Five Great Hoosier Gateway Beers | The Hoosier Beer Geek Alternative

For someone new to craft beer, advanced topics like styles and ingredients can be a little overwhelming. Even a trip to your local craft beer seller can seem like a test. What's with all the weird beer names? What's the difference between ale and what I normally drink? And how in the hell can I keep straight all the different craft brewers out there?

We're certainly not here to make fun of what you drink. That's because we all started where you are right now. But if you're looking for a way in, your best bet is to start by just drinking better beer.

We like to help where we can. Therefore, here's our list of Indiana-brewed "gateway" craft beers that are good alternatives to the mass-market macrobrews that you see overloading the shelves of some liquor stores and hogging the tap lines at some watering holes:

A Hoosier Beer Geek alternative to Budweiser, Miller, or Coors:

Sun King Brewing Company's Sunlight Cream Ale. Let's say that you've been drinking Bud, Miller, or Coors since you were legally old enough to drink beer (or maybe before you were legally old enough to drink beer) and are looking to dip your toe into the craft beer pool. Chances are that you're not looking for a huge change from those beers, but you want to try something that you'd be proud to drink because it's locally brewed. Indy's craft beer giant Sun King has just such a gateway beer in Sunlight Cream Ale. Cream ales are very similar to the style in which Bud, Miller, and Coors are brewed; they usually have a moderate bitterness and a nice bready malt flavor. Sunlight Cream Ale adheres to this flavor profile but carries a bit more sweetness in the malt. Blonde ales also fit this flavor profile, so we've listed a few of those below as well.

See also: Fountain Square Brewery's Tractor Head Blonde Ale, Ram Restaurant & Brewery's Big Horn Blonde Ale.

A Hoosier Beer Geek alternative to Guinness:


Broad Ripple Brewpub's Monon Porter. If you like Guinness Stout, you undoubtedly enjoy the roasty flavors that are present in that beer. But craft-brewed stouts tend to be a bit much for some craft beer beginners because the chocolate and coffee notes are magnified, so much so that some of these beers drink almost like an alcohol-infused double chocolate milkshake. But if you want something that's not a radical departure from Guinness, we recommend Broad Ripple Brewpub's Monon Porter. You may be wondering, "Isn't a Porter different from a Stout?" The answer to that question is, "No, not really" (though in the interest of disclosure, some beer geeks would disagree). In fact, Monon Porter will provide you with a creamy consistency that's somewhat similar to what you'd get in a Guinness, especially if it's on the hand-pull at the pub. Plus, you'll get a little extra sweetness to back up the roasty flavors of the beer. Monon Porter is one of our top five beers under our arbitrary mug rating system.

See also: Fountain Square Brewery's Backyard Porter, Flat12 Bierwerks' Pogue's Run Porter, New Albanian Brewing's Bob's Old 15-B Porter, Rock Bottom Brewery's Hoosier Ma Stout (oatmeal stout or dry stout variety).

A Hoosier Beer Geek alternative to Blue Moon:

Brugge White. Blue Moon is brewed in the Belgian witbier style. Wits, as they're known, are usually brewed with coriander seed and orange peel, which produces the spice and citrus flavors one gets out of a beer like Blue Moon. If you're going to drink a Belgian-style beer in Indiana, why not drink one from a local brewer who specializes in Belgian-style beers rather than a beer brewed by Coors? Broad Ripple's Brugge Brasserie has been brewing outstanding Belgian-style beers for nearly seven years now. While more radical Brugge brews like their fruity and sour Pooka are what we often crave, we still enjoy Brugge White when it's on at the Brasserie. This beer exemplifies the Witbier style with its melding of citrus tartness and coriander spiciness.

See also: Oaken Barrel Brewing Company's Alabaster Wit, Upland Brewing Company's Wheat Ale.

A Hoosier Beer Geek alternative to Newcastle:

Barley Island Brewing Company's Dirty Helen Brown Ale. If you're drinking Newcastle Brown Ale, you're probably the type of beer-drinker who's looking for a little more "heft" in the flavor of your beer. Barley Island's award-winning Dirty Helen Brown Ale is an Indiana beer that might satisfy this preference for you, but be prepared: this beer is going to give you a fuller roastiness than Newcastle provides, along with a slight hint of nut, chocolate, and caramel. We don't feel that it's a huge adjustment from Newcastle, but we do believe that it's a nice step up in flavor.

See also: Crown Brewing Company's Crown Brown, Sun King Brewing Company's Wee Mac Scottish Ale, Three Floyds Brewing Company's Robert the Bruce.

A Hoosier Beer Geek alternative to Heineken, Amstel Light, or Stella Artois:


Upland Brewing Company's Preservation Pilsner. If you're holding a European lager like Heineken or Stella in your hands, you're holding a beer that's from the pale lager family. This family of beers includes the Pilsner style, which originated in what is now the Czech Republic. Like its European pale lager cousins, Pilsners are crisp, refreshing, and slightly more bitter than a Bud, Miller, or Coors. Bloomington's Upland Brewing Company makes a Pilsner that has become a Hoosier Beer Geek favorite. Preservation Pilsner is flavorful, but not so off-the-charts flavorful that palates not used to a true Pilsner will be shocked by it.

See also: Fountain Square Brewery's Workingman's Pilsner, People's Brewing Company's People's Pilsner.

A lesson on beer and cheese

In case you're new around here, we aren't really experts at this. We just really like beer. We also really like trying to pair food with beer. Something we're all novices at is cheese, so instead of stabbing blindly in the dark at pairing cheese with beer we decided to enlist the help of some professionals. Enter Chris Eley and Gabe Jordan from Goose the Market. If you haven't been out there, they are in no short supply of craft beer or artisan cheeses. We asked if they would like to help us out and then dumped all of the responsibility in their laps. We're awesome like that.


Chris and Gabe came up with 6 beer and cheese pairings across a variety of styles:

Tomme de Savoie ($13/lb) paired with Coopers Sparkling Ale ($12.50/6pk)
- a lighter pairing of a creamy, slightly tangy cheese with a light sparkling ale

Marieke Gouda ($15/lb) paired with Hitachino Nest White Ale ($5)
- a sweeter gouda with a citrusy white ale

Carr Valley Menage ($17/lb) paired with Mad Anthony IPA ($11.50/6pk)
- a semi-hard sharp cheese with big hop flavor

Capriole Julianna ($25/lb) paired with Brasserie DuPont Avec les Bons Voeux ($12)
- an herb crusted cheese with a complex, spicy Belgian Holiday ale

Belletoie by Hutin ($10.50/lb) paired with Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout ($8.75/6pk)
- a decadent triple cream brie with a heavy, roasted stout

Valdeon Spanish Blue ($17/lb) paired with He'Brew Jewbelation Twelve ($6)
- a creamy and tangy blue with a bounty of hops and malts

Chris did an excellent job educating us to the nuances of cheese including how it is produced and the differences that rinds, washes and aging techniques impart on the cheese. Gabe presented the beers with a good background on each of them and why they chose the particular pairings. While we definitely can't claim to have picked everything up from this presentation, we learned a lot. Here's a few of our favorites.


My favorite pairing was the Gouda with Hitachino Nest White Ale. What stood out to me about this pairing was the fact that the cheese and the beer had contrasting yet complementary flavors. The cheese had wonderful nutty and caramel flavors (which were enhanced, if I remember correctly, by the addition of fenugreek in the cheese). The beer, which is brewed in the Belgian Wit style, was heavier on the spices than a typical Wit, resulting in an explosion of coriander, orange peel, and nutmeg notes. The spiciness of the beer melded perfectly with the sweet caramel character of the cheese to produce a combination that wouldn't be out of place as the dessert course of a fine meal. If I were able to give a mug rating to this pairing, it would be 5 mugs easily.

My 2 favorite pairings were:

Marieke Gouda with Hitachino White Ale. Both were delicious on their own, but together, the beer really brought out the caramel and orange flavors in the cheese.

Belletoile Brie with Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout. This cheese really surprised me. It had an aroma of cheesecake, but the smoky flavor in the beer brought out a salty, almost fishy taste in the cheese. Not in a bad way, but quite the contrary.

What I learned from the tasting is that I need to eat more cheese. This was a really great experience and I'd love to try more beer and cheese pairings.


MATT E. Ah yes. The beer and cheese pairing. Having never been to Goose, I enjoyed the opportunity to look around a bit by getting there early. As a long-time fan of both beer and cheese I had virtually zero experience with pairing the two, so this was a learning experience. However, as with most HBG tastings I failed to learn that I should take better notes. Maybe I'll do better next time. Anyway, on to the review! According to the star next to it, the pairing I enjoyed the most was the "Menage" and the Mad Anthony IPA. This cheese from Carr Valley is composed of milk from ewes, cows, and nannies (I confess that I didn't know what a lady goat was called, so thank you Jimmy Wales!). The cheese offered a transition in flavor and texture as it melted in my mouth that brought out the different characteristics of cheese varieties from each ruminant that contributed to the mix. Tangy, sharp and creamy. All in one. The chimera cheese. Of course, the bitterness of the hops in the Mad Anthony IPA counteracted all three flavors and the overwhelming dryness of it made each alternation a new treat.

My favorite pairing was a semi-hard goat/cow/sheep's milk cheese called Menage (Carr Valley) with Mad Anthony IPA. This cheese had a tangy sharpness to it, very similar to a white cheddar, that locked up perfectly with the strong citrus hoppiness of this American IPA. A wonderful blending of very bold flavors.

Previous to this night, I had never tried a beer from Brasserie DuPont besides their famous Saison. This holiday ale was amazing and incredibly drinkable. The high alcohol content (9.5%) is masked almost too well. An abundance of spices are present, such as black pepper, cloves and orange zest. Perhaps this is why it worked well with a cheese encrusted in herbs. The rosemary, oregano and basil flavors from the cheese blended well into the already spicy beer while maintaining its dried apricot, banana and light malt flavors. A slight hint of candi sugar is present but it subdues to the intensity of the spices. I wouldn't expect a cheese with such a big herb flavor to be able to pair with a beer but this was very enlightening.


I'm always a fan of blue cheese, the moldier the better to me (is moldier even a word?), so when Chris presented us with the Valdeon Spanish Blue as the final pairing I was ecstatic. This blend of cow and goats milk wrapped in sycamore leaves and aged for two to three months is delicious. The hard and sticky rind balances out the salty, rich, creamy blue inside.

When you pair this with the He'Brew Jewbelation Twelve (12 malts, 12 hops, 12%) the pairing is simply twelve kinds of amazing. The balance of big malts and big hops hides the high ABV while catering to the pungent blue flavors. Instead of getting an overwhelming experience with a big beer and a big cheese the two meld together making a delicious combination. I think I could buy a few of these bombers to pair with a big wheel of the Valdeon and be satisfied for a very long time.


Huge thanks to Chris and Gabe for the time they invested in this, we had a great time. We all agreed that this would be a good event to repeat and open to the public if there was enough interest. Keep in mind that everything at Goose the Market rotates regularly based on season and availability, so the exact pairings we tried may not be available when you stop by. Never fear, the employees, especially Chris and Gabe, will gladly help you out with creating your own adventurous pairings.

The Complete Rules of Becoming a Beer Geek Part 1: Equipment

Although we at Hoosier Beer Geek are well into our second year of bringing the public the best in beer writing, we realize that not everyone has been with us the whole way. We know that the whole craft beer thing may be entirely new to some of you reading right now. Worry not! We are pleased to present our newest venture:

Hoosier Beer Geek's
Complete Rules of Becoming a Beer Geek

Part 1: Equipment
Beer Geekdom is a hobby like any other, and that means that before you can start, you'll need equipment. Luckily you may already own many of the items listed below.

1) An ID that verifies that you're 21 years old: It's getting harder and harder to make a fake ID these days. And we're not suggesting you get a fake ID if you are under 21. Beek Geekery requires a pool of experience and a depth of knowledge one only acquires at the magic moment when you reach the age of 21.

At least that's what the lawyers are saying.

Let's face it - if you are obtaining beer with a fake ID, you're probably just getting drunk in your dad's garage or fraternity house or dorm room or something - the point is you're just drinking to get drunk. Being a Beer Geek means you drink for the taste of the beer, and the whole getting drunk thing happens entirely by accident.

What this really means is that you won't like getting drunk anymore - because then you can't taste the beer very well. And the hangover might (almost) convince you that drinking beer isn't worth it.

We're making a lot of assumptions, but you're underage and we're old and annoying.

2) A form of transportation: We're using the word transportation loosely - a car, bike, wheelchair, skateboard, or even just your legs will work. Even a stolen car will work!

Why do you need transportation? Because, unfortunately, beer doesn't magically appear at your house. You may be saying "I know a guy that swears to his wife that he's never bought beer!" Don't tell his wife, but he's definitely lying.

3) Beer: Many might argue that having just any old beer doesn't make you a beer geek, but we digress; As long as you can critique a beer, you're well on your way. Just make sure you have 10 to 12 varieties at all times.

4) Cold Storage: Believe it or not, some beer is actually meant to be drank a little warm. But that doesn't cover much of the beer spectrum, and you're trying to be a beer geek, right? You can get by with a refrigerator, but we all know that's just a stopgap measure. Your beer inventory is about to get unmanageable. We suggest building a beer cellar onto your house or apartment.

5) Glassware: You've got beer, but do you have something to pour it in? Your mouth doesn't count - beer deserves more consideration than just throwing it down your throat. You've got to see the way it pours, the smells coming out of a well-poured glass, the color, and the way the bubbles playfully interact within the body.

At Hoosier Beer Geek we've never actually paid much attention to any of that stuff, but it sounds good when we're showing off for the uninitiated.

It would be good to have a glass to drink your beer out of. Luckily, there are only six or so styles of beer glasses to drink out of:

A) Pint Glass
B) Pilsner Glass
C) Tulip or Goblet Glass
D) Flute Glass
E) Weizen Glass
F) Mug

You're probably thinking "I don't have space for that many glasses!" Well neither do we, and it keeps us up at night.

To start, a pint glass will do. Just be sure to hide in a dark corner if you're not sure if your beer matches your glass.

6) Hands (or a way to get the beer into your mouth): This may seem like a gimme - but we wouldn't want to leave you unprepared. Maybe you don't have hands - it happens! In that case you'll want to get yourself one of those cool hooks. Or maybe some robot hands. In fact, even if you have hands, you might want to get a hook and a robot hand. Those things are pretty awesome.

By the way, a straw is not a way to get beer into your mouth. A straw is for commies and people who think Tom Brady is dreamy.

7) A Stomach: To be honest, we hemmed and hawed on this one - maybe you don't drink beer, you just like buying beer and have a massive collection. Surely you're still a beer geek, right?

The answer is no. You're an idiot.

So here we are - you've got an ID, a way to get the beer, the beer, something to pour it in, hands/a hook/robot hands to get it poured and into your mouth, and a stomach to fill. That's a good place to start, but there's more equipment you'll need if you really want to dive into this.

8) A wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/someone to drive: Originally I had the word "patient" acting as a qualifier for this requirement, but it may be the case that the reason you've taken up beer geekdom is because your significant other/DD isn't patient at all. It happens.

9) A notebook/pen/camera/messenger bag: You're going to want to take beer notes, of course, so you'll need somewhere to write them. And you'll need a pen to do the writing. And a camera to take pictures of the beer so you can share your beer pictures with the rest of the world via the internet. And a messenger bag to carry your notebook, pen, and camera.

On second thought, taking notes, pictures, and that whole sharing with the internet idea is totally stupid. Forget you ever read it. The messenger bag, on the other hand, is awesome, and anyone who refuses to carry one is insecure and most likely a moron.

10) Food on a necklace: Nothing says "Hey I'm really into this" more than a necklace of something edible. Many folks will tell you that they're wearing their bread/pretzel necklace as a way to cleanse their palate while drinking. The truth of the matter is that they're really wearing their bread/pretzel necklace because they're hoping to use the bread/pretzels as bait to catch squirrels. What I'm saying is that those people are freaking weirdos, and you should stay as far away as possible.

If you really want to be a beer geek, I'd suggest a necklace of meats and cheeses. Many beers need the accompaniment of a meat or cheese to bring out their subtle flavors, and you can also do a "paring-as-you-go" if you've got a sausage or side of bacon close at hand (or neck).

11) An oversized belly: Our last bit of equipment may take a while to acquire. On a rare occasion you'll come across a beer geek who is without an oversized belly. You may be familiar with the trick often played on dogs where a person pretends to throw a stick and then hides it behind their back? That's the same look you'll get out of the skinny beer geek. It's a look that says "I'm missing something and I'm too dumb know why".

The truth is that a truest and most devoted of beer geeks don't let anything get in the way of their pursuit of beer - and diet certainly can get in the way of this pursuit. Our advice is to just go ahead and start eating and drinking whatever you want, whenever you want. You've just committed to a life of consumption - don't half-ass it.

Stay tuned for our next post in this series: The Complete Rules of Becoming a Beer Geek Part 2: Buying Beer

Now Taking Beer School Suggestions

Although we've been a bit slow on the Beer School posts of late, we haven't given up on the idea. A recent online conversation led to a suggestion of sort of Craft Beer 201 article:

Wanted: a "not quite newbs" guide to beers to try, and what they're good examples of. "camelly", "hoppy", "bitter", "amber coloured"

I'll admit that a lot of times we throw words out there as descriptions that may not even make sense to ourselves - I'm probably more guilty of this than anyone - so perhaps it makes sense to take a step backwards and explain things a little more.

I really liked this idea, enough so that I'm going to devote a post similar to our "Five Great Gateway Beers: The Hoosier Beer Geek Alternative" to it. But before I jump headfirst into buying (and, of course, drinking) the beer sources for that post, I'd like to make sure that I'm covering as many bases as possible.

That's why I'm asking our readers for any questions you may have - difficult questions, easy questions - remember, there are no stupid questions! Just bad teachers. Do you have confusion about "mouthfeel"? Do you have a hard time understanding "malty"? Don't get "footy"? Wondering what "nosefeel" is? Want to know which hop varieties are best for your complexion?

Leave a comment. Or if you're shy, drop us an email. And thanks for helping out.

Five Great Gateway Beers: The Hoosier Beer Geek Alternative

For someone new to craft beer, advanced topics like styles and ingredients can be a little overwhelming. Even a trip to your local craft beer seller can seem like a test. What's with all the weird beer names? What's the difference between ale and what I normally drink? Where does all this beer come from?

Believe it or not, we're not here to make fun of what you drink - we all started where you're at now. But if you're really looking for a way in, you best bet is to start by just drinking better beer. Here's Hoosier Beer Geek's list of five proven and readily available "gateway" craft beers to make the adjustment as easy as possible:

A Beer Geek alternative to Budweiser, Miller, or Coors:



Brooklyn Lager - If you've tried craft beer before you may have been struck with how different it tastes to the beers you grew up on. With Brooklyn Lager you won't have to worry about that - it's the same Lager style beer you grew up on, except with a fuller, more flavorful taste.

See also: Sam Adams Boston Lager, Sierra Nevada Summerfest, Schlafly American Lager

A Beer Geek alternative to Guinness:



Goose Island Oatmeal Stout - If you're a fan of the roasty flavors of Guinness, other beers in the stout family might be right up your alley.

Goose Island's Oatmeal Stout is a nice second step into the stout family - the same sort of roasty flavors you'll get from a Guinness, with the addition of oatmeal to the beer to give it a little more heft. Don't worry, this isn't the slimy soupy stuff of breakfast - the oatmeal used is (usually) no more that 5% of the total composition of the beer. You'll notice that the beer has more body, but you probably wouldn't know it came from oatmeal if it didn't say so on the label.

See also: Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, Left Hand Milk Stout, Barley Island Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout

A Beer Geek Alternative to Blue Moon:



Bell's Oberon - If you're drinking Blue Moon, you've already made a step towards beers with a hint more spice and fruit flavors. Bell's Oberon is a light and crisp ale with hints of orange and wheat. Oberon is a seasonal beer, available from late March through October, and is a fantastic summer day companion.

See also: Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen, Three Floyd's Gumballhead, Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat, Brugge White (Indiana)

A Beer Geek Alternative to Killian's:



Rogue American Amber - Killian's drinkers have already taken a deliberate step away from the big three American lagers (Bud, Miller, and Coors) toward a beer with a bit more taste. But you can take an even bigger step with Rogue's American Amber - a beer brewed in Oregon. Rogue's beer has even bolder amber flavors, features hints of coffee, and finishes clean and refreshing.

See Also: Bell's Amber, Baltika #4 Dark Beer, Wabash Harvest Amber Ale (Indiana)

A Beer Geek Alternative to Newcastle:



He'Brew Messiah Bold - As with the other beers on this list, Messiah Bold is a fuller flavored beer. You'll experience full balance flavors - fuller roasty malts, a slight hint of nut, chocolate, and caramel, and a little bit of a bitter bite on the back end from the use of hops to balance out the beer.

See Also: Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale, Bluegrass Brewing Company Nut Brown Ale, Avery Ellie's Brown Ale

Final Thoughts:

No one would claim that the beers listed above are the best beers in the world. But craft beer aficionados would claim that they are much better than your everyday brew. By being stylistically familiar to what you currently drink, they can serve as a bridge into the bigger Craft Beer world. Craft beer is about fuller flavors, bigger mouthfeels, and stronger scents. With a proper start we're confident you'll be a craft beer geek in no time.

Back to School # 6 with Bock Beers

Traditionally we haven't paid very much attention to style at Hoosier Beer Geek - our focus is usually first on finding beers that look tasty and drinking them. But a little knowledge never hurt anyone, and accordingly we've started trying to expand our knowledge of style. This is the sixth post in our Beer School series, in which we're passing on what we learned in our meetings at World Class Beverages to you. We continue our beer schooling with Bock Beers.

Or most recent beer school covered Bocks/Scottish/Irish beers as well as a very interesting introduction to the world of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The BJCP is a very involved and intense process consisting of more than 100 hours of training and study to prepare for an exam to become a certified beer judge.

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According to the BJCP website, “the purpose of the Beer Judge Certification Program is to promote beer literacy and the appreciation of real beer, and to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills”. A beer judge evaluates and scores beers, meads and ciders and makes suggestions for improvements based on style guidelines set up by the BJCP. Scores are assigned on a scale from 0-50, 0 being problematic and 50 being outstanding, and are calculated from five categories: Aroma, Appearance, Flavor, Mouthfeel and Overall Impression.

A score sheet from a beer judge should be objective and contain feedback on how the beer could be improved, leading to better beer for everyone. You can learn more about this program and download their recently updated style guidelines at the BJCP site.

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BOCK BEERS

Traditionally these lagers were done as the last beer of the season but are now brewed year-round. The “season” was the cool months of the year, as summertime (no refrigeration) was too warm to allow for appropriate brewing. Bocks probably originated in Einbeck, Germany and also means “billy goat” in German, which may explain why there are goats on many labels.

Bocks are split into four substyles according to the BJCP guidelines; Maibock/Helles Bock, Traditional Bock, Doppelbock, and Eisbock. They should be malty, adjunct free and have an Alcohol by Volume (ABV) of 6% or higher, depending on the substyle. The particulars of this style can be found at http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.html.


Maibock/Helles Bock – The most recent addition and lightest of this style, Maibock/Helles Bocks are generally associated with the spring, particularly May (Mai). Aroma should be malty with low to no hops or fruit esters, sometimes spicy, and perhaps mildly alcoholic in flavor. Hop flavor can also be present but malt flavor should be more predominant and the color should remain relatively pale. Some of the highest scoring brews in this substyle are Ayinger Maibock, Mahr’s Bock, and Hacker-Pschorr Hubertus Bock.

Traditional Bocks – As the name suggests, this was the first of the style and originated in the 14th to 17th century. These are typically darker, more malty, and stronger in aroma and flavor than the Maibocks, but not necessarily in ABV. Traditional Bocks are toasty and complex, with Munich and Vienna malts (common in Oktoberfest beers) dominating the flavor. They tend to be smooth with a sweet finish. Some top examples are the Einbecker Ur-Bock Dunkel, Pennsylvania Brewing Co St. Nick Bock, and Aass Bock.

Dopplebock - This style was first brewed by the Bavarian monks of St. Francis of Paula in the late 1700's as an alternative to food during lent. The German Beer Institute website says "Because the monks believed that liquids not only cleansed the body but also the soul, they would make plenty of liquid instead of solid bread from their grain, and then drink it in copious quantities...the more, the holier." This "liquid bread", named Salvator (after the Savior), was originally intended to be kept for the monks, but the unlawful sale of the brew to the commoners eventually led to the demise of the brewery (thanks to Napoleon).

Fortunately, but with much legal trouble, this substyle was eventually resurrected into today's Paulaner Salvator. Some breweries pay homage to the original, keeping the "ator" suffix in the name of their Dopplebocks, like Celebrator, Troegenator, Optimator, and Maximator to name a few. The color range of this substyle is wide and there are more opportunities for variation in aroma and flavor. These "double" bocks are dark and strong, even more so than the Traditional Bocks and are stronger now than they've been in the past.

Eisbock - A specialty beer from the Kulmbach district in Bavaria is made by partially freezing then subsequently removing ice from the beer, concentrating the alcohol. These beers may not necessarily be stronger than Dopplebocks, but they are indeed strong. Examples in this category include Kulmbacher Reichelbrau Eisbock, Eggenberg Urbock Dunkel Eisbock, and Capital Eisphyre.

Back to School #5 with Stouts

Because we missed the first World Class Beverages meeting which covered Porters and Stouts, we were lucky enough to get the notes. So when Matt of Matt's Beer Blog invited us out for a "Night of the Living Stouts", we took the opportunity to make up what we missed by having a session of our own.

Settle in, and pour yourself a drink. This is a long one.

Stouts

Porters and Stout originated in England in the 17th to 18th Century. Porters came first - stouts were stronger variations of porters. Beers in the stout category were once considered “Stout” porters. As an attempt to capitalize on Porter popularity, the number of these types of beers kept expanding and diversifying until they became worthy of their own category.

From a composition standpoint, roasted barley or black patent malt is usually added to provide dryness in stouts. Interestingly enough, modern versions are not always stronger than Porters.

Stouts are divided into six categories, which makes for a lot of sampling. These categories are Dry (Irish) Stout, Sweet (Milk) Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Foreign Extra Stout, American Stout, and Russian Imperial Stout.

Dry (Irish) Stout

According to BJCP guidelines, Dry Stouts may have prominent Coffee-like roasted barley and roasted malt aromas, with a slight chocolate, cocoa and/or grainy secondary notes. They typically have a thick, creamy, long-lasting, tan- to brown-colored head, with flavors featuring a light to moderate acidic sourness, and medium to high hop bitterness. BJCP also notes "For the high hop bitterness and significant proportion of dark grains present, this beer is remarkably smooth. Overall Impression: A very dark, roasty, bitter, creamy ale."

We had two examples for the Dry (Irish) Stout category. First up was Murphy's Stout.

Mike: Ashy, watery, heavy lacing, a little sweetness... forgettable.
Kelly: Watery, slightly tinny tasting.
Matt: Creamy texture, watery flavor.
Gina: My notes were "I don't like this". It was very thin and watery. I may have liked this more if it were my first beer of the night.

Our second example of the Dry (Irish) Stout style was Avery's Out of Bounds.

Kelly: Huge head, looks like a root beer float; heavy cardamom aroma.
Matt: Hop nose & flavor.
Gina: Tall, foamy head and hoppy smell that is very reminiscent of Pine Sol.
Mike: Better of the two in this style. Hoppy sting in the nose, piney front.

Sweet (Milk) Stout

Milk stouts have the same chocolate and coffee notes as Dry (Irish) Stouts, but also often feature a cream-like sweetness, and can even feature low to high fruit notes. A dark and full bodied ale, milk stouts often taste similar to sweetened expresso. On the title of the category, BJCP says "legally this designation is no longer permitted in England (but is acceptable elsewhere). The “milk” name is derived from the use of lactose, or milk sugar, as a sweetener."

Mackeson XXX Triple Stout

Matt: Roasty, malty, sweet.
Gina: Smells sweet, bready and like a candy necklace. Good.
Mike: TASTY! Smooth. BUY MORE!
Kelly: Viscous, hints of toasted coconut and whipped cream.

Oatmeal Stout

Oatmeal Stouts give off what BJCP calls "a coffee and cream impression", with coffee notes and a full bodied mouthfeel. Instead of the milk element found in sweet stouts, Oatmeal is used to provide complexity.

Goose Island Oatmeal Stout

Mike: Coffee and licorice nose, dark and coke-colored, full-flavored, malted milk, kind of like a mix of Left Hand Blackjack porter and the Mackeson. Grassy and earthy.
Kelly: Oatmeal cookie nose, something really sweet in the finish that I can't place -- maybe charred marshmallow?
Matt: Licorice, smoky.

Foreign Extra Stout

Foreign Extra Stouts feature strong roasted grain notes, and can also feature elements of coffee, chocolate and a lightly burnt taste. According to BJCP "Some versions may have a sweet aroma, or molasses, licorice, dried fruit, and/or vinous aromatics. Stronger versions can have the aroma of alcohol (never sharp, hot, or solventy)." This version of stout was originally brewed for tropical markets, and was brewed stronger for export.

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout

Mike: This is like the beer I can't escape. It took me 6 months to finish the six pack in my fridge. Then we sampled it at Big Car. Then we reviewed it for a roundtable. And I don't like it.
Kelly: Bitter, acrid, malted milk.
Matt: Very smoky, something else I couldn't put my finger on, but couldn't properly describe
Gina: Back when we did the review of this I gave it a tentative score and said it would be better in colder weather. Well, I was wrong. The nose is still amazing and it still reminds me of an ashtray. I still cannot decide if I like this or not, so I am just going to go with not.

American Stout

American Stouts are brewed in much of the same manner as Foreign Extra Stouts, but feature the use of citrusy or resiny American Hops. BJCP says to expect the following as an overall impression "A hoppy, bitter, strongly roasted Foreign-style Stout (of the export variety)."

North Coast Old #38 Stout

Kelly: Roasty, peppery, on our to-buy list -- really drinkable.
Matt: Rroasty, malty, one of my favorites.
Gina: Roasted, malty, smooth.
Mike: Bitter, peppery, tasty.

Russian Imperial Stout

The most complex of stouts, the Russian Imperial Stout features many of the same characteristic of the other stouts covered above, but features a malt aroma that "can be subtle to rich and barleywine-like, depending on the gravity and grain bill. May optionally show a slight specialty malt character (e.g., caramel), but this should only add complexity and not dominate." (BJCP)

BJCP says to expect an impression that's "roasty, fruity, and bittersweet, with a noticeable alcohol presence. Dark fruit flavors meld with roasty, burnt, or almost tar-like sensations. Like a black barleywine with every dimension of flavor coming into play."

Deschutes Abyss

Matt: Sweet, smoke, malt, charcoal.
Gina: This has a great roasted, chocolaty, woody smell and the taste reminds me of a burnt campfire hot dog (but in a good way).
Mike: Smokey, with obvious alcohol notes, tasty with a big front. Instead of a punch you see coming, this is one you see going. A fantastic aftertaste lingers.

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Click here to access all of the beer school series of articles.

A Dozen Beers with Matt from Matt's Beer Blog

Originally we were going to use portions of Jason's post in our next session of Back to (Beer) School, but cutting it up seemed to ruin the story. So here it is, uninterrupted. Stay tuned for Beer School #4 tomorrow.

A little less than a week ago, the Knights were invited to Matt's (of Matt's Beer Blog) home and do a porter and stout sampling event. It was a brilliant night that involved tasting 11 beers of varying quality. Having a slight case of OCD, I felt that not going for an even dozen beers would be irritating. Not having another bottle around, we opted to try the Kikkoman's Soy Sauce and pretend that it was a beer. But more about that venture later.

We began by tackling porters. First up was Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter, which has been determined by beer judges and beer websites to be the cream of the crop as far as English Brown Porters go. And this is one situation where tradition out performs American ingenuity and gusto. The balanced, roasted malt goodness from the Taddy Porter outperformed the Left Hand Black Jack Porter (listed as an English Porter) and the Sierra Nevada Porter (an American Porter). Both were unbalanced with odd lingering flavors (carbon notes in the Left Hand; soapiness in the Sierra Nevada).

The other porter that we tried was the 2000 Sinebrychoff Porter from Finland. This Baltic Porter, while not superior to the Taddy Porter, was interesting and enjoyable. The smell reminded me of my fourth grade lunch box (I left an orange in my lunch box over summer vacation, leaving a lasting moldy orange scent to everything that would go in it from that time on), but had a peatty taste like a good scotch. I would definitely try this one again in the future.

The next seven beers were stouts. We started with a Dry (Irish) Stout: Murphy's Stout. Unlike the porters, I find that the original/traditional versions pale in comparison to some of the American craft varieties. The Irish Stouts tend to have a watery consistency to them that, while not unpleasant, leaves you unfulfilled. Mackeson's Triple Stout (Milk Stout) had a sweetness to it and was milky smooth in mouthfeel. I found this to be uncomplicated yet enjoyable and worth another taste at some point.

The Avery Out of Bounds Stout (Irish Dry Stout) poured with a big head and notes of scotch, coffee, and hops. This was superior to the Murphy's in my opinion and should receive a full review in the future. The Goose Island Oatmeal Stout was bitter with hints of oatmeal. I've had better Oatmeal Stouts. The Bell's Special Double Cream Stout (Milk/Sweet Stout) has a smooth and dry mouthfeel with a certain twang in its flavor from the combination of malts used. The North Coast Old No. 38 (Irish Dry Stout) was yet another scotchy type stout that reminds me of some whiskey barrel aged beers that we have had in the past. Another one I want to discover again in the future.

We finished with the Abyss by Deschutes Brothers in Oregon, an Imperial Russian Stout that Matt traded a Dark Lord for. In my opinion, he came away the winner in that trade. I can't put my finger on what it is that I like about this beer. It is very alcoholly. It has a complex flavor profile. The best way I could describe this is like Dark Lord without the candy sugar taste and mouthfeel. Which, in my opinion, is a good thing. But that's just me.

So that is eleven beers. To make it an even dozen, we opened Matt's last bottle of Sam Adams Triple Bock (circa 1997, I think). Which doesn't fit into the porters and stouts category, but what the hell. The aroma (I really wanted to write odor) smelled of soy sauce. The taste was of soy sauce. It looked like soy sauce. And it stained Matt's clear glass drinkware a nice amber color. I seriously think this is better suited on top of fried rice that in a beer glass.

Holy crap, that was not good. How not good? I'd chug a Chelada over this any day of the week. Just goes to show that my OCD tendencies are never right, and no matter how odd a number to stop at, eleven was the clear winner on this day.

Back to School #3 with Strong Ales - Old Ale, English Barleywine, and American Barleywine

Traditionally we haven't paid very much attention to style at Hoosier Beer Geek - our focus is usually first on finding beers that look tasty and drinking them. But a little knowledge never hurt anyone, and accordingly we've started trying to expand our knowledge of style. This is the third post in what we hope will become a regular series, in which we're passing on what we learned in our meetings at World Class Beverages to you. We continue our beer schooling with Strong Ales.

Strong Ales

Strong Ales are subdivided into three groups - Old Ale, English Barleywine, and American Barleywine. These beers are typically associated with winter, and have a high gravity.

Old Ale

According to the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), old ales feature a malty-sweet nose, with fruity esters. They have a light amber to very dark reddish-brown color, and a flavor with medium to high malt character with a luscious malt complexity.

Old ales are a traditional English ale style, mashed at higher temperatures than strong ales to reduce attenuation, then aged at the brewery after primary fermentation.

Winter warmers are a more modern sytle of old ale that are maltier, fuller-bodied, and often darker. Of the three varieties of Strong Ales, old ales are the least strong, with sometimes lower alcohol.

Our example from this category was Theakston Old Peculiar, a beer that is distributed by Cavalier Distributing.

Theakston Old Peculier:
Jim: Malt, malt, and more malt in this baby. Not much of a nose. Heavy, dry caramel notes in the taste. Tastes like a session beer, which is not a bad thing. Would definitely buy this.
Mike: Whiskey nose, coca-cola look and soda pop lacing. Tastes of pepper, red meat, boullion(?!?), and chocolate. I took a second pour to double check the flavors I was picking up, and although they were a bit more faint with the second drink, they were still there. In any case, I found this one very agreeable.
Matt: Not much nose that I detected. The flavor was malty, and I could not taste alcohol to the extent that I had expected. I'll definitely be revisiting this one.

American Barleywine

Beers in the American Barleywine style feature a wide color range, and are rich, malty and hoppy. They are the richest and strongest of American ales, and, if meeting BJCP qualification, should be hoppy with and emphasis on American style hop characteristics. While strongly malty, the balance should always seem bitter. These beers should have a noticeable alcohol pressence.

Our example American Barleywine was from Michigan's Bells Brewery.

Bell's Third Coast Old Ale:
Jim: Heavy caramel nose and flavor. At bit boozy as well; can definitely taste the alcohol in this barleywine. Left a weird aftertaste in my mouth, but strangely, I still like it.
Matt: This one was sweeter than the Monster and had less hops and less alcohol taste. I'm still learning about the whole evaluation of taste regionally on the tongue, but this one struck me high on the back. I could be completely imagining that, but, ah, there it is.
Jason: Caramel flavors, less alcohol punch, not pcking up as much hops as the Monster Ale. This could become a staple beer in my fridge; very enjoyable.

English Barleywine

English Barleywines that meet BJCP guidelines are rich, malty, and fruity, with a wide color range. They are the richest and strongest English ales. They place an emphasis on malt character, but can also be hoppy - though only British hops are used in this variety of barleywine. This leads to less emphasis on the hop character than their American counterparts.

Our example English Barleywine was, ironically enough, from Brooklyn Brewery.

Brooklyn Monster Ale:
Jim: Brooklyn Monster Ale: Biscuity, hoppy/roasted malt nose with a flavor that follows suit. Really like this--one of Brooklyn Brewery's finer beers.
Jason: Brooklyn Monster Ale: bit of a hop nose, buttery scotch, and the alcohol is easy to find.
Mike: Copper/golden color, with a heavy head. Hoppy bite, tight with notes of pepper. Oddly enough, reminds me of all the good characteristics and flavors of smoking cigarettes (which I quit many years ago).

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Thanks again to Jim and Bob at World Class Beverages - particularly Bob, who provided the material for the majority of this lesson.

Click here to access all of the beer school series of articles.

Back to School #2 with Fruit Beers

This is the second post in what we hope will become a regular series, in which we're passing on what we learned in our meeting at World Class Beverages to you. We continue our beer schooling with Fruit Beers.

Fruit Beers

According the the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines, fruit beers should above all should be "a harmonius marriage of fruit and beer". Beers in this category should (critically) be balanced with fruit, not overwhelmed. Fruit extracts are commonly used - whole fruit use is rare because whole fruit tends to add different flavor characteristic. These beers are judged "based on the pleasantness and balance of the resulting combination".

What this leads to is high ratings for beer that might not necessarily be considered "good" by a beer geeks' standards. Judges look that the beer meet the qualifications of the category first - perhaps at the expense of the beer's overall taste.

Fruit beer is amongst the oldest beer styles, dating back to at least 3000 BC in Iran. Prior to the middle ages, many beer were brewed with fruit and herbs - a combination known as gruit. Hops later replaced gruit in the brewing process, leading to the beer styles we are more familiar with today.

Another note: Lambics and other Belgian fruit-based specialties are not included in this category - they have their own categories.

Fortunately this section of our lesson included tasting - here are some thoughts:

Pyramid Apricot Weizen:
Jason: apricot smell, clean feel, but why am I getting a cashew flavor?
Jim: Heavy apricot nose; very pleasant, mild, and balanced apricot/beer flavor. Good warm weather beer, but heavy hitters would probably like Dogfish Head Aprihop more.
Mike: Nice nose, dead-on for style. Apricot front, smooth lager back, tight but not tart.

We've been told that Pyramid's beers all have a sort of "house flavor", meaning that they all have a similar agreeable flavor to this example. We were also told that this beer goes very well with Thai Food.

Oaken Barrel Razz-Wheat:
Jason: Raspberry juice smell, very tart, very champagne-ish.
Matt: I could smell this one from a few feet away, as opposed to the others where I had to get my nose in there or at least close to it to smell anything. It was softer on the raspberry flavor, but it was by far the dominating influence. The texture was kind of watery.
Jim: Meh. Balanced raspberry/wheat beer flavor, but too meek for my taste.

Some of our readers may be familiar with Razz-Wheat from its availability at Victory Field, home of the Indianapolis Indians. We all agreed that the Razz-Wheat is a worthy choice when watching baseball under a hot summer sun.

Unibroue Ephemere:
Jim: Vintage beer from Unibroue. Strong apple nose; smells just like apple cider. Flavor is apple-heavy as well, but the beer has a surprisingly mild and dry finish. Could drink lots of this.
Jason: Apple, apple, apple. This variety is 2 and 1/2 years old, but very tasty. One of the better Unibroue's, IMO.
Matt: It smelled like an apple cider, and had a lightly tart flavor. I really enjoyed this one. It was my favorite of the fruit beers we tasted.

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Click here to access all of the beer school series of articles.

Corrections to "Back to School with Real Ales and Firkins"

I should have paid a little more attention in Beer School. A couple helpful readers have chimed in to let me know that I was mistaken in writing the following in our "Back to School With Real Ales and Firkins" post.

"real ale never leaves the container in which it is fermented before it makes its way into your glass."

Not true.

According to reader Paul:

"Once beer is fermented it is then placed into a cask or bottle, and without getting too technical, this is where a secondary fermentation takes place. The beer is live in the container and when it is served. Dead beer like most lagers are given an injection of CO2 to give it an over the top amount of fizz."

Another reader who failed to leave her or his name added:

"Paul is right. The initial round of fermentation would leave too much yeast slurry and hop residue (sludge from hop pellets or leaf particles from whole hops) and that wouldn't lead to very clear beer. Once initial fermentation ceases, the beer is racked (aka transfered) into the cask or bottle and it has had a certain amount of priming sugar added to let it do a final fermentation that causes that lovely carbonation we do so enjoy. Bell's beers and Dark Horse beers are bottle conditioned, that is why you decant them into a glass and leave the yeast sediment behind. The yeast is still there and makes the carbonation, thus the beer is alive."

I'd like to thank Paul and Annonymous for their quick corrections to the post, and I apologize for my mistake. Hopefully it'll be the last.

Back to School With Real Ales and Firkins

As Jason recently posted, we spent Thursday evening at the Monarch/World Class Beverages facility. Our trip out wasn't just for a tour; We also sat in on World Class' salesperson training where we learned about Real Ales, Firkins, Fruit Beers and Strong Ales from World Class' professional beer geek[1], Bob Mack.

Real Ales and Firkins

According to the folks at Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), real ale is "is a natural product brewed using traditional ingredients and left to mature in the cask (container) from which it is served in the pub through a process called secondary fermentation." This container can be a cask, firkin, bottle or even an aluminum can - the defining characteristic is that the beer is matured by secondary fermentation in the container in which it is dispensed.

Often times you'll hear real ales refered to as "firkins". By definition, a firkin is a container (made of any material) for real ale that holds 10.8 gallons of real ale (9 imperial gallons, or 1/4 a British beer barrel). So while a real ale can also be a firkin, a firkin is not necessarily a real ale.

[1] Unfortunately, we can only aspire to be professional beer geeks. Good work if you can get it.