World Beer Cup - Indiana Winners

Congratulations to the Indiana breweries taking home WBC awards yesterday.

Category 41: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock, 44 Entries - Bronze: Dominator Dopplebock, Sun King Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN

Category 61: Belgian-Style Dubbel, 39 Entries - Silver: Belgian Dubbel, Bier Brewery, Indianapolis, IN

Category 64: Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale, 41 Entries - Gold: Batch 333: The Velvet Fog, Sun King Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN

Category 71: Scottish-Style Ale, 26 Entries - Bronze: Beltaine Scottish Ale, Shoreline Brewery, Michigan City, IN

Category 72: English-Style Mild Ale, 27 Entries - Gold: Crown Brown, Crown Brewing, Crown Point, IN

Category 77: Oatmeal Stout, 49 Entries - Gold: Naked Oat Stout, Rock Bottom College Park, Indianapolis, IN

Category 83: Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout, 30 Entries - Silver: Ring of Dingle, Sun King Brewing Co., Indianapolis, IN

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

GABF Day 3 - Saturday sessions and awards

Saturday is the busiest day at the Great American Beer Festival.  Two full sessions are packed in to a single day, leaving the festival organizers and volunteers little time to recover.  Matt and I entered the festival a bit late.  We arrived at the convention center right as the festival doors were being opened and found ourselves on a 15 minute trek 3/4 way around the convention center to the back of the line.  Observing a rather impressive and efficient entry process at the other sessions, I pulled out my phone and started the stop watch.  Roughly 20 minutes later I had a glass in my hand and was off to sample more beer and await the judging results.  Moving a line that stretches across multiple city blocks in that short of a time is an amazing feat and the festival organizers should be commended.

The third day is notorious for being my day where I am approaching beer exhaustion.  Luckily, the award announcements help break up the day and allow me to ease myself back in to beer consumption.  We skipped around a bit and tried some highlights such as Odell's Woodcut No. 5, Maui's Imperial Coconut Porter and a few sours from Russian River.  We moved our way over to the awards to see what Indiana and our other favorite breweries would take home.

Indiana managed an impressive haul this year.  19% of the Indiana beers entered for judging received a medal.  That percentage is completely unheard of.  If the country wasn't already paying attention to Indiana as a great beer state, they are now.  Sun King pulled down the most medals of all the Indiana breweries with a whopping 8 medals - the most of any single brewery in the festival. 

Category 8: Coffee Beer
Gold: Sun King - Java Mac

Category 19: American-style Brett Ale
Bronze: Brugge Brasserie - Grimalkin / Super Kitty Fantastico

Category 20: Wood and Barrel-aged Beer
Silver: Sun King - Wee Pogue

Category 21: Wood and Barrel-aged Strong Beer
Silver: Sun King - BBJ (Bourbon Barrel Johan)

Category 27: American-style or International-style Pilsener
Silver: Sun King - Popcorn Pilsner

Category 35: German-style Marzen
Silver: Three Floyds - Munsterfest

Category 56: Scottish-style Ale
Silver: Rock Bottom College Park - Naughty Scot

Category 72: Belgian-style Strong Specialty Ale
Gold: Sun King - Buffalo Slumber

Category 75: Classic Irish-style Dry Stout
Gold: Sun King - Ring of Dingle

Category 81: Scotch Ale
Gold: Sun King - Wee Muckle

Category 83: Barley Wine-style Ale
Bronze: Sun King - Johan the Barleywine

Now if you're like us, at this point you're wondering why Sun King didn't also take home Small Brewery of the year since they had the most medals of any single brewery.  Once we found the Sun King guys and congratulated them on their success, Clay offered us an explanation of how the Small Brewery of the year judging works.  Each brewery gets to choose 8 of their beers to be considered for the Small Brewery of the year award and the winner is chosen based on the scores of those beers.  Unfortunately, the guys at Sun King picked the wrong beers, and their overall score wasn't enough to beat out Chuckanut.  However, Chuckanut is brewing some amazing authentic German-style beers, so they are definitely deserving of the award as well.

After the judging, Matt and I made a final pass of the floor before discussing our evening plans.  With the evening session following the afternoon session so quickly, we decided that we'd come back for the first hour of the evening session and perform our victory lap.  Between these two sessions some of our standout beers and breweries were:

• Rocky Mountain and their fruit flavored dessert beers
• Lost Abbey's Framboise de Amorosa
• Crabtree and pretty much everything we tried from them
• Kern River's Just Oustanding IPA (that's really the name)
• Ballast Point's Victory at Sea
• Grand Teton's Imperial Coffee Porter
• Firestone Walker's Fourteen
• Dogfish Head's Urkontinent
• Deschutes' The Abyss

We then headed over to the Yardhouse so that we could watch some football over dinner and I finished off this year's GABF trip with an Odell Myrcenary.  Well.... until I stopped in the Boulder Tap Room at the Denver Airport on my way out and had a wet-hopped Singletrack (entitled Freshtrack).

GABF is an incredible festival and there really isn't anything else like it.  I would certainly recommend a trip out to Denver for the festival if you've never been.  Just remember to buy your tickets early because they sold out in a week this year.  You'll also want to get in on hotels way in advance and make sure you're in line about an hour before the session starts.  Alternatively, you might consider just hitting the Saturday Afternoon and Thursday sessions and using the rest of your time to visit Falling Rock or any of the Denver area breweries.  No matter how you budget your time, you're sure to enjoy yourself.

Metromix 2010 Local Brewing Guide: Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery - College Park

Hoosier Beer Geek worked with Metromix to create their 2010 Local Brewing Guide. It was published in the November 18th issue and we are republishing the interviews we conducted. Enjoy!

Rock Bottom Brewery - College Park, est. 2005
2801 Lake Circle Drive, Indianapolis
Website: www.rockbottom.com/indianapolis-college-park
Ph: 317-471-8840

"Dedication, persistence, and a little bit of good luck" is how Liz Laughlin describes making the jump from hobbyist to professional brewer. Liz moved from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Eugene, Oregon, to pursue a degree in Environmental Studies. While attending school and living with her brother, she found his brewing equipment and a worn copy of Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing while digging around in his garage.

"I read that whole book and literally went to the homebrew store the next day and I'm like, sign me up." After brewing a couple batches, curiosity led her to an assistant position at Steelhead Brewing Company in Eugene for two years and then on to an assistant position at Rock Bottom in Portland, Oregon.

As an artist and builder with an obsession for cleaning, she realized that a position in the brewing industry was a perfect fit. After training, she achieved her goal of becoming a head brewer before the age of 30 when she came to Rock Bottom’s College Park location almost four years ago.

Liz typically brews the types of beers she likes to drink - clean, consistent, and sessionable. She also brews “to style”, meaning that she aims to brew so that the specifics of the brew (alcohol by volume (ABV), International Bitterness Units (IBU), gravity, etc.) fall within the ranges set by the Brewers Association.

Many competitions are judged based on these guidelines, including the Great American Beer Festival held in Denver every September. Liz took home a silver medal from this competition this year for her Naked Oatmeal Stout (one of only four medals won by Indiana brewers).

Regular Beers (styles in parenthesis): Circle City Light (Kölsch), Seasonal Wheat, Double Barrel Pale Ale, Heartland Red, Brickway Brown, Hoosier Ma Stout

Seasonals: Usually two or three additional beers on draft, and one on cask

Events: Monthly tapping events (next one on 11/17), seasonal beer dinners, "Yappy Hours"

HGB4 featuring... Rock Bottom College Park

The lineup of beers at Hoosier Beer Geek's Fourth Anniversary Party continues. The next brewery we are announcing at HBG4 is...


Rock Bottom College Park
Indianapolis, Indiana

Happy Pils
If we're celebrating beer in Indiana, then we definitely need something produced by the Indiana Brewer's Cup Best of Show winning brewer. Luckily, Liz Laughlin of Rock Bottom College Park has provided us with her Happy Pils.

Tickets aren't sold out yet - but a limited number are now on sale at Sun King Brewery. Here's that beer list again.

Draft:
Sun King Wee Mac Scottish Ale
Sun King Bitter Druid ESB
Sun King Osiris Pale Ale
Sun King Sunlight Creme Ale
Upland Wheat
Ram Big Horn Oktoberfest
Rock Bottom Downtown The Hammer Baltic Porter
Brugge Pooka
Brugge Spider
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale
Rock Bottom Happy Pils

Bottles:
Lafayette Brewing Co. Tippecanoe Common Ale
Great Divide Double Wit
Stone Brewdog Bashah
Heavy Seas Smoke on the Water
Tyranena La Femme Amere
Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Ale
Schlafly Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout

Firkin:
Upland Dragonfly (Dry Hopped)

Tamales:
-beef in red sauce tamales (mild)
-chicken in green sauce tamales (mild)
-black beans & cheese in green sauce tamales (vegetarian)
-veggie tamales (potatoes,
zucchini, mushrooms, corn, peas,
onion, tomato, garlic, light jalapenos)
-spicy chipotle beef tamales (hot)
-spicy chicken in green sauce tamales (hot)
-poblano chili and cheese tamales (vegetarian, sometimes hot)
-hot & spicy pork tamales (hot)

Homemade chips, salsa, and guacamole

About HBG4:
It will be held Saturday, August 28th, 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 $20 (plus $1.99 for online fees) for designated drivers. Tickets are available online and at Sun King Brewery and are in limited supply. 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. 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 The Tamale Place. Those of you who have been know how good their food is. And those of you who have not been are in for a treat. There will be a variety of tamale flavors to sample, including vegetarian friendly options.

There will also be chips and salsa and such for your enjoyment all night as well.

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.

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 fourth year of tomfoolery.

KOTBR #107 - Re-dedication at Rock Bottom College Park

If you've been following Hoosier Beer Geek for a while, you may have noticed that lately we've been a little slower on the content. The efforts we've undertaken as festival organizers have certainly taken their toll on our blogging output.

We're hoping to rededicate ourselves over the coming months, with reviews from new or never before covered locations, drinking new or newer beers, perhaps with even a new voice behind it all (we've cast a unanimous secret vote to replace Jason with a human-sized talking wallaby named New Zealand Orlo).

Despite our almost four years of covering beer, we've yet to set our focus on the output of 2010 Indiana Brewer's Cup Best of Show winner Liz Laughlin, brewer at Rock Bottom College Park. That was obviously a mistake.

Liz's prizewinning Simcoe IPA is a cloudy copper colored beer, with a creamy head and lacing that seem to say "have more". 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. 3.75 Mugs.


Simcoe hops are very popular with the Rock Bottom chain, especially in Indiana. I don't know if they have a great contract on them, but one thing is for sure; Simcoes make a damn good IPA. Liz' 2010 Brewer's Cup Best of Show award winning Simcoe IPA starts begins with the aroma of grapefruit and pine and a hefty dose of sweet caramel which lets you know that this IPA is going to be well balanced. Although we've repeatedly ruined our palates with DIPAs (see: TFN2), hop bombs are not what I typically expect when I see the label "IPA." I personally prefer a more balanced IPA, and the Simcoe IPA delivers. 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. I can't speak for the rest of the beers in this year's Brewer's Cup, but this one is certainly worthy of a title like Best of Show. 4.00 Mugs.


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. This beer is enjoyable and delicious, absolutely deserving of its awards. Fantastic work by Liz! 4.5 Mugs

Rock Bottom College Park Simcoe IPA
Mike: 3.75 Mugs | Rodney: 4.00 Mugs | Jess: 3.70 Mugs | Gina: 4.5 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.98 Mugs