KOTBR #32 | Spencer's Stadium Tavern

Happy Halloween beer geeks.

For last Thursday night's Roundtable, several of the Knights met up at Spencer's along with some folks from Indy's chapter of Drinking Liberally. This was my first visit to the tavern and I thought the place was roomy while still being quiet enough to hold a conversation without having to yell (a HUGE plus in my book). I assume all of this goes out the window during Colts games, as it should. The place was very comfortable, even as we sat in the dark (the power to the bar and surrounding area went out for a short while).

The warmup all around (I think) was Ellie's Brown Ale from Avery Brewing Company. The coppery colored beer poured with little head and tasted metallic at first. As it warmed, something in the taste of this beer made me think of a cherry coke made from coke and grenadine. I would suspect it was the caramel malt but I can't say for sure. It's the usual as far as this style goes; drinkable, smooth, and malty.

Before I knew it, we were moving to the review. It's been a while since most of us reviewed a stout, so the choice was made for Bell's Special Double Cream Stout. I had to let this one set a while since it was served at about Budweiser temperature, but it worked out well since I hadn't yet finished my warmup. The nose on this was pretty amazing. It was incredibly complex, but also reminded me of an ashtray. The flavor was yeasty and a little earthy and also creamy and sweet. I really think this beer would be well served during the ugly parts of winter, (what part of winter isn't ugly?) so I think I am going to assign a tentative 3.25 mug rating on this and try again when the mug is warmer and the weather is colder.

*****
A side note about the Warbird brewery tour:

I am not going to rehash what Jason has so eloquently said, but I would like to say that the tour was awesome and I agree that this beer could really please any palate. I'm glad I had the opportunity to get some insight on this brewery and I took away a much greater appreciation for their beer. If you have passed up this beer in the past (like I reluctantly admit), you may want to take an opportunity to try it. The Warhawk Pale Ale is surprisingly hoppy and the Shanty Irish Red is really quite good.