Indiana Beer love

Yeah but if some stores are open and some stores are closed those stores that are closed lose out on sales. It has to be an all or none in order for some not to lose sales.

 

I think Brewlink is my new favorite brewery. You can get their 6 packs at Big Red for $6 and they are good. I filled by fridge with their stuff. Love their Ivory Stout!

 

Really? Haven't tried them yet. Saw the Big Red special going on.

 

If staying open loses them money due to overhead, they just stay closed.

If staying open makes them money, they stay open.

Seems simple to me, but I'm admittedly no economist.

 

Their Cosmic Jacuzzi is pretty good too. I am a big value hunter when it comes to beer. So that price makes my day! I haven't tried their other beers yet, but I am looking forward to it.

 

Taking that even further, how much money walks across state lines on Sunday? I remember growing up near the Illinois border and my friend’s dad would have to go into Illinois after his mill shift to buy his beer for the Bears game on Sunday. This probably is not an isolated incident. There is also the population that drinks on the spur the moment (ie people that decide its a good time to drink, let’s go get some booze).

One other item to consider, is how many breweries do not do distribution in Indiana because of the law. I don’t have an answer but changing the law may give us some hints.

 

I’ve personally left Indiana for Ohio and Kentucky to purchase beer on Sundays. Both were spur of the moment.

 

It's worse if you live in a dry county, all days of the week. Spent some time working in then in Kentucky. You end up finding the liquor store located in the tangent non-dry county just feet over the border. What blows is when those counties still have blue laws as well, and you can't even go next door to purchase something on a Sunday. As someone that got off at 3am Sunday morning, this was always particularly vexing. You had to plan somewhere between 12 and 36 hours in advance due the odd times we worked.

 

Bought a six of Cosmic Jacuzzi for $3.99 at Big Red the other day. They discounted it even further from the advertised discount at $6.99. I just thought it was an ok IPA but hard to beat that price. What I found most interesting is that the can said it was brewed by another company out of WI. Does Brewlink contract someone else to brew their beer and they just sell it under their label? If so that's a little disappointing.

 

Good catch. I did not pay attention to that. The only thing I can think is Big Red bought the recipe and contracts it though whoever makes their BRL 72, which I think is brewed in WI. $3.99 damn! I still paid 6 for mine I bought yesterday at the one in Fishers. Glad you got a sweet deal! Cheers!

 

For anyone that has not tried it, the Taxman Vanilla Coffee Qualified is fantastic. I'm super happy it hit at least limited distro even though it seemed like it was not supposed to.

To me, it drinks just like a porter. It's not thick and heavy like a stout - so it is definitely easier to drink. With the adjuncts it tastes a bit more like a porter too. The Cold brew coffee in it is delicious - it actually has the same flavor that I want from basically every coffee beer I drink: Lots of coffee flavor without all the bitterness. The vanilla is subtle but I think helps balance the coffee. So, fairly porter-like up front, but then finishes with a bit of a belgian taste to it.

To me, it's absolutely fantastic, and dangerously drinkable at 9.5%. Also, a crazy good bargain for how good it is at approx. $10/4 pack.

It's good enough that I would seek out a 4 pack.

 

A friend of mine in Noblesville was talking up Taxman...any idea if they distribute to Northwest Indiana? I don't think I've ever seen it in stores around there...

 

I'm not sure, honestly. I know that their stuff exists in Sam's clubs (although just their year round's) at least up by Lafayette. I don't think they make it up to the munster area, though, or someone that I sent some to up there would have mentioned they already get Taxman (was just a couple year rounds for extras).

This would not make it up there I don't think. I'm not sure if this saw full distro, or just went to Big Red's. Big Red has been running a special on their 4 packs recently, and has been a pretty large wholesaler for them I think overall. So, it's possible that's the only reason any ended up at some of their locations.

They are pretty good overall, and their BA Evasion (previously Death and Taxes) is worth the money (even if only 1 bottle a year - $20/bomber). It's a non-bitter fairly barrel forward BA stout. Their variants were delicious as well. I was drooling all over the coconut one when my wife and I visited the tap room last year after the release. She loved the Blueberry, which was fantastic as well, and the first fruit in a stout I have ever enjoyed. Some of the variants were bottled in extremely limited quantities for the Death and Taxes Day, but I don't think Blueberry was one of the variants bottled.

 

The answer is no, they don't distribute to NWI. The only place locally where I've seen Taxman is at the Whole Foods / Brewhouse 41 taphouse in Schererville, and that's only because Whole Food's beer maestro (Matt) drives down to Bargersville or wherever the hell Taxman is, picks up stuff, and mules it back north.

Matt knows his bidness. If your ever up in NWI, the taphouse in Whole Foods is a must visit.

 

Taxman has been collecting dust on quite a few NW Indiana shelves for months. I've seen them in Valpo and spotted them at Wiseguy's on Rt. 30 this morning. They had six packs as well. I've yet to try any as the reviews haven't swayed me and we're spoiled with great choices around here. I'll eventually break and buy a few singles to review if they're fresh.

 

Speaking of Taxman. Recently checked out their new restaurant/tasting room in Fortville. Pretty nice place. Food was great. While I'm not much of a Belgian fan, they had a pretty elaborate selection of probably all of their beer including Death and Taxes, etc.

 

Taxman...imho, the standard offerings are a bit meh, but their seasonal and specialty offerings range from very good (Frozen Assets/fruited Withelds) to great (Death and Taxes/Evasion). Throw on the awesome experience and food at either location; I’m in...

 

FYI Bare Hands & Elm Street Brewing did a collab called Dream Demon and it’s pretty solid. They still have 4-packs at Bare Hands as of early Thursday. Has anyone checked out Elm Streets taproom? This collab makes me want to check out more of their stuff.

 

I sit corrected.

I've only seen it at Whole Foods, but then again, I don't frequent Wiseguys, either.

 

I think Qualified is actually quite good as far as their standards. Bean Counter is also definitely worth a try if you're into coffee beers.

What I really appreciate about Taxman is that they've specialized in a style (Belgians) that isn't trendy. But they've stuck with their style and really have gotten good at it. Good on ya Taxman!