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.