583. Triton Brewing Co. (Indianapolis, IN) - Railsplitter

“Our flagship beer, and a true example of the style, the Railsplitter India Pale Ale (IPA) is a fresh golden brew with noticeable citrus and floral aromas balanced on a nice malty backbone with a dry finish.”

That malty backbone is pretty strong, imparting a bitter finish that somewhat mutes the flavors coming from the busy hop profile. It mellows and smooths as it warms up, remaining bitter, but loosing some flavor, especially from the Carahell malt. I was not initially impressed with this beer, but it’s definitely better when you let it breathe for a minute. I sort of get the idea that there might be some rye in there, but I don’t know enough about malts to know if any of the ones they mention on the website might be rye. Definitely merits revisitng at some point in the future.

Deep Thoughts #313

If you didn’t already know that Jann Wenner was a fucking tool, then I can’t fucking help you. (Yes I can; don’t ever vote for Republicans.)

582. Indiana City Brewing Co. (Indianapolis, IN) - Amarillo, Yo!

“Juicy, hazy pale ale series brewed with lactose and featuring massive whirlpool & dry hop additions of super aromatic hops.”

If I said at some point before that one of these beers was the swan song for the dear, departed Indiana City Brewing Co., then I was perhaps speaking in haste. I’ve been hanging on to one of these bad boys, along with three cans of Black Acre stuff, since both of those breweries folded earlier this year. The 1-2 punch was somewhat traumatic; they were two of my favorite breweries in Indianapolis. But due to circumstances that shall perhaps be discussed later, I have decided to stop cellaring these last four cans of joy. And it turns out that I have never commented on this particular Indiana City brew, so…here we go. It’s both light (clocking in at only 5.5% ABV) and flavorful, and the lactose doesn’t cut much off of the citrus shine and mildly bitter finish. You won’t be surprised to hear that I love it, and that I wish I had more of them. I also wish that these cats could have hung on, and that maybe they will resurface someday, in premises with a manageable rent.

573. Henderson Brewing Co. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - Moving Pitchers

“Henderson Brewing and Rush take the stage together with this electric brew, named after Rush’s 8th studio album. A strong ale with a medley of aromas of berries, grapes, and spice, along with maple syrup and a mild floral note. The palate shows dark fruit, pudding, and toffee, capped by a long finish. Savour solo.”

I get grapes in various stages, from fresh to dried, and possibly some spice—but it’s just as likely that the spice is masked by the 11.9% ABV. It’s big and strong, and that ain’t necessarily bad; but it ain’t necessarily good, either. I really wanted to like these beers, but I didn’t. (And I sure as hell wish I hadn’t spent almost $150 getting them the hell across the border.)

581. Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR) - Tropical Fresh

“Sit back and relax as you let the waves of pineapple, citrus and mango wash over you. Close your eyes and you can hear the breeze rustling through the palm trees. An antidote to a hazy glow, we sought a bright and beautiful color as canvas to flaunt big tropical hops.”

There’s just a hint of orange rind on the back end that gives it a dry finish that can’t quite be called bitter. The tropical flavors up front are somewhat muddled, and it does not drink remotely like it clocks in at 6.5% ABV. Not my favorite thing from Deschutes, but one of the more interesting.