FWIBF15 Brewery # 3 – Sun King

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Our final stop in June is with Sun King Brewery in Indiana.  Like Half Acre and Three Floyds, they have a very distinctive look to their brand.

All you have to do is Google Image their can design to see they have a quirky sensibility.  And that extends to their beer recipes too.  So let’s take a look at what I would want in my pick six can collection….

1 – “Popcorn Pilsner puts a local spin on brewing tradition with the addition of Indiana-grown Riehle’s Select popcorn, popped by our friends at Just Pop In, to our German-Style pilsner recipe. The result is a crisp, balanced, andrefreshing beer with a dry finish and just enough hop character to keep things interesting.”

2- “Ring of Dingle is a rich and roasty Irish-Style Dry Stout with a clean, dry finish. The beer is named after a scenic road network in Ireland that starts and ends in the city of Dingle.”

3 – “Fistful of Hops is our quarterly series of four IPAs, each with the same malt base. We balance that base against a seasonal “fistful of hops” – each time a different variety. For our 2014 “Red” release, we continue the process of rotating hops by featuring Citra, El Dorado, and Galaxy, which combine to create a pronounced tropical fruit flavor.”

4- “Java Mac is the coffee infused version of our Wee Mac Scottish-Style Ale. Locally roasted coffee from Bee Roasters harmonizes with the base beer’s hazelnut character and toffee undertones to create a vibrant symphony of rich coffee flavor.”

5 – “Sun King and 3 Floyds have come together again to bring you Slacktivist, a Doppelkolsch brewed to help bring awareness to our efforts to raise the barrelage cap on Indiana breweries. Slacktivist steps up the smooth malt flavors of a traditional Kolsch-style beers with more pronounced flavor and a crisp hop bite. We hope you’ll step up your support for our efforts at supportindianabrewers.com.”

6 – “The road between Rhinegeist and Sun King traverses 110 miles – a long way to go without a beer. Whichever end of the road you find yourself at, you’ll be happy to find Emergency Hop Kit, a beer that combines the powers of Truth IPA with Osiris Pale Ale.?

 

 

FWIBF15 – Brewery # 2 – Beavertown Brewery

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The brewers at Beavertown Brewery have a design look that is a crazed mix of 3 Floyds and Half Acre. But they must be doing something right to catch the attention of Firestone Walker and get an invite to come to Paso Robles.

So here is what I would taste from this brewery:

I would start with Smog Rocket…

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…then move on to Gamma Ray Pale Ale…

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…before finishing with…

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FWIBF15 – Brewery # 1 – Bridge Road Brewers

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This month, I am taking stock of the breweries that were part of the festivities of the highly regarded Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest and we start in Australia of all places with Bridge Road Brewers and a list of what beers that I would have in my taster tray.

Little Bling
“A mid-strength IPA that has followed in the footsteps of our original IPA, Bling and its big brother the imperial IPA, Bling Bling.”

Chestnut Pilsner
“A unique Australian Pilsner, brewed in Beechworth from Chestnuts grown locally in the Beechworth and Stanley hills. The Chestnut Pilsner also uses Galaxy hops from the Rostrevor Hop Garden in the nearby Ovens Valley.”

Fat Man Red Suit Big Sack Red IPA
“Originally brewed for export to Canada this red IPA showcases some of our Aussie Hops. Galaxy Topaz and Enigma.” (wonderful name for a Christmas beer!)

Enigma pilsner
“This pilsner has been brewed as an Australian take on the craft pilsners of NZ, A light bodied lager heavily hopped with the Australian hop variety Enigma.”

Beechworth Pale Ale
“Often the yard stick of micro breweries, this beer is based on classic American styled Pale Ales, crisp and refreshing, a mouthful of aromatic hops.”

Indie Brewing

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I did a profile of three on-the-way L.A. breweries for the latest Beer Paper LA that didn’t reference Hand Brewed, Arts District Brewing or Iron Triangle which are also in stages of development. At least, I knew about the existence of them though.

It was in a Brewyard Brewing newsletter that I learned of yet another brewery in progress, Indie Brewing.

So, head to their website and sign-up for their newsletter so you can be reminded automatically when these 4 entrepreneurs have their casual taproom spot ready for us LA craft beer fans.

New on the East Coast # 3 – Bissell Brothers Brewing

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Our last East Coast stop is to meet the brothers and their beer,  The Bissell Brothers to be precise.

Let’s check out a hypothetical taster tray……

The Substance Ale – “Our flagship; a brightly dank ale that threads many needles with Falconer’s Flight, Centennial, Apollo, Summit, Chinook hops”

Lux – “This rye ale is our Tropical Escape to a sunnier state of mind.”

i-Lucky -“IPA brewed with rice & fresh ginger. a homage to restaurant workers everywhere.”

Angels with Filthy Souls – “Out first dark offering; this porter is laced with lactose sugar to balance the tremendous amounts of Amarillo hops contained within.”

They can be found on draft and in cans in Maine and Maine only.

New on the East Coast # 2 – Aeronaut Brewing

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Combine three MIT students with one Yalie, an old Safety Envelope building and a passion for the farmer’s market and you have Aeronaut Brewing in Somerville, Mass.

This brewery started up last year and has a unique set of beers when taken together.

Here is what I would try in a taster tray….

Unionator Dopplebock – “Traditional malty, bready, strong lager.”

Union Square Burton Union Style IPA – “Strong hops, with fruit and wood notes.”

A Session with Dr. Nandu American Pale Ale – “Refreshing, passionfruit notes of Mosaic hops.”

Hauftoberfest Marzen – “Easy drinking malty lager.”

Summer in Cologne Kolsch – “Crisp, light, refreshing, quaffable.”

New on the East Coast # 1 – Other Half Brewing Co.

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Other Half is  owned by Matt Monahan and Sam Richardson their Brooklyn based brewery started brewing at the tail end of 2013.

They are covering a wide swath of styles from IPAs , pale ales,  farmhouse ales, barrel-aged beers, and sours.

Their first bottle release was a chardonnay barrel-aged saison with the name of Veldrijden Love.

But the following beers have raised my eyebrows:

Other Half/Evil Twin Beat It, Nerd Brett IPA
Other Half Grand Cru
Other Half Smokescreens and Oil Slicks
Other Half Dark and Handsome

Gunbarrel Brewery # 3 – Vindication Brewing

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The final Gunbarrel stop is at the awesomely named Vindication Brewing Company. With Oskar Blues and Rock Bottom experience in the founders resumes, you can rest assured that they haven’t gone into the brewing game cold.

Here is what I would add to my initial taster tray……

American Bold Ale – “An Intentionally out of style bold ale. Rich in complex notes of layered caramel and balanced with heavy waves of hoppy goodness.”

Winchester Wheat – “Made with Maris Otter malt and wildflower honey from Clark’s Honey Farm in Ft. Lupton.”

Billy Badass Brown IPA – “A hybrid of styles: a heavily hopped IPA with the color of a brown ale with a large amount of Haystack Hops.”

Big Sampson Imperial Rye IPA – “A big, smooth IPA featuring all hop additions from Haystack Hops in Boulder.”

Ginger Ale (Non-Alcoholic) – Refreshing non-alcoholic ginger ale brewed fresh from all natural ingredients.

Gunbarrel Brewery # 2 – Asher Brewing

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Tour stop # 2 brings us to Asher Brewing Company an organic Colorado brewer since February 25th, 2010.

Here are my top three choices for my taster tray. And if I have room after that, I might just try one of their hoppy offerings like Green Bullet Organic IPA or Greenade Organic Double IPA.

Green Lantern Organic Kolsch
Fermented with its own special ale yeast and brewed with a Pilsner malt, our version boasts a uniquely smooth balance with a dry, hoppy finish. The Green Lantern’s simple recipe lets our fine organic ingredients and meticulous brewing techniques shine through.

Tree Hugger Organic Amber
Living up to its roots, this full-bodied American classic boasts the perfect balance of naughty and nice. Crystal and Munich malts bring a caramel sweetness to the brew. Yet just when you think you’ve satisfied your sweet tooth, the organic German hops produce an unmistakeable dry finish. With a toffee aroma and deep amber color.

Green Monstah Organic Strong Ale
The Green Monstah Strong Ale boasts bold caramel malt flavors with a smooth aftertaste attributed to a low mash temperature in the brewing process in which results in the most sugars fermenting out.

Gunbarrel Brewery # 1 – Finkel & Garf

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The name may conjure up the old-timey department store that your grandma bought you sweaters for your birthday but Finkel and Garf is in fact it is our first stop in Colorado and the Gunbarrel district in Boulder.

It is a father and son brewery that has two goals:
1.“To make outstanding craft beer.“
2.“To facilitate great moments among family and friends.”

They also don’t take themselves too seriously adding toys to their logo instead of the usual beer images or fancy fonts.

Onto what I would drop into my taster tray: (they use the one word method of description)

Cream Ale – Creamy + Malty + Floral
Oatmeal Milk Stout – Roasty + Chocolate + Malty
American Lager – Crisp + Dry + Floral
Pale Ale – Malty + Hoppy + Citrus
Rye Saison – Spicy + Tart + Crisp