Day Drinker is a recurring feature in which INDY staffers graciously accept samples of new and seasonal offerings from local breweries and tell you what we think of them. If you’d like your beer or cider to be considered, email food editor Layla Khoury-Hanold at laylakh@indyweek.com.
Whitewall Wheat
Crank Arm Brewing Company
An American-Belgo-style wit, this witbier is brewed with wheat malt and Belgian yeast. It’s standard and easy-drinking, with a subtle hoppy aftertaste and grapefruit undertones. If you like beer you can talk about, this isn’t for you, because there’s not much to say about it. If you like beer to lubricate conversation about other things, this will do nicely.
Batalager
Fullsteam Brewery
Brewed for samba-reggae band Batalá Durham’s upcoming Brazilian Day, this beer blends Brazilian açaí berries and N.C. blueberries. The fruity mix is a beautiful hibiscus-tea color, but it doesn’t taste as fruity as it smells. Though it might have a vitamin-y whiff of berry-flavored Emergen-C, it’s also got a pleasant, light, lambic-style effervescence. Extra points for the can’s striking label bearing the band’s logo.
O’Malley’s Kilt
The Glass Jug Beer Lab
This light Scottish ale, our staff’s favorite this week, is crisp, with a lightly syrupy mouthfeel that doesn’t weigh it down. It has a nutty aftertaste with notes of burnt caramel and a honeyed finish. Our resident dark-beer loving staffer liked it and noted that her IPA-drinking husband would be happy to sip it, too. Our resident dark-beer hater found it unusually palatable as well.
