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.

EVIL CZECH BREWING AND PUBLIC HOUSE VISIT

First, congratulations to the Evil Czech himself, George Pesek, who recently reached the summit of Mt. Everest! Not only did he reach the summit, but he brought along a can of Leprechaun Holy Water, a club soda that is made by Evil Czech Brewery.

While at the Pub in Mishawaka, however, Hoppy opted for something containing alcohol along with, you guessed it, a bunch of hops.

That would be a pint of Evil Czechmunk, a West Coast IPA described as moderately bitter with a medium dry body, a floral nose that mingles with grapefruit, Meyer lemon & slight pine. It is 6.8% ABV, 40 IBU.

He also enjoyed a sample of the Three 6 Hoppia Triple IPA. It is described as a medium bodied assertively hopped triple IPA. It showcases hops grown in the Southern Hemisphere, giving this beer a huge aroma of strawberries, papaya and tropical fruit. It clocks in at 9.6% ABV, 79 IBU.

STUDEBAKER BREWING COMPANY VISIT

Hoppy visited Studebaker Brewing Company yesterday. It is located in the Studebaker Family Mansion, aka Tippecanoe Place, in South Bend. The original building was completed in 1889 from funds earned by Clement Studebaker as president of the “Largest Wagon Manufacturer in the World.” More information on the mansion can be found here.

The Studebaker Brewing Co., whose slogan is “Hops & History,” opened to the public in October 2018.

While there, Hoppy enjoyed a Milk the Stonks Sweet Milk Stout about which they state, “We like this stonk! Brewed with cocoa nibs and lactose, we’ll hold this stonk with diamond hands as we rocket to the moon!” It is 5% ABV, 21 IBU.

KISMETIC BEER COMPANY VISIT

Hoppy visited Kismetic Beer on Saturday for the Race Into 201 Studios event. Like Scarlet Lane, Kismetic is a woman owned business with owner Nicole Oesch, who handles the front end of the business, collaborating with her husband Randy, who is the brewer. They are located in a 100+ year old building and their interior design is a retro chic 1970’s style.

While visiting, Hoppy had his first taste of a Cold IPA! No, a Cold IPA is not a refrigerated IPA, nor is it a form of Ice Beer popular in the 1990’s. A Cold IPA is described as a hybrid beer using lager yeast and pilsner malts brewed at higher temperatures than a traditional lager, with a large number of hops. Wayfinder Beer, out of Portland, Oregon, who made the first Cold IPA in October of 2018, describes it as follows: “Cold IPA hits with a strong punch of aromatic hop intensity and high bitterness but finishes crisp and clean leaving the drinker craving another sip. It’s Wester than West Coast.”

Hoppy enjoyed the Kismetic Cold IPA described as crisp and dry with aromas of pine and citrus, bitter and crisp on the palate. It is dry hopped at the end of fermentation to achieve fruit forward bio transformation. It clocked in at 6.4% ABV, 50 IBU.

A recent video on Kismetic Brewing can be found here.