Category.
Soul Shakedown Party uses rum barrel aging to round out the huge toffee and port character of our Wee Muckle Scotch Ale with flavors of molasses and orange peel. Soul Shakedown Party was the winner of the bronze medal in the Classic Styles category at the 2014 Festival of Barrel-Aged Beer.
Valentino Delight is a blend of Port and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Scotch Ales aged with Chocolate and Coffee for flavors of chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and toffee.
Velour Soccer Mom is a crisp Sour Ale that is aged in oak barrels with fresh raspberries and hibiscus. It has a light body with a pink hue and was fermented with Brettanomyces, a wild yeast that lends a delightfully tart character.
Hoppy’s last stop on his trip “Back Home Again in Indiana” was at Lion Bridge Brewing. It is named after the nearby Bridge of Lions. They are a12-barrel brewery located in the historic Czech Village in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They opened in 2014 and can seat 85 with an additional 30 on an outdoor patio.
Hoppy enjoyed a Wolf Shirt Hazy IPA during his visit. It is brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops and is described as being awesome, like a wolf shirt. It clocked in at 7.2% ABV.
Hoppy’s next visit was at Marto’s Brewing in Sioux City, IA. It opened in July 2019 and they have 105 seats in their taproom as well as 50 additional seats on their outdoor patio. They have a wood fired oven from which they offer pizza and other entrees.
Hoppy enjoyed a flight of four plus one additional pour while there. These were as follows:
What A Show Apricot & Tangerine Sour – They packed the fermenter full of apricots, tangerines and marshmallow in the brewing which also contains lactose. It is 6.6% ABV.
Conduction American IPA – Described as a current of beer carrying notes of citrus, stone fruit and a touch of pine. An easy drinking IPA with Simcoe, Mosaic, Centennial, Columbus and Cascade hops in the kettle. Then it was dry hopped with a modest amount of Mosaic and El Dorado hops. 6% ABV
Hop-Wired Hazy Imperial IPA – This is a double dry hopped hazy IPA brewed with Citra and New Zealand grown Motueka, Nelson Sauvin and Rakau hops. This one hits with a mix of tropical fruit flavor and aroma, with citrus, passion fruit and apricot being at the forefront. 8% ABV.
Smell of Money New England IPA – Sabro – According to Marto, hops are expensive and are therefore the smell of money. Sabro hops have notes of coconut cream, pineapple and lime. 8% ABV.
Razzle Fruited Sour (collaboration with Old Chicago, Sioux City) – Brewed with raspberries, vanilla beans, vanilla wafer cookies and lactose. 5.8% ABV.
Pictures follow:
ExteriorView From OutdoorsBreweryBreweryTaproomBarSeating and Wood Fired OvenPartial Draft List & TapsTap ListBeer List ContinuedFlight of What A ShowApricot & Tangerine Sour,Conduction American IPA, Hop-Wired Hazy Imperial IPA& Smell of Money New England IPA – SabroWall DecorMerchandise
The adventure continued at Lost Cabin Beer in Rapid City, SD. They opened in 2016 and expanded this summer to Hill City, SD with a beer garden.
While there, Hoppy enjoyed a Double SoDank IPA. This is a hopped-up, imperial take on their SoDank IPA. It is described as loaded to the brim with all the fruity, tropical notes that they could fit in a glass courtesy of a stupid amount of Mosaic and Hellertau Blanc dry hops. The lupulin filled beauty rounds out with an assertive bitterness balanced by a smooth malt bill. 10.3% ABV, 108 IBU.
The next visit on “The Back Home Again” trip was in Sheridan, Wyoming at Black Tooth Brewing. They began as a ten-barrel brewery in November 2010 and have since expanded to become Wyoming’s largest brewery with a thirty-barrel brewhouse. They also opened a new location in Cheyenne, WY in 2020 and a third location in Casper, WY in 2021.
During his visit, Hoppy quaffed a Hot Streak IPA. It is described as bringing you back to the night that you went on a hot streak, reveling in the glory of tropical fruit and western pine scents, making this IPA definitely worth the gamble. Its juicy mouthfeel and clean finish allow you to walk away on top. 6.1% ABV, 65 IBU.
Images follow:
ExteriorExteriorLogoOutdoor BenchTaproomSignageTapsBeer MenuHot Streak IPASmall Brewing AreaBarrel-Aging and Sneak Peek of BreweryMerchandiseRestroom Sign
