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.