On tap at Flying Saucer in St. Louis, creamily rich oatmeal-sugared brown ale loads black chocolate-malted affluence, nutty coffee resilience, black-breaded rye graining and burnt walnut singe into aggressive dry-roasted hop bittering.
TALLGRASS WOODEN ROOSTER TRIPEL
On tap at Flying Saucer in St. Louis, ambitious rye whiskey barrel-aged tripel recasts brewers’ expressive Velvet Rooster with considerable success. Its dry whiskey alcohol warmth affects the glistening fruited bourbon sweetness, tripel-styled peppery hop spicing and light pilsner malting, finishing with an oaken vanilla veneer. Along the way, tangy cane-sugared banana daiquiri, bruised orange, pineapple, peach, tangerine and apricot illusions as well as lesser almond-coconut-pecan snips contrast vinous Lambrusco champagne esters and distant phenolic astringency.
NEW BELGIUM BLACKBERRY BARLEYWINE
On tap at Flying Saucer in St. Louis, attractive mahogany-bronzed English-styled barleywine integrates sweet ‘n sour blackberry adjunct with Belgian candi-sugared honey malts. With just enough blackberry splendor, its tertiary raspberry, cherry, sugarplum and fig illusions help reinforce the floral fruited frontage.
EXCEL FLASH BANG HOPPY AMERICAN WHEAT ALE
On tap at Flying Saucer in St. Louis, soft-toned American wheat ale brings yellow grapefruit tang and ancillary peach tea, lemon zest and orange marmalade illusions to grassy dry-hopped cracked wheat spine. Dank wood tones underscore durable citric-spiced finish.
ALASKAN JALAPENO IMPERIAL IPA
Stylishly light-bodied IPA hybrid brings subtle green-peppered jalapeno heat to sweetly spiced crystal malting and zesty citrus spritz. Crisply clean glacial water lets easygoing jalapeno burn stay refreshing.
ALASKAN IMPERIAL RED ALE
Engaging medium-bodied amber ale provides stylish toasted caramel malting, dewy hop-roasted crisping and bright floral-perfumed fruit spice, but at a heightened 8.5% ABV level. Moderate alcohol burn caresses tangy grapefruit, pineapple, orange, peach, mango and cherry illusions as well as latent chamomile tea herbage..
CHILLY WATER BREWING COMPANY
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
Proudly patriotic Midwest hub, Indianapolis already had a dozen well-respected brewpubs when CHILLY WATER BREWING COMPANY opened its doors, June 2014. But as the micro-nano brewery scene gained hyperactive nationwide momentum, startups like this fascinating Industrial downtown watering hole became just another prominent member of the ongoing American beer revolution. As of April ’16, its raw, unfinished feel appeared temporary since recent accolades such as Best Brewer at Indiana State Fair makes expansion seem imminent (though the low ceiling and exposed pipes offered a cozily rustic intimacy).
A covered front porch and windowed brew tanks lead to the entrance of Chilly Water. The 12-seat bar accommodates ten taps, two TV’s, and a host of classic rock albums (whose titles make up the name of a few beers) on the nearby wall.
Chili, quesadillas, paninis and soup paired well with nine rounded beer selections available this sunny afternoon. Specializing in a wide array of worldly styles, their lagers are as sublime and expressive as the ‘bigger’ ales.
Light-bodied flagship, Built To Last Pilsner bounced spicy pale malts against lemondrop dollops and grassy Noble hop astringency. Easygoing Chilly Water Lager retained a dry wood tone and herbal respite to contrast barley-roasted pale malt sugaring.
Lemon-soured orange candy delicately embraced Smash Hit Belgian Wit, a coriander-clove-spiced dry body with plantain-banana snips. One Hit Wonder countered subtle grapefruit peel bittering with wispy banana-clove sweetness. Saison Du 92 stayed soft-toned as its mandarin orange spicing picked up light hop peppering.
Meditative moderation, Blazin’ Fiddles Scottish Ale layered sweet caramel malting atop peaty earthiness. Tropical Mosaic-hopped One Hop Wonder brought tangy grapefruit-peeled bittering to clove-spiced banana, pineapple and mango auxiliary.
Taking its moniker from Pink Floyd’s space rock gem, Dark Side Of The Munich Dunkel surrendered brown-sugared fig sweetness, creamy toffee malting and sedate purple-red grape tartness to dewy peat mildew in a definitive manner.
On the dark side, worthy Hey Porter pleated brown chocolate sweetness to pecan, hazelnut and praline undertones. For dessert, outstanding Chocolate Coconut Porter duplicated a Mounds Bar with its dark chocolate malting and toasted coconut center, picking up Pina Colata hints at the nutty mocha finish.
www.chillywaterbrewing.com
TOW YARD BREWING
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
Inside a multi-storied red brick industrial warehouse a few blocks from Indianapolis Colts indoor football stadium, TOW YARD BREWING opened April 2014. A large concrete-floored facility serving local downtown businesses with expressive libations and good bar food, its sportsbar atmosphere certainly suits the basketball, hockey and football fans attending nearby games.
Tow Yard’s main 20-seat pergo wood-ceilinged bar and smaller right side 6-seat bar serve two community tables, several stooled tables, a backroom banquet area and wraparound front deck. An enormous well-kept beer can collection spreads across the spacious interior walls and an on-site deli provides sandwiches, burgers, chicken wings and salads to go alongside homemade draught beer.
Purdue bio grad and head brewer, Tony Fleming (who replaced Indiana University alumni, Bradley Zimmerman), provides a wide array of stylistic brews – some of which are slightly off-the-beaten path.
Visited April 2016, I quaffed the three flagship beers first. Each of these approachable offerings are also available in cans for outside consumption.
Easygoing Goldie Hops Cream Ale placed spicy Saaz hops and honeyed wheat malts above a soft biscuit bottom. Using Goldie Hops as the base, Hook Up Shandler, a soda-like Radler shandy, brought ruby red grapefruit sweetness and tart lemonade-powdered granulated sugaring to the fore as iced tea nuances wavered below. Splendid Horsepower Double Pale Ale plied orange-spiced piney hop dryness and subtle peach-mango undertones to barley-grained Maris Otter malting.
Briskly dry-hopped moderation, Impound IPA, contrasted grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering against sugar-spiced sweetness. English dark mild ale, Who’s That Brown Ale, tasted like day-old coffee with roasted chocolate tones and a brown-sugared candied walnut glaze riding above the light hop-charred bittering.
A bit unusual, classic brown-hued Japanese malt liquor, Beat Box Samurai, delivered sourly dark-roasted chocolate nuttiness and peated soy sauce brininess to earthen wood tones.
Dark-roasted coffee and chocolate dominated Creamy Behemoth Imperial Oatmeal Stout, deepening its mocha frontage with caramelized oats and wispy nuttiness.
My fave: Oatis Redding Imperial Red Ale retained a silken flow despite its heightened 11% ABV as roasted caramel malting, subtle bourbon sweetness and sugary oats coalesced above mild dry-hopped bittering.
towyardbrewing.com
BARLEY’S SMOKEHOUSE & BREWPUB – GRANDVIEW
COLUMBUS, OHIO
On the outskirts of Columbus in urban village, Grandview Heights, BARLEY’S SMOKEHOUSE & BREWPUB retains a friendly roadhouse atmosphere with its genteel blue collar feel and signature hickory-sauced barbecue entrees. Just minutes away from the initial downtown Barley’s brewpub, this casual highway-sidled joint proved wholly impressive. A yellow advertising sign and silver grain silo welcome hearty beer and food lovers to the green-windowed yellow stucco retreat with large license-plated beer garden and metal-furnished covered patio.
An L-shaped bar with 20 stools, one TV, Edison lamps and three separate tap stations serves four booths, several metal-wooded tables and a huge backroom dining area. Exposed ducts mark the ceiling and olden brewery trays cover the walls. Excellent guest drafts include Epic Big Bad Baptist, Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA, North High Hefe, Rhinegeist Panther Porter and Rhinegeist Dinghy Pale Ale. Thirty bottled beers, specialty martinis, wines and bourbons also adorn the menu.
On April 2016 sojourn, shared hearty Combination Platter (rib tips, wings, sauerkraut balls, fried cheese curd, shoestring onions and pickles) with long-time friend, Dennis, while quaffing eight reliably well-balanced in-house brews boasting Scottish and British stylistic roots.
First up, flagship wee heavy, McLenny’s Scottish Ale, placed caramel-spiced malts alongside sweet floral fruiting atop a dewy peat base. In comparison, Robert Burns Scottish Export Ale saddled dewy peated malts with sweet n’ sour cherry-plum-fig conflux and sticky toffee spicing (as well as Band-aid-like beechwood-smoked astringency). Another UK-styled moderation, Red Molly, an Irish Red Ale, draped toasted caramel malts and citric spicing above mild pine hop resin.
Brit-styled Centennial IPA brought stylish dewy earthen mustiness to brown tea herbage, wood-dried hop foliage, musky grain bill and moderate grapefruit-orange bittering.
Blending Centennial IPA with Robert Burns Scottish Ale, Barley’s Smokehouse creates Highland Hammer, a meandering ESB-like “peated bitter” with spicy dried fruiting, piney grapefruit spell and resinous hops that never fully coalesces.
Hopped-up pale wheat ale, Hoptopus, possessed yellow grapefruit-peeled bittering, ancillary orange-pineapple tang, light floral accents and mineral-grained herbage.
Prestigious Alexander’s Russian Imperial Stout, a creamy mocha-bound full body, let its peat-smoked dark chocolate roast outdistance vanilla-spiced caramel and coffee notions to its oats-toasted spine.
Another fine dessert treat, Woody Haze, honors legendary Ohio State University football coach Woody Hayes by barrel aging Robert Burns Scottish Export in a Woodford Reserve cask. Its silken soft-toned Scotch whiskey nip sweetened caramelized rum spicing, oaken cherry tones and red wine esters, leaving Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey illusions in the wake.
When visiting Columbus, there are many fine brewpub choices. Anyone with a taste for British Isle-modeled brews or great barbecue will enjoy Barley’s Smokehouse. As we left, the lunch crowd grew to a full house and the sun came out of the clouds. Cheers.
smokehousebrewing.com
SEVENTH SON SYZYGU DOUBLE IPA
Outstanding Imperial India Pale Ale (with boozy 10.9% ABV) drapes zesty grapefruit-sugared tang atop pine-hopped tropical fruiting and tingly rum-spiced alcohol warmth. Lively mango, mandarin orange, clementine, peach and nectarine illusions settle just below the bright yellow grapefruit expanse. Brisk, refreshingly sharp and well balanced.
CENTRAL WATERS DE KLEINE DOOD
Completely relaxing bourbon-barreled weizenbock blends seductive Jim Beam whiskey sweetness into mellow Cognac warmth, picking up vanilla-creamed sugaring as well as bruised cherry, purple grape, orange marmalade, sugarplum and fig illusions. Subtle marshmallow, pecan, cocoa and praline undertones recede to liqueur-like alcohol kick that punctuates sweet bourbon imprint.
CAPITAL SCHWARZ IN A BOX
Fabulous vanilla-spiced schwarzbier proves to be extraordinary hybrid. Christmastime cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice seasoning enjoins bittersweet raisin-fig conflux before settling into brown-sugared pumpkin pie finish. Along the way, sour soy-sauced brown chocolate malting encounters imposing gingerbread sweetness just above the earthen peat base.
