Tag: brewery tour

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Heartland Brewery # 3 -Indiana City Brewing Company

Yes, I know my definition of heartland is strange but I could not think of a better term to cover these three breweries.  That being said, here is our last stop….

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Indiana City is the uber literal term for Indianapolis.  Which is much better than living in a town which literally means Valley Valley, like I do. Enough word play though.  What beers does this place have?

Here are my picks:

SHADOW BOXER oatmeal stout
“This is a black, full-bodied ale with mild roasted grain aroma, coffee flavor and moderate spicy hop bitterness. A diverse combination of flavors all below a creamy brown head.”

YACHT ROCK wheat ale
This Belgian style wheat ale is a light-bodied, crisp, slightly tart and lightly hopped golden beer with a fine-bubbled bright white head.

plus the HOOVILLAIN kolsch style ale

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Arizona Beer – Fate Brewing

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Our first brewery stop in Arizona is Fate Brewing whose “beer philosophy is to make a little bit of great beer, a lot. With a small-batch, 7 bbl system we’re afforded the opportunity to brew often and consistently rotate what’s on tap.”

They  have traditional and modern favorites (hefeweizen and pale ale), seasonal, experimental and cask conditioned ales (Black IPA and a root beer too).

And coming soon are an Imperial IPA, American Brown Ale, Irish Red and an Imperial Irish Red

Plus, I love their tagline, you will be “pleasantly surprised by what Fate has in store.​”

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DC Brewery # 3 – Port City

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Our final District of Columbia stop is at Port City which is based in nearby Alexandria, Virginia but was voted best local brewery by the City Paper of DC.

They also reached the 2nd year milestone earlier this month and these are the beers that I would like to put into my ‘fridge and then into a pint glass….

First would be the Tartan Scottish Ale
“Our Tartan Ale is crafted by Head Brewer Jonathan Reeves. It has a deep, copper-color and is produced in the 80-shilling style. It offers a slightly fruity flavor that complements the luscious malty roast caramel flavor and faint hop aroma.”

Followed by…
“Tidings Ale is a strong Belgian style blond ale is brewed with local Maryland wildflower honey and Virginia wheat. These special ingredients store away the flavor and essence of summer, and later warm us during the cold winter months. It is gently spiced with coriander, cardamom, fresh ginger and grains of paradise.”

and then I would finish with their flagship
“Essential Pale Ale is a deep golden color with hop aroma reminiscent of fresh fruit. The pleasing bitter taste from American hops is balanced with English and German malts, and offers a complex full flavored character that is smooth and refreshing.”

Or maybe I would go the other way around.

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Beer Search Party at GABF – Part 2


Started the day on a bus filled with New Belgium beer headed towards Fort Collins. BrewDad Mike secured us passes for a brewery visit and this is a tour like no other.

New Belgium is a huge campus. Really huge. Pipes everywhere. All labeled and all monitored by a computer straight out of Minority Report. And the place goes on and on. Our tour took us past three bars! And so much equipment. To wrap the kegs in plastic for shipping they used a big piece of metal that quickly encircled kegs in layers of plastic. There were labs and two story fermenters and foeders everywhere you looked.


And the lunch was awesome. Great classy food with no pretension. Grilled cheese wedges with tomato soup. Peruvian chicken wings and other little nibbles like Belgian waffles to go with the beer. I went back for seconds and thirds.

We headed home after another beer and on to Freshcraft a new (to me) gastropub on Blake street for the Taplister relaunch. Great beer and a contingent of Portland folk (bloggers and beermongers) plus Joe from Ratebeer. As we were departing, Jeremy and Ting from Eagle Rock strolled in. That is one of the great things about Denver during the fest. Everywhere you stop, there is usually someone you know.

After Freshcraft were stops at Falling Rock (short due to it being it’s usual packed to the rafters self), Breckenridge (for food and a place to rest weary legs) and to cap the night a taxi ride out to Prost Brewing to try their German styled beer. The Pils being my favorite of the taster tray.

The beers are starting to blur together but onward I march to Saturday.

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FoodGPS Teaser – Ladyface Brewery Tour

Tomorrow over on FoodGPS, I will talk about one of my favorite Los Angeles area breweries, Ladyface in Agoura Hills.

One of the great things that they do (other than having a great cask offering) is that the first Monday of every month they do a brewery tour. I will tell more tomorrow but here are some photos to whet your taste…


The brewmaster talking about the Ladyface way of brewing


One of the newer beers being aged in Makers Mark barrels


The finished product.

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Barrier Brewing


Our second New York stop is Oceanside and Barrier Brewing.

The germ of a brewing idea hatched in 2006 and the brewery itself got going in 2009 and these are the three beers that I would put on a Barrier Brewing sample tray first.

Antagonist ESB – first for the name and second, I always like to try this style since it isn’t seem around taps very often.

Simple California Common – I love seeing the other coasts take on a California classic and I am also intrigued by the “Whirpool” hopping.

Sanity IPA – a New York IPA made with (4) Pacific NW hops. Have to try since I am an IPA fan.

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Australian Brewery # 3 – Little Creatures

Our third and final stop on our tour of Australian craft breweries takes us to Little Creatures.

As was the case with the previous two breweries on this itinerary, the details are courtesy of the Crafty Pint. THE place to go for Australian craft beer information.

I am most intrigued by their single batch beers and the choices for them. Single hop beers tend to be the bigger hops. And by bigger, I mean your Centennial or Cascade or Nelson. But they do a East Kent Goldings. Then they do a batch of marzen. Very cool.

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O’ Canada – Propeller Brewery

Our first north of the border brewery is from Halifax. Let me introduce Propeller Brewing.

Now let’s get down to the beers that interest me…..

ESB
“Our ESB is a rich, full-bodied English-style bitter, brewed with carefully selected malts and hops. This copper coloured, English styled ale is our best seller. Smooth, Full bodied and All Natural, like all our beers.”

Kristall Weizen
“Literally “crystal wheat.” A Kristall Weizen is a filtered pale Weissbier. It pours “crystal”-clear rather than yeast-hazey. Propeller Kristall Weizen is made with special Weizen yeast, German Noble hops and equal amounts of barley and wheat malts. Like its Hefeweizen counterpart, Kristall Weizen develops a richly-textured, firm, white head in the glass. Very light, spritzy-effervescent and refreshing on the palate, with creamy texture and gentle, lightly fruity character, it finishes with a touch of dryness. Propeller Kristall Weizen pairs well with summer heat and good times… Prost.”

What’s great about their site is the glassware and temperature recommendations as well as a “Prop’r Learning” section that educate people about not only their brewery but about beer in general.

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Let’s Tour – 8 Wired

Our final stop of New Zealand breweries is 8 Wired.

Here is what they have to say about themselves:”8 WIRED BREWING is inspired by the legendary Kiwi can-do mentality and fellow craft brewers who have dared to challenge the masses and show us all that beer is no longer “just beer”! Crafted by Søren Eriksen, a nomadic Danish brewer who has finally found permanent ground in Marlborough, New Zealand. Expect unique brews, expect ingenuity in flavour.”

And here is their brew listing:
ReWired – Brown Ale
HopWired -I.P.A.
The Big Smoke – Smoked Porter
iStout – Imperial Stout