Beer Diary: here, there, and everywhere

I guess it has been a pretty good week: I've been able to stop by three different Indiana breweries and enjoy their brews. First up is Half Moon Restaurant and Brewery in Kokomo. This is actually my first visit to Half Moon, so I purchased a $9.99 beer sampler and tried all six of John Templet's regular taps and his three specialty taps.

Currently on tap: Cannon Shot Cream Ale, which is a pleasant, sweet, malty treat; Wildcat Wheat, with a light and slightly sweet flavor; Stoplight City Red, which is easy on hops but not absent of; Elwood's IPA, which packs a strong punch of bitters to the back of the throat while maintaining a nice, easy citrus flavor; Cole Porter, a black beer that has a flavor with a bite (are the malts smoked in their smoker?); seasonal Raz Rye, where the bite of the rye cuts through the sweet tart raspberries; seasonal KokoMonster, which the bartender couldn't tell me what style it was (Old Ale), but I knew at 8% it went down too easy; and the oddly named seasonal MILF-n-honey which is a very sweet wheat.

My favorite of their beers, though, is the regular Hazelnut Brown Ale. It has a beautiful nutty aroma, is cloudy brown, and has a strong hazelnut flavor and an almost coffee-like flavor. Which would make this beer perfect for the morning!

I also stopped by The Ram Restaurant and Brewery in downtown Indianapolis. While there, I had Andrew Castner's Pie'd Piper Pumpkin Ale. I have a love/hate relationship with pumpkin beers. If it tastes like pumpkin pie, I love it. If it tastes like just pumpkin, I hate it.

Hey Andrew: I love it!

I haven't had my fix of Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale yet (just got hooked up by my beer pimp), but it is the standard that I measure all other pumpkin beers. And this one is pretty close. It has a nice amount of spice, pumpkin flavor, and breadiness to give you the feel of pumpkin pie without going over the top and tasty like a $6 Starbucks seasonal coffee. Put simply: near perfect. So good, I had a second glass instead of trying one of the other seasonals.

I finish by mentioning that I had a sneak sip of Sun King's Big H Hefeweizen. I'm not a big fan of wheats and hefe's. I got a lot of bananas but little clove. I'm not big on bananas and I'm not big on hefeweizens, so it should be no surprise that I'm not big on this beer.

But I was trying this beer with Mike, who is a hefeweizen fan, and he said it was "spot on". So if you like hefe's, give this one a shot (I could have left this for Mike to say, but I'm guessing he doesn't have a beer diary coming up soon).

Random Beer Roundup - I Forgot About Random Beer Roundup Edition

As it turns out, as the day goes on, more stuff rolls in. If you read the roundup Friday morning, you may notice that I've added more info since. I suppose that's the way it'll go..

From Mike at J. Gumbo's (15 E. Maryland Street, Indianapolis):

We have 3 Floyds Munsterfest and Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale on draft now. They are the only kegs of those in Central Indiana. The Sierra was made with hops the brewer hand carried back form New Zealand.

Brewer John at Half Moon (4051 South Lafountain, Kokomo IN) dropped us a line:

I have a Scottish Ale on tap right now that's moving quickly, and an American-Style Octoberfest coming on tap Thursday, October 2nd(O.G.=1060 ABV=6.6% IBU=30). I have also permanently replaced the Pre-Prohibition Pilsner with the Cannon Shot Cream Ale. In a week or two the Old Ben Brown Ale will be permanently replaced with the Hazelnut Brown Ale.

John at Big Red (Bloomington) just sent me an update:

Only a couple new ones this week. Bell's Hell Hath no Fury (Limited qty), Michelob Craft Sampler 12pk (3 each, Pale Ale, Porter, Marzen and Irish Red - Irish red and Marzen only available in sampler pack), and Best of Belgium 18pk sampler (6 Leffe, 6, Stella Artois, 6 Hoegaarden)

This update from Jerry at Rock Bottom Downtown (10 West Washington Street, Indianapolis):

In addition to the regular lineup we have:
Rocktoberfest-Marzen Lager
Indy Dream IPA-ruby grapefruit Simcoe hop juice!

And that's pretty much it for beer news this week. Don't forget the Circle City Socialites debut bout (7 p.m. Saturday, September 27 - doors open at 6 p.m., Ellenberger Park Ice Rink, 5301 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis, $7 in advance, $10 at the door, kids 10 and under free). It's 100% HBG approved.

Lastly, a question: Any readers headed to GABF?

Random Beer Roundup - Beer in Indianapolis and Elsewhere Edition

When I google the words "Indianapolis" and "Beer" this site comes in 20th, right after "Jessica Simpson's New Gig: Selling Beer - Entertainment News Story ..."

I'd like to resolve that so look forward to the continued use of the words Indianapolis and Beer in these posts.

From Kirk at Mr. G's Liquors, Noblesville (Noblesville is not Indianapolis, but it does have beer):

New to our shelves:

Froach Heather Ale

Brugge Black

Brugge Triple de Ripple

Samuel Smith Organic Cider

Lakefront New Grist Gluten free

Seasonals:

Becks Oktoberfest

Spaten Oktoberfest

From John at Big Red Liquors (no Indianapolis locations, but a fine beer selection):

Note: Big Red Beerfest is Thursday and Friday October 16th and 17th 6-9pm at the Bloomington Convention Center.

New Next week:

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere fresh hop

Samuel Smith organic Cider

Three Floyds Gorch Fock Helles

Returning Seasonals:

Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale

Ayinger Oktoberfest

Coming very soon (These items are being added to our system in the next week or so):

Mikkeller All Others Pale

Mikkeller Big Worse Barly Wine

Mikkeller Black Stout

Mikkeller Draft Beer

Mikkeller Jackie Brown

Mikkeller Stateside IPA

Rogue Chipotle

Brooklyner Schneider Hopfen Weisse 2008

Brugge Black

Brugge White

Brugge Tripel de Ripple

Hebrew Coney Albino Python

Hebrew Coney Sword Swallower

Left Hand Rye Bock

Czech Rebel

Sea Dog Motley Crew Sampler

Budweiser American Ale

Michelob Dunkel Weiss

Michelob Pale Ale

Brooklyn Oktoberfest

Atwater Vanilla Java Porter

Rogue Double dead guy

From Mike at Crown Liquors comes the following info (See their amazing beer selection! In Indianapolis!):

Hi Michael, Got a few things "new this month at Crown". Also, I am the local host for Ratebeers monthly tasting. Our next one will be Aug 30th at J. Gumbo's downtown and there will be some VERY special beers at this tasting, most you will not find anywhere in the states. To name a few Alesmith Barrel-Aged Speedway Stout, Black Albert and Cuvee De Castleton, lots more will be showing up because everyone brings a beer or two. It starts at 6:30.

New at Crown:

Mikkeller Its Alive

Mikkeller Monk's Brew

't Hofbrouwerkjke Bosprotter

't Hofbrouwerkjke Hofblues

HaandBryggeriet Dark Force

HaandBryggeriet Norwegian Wood

HaandBryggeriet Norse Porter

Norrebro Bryghus Skargaards Porter

Norrebro Odense Ale

Nogne O Imp. Stout

Nogne Saison

Stone Vertical Epic 080808

De Molen Rasputin (524 bottles made in the world, I got all 36 that came into the state)

Rogue Dbl. Dead Guy

If you're in the Kokomo area or thinking of taking a trip (the beer - although not brewed in Indianapolis - is well worth the visit) have a few things to look forward to from Half Moon Brewery. According to head brewer John Templet:

Here are the beers I have on tap always:

Pre-Prohibition Pilsner – A light golden lager made with the finest pilsen
malt. This American Style Pilsner is crisp, clean and refreshing. This
is a great introduction to hand crafted beer. ABV=4.1% O.G.=1036 IBU=13

Wildcat Wheat – An unfiltered Light American Wheat beer. It has a light,
sweet taste with a hint of fruitiness. Another good intro beer! ABV=4.5%
O.G.=1040 IBU=13

Stoplight City Red – An Irish-Style Red Ale with a medium body and a dry
finish. This beer is reddish in color and has a candy-like caramel
sweetness. A deliciously easy beer to drink! ABV=5.7% O.G.=1054
IBU=25

Old Ben Brown – This American-Style Brown Ale has a deep reddish-brown
color and roasted malt and caramel-like flavors with a well balanced hop
finish. Another easy beer to drink that’s a little bit more bold.
ABV=6.3% O.G.=1060 IBU=30

Elwood’s IPA – For the hopheads! This is an amber colored India Pale Ale.
It starts with a citrus-like aroma from generous helpings of fresh hops.
A very dry but fruity and flavorful beer that will leave you wanting
another! ABV=6.7% O.G.=1062 IBU=60

Cole Porter – A pleasantly roasty and smooth beer that is black in color.
If you’re into bold flavors, you’ll love it’s velvety goodness! A secret
ingredient gives this beer it’s special edge. ABV=7.0% O.G.=1066
IBU=30

These are my seasonals right now:

Cannon Shot Cream Ale- This all malt Cream Ale with low hop levels is the
perfect golden beer. It has an incredibly smooth and creamy mouth feel
that finishes crisp, clean and refreshing. For all of you "regular beer
flavor" fans, this is the ultimate brew! ABV=5.4% O.G.=1048 IBU=16

Thursday, Aug. 28th Realease Date: Hazelnut Brown Ale- Sure to be your new favorite, this brown ale has a distinct, luscious hazelnut flavor that you will definitely want to savor. Think of it as a hug in a mug. ABV = 5.7% OG = 1056 IBU = 25

Other Brews in the works:

Scottish Ale - Mid to early Sept. release

Octoberfest - Late Sept. release

Other Stuff:

Our own Matt R asks "When is Founder's Breakfast Stout (which is a beer) coming to Indianapolis?"

The answer, from Cavalier Distributing's Mat Gerdenich: "The oficial release is Sept 1. we should have ours later this week and start moving it next week. We are getting 140 cases to start with. More cases and kegs to follow."

Hopefully one of those kegs will magically appear in my garage.

Because I know all of Indianapolis (and elsewhere) is dying to know about Budweiser's new beer - Here's a link to a YouTube video highlighting the differences in Budweiser Lager and Budweiser American Ale. I'm sure we'll be weighing in shortly.

Beer for kids? FINALLY!¹ Can we get that in Indianapolis? - "..in April he introduced a brew from another Belgian tradition: bières de table.

'When I lived there in the late ’70s and early ’80s,' he said of his time in Belgium, 'everybody drank it for lunch, from grandmothers to kids.'"

That from The New York Times and a nice article about session beers - craft beer on the lighter side of the alcohol scale.

* * * * *
Interested in having your events, taps, or new beer inventory listed on Hoosier Beer Geek? It won't cost you anything. Drop us a line at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.

* * * * *

¹ sarcasm

Beer Run - Kokomo's Brewpubs

Friday night Knights of the Beer Table Kelly, Gina and Mike made a jaunt up to Kokomo to check out the opening of the Brass Monkey Brewpub. While it was certainly too busy for a full HBG review, we did get to sample the beer.



Left to right: Tenacious Apple Tripel, Double Down Brown, Green Tea Pale Ale

Mike, with the Green Tea Pale Ale: On first look I got a sweet but not cloying nose, with hints of green tea ice cream. After sipping a bit the beer seemed to open up to reveal... strawberry milkshake? To be sure I had Gina and Kelly both sample the beer - they didn't pick up the strawberry hints to start with, but after I mentioned it they both saw where I was coming from. A smooth and creamy mouthfeel didn't shake my shake impressions. Thank you, may I please have another. Kelly: "I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! I DRINK IT UP!"

Gina, with the Tenacious Apple Tripel: Extremely cloudy with a lot of apple-bit goodness floating around. Couldn't think of a good color match, but camel (like the animal) comes to mind. Head was off-white, and not lingering. Mouthfeel seemed lighter than a typical tripel, and with less of an alcohol punch. Enjoyably drinkable.

Kelly, with the Double Down Brown: Notes coming soon...


Notice that the tap handle mounting holes (technical term) continue off into the left of the picture - plenty of room for more beer on tap

A big crowd for opening night

Since we were in Kokomo anyway, we thought it best to also visit Half Moon Restaurant and Brewery on Kokomo's south side.

Despite both Brewpubs being what you might consider "the little guy", Half Moon has the feel of a business looking to grow into the same sort of chain brewpubs as Rock Bottom or Ram in downtown Indianapolis. Everything from the very professional and laminated menus, to the 14 televisions in my direct line of sight, to the furniture seemed to say that this was the sort of place that could grow into something bigger. The only thing that really said "Kokomo" was the names of the beers - particularly the Kokomonster, which I felt had a slight Oreo cookie/chocolate finish. Could have just been the name reminding me of Cookie Monster, though.



A flight of beer: Pre-Prohibition Pilsner, Wildcat Wheat, Stoplight City Red, Old Ben Brown, Elwood's IPA, Cole Porter - plus two bonus beers: the Hefeweisen, and Kokomonster

Shiny laminated beer menu



We shared the flight of beer amongst the three of us, with us each taking in multiple drinks of each in an effort to determine which one stood out above the others enough to be our favorite. In the end, it was a toss up, as each of the beers were quite tasty. We also ate at Half Moon, and were served portions that left us with plenty of food to take home.

So if you've got a free evening or weekend day, and you want to be amazed by the sheer number of chain restaurants and stoplights that one city can have, a trip up to Kokomo's brewpubs is well worth your time. We hope to get back for a full Roundtable sooner than later.

This is what we're here for.

This came to our email address a few months ago...

I just found your website today, and I wanted to make sure you guys knew about the Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery in Kokomo. Not necessarily to rate, just to enjoy, since you're so nearby!

Take US 31 North to Kokomo. Half Moon is on the left, between Center and Alto.

They currently have 8 beers on tap... Not bad for a place that only opened 5 months ago!

The Half Moon Restaurant and Brewery is located at:
4051 S. Lafountain
Kokomo, IN 46902
Call us at: 765.455.BREW (2739)
http://www.halfmoonbrewery.com

Thanks!
-Kristy

And this came to our email address today...

Hello,

I was browsing your blog site, and wanted to see if I could have my store's site added to your listing's of Hoosier Beer. I am in the southern part of the state, so not much a part of the Indianapolis beer scene, but we are part of the New Albany area and are tied closely with Roger Baylor at Rich O's/New Albanian Brewing. You can also check us out on both Ratebeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com as well.

Thanks for the consideration,

Todd

Keg Liquors
617 E. Lewis and Clark Parkway
Clarksville, IN 47129
(812)-283-3988
http://www.kegliquors.com

I've posted both of the emails to let anyone else out there who'd like a little attention from Hoosier Beer Geek to drop us a line - we're more than happy to help.