







City 360 Grand Tour of Indiana at Kahn’s

There’s nothing like a beer event to break up the monotony of the week, and a free one–well, that’s basically a gift from heaven. Kahn’s pulled together a fantastic bunch of breweries (and wineries too!), dishing out the best of their regular favorites, along with a few new releases to try. My friends, it is going to be a great season for beer. You better clear some space in your fridge.

There were two major themes: IPAs ruled the roost, but no surprise there. The hopmasters will reign supreme for a long time to come. The difficult part is finding that perfect balance between bitter and depth–and it ain’t easy, even for the big boys. The second powerhouse of the night were sours. If you would have asked me a few years ago what style people would be obsessed with in Indy in 2018, I NEVER would have guessed they would love the funk as much as I do. I am for sure not complaining. I loved the variety that I saw last night–it was hard to pick a favorite!

Before I try, though, I’m going to start with the Weirdest Beer Award, because there is absolutely no question on that one. I think the folks at Upland need a beach vacation because their Latitude Adjustment tastes EXACTLY like a fizzy pina colada. You’re going to love this, or you’re going to hate it–but I could totally see it having a cult following.

Another fun mashup could be found at the Taxman table, where they were mixing up BeerMosas with Royalty. This Biere de Champagne made a perfect cocktail and everyone who tried it left with gigantic grins on their face.

I will admit I didn’t try every single IPA. There were just too many beers in too little time. That is the one downside to this type of event, palate overload (not to mention quick intoxication). However, there were two that require mention: Saucy Intruder IPA from Black Acre Brewing hit my palate in all the right places, most likely due to the rye they use–I am partial to any beer made with rye, but I especially lean more towards a rye IPA. So many people coming to the table were confused by the fact that it was a “rye IPA” but in my eyes, that only makes it better! My favorite IPA of the night was KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) from Round Town. This one was just plain drinkable. I don’t sit around and drink IPAs as my “round the campfire” beer much anymore, but this one I could do that with, no question.

Speaking of which, so many vendors kept calling the beers “crushable.” As in, you could crush this whole 6 pack in one sitting. I’m not sure if it was a sales tactic, or if they think we are still a kid in the dorm drinking Natty Lite, but at 31 I’m no longer looking for a “crushable” beer. We thought it was a weird thing to tell a group of people tasting high alcohol-content brews. Tell me in the comments: Do you savor your beers one at a time, or are you looking for something you can crush?

I’ve saved the best for last. Sours and funky brews are my jam, and they were out aplenty. Of these, I’m pretty sure I tried them all, and they were my highest rated beers of the night. ReThinker from New Day is where I started, because I hadn’t been down to try it yet, and dang. They just do not miss, do they? They’ve added hops to their mead this time and it might be my favorite thing they’ve done. Golden Parachute by Taxman was perfectly funky. It’s not technically a sour, but a wild fermented ale, so it’s a bit different than the others. It’s a good introduction to that tartness, if you’re wanting to try your tongue out before jumping into the cherry pit. Speaking of cherry, Cherry ol Fritz from Black Acre (see what I did there?). I’d already tasted this one at their taproom, but I had to go back for more because it’s just too good. A must pour for sour lovers. So is Barn Phantom Gose w/Raspberry, and I’m not even a raspberry fan, typically. This was by far the sourest drink of the night. Like Warheads sour. You’re going to pucker like a fish, and like it.

My winner of the night…drumroll please…Weld by TinMan. I loved this so much I forgot to check it in to Untappd. In fact, we convinced another young woman who had wandered over from the wine section to try it–she wanted to get into beer and wanted to know where to start. She loved it. Common sours on the market are cherry or some kind of berry. TinMan took rhubarb of all things and brewed it into the perfect pink fizz. This one will definitely be in my pool side repertoire in this summer.

Did any of you make it out to the Kahn’s mixer? What were your favorites?

Author/Publisher ∼ Haley Mills w/Taps and Tomes

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Kahn’s Fine Wine and Spirits Located on North Keystone in Indianapolis Indiana.