606. Cervecería Centro Americano, S.A. (Guatemala City, Guatemala) - Gallo

“A beer of incomparable quality and flavor, the pride of Guatemalans. Its flavor is accentuated and defined by a special bitterness from the hops, with an alcohol content of 5%. It has a dark golden hue and its foam is clear and stable.”

I first tried this beer 10 years ago, when we went to Guatemala on a mission trip. We had the first evening to ourselves, so two of us, another dude named John, and I, got a tuktuk into town—everybody else was too tired to hit the bricks. We had no real idea what we were doing or where we were going—which is probably why we ended up asking for directions in a brothel—but eventually we made it to Calle Santander and found a place where we could get a beer (and listen to a gringo called Matteo, who played chords on a guitar badly, apparently in exchange for some hot soup). The beer was Gallo, which appears to have been rechristened Famosa at some point on its voyage to the States; but it will always be Gallo to me. It can now be had here, but at $20 for a 12-pack, it’s too pricey—except to have an experimental go at it or to relive memories of looking at three volcanoes across one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, which I have had the good fortune to do—twice.

It’s billed as a lager, and that’s what it tastes like; but it’s deeper and richer than most American lagers, though “dark golden hue” is stretching it. I don’t recall what the ones called Gallo tasted like when I was in Guatemala, but the ones I’m tasting out of cans here at home make me wonder if something has changed in the translation. It ain’t worth $20, but it’s hella better than most of the macrobrewed shit they orchestrate out of the low countries.

605. Kismetic Beer Company (Indianapolis, IN) - Banana Nut Bread Hefeweizen

“A hefeweizen style wheat beer, hot and cold steeped with Nelson’s Tea Banana Nut Bread rooibos tea blead [sic], rich and bready, with notes of ripe bananas and walnuts.”

Very bready up front, with a hint of chalky walnut and a smooth, soft finish. A little bit of banana flavor lingers, and this batch has less baking spice flavor than the previous batches. Still very good, but if I didn’t know this was the banana nut bread version, I might not have guessed.

604. Kismetic Beer Company (Indianapolis, IN) - Amaro Saison

“Our version of an Aperol Spritz. Brewed with 6 row barley, pale ale, Caramunich, white wheat, and rye. Hopped with Magnum and Lotus. Cold and hot steeped with gentian, chinchona, grapefruit peel, lemon peel, orange peel, rose hips, orris, grains of paradise, chamomile, fennel, star anise, black pepper and a few other spices. Aromas of black licorice and spicy phenolic, balanced with flavors of bubblegum, pepper, and Good and Plenty’s [sic]. For the fans of amaro, herbal liqueurs, or even an Underberg.”

Minty aroma and a minty, spicy taste up front that drifts into a pleasantly bitter finish that smooths out as the beer warms. Possibly some grapefruit pith in there contributing to the bitter finish, and then bright orange flavor as the bitterness smooths. Even more complex and spectacular than the Marzen. (And much like with the Cold IPA, I may have to update this post after I have tried a second one.

603. Kismetic Beer Company (Indianapolis, IN) - Cold IPA

“Our take on a new style out of Oregon. Described by the originator as more West Coast than West Coast, this IPA is brewed with America pilsner, Vienna, and flaked rice. Hopped with Azacca, Apollo, and Amarillo. It is fermented with lager yeast at ale temps. It is dry hopped at the tail end of fermentation to achieve some fruit forward bio tranformation [sic]. Crisp and dry, with aromas of pine and citrus, bitter and crisp on the palate.”

Piney aroma and taste up front. Dry finish. Any fruit in there does not assert itself in the first couple of sips, but turns into a slight citrus shine as the beer warms. There’s a fresh, herbal taste that eventually comes up and makes me think of fresh fruit that isn’t quite ripe yet. Also excellent, but I’m too inured to IPAs. I will try this one again and may update the post.

602. Kismetic Beer Company (Indianapolis, IN) - Marzen

“Brewed with Munich, Vienna, Caramunich, rye and chit. Hopped with Magnum and Sazz. We went as traditional as we could and brewed in March and then lagered for 6 months. Bready and rich, with notes of toffee and brioche on the nose. Sweet malty complexity is balanced by a firm, bitter backbone.”

It’s got a light roasty taste up front, with a dry finish that smooths out and begins to feel more like the light spice of rye about halfway through. A little bit of caramel floats around almost playfully, but never quite asserts itself. There might be a hint of dried fruit in there, too—especially on the nose. Full and complex, but not heavy. Spectacular.

Deep Thoughts #317

Have you seen the new exhibit at the Indianapolis Zoo? Donald Trump supporters have a space to run free and throw their feces on each other!

Deep Thoughts #316

Apparently we need to explain to lying rapist Donald Trump that choosing not to run for re-election is different than resigning from office.

601. Moontown Brewing Company (Whitestown, IN) - Starve Hollow

“We raise our glasses again for our next foray in our Pints for Parks series! Our 11th journey in our series takes us just south of Brownstown to Starve Hollow State Recreational Area. Given that it’s summer and this beer is for honoring a wonderful recreational area we made a delightful and very refreshing IPL. Built like a pilsner, to be so clean and crisp, and hopped heavily like an IPA with Nectaron, Mosaic, and Citra, this beer is extremely smooth, floral and fruity, finishing light and dry, it’s perfect for any adventure. Thank you for continuing to support our state parks, cheers to the great outdoors!”

We got back today from a three-day weekend at Turkey Run, and on the way out on Sunday, we stopped at Moontown for lunch. The food was only so-so, as it has been the last couple of times, but the beer is still very much on point. I was pretty stoked to see that they had finally replaced the Lincoln ESB with a new entry in the Pints for Parks series—and especially so when I noted that this new entry is hopped with Nectaron. That particular hop always makes me think of nectarine, which is one of my favorite fruits; and this beer has got all kinds of things going on. I initially thought I would compare it to Natural Liberty, from Black Acre; but after I checked my notes, I saw that Natural Liberty is an American Pale Lager, while Starve Hollow is an India Pale Lager. Is there a huge difference? As my grandmother might have said, "I haven’t the foggiest." (I also think that the line separating India Pale Ales from American Pale Ales has more to do with semantics than with flavor or brewing technique; but please be reminded that I am not within shouting distance of being an expert about anything.)

What I can say for sure is that this beer is more interesting than Natural Liberty. It’s got some bitter, piney things going on, and it also has some vaguely sweet stone fruit things going on. (And if you’ve been stopping by here with any degree of frequency over the last several years, you will not be remotely surprised when I say that the first of those two characteristics decreases in direct proportion to the amount of time the beer has spent out of the refrigerator—and that the second increases.)

Best of the Pints for Parks series? It’s only my 4th, of the 11 they have so far produced; and those have all been excellent. But yes…this might be the best one I have so far tried.

600. West Side Brewing (Cincinnati, OH) - Amarillo Pale Ale

“This pale ale uses a single hop varietal: Amarillo. An American hop, Amarillo lends big aromas of orange citrus to the beer, with backing notes of grapefruit and lightly floral tones.”

Not quite as strong as they seem to want it to be…but I get a sense that all of those things might be there. Not bad, but not especially interesting.

599. El Segundo Brewing Company (El Segundo, CA) - Steve Austin’s Broken Skull 3:16 IPA

“Last fall, the good folks at Perrault Farms in Yakima Valley invited ESBC and Steve Austin up to sample their hops during their annual hop harvest. Steve was so blown away by them and their hops that it inspired him to make a new IPA. The hops in this beer were selected by Steve Austin himself. We hope you enjoy this beer as much as we do. Cheers!”

Okay, then. It’s a light, crisp IPA that sort of doesn’t taste like it clocks in at 7.2% ABV. Maybe some melon up front, and a dry finish that slides toward slightly bitter as it warms. Not bad, but it doesn’t make my socks roll up and down.

598. Bloomington Brewing Co. (Bloomington, IN) - Simcoe Kid

“Return of the Simcoe Kid! Another brew from the BBC archives, Simcoe Kid is a single hop IPA showcasing…you guessed it, Simcoe! Smooth bitterness complimented [sic] by citrus and tropical fruit flavors. Pink grapefruit dominates the aroma, with subtle hints of mango, guava, and passion fruit, courtesty of Helio Gazer yeast.”

Very nice balance of citrus and tropical fruit, though I don’t get much of anything specific. Smooth and easy to drink, with just the barest hint of a dry finish. Very well done, but doesn’t seem to be in my wheelhouse.

Taproom: MashCraft Brewing (Indianapolis, IN)

Jackson had an all-day robotics competition at Greenwood Middle School yesterday, and Amy and I had a big chunk of time to kill between Jackson’s last match of the day and the time we were supposed to pick him up at school, so we decided to check out the MashCraft taproom in Greenwood. I’ve been wanting to try their beer for a while, but their three taprooms are just far enough out of the way of our usual haunts that we hadn’t gotten around to it. It was unclear when we arrived whether we were supposed to order from the counter or wait to be seated, and we ended up placing an initial order at the counter; but after that, it was still sort of unclear. A second person came around to the table a couple of times, but I went back up to the counter for a second round of drinks.

Amy ordered the Garden Pesto pizza, and I had an unsalted pretzel with mustard and the chips and dips. Her pizza was unevenly cooked, with the crust around the edge being way too hard and the crust in the middle being barely cooked—the classic sign of a packaged crust; but the pesto flavor was respectable. The pretzel was okay, but not especially interesting, served with what was clearly horseradish mustard out of a jar; and the chips were served with jarred salsa and something called “frontera ranch,” which is apparently their way of saying “ranch with hot sauce.”

595. MashCraft Brewing (Indianapolis, IN) - Galactus
“Named after the planet eating entity because of its big bold tropical flavors and slightly elevated ABV.”
Prominent orange juice flavor up front, with a sweet, creamy mouthfeel that makes me think lactose. In the middle, it’s a pretty standard New England/milkshake IPA (though I don’t get any strong tropical flavors), and the finish is sharp—not dry or bitter, but sharp, with a strong taste of alcohol. It’s a little off-putting at first, but smooths out as it warms.

596. MashCraft Brewing (Indianapolis, IN) - Jamaica Joe
“Our MashCraft Red infused with creamy and caramely Jamaican Me Crazy coffee beans from local favorite Strange Brew.”
Very light coffee aroma, with mild coffee flavor and a smooth caramel/red ale finish. Exactly as advertised, and well done; but it’s got nothing on Ryan’s coffee lager at Kismetic, which has strong coffee aroma and flavor, and a buttery shortbread finish.

597. MashCraft Brewing (Indianapolis, IN) - Let it Burn
“Take a smooth cream ale and hit it with some lemondrop peppers. What do you get? Ask Usher…”
Powerful pepper flavor and strong heat on the first sip, with a pretty fast burn; but as it warms up, the smooth cream ale malt flavors make that more of a slow burn. The slight hint of lemon from the pepper is a nice touch.

594. Scarlet Lane Brewing Company (McCordsville, IN) - Irving Dark

No description apart from “shadow ale,” which is probably better marketing for the outfit that bills itself as “The Official Beer of Horror” than “boring porter,” which is what it actually is. I’ve tried it in the taproom before, but I saw it in cans at the Beech Grove taproom last night, so I brought some home. It was no more interesting in a different setting. I didn’t plan it this way, but I happened to pour the first one at home on the one-year anniversary of the closure of Black Acre Brewing Company. Scarlet Lane took over the space and claimed that they would continue to brew Saucy Intruder and Natural Liberty out of respect for Black Acre; but to my knowledge, they have not tapped a single keg of either beer since they opened the Irvington taproom. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the issues that forced the closures of the 46th & College and Bellefontaine locations, with the fact that one of the founders/brewers of Black Acre is now brewing for Black Circle, or with some other reason altogether; whatever the reason, it’s disappointing.