Beer trip: New York and Indianapolis
In trying to find the Brooklyn Brewery, which it turns out doesn't have a brewpub and thus was closed when we went there (on a weekend), we ended up at Mug's Ale House, a very fine bar. I can't remember all the beers we had, but most were local stuff-- despite New York's deserved reputation for not really being a good beer town, there is more and more locally made beer in the metro area. The Brooklyn Brewery makes a lot of very fine beer, and several of the other beers we tried at the Ale House were very good. I should have taken notes....
We then went across the street to a fine Polish restaurant, where we enjoyed kielbasa and pierogies for cheap-- entrees at this place were 7 and 8 dollars (with side dishes included). Crazy!
We flew from New York back to Indianapolis. The next day, we were to fly to Washington, D.C., for the Nationals' home opener. So it didn't make sense to drive back to Bloomington for 1 night. We got a hotel room at the airport and went out to dinner at our favorite Indy restaurant-- Brugge Brasserie. A Belgian restaurant and brewpub in Indiana. Hard to believe, eh? But not only does it exist, it is very very good.
The food is great-- especially if you like mussels (I don't). I do enjoy the pommes frittes, which you get with your choice of delicious dipping sauces. And the crepes are excellent ('course, it's hard to mess up crepes).
And then there's the beer. All Belgian style beers. All very good. When I went for the first time, I was disappointed that there weren't more beers available. No such worries this time. The new ones for me were: first, The Black, a dark (duh) beer, great head retention, a big winey, fruity nose. Daniela smelled blackberry jam, I thought I noted chocolate notes. A wine-like, intense, thick and delicious beer.
Next, Saison d'etre, Brugge's take on the catchall Saisson style. A nice cloudy straw color, lots of banana in the nose, along with (Daniela put her finger on it) fresh asparagus (!). You might think that such a scent would be unpleasant in a beer, but it wasn't out of place in this one. A fairly sweet, light, and pleasant beer.
Then, finally, the Quadripple (the name a takeoff on Brugge's Broad Ripple neighborhood ). This beer is alleged to be 11.5%. Some anise in the nose, along with evident alcohol. The alcohol is not overwhelming on the palate, however-- the malt sweetness masks it well. My notes are a bit foggy by this point, though I reported not being too blown away by this beer. The Black was definitely our favorite.
We then went across the street to a fine Polish restaurant, where we enjoyed kielbasa and pierogies for cheap-- entrees at this place were 7 and 8 dollars (with side dishes included). Crazy!
We flew from New York back to Indianapolis. The next day, we were to fly to Washington, D.C., for the Nationals' home opener. So it didn't make sense to drive back to Bloomington for 1 night. We got a hotel room at the airport and went out to dinner at our favorite Indy restaurant-- Brugge Brasserie. A Belgian restaurant and brewpub in Indiana. Hard to believe, eh? But not only does it exist, it is very very good.
The food is great-- especially if you like mussels (I don't). I do enjoy the pommes frittes, which you get with your choice of delicious dipping sauces. And the crepes are excellent ('course, it's hard to mess up crepes).
And then there's the beer. All Belgian style beers. All very good. When I went for the first time, I was disappointed that there weren't more beers available. No such worries this time. The new ones for me were: first, The Black, a dark (duh) beer, great head retention, a big winey, fruity nose. Daniela smelled blackberry jam, I thought I noted chocolate notes. A wine-like, intense, thick and delicious beer.
Next, Saison d'etre, Brugge's take on the catchall Saisson style. A nice cloudy straw color, lots of banana in the nose, along with (Daniela put her finger on it) fresh asparagus (!). You might think that such a scent would be unpleasant in a beer, but it wasn't out of place in this one. A fairly sweet, light, and pleasant beer.
Then, finally, the Quadripple (the name a takeoff on Brugge's Broad Ripple neighborhood ). This beer is alleged to be 11.5%. Some anise in the nose, along with evident alcohol. The alcohol is not overwhelming on the palate, however-- the malt sweetness masks it well. My notes are a bit foggy by this point, though I reported not being too blown away by this beer. The Black was definitely our favorite.
posted by Eric | 5:35 PM
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