Sun King’s 2014 Canvitational: Proof THat Mob Mentality and Beer Bravery Can Be Rewarding

By Adam Schick of Indiana On Tap

Preface: I attempted to chronicle each beer I tasted at CANvitational this year, but, to be honest, there was so much to see and do that I admittedly may have missed writing a few down. Apologies to any not mentioned here, but rest assured that every brew tried was worth returning for.

When one assumes the role of a craft beer drinker, or, even, an enthusiast, a silent thirst is realized that can only be quenched through the tasting of as many craft beers as possible. Like someone that travels to a foreign country for the first time, or gets their first tattoo, the craft beer drinker is always thirsting for something more, something newer or different. It’s why my friend, Conor O’Rourke travelled nearly six hours from Newport, RI to Winooski, VT just to try Heady Topper, the “white whale for hop heads world-wide.” It’s why beer drinkers wait for email notifications from their local liquor stores and suppliers just to get a jump on the line for the latest special or seasonal release; it’s also why said liquor stores and suppliers limit the purchase of these beers to the case or six pack. And it’s why innumerable people gather at beer festivals around the country, looking to taste brews that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

And it’s why I made it a point to attend Sun King Brewery’s CANvitational Saturday, September 20th: when the opportunity presents itself to drink beers not readily available to you without some considerable travel or knowing people who know people who know people, the beer drinker must rise to the occasion.

Gathering together around 40 of the best and fast-rising breweries today, including two from the United Kingdom, the second annual CANvitational celebrated the canned efforts of these great and mostly-foreign-to-us beers (alongside some of the nation’s larger and most popular craft breweries) while showcasing two of Indianapolis’ great outdoor venues, Georgia Street and Pan Am Plaza, along with the city’s thriving food truck scene.

I went in with no plan in mind of breweries I HAD to try, freeing me to enjoy as many new beers as possible. And, with so many offerings across the two plazas, I wasted no time, hoping to taste as many beers as possible before A) the festival ended that evening, and B) before any of the participants ran out of beer, a real fear for this drinker given the number of enthusiasts in attendance.

Ok, that last bit is a bit of a lie – I HAD to get to Cincinnati’s Rhinegeist. One of my favorite breweries anywhere, I’ve been singing their praises since my first visit to their brewery in February, and I made it a point to have my guests taste their beers. With two cups of Truth, their IPA, now in my stomach, we moved over to the far corner of the plaza, planning to make our way back across to the front of the festival, ready to try as many beers as we could.

A note: CANvitational was set up in a manner different from other festivals I’ve attended in the past; instead of lining the perimeters with each brewery’s stand facing inward (a “storefront-like layout,” as fellow Indiana On Tap member Jon McNabb described), the breweries were set up in squares, placed randomly around the plaza. While it did create some confusion in trying to remember which stops you’d made, it certainly did help with keeping the lines down, while freeing up foot traffic to move about more easily. Not a complaint by me in the least.

Post-Rhinegeist and per McNabb’s recommendation, we went to sample Escape, an IPA from Salt Lake City’s Epic Brewing. A fruity IPA in the style of the beer’s west coast variant and brewed with Mosaic and Apollo hops, it tasted crisp and refreshing on the surprisingly warm September day (I was sporting khakis and boots – a bad choice). As usual at these events, I could have drank that beer all day. Recognizing that potentially slippery slope, we moved over to MadTree Brewing Company, another great Cincinnati-based brewer. Having had plenty of their Kolsch-style Lift in my day, I opted to sample the PsycHOPathy IPA. Another great offering from MadTree, keep an eye out for it should you make your way over to the Queen City.

From here, we decided to let mob mentality rule: if a line was big, the beer must be worth it. So we made our way to COOP Aleworks, who came to the festival from Oklahoma City. Here I sampled both their F5 IPA as well as their DNR, a Belgian-style dark ale. Not being the biggest fan of Belgians, I was surprised to find one that carried the traditional sweet flavors of a Belgian without the syrup-like quality that initially turns me off to most beers in that style. Highly recommended, I say. 

Following COOP, we visited the stand of Chicago’s Revolution Brewing, makers of one of my favorite beers in their Anti-Hero IPA. Sticking to the need to try new beers, I went with a sample of their Oktoberfest (note: McNabb and I have a contest growing with the team at Twisted Crew Brewing in Seymour to see who can try the most Oktoberfest beers – I am losing poorly). They were excited to have people drinking what they felt was their best run of the beer yet (it was pretty dang good), and I was excited to add to my total – a win-win for both us. We then followed the mob to Surly Brewing Co. out of Minneapolis. The mob didn’t lie folks – this was the first stop of the day that I justified holding the line up to drink more from. Starting with their CynicAle Saison and moving to their absolutely fantastic West Coast IPA, simply titled Wet, described on their website as a “resiny and dank IPA.” 

Dispersing from the mob, we moved over to Lafayette’s People’s Brewing Co. for a pour of the Farmer’s Daughter Wheat, a beer malted with wheat (obviously) and lemongrass. I tried my first lemongrass beer back in July at the GnawBrew Beer, Art & Music Festival and have been enticed by the grassy “lawn mower beer” flavor ever since. People’s offering was welcomed as the afternoon heat settled in, as was the following beer, another lemongrass wheat from West 6th Brewing Company from Lexington, KY. Brewed with Sorachi Ace hops as opposed to the Perle hops in Farmer’s Daughter, this beer had a touch stronger citrus taste, while Farmer’s Daughter carried a slightly bitter but very aromatic flavor. Both great beers to accompany you poolside or during a long day of yard work. 

We followed up West 6th with Country Boy Brewing, another fine Lexington brewery. They brought with them their new bourbon barrel-aged porter for the festivalgoers to try. Admittedly, the words “bourbon barrel-aged porter” would usually turn me away from a beer; I’ve never truly enjoyed the overly sweet, alcohol-tasting flavors of bigger name bourbon barrel beers, and porters ultimately just aren’t my thing. 

My bravery was rewarded, folks – this is an amazing beer. I wish I had written the name down so I could sell it to you better should you visit Lexington and Country Boy, but I must have lost it in the stupor induced by this beer. Hints of the oakey sweetness characteristic of bourbon barrel beers without the strong alcohol taste, paired with a surprisingly light body for a porter, this beer did nothing if not sing to me. Reviewing the festival that night on my couch (post-nap, of course), I marked this as one of the two best beers I tried that day. 

My other favorite on the day came from Boulder, CO’s Avery Brewing, a big name from the western half of the country. Poured for me was the White Rascal Belgian Wheat, an unfiltered brew with big notes of coriander and orange peel. Belgian Whites have been creeping up my list of favorite styles for years now, and, whether it was the overall quality of the beer or just how well it cooled me in the heat, this is one of the better ones I’ve had. 

We joined back up with the mob to hop in line at SanTan Brewing Company, another big name from the western half of the country, out of Chandler, AZ. They brought with them to CANvitational their Oktoberfest Lager, so, keeping with the spirit of my previous mentioned contest, I opted for that. One of the better Oktoberfest beers I’ve tried, a worthy beer should you visit the Grand Canyon State. 

We finally made it to the last of the breweries we needed to try at the back half of the plaza as we jumped in line for DC Brau, Washington, DC’s first ever packaging brewery. The hop head in me won out here as I asked for their Imperial IPA, which sported perhaps my favorite name of any beer ever: On the Wings of Armageddon (how do you begin to order that at a bar? Is there a code name? It would seem troubling ordering an “OTWOA”). Rated on Beer Advocate as “world-class” with a BA score of 96, this beer is brewed with the ever-so-popular Falconer’s Flight hop blend and features a dark copper-orange hue, letting through a small trace of sunlight, with the usual scents of citrus and biscuit, and a smoothness atypical to beers of that magnitude. If you’re a hop-centric beer drinker and visiting the east coast, this is the beer for you. 

Having mostly finished with that half of the plaza, we made our way over to the Georgia Street side for some more beer, music, and offerings from the attending food trucks. After a quick stop with the folks from Chicago’s Dark Matter Coffee (who gifted me with a shirt and a bottle of their Clovis Blood, a barrel aged iced coffee in bomber form), we grabbed some local fare and moved down the line to try the offerings of St. Louis’ popular Schlafly Beer and 4 Hands Brewing Company, Austin’s Austin Beerworks, and a dry-hopped IPA along with the 8-Bit American Pale Ale (sporting my favorite can) from Manhattan KS’s Tallgrass Brewing Co. 

At this point, we were nearing 5:00 PM, which, coupled with several breweries running out of beer, led to the dispersal of CANvitational’s crowd. We shared a few more beers with the team from Sun King, chatted with the group from Movember (a philanthropic organization that raises money for research into prostate cancer and other mens health related issues), and decided that we had our fill. Sadly, we missed out on the collaboration beer brewed between Sun King and Naperville, IL’s Solemn Oath Brewery, a Belgian-style session IPA named 30 Minute Coma (good news: it is available in Sun King’s tasting room!), but on a day filled with drinking such great beers and meeting the people behind them, some of which traveled across the country and world to attend, there was very little, if anything, to feel down about. 

If you’ve made it this far through my recap, you’d see that, with so many great breweries to select from, including many that are still unavailable in Indiana, the festival proves to be an amazing resource for those craft beer fans looking to get their hands on as many new and exciting beers as possible. If the beer-enthusiast in you already hasn’t, I can’t recommend enough making a note to attend CANvitational next year. I know I have.