Paying a visit to the good Taxman - Death and Taxes Day 2015

Just 40 miles north of my residence in Bloomington is Taxman Brewing. Located in Bargersville, they’ve been on my radar for sometime— paying them a visit has been high on the to-do list but I had yet to make it happen. After seeing the event announcement go out on Twitter, I decided that one way to right the wrong would be to attend the inaugural Death and Taxes day.

I arrived shortly after the midday gate opening, and started out the day with a Let’s Get Weird by Upland. A part of their Side Trail series, it’s a blend of Belgian golden ale and oatmeal milk stout aged on blackcurrants. From its description I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I was greeted by was an ale with chocolate notes heavily influenced by the milk stout but nicely followed by a dash of tartness from the fruit.

After that one warm up beer, it was time to get down to business. The event ticket included two samples of the Death and Taxes beer, and after priming my palette, I was ready to try it for myself. Death and Taxes is an 11% Imperial Stout fermented with Belgian yeast. There was also a barrel variant aged in bourbon whiskey barrels for 10 weeks available. I was able to pick out a few Belgians esters in the aroma from the base beer. The barrel version however, has that huge hit of bourbon on the nose, which is to be expected but it does temper some of the other nuances in the aroma. In terms of flavor, the base beer has some roast, dark fruits notes but it had a really enjoyable bittersweet chocolate finish. The finish was similar in the barrel version but the flavors were of course more influenced with bourbon and vanilla notes contributed by the barrel aging.

A pit stop in the restaurant for lunch, accompanied by a Frozen Assets (Taxman’s Cocoa Belgian Milk Stout), provided me an opportunity to check out the indoor space they have for their brewpub.

In the afternoon I focused on some breweries that, due to their smaller distribution area, I’ve had minimal opportunities to sample. First up, based in Carmel, Danny Boy Beer Works and their American pale ale Training Day. Plenty of those west coast, grapefruit, citrus hops present but kept nicely in balance by some malt so it’s not too bitter, making it something you could enjoy a few of in a session. The next sample was Indiana City’s Shadow Boxer. One of their year-round brews, it’s an oatmeal stout with wonderful coffee, chocolate notes and the smooth creamy mouthfeel. Definitely a beer I look forward to having a full serving of at my next opportunity.

Before heading out I checked out some of the other tents but most importantly picked up my one allocated bottle. Based upon my earlier tastings, I opted for the bourbon variant and I’m looking to cellaring this to see how time evolves the barrel notes.

This was my first trip to Taxman but it wont be the last— I’ve already convinced my wife that this needs to be our next date night locale and I look forward to taking in more of brewpub atmosphere.
Check out GregKitz's review of Taxman food and beer HERE

BY: Ross Hughes, blogger for indianabeer.com and a homebrewer, aspiring Cicerone and all-around beer nerd.

Taxman brewing in Bargersville hitting their stride

Can a brewery in Bargersville, IN, prosper with Belgian style beer? The answer seems to be yes (& as Belgian style beer lovers, we certainly hope so). Taxman Brewing only recently started brewing their beer in their Bargersville brewpub. (They've had beer under the Taxman name since 2010.) Our experience at Taxman this past week was wonderful. Solid muscles: while the marinieres are the traditional, the buffalo were a huge hit at our table!. Very nice frites (crispy fries) and for $10 you get ample mussels + frites.

One very nice feature with the brewpub is the fact that you can not only make a flight of beer to sample but you can order most house beers in a sampler glass at a small charge so if you love variety you can have multiple beers without over-ordering. While two of us love Belgian style beer, the two who joined us don't know the styles. One often goes for hops and the other for lighter beer.

We started with the Standard Abbey blonde. This beer provides complexity in a balance between the malt and light hops delivering soft sweetness in the opening and a dry finish with wonderful flavor from the Belgian yeast. La Maison farmhouse ale at 7% is a delightful lighter beer finishing dry with enough hop flavor to note grapefruit and light citrus. Both of these beers satisfied a light beer drinker who joined us.

The beer that got the most attention among our small group was the Exemption tripel. The two full-flavor, even hop-heads among us went immediately to Exemption. As a tripel, this is a big ale at 8.5% alc. It provides a bit of sweetness and then finishes dry. Even with higher alcohol than most beers exemption is not 'boozy' yet provides some apple sweetness with complexity of the Belgian yeast tang. The light beer lover went for..... The Qualified, quad.... go figure! Complex, warming, notes of the 10% alcohol with fig character. Deliciously alluring.

The Frozen Assets cocoa milk stout was another wonderful treat with lots of roast, coffee quality, and the tang of the lactic acid, or milk. That could make a dessert. You could also fall in love with the Northwest hops in the finish of the Per Diem Belgian Pale at 'only' 5% alc. and slightly floral. And for a nice easy-drinking beer there is the W-2 winter wit with lemony citrus, some spice of the hops and a bit of the grain from the wheat.

So the next time you are on the South side of Indianapolis or perhaps in Brown County and you get a yearning to be in Belgium, this should take you there.

But hey, suppose you are just near Bargersville and want craft beer; Taxman won't force you to drink Belgian style beers with up to twenty-four craft beers on tap. For our visit there were nine other Indiana beers available besides theirs and a few other special taps. Oh, the burgers looked great... so, maybe next time!

Open most days at noon, Tues.-Thurs. 'til 10, Fri.-Sat. 'til 12am. Sun. 10am-10pm with growler fill only Mondays 4-8. Lunch and Dinner daily except Monday + Sunday brunch. From highway 135 you can take State Road 144 West 1/2 mile to Harriman Avenue, turn left 3 blocks to Baldwin and they are on the corner with parking nearby. see the map and other info at www.taxmanbrewing.com

The Saturday after IRS taxes are due, Taxman celebrates with their Death and Taxes day releasing their 12.5% Belgian Imperial Stout, a first-ever, hand-bottled beer. Death & Taxes is an Imperial Belgian Stout, a rich, roasted and robust ale aged for two weeks over Indonesian vanilla beans. Expect both an original version and one aged for 2 months on Kentucky-whiskey barrels. In addition they have a tasting festival featuring 12+ Indiana breweries, select wineries and food trucks. You need a ticket available HERE.