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Reviews of Area Breweries Aberdeen (Valparaiso, IN) |
Other reviews available:
Bill Friday's I-80 Beer Adventure including: More local Brewpub reviews at IndyBeer
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Aberdeen Brewing Company
by Bill Friday, 2000 - From the THC Club Non-Newsletter
I decided to drive up to South Bend for a Single A baseball game. In looking at the map, I thought a side trip to check out the Aberdeen Brewing Company was in order. Unfortunately, I stopped by on Monday and they are closed Mondays. Luckily, Joe Emig (Greg's Dad and the owner) just happen to be coming out the front door. He gave me a special tour and let me try their beers.
berdeen (210 Aberdeen Dr / Valparaiso / 219 548-3300) is located a couple miles south of Valparaiso on State Highway 2 in a planned community developed around (and through) a golf course. To get there from the Lafayette area, go North on I-65 and take the State Highway 2 exit North towards Valparaiso. After driving about 20 minutes, it is just left off the highway on Aberdeen Drive - one block North beyond Aberdeen's gas station. It is open for lunch Tuesday through Sunday. It closes between midnight and 1 am. On Sundays, Aberdeen closes a little earlier - around 10 pm.I do not like to judge brew pub beers until they have been in operation for at least 6 months, but I found the beer very drinkable and enjoyable - presenting tastes that home brewers can appreciate. Well worth a special trip up there. The Aberdeen Rye is their "light" beer. It actually had a mild Hallertau hop finish. The pale malt and flaked rye body was well constructed for the style - very clean and crisp. The Aberdeen Amber was a delightful surprise. Usually, I find the "amber" is a beer designed for the uneducated drinker so he or she can feel that they are drinking a "darker" beer. Aberdeen's amber had delightfully full Cascade hop finish. It also had a complex fruity, malty, and slightly creamy body. The Aberdeen Scottish Ale (80 Shilling) was at first a little disappointing, but as the beer warmed up the caramel flavor started to exert itself and made the beer quite drinkable. The Aberdeen County Porter had a nice roasted chocolate grain flavor which was well balanced by a robust malty body. The Aberdeen IPA was great. It was extremely well hopped with a delicate fruity body. At the finish, the beer left a hop coating on the tongue - a true hop head type of beer. Unfortunately, the IPA is not a regular. Joe tells me that they will be rotating several different styles and seasonal offerings besides their four main beers.
Greg Emig (the owner / brewer of the Lafayette Brewing Company) is brewing for his father. In fact, he had been there earlier the day I visited. His brewing experience will definitely help smooth out any production problems. I just hope he doesn't burn himself commuting back and forth between Valpo and Lafayette. He is planning in the near future to brew a batch of Big Boris in Aberdeen for the holidays. This will free up a tank at the LBC so there should be no shortages in beer during football season.
The building has two dining rooms to the left and right front of the white building seating a little over 40 each. To the right of the entrance is a small outdoor patio. The "Sir Walter Scott" room on the left has a fireplace which should be quite cozy in the Winter months. Across from the entrance is a mural of the Scottish Highlands painted on a surface made to look like old leather. Everybody talks about the fountain directly in front of the entrance (and it is something else), but I was extremely fascinated with the etched glass on the foyer and the wall across from the entrance. The etching is of a thistle. The windows were obtained from an old pub in Scotland through a restaurant supply house in Chicago. They are quite gorgeous. The walls of the building has wood panels up to about 4 feet and then a light colored painted surface above. The brew house is on the right in the center of the building. It is a Century 10 barrel system with four 10 barrel fermenters. The rest rooms are to the left across from the brew house. The kitchen is to the back left of the building. In the back right is the bar area called the "Thistle Lounge." It has a restored mahogany bar surface and back bar. It is quite elegant looking. I was quite intrigued by the face carved on the upper part of the back bar. The wood framed tap holder fit in quite well the surroundings. The bar's flooring is also wood. I was fascinated with the number of windows in the building. It made the restaurant quite airy - in the Winter it could be quite beautiful on a late afternoon.
Joe said they were getting a good dinner crowd on Saturdays. On Fridays, people just seem to come out to drink. The menu has the usual suspects. Though I am interested in trying the Bruschetta, the Spinach Ravioli, and the White Chocolate Eclair Cake the next time I visit the area. All in all, I would recommend visiting Aberdeen Brewing if you are in the area. You will find well crafted beers to drink and enjoy.
Rich O's Public House & Sports Time Pizza
Bill Friday (November, 2000 - From the THC Club Non-Newsletter)
Rich O's Public House & Sports Time Pizza in New Albany, Indiana has a fantastic beer menu (3312 Plaza Drive / 812-949-2804). It located in a small "L" shaped brick building across from a Kroger's just two blocks South of the intersection of Grant Line Road and Interstate I-265 (which runs North of New Albany off of I-65). There is a good Web page with basic information at www.richos.com. Don't miss it if you are in the area.
A chalk board in the front room lists an impressive range of micros (both regional and national) and imports on tap. Louisville's Bluegrass Brewing's Rauchbier, Export (a Dortmunder Style Lager), and Luna de Miel (a raspberry mead), a couple of Upland's brews, Alpha King, a couple of Bell's, Spaten Oktoberfest, and Anderson Valley Hop Ottin' IPA were available the night I was there. Several Belgium beers were also listed on special. There were many more beers listed on Rich O's bottle beer menu. It ran several for several pages listing great beers from all over the world. There was even a section of vintage beers. Rich O's is a beer lovers paradise.
I tried the BBC's Rauchbier. It was well made with a mild smoke finish. The smokiness wasn't overpowering, but laid nicely on the tongue mixing in well with the malt body. I ordered a Kansas City Barbecue sandwich on flat bread with home made Potato Salad and Cole Slaw. The Potato Salad was great - very flavorful. The BBQ was good. The flat bread was a great touch. I tried BBC's Luna de Miel. It had a mild raspberry flavor with pleasing sweetness in the body - very enjoyable. It served as a great dessert to my meal. The menu also had the usual sandwiches, salads, and soups. It also has three different Lasagnas: traditional, vegetable and Greek. They also could bring pizza, pasta and calzone to your table from their companion restaurant, Sports Time Pizza, next door. (Rich O's beers were also available at the Sports Time.)
Rich O's is undergoing some renovation. The entryway was being used for storage. Eventually, it will have some more tables. The main room had 8 tables with a small four seat bar height serving area to the left. The bar area behind the chalk board had five seats and a well used sofa and "living room" furniture. There was more seating in the back left. They had just removed an old drop ceiling and resulting open area made the small front room quite comfortable.
There were two framed collections of postcards from patrons attending beer festivals all over the world. I liked the notice on my table reminding people how annoying cell phone conversations were during dinner.
Rich O's is open at 11 am Monday through Friday. Saturday it opens at 1 pm. It is closed on Sundays. BBQ menu closes at 10 pm, but Pizza from Sports Time is available until the bar closes.
Cumberland Brews
by Bill Friday (December, 2000 - From the THC Club Non-Newsletter)
Cumberland Brews, a Microbrewery & Restaurant, in Louisville, KY is a place not to miss (1576 Bardstown Rd / 502-458-8727). It has been only opened for a couple of months. Any home brewer dreaming to become professional should see this operation. The brew house is a 2 barrel all-grain system from Elliot Bay (I've seen advertisements for the system in Zymurgy ). It can be seen behind glass in back of the bar to the front right of the building. The system includes 4 two barrel fermenters. I was told that one was the first fermenter made by Elliot Bay. 8 two barrel serving tanks complete the system. These were formerly part of an Anheuser Busch pilot brewery. Some of their brewing equipment came from the old Glacier's End Brew Pub in Indianapolis.
Cumberland Brews is small. It has 6 tables on the left and a 10 seat bar on the right. The bar surface is painted black with a wood elbow rest. (The last time I was Louisville I missed it even though I walked by it going to a book store next door. Because of the size of the brewing equipment in the window, I thought it was a brew-on-premises operation. It wasn't until later at Rich O's that I was informed that it was to be a brew pub.) There are wonderful drawings and sketches of brew house equipment and brewing process diagrams on the white left wall. There were well done and all together take in pretty much the entire brewing operation. A small kitchen is to the back right of the building. They are planning in the future to open a lounge area upstairs.
I had driven 10 hours back from the South and didn't have time to fully evaluate the beers, but I was impressed with the quality.
- The Cream Ale had a light body with a pleasing sweet finish.
- The Pale Ale was well hopped with a full malty body.
- Matt's Amber had a rich grainy body.
- The Nut Brown had a mild sweet finish but lacked a balance between the dark grain and sweetness that I usually associate with the style.
- The Nitro Porter had a wonderful creaminess which continued through the entire slip. The aftertaste was very complex with sweetness and mild coffee like textures lingering long after swallowing. I might suggest they increase the hopping rate, just to bring up the bitterness a little to provide a firm background to the body's sweetness.
- The Oatmeal Stout was full bodied with a rich oaty finish.
They have had guest micro brewery beers on tap. Bluegrass Brewing helped them out when they were slammed by customers the first month they were open. They are planning in the future to have guest beers as a regular feature - not only to supplement their small system, but as a treat to their customers.
Matt Gould is the brew master. He started professionally brewing at the defunct Silo Brewpub in Louisville. He has also worked for a while at Brewgrass Brewing and St. Mattheus. He had recently been home brewing before joining Mark Allgeier, the owner, to plan and build Cumberland. Mark was kind to take some time to talk with me. The night I was there, he was having to help out in the kitchen.
When I was there they were making some changes in their menu. They plan to have food to match their craft beer by having having a small basic menu and several special daily entrees and appetizers. Mark said he would like to have more fish specials. I ordered the Stuffed Pita with Hummus. It was well presented garnished with guacamole, pepperoncinis, bean sprouts, and an orange twist. The bartender told me I was the first customer to be served the hummus. I was a slightly disappointed that it wasn't more spicy, it was a meal in itself and very satisfying. The Cumberland Chips on the menu sounded intriguing (kettle fried hand cut potatoes served with roasted garlic salsa and horseradish dipping sauce], but I was too full.
I caught a movie at a multi screened independent movie house (a month and a half later the movie I saw there is now playing here in Lafayette). Afterwards, I decided to have one more beer before driving 3 hours back to Lafayette. I finished with a full pint of the delicious Nitro Porter and a order of the Homegrown Habanero Lime Salsa (a blend of tomatoes, onions, & green peppers with a splash of lime, a touch of cilantro, and a hint of habanero). I could barely taste the pepper's heat. Again, I thought it was good, but it should have had a little more kick. As I was leaving the second time, a couple of musicians were setting up to play their guitars in the small front alcove. I wish I could had stayed longer.
The Louisville area now has three excellent places for beer: Bluegrass Brewing, Rich O's Public House, and Cumberland Brewing. If you are in the area, you will find good food and beers at all three places. Anybody up for a road trip some dull Saturday?
A restaurant review and a picture of Cumberland Brews is on the Internet: www.louisvillehotbytes.com/cumberland.shtml