Happy New Year Toadies! I hope the holidays have been as kind to y’all as they have to me. My family is currently experiencing a baby boom and as such I’ve been busy cementing my place as the cool uncle. Hopefully bringing some Colorado sunshine to the long, grey curtain that is the midwestern winter. I am currently writing from my hometown in Indiana; full of homemade ravioli, holiday ham, delicious cannoli, and, of course, some fantastic midwestern brews.
Indiana, if you didn’t know, has a bit of a beer scene. We’re fairly spoiled for breweries in Colorado, but what Indiana lacks in quantity they make up for in quality. Some of my favorite Hoosier breweries to visit (in no particular order) are Taxman, 3Floyds, Upland, and Metazoa. Each of them has inspired me and (still inspires me) to make the best beer possible and to always be authentic in my brewing.
I used to really dislike Belgian beer until I had Taxman’s Tripel, Exemption. It was one of the first craft beers I ever had and its spicy and floral notes blended so marvelously that it tasted like some overly dedicated brewer snuck fresh cut daisies and fresh ground black pepper into my glass before every sip. It had me questioning everything I knew about beer down to the last drop. This isn’t your dad’s beer - unless your dad happens to be Belgian.
3Floyds introduced me to Indiana’s craft beer culture. I didn’t know beer could be a collectible or even so sought after. I thought everyone just grabbed the can with the coolest art on the front and called it a day. But walking into a liquor store where the 6-packs of Zombie Dust (a magnificently smooth IPA) were placed right in the middle of the store so they were easier for the clerks to keep an eye on. Affixed to the middle of the stack was a note that read “1 PACK PER CUSTOMER”. Are people really just stealing and hoarding this IPA? Yes, as it turns out! “Well then it’s gotta be good”, I thought. So I bought a pack - just one. Zombie Dust feels a little like an old school IPA now and its production has increased enough to make the purchase of a 6-pack feel less like a well kept secret. But its stunning popularity surrounded by handshake deals in the back room of a liquor store and tight lips on release day is burned into my mind.
I could go on and on about midwestern beer: Bell’s gave me an undying love for the Centennial hop, Upland’s Wood Shop and their amazing sours gave me new insights into what beer production could be (think towering wooden foeders and the sweet smell of wild fermentation), and Metazoa is frankly some of the best beer I’ve ever had to this day. Coming to Colorado was nice but I found myself missing those Hoosier breweries more than ever. So when I became a brewer I decided to bring what I love about my home state’s beer to the mountain west. Some of my favorite results of that effort are our Derby Days Kentucky Common, a common ale born out of Louisville, Kentucky (pronounced LOO-uh-vuhl for you non-midwesterners), and Hoosier Cabin Persimmon Brown, a cozy beer made from persimmons grown by my family in western Indiana, and I’ve got many more plans for the future. After this holiday visit I’m filled with ideas for new beers and I’m excited to bring this energy back to Mountain Toad and to create and share more great beer with y’all!
Happy New Year!!!