Indian Wells Brewing - Inyo Kern, CA

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backyard brewer
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Indian Wells Brewing - Inyo Kern, CA

Post by backyard brewer »

I've reviewed 2 of their beers before and mentioned this place on a few occaisons. It's located on Hwy 14 about 3 miles before it turns into 395. If coming up 395 towards Mammoth, it's best to make a U-turn after the 14 juntion as there is no way to go West on 14 from there.

Anyway, this is a fun stop on the way up to (or back from ) Mammoth/Tahoe etc. They have quite an assortment of beers and for $5 you get a taster glass and 7 half glass-tasters.

Their signature beer is the Mojave Red. It's a very good red ale with a strong malt backbone and lots of crystal malts but not to the point of being cloying. I think good red ales are hard to come by, but this one is very good. It's also available at whole foods market.

We also tasted the Orange Blossom Ale. While not made of honey like I first anticipated, it's made with orange peel and a lot of it. It almost tastes like you dropped a slice of orange in there, but not quite that over-powering. It is very refreshing.

From there, everything else I sampled was rather lack-luster I'm afraid. Not that anything was flawed or bad or really even off-style, it was all just kind of "ho-hum".

None the less, we'll always make this stop on our way up. It's a nice break, nice beers and air-conditioned.
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BrewMasterBrad
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Post by BrewMasterBrad »

I stopped there on my way up to the Sierras a couple weeks ago. I bought a mixed six pack and made some notes as I taste tested these beers while camping next to Taboose Creek just north of Independence. Here are my notes verbatim.

Mojave Gold Premium Lager
Low fill, good carbonation upon opening. Clear, light golden lager. Clean aroma - malty sweetness, no hops. Light, clean flavor - no bitterness. Very smooth. Medium high carbonation. Low diacetyl slickness, but not very much. Enjoyable, but not great. Slight noble hop spicyness on the back of the tongue.

Eastern Sierra Lager
Slightly darker than the Mojave Gold. Sweet carmelized taste. May be slightly oxidized since there is a hint of cardboard in the aftertaste. No hops at all, malty sweet, with a hint of cardboard. Couldn't finish drinking the bottle.

Orange Blossom Amber
Stong citrus sweetness in the aroma. Tastes like watered down carbonated orange juice. Really horrible in my opinion. The label says Premium Flavored Lager Malt Beverage Brewed with Orange Peels. I'd say the recipe needs adjusting.

Mojave Red Premium Lager
Medium red, about 10 SRM. Off white frothy head. Slight malty aroma - no hops. Medium body, slight melanoidan flavor, very low bitterness. Not sure what style this fits in. Maybe Vienna, not quite an Oktoberfest. Very clean, but lifeless. Lacks the malt complexity of a Vienna. No Noble hop character - more like a Negro Modelo.

Desert Pale Ale
Copper ale. Yeast sediment in the bottle, probably bottle conditioned. None of the lager had any sediment. Cascade hops in the nose. Medium-light body. Balanced hops and malt. Should be a little more in the finish. Nothing spectacular here - a very average pale ale.

Lobotomy Bock
Rich dark brown. Rich malty aroma. No hops in the aroma. Suprisingly thin body - especially because the aroma is so malty. Thin and lifeless on the tongue. No melanoidans like I was expecting. Disappointing. Clean and drinkable, just not a bock per se. The bottle says it's 10% ABV. If it is 10%, it hides it well but I doubt that it is.


All the bottles were low fills. They also used to make a horrible stout, but the lady at the brewery said they don't make it anymore.


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I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada down at Trader Vic's
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Post by backyard brewer »

Obvioulsy I liked the red more than you did, but same as you I thought everything was not bad, just lack-luster.

I've had the Lobotomy Bock in the past and it was much better. This time it tasted like the OG was about 30 points lower.

I asked for and got a tour though and that was cool. THey have a 60 bottle per minute bottling line.
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Post by BrewMasterBrad »

Did you notice if any of the bottles were low fills? I didn't notice it when I was picking them out of the cooler, but all the bottles I bought were quite low. You can see it in the picture from my first post.

I liked the Bock better last time I had it too. I guess the Orange Blossom beer just wasn't for me. I thought it was way over the top.
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada down at Trader Vic's
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Post by kevinham »

I have seen some of these (mostly Lobotomy Bock) at the Whole Foods in Tustin, for anyone interested in trying them.

Although, based on the reviews, I don't know if anyone will go rushing out to find them.
Kevin
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