THE TAPROOM – INDIANA STATE FAIR

THE TAPROOM – INDIANA STATE FAIR

Hoppy attended the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis yesterday and visited The Taproom on the grounds which serves beverages from Indiana breweries, wineries and distilleries. They have a both a tasting room where drinks can be sampled for free and a taproom where you can purchase whatever you’d like.

While Hoppy was there, the brewery in the tasting room was Upland. He sampled their brews as follows:

Their recently released Hoosier Gameday Lager, the first ever IU Athletics branded beer – Described as a crisp, drinkable, but still flavorful lager with a moderate sessionable level of alcohol in a classically smooth and refreshing beer. It strikes the perfect balance of delicious malty goodness and refreshing drinkability. The Vienna malt that creates the bulk of the flavor was malted and toasted to perfection by Indiana’s own Sugar Creek Malt. 4.7% ABV, 25 IBU.

Campside Pale Ale – Described as showcasing the most effervescent American hops it profiles the distinct fragrance of grapefruit, apricot, and pine. With a crisp but subtle bitterness and a refreshingly light malt character, this is the perfect year-round beverage for those who think flavor i just as important as refreshment. 5.4% ABV, 35 IBU.

Two of Tarts (Sour – Fruited Gose) – Described as pouring bright golden orange with a glowing translucent haze, this gose has the unmistakable flavor of mango and passionfruit and is slightly salty with notes of lemon and a crisp, dry finish. It’s a sure bet that it will make a doubly pleasant citrus impression. 4.5% ABV, 5 IBU.

Hoppy also tried a Sun King ale made specifically for the Indiana State Fair named the State Fair Deep-Fried Sandwich Cookie Pastry Ale – Described as an Oatmeal Milk Porter made with oats, lactose, chocolate malt, and 300lbs of chocolate sandwich cookies. 5% ABV, 20 IBU.

Pictures from his visit follow:

Taproom Seating
Exterior
Tasting Room
Tasting Room
Tasting Room
Entertainment Background
Decor
Wall Decor
Bar
Draft List
Banners
Lighting Decor
Taproom

WHITESTOWN BREW FEST

WHITESTOWN BREW FEST

Hoppy attended the Whitestown Brew Fest earlier today. The event included tastings from breweries, homebrewers, distilleries and wineries as well as food trucks and live music. Attendees could sample pours and cast a vote for their favorite homebrew, with the winning homebrewer receiving a prize of $1,000.

As usual, this post will focus primarily on the beer aspect of the festival. Pictures of the attending breweries are included in the pictures that follow. They were Whitestown’s own brewery, Moontown, along with Big Lug, Black Dog, Bier, Deviate, Primeval, Terre Haute, Sun King, Crasian and Grand Junction.

Seating Area with Tables for Attendees
Some Food Options
Homebrew Tent
Homebrew Tent
Homebrew Tent
Hillbilly Rockstarz Performing On Stage

CONGRATS ARE DUE TO INDIANAPOLIS BREWERIES, ESPECIALLY KISMETIC, GUGGMAN HAUS & SUN KING

CONGRATS ARE DUE TO INDIANAPOLIS BREWERIES, ESPECIALLY KISMETIC, GUGGMAN HAUS & SUN KING

USA TODAY recently had a number of Top Ten lists relative to beer in the United States. Indianapolis was ranked third in the Best Beer City competition. (Indy has been close to the top for the last few years.) For the best beer city results click here.

Kismetic Brewing finished 2nd in the country in the ten best new breweries category. Those results can be found here.

Guggman Haus Brewing captured 2nd in the best beer garden results. This ranking can be found here.

Sun King Brewing garnered 5th place for their Indy Pale Ale in the best beer label category. For those results click here.

You can find more information relative to each of these breweries buy doing a search on beerblogIN.com.

BREWS ON THE BOULEVARD – CARMEL

BREWS ON THE BOULEVARD – CARMEL

Last Saturday Hoppy attended the Brews on the Boulevard Festival in Carmel at Midtown Plaza and the Monon Trail. It is different than some beer festivals in that you could also purchase pints of beer, four packs, six packs and swag from the breweries present, as well as enjoy the unlimited samples included in the admission. 2023 was the second year for the festival.

Self-explanatory pictures from the festival follow.

ANCHORAGE BREWING – ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

ANCHORAGE BREWING – ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

In Anchorage, Hoppy visited Anchorage Brewing. His visit there last year can be seen here. This year he spent time in their outdoor seating area and on the rooftop, both of which he did not see on his last visit.

While there, he imbibed a No Answer Imperial Stout/Black Barleywine Blend which was double and triple cooled for 20 months in a blend of 15 year Calumet Farms, Willett, Willett Rye and Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels. It was 15% ABV.

He also drank a No Salvation Saison with Brettanomyces fermented in oak foeders with two proprietary strins of Brettanomyces and Saison yeast. Dry hopped with Strata and Mosaic Hops. This was 6.5% ABV.

Pictures follow.

Draft Board
No Answer Imperial Stout/Black Barleywine Blend
Rooftop View
Rooftop
Rooftop
Coolship Inside Rooftop Building (reflection off of window)
Coolship Definition
Outdoor Seating View From Above
Heading Downstairs
Outside Seating/Firepit
Seating
Guests Enjoying Outdoors
Outdoor Decor
Outdoor Decor/Seating
Outdoor Decor

KENAI RIVER BREWING – SOLDOTNA, ALASKA

KENAI RIVER BREWING – SOLDOTNA, ALASKA

The next stop was in Soldotna at Kenai River Brewing. They opened in 2006, and twelve years later they had expanded into a new facility, including adding a restaurant and a new canning system. While there Hoppy drank both the following:

Vic Secret Single Hop IPA – Described as being brewed with Vic Secret hops from Australia, with flavor and aroma of Big Pineapple, Passionfruit and Pine. Silky smooth! It clocked in at 7.6% ABV, 67 IBU.

Vic Secret Imperial Rye Pale Ale – This was also brewed exclusively with Australian Vic Secret hops. Described as having a mellow boozy start and a lingering hop presence on the finish. This one clocked in at 10.5% ABV, 95 IBU.

Pictures follow.

Exterior
Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) is There to Greet You!
Bar
Tap Handles
Draft Board
Vic Secret Single Hop IPA
Behind the Bar
Brewery
Seating/Decor
Seating/Decor
Wall Decor
Merchandise
Outdoor Seating

Outdoor Seating
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