Several months ago, while traveling through Lafayette on the way to see a play with a friend, I tried to swing by the Lafayette Brewing Company. Unfortunately we were in a hurry and stopped for tacos instead at a place on the highway but promised ourselves to hit LBC on the way back.
The way back was on a Sunday and LBC had the stools and chairs upside down on the table tops, lights off, no luck.
A second trip for a wedding ended up on a more circuitous round and never quite made it into Lafayette. And the way back was Sunday.
But this past Tuesday night LBC was the guest beer at Barley Island-Broad Ripple and so even though my failed attempts to get there myself placed me firmly in the ranks of the world’s worst and therefore most forgotten explorers I was not totally to be denied. The LBC came to me.
We arrived before the official tapping and so ordered from the regular menu. I ordered the Two Brothers Cane and Ebel Red Rye. A rich and gorgeous mahogany color, the beer arrived with very moderate off-white head, about one finger with fine lacing all the way down.
Although hoppy with distinct and powerful citrus streak in both the aroma and the mouth, its most striking feature is the creaminess. I had figured the hops for Cascade but according to the Two Brothers website it’s Summit. Apparently I still need some practice with my varietals.
The beer has a medium body with a soft texture that, despite its 7% ABV holds well in the mouth. It leaves with a slight note of alcohol and a prolonged sweetness that dissipates to an tenacious bitterness.
I’ve been ordering rye beers as often as I can lately to teach the palate how to recognize the flavor and I think Cane and Ebel finally did the trick. This accessible beer offered little in the way of mystery which is not intended as a criticism. The hops were distinct and their purpose clear, the moderate ABV was well balanced with a low key malt flavor and that meant that the flavor and bitterness I could not recognize was the rye. A grainy, full mouth, flavor that left a lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue. That is the rye, and I like it.
I was nearly done with the rye when the LBC beers were tapped. On the suggestion of our waiter (wearing a kick ass New Albanian “These Machines Kill Fascists” T-shirt I ordered the Pipers Pride Scottish ale first. It was…magnificent once I had gone through the three LBC selections this was the beer I would order again and again throughout the night (much to the detriment of my Wednesday).
It arrived a rich, red not unlike the dark mahogany of the rye but magically and perfectly clear. Unfortunately there was no head on the beer although later iterations had a perfect tight, off white head. The beer honestly seemed to shine. The first wash in the mouth was a perfect, medium bodied beer with a light malt and a generous amount of smoke. I want to be careful here. The smoke was not overpowering, but it was the main flavor. Mixing well with the malt and hops, the smoke imparted an almost peat-like effect. Not precisely the earthy herbaciousness of real peat, but a close enough approximation that kept this beer perfectly accessible to a novice craft brew drinker but challenging to a veteran looking for something different.
It finished softly with a touch of toffee that faded away to a prominent pleasant woodiness.
This beer had a presence about it that seemed yanked from the fireside of a primitive gathering house. I felt like I was a viking. I felt like was drinking BEER.
Next up was the Tippecanoe Common Ale. This beer poured a luscious orangish copper, again with no head, but I blame the car ride from Lafayette and the early tapping. The nose was mostly citrusy and floral hops (Amarillo according to the LBC website). The body was light medium with a crisp bite of hops and very light malt flavors. A slight alcohol in the nose upon swallowing followed by a quick hint of bitterness on the way out.
Definitely a good session beer at 5.8% ABV. The beer is imminently quaffable. This beer is a natural sobriety predator when served cold on a hot summer day. Reviewers at BeerAdvocate call this an IPA. I disagree. I found it much hoppier than most IPA’s and not nearly as malty or dark bodied. I place this a classic American Pale Ale perfectly comparable to Sierra Nevada Pale.
Last up was the Black Angus Oatmeal Stout. I have to confess here, as I often do at some point in beer reviews that my palate, by this time was shot, not just because the Black Angus was my fourth full pint of the evening (and I’d eaten) but also because the three beers I had were all very intensely flavored and leaned hop heavy. The soft, black, subtlety of the Angus deserved a better taster than I was at this point.
Nevertheless, this matte black beast arrived with a tannish gold ring around the top of the glass almost like the corona of an espresso but less golden and less of it. Very little aroma but what was there was malty, with a slight hint of something sharp, maybe hard water(?) maybe coffee(?). I notice that some reviewers mentioned a lactic note in the nose, maybe that was it.
The body was much lighter and less creamy than expected although it was both creamy and not light, just that it defied expectations. It still left a little to chew on despite its lightness. I noted some coffee notes. The beer finished wet and sweet. Not a challenging beer. At this point in the evening I normally would have probably stuck with the Angus, it was cold outside, the beer was easy to drink. But I had to have another go at Piper’s Pride. And another one. And another.
Drink responsibly, y’all.
Ben and Darren answered all my questions and filled me in on how they expect to be out of the 7 beers on tap by the end of the weekend. However, they have a bunch of other styles lined up and ready to go on tap.
This is the exact kind of mouthfeel a hop head would enjoy.
