29 Jul 2016 Pinko! Honored at Flat12 Bierwerks’ Christmas in July
By Duane Jasheway
One of the best events on the annual Indiana beer calendar has become Flat12’s anniversary party. Each year, Flat12 commemorates their existence by pouring a plethora of creative combinations of their beers including cask, sour, and barrel offerings. The cherry on top of this proverbial sundae of celebratory beers is the variety of fantastic variants brewed using their Russian Imperial Stout Pinko! as a base.
Flat12, feeling festive, gave downtown Indianapolis the gift of not having to wait an entire year to enjoy these sumptuous stouts again. This past Saturday, Flat12 threw their second annual Christmas in July party to honor their 2016 Pinko! release.
This year’s release of Pinko! was truly unique as Flat12 packaged their Russian Imperial Stout in 8-ounce cans. This is an industry FIRST. Our own Charlie Sasse witnessed this and wrote about it here.
Attendees at Flat12’s Christmas in July enjoyed delicious drafts of 11 specialty and barrel-aged versions of Pinko! These ranged from Pinko! aged in rum and wine barrels to New Day Meadery’s Imperial Magpie Barrels and even 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle Barrels.
The Pappy 23 variant of Pinko! is, in a word, joyous. Aptly described as the unicorn of beers, this 10.5% ABV Cadillac of beers is smooth and sweetly seductive. The 23-year-old barrel adds a depth of luscious booziness and the finish is long and lasting. A Christmas miracle!
Besides the ability to buy the 8-ounce Pinko! cans, party goers were also able to treat themselves to early Christmas presents as Flat12 sold limited bombers of the Pinko! based Bonus Cup, Vin Ours, Death Bear, and Solid Bold.
The Solid Bold variant has 2015 Pinko! for a base and then was aged in rum barrels with vanilla added. The 10.5% ABV Solid Bold is nicely balanced with an enticing aroma. The vanilla aspect washes over the Pinko! and offers a perfect complement to the rum barrel character.
To create the Bonus Cup, Flat12 took the same Pinko 15!, aged it in rum barrels and incorporated Tinker Coffee’s Single Origin Nicaraguan coffee. While rum and chocolate are present, the coffee component truly shines throughout the Bonus Cup. Coffee emanates from the nose and the coffee flavor engulfs your taste buds in this decadent 10.5 % ABV beauty.
The great Flat12 staff, including Sean, Valerie, Todd, and Jordan just to name a few, created a true Yuletide atmosphere for the event. Christmas tunes poured out of the speaker system. The staff dressed jovially, Christmas lights adorned the inside of the brewery and even the big guy himself, Santa, appeared. Revelers escaped the 90-degree heat by congregating in the cooler which had a Christmas tree and even a retro tabletop hockey game.
Christmas in July was a sold out event. If you missed out this time on Flat12’s generosity of barrel-aged beers, know their anniversary party is less than six months away. Plan accordingly.
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