Beerocracy II - The Wrath of Kahns

Kahn's Fine Wines and Spirits brought it back.. with vengeance!  Beerocracy II is a beer lover's dream. For two hours, there are FREE tastings of 40+ beers with the chance that Kyle (@Beer_at_Kahns) may open up a rare bottle for a taster's delight!  And a bonus! - if you are a K Klub member, you can participate in a raffle to purchase those limited edition beers that for regular consumers, you either have to be great friends with your liquor store or be willing to camp out for the chance to buy a bottle. What kind of rare beers -- How about Founders KBS, or Upland Gilgamesh or even 3 Floyds/Mikkeller collab - BooGoop for example. 

Back to the event... 

Beerocracy II delivered the goods big time with seven tables - 5 brewery specific tables and two from local distributors.   To give you readers the full scale of deliciousness available at Beerocracy events, I'm going to list everything that was available because I really feel that this event helps benefit those curious about craft beer. It also helps if you want to try a lot of beers not available at beer festivals without having to buy random bottles. (which is fun, I've done random beer tastings before many times) 

Without further ado.. to the List!

(Sidenote - number on the left is the order I tasted the beer in, comments will be underneath) 

Table 1: New Holland Hatter Day Celebration

- New Holland Mad Hatter IPA

3 New Holland White Mad Hatter

1 New Holland Rye Mad Hatter

Not overly rye flavored, smooth but complex

2 New Holland Farmhouse Hatter

6 New Holland Black Mad Hatter

delicious roasted flavor at the end 

4 New Holland Oak Aged Mad Hatter

5 New Holland Imperial Hatter

Table 2: Samuel Adams

- Sam Adams Summer Ale

20 - Sam Adams Norse Legend - Sahti  (Single Batch Series) 

not on the original line up - but was a special opened ale by rep

24 - Sam Adams Angry Orchard Traditional Dry Cider

25 - Sam Adams Angry Orchard Crisp Apple Cider

if you like a puckery sweet cider, this one is for you. 

26 -Sam Adams Angry Orchard Apple Ginger Cider

Table 3: Ciders

28 - Crispin Brut

30 - Crispin Browns Lane 

(was not a fan of this one, was a little bland)

29 - Crispin Honey Crisp

31 - Crispin the Saint (above) 

started out sweet and aftertaste of light maple syrup

Around the time I got to the Cider table ( since I didn't go in order, Kyle decided to share this goodie with the rest of the class

**  27 -The Bruery - Fruet  **

the Fruet is a 100% bourbon barrel aged old ale.

Smooth oak and vanilla goodness

Table 4: Cavalier & Kristalweizen Machtprobe! (showdown) 

I believe @CavalierBeerIN  was the pouring host 

17 - Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbeir

16 - Sixpoint Apollo 

I could see this as sitting on the deck, drinking many cans of this beer.  It was crisp and sweet. 

20 - Sixpoint the Crisp (Pilsner) 

15 - Sixpoint Sweet Action

22 - Breckenridge Summerbright

23 - Two Brothers Dog Days

18 - Founders Cerise

My love of Cerise is huge!  and I'm happy that the 2012 version is back to the original red pigment ale. 

19 - Williams Sir Perry

This table surprised me the most. It had a variety of beers that I typically don't gravitate to such as a Pilsner and the hefeweizens but everything here was something I could drink over and over again. 

Table 5: Sun King

Sun King Popcorn Pilsner

Sun King Sunlight

Sun King Osiris

Sun King Wee Mac

Sun King Sky Cake Aleger

Sun King Chaka

the only reason I didn't try any of these is because I've had them all already, and when I got to this table, I thought it best to not have more beer when I already tasted about 30+ 

Table 6: World Class

served by @mattworldclass 

14  - Bell's Third Coast Beer

9 - Kasteel Cuvee de Chateau 

not on the original line up, but added last minute as a replacement to the Brooklyn Summer Ale

Bell's Oberon

12 - Boulevard Zon

nice blend of the coriander with the pinch of orange citrus

Brooklyn Summer Ale 

was on original line up but didn't come out to play

Triton Fieldhouse Wheat

Triton Magnificent Amber

13 - Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

10 - Van Steenberge Gulden Draak 9000

I think it is unfair that something so creamy and delicious would have to be over 10% ABV, but that's a Belgian quad for you.

11 - Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA

This IPA with a  140 IBU count had a nice grapefruit, slightly bitter overtone

last by not least

Table 7: Upland Brewing

served by @UplandCari

Upland Wheat

Upland Helios

7 -  Upland Maibock

I had this on draft at the Indianapolis Monthly Beerfest, to me it had a caramel coating mouth feel

8 - Upland Nut Hugger

In addition not on the lineup:

Upland Winter Warmer - BarleyWine 

Upland Infinite Wisdom - Tripel

And that was it!  I'm a little overwhelmed as I recap the beers available. See what you missed if you weren't there! Hopefully Kahn's will keep Beerocracy going and I'm looking forward to what they bring out in Beerocracy III.   I'm also hoping to see more ladies out to these events.  Out of 80 people who showed up about 10%, if that, were women.  Beer isn't just for men! :) 

Great job Kahn's! and readers if you need help in choosing some craft beer, please visit Kahn's  either downtown, on Keystone or up at North Willow. They are a great place to get started in trying new beer. 

- Kathleen

Rein-Beer Games : Christmas Ales

Don't worry, red nose or not you can still play in rein-beer games. 

Last night, I went to the tapping of  Mount Crumpet Christmas Ale at Thr3e Wisemen Brewery.  I will have to say it was surprisingly quieter than I expected, but still a good crowd. The served free samples of food and 8oz pours of the freshly tapped brew.  By the way.. even if you are not able to get up to the bar they can bring you samples to your table. 

Mount Crumpet Christmas Ale

The first thing to hit you while drinking the ale
 is a vanilla smoothness followed by a nice layer of spices. 

It's not over powerful at all in either notes, 

but it was a very well blended merry brew
I was very tempted to get a growler to bring up home

 but did not bring any! 

(there should be a rule -- always keep a empty growler in your trunk!)

Now.. just like I did with pumpkin ales, I've started keeping track and comparing Christmas ales.  I had the pleasure of trying Bell's Christmas Ale at Triton along with Triton's Christmasy inspired brown: Gingerbread Brown.  This past Monday night, at Whole Foods in Nora,  I found some Schlafly Christmas Ale. 

Schlafly's Christmas Ale is different that Thr3e Wisemen's Christmas ale.

 The main difference is because of the orange peel infusion into the 

Schlafly's beer along with clove spices 

whereas previously stated Mount Crumpet is mostly vanilla and spice based.  

However.. Don't think that Schlafly is very citrusy or like a hefeweizen with an orange slice. The ale is mostly spicey but lighter than Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale. 

Still kind of warms your heart as your drink. <3

I shall continue on playing my rein-beer games when I can come across my Christmas Ales, but considering I still have some pumpkin ales hiding in my fridge, I may have to scale back stocking up on the Christmas styled beer or at least try to. 

But..  if any reader has a good suggestion, as always let me know!

Before leaving -- See Rein-Beer stands -- below (I think they are cute) 

picture shared by @CavalierBeerIN. Rein - Beer stands made
by @KentuckyAle barrels for Kentucky Bourbon Barrel displays!

- Kathleen

April Recap - May 3

A few weeks ago I visited three of the newest breweries in Indy: Flat12 Bierwerks (http://flat12.me/), Bier Brewery and Taproom (http://www.bierbrewery.com/) and Thr3e Wise Men Brewery (http://thr3ewisemen.com/). A wide selection of beers were available for sampling at all three establishments along with friendly, courteous service. The servers took the time to explain each of the beers that were sampled and were very interested in feedback from those that were sampling their beers. This was great to observe as they wanted not only positive feedback, but not so positive feedback as well. This is how it should be in my opinion. At Flat 12 Bierwerks, I sampled six (6) of their beers (they had more available but I wanted to pace myself and not have a ruined palate for the other two breweries). I enjoyed their Amber Ale the most as it had a very nice malty and not overly hoppy aroma and flavor. It was very easy to drink and in my opinion a nice session beer. At Bier Brewery and Taproom, they had seven (7) or so beers available for sampling. Of the six (6) that I sampled, I enjoyed the Four Banger Ale and the PDG Pale beers the most. They both had a nice hoppy presence, but not overly hoppy. At Thr3e Wisemen, they too have a large selection of beers to choose from and I had the three beer sampler in which one can choose which three beers to sample. Of the three that I chose, the Golden Zoe IPA was the best choice. Very nice hoppy flavor and true to style. If in Indy, do yourself a favor, and take the time to visit these new breweries and try their beers! I also stopped at Chumley's for a first-time visit. They have about 50 or so taps and 100 or so of bottled beers. A very, very good selection of beers to say the least.

If you think that WineTime (6210 Covington Rd., Ft. Wayne, IN 46804 (260)459-9463) only sells wine, think again! They sell single bottles of beer for $2/btl. or $12/sixer. They let you mix n' match if you choose to do so and they also have a Beer of the Month Club which is $22 + tax. On a recent visit there they had beers from these breweries: Minhas, Berghoff, Crown Valley, Boulder, Strangford Lough, Sherwood Forest, Spanish Peaks, Breckenridge, Stegmaier, Left Hand, Mendocino, Lake Front, Sprecher, and Two Brothers. Stop in and check out their beer selection and speak to Jeff Armstrong about his beer selection if there is something special you would like for him to try to acquire.

Upcoming Events in Fort Wayne: On Saturday, May 21st, from 2p.m.-4p.m., the "1st" Annual Micro Beer Festival at Northbrook will take place. I have received information that there will be 100+ micros available for sampling. This is a FREE event (Must be 21 yrs. of age or older with valid photo ID). The address for this event is 10020 Lima Road and look for the "huge blue and white tent behind Starbucks and in front of Cap n' Cork".

On June 18th, from 5p.m.-8p.m., S & V Liquors on Illinois Road will be having their "Summer Beer Bash" with approximately 50 different beers distributed by Aalco Distributing, Cavalier Distributing, Five Star Distributors, and World Class Beverages. This is a FREE in-store beer tasting (Must be 21 yrs. of age or older with valid photo ID). Also, representatives from Cheesemanstore.com will have many, many samples of their delicious cheeses for sampling and purchasing.

Remember, to keep checking the Calendar section of this website for beer events that not only take place in Indiana, but outside of Indiana as well.

Cavalier Distributing’s new digs

Matt Gerdenich and the crew moved from their “hell hole” to a new warehouse on Indy’s far east side back in November and we apologize for just now making a visit.

The new place is as non-descript as the old one.
No sense in advertising the thousands of gallons of beer inside.

 
The interior is way bigger, way taller, way brighter, and holds way more beer.
This picking station holds the 300 most popular titles by the case.

Every evening when the route drivers get back from deliveries
they pick and load their trucks for the next day’s run.
Deliveries may be in Evansville or Whiting. It can be a long day.

Plenty of room for incoming pallets.
We could show you another 5 pictures much like this one.

Through the curtain is a 60’x60’ walking used mainly for kegs.
This area can be doubled if needs be.

Lots of kegs.

 
Cavalier has picked up Orkney’s products including
Dark Island, Dragonhead, Red MacGregor, and Skull Splitter.

Sprecher has been a staple for Cavalier for years.

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And Cavalier handles some of my favorites for drinking or cellaring.

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They also handle deliveries to the Greenwood BJ’s;
a situation caused by the Indiana law requiring
all beer coming into the state to go through a distributor.

Matt’s office has lost none of the clutter.