Chilly Water Brewing adds to the Indy Near-Downtown beer scene this Summer and other Indiana Beer News Mar.18

The Fletcher Place neighborhood in Indianapolis is getting a new brewery-brewpub in early-Summer at Virginia Avenue and McCarty Street. Chilly Water Brewing is being opened by veteran pro-brewer Skip DuVall with 8 taps of fresh local beer and a music themed atmosphere. I recently caught up with Skip to learn about the venture.

Skip has always liked music and the name of this brewery comes from a Wide Spread Panic Southern Rock band song of the same name "Chilly Water" (1987). Lyrics include: "As long as there's water, Chilly well water' Gimme some of that cool, cool water." Skip hopes to have some graphic art representing music on the walls and feature some small-venue local live music at times. Chilly Water has bicycle parking and plans to add more, encouraging patrons to ride or walk. The location is a 10 minute walk from central downtown and just a few minutes walk from nearby

Fountain Square. While there is no off-street parking, Chilly Water can be reached off I-70W using the Fletcher Avenue exit. This is in the heart of the historic Fletcher Place neighborhood. For a Fletcher Place walking tour and more information CLICK HERE

Chilly Water Brewing plans to have 8 taps to start and will feature an American Pale and a German Lager while rotating beers, all made on site to start. The brewpub will serve light food like paninis and hummus with a simple menu. The Asian fusion restaurant ROOK (corrected, earlier post misspelled) is next door and they may find a way to partner. The design will allow the brewing operation to be visible through glass and will have efficient seating for about 50 inside as well as outside space for another 30+ patrons. For those interested in the technical side, Skip will be using a 7 BBL system with extra fermentation capacity. Skip DuVall is a former brewer from Alcatraz brewing which is now gone and moved from there to nearby Fountain Square Brewery. Skip is so conscious of recycling he does not plan to sell bottled water -- so no recycled plastic. The construction will take a couple of additional months so Skip will only say "early Summer" but I look for a late-May to early June possible opening.

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Evil Czech Brewing is now Evil Czech of Mishawaka, IN, as previewed in our Fall story about them Read about Evil Czech HERE
They have opened a brewery and brew pub on the site of the former Mishawaka Brewing, but make no mistake says General Manager of Brewing Operations Shawn Erickson, the building looks totally different! While the community has respect for the legacy of a brewery (one of Indiana's earliest brew pubs) at 3703 N. Main St. in Mishawaka, the building was completely gutted, a new gastro-pub was built and entirely new brewing system that is four times larger than their Culver, IN site was opened.

While the Culver operation will remain open as a brew pub the former system may be used as a pilot but all beer will be brewed in Mishawaka. The family that owns Evil Czech already owns Corn Dance restaurant in the city where Evil Czech beer is served. The brewing operation started in 2012 and expanded to taps throughout portions of Indiana during 2013. Brewing capacity increase clearly allows further expansion of such beers as BobbleHead, Evil Czich, John the One Eye, Stalin's Dark Side, and many more. Stalin's Dark Side was released again this month and is a bold and toasty Russian Imperial Stout at 10% alcohol. The Bobblehead wheat is a flagship beer. The family group grows many of their own hops and raises bison for meat in the restaurant. Owner George Pesek is originally from the former Czechoslovakia and is a trained and noted chef.

The new restaurant had a soft opening this past week and is open 5-10PM during March with the bar open later. Evil Czech offers Mug Club memberships online; check out their Facebook site for details.

RAM Restaurant & Brewery will tap a Schwarzbeer they've named "Arnold SCHWARZenegger" using Pilsener and Munich malts with a touch of roast barley character, this German style beer is dark in color while being lighter bodied and smooth. Tapping is 6:00 PM, Thursday, March 20, at the Indy downtown location, 140 South Illinois St.

Sun King releases Lonesome Dove, a bourbon barrel aged Tripel at 10% alcohol on March 20, in the Tap Room, 135 N. College, Indy. Patrons are limited two 2-packs per person and it is $17.50 each 2-pack. beer profile click here

Get the Bloomington Beer Festival and Bloomington Craft Beer Week on your calendar. The BCBW festivities will begin at local pubs and restaurants Friday, April 4, with special tappings continuing through Friday, April 11. The festival is Saturday, April 12, in the Woolery Mill 2200 Tapp Road 4-7PM for $35 with early bird available one hour earlier. Hotel rooms at group rates are available at the Fourwinds Resort with shuttles to and from the event. Tix online HERE or at Big Red Liquors stores. A 4-way collaboration between: Upland Brewing, Bloomington Brewing Company, Quaff On! Brewing and Function Brewing produced a Black American Wheat to be available at this fest.

Tickets for the Upland Third Annual Sour + Wild + Funk Fest are available online at Eventbrite here The festival to be held at the historic Indianapolis City Market will be Saturday, May 17, 2-6 PM. A VIP Sour lecture and private tasting will be held from 12:30-1:30pm. VIP tickets can be purchased for $75, and will include VIP lecture, lanyard, commemorative T-shirt, swag bag and access to the VIP lounge.


Of course Dark Lord Day on April 26 is sold out but a few tickets can often be had from those who do not attend.

Reminding you that March 27th is the night Girls Pint Out and the Mentoring Women's Network hold a social/happy (hoppy) hour at Triton Brewery Tap Room, 5764 Wheeler Road, Indianapolis, IN 46216 . Triton's Pink Ribbon Saison will be on tap, and there will be a behind-the-scenes tour of the brewery. Mentoring Women's Network is, "an organization for professional women. Our mission is a community of empowered women supporting one another personally and professionally through mentoring relationships and our vision is the largest and most effective mentoring organization for women in the nation." (mentoringwomensnetwork.com)

Indiana Beer News: Dec. 21

Evil Czech Brewery of Culver, IN, paid a visit and brought a sample of their new Czech Pilsner - to be introduced on New Year's Eve at the brew pub. As the brewery's Manager of Sales & Operations, Shawn Erickson, relates to us with a Master Brewer and Owner from the Czech Republic they were not about to release this beer until they felt they have it just right. This is a medium body, complex beer that starts with maltiness with a rounded bitterness and spiciness from Saaz hops. The sample we received tasted very nice!

Evil Czech continues to expand! Later this Spring they will open a new brewery in Mishawaka, IN, which adds to the presence of their Corndance Restaurant in the area which currently serves their beer. They also are expanding with a new MUG CLUB! Click on their restaurant site for details about the mug, growler, discounts, swag, and party(ies) available and the mug club is being offered at a discount with a special party this Saturday afternoon (Dec. 21) Noon - 4 at Corndance Mishawaka.

Planetary Brewing in Greenwood is expanding! The Brewery, located on Polk Place in an industrial park, is adding an expanded tasting room to be open in a couple of months.

Brewer/Owner Andy was proud to offer six beers for growler fills when we stopped by for his nine-month anniversary. One of those beers is a wonderfully balanced big hoppy and malty beer dedicated to a man we lost last year who was an acquaintance of mine and a life-long friend of Andy's. The JSS 550 is over 8% abv and 94 ibu but seems smooth and bold. The new tasting room will allow for pint sales and will allow for a lot more brew room. Planetary beer is also on tap at Shallo's in Greenwood and is slowly and selectively adding taps on the South Side. Andy says they are right on plan as he realizes his dream with this brewery.

Look for beer in cans to explode in 2014. From Tin Man Evansville, to Daredevil Shelbyville, now even Flat12 is adding select products in cans. Cans are portable and can be taken to sporting events and outdoor venues where glass is not allowed. For a brewery the issue is carrying the inventory of printed cans which take much more room than beer labels.

Winter Beers are here as we've profiled in a couple of blogs. Bloomington Brewing just released their Winter Ale with Saigon cinnamon, vanilla, orange peel, and chocolate coming in at about 6%, and only 10 IBU. BBC Winter Ale will be available at Lennie's in Bloomington and at select tap handles in central Indiana.

While we anticipate Winterfest on Feb 1, mark your calendars for the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival on April 12! Bloomington Craft Beer Week will run April 5-12.

Grab some Evil.. Evil Czech, Culver, Indiana (and beyond)

Evil Czech brewery of Culver, IN, came onto my radar screen based on some excellent beers I have had at several beer festivals. It seems one way to stand out as a brewery today is to be local and to brew a few unusual, high quality beers. Evil Czech does all this not only for little Culver, Indiana, but also for the South Bend/Mishawaka area and is part of a larger restaurant business. Expect to see more Evil Czech soon.

Evil Czech Brewery seems to be founded on the passion and search for flavor and for fresh local ingredients. That passion has resulted in truly unusual and flavorful beers from low abv to peppery spice. Owner George Pesek started his life journey in what was Czechoslovakia, lived multiple times in Europe, lived and increased culinary skills in the U.S. from Napa Valley, to St. Louis, to Chicago as Executive Chef for fine restaurants and now has settled in Northern Indiana to bring fine dining to several establishments accompanied by fine beer with finest ingredients. Currently they own two restaurants in Culver including the Brew Pub and one in Mishawaka Indiana. They plan to add another facility Mishawaka to include brewing capacity. Currently they brew on a 7 barrel system in Culver.

But let's talk beer.

What's my favorite beer at Evil Czech? Voodo, no wait... Dracula's Bite, um no maybe White Reaper, um wait.... You see that is the fabulous problem. I mean you figure the Blonde at most brew pubs is there to give the Bud Lite drinker something to try. But the Blonde Czich has a flirty attitude with Sorachi Ace hops and a nice bite (Hey, Evil Czich, bite! think Dracula'esque).

So let's start a list of my view of the top beers here: and not in any order....

Dracula's (Hot) Bite: Evil Czech does a great Black IPA called Dracula's Bite with Warrior hops and a nice almost malty smooth deep dark malt. Imagine adding smoked habaneros to this one. A very sell balanced beer with a nice bite. This is a specialty beer.

Voodoo I love it when 'session beers' or lighter alcohol beers carry big flavor. This Vanilla Rye Porter carries, you guessed it, the sweetness of a lot of Madagascar vanilla, the spice of rye, in a light porter that delivers only 4.6% alc. Love it and this is a year round beer.

The White Reaper is.... a white IPA, or a hopped Belgian Strong. Belgian yeast combined with Bravo, Centennial, Cascade, and Citra hops give this beer a huge flavor. The dry hopping of the Simcoe and Citra gives that musky, woody, citrus like plus passion fruit flavors. This is a favorite of a beer bar owner we know.

Okay, let's go the other way. Let's consider the sessionable beer that is tough to keep on tap at the brewhouse since it is so popular and provides a lot of flavor with 3.6% alc and 22 ibu. Bobblehead unfiltered American wheat avoids the 'grainy' characteristic of some Am Wheats but is smooth and full flavored with a lemon crispness

Or the Gypsy, Chamomile American Wheat at 5% delivering a nice spice of Egyptian Chamomile.

But then there are the breakfast beers: you could start with a 7AM oatmeal milk stout that is a bit sweet with lacto but deep with chocolate and hint of coffee (7.5% alc). Not awake yet? Then cold press Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee to add a nice coffee bitterness for Rasta's Smokey Esspress Wake up and enjoy the toffee/coffee goodness at only 5.5% alc.

What drew me to this brewery at beer fests was Stalin's Dark Side (did he have another side?) Russian Imperial Stout released annually on March 5, the date of Stalin's death (reason to celebrate) aged for 3 months in a nano-distillery bourbon barrel.

And....John the One Eyed Belgian Abbey Ale that undergoes revisions partly because the yeast supplier (one most of us know and love) has actually had some issues with this yeast and Evil Czech was savvy enough to call them on it. But I am still very willing to try each iteration!

We can add:

Golem - a nice amber with a nice malt base and some nice toast
Rooster -- an American brown with a nice nut flavor
Chucky -- a double Imperial IPA (8.55 abv) with mango notes and a hop finish with Polaris hops, Simcoe Citra
Lucky Dog -- American Pale with Citra and a Cascade bitterness
2 Fingers English IPA -- well balanced with 63 ibu

The good news is that not only will there be an expansion in the South Bend/Mishawaka area in 2014, we expect to see Evil Czech with increased distribution in Central Indiana soon. They've already done a few feature tappings at such places as one of my home hang-outs, The Tap Beer Bar Bloomington, and we expect to see more!

Did we mention that they are a farm-to-fork restaurant raising their own bison and other produce so that the Evil Czech awesome tap handles are actual bison horns, a byproduct of the bison meat.

Where: Evil Czech Brewing (daily 5-9, 10 FS) , 530 S Ohio St, Culver, on tap at Corn Dance Tavern, 4725 Grape Road (daily 5-10pm, 9 Sunday), Mishawaka, IN, and look for it soon in other locations

The Taps ....................... ........................... The BrewPub


I am glad we ventured to Culver, IN, to visit the brewery but even more glad they are becoming more widely distributed!

Cheers, GregKitz

Brew Bracket Pale Ales

After tackling Ambers, Belgians, Bourbon Barrel Aged, India Pale Ale, Stout, and Wheat; the latest incarnation of Brew Bracket featured the popular American Pale Ale style. If you’re not familiar with Brew Bracket, it’s the unique beer competition where the winner is determined based on the votes of blind tasting participants. No qualifications required, no guidelines, just pick the beer you enjoy the most. Participants taste two beers at the same time and the winner of that voting round advances to face a new opponent in the next round until an overall champion is determined.

Jake, Jason, and I attended the event and decided to take a new approach by publishing each of our votes here for a good round of public ridicule. Our picks deviated significantly from actual winners early in the competition before falling in line a bit more as we drew closer to an overall champion. Congrats to Thr3e Wise Men for winning the tournament with their Rocky Ripple Pale Ale, and to Rock Bottom Downtown for claiming runner-up with Sugar Creek Pale Ale. We’ll start with the matchups and our choices followed by a bit of commentary.

Sweet 16 Round

Flat 12 vs. Rock Bottom College Park (North Region)

Jake’s Pick: Flat 12

Jason’s Pick: Rock Bottom College Park

Nathan’s Pick: Flat 12

The People’s Choice: Rock Bottom College Park

Three Wisemen vs. Union Brewing (North Region)

Jake’s Pick: Union Brewing

Jason’s Pick: Union Brewing

Nathan’s Pick: Union Brewing

The People’s Choice: Three Wisemen

RAM vs. People’s (West Region)

Jake’s Pick: RAM

Jason’s Pick: People’s

Nathan’s Pick: People’s

The People’s Choice: RAM

Brugge Brasserie vs. Bloomington Brewing (West Region)

Jake’s Pick: Brugge Brasserie

Jason’s Pick: Brugge Brasserie

Nathan’s Pick: Brugge Brasserie

The People’s Choice: Bloomington Brewing

Upland vs. Rock Bottom Downtown (East Region)

Jake’s Pick: Upland

Jason’s Pick: Upland

Nathan’s Pick: Upland

The People’s Choice: Rock Bottom Downtown

Evil Czech vs. Triton (East Region)

Jake’s Pick: Triton

Jason’s Pick: Triton

Nathan’s Pick: Evil Czech

The People’s Choice: Evil Czech

Barely Island vs. Indiana City (South Region)

Jake’s Pick: Barley Island

Jason’s Pick: Indiana City

Nathan’s Pick: Indiana City

The People’s Choice: Barley Island

Iechyd Da vs. Half Moon (South Region)

Jake’s Pick: Iechyd Da

Jason’s Pick: Half Moon

Nathan’s Pick: Half Moon

The People’s Choice: Half Moon

Elite 8 Round

Rock Bottom College Park vs. Three Wisemen (North Region)

Jake’s Pick: Rock Bottom College Park

Jason’s Pick: Rock Bottom College Park

Nathan’s Pick: Rock Bottom College Park

The People’s Choice: Three Wisemen

RAM vs. Bloomington Brewing (West Region)

Jake’s Pick: RAM

Jason’s Pick: RAM

Nathan’s Pick: RAM

The People’s Choice: RAM

Rock Bottom Downtown vs. Evil Czech (East Region)

Jake’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Jason’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Nathan’s Pick: Evil Czech

The People’s Choice: Rock Bottom Downtown

Barley Island vs. Half Moon (South Region)

Jake’s Pick: Barley Island

Jason’s Pick: Barley Island

Nathan’s Pick: Barley Island

The People’s Choice: Barley Island

Final 4 Round

Three Wisemen vs. RAM

Jake’s Pick: Three Wisemen

Jason’s Pick: Three Wisemen

Nathan’s Pick: Three Wisemen

The People’s Choice: Three Wisemen

Rock Bottom Downtown vs. Barley Island

Jake’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Jason’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Nathan’s Pick: Barley Island

The People’s Choice: Rock Bottom Downtown

Championship Round

Three Wisemen vs. Rock Bottom Downtown

Jake’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Jason’s Pick: Three Wisemen

Nathan’s Pick: Three Wisemen

The People’s Choice: Three Wisemen

From Jason C………….

For the record, I went into this thing a Brew Bracket virgin. I had really been wanting to attend since its inception but I suppose I was just saving myself for the right style. When I saw pale ales on the calendar well, I just knew that I was ready both physically and emotionally...it was just my time. Little did I know the mental anguish that awaited when the beers I liked left the competition without so much as a goodbye note. At least I am able to take some comfort in knowing that I can stalk those beers now that their identity has been disclosed.

After sampling everything from the Sweet 16 (rounds 1&2), I felt that the North Region was in control of the bracket (even tweeted it at the time). Oddly enough, I ended up voting against the eventual winner for it's first two pairings. This isn't meant to slight Three Wisemen in the least, their beer was certainly deserving as they did receive my votes in both the Final 4 & Championship rounds. Looking back, I still feel that the toughest decision for me was the Round 1 match-up between Flat 12 & Rock Bottom CP and I maintain that the Rock Bottom CP offering was the best beer I had all day.

I was surprised that the People's entry was knocked out in Round 1 as I felt that they had the strongest offering in the West Region (and no, I'm not being a homer!). The East Region's best match-up came in Round 1 with Upland vs. Rock Bottom DT. While I gave the edge to Upland, I wasn't surprised to see Rock Bottom DT advance to the finals. Again, a first round match-up that knocked out a pretty nice beer. The last thing I really want is to be a hater but there really wasn't much to get excited about in the South Region. The only beer that really caught my attention was the offering from Indiana City. Looking at the bracket it's obvious the majority of the beer drinking populous didn't share in my taste for this beer. The flavor contained an interesting spice note (ginger maybe?) that I found to be unique and pretty tasty. Because of this combination I gave it my vote, albeit in vain, to move on to the next round.

So that's my brief summary of my first venture into the exciting world that is Brew Bracket. They say you always remember your first and I feel that the pale ales will be no exception. I've also been told that it gets better with experience so, that being said, bring on the Oktoberfests!

From Jake………….

Like Jason, I popped my brew bracket cherry this past weekend. So the theory behind this event was a March Madness style bracket of beers, with the final beer standing being the champion. This is a great idea and the execution of the event really makes it easy for the consumer to simply enjoy themselves. A pair of food trucks fed the few hundred or so people with pretzel bun sandwiches from a german food truck and scratch truck’s indian style offerings. I was surprised to see just how many brewers were at the event; a few made it out to mingle with the crowd but most of the time they were behind the scenes drinking amongst themselves. A corn hole style long toss, a raffle, and a trivia contest sponsored by NUVO kept the mass entertained as the bottle cap votes were counted.

At the beginning of the festival a 1 page handout from Ron Smith gave a brief rundown of the style’s history and what a BJCP trained judge would look for in this style. Essentially the style is an American hop showcase. Just enough malt backbone to help balance the moderate to high hop bitterness and flavor, and low to no yeast character. This is a great style for an event like this because you do not overwhelm your senses with the first few rounds.

Anyways enough about the event, lets talk about beer. As I’m sure you read I only got 7 of my 15 picks correct. This didn’t really surprise me as I had no idea what to expect. Like Jason, I thought the North and West regions were stacked with great beer, the East had a few tasty ones. Regretfully, most of the South region would have struggled against any beer in the North or West. After discussing the event, after round 2, with some friends from another blog; I picked the beer I thought would win the whole thing. I choose Andrew Castner’s creation for the RAM. Andrew’s offering made it to the semifinal round and only lost to the overall winner, Omar’s offering from Three Wisemen. Some notable first or second round upsets were Rob Caputo’s offering from Flat 12, Upland’s Campside, Ted Miller’s Brugge beer, and newcomers Indiana City. Some of the underdogs who did well were Barley Island, always great beer but more well known for their darker beers, who made it to the semifinal, and Evil Czech who lost in round 3 to finalists Rock Bottom Downtown. After only voting for Three Wisemen once, against my pick to win it all by the way, I can’t really say I think Omar’s was my favorite beer. In reality any of the semifinalists could have won, as they were all pretty tasty.

Congratulations to Omar, and everyone at Three Wisemen! The future of brew bracket is promising. With Oktoberfests on the horizon for the next event in September and another one later this year there will be plenty of opportunity for you to end your brew bracket virginity as well. Oktoberfest is one of my absolute favorite styles, so I will be at the next event. Now I’m sorry I missed Bourbon Barrel Brew Bracket, sounds like it was a good time. What I would love to see next year is some more interesting styles like Saison, Schwarzbier, and perhaps a Berliner Weisse competition.

From Nathan………….

This was a pretty strong field of beers, I can only think of one entry that the three of us were unanimously unimpressed with. So there were a fair amount of tough decisions, and the brackets pretty much guarantee some of your favorites will be knocked out early. It’s interesting to note that as a group we unanimously voted against Thr3e Wisemen in the two North region matchups, but this is primarily because the Union and Rock Bottom CP beers were exceptional in my opinion.

The first round matchup between Flat 12 and Rock Bottom CP was just brutal – those were probably my two favorite beers in the competition. The Evil Czech vs. Triton matchup was also very difficult as they both ranked near the top of my list. I haven’t had the chance to try a lot of offerings from Evil Czech, so it was great to find out they had such a strong offering in this competition. Of course, none of the four beers I mentioned as favorites advanced past the round of 8, and the people have spoken! On the other hand, the few entries I didn’t care for were also eliminated in the first two rounds.

Once we reached the Final 4, my favorites were gone but the remaining entries were very solid. At this point, my notes tabbed the Thr3e Wisemen entry as the best remaining beer in the field. This seems illogical since I had voted against it twice, but the North Region entries were disproportionately strong. Once we pass the Porter competition in December, the next challenge may be finding new styles that Indiana brewers produce commonly enough to hold a full 16 brewer competition. Brown Ales, Lagers, and Light Hybrids (Cream Ales, Blonde Ales, etc.) are a few that still come to mind. Thanks to Brew Bracket for putting another great event and motivating me to pick up a sixer of the Flat 12 Walkabout!

 

Check out the Brew Bracket event page for your next chance to participate and select a champion (hopefully with a better rate of success than we had)! Upcoming events include:

Oktoberfest Beers

September 28th, 2013

8 Brewers, 150 Participants

Held at Tomlinson Tap Room (in City Market, Indianapolis)

Porters

December 7th, 2013

16 Brewers, 400 Participants

Held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis