Beer Diary #25 - Mike - FSB and F8 at Tomlinson Tap Room

After a month away from beer I've come back strong - perhaps a little too strong - recently. With a going away party to attend (We'll miss you, Jon), we first stopped in at the Tomlinson Tap Room to partake in a run-through of the latest offerings from Valparaiso's Figure 8 Brewing Company. But first, a warm-up beer.


Fountain Square Brewing's Preacher's Daughter - As we reset our sites on that which is sessionable, perhaps it's also time to revisit amber. Preacher's Daughter is Fountains Square's amber offering, and it's full-flavored, tasty, balanced, and almost-sessionable at 4.7% ABV. A lingering caramel flavor, smooth, and clean, this is another solid offering from the city's currently newest brewery.

Left to right: German Hefe, Belgian Dubbel, ESB, Imperial Red. Not pictured: IPA

Zaptist (sp?) German Hefe - Here's a beer that looks like you'd expect, with a very big nose featuring an almost a red wine-like note. The front is light, giving way to banana bread. Light on the clove, but full-on bready, the beer finishes sweet.

Belgian Dogma Dubbel - Gold/copper color, plum and nail polish in the nose. The front hints that you're about to drink a hot/higher alcohol beer (thanks, nose), but middle slides right by, and the finish is a hint of caramel. The beer is dominated by its nose, but not in a way that's off-putting.

Scapegoat ESB - Golden color, with an appley-english nose. A buttery apple middle, the beer finishes dry, but also chewy. Those things go together, right?

Ro Shampo Imperial Red - A hoppy tootsie-roll nose is what hits first, with the middle and finish living together in an alcohol-fueled bitter wonderland. Finishes dry, but not chewy.

Where Lizards Dare IPA - Looks gold. My notes start going off the rails here. "Does anyone read beer reviews and go 'Oh that's totally the wrong color, screw that beer'. The beer is purple. Weird. I made that up."

Where Lizards Dare is a balanced IPA, hops and malt working in equal parts. It's sweet in ways I appreciate. My favorite beer of the group, not over-anything. A level teeter-totter.