Black Sun

Brewer: Three Floyd's Brewing Company, Munster, Indiana
Alcohol Content: 6.5%

Official Description from Brewer:
"Black Sun has a nose of coffee, roasted malts and piney hops. This medium bodied stout has a broad depth of maltiness and a clean dry finish. "

Wilk's Take:
Here I am doing something I vowed never to do: write a full review of a Three Floyd's beer.  Sure I dabbled in little paragraphs here or there, but to take the approach on a full bomber?  The rationale behind never doing a full review came from the fact that there are far too many Three Floyd's apologists in the world.  Believe it or not, these guys can make mistakes.  Sure they have the best beer in America, but that doesn't mean all their beers are the best beers in America.

As is well documented on this blog I love stouts.  I can't seem to get enough of them and would drink a bomber everyday if my liver would let me.  Black Sun is no exception.  When I pulled back the cap and heard the carbonation escaping the bottle, I could detect the coffee and roasted malts before the cap could clink on the counter.  The undercurrent of hops was oh so subtle that upon first whiff you never would know they existed.

Black Sun did not pour thick.  Three Floyd's labels it a medium bodied stout, but on shear liquidity alone you could almost use the word light instead.  Curiously though, there was significant lacing on the glass as I drank so there is some staying power here.  The aroma was in full effect in the glass and the hops were more noticeable.  At 50 IBUs Black Sun is not the most bitter beer in the world, but the hops definitely kick you in the teeth.  If I didn't know any better I would say that Black Sun resembled more of a black IPA than a stout, but no IPA has had the flavor as this.

Black Sun is a great stout in its own right and with its hop character can certainly over power any other stout you may consider drinking in the same night.  Its uniqueness certainly requires admiration but no admiration reserved for Dark Lord or even current brewery favorite Zombie Dust.  Although, if you were to line this bottle up next to an oatmeal, chocolate, or imperial stout I'm not sure which would be more intimidating.

Suggestion: In the end, if you are typical a hop head like my good friend Brett, and you are looking to stick a toe in the stout pool, Black Sun is the perfect entry.  If you're a stout head and you want a change of pace, you could do much worse.  This one certainly will be purchased again before the supply runs out (if it hasn't already).

Value: Three Floyd's is very easy to come by in my neck of the woods and for $8, I would say the value is there.  Then again, I bought it a while ago so I'm not exactly sure it was $8, but since that seems to be average price, I'll risk it.

Michelle Factor: Although Michelle was a champ at B.I.G. Winterfest and downed more beers than I could have ever imagined, she didn't want to give this a go.  She's sick, so her taste buds are skewed anyway

Inaugural Beer Me Wilk! NYE Beer and Wine Event

So I decided in the beginning of December that I would send out an exclusive invite to a select group of friends for my attempt to host my very own beer festival.  With the blessing of my wife Michelle (of "The Michelle Factor") I embarked upon my journey.  Before I relay the outcome, I want to give a special thank you to Michelle for her continuing support of this adventure and for decorating the house in a style befitting of New Year's Eve.  I would also like to thank Melanie Johnson (a frequent victim of my beer experimentation as well) for acting as our resident sommelier and making the wine selections for the evening as well as aiding with the decor.  Without these women the night would not have been nearly as successful as it was.

My handy guide for the evening was provided by CraftBeer.com.  If you ever have any question as to the proper food to serve with your craft beer, this guide is your best place to start.  I thought my plan was a simple one.  I picked out three cheeses I wanted to serve, the dish I wanted to make, and the dessert I wanted to eat.  From there pair the beer and wine.

The first course of the evening was a Wisconsin butterkase paired with Hoosier Honey Wheat from Bee Creek Brewery in Brazil, Indiana and Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon.  The cheese is a very mild, soft cheese that is amazingly smooth.  It paired perfectly with the Hoosier Honey Wheat.  Made with Martinsville honey, the sweetness is very prevalent when drinking this brew and only on the tail end of the swallow do you know that it is a wheat beer.  Although wheat beers tend to be perfect summertime treats, this honey infused version seemed to fit New Year's Eve wonderfully as a first pour of the night.  This was by far the best paired beer and cheese of the evening.

Second course was cheddar cheese paired with Alpha King from Three Floyd's in Munster, Indiana and Bogle Zinfandel.  The pairing here was an utter disaster.  Unbeknownst to me, the cheddar was very sharp.  Where was that on the packaging?  As a pale ale, Alpha King should have matched well with a mild cheddar.  Oops!  No complaints about the beer however.  I've had several Alpha Kings before and with this pale ale you get a hop explosion with every sip.  There is nothing pale about this beer either as it is a rich amber color and the citrus content behind the hops makes this a great beer for any occasion.

Course three was Gruyere paired with Snake Pit Porter from Oaken Barrel Brewing Company in Greenwood, Indiana and Yalumba viognier.  Gruyere is a very potent, nutty cheese and would have paired very well with a nutty porter.  The taste combination here was what I would describe as merely ok.  Snake Pit is not a bad beer, it just didn't go with the cheese.  This porter is very sweet and certainly has the coffee and chocolate notes that you find in Baltic porters and imperial stouts.  I would recommend grabbing the beer but leaving the cheese in the fridge.

Our main dish featured two pork tenderloins.  The one on the left was marinaded in beer, the one on the right in wine.  Although the recipe originally calls for venison, it went perfectly with pork tenderloin.  The brown ale used was Crown Brown from Crown Brewing in Crown Point, Indiana and the wine is Kendall Jackson chardonnay.  For the chardonnay recipe go here.  What can I say about Crown Brown?  I love it.  It is certainly my favorite out of my hometown brewery.  The roasted malts of Crown Brown are not over-powering and the smoothness of the mouthfeel make it so easy to drink.  It's lighter on the alcohol than some of the other darker beers but I certainly appreciate it because I like drinking more than two at a time.  The growler didn't make it passed the night because I went to it after all the tastings were done.


Not pictured: Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout from Barley Island Brewing Company in Noblesville, Indiana and Chateau St. Michelle Riesling paired with cream puffs and chocolate truffles.

The reason this picture doesn't exist is because no one was interested in dessert.  Bellies full of beer, wine, cheese, and pork were not ready to accommodate dessert and the midnight champagne toast.  But do not fret!  Of course I had some Brass Knuckles!  Oatmeal stout being one of my favorites I could not pass up the opportunity and decided to have a bottle.  It was good.  It would be rare for me to be disappointed by an oatmeal stout.  The usual suspects of coffee and chocolate were very noticeable and the roasted malts made the beer thick enough to eat.  Yes, there is some exaggeration there, but the smooth, thick brew is a perfect dessert companion.

If you want reviews of the wine, buy them and drink them.  I don't drink wine so I have no idea how they went.  I only have one bottle left so I'm guessing they were good.  As far as suggestions for the beers, buy them all.  Not only do they taste good, you would be supporting Indiana brewing.

Overall a very successful event and very much looking forward to the second annual on 12/31/12.  Thanks for reading and drink craft beer!

Three Floyd's XV Anniversary Party - Worst Episode Ever

Maybe it's my fault. As a rookie coming off the bench, maybe I didn't prepare myself or establish the right expectations for the day. I was so excited to have access to this "exclusive" shindig that I failed to read any information about it posted just the day before. I have waited a week and half to even attempt to describe the day's activities because I needed to calm myself down. I wanted to approach it from the most objective perspective I could muster, but in the end I still hate, HATE, what I went through.

My wonderful sister-in-law Genny was kind enough to drop my brother Adrian and I off because I knew that parking was going to be ridiculous. That warning was well publicized by Three Floyd's from the outset, plus I read about previous Dark Lord Days. We arrived at 1:07pm, which was seven minutes after the premises was accessible to ticket holders and the line snaked down the street, around the corner, around a cul-de-sac, and back down the other side of the street. Now, I stood in line to get into a ballgame before with ticket in hand, so I was fine with that, but the line wasn't moving!

The picture above shows how much further we had to wait having already waited in the line for approximately one hour. Many of my taste buds were crying as I watched those around us drinking fine brews and feeling the saliva in my mouth ascending to levels reserved probably for dogs looking at a bacon treat. I had two bottles of CBS in my bag that I was looking to trade so the will power not to crack one of those open was battling my desire to drink a beer. I was hungry too. I skipped lunch because there were fine chefs inside and I love good brewpub food.

It took two and a half hours to get into a facility where we had tickets to attend the event inside. Egregious. When I get to the gate I present my ticket and my driver's license and the woman gave me two options, "To the right is the line to buy the bottled beers, to the left is the tent where they are serving the guest beers along with Three Floyd's beer." We went to the right.

Fortunately, my friend Dale met us near the front of the line. I let him cut the line. I didn't care at this point. I was tired, thirsty, hungry, and decidedly peeved about the whole situation. Not to mention the group behind us let about six people cut the line. Dale was our beer gopher. As my brother and I stood waiting to buy beer, Dale went to grab a couple of Alpha Kings. Yes, you read that right. Of all the selection of beers they were offering we decided to get the flagship formula. Why? Because it was the easiest brew to get. When Dale returned he handed us our Solo cups and graciously said, "First round is on me." I chuckled a little assuming that the beer had to come with the price of admission. Nope. $5. Damn, I'm at a beer garden at a lame state fair, right?

The picture above is the line to buy bottled beer along the side of the brewery's warehouse. Another hour and a half. Thankfully I was able to try "Baller Stout," the XV anniversary brew which is a combination of Dark Lord, Surly Darkness, Struise Black Albert, and Mikeller Beer Geek Brunch, before I decided if I wanted to buy it. Who am I kidding, I was going to buy it regardless. It was very tasty. Velvety smooth, but really hits you with coffee on the front end and cayenne notes on the back end. When I actually drink a bottle I could offer you a better opinion, but since I felt like a jilted lover drinking it, probably a good idea to leave the bias aside.

It took us another hour and a half standing in line before we bought our beer. I walked away with four bottles of Baller Stout, a bottle of Biggs' Stache (limited barrel aged brew), and a bottle of Alpha Klaus just because I wanted it. My time in line also yielded a bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout which cost me a bottle of CBS. With beer securely in my bag, in was time to forage for sustenance.

At 5 o'clock, with five hours still ahead of the celebration, the food was gone. The celebrated chefs, nowhere to be found. The two food trucks that they brought in to supplement? One was closed and waiting for all the guests to enter the brewery (yes, still a line outside) and the other had a long, winding line since it was the only food on site. The bands that were lined up for entertainment? Inside the warehouse.

I left. I could not fathom spending another second of my time there. On a scale of one to worst episode ever you can imagine where I rated this event. Am I on a soapbox? You bet I am! $25 per ticket gets you into a party where you have to spend $5 on beer, an equal if not more amount on food that wasn't even there, and $30 per bottle of anniversary beer. I've never been to Dark Lord Day, but I'm guessing that I'm never going to go either. Having tried that beer (and it is by far the best beer I've had to date) I have no need to go back.

Alternatively, now that I'm a seasoned veteran, I can always approach the festivities from a different perspective. However, my favorite craft beer establishment threw a one year anniversary celebration for its patrons and provided Zombie Dust free of charge (along with another craft beer selection) and the food was free as well. In fifteen years, maybe Three Floyd's is slowly morphing into an entity whose mystique far outweighs its service. The product is outstanding, don't get me wrong, but if the precedent of Dark Lord is the new trend in craft beer (i.e. CBS, Darkness, etc.) then I may just pass and stick with the Alpha Kings.