KOTBR #142: Two at La Margarita Fountain Square

Does this sound familiar: Mike, Gina, Jim, and I... Sitting at a bar in Fountain Square... Being (playfully) harassed by the bartender... Poring over a beer menu, trying to figure out what to review. If we were five years younger, 500 feet south, and there was a chihuahua humping the taps tower, it would be like the old days at Deano's Vino. Except Mexican. So La Margarita de Deaño?

We selected two draft beers that I had not had before. Victory Headwaters Pale has a nice collection of hops, is very clean and crisp with a thin mouthfeel and no lingering flavors or feel. I would order this again, especially when it is the beer special of the day. 3.75 Mugs.

Brooklyn Gold Standard Export is effervescent and light yellow with a sweet nose from the malts, a light mouthfeel and subtle flavors. It is fine but not anything I would search out. 2.71 Mugs.


At the risk of sounding like your grandpa, I'd like to bring up that there was a time before you could get good beer everywhere in Indianapolis. We started this site with the quest to find great beer among our goals, and back then we'd be happy to find a tap or two to work with.

Now better beer is everywhere. If you're eating at an Indianapolis restaurant that doesn't have a beer that makes you happy, leave, and never come back. A restaurant without any decent beer choices is willfully ignorant, and doesn't deserve your money.

Yet with the proliferation of better beer comes stagnation - you can count on the same 3 styles (cream ale/lighter beer, pale ale, something darker) pretty much everywhere. Don't get me wrong - I love our locals. I love pale ale. But variety is why we started drinking craft beer.

Give us variety!

Variety isn't easy. Variety takes knowledge. If you're already selling all the Sun King or Flat12 you can buy, why buy anything else?

Luckily there are folks that just love beer. Jon Carlos Rangel at La Margarita is one such individual. Despite being a fan of Mexican football, Rangel knows his stuff, and keeps a steady but varying supply of styles and breweries flowing through La Margarita's taps.

After my minor tirade, you might be surprised to learn that you're about to read a review of a pale ale. But it's not one you'll stumble across everywhere. Victory Headwaters Pale is a summer-weight, easy drinking pale that you could pound if you wanted to. I'm not advising pounding beer, but it's nice to have the option. It's a pale ale that has everything you're looking for, with a bitterness that bites the middle of the tongue and doesn't let go. The flavor lingers with a spicy sort of kick.

It's not the most balanced pale ale, but the bitterness isn't overwhelming. While hops can amplify spicy dishes, in this case these meld nicely with La Margarita's complimentary salsas. 3.75 mugs.

As proof of La Margarita's dedication to beer, our second selection was a bit more rare. Brooklyn's Gold Standard is from the New York brewery's Brewmaster's Reserve Series - a lager in the German Kellerbier style.

Beers in the Kellerbier style are generally not filtered, allowing the yeast to remain suspended in the beer. Gold Standard has a light front, bitter middle, lingering but light bitterness, and a finish on the dry side. To be honest, there's not a lot going on there.

But it was different. 2.79 mugs.

And now, a message from our sponsors...

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So let me tell you about this little watering hole in Fountain Square called La Margarita. The name of the joint made it rather obvious to me that I needed to stop there during my last tour date in Indy. Not only did I find my lost shaker of salt at La Margarita, I found some great suds there as well. They have this tasty pale ale called Victory Headwaters. You know I'm a citrus expert because of my copious consumption of limes. Well, Victory Headwaters is loaded with citrus flavors, I think due to the hops, rounded out by a nice malty sweetness. I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but I urge you to chuck that Landshark Lager and take one of these puppies to the beach with you!

Now I ain't no Kraut, but I do enjoy a good German style beer from time-to-time. So that's where Brooklyn's Golden Standard Export Kellerbier comes in, which is also on tap at La Margarita. This baby is smooooooth, let me tell you. It's nice, light, and a little sweet, kind of like the royalty checks that still roll in every month from the sales of my book Tales from Margaritaville. So the next time you're relivin' the 'late 70s and early '80s on your catamaran in the Gulf of Mexico, you won't go wrong with a Brooklyn Golden Standard Export.

Folks, the next time you're in Indy, get on down to La Margarita. And don't forget to pick up a brand new copy of my second autobiography, A Pirate Looks at Fifty Shades of Grey.

Victory Headwaters Pale: 4.25 mugs.
Brooklyn Gold Standard Export Kellerbier: 3.60 mugs.

Beers are always better when shared with friends. Even more when soccer is on TV. Exponentially so when chips and salsa are involved. So, thanks to Euro 2012, Mike and I have been at La Margarita three times in the past week. The food is great, the tequila selection is amazing, and Jon always keeps a stellar craft beer list.

Let me talk about those chips and salsa for a minute. There is something about tortilla chips at a restaurant. Something about these warm and crispy chips can not be replicated at home. Maybe it shouldn't be. It seems like the whole basket is gone before we know it, which is easy to do with the THREE salsas provided. Because I am a huge wuss when it comes to spicy heat, I usually hoard the avocado loaded pico de gallo. Not to say the other two aren't good, but I can't say no to avocado.

Now, the beers.

Sometimes it is hard to give words to beers. Sometimes you are just sitting there, drinking and chatting and the next thing you know is that the beer is three quarters gone. You drank it without thinking about it, without processing what you tasted. I kind of love when that happens even though it makes it difficult to write about. Every beer doesn't have to be earth shattering. Victory Headwaters Pale was good, balanced, and obviously had a pleasant flavor. I'm more than OK with that. 4.3 Mugs.

Now, juxtapose that with the next beer, Brooklyn Gold Standard Export Kellerbier. I felt that I had to work for this one, dissect it, break it down by its components to figure out how the different flavors and textures mingle together. In the end, I liked it. There was a sweetness sandwiched between a herbal bitterness. Maybe I should have had the beers in reverse. 3.0 Mugs.

Final KOTBR Scores
Victory Headwaters Pale
Jason: 3.75 Mugs | Mike: 3.75 Mugs | Jim: 4.25 Mugs | Gina: 4.3 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.01 Mugs

Brooklyn Gold Standard Export Kellerbier
Jason: 2.71 Mugs | Mike: 2.79 Mugs | Jim: 3.6 Mugs | Gina: 3.0 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.02 Mugs

KOTBR #127 - Three Floyds' Barrel Aged Topless Smoke Pizza

Three Floyds Brewpub is a place that I wish was closer, but am also relieved that it's not. In the short time we were there, they changed 3 taps out for really awesome and interesting beers. Even with an incredible guest lineup, it's difficult to order something other than a Floyds beer.

But we ended up doing just that, but not before a glass of Topless Wytch, a Baltic Porter weighing in at a hefty 9%. For me, the beer was velvety smooth and went down very fast. I got a lot of chocolate notes and a little coffee and absolutely no bitterness. Quite spectacular, in my opinion. 3.5 Mugs

We were getting ready to head to the Illiana Mayfest for the afternoon, but we couldn't pass up an opportunity to share some of the great guest taps from Pizza Port and Victory. The three of us shared small pours of the three beers and quickly discovered that we were going to have to force ourselves to head out or we could easily get sucked into the atmosphere for the rest of the afternoon.

The first sample I tried was the Oat Smoke from Victory. I passed on trying this at Dark Lord Day and I probably shouldn't have. I'm not the hugest smoke beer fan, but I am not giving up on the style. I enjoy trying all of them and I get excited when I find one with elements that I like. Oat Smoke definitely had some of those qualities. This beer was certainly smoky, but it didn't contain the medicinal or band aid characters that my palate usually finds with this type of beer. 3 Mugs.

Our next sample was Pizza Port Night Rider Imperial Stout. If I didn't know this was an Imperial Stout, I never would have guessed it this was 10.5%. It drank like chocolate milk, both in flavor and body. 4.25 Mugs.

As we consumed and talked about the sample, the keg blew. We were really glad that we ordered it. But the remarkable thing about the Brew Pub is that just a few moments later, Dan, the Pub Manager wheeled in another barrel to replace the blown kegs immediately. I don't know if it is like that all of the time, but it is really awesome to not see a cup covering a tap handle and too see that they were replacing an awesome beer with another awesome beer. Kudos to them for that.

What they ended up replacing the Imperial Stout with was another Pizza Port selection. This time it was their Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine. This too was really, really nice. The sweetness from the Bourbon really made this beer shine. I don't know the abv on this one, and I assume it was pretty high. But I didn't get the stinging booziness that is generally associated with a bourbon barrel aged beer, or even a barleywine for that matter, and that was very interesting. Excellent beer. 4.45 Mugs.


Three Floyds Topless Wytch

THREE FLOYDS BREWPUB IS TRYING TO KILL ME!!!

Seriously, I went in before the Illiana Mayfest to have lunch before doing a lot of drinking.

And a warm up beer or two.

But I was thinking maybe Gumballhead or Pride and Joy.

But NOOOOOOOOOOO. Not only did they have their wonderful beers, but a kickass guest tap lineup. Seriously, big mistake going in here before a beer festival. Huge mistake.

Started with a Topless Wytch. This is Baltic porter is a dangerous, easy drinking beer. Nice percent alcohol by volume. I’m guessing a witch takes a drink of this and BOOM her top flies off. It has a lot of coffee notes. Chocolate appears as it warmed up. Served in a tulip glass. $5. 3.85 mugs.

We then left the sacred hunting grounds of the Three Floyds tap list to the guest list. Some of the guest beers were obviously left over from Dark Lord Day. Big win for us!

I’ve never been to southern California. And I’ve never had beers from Pizza Port Carlsbad. So I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try their Night Rider. This Imperial Stout is dangerously smooooooooooooooooth. Like Keith Stone. The bourbon characteristics from aging were light. It was big on chocolate. It was creamy. It was sweet. I think I should visit SoCal soon. 4.45 mugs.

I then moved to Victory Oak Smoke. I am always reluctant when I order a beer with “smoke” in its name. I’m not like the rest of the smoked beer riff-raff at HBG; I don’t care for smoked beers. So imagine my surprise when I found myself disappointed not by the amount of smoke, but the lack thereof. Light smoke, light oak, light mouthfeel. For a 7.5% beer, I was left underwehelmed. 2.75 mugs.

Just when I thought I was done… they put a Pizza Port Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine on tap. Fuck. Sure, I’ll drink another beer. Beautifully sweet with caramel notes. A lot of aromas. The barleywine is battling with the bourbon barrel for supremacy, all “Macho Man” Randy Savage-style (RIP brother). It is booooooooooozy. I’m lovin’ it. 4.75 mugs.


Pizza Port Night Rider Imperial Stout

We arrived at Three Floyds at 11AM on a Saturday. That's a problem; they don't open until noon. So we sat in the car in the parking lot, looking around, watching the brew pub staff hang around waiting for their day to start (smoking, sulking, looking intimidating, kicking rocks at my Miata and calling me "preppy", saying "dude" and "fuck" ("Fuck, dude!" "Dude.. fuck!") a lot), and noticing how small the parking lot looks when it's not filled with 6,000 people. Eventually we got scared and went and filled the car with gas.

I'm teasing.

When we came back, more customers soon joined us in the lot, and when a bus filled with guys holding PBR cans showed up and wandered around, we lined up at the door while the staff told them that they weren't allowed to do that.

People sort of geek out at Floyds, wandering all over the bar, just sort of freaking out about the place, I guess - and that probably makes sense. The space is filled with great things to look at, and you are at The World's Great Brewery, after all. That same staff takes it all in stride, encouraging folks to have a seat so they can make sure everyone is taken care of. They don't fuck around here - with the beer, food or service, but it's a welcoming place and one I'd love to have closer to home.

I can't be sure what the regular playlist is at Floyds, but on our visit it was the same sort of metal you'd hear at Dark Lord Day. Something about the music promotes drinking, and as a result (and thanks to the awesome lineup) we made our way through quite a few (shared) selections.

Topless Wytch - First off, the wytch on that tap handle clearly is wearing a top. And she had a head. So unless she's been cut in half (and maybe she has), the beer name is.. inaccurate.

The beer is Guinness black, with heavy lacing from a creamy head. Nose is light cocoa powder. It's a meaty sort of beer, not in flavor so much as in heft. Not a whole lot going on (maybe a lager yeast vs ale yeast thing) but it's a solid and satisfying beer. Doesn't go any strong direction. Nevertheless, tasty. 3.75 Mugs.

Pizza Port Carlsbad Night Rider Barrel Aged Imperial Stout - A black/creamy beast, with a big bourbon nose. The front is light on the tongue, leading to big but smooth vanilla flavors. 10.5% ABV, but it drinks like 6%. Reminds me of the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout ice cream I made. 4.8 Mugs.


Victory Oat Smoke
Victory Oat Smoke - Deep ruby red. Smoked malt nose, but a hint of sweetness also lies there. Watery. Maybe it's the prior beers but this one doesn't get anywhere with me. Finishes with a smoked malt flouish. Inoffensive. Would drink again, perhaps context is an issue. 3.0 Mugs.

Pizza Port Carlsbad Barrel Aged Barleywine - Hot beer. Bigger bourbon nose than our other Pizza Port offering, hot on the lips, chocolatey bourbon syrup, with a very strong chocolate covered cherries thing going there. Syrupy. Dangerous. Hot/spicy, but not boozy.

Blind, I'd never guess this beer was a barleywine. None of the hoppiness you might expect. 4.78 Mugs.


Pizza Port Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine

Three Floyds Topless Wytch
Gina: 3.5 Mugs | Jason: 3.85 Mugs | Mike: 3.75 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.7 Mugs

Pizza Port Carlsbad Barrel Aged Night Rider Imperial Stout
Gina: 4.25 Mugs | Jason: 4.45 Mugs | Mike: 4.8 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.5 Mugs

Victory Oat Smoke
Gina: 3.0 Mugs | Jason: 2.75 Mugs | Mike: 3.0 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.91 Mugs

Pizza Port Carlsbad Barrel Aged Barleywine
Gina: 4.45 Mugs | Jason: 4.75 Mugs | Mike: 4.78 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.66 Mugs
NEW ENTRY IN KOTBR TOP TEN (tie, 7th)

New Beer Sunday

I am going to be starting a new, and hopefully weekly, column here at Hoosier Beer Geek called: New Beer Sunday. I like tasting new beers and judging them in a style very close to BJCP guidelines. I am not BJCP certified though for the record. It personally helps me pick out the flavors, colors, mouthfeel, and an overall impression about the beer instead of just tasting a beer and saying "wow, this is good." (There is nothing wrong with that, that is how I got my start in the craft beer world). Hopefully people will get something out of the style notes as well as the commentary on other beers to try in that style and from other brewers. The first beer in the series will be Victory's V-12.

Indiana has started to get Victory within the last year, and judging by all of the new beers I keep seeing from them I hope they are here to stay, but as far as I know I haven't seen any of this offering in Indiana. I picked up this beer last time I was in Cincinnati at Jungle Jim's. I went through a Belgian style beer kick recently and this is from that kick. I would assume we are going to get this beer in Indiana at some point, but I am not sure if we actually will though.

The Belgian Quad style according to the BJCP is: "A dark, very rich, complex, very strong Belgian ale. Complex, rich, smooth and dangerous." I will also say that the BJCP classifies a Quad as Belgian Strong Dark Ale.


Appearance: This beer pours an almost hazy rustic orange color with a very thin head on it, and it left almost no lacing to speak of for the entire beer.
Smell: I first get an almost sweet floral scent coming in as I pour with strong bubble gum notes to it as well. As I get my nose into this beer the hot alcohol become very strong as well. As I let the beer warm it really came into its own with vibrant scents of pears, prunes, passion fruit, and a Belgian yeast strain that is typical of good Quads.
Taste: The first sip of this beer is almost over top in sweetness that tasted like concentrated apple juice. I really let the beer warm up and the flavors of the orchard fruit really came to life including apple, oranges, and peaches. The complex malt also brings on life of raisins, plums, cloves, nutmeg, and even cotton candy. The hot alcohol though is very apparent in the flavor profile and sometimes comes across as boozy.
Mouthfeel: More than moderate carbonation brings the flavors to life, so that is welcomed, but the alcohol is very hot on the mouthfeel.
Drinkability: A whole bomber of this beer is a tough task for just one person, and the alcohol overtook some of the great qualities this beer had.

Overall: I lean more towards balance in my beers, and the hot alcohol on almost every aspect was a big strike for me against this beer. I could smell and taste it before, during, and after ever sip of this beer. This beer can be aged, and I really think my sample was just too hot out of the bottle and could have used some age on it.

Belgian Quads that can be found in Indiana: Rochefort 10 from Brasserie de Rochefort, St. Bernardus Abt 12 from Brouwerij St. Bernardus, Three Philosophers from Ommegang, Allagash Four from Allagash, and The Reverend from Avery Brewing.

Is anyone in Indiana making a Quad? What are some of your favorite Quads?

Cheers!
Matt