Seasonal Beer Overload

This time of year is the best for seasonal beers hitting the store shelves. It is my favorite time of the year for many reasons and great seasonal beer is just another thing to look forward to this season. The problem is that they are beers I want to stock up on, but they separate me and my money in an accelerated fashion.  I would say that November and December are my most expensive beer spending months of the year.  Too much awesome beer hits the shelves this time of the year.

Here are some of the beers I always look forward to each year:

Three Floyd's Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter - I love porter and this combines the wonder hop profile that is Three Floyds calling card with a delicious porter base. They do an outstanding job with dark beer and I would love to see a dark beer from them in six pack year round format (i.e. Hells Black Intelligencer).  This beer just hit town last week and will move pretty quickly.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - It isn't the holiday season unless I've bought  a six pack of this tasty seasonal IPA.  It just hit Indy a few weeks ago and for the price is an outstanding six pack for the season.

Deschutes - The Abyss Imperial Stout - I traded for a bottle of this beer several years ago and now it is the only beer I buy an entire case of bombers per year.  You can buy it online if you are fast enough, but trading for it is much easier.  It is not available to purchase in Indiana.

The Bruery's Four Calling Birds - I've enjoy this series based on the 12 Day of Christmas.  I usually buy two and drink one now and save one for the vertical.  This just hit Indy as well.

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - I don't think there is a better bourbon barrel aged beer out there for the money.  This is usually easy to find but last year it was tough to find, and I hope it will stick around a bit this year.  The coffee bourbon county stout should be out soon as well.  This should hopefully hit town in the next few weeks.

Boston Beer Company's (Sam Adams) - Old Fezziwig Winter Warmer - It only comes in the holiday sampler pack, but I buy the 12 pack just for this beer. It isn't really a winter warmer to me, but however you want to categorize it the beer is delicious.  This is out around town right now.

Bell's Expedition Stout - This was the first beer I ever put in my beer cellar.  I don't like this beer fresh, but getting a new sixer of it each year when it comes out is a tradition.  Expedition turns into one of the finest imperial stouts available after a year of age on it.  This is one of the best beers you can buy without any type of shit show associated with trying to find some of it.  Last years batch is still out on the shelves right now and this years batch will be along soon.

Wild Card -

Goose Island King Henry Barleywine - I had this at the festival of barrel aged beers a few weeks ago and thought it was outstanding. Goose Island is having a black Friday event to begin selling the beer, but I hope we see some distribution to Indy.

What seasonal beers do you look forward to drinking?

Cheers!
Matt

HBG5 featuring World Class Beverages

You may have thought we'd given up on posting these - but no! To be honest, we still aren't 100% sure about some of the remaining beers. But we do have a few more details. Next up:


World Class Beverages


For as long as we've been having these parties, we've had cooperation and participation by our friends at World Class Beverages. This year is no different.

Hair of the Dog Adam
Adam is top fermented and cold conditioned to give it a rich and mellow smoothness. The unique garnet color is derived from specially roasted barley, and the intense hop profile is provided by the use of only the finest whole hop flowers. It is 8% alcohol by weight (10% by volume).

And..

Boulevard / Deschutes Collaboration #2 White IPA
Combining Boulevard’s expertise at making Belgian-style witbiers with Deschutes’ skill at brewing hop-forward ales, this beer puts a new spin on the idea of collaborative brewing. Working from a single recipe, brewmasters Steven Pauwels of Boulevard and Larry Sidor of Deschutes have produced two separate beers, more than 1,600 miles apart.

Color (EBC) 10 Bitterness (IBUs) 42 Original Gravity (Plato) 17 Terminal Gravity (Plato) 3.4 Alcohol (ABV) 7.4%

Please remember that this list is tentative and subject to change based on availability. We will keep you updated if anything changes.

About HBG5:
It will be held Saturday, August 27th, starting at 6pm. Sun King Brewing will again be hosting us at their brewery at 135 N. College Avenue, Indianapolis. Tickets are $30 (plus $1.99 for online fees) for regular tickets and $15 (plus $1.99 for online fees) for designated drivers. Tickets are available online only and limited to just 150 paying customers. Like beer festivals? Don't like crowds? This is your event. And yes, the tickets are on sale now.

If you didn't attend last year, you can see what you missed here. But if you did attend last year, you'll find it to be similar. We can't promise that Jason will be performing from Cats (or will have a mustache). But here is what we have so far (please note that all of this is subject to change).

Regular attendees will receive a commemorative tasting glass that can be used to sample various quality beers from our favorite Indiana breweries as well as a few other breweries. Additionally, you'll be able to select a few larger pours of your favorite beers. Designated drivers will have a selection of non-alcoholic beverages such as soda, pop, cola... whatever regional term you like. And bottled water, of course.

All attendees will get to enjoy food from Papa Roux.
PAPA ROUX will be proudly serving FRESH OFF THE GRILL all evening long! Prepare to be punched in the mouth with FLAVA as we handcraft your Po-Boys from 6PM-11PM. Offerings include FIRE-GRILLED SMOKED SAUSAGE PO-BOYS, ROASTED CHICKEN PO-BOYS, and VEGETARIAN GRILLED ONION & PROVOLONE CHEESE PO-BOYS.

All Po-Boys can be prepared with additional GRILLED ONION and PROVOLONE CHEESE, in addition to the SELF-SERVE SHUT'YO MOUTH SPICE BAR including a variety of hot sauces, Papa's own Vouxdoux seasoning, and Sriracha Rooster Sauce!

Don't miss the perfectly spicy CHEESY ETOUFFEE, the perfect soup for any beer.

And what's a party without gifts? And by gifts, I mean us giving stuff to you! That's right, prizes and giveaways and all sorts of stuff.

We're still filling in all the details, but if you've been to our events, you know it is a good time. And all tickets will be sold online. Tickets are not available at Sun King nor will they be available at the door. So don't miss out.

There are more details coming soon, but here's a reminder of the participating breweries/distributors to wet your whistle -

Barley Island Brewing Company - Barrel-Fermented Rust Belt Porter
Bee Creek Brewing Company - Alien Abduction Wheat
Bier Brewery - Farmgirl Saison and Calypso IPA
Broad Ripple Brewpub - Wobbly Bob OR Dual Citizenship
Brugge Brasserie - Superkitty Fantastico!
Cavalier Distributing
Crown Brewing Company - DerALEr
Flat12 Bierwerks - 12 Cycle IPA and Nunmoere Black
Lafayette Brewing Company
New Albanian Brewing Company - Naughty Girl (Struise Colab)
People's Brewing Company
RAM Brewery - Bjava Disorder Porter
The St. Louis Brewing Company aka Schlafly - Raspberry Coffee Stout
Sun King - House Lineup (Osiris, Bitter Druid, Cream, Wee Mac)
Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Company - Hoosier Beer Geek Double Brown
Upland Brewing Company - Rad Red and Mother's Milk
World Class Beverages - Hair of the Dog Adam and Boulevard / Deschutes Collaboration #2

We appreciate that you follow us for the latest and craziest in the Indiana craft beer world. And we hope you'll come out and celebrate with us our fifth and perhaps best year of better beer buffoonery.

KOTBR #57 - GABF - The Take-Home Game

A trip to Colorado isn't complete without a trip to the liquor stores of Colorado. Our recent trip to Great American Beer Festival and the breweries around Denver has led to a kitchen overflowing with craft beer; Not a problem, but an opportunity.


Believe it or not, calling together the Knights for a Saturday sampling of all sorts of unavailable-in-Indiana beer doesn't guarantee a crowd. But four of us are truly dedicated, so we met at my current home (a van on the banks of the White River on Indy's southside) for a revisit of the GABF experience.


Deschutes The Dissident 2008 Reserve Flanders Style Brown Ale

Mike: With the tart sour nose on this beer, my first instinct was to think "get ready to pucker". But the "brown" elements of this beer keep it from going off the super-tart deep end. Creamy and chewy, this is a beer that works the back third of the tongue. 4.25 Mugs

Chris: Sour lemon nose, sour patch kids hit, but only center of tongue. Sour apple, sour lemon - not normally the biggest fan of sour, but this is GOOD. 4.33 mugs

Matt: Much thanks to Mike and Gina for letting me try this brew.
Appearance: Dissident pours a mahogany brown color with tons of tiny carbonation bubbles, and a small thin head.
Smell: Cherries and blackberries and other orchard fruit with plenty of wild scents coming from the brett, but not quite "horsebarn" in smell
Taste: Tart cherries and blackberries come out very strong with a certain grape quality lingering in the background. I get more apples in the flavor profile as the beer warms a bit. This is delicious.

I loved this beer and was imagining how to pair this beer with food. I would love to get ahold of more of this beer. This is my highest rating ever as a KOTBR, and I stand by it! 4.7 Mugs

Gina: Tart and appple. GOOD GOOD GOOD. 4.5 Mugs

Deschutes The Dissident Total Score: 4.44 Mugs



Lagunitas Brewing Co. We're Only In It For the Money 40th Anniversary Zappa beer

Mike: Trying to figure out the name of this beer was almost more rewarding that drinking it. A Belgian Tripel with a burnt sugar candied fruit nose, the first drink wasn't rewarding enough to warrant a return to the glass. It wasn't that the beer was particularly bad, it just wasn't good. I couldn't get that burnt sugar taste out of my mouth/head. 2.43 Mugs

Chris: Buttery, butterscotch up front, cotton candy, bubblegum, burned sugar. 3.2 Mugs

Matt: Appearance: Pours and Amber orange with decent staying power
Smell: Overpowering of bubblegum and Candy sugar sweetness
Taste: The sweetness carries over in the taste with more orchard fruit like apples and grapes, but the syrupy sugar sweetness is quite overpowering in this offering.

I love a good tripel, but this doesn't cross the threshold into my favorite tripel territory. 2.5 Mugs (+.1%)

Gina: I got more hints of pine than candy or fruit from this. 3 Mugs

Lagunitas We're Only In It For The Money Total Score: 2.78 Mugs



Ska Brewing Decadent Imperial IPA

Mike: A wax sealed bottle that once opened gave an earthy sort of dirty taste. Oddly enough, this beer seemed almost freezer burnt. Although the bottle says "Imperial IPA", we didn't get an IPA elements. Weird. And a letdown. 1.75 Mugs.

Chris: Apricot, piney (subtle) smell, tastes fruitier than any DIPA I've had. Sweet, almost too sweet, hops not present enough for DIPA. 2.33 Mugs

Matt: Appearance: Pours a deep and very clear golden hue with a minimal head
Smell: There wasn't really much in the way of hop aroma for an imperial IPA, but I do get some slight apricot and apples with only a touch of caramel malt
Taste: I was looking for a hop explosion that never came on this beer, and this doesn't represent what a IIPA should taste like. I get apricot and hot fussel alcohol in the flavor profile, some fruity esters and only a small touch of piney hop bite on the back end.

I don't know if this was a bad bottle, but there wasn't anything really to speak of in the hop department, and the hot fussel alcohol didn't jive with me or my palate. 2.8 Mugs

Gina: Something about this reminded me of pizza. Maybe like basil or rosemary? It didn't pack quite the punch I would expect from an IIPA. 2.6 Mugs

Ska Decadent Imperial IPA Total Score: 2.37 Mugs



Russian River Blind Pig

Mike: I broke all sorts of Russian River laws getting this one home - I took it from a cooler and put it in a box in a warm car. The bottle specifically notes that heat and light are the enemies of hops - though I've had plenty of beers that have survived worse. A peppery and hoppy nose, a golden body, bitter, peppery, soapy. Considering Russian River's reputation, I expected more. 3.2 Mugs

Chris: Very piney smell, pine hops taste with a nice touch of citrus. I love the hops, but is this balanced? Hoppity hops...seriously, only for hopheads. 3.6 Mugs

Matt: Appearance: Nice clear golden hue with a rather fluffy white head
Smell: Lots of ripe citrus fruit and pink grapefruit rind with a good shot of pine stickiness. Daddy likey!
Taste: Citrus fruit are again center stage with ripe tangerines, oranges, and lemon zest. There is a slight "soapy" quality to this beer as well that isn't really doing it for me at the moment.

If the "soapy" quality I was tasting could be taken away this would be one of my favorite IPAs to drink. The nose was very nice and the flavor profile started out really nice, but really lost points once I picked up those other flavors. 3.3 Mugs

Gina: I mostly get the aforementioned soap and pine flavors, which usually would be a negative. This time, however, they work well together and I quite like it. 3.22 Mugs.

Russian River Blind Pig Total Score: 3.33 Mugs