Review by: Cory Smith
Last night, Ron and I had the opportunity to go to a local craft beer festival called “Craft at the Quarry” in Sylvania Ohio. There were fifteen tents set up with breweries from all over the world. It was a solid event with world class brews. Sprinkled in with the brewing powerhouses of Stone, Founders, and Bells, were some smaller and newer breweries, and there was one stood out to me in particular — Indigo Imp.
As you get with smaller breweries, they didn’t just send a representative to the beer tent who was trained on what to say about each beer, they sent themselves, the owners and the brewer, Matt and Kathy Chappel (pictured below).
When we approached the tent, we had no knowledge of who this brewery was, or who these people were. It was just a new-to-us brewery and we decided to give it a whirl. They were offering brews by the name of Firebrand, Blonde Bombshell, Jester, and Gatekeeper. We asked for their recommendations and were told that Blonde Bombshell is their best seller, but Jester is Matt’s favorite. I ordered the Jester Pale Ale, and Ron ordered the Blonde.
After tasting Jester, I felt lied to. It wasn’t the malty and hoppy pale ale I was used to. It wasn’t like Sidekick by Two Brothers, or Daisy Cutter by Half Acre (two of my favorites), it was sweet, full of banana and cloves, slightly spicy, and had only a small hop burst at the end. My first thought was, “This is a Belgian beer, she must have poured me the wrong one.” So I drank up (because, frankly, it was still delicious) and went back to the tent to figure out what happened.
Though I was kind of being a pain-in-the-ass-know-it-all by questioning whether I got the right beer, I’m glad I went back because after talking to Matt and Kathy, I kind of fell for this Cleveland Brewery. They told us who they were, they told us their story, and they told us how they brew. Their first hand knowledge of the beers and insight was impressive, but what stood out most was how much passion these two had for their brand. Ron said that the owners of Indigo Imp spoke of their beer the same way parents spoke of their children. You could hear the pride in their voices as they described the brewing process and the care they took to make high-quality brews.
The reason my Jester Pale Ale tasted like a Belgian was because, well, it was. Indigo Imp doesn’t follow the trends of Craft Beer today, they go old school. While Jester was made with a Belgian strain of yeast, most of their beer is open fermented meaning that it is pitched with a yeast strain they want, but wild yeast can float into the tanks at any time and influence the flavor of the final beer. That means that Blonde Bombshell could taste different from batch to batch; a scary prospect for most brewers, but for Indigo Imp it means each beer has deep character and unique flavors. This is a bold and beautiful change from the highly controlled breweries we are used to.
They also told me that every beer is bottle conditioned. This means that each bottle is flat when they cap it, and allowed to ferment further in a closed system which allows the beer to absorb the natural CO2 given off by the yeast, which leaves the beer perfectly carbonated with smaller bubbles for a better mouthfeel. Some breweries do this for special batches, but for the most part this is a something only practiced by homebrewers.
So How were the beers?
To be honest, I’m not a huge Belgian fan. Give me a Dubble or Tripel and I’m usually going to choke it down. Indigo Imp is different. Every beer I had was smooth, filled with deep complexity, and while I knew they used Belgian yeasts, the beers weren’t overly funky or spicy. Jester reminded me more of a Hefewiezen than an Abbey Ale, with notes of banana and cloves, but those weren’t the overpowering flavors. The more I drank it the more I realized I wasn’t lied to, just mislead. Jester really is a Pale Ale, but I would have preferred for them to call it a Belgian Pale Ale.
Blonde Bombshell was the other offering I tried, and again, I loved it. It was sweeter than Jester, and not as spicy. It was perfectly carbonated, slightly tart, slightly citrusy and floral. No one flavor overpowered the others, and it was a refreshing and delicious Blonde ale.
Final Thoughts on the Brewery:
As I said before, I kind of fell for these guys. You can feel the passion they put into each bottle. They are trying to be different, yet still offer high quality brews. I love how they run their business and the fact that they are going away from the extremes. Too many breweries today are trying to go Darker, Stronger, or Hoppier with every beer (you know, those double triple imperial Russian IPAs with mango and molasses). Indigo Imp found a middle ground of flavor and drinkability that is highly appreciated in a market saturated with boldness.
They told me that they’re starting to expand their reach, so if you happen to see a six-pack from these guys, don’t hesitate to pick it up. You’ll know it’s Indigo Imp because they package each six-pack with an “Imp Bottle” that is covered with wax around the cap. Just another sign that this is truly a hand-crafted, quality-driven brewery.
Cheers.
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