Flat 12 releases labels

Thought these were pretty cool...

Flat12 Winterfest Tap List

We just heard from Josh Hambright, brewer at Flat12 Biewerks, who sent us the brewery's taplist for today. According to Josh, Flat12 will not schedule the tappings. Rather, they'll just tap what they feel like drinking at the time.

Here's the taplist in no particular order.

Half Cycle
Lacto-Matic
Cherry Milk Stout
Cranber
Moustache Ride
Moustache Rides Again
BA Nunmoere Black
Coconut Porter
1/2 Cycle Reserve
Grandpa's Glazed Ham
Barrel Jack
Walkabout Pale Ale
Apple Bottom Blonde
Fruitcake IPA
BBD68 (Big Black Dog - American Rye Stout)
Winter Cycle
Winter Cyclo (Belgian Double IPA)
Super Bravo 46
Passion Fruit Walkabout
Flateua Du Dorman (Blackberry Porter)
Kiwi^2 (Kiwi Kiwi Hefe)

We hope everyone enjoys the festival today!

KOTBR #138 | Fountain Square Times Two

We make no secret of the fact that we like Fountain Square. Poll all seven of us and most (if not all) of us will tell you that it's our favorite Indianapolis neighborhood.

We love the neighborhood for both sentimental and practical reasons. As for the sentimental reasons, Fountain Square is where the seed of Hoosier Beer Geek was planted and began to grow. Indeed, when we started regularly doing roundtables in 2006, we made the now-defunct Deano's Vino our unofficial base of operations. We also used to hold HBG parties at Deano's, and our first anniversary party was there as well.

As for the practical reasons, Fountain Square is close to where most of us live. Add to this the fact that the neighborhood is finally coming into its own as a cultural destination in the city and we wonder why we would spend our entertainment dollars anywhere else in Indianapolis. We still love places like Broad Ripple and Mass Ave. But Fountain Square is where the city's young cultural heart truly beats.

We'll get out to different parts of the city for future roundtables. But for our most recent roundtable, we found ourselves back in Fountain Square to hit up two new establishments: La Margarita (1043 Virginia Avenue, 317.848.1457) and End of the Line Public House (1105 Shelby Street, 317.687.4857).

In addition to offering hearty Mexican fare and a well-rounded selection of premium tequilas, La Margarita has six craft taps and a good bottle selection. Proprietor Jon Carlos Rangel likes to stock off-the-beaten-path craft beers. For example, about a month ago, we enjoyed some Three Floyds/Dogfish Head Poppaskull on tap. Currently, Belgian quad Urthel Samaranth is on draft.



As for End of the Line, Fountain Square finally has a bar devoted solely to craft beer with the recent addition of this bar. The End of the Line has ten taps, mostly local, along with a diverse menu of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and pizzas. The menu also has a good selection of vegetarian dishes.



While at La Margarita, we had People's Pilsner from Lafayette's People's Brewing Company.

Mike: The nose on this beer is sweet like sweet corn (minus the flaws implied) or those powdered sugar Christmas cookies. The beer is sweet and clean throughout, finishes clean but not particularly dry. Clean, agreeable, drinkable, all things a pils should be. 4.00 Mugs.


Gina: Brewed for its working-class citizen coal miners and steel workers, the original Dortmunder-style pilsner was made to be full-bodied and thirst-quenching. It needed to be hearty enough to satisfy the strongest of thirsts. The history of the style is quite fascinating if you’re into that sort of thing.

People’s gave a nod to this style with People's Pilsner. Their rendition takes advantage of the hard water in Lafayette. This, along with Caramalt and Santium hops, gives this beer a balance of sweet and bitter. This beer is full-bodied with a slightly dry finish and absolutely loaded with flavor for a 4.5% ABV beer. If I had not just come from dinner, this beer would have been perfect with just about everything at La Margarita. 3.60 Mugs.

Jim: This beer stood out to me because of its spicy finish. Indeed, the beer left my palate with a peppery note. I'm used to a bitter finish on pilsners, but the peppery bitterness in People's Pilsner was quite memorable. A great representation of the style and one that I'll now be seeking out more often. 4.00 Mugs.


After finishing our People's Pilsners, we headed over to End of the Line to have Flat12 Bierwerks' Walkabout Pale Ale. Flat12 just celebrated their one-year anniversary, where they featured some outstanding variations on some of the flagship beers they brew.

Gina: For last year’s ReplicAle, the Brewers of Indiana Guild chose a single hop pale ale. Each brewery chose their hop and brewed their beer based on a recipe created by brewmaster Liz Laughlin of Rock Bottom College Park. Flat12 chose Galaxy as their hop and brewed their beer. It was a smash hit at the festival, and they found themselves replacing their existing Puppet Show Pale Ale for this delightful new brew. It has a tropical fruity aroma that is so nice, it is almost relaxing. Malt shines through in this beer as well, making it a well-balanced brew. 4.00 Mugs.


Jim: I poured beer at the ReplicAle tent at last summer's Indiana Microbrewers Festival, and Gina is correct when she calls Flat12's Walkabout a "smash hit." Above all other ReplicAles, festival attendees were clamoring for this beer. The keg blew quickly, and for good reason. Not only is this beer fairly sessionable at 5.3% ABV, it's brimming with flavor with its mango, passion fruit, and grapefruit attributes. That being said, it doesn't overwhelm your palate, making it a good beer for multiple-pint sittings. I don't know that I'd put Walkabout in the quite the same class as Three Floyds Zombie Dust, but it's pretty close. 4.45 Mugs.


Mike: Grapefruity, biscuity, fuck who needs another goddamn pale ale review. This one is fucking good though. Chewy chewy chewy. I like a little more malt, but I can't fault the beer. 4.00 Mugs.

People's Pilsner
Mike: 4.00 Mugs | Gina: 3.60 Mugs | Jim: 4.00 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.87 Mugs

Flat12 Bierwerks Walkabout Pale Ale
Mike: 4.00 Mugs | Gina: 4.00 Mugs | Jim: 4.45 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.15 Mugs

Unsung Heroes of Indiana Craft Beer - Pale Ales & IPAs

On January 28, the Brewers of Indiana Guild will stage the fourth annual Winterfest, which will of course feature offerings from Indiana's craft breweries. In honor of Winterfest, we've decided to focus most of our posts this month on Indiana beers.

As part of this focus, we thought it would be a good idea to shine the spotlight on Indiana beers that are overlooked or underrated--the unsung heroes of Indiana craft beer, if you will.

Admittedly, our methods in picking these beers were not scientific. Indeed, some of the beers that we'll talk about have won awards, so calling these beers "unsung heroes" might be a bit of a stretch. Moreover, our list is going to focus on only one beer from each Indiana brewery we discuss, and we may have omitted breweries who brew beers worthy of unsung hero status. So leave us a comment noting any beer that you think should have been included in the list.

In our second installment of this series, we reveal our picks from Indiana's pale ales and IPAs.

Broad Ripple Brewpub Lawnmower Pale Ale. Some craft beer aficionados tend to overlook English-style beers because of their mellow flavor profile. But sometimes, an in-your-face hop bomb simply doesn't suit the occasion. Brewed by the granddaddy of Indiana craft breweries, Broad Ripple Brewpub's Lawnmower Pale Ale is an easy-drinking brew that is admittedly tailor-made for those new to drinking craft beer. But if you're looking something sessionable, flavorful, and subtly citrusy, you cannot go wrong with this beer. Perfect for the pub's patio in the July and August heat.

Flat12 Bierwerks Walkabout Pale Ale. This beer originated at the Indiana Microbrewers Festival last summer as part of the ReplicAle program. Under this program, all participating breweries brewed a single-hop pale ale according to the same recipe, but each brewery chose a different hop. For its ReplicAle, Flat12 chose Galaxy hops, a high-alpha hop from Australia--hence, the name "Walkabout." Walkabout was so well-liked that Flat12 decided to brew it again after Winterfest. You'll undoubtedly be seeing more of it around town. We'll have a more detailed write-up on Walkabout soon because we recently reviewed it at a roundtable. For now, know that the citrus and passion fruit notes of this sessionable beer will leave you craving more. We wouldn't be surprised if this beer becomes a local favorite.

Three Floyds Pride & Joy. You may be wondering why a Three Floyds beer is on a list of underrated beers. Doesn't the brewery get enough attention already? Mike recently enjoyed a Pride & Joy on draft at the Tomlinson Tap Room. He explains why we've included this beer as an unsung hero of Indiana craft beer--

While Three Floyds certainly needs no hype, Pride and Joy seems to be an often overlooked selection from their stellar lineup. It's probably no surprise that if you stick your nose in the general vicinity of the beer, a pungent hop aroma jumps out at you. Despite being a "mild ale", the beer has all the big and bold characteristics you'd expect from Three Floyds, but like Gumballhead or Zombie Dust, it rewards the drinking sip after sip, providing full flavor without ever overwhelming the palate.

Pride and Joy slots in between Alpha King and Gumballhead on the IBU scale, and if you're a fan of Floyds in general, the beer won't let you down. I've heard that the bottled version isn't as great - probably due to traffic/freshness if anything - but on tap it's a beer with very few competitors. If Pride and Joy were the only Floyds beer you knew, it would still be worthy of the throne. It's odd to think that the recipe may be 14 years old, and yet the beer is still unique and sort of aggressively yet agreeably great.

While it's hard to call any Floyds beer underrated, Pride and Joy is surely often-forgotten, despite the fact that it's as good or better than many other breweries' flagship beers.

Mad Anthony IPA. When you think of IPAs from Indiana, Mad Anthony is probably not the first beer that comes to mind. Yet we like this beer quite a bit. We tend to think of Mad Anthony IPA as a "workhorse" IPA--steady, dependable, never disappointing. Indeed, it's probably one of the most well-balanced IPAs produced in the state; it toes the line between malty sweetness and citrusy, bitter hoppiness quite nicely. Take it from us: you should not turn your nose up at this beer.

Oaken Barrel Superfly IPA. A 100+ IBU explosion of citrus and pine hop character supported by a toasty and sweet malt backing. What's not to like about this beer? Along with the brewery's Snake Pit Porter (which also could easily be classified as an unsung craft beer hero), Superfly is our go-to beer when we visit Oaken Barrel. If you dig this beer as much as we do, make sure you get a growler before you leave the pub. We've never reviewed Superfly, but that's going to have to change soon.

Rock Bottom College Park Simcoe IPA. Unfortunately, chain brewpubs sometimes get a bad rap. People automatically assume that if it's corporate, it's not worth having. Definitely not so with Rock Bottom. Among the other beers she brews, Rock Bottom College Park's brewmaster Liz Laughlin has a gem with her Simcoe IPA. Yes, we realize that Simcoe IPA is an award-winning beer, so maybe we're cheating by calling it an "unsung hero." And yes, we realize that the beer is a seasonal beer, so its availability is limited and you probably can't get it right now. But we wanted to emphasize that just because it's corporate doesn't necessarily mean that it's not worth having. In other words, you should order this beer when it's on.

Here's what we had to say when we reviewed Simcoe IPA back in 2010:

Mike: A sweet nose with just a hint of candy grapefruit elements gives way to a middle that's lightly woody, piney, and perfectly balanced. The beer finishes chewy and bitter, but with a subtleness that begs for repeated drinking.

Rod: The first thing that jumps out in this IPA, as with most IPAs, is the strong hop bitterness. Strong bitterness, yet moderate for the style. Caramel and sugary sweetness round off the edges of the hops and a soft carbonation level gives it a creamy mouthfeel. Grapefruit and lemon zest are the most prominent, and probably most expected bitter flavors in this beer. Pine and juniper hints give it a pleasantly spicy compliment.

Gina: One whiff of this IPA and I was in heaven. The super strong nose of pine and grapefruit gave way to a sweet, chewy mouthfeel reminiscent of a Double IPA. This beer was big but the flavors playfully remained balanced. There is a line at which hop flavor goes from complex and flavorful to harsh and bitter and this beer seems to walk right up to that line without crossing it. By the time I finished my sip, I was already looking forward to the next.

Previously: Unsung Heroes of Indiana Craft Beer - Lagers

Flat 12 Bierwerks

We have been very keen to let a place get up and running before rendering judgment about a new bar, brewery, or restaurant around town.  Flat 12 will be approaching its one year anniversary this month, and I think they have come into their own in that time frame. Flat 12 makes six house beers and what seems to be an unlimited amount of variations on those beers.  They also brew a huge handful of seasonal beers to go along with those house beers and house variations. Brewers Rob and Josh seem to be able to come up with something new and interesting for any occasion.  This was just showcased with their 12 Beers of Christmas, which showcased twelve different holiday-themed beers with holiday ingredients.  

Flat 12 up to this point has been on-premises sales only.  Their tap room is available for pints, growlers, and kegs.  They have their beer all over Indiana as well.  If you follow them on twitter (@flat12bierwerks), there has been some chatter about a bottling line coming in soon as well. 

What you need to know: 

Address: 414 N Dorman St Indianapolis, IN 46202 (click for map)

Hours:  
THURS 4 pm – 7 pm
FRI Noon – 8 pm
SAT Noon – 6 pm
SUN Noon – 4 pm

Money: Cash and debit card accepted 
Food: Bynres Grilled Pizza available outside in the beer garden
Web: www.flat12.me


Front Room Growler Fill and Pint Station

2nd larger growler/pint room

Beers for the Day


Cheers!
Matt

HBG5 featuring Flat12 Bierwerks

The lineup for our fifth anniversary is a closely guarded secret. Why? Because we're bad salespeople. NO! Because we like to build anticipation. It's fun watching people freak out. And we think we've got a freak-out worthy lineup coming together.

Next up:




Flat12 Bierwerks

Two. And they're hoppy.

12 Cycle IPA
This beer starts with Flat12's Half Cycle IPA, which weighs in at 104 IBUs.

The Half Cycle is so named due to its marriage of single and double IPA characteristics. In baseball parlance, a single and double is half of “the cycle”, and this IPA is a heavy hitter. It’s a single IPA, hopped like a double, with an over-the-top hop character that’s a bit spicy, citrusy, piney, you make the call. Light in color, but not on flavor, Half Cycle is dry hopped with a pound of high alpha American hops in every barrel.

Then they dry-hopped it using 12 different hops.

Nunmoere Black ABA (American Black Ale)
Here's a beer that's 6.0% ABV and 70 IBUs.

Don’t let the color deceive you, this beer is lighter than it looks and packs a big hop punch.

-Loaded with 5 different American hops, Nunmoere is a complex blend of roasted malts and fragrant hops.

So there's something a little hoppy for you, to go along with the Naughty Girl (Belgian IPA), Rad Red (Upland's hoppiest regular offering (apart from their DIPA)), and Osiris Pale Ale (an "assertively hopped west coast style pale ale").

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. Menu coming shortly. There will be vegetarian options.

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
Broad Ripple Brewpub
Brugge Brasserie - Superkitty Fantastico!
Cavalier Distributing
Crown Brewing Company
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

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 #131 | Flat12 Milk Stout at La Revolucion Café & Bar

Make of these reviews what you will. I suppose this is what happens when one watches too much soccer, reads too much Hemingway, sees too many Robert Rodriguez films, and watches the Planet of the Apes movies one too many times---

The waning sun warms me through the windows of the Fountain Square cantina on this summer evening. In this season, I should be content, maybe even happy. But darkness rules me because three days ago, I watched the men in green vanquish my men in white. El Tri is what the men in green are called. They come from the south. They are quick, skilled, and lethal. Though the men in white drew first and second blood, they could not defend themselves in the end. So when the contest was over, El Tri held the gold prize, while the men in white held only wounded pride.

According to a wise general, one should keep friends close and enemies closer. So I sit in the cantina, which is a place where my enemy might dwell. The place is called La Revolucion. Luchadores leer at me from the walls. Crucifixes stare me in the face. The Virgen de Guadalupe, who is everywhere, casts her sad eyes on me. Yet everyone I see here is a gringo like me. They are pale gringos, wearing trilbys and tattoos, red white and blue cans in hand, yellow corn tortillas filled with fragrant foodstuffs resting in baskets on the bar before them. And they are oblivious to the darkness, all of them joyfully devouring their food and drink.

The blond woman comes and asks me what I want. I gaze at the slate board on the wall and spy what I desire: a Milk Stout from Flat12 Bierwerks. I know it’s anomalous to drink such a beverage in the warm weather, but I do not care. Darkness requires a dark drink.

The blond woman soon returns with the beer. The evening sunlight shines on my glass, which sweats like Jonathan Bornstein chasing Giovanni dos Santos in vain. I raise the glass to my nose and inhale. Scents of powdered cocoa and brown sugar tug at me, pulling me down into the depths of the glass. Then, a midnight-colored wave washes across my tongue, bathing my mouth with cream and semi-sweet chocolate. Slowly, my spirits lift. The murky potable has begun to chase away the darkness. I think I’ll have another. 4.20 Mugs.

It's not that I hadn't seen a worm dried up on a summer sidewalk before - it's just that I wasn't used to waking up with one stuck to my face. I felt bruised. Not so much in a specific place; an all-over body bruise, a heavy weight draped from my shoulders to my knees. This was my first morning in Mexico.

I'd come to Nogales the afternoon before. While visiting my cousin - a US border patrol agent living in Sedona - I'd decided to add Mexico to the list of places I'd visited. Louisville, Kansas City, Iowa City, Memphis, Mexico.

"There's nothing to see," he said, "Just people trying to sell you junk." I decided to go anyway. I didn't own any Mexican junk.

The border is a weird place. Even the American side seems like Mexico. Duty-free shops dotted the border. Expensive big-name jewelry sold from behind barred windows. Buses taking Mexicans to shop at American Wal-Marts. It's the opposite of promise.

I walked through a fence, and my language didn't feel like it worked anymore. Out into the city streets and everyone's trying to sell you something. Drug stores. I was looking for soccer jerseys. And Mexican Coca-Cola. With real sugar.

Everyone wants you to visit their store. Every store seems like a trap. Are there laws here? Do the cops even understand English? Who do you call for help in Mexico? This place is a stereotype. But worse.

I can't cope. Maybe a drink will help. Is this bar safe? I can't be kidnapped here; certainly I would have heard about the Americans being kidnapped in Nogales.

Taps. I know these taps. Sun King. Gumballhead. Goose Island. Flat12. Where am I? This isn't the Mexico I thought I'd walked into. Flat12 Milk Stout? This doesn't make sense. Nothing makes sense. I'll have the milk stout.

Maybe this is Mexican coffee? Cocoa powder dominates. I've never had Mexican coffee. I like this, in any case. Coffee and cocoa powder. Thanks, I'll have another. I'm glad you speak English here. You seem like nice people. I'm tired. Tequila? Sure. I'll try that. You seem like nice people. More? I should go outside and see what's happening. I need to get back to my country. One more drink? Sure...

Where am I? Who are you? This seems like a good place to sleep...

3.85 Mugs.

Decomposing grass.

I hate that fucking smell.

It’s funny what goes through your head during times of trauma. I was lying on my back on a concrete floor in a room that very few knew about. Most people who learned of the secret room in the sheriff’s office would never have the chance to tell others.

I was determined to not become a statistic. But as the red-necked wallaby stood on my chest, wielding a truncheon in her hands while the joey in her pouch put on his brass knuckles, the only thing I could think is, Why can’t these fucking marsupials brush their teeth every once in a while?

Apparently, the state of macropod halitosis was the only clear thought I could come up with while I was having my ass handed to me by the tribe of wallabies that ruled this town. It was probably better than thinking about the excruciating pain I felt as the wallaby sheriff and her deputies tore through my soft, fragile skin.

My thoughts about bad breath quickly disappeared as they started another round of cracking my ribs with wrecking bars. Blood started spray out of my left side as they nicked an artery. As I blacked out and the blood that normally powered my brain started to spread across the floor, memories started to flash before me…

When I was a child, my family lived in the wooded hills about 40 miles south of Orlosburg. Many human families found safety in the trees and valleys and caves that were located all around. And since the trees prevented the sun from reaching the ground, the grasses that wallabies craved were hard to find. So wallabies didn’t last long down here.

At night, my father would tell me stories of his great grandfather who 63 years earlier identified the Great Wallaby Uprising in its infancy. Unfortunately, few took him seriously. “Oh that Jason, his drunken rants about wallabies are so funny!” they often replied.

But they went from finding it humorous to disturbing when Jason wrecked the grand opening of the “Animals of Australia” exhibit at the zoo. He slaughtered them all. They sent him to a mental hospital when they should have been exalting him.

Not long after, the uprising began. Orlo the Great, as the wallabies now call him, befriended Jason’s beer drinking associates. They were drinking at a Mexican cantina whose walls were adorned in symbols of Christ and Satan. Orlo was buying them heavenly tacos and devilish drinks, convincing them that the “lies” that Jason was spreading about wallabies weren’t true.

They didn’t want to believe the wallaby over their comrade, so they called Jason. They wanted to give him a chance to tell his story.

“We’re drinking with Orlo,” they said.

“Don’t do it, it’s a trap!” he yelled. “Out of curiousity, what drink did he buy you?”

“A Flat 12 Milk Stout.”

“What a jerk! Couldn’t he buy you a beer that didn’t taste like ash nor has a watery mouthfeel that leaves a soapy aftertaste?”

“You’re crazy Jason! This beer is great!” and they promptly hung up on him. They couldn't believe his assessment of the beer. Nor his anti-wallaby statements. They didn’t heed his warning. And moments later, Orlo murdered them. That is when the Great Wallaby Uprising began. The revolution started at Revolucion in the Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis. Two months later, Orlo and his friends took over Indianapolis, and renamed it Orlosburg. Ten years later, what was once the United States of America was overrun by wallabies. And no one did anything to stop it. Because Fox News was pumping wallaby propaganda; it was run by the oldest wallaby of all…Rupert Murdoch. And for some reason, most Americans believed everything that Fox News said.

If only my great great grandfather’s friends would have been better friends. Then maybe we wouldn’t be ruled by wallabies. And maybe I wouldn’t have felt the need to carry on my family’s legacy of standing up to marsupials. And maybe I wouldn’t have spray painted “The Hoosier Beer Gut Lives!” across the Orlosburg Courthouse. And maybe I wouldn’t be here lying on back in the Orlosburg Jail as my life leaks out of my body, across the concrete, and down the floor drain. 3.00 Mugs.

Flat12 Bierwerks Milk Stout
Jim: 4.20 Mugs | Mike: 3.85 Mugs | Jason: 3.00 Mugs | Gina: 3.10 Mugs | Rod: 2.90 Mugs | Jess: 3.80 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.48 Mugs.

KOTBR #129 - A Local Brew in a Kick Ass Neighborhood Bar

Hidden in the depths of Mass Ave (if you consider crossing the cultural trail as depths) lies a building that is currently unmarked. If you are brave enough to step through the door (it's really not that scary) you will be rewarded with a thoughtful list of small plates, entrees, and desserts. Not to mention a fantastic selection of wine and local craft beer. You can even sit at one of the fine communal tables and get to know your neighbor, which I recommend. If instead, you sit at the bar, you will see a unique lighting fixture above your head, a very cool, very rustic beam with the lights embedded in the thick wood. They really did a beautiful job with the space and I look forward to going as often as I can. Very cozy and sophisticated without being stuffy.

The food at Black Market is nothing short of spectacular. We tried each of the small plates and were enamored with them all. The selections are a perfect mix of fine dining and comfort food. They offer brunch on Sundays, and lunch and dinner service during the week (closed on Mondays).

We usually hold out on reviewing new breweries until they've had some time to find their footing. We figured it was time, so we chose Flat12's Pogue's Run Porter. A nice, roasty nose followed by a pleasantly sweet caramel flavor. This is the favorite of Rob, their brewer, and it shows. 3.2 Mugs

I'll let my colleagues discuss Black Market in more detail. I'll just say that if you're into the gastropub thing (and Black Market is a true gastropub), you should get to Black Market as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'm certain that you're going to be waiting awhile for a table when you finally visit, especially as word gets out about this welcome addition to Indianapolis's roster of independent restaurants.

So let's turn to Flat12 Bierwerks' Pogue's Run Porter. Every brewery in this city has its forte. To name a few, Sun King has Osiris Pale Ale, Brugge has Tripel de Ripple, Broad Ripple Brewpub has Monon Porter, Barley Island has Dirty Helen Brown Ale, and Thr3e Wise Men has Golden Zoe IPA. Pogue's Run Porter is Flat12's forte, and it's a beer that Flat12 brewers Rob and Josh do amazingly well. I had this beer for the first time in March at Flat12's tasting room (which you should visit soon if you haven't been to this rustically cool space) and was immediately impressed by the beer, so much so that I couldn't stop at just one pint. My experience with the beer when I had it on tap at Black Market was just as good. Pogue's Run Porter is dominated by cocoa and brown sugar notes, with hints of raisins and dates. It has a pleasing, medium mouthfeel, a subtle sweetness, and a faintly hoppy finish. In short, it stands up well to any good American porter (for example, Founders Porter). If I were to put together a stash of Indiana beers for my zombie apocalypse shelter, Pogue's Run Porter would be one of the beers that got top shelf status. Of course, I'd have to convince the brewery to put it in cans or bottles first. How about it, Flat12? 4.15 Mugs.


I must start by saying that I love the beer style known as porter. It is a very old style of beer originating in England in the early 1700s. Porter is a style that really helped turned my craft beer enthusiasm into a craft beer obsession. It was the first style that really made me seek out as many other historical and creative examples as I could. I've traded, traveled for, or bought just about every type of porter that I can can get my hands on. American, English, Irish, Russian, Finnish, Australian, and hopefully I will be able to continue seeing someones newest take on either the historical English version or what porter has morphed into in the US. I've gone out of my way to try historical reproductions, home brewing many Washington porters (the first porter in the US, by George Washington himself), and studying the porter style more than any other. Fun fact, did you know that Guinness was still called a porter until 1974 until the name stout was added to it? And that Guinness still retains the historical brewing technique by using young and old (sour) beer? That technically makes Guinness the most widely brewed and consumed sour beer in the world. Porters were truly one of the first styles of beer that gave a country a beer reputation, and to this day I think it is most heavily associated with Ireland, but still have a very large appeal in Britain after almost disappearing from the brewing culture. I don't often get to geek out on the porter style as my wife tells me to shut my mouth when I start rambling about it. I also don't like that the BJCP makes brewers put true historical examples with a "sour" twang or brettanomyces into the specialty category, but that is how they are separated. Porter is a style that I can drink at any time and in any situation. Onto the Flat 12's version of their American porter.


This was the very first beer that I had from Flat 12 right before they opened, and the beer that I've had the most from them. It is the only beer I've ever bought from a growler from them, and the beer that I order the most from them. I've had their other offerings on tap, but this beer is truly the finest beer that they make. I don't mean for that to sound like a slam against their other offerings, but for me this is their finest beer. I mean to buy another beer at the tap house, but I just never buy anything other than the porter in a growler. I think this beer is a great mashup of the American brown porter and robust porter. It has very good hints of chocolate and a sweet toffee-liked roasted grain flavor to it. What I like most about this beer is how refreshing and quaff-able this beer is drinking. The mouthfeel is smooth and medium bodied. It is a porter that is drinkable all year long. 4.0 Mugs

I also must say do yourself and favor and get down to The Black Market. Indiana is so chain resturant driven, and if you look at the stats, one of the lesser drinking craft beer states, but places like the Black Market are really helping to change that perception. They have a solid tap and bottle list, and we had all of the appetizer plates they offered. I would recommend the tongue and pork belly. I just love the space and feel in there. I will certainly be a repeat customer.


I've been reading Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard's Let My People Go Surfing lately. Patagonia's focus lies not in being the first to do something - Chouinard refers to borrowing or outright theft of ideas more than once in the book - but to doing those things better than anyone else and making them your own.

Black Market is not a unique idea - owner Ed Rudisell admitted that many of the ideas came from restaurants in other cities - but it is exactly the sort of restaurant Indianapolis needs more of; Confident in who we are as Hoosiers, from the updated Indiana classics on the menu, to the shared spaces that show faith in the idea of Hoosier hospitality and Indianapolis community, and a beer menu that places its focus on our breweries.

As we gathered as the Knights of the Beer Roundtable, we made our way through the appetizers: house pickles (including pickled egg), welsh rarebit on bread made from Broad Ripple Brewpub's spent grain, locally sourced duck buns, and a pork belly dish that turns the idea of pork and beans on its head. All left us happy. Happy enough - in the case of Gina and I - that we returned the next evening to take on a few entrees. The pork schnitzel and duck dumplings did not disappoint.


To call Flat12 Beirwerks a unique idea would also be false - they were the first of many to come who look to follow in Sun King's business model, building a production-only brewery and an audience from the inside out. As a result they're often compared to their near-eastside neighbors, a rivalry unfair to both. The doors Sun King opened were always doors - it's to their credit that they may have opened them wide enough for others to walk through.

Although the Indianapolis market has gotten more competitive as of late, craft still only makes up 2-some percent of the Indianapolis market (as of last I've heard), lagging far behind the 4.9% national average. As breweries begin to dot the Indiana landscape - I heard another one just the other day, a special new brewery (on the northwest side, in case you're wondering) - awareness goes up, and hopefully market share follows. It doesn't matter who was there first - only whose beer you loved first, and how it opened the door for you.

Flat12 Porter (or Pogue's Run Porter) is a beer that stands on its own and can open doors. A deep brown body, cocoa powder nose - this porter is definitely on the sweeter end of the scale, balancing fruity elements with a hint of cocoa on the back end. Further in and warmer, more of that cocoa powder comes out, but the sweetness never goes away. It's a highly drinkable porter that can be equally appreciated by old drinkers as well as new ones. 3.4 Mugs


Flat 12's Pogue's Run Porter is my favorite beer in the Flat 12 lineup, so it's probably good that we reviewed this one first! Up front, this porter greets you with the subtle scent of roasted grains, french roast coffee, cocoa and a touch of sweetness. The kind of understated nose that a porter should have. The mouthfeel isn't too heavy but carries and interesting creamy character. Flavors of cocoa and roasted barley are the stars of the show, but a bit of sugar and charred bread can be found in the background. Overall this is a very solid, roasty porter that flirts with the idea of a sweet stout. A nice porter, any time of the year. 3.4 mugs


Oh and the Black Market? Holy crap does this place have character. Between the communal tables, mixed materials and great lighting, there isn't much I could say negative about this place. Every small plate we tried was excellent and I would order them all again. A lot of thought obviously went in to each dish and it shows. I'm crossing my fingers that the 2-way liquor license keeps the crowds down, but a bar with an atmosphere this polished is going to be packed in no time. I highly encourage you to check it out now before you have to fight to get in. Tip of the hat to Ed and company, you've raised the bar significantly with this one.


Flat12 Pogue's Run Porter
Mike: 3.4 Mugs | Gina: 3.2 Mugs | Jim: 4 Mugs | Jason: 4 Mugs | Rodney: 3.4 Mugs | Matt: 4 Mugs | Jess: 3.4 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.62 Mugs