Last Dance Imperial Rye Pale
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(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Day two in Indianapolis — a few friends came up to say hello and have dinner. Indianapolis has come alive with plenty of great places to drink beer, so we settled on The Ram Restaurant & Brewery in downtown Indianapolis.
I know the Ram primarily because of its Buttface Amber, which makes me think of elementary school nicknames. But they have good food and plenty of beer choices. Alas, I could only choose one beer.
The waiter was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about beer, so when I asked him what I should have if I were only having one beer, he answered without hesitation: “You’d want to drink our Last Dance.” He explained it was a bold, hoppy American Pale Ale brewed with Rye.
Last Dance gets its name from the departure of the location’s head brewer, Dave Colt, who resigned on April 2nd to take the helm at a new brewery in Indianapolis called the Sun King Brewing Company. Dave’s last beer crafted for The Ram was this Imperial Rye Pale, which they tapped as a kind of farewell on April 16th.
The tradition of IPA Monday was designed for days like this. I flew to Indianapolis for a conference, and let me tell you — there’s nothing like getting stuck during a layover and chasing gate changes to make you crave the hoppy blast of a good India Pale Ale.
Specifically, the IPA I had a hankering for was Dragonfly IPA, from the Upland Brewing Company of Bloomington, IN. After landing and doing some work at the hotel, I made the 45 minute drive from Indianapolis to meet up with BeerADay.net reader and longtime friend Bruce Paine, where we sat at the bar and relived old times.
The Upland was my watering hole for many years while I attended Indiana University; I moved off campus and into a house mere blocks from the Upland shortly after they opened. I really didn’t drink much beer prior to discovering the Upland, but — as my credit card statements can attest — its proximity combined with fine craft beer gave me a new perspective. Over the years, my crew and I hung out at the Upland so frequently that we became close to many of the bartenders and waitstaff; hanging out after closing, drinking at their houses, developing romantic entanglements, and generally carrying on as if we were reviving television’s “Cheers”. (At least, that’s how we saw it.) So when the Upland started a Mug Club, many of us naturally became lifetime members.
Victory Moonglow Weizenbock
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Moonglow is a seasonal brew from Victory, and the warm fall colors on the label set the stage for a delicious beer tasting experience. The label shows what looks like a sunset scene, but those soft orange, ochre, and purples settling over the farm house and the waving wheat field are coming from a magical, glowing moon.
From the label:
“Haunting in its subtle complexity, this tempting wheat beer is alive with wild, fruity flavors and deep, spicy aromas. As bold and fleeting as a harvest moon, this dark bock beer makes for the perfect Autumnal elixir. Brewed in the tradition of great Bavarian weizenbocks, Moonglow shines with its own magical yeast strain intact, and exudes a radiance all its own!”
Big words, but this beer is able to back them up. I’ve been pleased with the Victory beers I’ve had this year, and I’m happy to say that Moonglow far surpassed even my high expectations.
Sour’s are an addictive style. After enjoying my first real excursion into the sour patch with Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Red, I found myself craving that cherry-vinegar / sweet and sour taste.
Alas, Ichtegem’s Grand Cru didn’t pack quite the punch I was looking for.
Ichtegem’s Grand Cru was a dark caramel to rich brown Flemish Red Ale, with a mellow citrus aroma tinged with sour cherries and accented by a whiff of vinegar. The taste was fairly tame, malty with sweet cherry on the front. The taste faded into a tart, sour aftertaste that was more reminiscent of wine than beer. The Grand Cru had a rich mouthfeel and lots of carbonation.
Not bad by any means, but less interesting than I had expected. Think of this Grand Cru as a “beginner’s sour” — it gives you a good sense for the style but fails to follow through with any depth.
Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier
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(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...
I’m not a big fan of fruit beers. Drinking a beer brewed with raspberries generally makes me cringe, and I firmly believe blueberries belong in pancakes instead of beer. I’ve had a scant number of good fruit beers during this one-a-day challenge, so I’m still leery of the style.
After going out to dinner with my wife, I found myself back at home with about two hours in which to drink my beer for the day. Sam Adams Blackberry Witbier was cold in my refrigerator — I’ve been putting off drinking it for some time — so I grabbed the bottle.
I wasn’t expecting much, but the Blackberry Witbier beer wasn’t too bad. Perhaps that’s why the Blackberry Witbier was selected as the most recent addition to the “Beer Lover’s Choice” brews.
