Brew Indy, brew!

Mad Anthony is a brewery out of our very own Fort Wayne Indiana. One can only assume that Mad Anthony got their name from the General the town of Fort Wayne is named after, Anthony Wayne. Their IPA caught my attention recently when I wanted some awesome hops but didn’t want to go to my normal Alpha King or Two Hearted. Since this was several bucks cheaper I decided I had a winner.

It wasn’t until later on that night I realized I really had a winner. From the minute I smelled the sweet stickiness of this beer and the citrus hops that complement it’s golden color I knew for sure this beer would be awesome. I’m not sure how Mad Anthony has escaped me for the past few years considering they’ve been around since 1999. Perhaps they just started bottling. I’m glad it’s here now though.

The taste you’re going to get on this is something of a hop blast to the back of the throat. Hop lovers will like Mad Anthony’s IPA but even some of you Hop Heads will be broken by this beast. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. Still, if you can get your hands on this, and you should be able to, you should give it a try. I found mine at my local “we sell a few microbrews but don’t get any special stuff in week-to-week” liquor store.

Mad Anthony IPA - Poured

It’s Thursday and that can mean only one thing!  Ok so it can mean a bunch of things, but for some of us on the south side it’s our chance to pick up some $5 growlers of the fine brews at Oaken Barrel.  The Superfly is one of my favorites from Oaken Barrel and a beer that no hop lover should ever pass up.

• ABV: 7.5%
• IBU: 100+
• SRM 8.0

Appearance: Nice light amber color, quite  orange-like.  Actually, they describe it as “Scarlet orange.”  You can just tell this one is sticky as you’re pouring it.  This starts out with a thick white frothy head; one that I probably caused to be too large as I let it out of the growler too fast.  It died down over time but persevered enough to leave a nice lacing on my glass.

Smell: Strong floral hops in the nose.  The smell of the Super Fly let’s you know you’re in for a sweet, sticky treat.  Many people tell me they get a grainy malty smell out of this more than hops but I disagree.  I can pick out the floral, citrusy hop as being the predominant aroma rising out of this.

Taste: Very bitter up front with a nice mellow sweetness following.  The finish is even more bitterness.  You can tell they packed the tank with hops on this one.  If you’re a hop head with an urge for some extreme bitterness you will not be disappointed.  If you don’t like hops then you should steer clear!  The sweetness that comes through is the malt that they have in there although it almost seems like there should be a little more to balance the massive amounts of hops.  But then again it wouldn’t be a hop head’s dream if they did that!  To be transparent with you I’ve had this beer before… many times.  It’s my typical Thursday $5 growler refill choice at the Oaken Barrel and one I enjoy several times a month.  When I share this with friends who have before claimed themselves as hop heads they thought this beer was way too hoppy and way too offensive to their palate.  Don’t let that steer you away though!  Stop in for a pint today!

Mouth feel: Thick and sticky.  A sticky lingering actually hangs out around your mouth as if you just ate some hop pancakes with hop syrup on them.  Cold hop syrup at that   This is the exact kind of mouthfeel a hop head would enjoy.

Drinkability: It’s pretty easy to sit back and knock down a half gallon of this.  The 7.5% ABV however may have you second guessing that choice.  “May”   Just know that after one or two of these you probably shouldn’t drive.  Other than that drink up, not your typical session beer but one that you can have several pints of before going to bed being ready to move on to the next beer.

Oaken Barrel - Superfly

New Belgium is a brewery that is fairly new to Indy’s neck of the woods coming to us in April of 2009. Since then everyone in Indy has been raving about their brews and they are keeping us interested with new ones periodically. They are known all over as one of the most earth friendly breweries deriving most of their energy from the wind among other things.

The Ranger IPA is part of their ‘Explore Series’ along with their Mothership Wit, Abbey, and Trippel brews. While it may not be a traditional fit for their style of beers I am very thankful to them for finally releasing an American style IPA. This Ranger clocks in at a very healthy 6.5% ABV. Plenty of punch if you ask me. The 70 IBU’s are made up of Simcoe, Cascade, and Chinook hops.

Appearance: Decent amber color. A little bit of haze that is probably attributed to the dry hopping. Very little head poured out on this one but there is a small film on the top of it.

Smell: Hops up front. Very grassy and perhaps even floral smelling hops. Earthy as I’d expect to come out of New Belgium.

Taste: Much more of the floral from the hops hits you as you begin to sip this. The malt is absolutely evident in this one as well as there is a definite sweetness underneath. Perhaps it’s just in my head, but many of the New Belgium beers have the same malt characteristics because this reminds me a bit of their 2 degrees below. The finish is bitter and spicy. It leaves a feeling that I would describe as peppery. Not that it tastes like pepper but that’s how I’m reminded.

Mouthfeel: I’m always looking for a good balance of bitter spicy feel and creaminess in my IPA’s and this brew isn’t too far off. I’d be interested in trying this on draft. Still, as far as IPA’s go this one is about normal when it comes to this category.

Drinkability: The malt throws me off on this one as I’m not a fan but the blend of hops makes up for it. I could, and will, drink several of these. If you’re a hop head you can count on this one to satisfy you.