Sun King Brewery Review

How do I rate breweries might be a question some of you are asking at this point because of high reviews I have been giving places so far (there are a few brewery review to come that won't be getting these kind of scores).  Well the reviews depend upon what type of atmosphere the brewery has and beers are they trying to create.  I have been a bartender, bar manager, and have worked in a family owned restaurant my whole life.  So when a place does things well I am not going to nitpick but I am going to highlight the identity and successes of each individual brewery.

That being said Sun King Brewery is another must stop for anyone's brewery tour.  From the moment you walk in their tasting room you know everyone both love their job and love what Sun King creates.  Before I go on I do want to point out that Sun King is not a restaurant, there is no food, and you cannot purchase pints to drink at their brewery.  Yet this will not deplete your the enjoyment of visiting this brewery.

One of the factors that make some breweries great is being able to appeal to different people's preferences.  Around Indianapolis if you ask "what is your favorite Sun King Beer?" you will find that not one of their beers is a clear front runner because their beers are all wonderful.  If you like Scottish Ales, Cream Ales, or Pale Ales their standard beers should checked out.  At the brewery the daily price of these are $6.50 for a growler fill and on Fridays $5.00 which is a fantastic price. 

They do a great job of creating a great round robin of seasonal beers too; Fistful of Hops, Oktoberfest, and the rare Black IPA are some of my favorite.  

With community involvement and many different events, Sun King is ranked as one of the best Breweries.  

Service: 5/5

Food: NA

Choices: 5/5

Atmosphere: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

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Big Woods Brewery Review

I have been to Big Woods Brewery twice now and if I did not live a hour and a half away that number would be significantly higher.  Although the brewery is somewhat small and can feel crowded; those issues can be easily overlooked by the fact that they have fantastic beers and out of this world food.

Their Pulled Pork Nachos is now a must have every time I visit.  They smoke their pulled pork first and layer a hefty amount of cheese, bbq sauce, and other fantastical items that will make anyone have dreams about eating them.  I also had a burger their the first time I went and had no complaints.

As for their beers the two that are note worthy are the Busted Knuckle Porter and their Pumpkin Ale. The Busted Knuckle is their "flagship" beer and is well worth that title.  If I had one porter to drink the rest of my life it would easily be this one.  The Pumpkin Ale was almost as good as eating a fresh apple pie from Grays Cafeteria.  Which if you have ever been to Grays that is the highest of compliments.

If you enjoy nature, great parks, and small town America; travel to Brown County Indiana and partake in well crafted beer and (what has now become famous with my friends) the Pulled Pork Nachos.

Service: 4/5

Food: 5/5 

Choices: 5/5

Atmosphere: 3/5

Overall: 4/5

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Tow Yard Brewery Review

I was first recommended to Tow Yard Brewery after a good friend went to their launch.  Knowing that I love Pale Ales and IPAs he said that this brewery would be right up my alley.  Well he knows me all too well!

Tow Yard has become one of my most regular stops during the week.  I have to go Indianapolis twice a week for a soccer league and it has become my pre game ritual to grab two Horse Power Ales.  Horse Power, review to come, is a double Pale Ale which I personally had never seen or heard of before.  If you enjoy hoppy beers Tow Yard is a must stop just for this beer.

The set up of Tow Yard is very conducive for larger groups and yet have the ability to handle many smaller groups at once too.  They are a perfect spot for lunch, those getting off work, (since their brewery is right by I-70's onramp) and pre gaming before any event at Lucas Oil Stadium for it is about a 5 minute walk.

What food they have is fantastic especially their Pretzels and Chicken Wings.  (They even have a sandwich called Tonya Harding which makes me laugh every time I see it on the menu.)  On Thursday's they have a special where the wings are a $1.50 each and you get the whole wing not just a portion you get with other restaurants.  I did get their wedge salad once although it was great the only complaint is that they use full leafs of lettuce and do not give you a knife to cut the leaves down to a more manageable size to eat.  The other complaint, although minor, is that I would like more finger and bar style foods, but that is a personal preference and it not the style they are going for with what I see as being a lunch and after work destination.  Yet it would help a bit for pre gaming events.

Service: 4.5/5

Food: 4/5

Choices: 5/5 They have plenty of beers to choose from and all great.

Atmosphere: 4/5 for smaller groups 5/5 for larger groups

Overall: 4.5/5 

Dragon's Milk - New Holland Brewery

The first time I had this beer was when I was in Holland, Michigan (by the way is a great place to visit especially during the summer months) to visit, at that time, my girl friends parents for a long weekend.  At that time I had not fully explored the vast wealth of craft beers and breweries out there.

My girl friends father was very excited to take me out to New Holland Brewery to grab a few beers and fill a couple of growlers.  Although it was the first time that I had spent with him one on one it was surprisingly a great time.  The atmosphere there was conducive for us to have a non threatening conversation and their beer helped ease the tension and stress that we have all felt when we first experience a one on one with our significant others parents.

Getting back to the point; Dragon's Milk was his favorite beer and despite my past bad experience one night with a (or many) stout(s) he talked me into trying it.  Well Dragon's Milk unlocked the door to the wonderful world of stouts for me.  It was pleasant and surprisingly soft to drink, incredibly smooth and yet quite powerful.  As far as stouts go Dragon's Milk is my go to Stout when craving a beer that will warm me up on a cold day.  Even though it can be quite thirst quenching even on hot summer days.  Sitting on the beach when I was up there drinking some with 4th of July fireworks set off over Lake Michigan was a rememberable experience.

Review
Repeatability: 5/5
Taste: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Aroma: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

What made me love craft beer!

The beer that got me started loving the craft and art of creating quality beers was Fat Tire.  I had a group of friends that were older than I was from church when I was 20 years old.  I always heard them talking about this great beer that we could not get (at that time) here in Indiana.  Making semi-annual trips to St. Louis they would come back with a car load of beer they would hand out to their friends and then drink for the next six months.  Their detection to this beer was staggering.  

On my 21st birthday after a night out at the bars (which I will only say I was less than an active participant in my classes the next day) I was given a six pack of this beer.  Still to this day when I am at home and have a Fat Tire it takes be back to that first taste sitting in front of a television in a friends room watching, if my memory serves me right, the Big Lebowski.  A beer not meant to be chugged but one that was meant to be savored with friends and making memories that would be remembered not just the next morning but ones that will shape the corse of who we are as a person.  

This is less of a review and becoming more sentimental about some of the best times during my developmental years.  Yet it lead to what only lasted a few weeks but was enjoyable evenings with friends one semester called New Beer Mondays where several of us would all grab a different six pack and sit around watching Monday Night Football in a cramped house on the college campus (one of those friends pointed out a few months ago that we have now all known and been apart of each others lives for more than a decade).  Each Monday brought fun activities, lively story telling, and a growing bond between friends.  

It is this kind of bonding and fellowship that comes from sitting around a table, bon fire, or tailgate with something that is created with care.  I hope that the journey of discovery and drinking local can create memories that become as sentimental as the ones I have; because when you have those special moments with craft beer they can always be relived one glorious pint at a time.  

Sin Bin Belgium Pale Ale from Triton Brewery

A Belgium White Ale came to mind as I started drinking this beer. Halfway done with the first beer I noticed that I probably won't be able to drink more than two or three of these at a time. Chalked full of flavor yet with a nice sweet finish it is turning out to be a great night cap.  It would be a great beer to drink during the summer on hot days or during the winter sitting in a hot tub with friends.  

Although it is not going to get the highest of scores I am defiantly going to recommend this beer and will drink it again.  

Repeatability 2/5

Taste 3.5/5

Appearance 4/5

Aroma 4/5

Overall 3.5/5

For more information http://tritonbrewing.com

Black Acre Review

Black Acre Brewery Review

When one thinks about having or looking for a "home" bar there are several things to look for; friendly service, great selection of drinks, simple quality food, and close to your place (or at least close to your girlfriend's/boyfriend's place).  What is great about Black Acre is that for me it meets all of the requirements except for one, which is a close place for me to stay.  The 35 min drive across town, each way, is worth every minute to visit this place about once a month.

If I had to describe BA (which I will now refer to Black Acre, and as it turns out it is well fitting nickname) with one word it would have to be Hipster.  Though, hipster, can be used as a derogatory term; I use it as an enduring term to express its forward and individualized thinking.

When you first walk in you will notice there is no hostess.  You are to fend for yourself to find a table while standing around a tall table that can fit probably around 20 people.  (It is not as hectic as the above statement might lead you to think.  Most people that come in know that you should wait in line for the next table.) Some might find this odd but what that does is gives people the feeling that they will not be rushed out the door once you have finished dinner.  Giving to actual conversations with friends without interruptions.  Aiding to this atmosphere is the fact that there are no televisions.  Although having a television is nice during sporting events the reality is that most nights there are no games on worth watching. While most other bars have the TVs turned onto some random channel giving you updates on stories that most of us couldn't care less about.

Their food is very simple yet incredible.  The menu is mostly panini sandwiches and other small items their menu is not overloaded with so many options that one would get overloaded and fatigued just by trying to find the list of side items.  From a personal note try their grilled cheese and sweet potato fries with a side of their garlic aloe.  There is something about that aloe with the sweet potato fries that is surprisingly great!

On to what most of you actually care about is their beer.  They always have a large selection of beers that will appeal to a wide variety of preferences.  I have tried many of their brews and have enjoyed all of them, yet if I had to come up with a criticism it would be that some of their beers are not the ones that you could drink more than 3 at once.  They are chalked full of flavor each unique to their "typical" counterparts from other breweries.  So if they took care of this critique then it would take away from what I can only expect is at the core of BA, uniqueness and independent thinking.  So do what I normally do is just constantly switch what I am drinking.

Final two comments; one is that they have a beer that I have yet to try because I only saw it at the time of writing this review. O'Gleason Dry Irish Stout, I mention it only because a friend has that last name.  Having seen that a text has been sent to set a time for him and I to venture to BA.  The second is that I had a beer that was magical to say the least, a Chi-Stout.  I am not that big of a fan of Stouts but I will drink them occasionally.  This one I would drink every day if I could, although it is not available at this time if you feel the need to campaign for its rerelease I would be in full support for it's a special kind of beer that you will remember everything about the first time you had it.

Score:
Service: 5/5 if you can get over no hostess
Food: 5/5 not a large menu but what they have is always great
Choices: 5/5 you will always find a beer that meets your taste buds
Atmosphere: 5/5 just great just great
Overall: 5/5 You need a "home" bar this might just be right for you