Daredevil in name only; the brews are nothing you have to shy away from

When I walked into Daredevil Brewing Co. on Thursday, I suppose I could have been intimidated by the institutional art of a guy dangling from the ceiling on wires. Ah, but this is Daredevil, I thought to myself; I have to expect creativity.

Sort of like what co-owners Bill Ballinger and brothers Michael and Shane Pearson did a year ago when they saw an opportunity as the town of Speedway, Ind., was revitalizing its core merchants district just across West 16th Street from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (yes, the BIG racetrack).

The beer entrepreneurs, who since 2012 had been operating out of more humble quarters in Shelbyville, Ind., moved their brewery into a new 30,000-square-foot state-of-the-art building at 1151 Main Street, Speedway, becoming the first newly constructed beer production facility in the Indianapolis market since Prohibition.

Daredevil joined a burgeoning craft beer industry in Indianapolis. Until then, and almost always since, other microcraft breweries in Indianapolis had opened in existing structures.

On Thursday, I made Daredevil my most recent stop along a tour of Indianapolis area craft breweries, inspired by a wonderful draft of of Daredevil's Lift Off American IPA that I had enjoyed earlier in the day when lunching at Rick's Boatyward Cafe along Eagle Creek.

When I got to Daredevil, I was greeted by Troy, who lined up a flight of eight brews (below) -- seven of the brewery's own draft beers and one of Daredevil's version of Arrogant Bastard Ale, a recipe Daredevil is licensed to produce through Stone Brewing in San Diego, Calif.

The brews I sampled, pictured above, left to right, are the Arrogant Bastard, Whimsy Summer Saison, Dunkel (a dark, malt-balanced Munich-style lager), Maibock seasonal, a golden strong Muse, the Double IPA Rip Cord, Vacation Kolsch and the Lift Off. I passed on the J.W.P. American Stout, although Troy's bartending cohort, John, let me try a swallow of it when I was through with the full flight. Unfortunately, one brew from the menu (below) that the brewery did not have on hand for me to sample was its Slips Stream Pale Ale.

My goal when indulging in flights is to sample them from low IBUs (international bittering units) to high. Troy arranged the brews for me as they appear on the beer menu; rather than rearrange them in my IBU order, I just consulted the menu for the IBU information ... and consumed away.

Since I'd already sampled the Lift Off (which has an IBU of 72) at Rick's, I decided to put it off till the end, which turned out to be just right anyway because its 72 IBUs were the highest on the menu.

The lowest IBUs in the flight were the Kolsch and Dunkel (both 20). I finished off the Kolsch quickly, and it satisfied nicely, as I fully expected from my experience with the clear, all-barley German ale, which has its roots in Cologne.

As a brown lager, the Dunkel surprised; I recognized the chocolate notes that I dislike with many heavily malted dark beers (which is why, generally, I eschew them), but they were not overbearing, and I was able to finish the whole sample.

The seasonal Maibock, a dark golden offshoot of German pilsners and lagers, was next up (25 IBU). It was a little maltier than I like, but it was nevertheless refreshing. After that, I delved into the golden strong Muse (32 IBU), whose fruit notes struck me immediately. I'm also not a fan of these fruity beers, but perhaps because I had sampled the other styles before this, the Maibock did not offend. I could definitely see trying one of these outdoors on a hot afternoon.

I was finally ready for the Rip Cord, the double IPA, which has an IBU of 70. Before I got to it, both Troy and John had told me this is one of their favorites. I did like it, but I still think that I'd turn to the Lift Off more often than not. As it turns out, the Lift Off is Daredevil's most distributed variety. I believe Troy said it also is the second-most distributed craft beer in all of Indiana. (Troy, if I messed that up, please correct me in the comments!).

After finishing off the Lift Off sample, John let me sample the stout. It was what I had imagined. Because I don't consider myself a stout or porter expert by any means, I won't even attempt to elaborate.

I'm chagrined to say my visit missed by two days Daredevil's cool Fourth of July Barbecue and Brews observance with Main Street neighbor Barbecue and Bourbon.

You can find Daredevil Brewing on Facebook, Twitter ( @DaredevilBeer ) and Instagram ( @daredevilbeer )

Marking milestones at MashCraft

On Saturday, MashCraft Brewing in Greenwood marked its second anniversary with splash of live music and a food truck, and the party went off despite an afternoon of showers (and at one point, a very heavy downpour).

MashCraft also happened to be where relatives of mine decided to celebrate a birthday in the family; they picked it because MashCraft promotes itself as a family-friendly establishment, and we had several school-age children in our party.

Also, a daughter of mine and her husband had recommended the place to us, having been there very recently for a large gathering of friends and acquaintances. They said there were a good amount of children in that group. MashCraft has a room that it avails to customers with children -- it gets them away from the adult customers, and it satisfies legal requirements to create some kind of physical separation for minors who enter an establishments where alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed.

MashCraft has a corner spot in a strip shopping center on Ind. 135, just south of County Line Road directly across the street from Hal's Fabulous Las Vegas restaurant. I took a photo of the exterior (left) as we left for the day, which is when the first food truck, BoxBurger (partially visible at right in that photo) had arrived and was getting set up. The view you see in the photo at right is what you see when you walked into the brewery. You can see the production room in the far background, and just in front of that in the left of the photo is the main bar. The room where we gathered with the kids is not in this photo; it's off to the right.

OK ... let's get down to the important stuff: the beer. For my flight of five samples, I went with what I was pretty certain I'd be "safe" (for me) with. In the photo below, they are (left to right) the MashCraft Gold American blonde (5.0% Alcohol by volume, 25 International Bitterness Units); MashCraft Red amber ale (5.5 ABV, 35 IBUs); Ruze smoked amber lager (5.6% ABV, 31 IBUs); MashCraft American IPA, 6.5% ABV, 70 IBUs); and Kitty's Got Claws Imperial IPA (8.7% ABV, 110 IBUs).

I finished all of mine, and can say I would probably imbibe again at least three of them -- the Gold and the two IPAs. These three were exactly what I expected and what I enjoy in a blonde brew and IPAs. In fact, after trying the flight, I consumed a full pint of the Gold, which is easy on the palate but still manages a texture that lets you know you are enjoying a brew (hence, the relatively low bitterness rating) My regret is that I didn't get to the IPAs until last during the flight, so they weren't as cold as the first couple I tried in my sampling.

The amber ale had a rich, porter-like taste to it but not nearly as strong or bitter as a porter. So it was OK, but probably not something I'd try again. I thought I was going to be pleasantly surprised by the Ruze, but the smokiness and caramel/toast notes were more prevalent and distracting than I care for, so I'm sure I wouldn't return to it.

Joining me in sampling slights were my sons Joey and Ben. Ben's tastes are not too far off from mine, but he felt in an adventuresome mood Saturday, and added a variety of porters and other dark brews to his seven-sample flight mix. Turns out, he didn't care for a lot of the darks you see in his flight in the photo below. I know he didn't finish several of them, much less consumer more than a sip or two.

Ben included the Gold, Ruze and Kitty's Claws in his flight, and had the same reaction as me to the first two. He didn't care for the degree of bitterness in Kitty's Claws. Unfortunately, his server did not line up his flight in an particular order, so I'm not sure which ones are which. I do know the second from the left in the bottom row was the Last Light, an American IPA (6.4% ABV nd 70 IBUs) infused with blood oranges. When ordering his flight, Ben was intrigued by the IPA with a fruit infusion, even though -- like me -- he ordinarily eschews fruit-tinged brews. Unfortunately, he did not like it.


Joining Ben and me in a flight sampling was my other son, Joey. He favors porters and stouts, and he limited his flight to four darker brews. Far and away his favorite was Any Port in the Storm (5.0% ABV, 31 IBUs), which he said, in fact, that he liked a lot. He also liked the Ruze amber ale. He was not enamored, however, with the two James brews, Sir James (10.4% ABV, 10 IBUs), an English barleywine, and Mr. James (10.7% ABV, 80 IBUs), an American barleywine. Joey didn't finish either, and Ben and I both tried it ... and we concurred with Joey's dislike.

A review of craft brewery visits ... so far

This post is being written before visiting another Indy area brewery (Mashcraft) for the first time, but I wanted to put together a post listing the breweries in the Indianapolis area that I have visited, and mention which ones are high on my list of visiting next.

Fountain Square Brewery -- This was the first local craft brewery I visited. It came sometime in late 2012 or in 2013 and was precipitated by a former work colleague who wanted to get a handful of co-workers together for the heck of it. I tried FSB's amber ale and pilsner on this visit; didn't like the former as much as I liked the latter. I still turn to the pilsner a lot, and will often get my growler filled with it on Sundays when FSB has its $5.50 growler specials. I've since developed a better appreciation for FSB's Preacher's Daughter Amber Ale and Hop for Teacher Pale Ale. I tried one of the seasonals last year (forget its name) and was not overly impressed. Since the beginning of my forays into Indy area craft breweries, FSB remains my favorite because of the above experience, my strong like for its Workingman's Pilsner ... and most important, its proximity to where I live. I can get there in 10 minutes, and quick runs -- especially on those Sunday growler special days -- is a huge plus.

Indiana City Brewing -- The first Indiana City brew I sampled was a pint with a meal at Milano Inn. I think it was the Pale Tribute Ale, but I'm not sure. Whatever it was, I liked it. Strangely, when I visited the brewery in person a few months later, I sampled four beers, and didn't like any of them. I don't remember if the tribute ale was one of them. I do remember that I guessed (I think mistakenly) that the Yacht Rock (a wheat ale) I sampled at the brewery was the one I liked at Milano Inn. So I took home a six pack of that. Alas, I didn't like it.

Sun King Brewery -- The first Indy craft beer I remember trying was Sun King's Osiris pale ale in 2011. It was available for purchase at an Indy Acoustic Cafe Series concert I photographed. I liked it because it struck me immediately as something different (and in a good way) than the mainstream beers I'd drunk and grown tired of in the years before that. This experience began my gradual withdrawal from mainstream brews almost totally ... and my exploration into local craft brews.

St. Joseph Brewery -- I stopped here in 2015 because I'd heard about the fantastic food menu, and I was not misled. My meal was scrumptious and I enjoyed it with the house Cornerstone Kolsch, which was very good. If parking wasn't such an issue at this downtown locale, this undoubtedly would be my favorite brewery -- if not "go to" brewery -- to visit (of those I have visited, of course).

Flat 12 Bierwerks -- My visit here evolved out of convenience. I simply crossed the street after one of the monthly meat blowout sales at Smoking Goose. I sampled four brews and don't remember any of them standing out.

Central State Brewing -- After a visit to Smoking Goose's sister operation Goose the Market at 25th and Delaware streets in March, I stopped in next door to this relatively new brewery and sampled each of its four house brews. My favorite by far was the Cast No Shadow on Liberty IPA. The photo of the flight of brews I tried leading off the post was taken here in late March.

Metazoa Brewing -- I've been here twice now. The first was on opening day April 1, when the crowd density was so thick I was not able to reach the bar to sample anything (though I did wait in line for 20 minutes). I made it back yesterday, and my previous post chronicles that very nice experience.

Big Woods Brewery (Nashville) -- My memory of this visit, which was at the brewery's station along knick-knack avenue in Nashville, is vague, if not, unfortunately, forgettable. I sampled six brews but found favor with only about one or two. I remember not even finishing three of them.

MashCraft Brewing (Greenwood) -- I'm just getting back from Mashcraft. Check out the next post to see about a review of that visit!

In addition to the locations above that I have visited in the Indy area, I've also visited Brueprint Brewery in Apex, N.C., and fully expect to visit Fortnight Brewery in nearby Cary, N.C., at some point in the not too distant future. Also, I've sampled brews from several other Indy area and North Carolina beermakers that I can recall off the top of my head -- Triton, Three Wise Men, Wooden Bear, Grand Junction and Upland from the Indy area and White Street Brewing Co. of Wake Forest, N.C.

High on my list of local craft breweries to visit next are Taxman, Tow Yard, Outliers, Black Acre, Wooden Bear and Daredevil. At some point, I'll turn my focus to going farther north into Carmel and Westfield. I'd include Tow Yard on my list of links on the homepage, but when I compiled that list two days ago, the Tow Yard link was erroring out. As soon as that is corrected, I'll add it.

So you can see, I have a ways to go to feel like I've been to a representative number of breweries in the Indy area, at least enough to feel comfortable making solid recommendations pro and con. But that's what this blog is about.

Join me on that adventure.

Metazoa Brewing revisited; I'm glad I did

Despite my disappointment in visiting Metazoa Brewing Co. on its opening day on April 1, I'd always intended in returning at some point. The only thing I didn't know was when.

"When" came Friday, June 3, when I returned shortly after 2 p.m. when I expected traffic wouldn't be quite what I had experienced on the opening day April 1. And fortunately, I was right. When I arrived, I was struck by the nice view of the Indy skyline -- over the new townhouses/condos in the foreground -- one sees from the parking lot, illustrated by the photo leading off the post. What's more, it's only a half-block north of one of my favorite dining establishments, the Milano Inn.

Metazoa had a modest traffic volume Friday, so I got to experience -- and enjoy -- what I was unable to experience two months earlier.
I'm pleased to say that on Friday, I had the time and leisure to do what I couldn't do on April 1. I sampled six of the new brewery's offerings (right), deciding to try a flight representing three beers on Metazoa's house menu (beers on the house menu are always available ... and they're also always available for growler fills).

Three of the brews were from the seasonal menu; unlike the house brews, seasonals are not available for growler fills. I'm ordinarily not a seasonal brew fan at craft breweries, because seasonals -- in my admittedly limited experience -- tend to be on the fruity side. I enjoyed five of the six beers I tried Friday, and three of those were seasonals, Topping the list was the Wolf Rhino, an IPA with an IBU (international bitterness units) of 117. For those unfamiliar, beers with IBUs above 30 or thereabouts are usually regarded as bitter to the rookie palate. But to those accustomed to beers with such processing, 117 is an engaging number.

The Wolf Rhino was not the bitterest Metazoa brew I tried Friday. Also on the seasonal menu was a 147 IBU Half A Doodle Do IPA (IBU 149), which I also found to be tasty.

In fact, of the six brews I tried, the only one I did not find pleasing was the house Fragiana, a Midwest IPA that was on the dark side in color (it's the darkest of the six pictured above) and, for some reason, did not sit well with my palate. I did not try the Honey Kinkajou honey weiss; on my visit on opening day, the honey weiss was the only brew I was able to sample (and it was a very small sample), and I found it lacking in appeal, flavor and taste.

Metazoa has a seasonal rye IPA with a mango infusion called Anonymous Lemur (which I tried) with an IBU of 33 that I also liked a lot, but, oddly, I could not detect a bit of mango in the flavor.

I also tried Metazoa's Nap in the Hammock cream ale (IBU 17), which I found tasty, an American IPA called Giraffe Dance (IBU 61), which I also liked. The bartenders were kind enough to let me sample (i.e., very small amounts) of the seasonal QB's Girlfriend and a kolsch, called Kuma Kolsch. Both had very low IBUs, and both were fine.

Metazoa has a very friendly staff -- so much that I'd be very inclined to revisit just because I know I'd be in good hands. The gentleman who served me went to great pains to explain the various beers and IBU differences and brewing techniques.

It's worth noting that Metazoa has a secondary objective in mind with its operation -- the care and well-being of nature's animal kingdom. Its logo and brew names are part of Metazoa's mission to donate 5% of its profits to animal and wildlife organizations. That helps explain the brewery name (metazoa is a zoological group comprising multicelluar animals) and logo (pictured at right.

Interested in exploring craft brews?

Welcome to "Hoosier Craft Brews," a new blog I'm undertaking.

After four years of retirement from full-time employment, I've been finding new, fun things to keep me preoccupied. Photography usually consumes a lot of that free time, and on a recent visit to a newly opened craft brewery in Indianapolis, I found myself enjoying photography along with a growing new interest -- exploring craft breweries. While I was there, a light bulb clicked on.

I've already devoted full and partial posts at my seven-year-old brother photography blog, Photo Potpourri, to some of my craft brewery visits. In one of those posts, I mentioned how I've taken such a liking to craft brews today that I haven't drunk much (if any) mainstream/traditional beer in a long time ... possibly even three or four years. I've consumed a few imports in that period -- Stella Artois and Heinekin jump to mind -- but that's about it.

The picture you see at the top of the blog is one I took during a visit earlier this year to Central State Brewing, at 25th and Delaware streets in Indianapolis. If you clicked on the link in the previous paragraph, you discovered that it takes to you a post at my photography blog, Photo Potpourri, where you'll see that photo and an article about craft breweries in Indianapolis.

The article provides a suggestion for a very doable walking trail of downtown Indy craft breweries that are very close to each other. They are situated along a relatively straight, north-south geographic line. The walking part of the trail is beneficial for conscientious folks (and hopefully that involves everybody!) who don't want to drive motor vehicles after drinking alcoholic beverages. As the post notes, the real challenge in tackling the walking tour is to figure out a way to get home when you're done (i.e., bring along a designated drive).

Getting back to the light bulb mentioned above ... the idea came to me to devote my craft brewery interest into a new blog post and see where it goes. An important but honest caveat: I don't profess to be an expert in beer or beer-making. I've never attempted to brew my own and really don't have any desire to. If I have an experience in this field, it's simply imbibing good craft beers.

Also, I have a discriminating palate. I favor kolsches, pilsners, cream ales and IPAs (India pale ales), although I have found favor with a few dark and red brews that are not bitter. But in general, I am not (yet) a fan of porters or stouts, and I tend not to like seasonal brews flavored with fruits, pumpkins and spices.

The list of Indianapolis area breweries that you see with the links on the right of this page is, by no means, complete and comprehensive. It's developing. But I hope you find it useful if you need to check out information about one or more of your favorite breweries along the way. I've visited a good number of these breweries already; a few more I still need to check out, and I plan to do that.

And oh ... if you view this post before another one appears, you can say you are among the storied few who will have seen the first and only post. Feel special? Hey, go ahead and drink to that!