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.

Craft Beer Indoctrination 101 (i.e., What to Push on Your Relatives This Holiday Season)

Here's a topic that we've discussed before: What sort of craft beer should a beer geek spring on his or her hapless relatives over the holiday season? I'm not necessarily talking about a brew that would match well with the food on the table, though that would be a nice benefit. Rather, I'm talking about a good gateway beer for those relatives and friends at your family's holiday gatherings who may be beer drinkers, but who aren't necessarily turned on to the craft beer world.

I'm taking a cue from Mike's experience a few years ago and choosing the workhorse of craft beer: the brown ale. I appreciate this style because it's flavorful, yet not in-your-face, and accessible, yet not pedestrian. In my experience, it's also a style that tends not to intimidate craft beer novices, and it's a hearty pick for the cold-weather months.

Here are my five brown ale picks, in no particular order:

Barley Island Dirty Helen Brown Ale. Going local is always a good thing. Besides, this is a GABF gold medal winner, so passing it up is not an option.

Sun King Wee Mac Scottish Ale. Wee Mac is already a hit with local beer drinkers despite being available for only four months now. Here's hoping that the Sun King tasting room is open on the day before Thanksgiving (hint hint, Clay and Dave...).

Bluegrass Brewing Company Nut Brown Ale. I've never been disappointed by this beer. A solid offering, every time.

Bell's Best Brown Ale. The last time I had a Best Brown on draft, it bowled me over. It was so amazingly flavorful, toting more chocolate notes than your standard American Brown. This is one that you may want to keep in store as you up the "difficulty level" with the craft beer newbies in attendance at your holiday gathering.

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale. The gold standard of English Browns. Sweet, bready, and nutty, it's mellow enough to be palatable yet complex enough to be intriguing.

What are your suggestions? What specific beers or beer styles would you serve?

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.

How not to convert the masses

One of the fun things about craft beer is exposing it to the uninitiated. I had amassed quite a selection of beer in the house over the past six months, and seeing as that I was going back to Illinois for the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to pack up my collection and try to convert the cousins, aunts and uncles.

I was fighting an uphill battle to begin with. After explaining that I didn't know how quite a few of the beers I had brought tasted, I heard comments like "why would you pay all that money for beer when you don't even know what it tastes like?" and "what's next, Hoosier Beer Geek?" I'd never heard the words used in a mocking tone - it stings a little.

The idea seemed easy enough - bring beer, share beer, wow family. The mistake I made wasn't in trying to expose a bunch of Miller Light drinkers to beer. The mistake was trying to expose a bunch of Miller Light drinkers to Belgian sours, IPAs, and a few other beers that I hadn't tried before - most of them not really that good.

"Do you actually like this?"

"Well... no."

They did seem to like my BBC Brown and Jefferson's Reserve Stout - but I like them too, and I only had one bottle of each - so those didn't get shared so much.

I'm going to try again at Christmas, though - with Budweiser versus something from Warbird, probably. Or maybe just stuff from a Sam Adams sampler. Better tools.

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It's been a little slow around here lately, so I'm going to attempt to get the comments flowing - Got any suggestions for gateway beers to bring the family around? And what have you been drinking lately? Got any recommendations for the rest of us?