HBG's July Pint Night, Special Edition | MacNiven's, This Thursday, 7/25, 6:30 p.m.

For our regular readers who may not have heard, our beloved Rodney and his wife Jess (who is a KOTBR emeritus) are moving to Macon, Georgia this weekend. We wanted to give them a proper send-off.

So please come out and join us for a special Pint Night at MacNiven's Restaurant & Bar this Thursday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m. as we bid Rod and Jess goodbye. We won't have a specific pint special with tasting notes as we normally do at Pint Night. But imperial (20 oz.) pints of Jess' favorite Three Floyds brew, Robert the Bruce Scottish Style Ale, will be on special for $4.50 a pint. Of course, MacNiven's always has a stellar draft list as well. Robert the Bruce also holds a special place in our hearts because it was the second beer we ever reviewed.

We will resume normal HBG Pint Night operations next month, when we will return to the Tomlinson Tap Room, and in September, when we hope to hold Pint Night at the soon-to-be-open Shoefly Public House in Herron-Morton Place.

Save the Date | HBG's July Pint Night - MacNiven's, July 25, 6:30 p.m.

We're returning to Mass Ave for HBG Pint Night this month. For July's edition of our monthly event, we'll be on the southwest end of the Avenue as we convene at MacNiven's Restaurant & Bar on July 25 at 6:30 p.m. Our featured beer is to be determined, but we encourage you to save the date. We'll announce the chosen beer soon.

What's the purpose of Pint Night? To feature beers at a reasonable price and, if you're interested in learning, to educate you about the particular beers on tap. In fact, we'll provide an information sheet on the beers and welcome your suggestions for which beers we should feature at future HBG Pint Nights. So come on out and enjoy some great beer and conversation with us.

American Craft Beer Week, Annoying Photo Angles Edition | Sun King/Three Floyds Takover @ MacNivens

Last night, American Craft Beer Week continued at MacNiven's. The pub is doing it up big for ACBW, hosting a different event each night of the week. Last night's event consisted of a complete takeover of the pub's tap lines by Sun King and Three Floyds. The lineups:

Sun King:

Wee Muckle Scottish Wee Heavy
3 Kings Pale Ale
ReplicAle Imperial Stout
Naptown Brown
Buffalo Dominator Doppelbock
Cupcake's Revenge Bourbon Barrel & Tart Cherry Aged Chocolate Stout

Three Floyds:

Alpha King Pale Ale
Robert the Bruce Scottish Ale
Arctic Panzer Wolf Imperial IPA
Cortez American Pale Ale
Zombie Dust Citra Hop Pale Ale

Before the tapping, I had my sights set on Sun King's Cupcake's Revenge. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived at 8 p.m., Cupcake's Revenge was long gone. So I shifted my focus to the Three Floyds lineup to the two Three Floyds beers I had not yet tried: Zombie Dust and Cortez.

Zombie Dust

Zombie Dust is a single-hop (Citra) pale ale that has the hallmarks of a Three Floyds pale ale: aggressive pineapple, mango, and grapefruit notes. It's also backed with a nice, somewhat caramel-like maltiness that was a surprise to me because I was expecting a drier beer. That slight sweetness really made this beer for me. I eagerly await Three Floyds' release of Zombie Dust in bottles.

Cortez

Cortez is another single-hop pale ale, the hop in this instance being El Dorado. I've never knowingly had a beer hopped with El Dorado hops, so I didn't know what to expect when I ordered this beer. I thought the beer would have the Three Floyds hallmarks that I mentioned above. But when I took a sip, I was very surprised at what I tasted: a mellow, light-bodied pale ale that wasn't hop-forward at all. There was more of a faint herbal character floating in the background of this beer, with a lightly sweet finish to go along with that character. I thought that Cortez was an excellent beer, but it's probably one that some 3F fans will find disappointing.

To keep up to date on what's happening in Indy during American Craft Beer Week, go here.

And sorry for the amateurish photos. This is what happens when our spiffy, high-tech equipment is temporarily unavailable.

Scenes from a Tapping: Bell's Hopslam Firkin at MacNiven's

Where: MacNiven's (339 Massachusetts Avenue, Indianapolis, (317) 632-7268, Smoking Allowed).


When: Thursday, February 25th.


Who: MacNiven's owner Stuart Robertson, World Class Beverage's Matt Clapesattle, and Bell's Brewery's Veronica Sanders.


Why: A firkin of Bell's Hopslam is a very rare thing - this was the only firkin to make it to Indianapolis.


What: Bell's Hopslam needs no introduction, and this year's batch seems to be one of the best yet. Drunk from a firkin, it was like Hopslam Plus - plus more sweet grapefruit flavor (maybe even a hint of strawberry), plus a smoother mouthfeel, and just all around a little bit better.

While you may have missed your chance for a taste of Hopslam on firkin (the beer ran out about an hour after the tapping), you'll have an opportunity to sample Bell's Batch 9000 - an even rarer beer - on tap this coming Monday (03/01/10) at Chatham Tap.

KOTBR #91 - A Second Helping of BCS

Lately, the Knights of the Beer Roundtable have been very busy. We have a fairly long "to-do list" that we've slowly been whittling away at (Mike never lets us forget about the list). But just when we've crossed several things off of the list, more beer events pop up, so the list gets longer again. It's a never-ending process, but one that we're happily stuck in.

In keeping with this theme, we found ourselves occupied with a beer event every night last week. Because we all have lives outside of the beer world, not all of us could attend every event. Therefore, we decided to spread out the responsibility. On Wednesday, Gina, Matt E., and I hit MacNiven's (339 Massachusetts Ave., Indy, (317) 632-7268) for a special tapping of Goose Island's 2009 Bourbon County Stout (13% ABV). Even though we reviewed the 2008 BCS back in June, we felt that it was too good to pass up the opportunity to get a fresh pour of the 2009 vintage ($10.00 a snifter at MacNiven's).

First, a little history, courtesy of the Goose Island folks in attendance at the tapping--

Goose Island brewmaster Greg Hall came up with the recipe for BCS and brewed the first batch at Goose Island's Clybourne Avenue brewpub back in 1992. Originally, the beer was aged in Jim Beam barrels, but the brewery has been using 12- to 14-year-aged bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distilleries since 2006. This year's BCS was brewed in honor of the 1000th batch brewed at the brewery's Clybourne Avenue location.

I find some bourbon-barrel-aged stouts to be too heavy with the bourbon notes. To my palate, these sorts of beers taste like an imperial stout spiked with a shot or two of bourbon, so the bourbon barrel aging ends up overwhelming the beer rather than enhancing it. The 2009 BCS, however, has a noticeable yet nicely subdued bourbon character and is quite smooth for a bourbon-barrel-aged stout. Indeed, the alcohol is hidden well in a beer that ought to be pretty hot. Moreover, the nose and flavor contain a sumptuous mix of vanilla, chocolate, and cherries. The cherry and vanilla notes are front and center, blending together in a wonderful sweetness that lingers on the tongue. This beer is exemplary and merits the rare perfect mug rating. Get down to MacNiven's while the keg lasts (if it hasn't already blown). 5.00 Mugs.

Goose Island has really outdone themselves with this year's release of Bourbon County Stout. From the new packaging to the remarkably drinkable beer, the BCS really exceeded my expectations. The nose is of chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon. The flavor is like a liquored up and velvety chocolate truffle. 4.25 Mugs.


As of press time, Matt was too busy working on his latest H.P. Lovecraft-ish novel to get his review completed. Fortunately, we do have his mug score: 4.30 Mugs.



Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (2009)
Jim: 5.00 Mugs | Gina: 4.25 Mugs | Matt E.: 4.30 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.52 Mugs

KOTBR #54 - MacNiven's Broken Promise

We originally set out for MacNiven's with the promise of Brooklyn's Grand Cru and Magic Hat #9 on tap - but upon arriving there was not a drop to drink of either, and so we set our sights elsewhere.

Matt R (profile photo next time): I usually don't care when a bar is out of a particular beer. I want to think it is because they are turning their beer properly, and when it comes to craft beer I like to think that it means that craft beer is taking hold and people are interested in drinking different beer, but I really had my heart set on trying the Magic Hat #9, but all the more reason to go back to MacNiven's in the future. I've personally always enjoyed MacNiven's. I've always gotten great service, great beer, and the food is pretty tasty as well. I also have a penchant for all things Sean Connery, and the walls of MacNivens are a tribute to the Scotsman, and why not have a Scottish beer in his honor?

Behold Caledonian Golden Promise
I wasn't sure what to expect from Caledonian. This is my first beer from them. This is also the first organically brewed beer in Britain. So, in case you are on beer Jeopardy you will know that bit of useless information. This beer poured a nice golden amber color with a tight frothy head on it with an abundance of carbonation bubbles. I am getting ripe fruit in the nose like apricots and peaches as well as some fingernail polish. The main flavors are of toasted grain with just a slight hop addition to the flavor. The mouthfeel is good, but leaves quite the dry finish. This was a fairly decent beer, and I would come back to it again. I think it is worthy of a solid 3.3 mugs.

Although Chris is fairly new to the party, he knows his Hoosier Beer Geek history. That's why he didn't hesitate in using the old KOTBR beer review cop-out: the haiku.

Spur of the moment
So silly in retrospect
Damn inspiration:

Smells strongly of pear
Tastes of Granny Smith Apples
So easy to drink

3.6 Mugs.



When rolling with a pack of eight thirsty Knights, you run into problems not normally encountered. Problems like "yes, we have that. No, we do not have eight of them." Craft beer isn't always stacked so deep.

And that's after making a decision on what to drink.

"Have you had that?"
"Yeah... I'd rather not."
"What about.."
"Hey has anyone.."
"What the hell is Caledonian Golden Promise?"

Apparently the golden promise lies in a minefield of organic whozits and whatnots:

The first organically brewed beer in Britain. Golden Promise is named after Scotland's most famous malting barley - which is prized by brewers and distillers for producing a delightful rounded sweet malt flavour, reminiscent of Ovaltine.

Organically grown aroma hops like First Gold are added to Caledonian's unique direct-fired open coppers to create this award winning beer. Certified by the Soil Association it is a 5-times winner at their Organic Food Awards and winner of a Silver medal at the 2005 International Brewing Awards.

Certified by the Soil Association? I don't know about you, but I feel like if there's anyone I can trust on beer, it's got to be the soil association. You know, with their love, dedication, and expansive knowledge of soil.

Whatever. Golden Promise had a sweet fruity nose - I got apple, pear, and banana - with a front that echoed those same elements. Light bodied, a little tart, a hint vinegary. Agreeable, drinkable, nice.. but..

Taking into account the $7 price of the bottle, I'd wouldn't exactly hurry to pick this one again. But it was pretty good. 3.25 Mugs.

Mike: 3.25 Jason: 3.4 Jim: 4.0 Gina: 4.0 Matt E: 4.0 Kelly: 3.65 Matt R: 3.3 Chris: 3.6
Total Score: 3.65 Mugs

I'll take a Coors Lite, please!

I got the chance to hang out with an old friend last night, who you all know as Traci on The Good Beer Show, who has been in town all week for a conference. We had planned to do a special guest review - a little cross-collaboration between new beer media. Unfortunately, I woke-up yesterday morning so congested that I could barely breathe. I went through an entire box of Puffs yesterday. So I needed a beer, yet I couldn't taste it. I told Traci that I may as well have ordered Coors Lite because I couldn't taste it anyway, but I was afraid someone would come in and see me.

We started the evening off at Deano's (where, apparently, the rest of the Knights of the Beer Roundtable are meeting tomorrow evening to review the season's first batch of Oberon without me, following the tapping of the keg party tonight), but Nick wasn't there, and the place was pretty dead. So we each finished off a Two-Hearted, and hit the road to MacNiven's. Traci was immediately impressed with MacNiven's when she found out that Dreadnaught, her Precious, was on tap. By the time I finished my Dreadnaught, I was finally feeling a little more lively, and plunged into a Dogfish 60. So in all, I had 3 very hoppy beers, each with a decidely distinct aftertaste, and couldn't taste one damn drop of it!

KOTBR Review #3: Three Floyd's Robert the Bruce

We have decided to add some new features to the reviews of the Knights of the Beer Roundtable. For example, we will now start to give a little bit more info about any new bars we frequent for the Roundtable, like MacNiven's, where we were at for the most recent tasting. Jim also adds photos of the establishment and the beer of choice. And we've also instituted a new rating system - the 5 Mug Review, with 5 mugs being simply an amazingly fantastic beer, and 1 mug being Coors Lite.

Only two of us - Jim and I - were able to hold court for this tasting, but we did the best we could for you. We gathered at MacNivens, a Scottish specialty bar located on Mass Ave., in the building where Brother Junipers used to be. Our beer for the week is Robert the Bruce Scottish Ale (6.5% ABV) from Three Floyds. For those of you not familiar with Three Floyds, shame on you! It's (in my opinion) the best microbrewery in Indiana, located way up north in Munster. We have decided that an "on-location" review from Three Floyds is coming up. Not only does Nick Floyd (one of the 3 - along with his brother & father) produce some fantastic beer, but the food in the brewpub is incredible.


Interesting fact: Three Floyds is located in the middle of a non-descript corporate park. Prior to the opening of their brewpub last year, visitors wanting to sample the brew took a seat at a picnic table located back in the warehouse.


Jim: This week’s meeting of the Knights of the Beer Roundtable took place at MacNiven’s Restaurant & Pub, which is one of my favorite Downtown Indianapolis pubs. Owners Stuart and Troy used to be managers at the Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery on Washington Street, and they ran an excellent establishment while they were there. The food was always good, and the beer was almost universally top notch. Fortunately, both of these attributes are also true at MacNiven’s, which focuses on Scottish food and drink. This is not surprising considering that the land of bagpipes, kilts, and haggis is Stu’s native country. Stu also gets a thumbs up from me because he’s always happy to turn on Fox Soccer Channel or GolTV for those of us who are thirsty for a little soccer as well as a good pint.

Chris decided we would wait until we got to MacNiven’s to pick the beer we would review, although we knew we were going to choose a Scottish ale as our target beer. That only made sense since we were having a drink at a Scottish pub. As we looked through the pub’s hefty beer menu, I warmed up with a fantastic beer (Shmaltz Brewing Company’s He’Brew Genesis Ale) that I think the Knights should review in the future because I’m curious to see what others think of it.

I’ve enjoyed just about every beer that I’ve tried by Three Floyds. But I was unimpressed and a bit disappointed by Robert the Bruce. At first sip, I didn’t find much of a nose to it, but as I had a few more sips, I sensed a mostly hoppy nose. This, I think, is a bit unusual for a Scottish ale, which usually has very malty nose. As for the taste – It, too, was hoppy, not malty like a typical Scottish ale. In fact, the hops overwhelmed nearly all other aspects of the beer for me, so much so that I had a hard time picking up other notes of flavor. In my opinion, the bite from the hops was too much for a Scottish ale, and I found that the aftertaste hung around much longer than I wanted it to.

However, the taste wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Robert the Bruce does start with a nice bit of sweetness on the tip of the tongue, and it isn’t as dry as Belhaven’s. So, I can’t totally pan this beer. Adhering to our new “five mugs” rating system, I give Three Floyds’ Robert the Bruce two-and-a-half out of five mugs.

Chris: Jim and I schlepped to MacNivens for this week's Roundtable. MacNiven's specializes in Scottish food and beer, though both their food and beer menu are diverse. You know its a good bar when there is a seperate menu just for the beer. I've been to MacNiven's on several occassions, and have never left unsatisfied. While it does tend to get a bit loud, and it's one of the few restaurants that still allows smoking, it's still a quality watering hole. Perhaps my favorite thing about MacNiven's is that, in good weather, the front windows roll up, and you can have a stool looking out and Mass Ave and heckle the passers-by.

We went to MacNiven's only knowing we were going to rate a Scottish Ale. I warmed up on a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA while we debated our choices. Our finalists were Belhaven's Scottish Ale and Robert the Bruce, and we decided to go with the local guys in the end.

I must say here that I've had Robert the Bruce on a few previous occassions, all from the bottle, never on tap. I've always been pleased. Not so much this time. All I can attribute it to is possibly a bad keg. In the new 5 Mug Review system, I can only give it 3 Mugs (2.5 for overall taste, and another .5 because it comes from Three Floyds - and their reputation alone deserves a bump in the ratings).

It has a dark brown color - no surprise there, considering it's a Scottish Ale. For about half the pint, the nose was completely muted to me. I thought it may have been the smoke drifting over from other tables that had stunted my sniffer. But after a few drinks, I started to pick up a strong hop scent. Typically, the Scottish Ale is heavy on the malt, but I just could only pick out hops.

Honestly, all I got out of this beer was hops. That's what leads me to think we may have been sampling a sub-par batch. I knew I was supposed to be getting more malts that hops, but the hops just totally overpowered everything from the nose to the tongue.

I think I could pick out a slight nutty taste, but I can't even say that for sure. The bite wasn't noticeable, but the aftertaste was a bit clingy. I really looked forward to some water to wash the taste out.

Luckily, I'm good with hops, so I could drink it. But it wasn't doing what it was supposed to do, and that's why the average rating.

Now, I wanted to insert some pictures that Jim had taken of our Robert the Bruce, but Blogger mysteriously won't let me post them now that I'm near the end. Technology - hmmpf!

Roundtable at MacNivens

The Knights of the Beer Roundtable will gather tomorrow evening at MacNivens to judge a yet-to-be-determined scottish ale. Look for our review on Friday!