522. Scarlet Lane Brewing Company (McCordsville, IN) - Bella in the Wych Elm

“Pale Ale with Mautere Hops (Notes of Grapefruit, Passionfruit, and Pine).”

It’s possible that the breadsticks I’m eating with this are frying my taste buds in some cosmic, gustatory way; but what flavors there might be seem somewhat muddled (and I still don’t think I would recognize passionfruit if it fell out of the sky, landed on my face, and started to wiggle [h/t to the late, great John Hughes]). For a Scarlet Lane joint, however, it’s approachable and pleasant—smooth up front, with just a hint of the bitter fnish that too often dominates their pales. (And it should perhaps be noted that this beer is listed as “Pale Ale” on the menu, not “IPA.”)

Indianapolis Beer News #1

I don’t know if this is going to be a regular thing or not, so I’m numbering them just in case. I am not a journalist, so what I post here might not pass muster for the Rory Gilmores of the world; but neither will it be hearsay. It will come from someone directly employed in the industry, and if I suspect that the narrator is unreliable, I will say so. And with that, having caveated myself (and yes, I am aware that I used the word caveat as a verb there), off we go.

I had to take Jackson to choir practice yesterday because my wife has Covid again, and while he was choiring (there's another new verb), I stopped in at the Scarlet Lane on Bellefontaine to write for a little bit. They had Black Acre’s Natural Liberty on the menu, so I asked if that was a keg from Black Acre, or if Eilise had brewed it. Turns out it was from Black Acre, and they have a couple more kegs to go; but then it switches to the Scarlet Lane version of Natural Liberty. They won’t have Saucy Intruder until they open in Irvington—which I am told will be in March.

521. Indiana City Brewing Co. (Indianapolis, IN) - Sister City

“Cologne, Germany is the birthplace of Kölsch bier, and it’s also one of Indy’s eight Sister Cities. We craft Sister City in adherence to brewing guidelines drafted by Cologne brewers to preserve consistency and quality for this delicious style. It’s a delicately balanced, lightly hopped, straw colored ale that drinks like a crisp clean lager.”

And much like Arthouse Blonde was my swan song for Black Acre, this is going to be my swan song for Indiana City, which closed on February 18th. (The fact that the world shit the bed three years ago is not the direct cause of either closure; but neither is it blameless.) I’ve never been big on this style, but I had one at Kismetic Beer Company recently that may have changed my mind; and now I feel like I might be opening up to Kölsch, though perhaps not to the extent that I opened up to pumpkin ales this past fall. When I saw this in the cooler at Stoney’s (and not price-gouged, the way they upped the price on the last…um…several dozen cases of Black Acre beer they got), I bit. (And to be perfectly honest, I probably would have bitten on a price-gouged four-pack of something from the Craft Brew Doodle Crew series, too. Those were some of my favorite Indianapolis beers of all time.) This is not as interesting as the one I had at Kismetic, and I still don’t have much experience with Kölsch; but I don’t think this one drinks like a lager. It’s more like a Brut IPA—smooth and somewhat effervescent, with very faint hints of citrus and stone fruit on the back end. It doesn’t appeal to me all that much, but I think it’s well done.

Deep Thoughts #304

Read the January 6th report—especially if you still think Republicans are valid. Michael Flynn is an un-American and cowardly piece of shit.

9. Indiana City Brewing Co. - Tribute Pale Ale

“Tribute Pale Ale is hopped exclusively with the mighty Eureka hop which imparts dank aroma, smooth hop flavor and balanced bitterness.”

I’m not sure dank is a word you want to use when you’re describing your beer. I’m also not sure that the bitterness is balanced. But I’m also not sure either of those is a bad thing. I’m not sure they’re good things, either. I lack general overall certainty about this beer, but it’s interesting enough that I am totally willing to come back to it at some point.

Originally posted on August 9, 2017

TAKE TWO (February 12, 2023): Just picked this up at random at Stoney's last night, and was told as I was checking out that Indiana City is folding. I had heard that they were trying to find a buyer and that their stuff would be up for auction soon if they did not, so I guess this might be it. If true, it's a damn shame, and not just because they make great beer. They also distribute way more of their stuff than most breweries in Indianapolis. My second take on this is that it's interesting, but a little muddled. There's a fruit flavor that isn't quite mixed up enough to be called fruit cocktail, but isn't anything specific, either; and the finish is somewhere between dry and bitter. The second one, poured into the same mug from whence came the first, gives me a hint of papaya and maybe a bit of grapefruit; and it remains interesting. I don't love it the way I've loved some of their other stuff, but I like it enough to want to keep drinking it (and to want to stock up on it if they really are going to fold).

520. Bell’s Brewery (Comstock, MI) - Big Hearted

“Imperial style IPA. Citrus and berry hop aromas, balanced with a slight bitterness.”

Power of suggestion, maybe, but I do get a flavor of berries up front. The high alcohol (9.5%) gives it a full-bodied, shimmering finish that isn’t quite the bitter bite you might expect from something this big and bold. It’s certainly not a bad beer, but I sort of feel like I should be more impressed by it. That “slight bitterness”—which is really just a polysyllabic euphemism for “dry”—becomes somewhat more pronouced as the beer warms, though this is not off-putting. I tried a second one against my better judgment, knowing that 9.5% might turn me into a drooling lunatic…but I couldn’t shake the feeling from the first one that this was something akin to a grown-up version of Six Foot Strawberry Blonde, which…and you know what?…looking back at it, I find that I have never posted about Six Foot Strawberry Blonde. But it’s much drier on the back end, even after it warms up. Again, not bad…just maybe a bit too ambitious.

519. Black Acre Brewing Company (Indianapolis, IN) - Arthouse Blonde

“An Indiana farmhouse blonde ale made in collaboration with Kan-Kan Cinema and Brasserie.”

This will probably be the last Black Acre beer that I ever post; their last day of business is this coming Saturday, which will also be the 11th anniversary of the day they opened. I’m not usually big on farmhouse beers, mostly because funky Belgian yeast just doesn’t seem to do it for me; but this one is bright and refreshing and thoroughly pleasant. The one I had in the taproom a couple of days ago had some pronounced citrus flavor up front, but this one (though they are from the same batch) is more hints of funky yeast and sweet grass, with maybe a little bit of unripe melon on the back end. The citrus begins to come up a bit as the beer warms, and I am liking this more and more with every sip.