KOTBR #31 in Review | Wychwood Hobgoblin Ale @ the Chatham Tap

For Roundtable #31, the KOTBR convened court at downtown Indy's newest tribute to Old Blighty, the Chatham Tap, to review Wychwood Brewery's Hobgoblin Ale. We were joined by several of our faithful readers and by beer guru Mat Gerdenich of Cavalier Distributing.

Mike kicked off our reviews with a 2.3 mug rating for the Hobgoblin Ale, noting that it "wasn't a bad beer - it just wasn't a great beer."

Jim was next. Being Mr. Originality, he also gave the Hobgoblin a 2.3 mug rating, finding the beer to be "underwhelming."

Gina, getting into the autumn spirit with her craving for darker beers, entered a 2.75 mug rating for the Hobgoblin. She didn't necessarily dislike this beer, but she "was certainly disappointed by the lack of flavor."

Jason batted clean-up, tying everything together with a nice bit of perspective on English beers. He gave the Hobgoblin a 3.0 mug rating, stating that if he "were in the ChatTap drinking pints and watching soccer, [he'd] order it more than once." He also recounted his past drunken escapades at EPCOT, where he had quite a few beers and abused a donkey.

KOTBR #29 In Review - Hoeven Heaven

Roundtable #29 saw all six knights (and Brent) together again for a rare full cast night out. Before meeting up with Chris at Deano's, we stopped in at the downtown Badaboomz location and sampled Konings Hoeven Quadrupple Trappist Ale, a Dutch ale that was a crowd pleaser.

Mike called the beer an enigma and "a nice punch in the brain" before awarding it 4 mugs.

Jim explained the life of a trappist monk before praising their work in awarding the Hoeven with a 5 mug rating.

Jason introduced beer photography to the blog and described Hoeven as a fruit medley of brown sugar, pop rocks, caramel (maybe?) - and then awarded it with 4.5 mugs.

Gina combined her review with a beer diary entry, and became sad when she realized how quickly her glass was emptying. She gave Konings Hoeven 5 Mugs.

Kelly bemoaned the moving process and decided that Hoeven was good enough to inspire her to "go to the Hop Shop and buy up anything I can't pronounce". She then awarded the beer with 4.5 mugs, with opportunity for advancement.

Chris, because he arrived later in the evening, did not review. His loss.

KOTBR Review #28: Roll out the barrels

So why does it take two weeks to put up a review summary? Like the age old question from the Tootsie Pop commercials, the world may never know. Here are some other questions that, frankly are best left unanswered...

Mike asks where he can get his mullet highlighted?

Jim asks why do Germans love the smooth jazz genre so?

Jason asks what exactly does everybody see in the movie "Anchorman"?

And Gina asks who stole the kishka?

Oh, and some beer was consumed as well. And with it being Oktoberfest and we were at the Rathskeller, we obviously had to drink German beers. Like Weihenstephaner Oktoberfest, which averaged a 2.88 mugs rating. And Erdinger Hefe Weissbier Dark, which averaged a 1.25 mugs rating.

KOTBR #27 In Review - Labor Day, The Breakfast Club, and Keeping the Ship On Course

I've seen it happen again and again - Indianapolis blogs that die the slow death; a post here and there, then once a week, then once a month, some of them dead even though they don't know it yet...

It's not going to happen here, despite Chris' efforts to pull a Joseph Hazelwood. Someone has to be Ferdinand Magellan*.

But before mutiny, let's address Roundtable #27, The Breakfast Club and the beer consumed on Labor Day.

First - the Breakfast Club. Despite Jason's best efforts to use the movie's own poster to prove it's "Chick Flickness", the audience has spoken, the polls are closed, and The Breakfast Club is - by a score of 31 to 16 - definitely not a chick flick. But Jason is welcome to cry while watching it anyway.

And now the beer - Four of the Geeks met at Chris' house on Labor Day for some tasty BBQ and a massive sampling.

Bell's Batch 8000 - Banana nut bread potpourri, a tight, tart-like mouthfeel, and a stuffed-dog humping of your tastebuds. 3.25 Mugs.

Unibroue Seigneuriale - Johnny Appleseed's Ale; caramel apple, the beautiful, sweet aroma of decomposition. 2.66 Mugs.

Goose Island Demolition - Overextended tastebuds knock one knight out, but the other two soldier on. Green beans and sulfur, and a lack of memory. 1.75 Mugs.

Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA - The perfect IPA for non-hopheads? Chris thinks so. Jason calls it "best best beer of the night." A mouth-snappin' hoppy taste. Mike drags the score down again. 4.16 Mugs.

Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout - Jason sat this one out too. Deep Hershey's syrup nose - thick, heavy, chocolate, nutty, and caramel. We dug it. 4.5 Mugs.

* * * * *

*I would prefer that from here on out you address me as Captain Ferdinand. And I want a hat with a feather.

Is anybody else confused? - KOTBRs #24, #25, #26

As has become tradition at Hoosier Beer Geek, we like to wrap up our roundtables with a summary review to make things easier to sort out later. We've been so busy recently that the roundtables have run into each other, but I'm about to tie them all together in a nice little bow in hope that the confusion is behind us.

Roundtable #24 - Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA - All six knights made it to Deano's Vino for our one year anniversary - we were all lucky to make it back out Deano's door alive. + Vomit.

Chris - 5 Mugs, Jason - 5 Mugs, Jim - 5 Mugs, Kelly - 5 Mugs, Mike - 5 Mugs, Gina - 5 Mugs. Our first ever perfect score. 5.00 Mugs average.

Roundtable #25 - The Good Beer Show - Chris, Gina, and Mike take a trip up to Muncie to visit the Good Beer Show folks at the Fickle Peach and the Heorot. Chris sits out the mug ratings, which probably explains why they're so low. + Vomit.

Two Brother's Hop Juice: Gina - 3 Mugs, Mike - Mugs. 3.00 Mugs average.
Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard: Gina - 3 Mugs, Mike - 3.04 Mugs. 3.02 average.
Three Floyd's Fantabulous Resplendence: Gina - 2.5 Mugs, Mike - 1.0 Mugs. 1.75 average. Sorry Floyds. I'm going to try to make it up to you.

Roundtable #26 - The Retro Beer Challenge - Jim, Kelly, Mike, and Gina visit the Melody Inn to begin a series of beer tastings to find the best of the worst. Scores are then weighted in a method unlike anything we've done before because this is a tournament. Surprisingly enough, this review was minus vomit.

Budweiser: Jim - 2 points, Kelly - 2 points, Gina - 3 points, Mike - 3 points. 10 points total.
Rolling Rock: Jim - 3 points, Kelly - 3 points, Gina - 2 points, Mike - 2 points. 10 points total.
Pabst Blue Ribbon: Jim - 1 point, Kelly - 1 point, Gina - 1 point, Mike - 1 point. 4 points total.

Budweiser and Rolling Rock advance in the tournament.

There! I've done it. A complete summary of our last three roundtables. It's a miracle. Hopefully we'll never be this disorganized again.

KOTBR #23 New Belgium Brewery

This Roundtable featured 4 beers by New Belgium Brewing Company - 1554, Abbey, Trippel, and Fat Tire - stemming from an earlier review of Fat Tire that left us less than impressed and we thought it deserved a second chance.

While we felt a little better about Fat Tire this go-around, we still weren't necessarily moved by it.
Overall: 2 Mugs
Jim: 2.5, Chris: 2, Gina: 2, Mike: 1.5

Our favorite of the four was originally based on a Belgian recipe dating back to, well, 1554. This ale is very drinkable, tasting dry and chocolaty with a very light mouth feel.
Overall: 3.68 Mugs
Chris: 4, Jim: 3.75, Mike: 3.5, Gina: 3.5

The Trippel had the highest ABV of the four we tried (7.8%) and carried notes of grape, apple, and plum.
Overall: 3.12 Mugs
Jim: 3.5, Mike: 3, Chris: 3, Gina: 3

The Abbey was all bananas with a light mouth feel.
Overall: 2.75 Mugs
Mike: 3, Gina: 3, Chris: 2.5, Jim: 2.5

Though we may prefer to buy something more local, we can definitely support New Belgium's environmentally-friendly practices, beautiful artwork, and love for beer. We would definitely stop by if we're in the area.

KOTBR #22: Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

For Review #22, the Knights of the Beer Roundtable convened at Hot Shotz Ale & Grill to try out the limited-production Founders Brewery Kentucky Breakfast Bourbon Aged Stout. (Say that three times fast.)

Jason started off by insulting Chris and praising the beer simultaneously, which is no easy task. He praised the chameleon-like qualities of the stout before giving it a big thumbs up and a 5 mug rating:

This beer showed me that while I have been hopping on hops a lot recently, myroots are in the maltier beers. And bourbon stouts still rank as my favorite beer variety. I'm reluctant to give this beer a 5 mug rating simply because I have not tried every single beer in the world and there is a chance that there is a better beer out there. But I'm going to do that anyway, because I could not imagine a better beer.

Mike followed up with a nod to our excellent bartender, Hans, and delved into the qualities of the beer (and a 3.5 mug rating):

Hans (our bartender) had warned us that this stout was unlike others in that it was better a little colder, and I'd agree with him. But then again, I much prefer the taste of coffee to bourbon. Because this was such an interesting and transformative beer, I'd give the Founders Kentucky Breakfast Bourbon Aged Stout a 3.5 mug rating.

Jim complimented Brian, the owner, and commented on availability before he echoed Jason’s earlier sentiments with a 5 mug rating:

I'm on precisely the same page as Jason with this beer. I would add only that, as the beer warmed, I detected some hazelnut notes in the flavor.Kentucky Breakfast Stout was a thoroughly delicious beer. I give it the Hoosier Beer Geek seal of special approval: 5 mugs.

And Kelly discussed her love/hate relationship with the stout before she rated it 4 mugs:

Jason mentioned how fascinated he was with the complexities of the beer, and I’m in total agreement. Especially since just ten minutes after I loved the beer…I haaaaaaated it! I let it get just a little too warm, and the last few sips of the beer were like chugging straight Kentucky bourbon. I think my eyes might have rolled back in my head a little. I give the beer 4 solid mugs and a couple of aspirin for good measure.

KOTBR Review #21: Delirium Tremens

Review 21 was unlike any other in that it was the first time we had unexepected guests; when arriving at BARcelona Tapas, we met Jeremy, Mary, Jeff and Jessica, who had read about us in INtake. We also had invited out old friends Brent, Adam, and Jason, so our numbers swelled to a total of 14 drinkers. After settling in and trying out some of BARcelona's fine food, we got down to tasting our feature beer, Delirium Tremens.

Jason gave the Tremens a 3.5 mug rating in a review that touched on everything from Don Quixote to Jack Sparrow:

It's a very nice Belgian beer, with sweet and dry flavors and aromas of apples and citrus. It is cloudy with a light orange color. The best part about this beer is that it gets sweeter with time. If you let it sit and warm up, more sugary notes begin to appear.

Jim explained tapas theory (my words, not his) and agreed with Jason that DT was a 3.5 mug beer:

...the Delirium Tremens has a huge fruity aroma, heavy with apple and plum notes. The flavor is similar to the aroma; it's fruity, malty, slightly sweet, and dry on the finish. I have, however, had more flavorful Belgians than Delirium Tremens. Still, this is a decent beer.

Mike sang in the words of the old Caucasian spiritual (the Golden Girls theme) and gave DT a 4 mug rating:

DT's nose is a fantastic thing - I could be happy just smelling the beer. Based on nose alone I'd think it was a five mug beer. Unfortunately the beer's taste doesn't quite live up to its nose - but that's not to say it isn't enjoyable. It's a flavorful experience of a beer, and begs to be really savored.

Kelly revealed that her friends and coworkers are all perverts before giving Tremens a 4 mug rating:

This beer starts out with a big carmel apple nose, and follows up with a cotton candy finish and sneaky ABV that reaches out and punks you in no time flat. A thoroughly enjoyable beer, but Belgian ales have stiff competition in the land of the Beer Geeks...

Chris "spewed forth some yada, yada, yada" and gave DT 5 mugs:

The taste is one of the most complex of any beer I've ever tried, and it has a light mouthfeel. It's got a real high ABV - 8.5% - so this is a good sipping beer. Don't drink too fast, unless you're a tubby bastard like me, then you can probably handle it. It's really one of my top 10 favorite beers.

All of the knights would like to thank our guests, Deano, and the folks at BARcelona Tapas for a fine time and some great food.

KOTBR Review #20 - Trans Am's flat tire leaves Burt Reynolds red in the face

I always wondered how the folks in Atlanta reacted after getting their first sip of the beer that Bandit and Snowman worked so hard to sneak in. I mean, it's Coors. I imagine some Georgian had to have said, "You evaded Sheriff Buford T. Justice and risked time in prison for THIS?!?"

For our twentieth review, the Knights had some Fat Tire Ale (from the Fort Collins, Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing Company) hauled in. This cult favorite only recently started crossing the Mississippi and is still not shipped to Indiana.

Sitting around the Beer Round Table, along with myself, were Knights Chris, Jim, Kelly, and Mike. Gina and Matt were guests who also provided commentary. My lovely wife, The Lovely Wife, was also there, but since she doesn't like beer, she didn't drink beer. Look for her new blog soon: "Hoosier Girlie-Drinks-With-Little-Paper-Umbrellas Geek".

For the big 2-0, we decided to change things up. Before doing a review of the Fat Tire, we did a blind taste test of 5 Red/Amber Ales. Since I was playing host and knew which beer was which, I elected not to provide commentary.

Among the five, the favorite was a Fort Collins, Colorado beer, but not the one you are thinking. Retro Red from Fort Collins Brewing Company. This was a unanimous selection. Everybody enjoyed the sweetness of the flavor and the complexity of the aromas.

Second place was a toss up between Bell's Amber from Michigan and Barrel House RedLegg from Cincinnati, Ohio. Everyone agreed that they were both equally good. The RedLegg, by the way, can usually be found at Great American Ballpark, home of the Reds. Hence the name.

Fourth place went to Breckenridge Avalanche Ale. It wasn't that it was a bad beer. But this beer was lacking in flavor and mouthfeel compared to the previous three.

Fifth place went to Fat Tire. A dirty trick played by yours truly on the rest of the Knights. Even those who had Fat Tire in the past didn't recognize it during the blind taste test.

Does this mean that Fat Tire is a bad beer? Not by any means. There is always the possibility that, in traveling from Colorado to Chicago, the beer went Pepe Le Pew on us. It could be that, given their popularity, they are producing so much that a bad batch went out. It is difficult to say. Given the circumstances, we decided that it wouldn't be fair to rate Fat Tire right now. We'll try again in the near future, after Mike and Gina return from a trip to St. Louis with a new batch of brew.

But I think this little test illustrates that Fat Tire may not be the best red ale out there. Given the difficulties Hoosiers have in obtaining this frequently-praised beer, it should be comforting to know that there are at least four other red/amber ales that are worthy of attention and admiration, whether Fat Tire is available or not.

KOTBR Review # 19 - Three Floyds Gumballhead

For the latest review, the Knights of the Beer Roundtable convened yet again at Buffalo Wild Wings (soon to morph into BadaBoomz) to try out Three Floyds Gumballhead.

Mike was the first to chime in, claiming himself to be a "Dumballhead" for not sufficiently cleansing his palate before the review:

Although it seemed as if my fellow geeks were very impressed with the Gumballhead, I felt like it was just a fair option, and not a beer I was impressed with enough to give a second chance. Then again, maybe it just doesn't go well with boneless wings. I'd give it 2.5 mugs.

Then I posted my review (complete with advice to Fred Sanford-loving special education teachers), in which I confessed my love for Gumballhead and favorably compared it to Bell's great double IPA, Hopslam:

While not on par with the Hopslam's flavor, Gumballhead's taste is nonetheless formidable. It's sweet on the front of the tongue and dry and bitter on the back. The flavor is heavy on those Amarillo hops, which lends the taste a striking combination of citrus and evergreen. . . . This is a 4.5 mug beer for me; it's certainly one of the best that we've reviewed.

Finally, Jason posted his review, giving us all an excellent overview of wheat beer varieties before giving Gumballhead his seal of approval:

And, if you are in the right frame of mind (as Jim was), you would even swear that you could smell bubble gum. I'm sure that's completely unintentional. In terms of taste, it has a great wheat taste without the wheat aftertaste. There are a number of fruity hints. And a fair amount of hop bite to it without being super bitter. Like Jim, I give this beer a 4.5 mug rating.

Chris was too busy recovering from cavorting with hippies in the Haight to post his review, although he tells us that he will soon post a review of Northern California's finest breweries when time permits.

KOTBR Review #16: Barley Island's Bourbon Barrel Beers

Normally, the Knights of the Beer Roundtable are able to agree on a beer for reviewing and then drink it together at the same time. Our night at Barley Island was a bit looser. We all drank several of the beers they have on tap, plus a couple that weren't. In the end, we came to a general consensus to review the two Bourbon Barrel beers that we sample, the Oatmeal Stout and the IPA. This review resulted in some of the widest ranges of beer ratings. Here are the Knights' ratings and postings, beginning with the Bourbon Barrel IPA:

Mike starts us off on way he gave it a 2.5 mug rating...

I am not a drinker of hard liquor, so neither bourbon beer was particularly suited to my tastes...If you had blindfolded me and placed the glass in front of me I never would have suspected I was smelling beer...A sip of the IPA really brought out the bourbon, with a slightly flowery, hoppy note mixed in. It really tasted very similar to the way it smelled.

Jason follows by giving the IPA a knockout 3.5 mug rating...

[It is] an IPA that is heavy in bourbon aroma and strong on alcohol flavor. It's an incredible one-two punch. POW! Strong bourbon bite comes from the left. BAM! The IPA hoppiness punch comes in from the right. If you are a gluten for punishment (I am), this beer is right up your alley.

And here is what the Knights said with the more popular Bourbon Barrel Oatmeal Stout:

Mike again starts, this time giving the beer 3 mugs...

I felt like the bourbon worked better in the stout...it made me think of film noir, cigarette smoke, and contemplative depression. But in a good, sort of romantic way.

Jason riffs on the stout, giving it a 4.5 mug rating

...the Stout takes on my favorite characteristic of bourbon: the caramelized malt flavor and aroma. The beer's aroma had a subtle hint of bourbon and the malty goodness that you appreciate in a stout is emphasized even more with the added bourbon component.

Chris finishes the geeky review by concurring with Jason and giving the Stout a 4.5 ...

...it was better the warmer it got...this is a really good beer, especially if you still have a stomach of steel and can take bourbon...

Can you guess who the Hoosier Bourbon Geeks are? Find out by checking out the individual reviews...

KOTBR Review #15: Bell's Oberon

For review #15, the Hoosier Beer Geek's Knights of the Beer Roundtable took on Bell's Oberon, an American wheat ale, at Deano's Vino in Fountain Square. It's spring arrival is highly anticipated by it's fans to the point that tapping parties were held all around town. Three knights posted their reviews and here's a brief look at their thoughts:

Jim's review gave Oberon a strong 4 mug rating.

Because of its drinkability, Oberon would be a good "gateway" beer for those who are interested in trying out more craft beers... among lighter beers, it's the best I've been able to find.

Jason's review gave it a 4 mug rating as well.

...it is an enjoyable beer. And the best part is that it will likely be enjoyed by all levels of beer drinkers, both novices and snobs.

And newest Knight Mike rated the beer at 3.5 mugs.

It tastes like what a good American style beer should taste like. A full bodied, truly tasty Budweiser. Without the (magical horse crap).

To find out what "magical horse crap" is, and for more from our Knights, be sure to read the posts.