When looking for a place to go downtown, many people gravitate toward bustling bars and crowded clubs. Though these are generally just fine for most people, avid beer enthusiasts may prefer to check out one of the smaller champions of brewing just a furlong away from Good night’s Comedy Club.
Trophy Brewing Company, a “nano-brewery” as owners’ call it, is a small bar/pizzeria located only a few minutes from the Bell Tower on West Morgan Street.
It houses two rooms: a barroom, including a win dow into the kitchen where patrons can see pizzas being made and a more secluded seating area with tables for those who want a quieter place to reminisce on the victories of the day.
True to the brewery’s name, Trophy’s main barroom fea tures an assortment of tro phies above the windows, provided by customers dur ing the establishment’s open ing night. It also showcases its growlers and glasses on the wall behind the bar, and kegs are stacked along a side wall, showing that high-quality beer is close to the hearts of the owners.
Trophy isn’t a typical brew ery in that it doesn’t simply produce the same recipes to keep a constant roster; though there are two or three mainstays in rotation, the brewers at Trophy like to experiment with methods of taking traditional brew ing styles and making them their own. There are a few more recipes that come back every now and again, but much of what Trophy does is experiment with one-offs and incorporates new and inter esting ideas into its brewing processes.
One of these ideas, named the Hick-O-Tine, is a take on the traditional barley wine that incorporates smoking barley over hickory and aging the beer in a whiskey barrel. Though the beer came in at 8.8% ABV, it was quite drink able, with subtle undertones typical of whiskey f loating beneath a thicker texture and a bitter aftertaste gently complementing the f lavors at play. Unfortunately, a staff member said the night I tried it was likely to be its last night on tap, so those of you looking to try this particular recipe may be out of luck for a while. Rest assured, it was delicious.
On the other hand, I also tried one of the brewery’s mainstays, called the Best in Show, which a staff mem ber said is one of their most popular. This is an American Saison. It has a light color and a very hoppy taste. It’s a much lighter beer than the Hick-O-Tine, with fruitier qualities to it, making it easy to under stand the broader appeal. I was pleased with this one as well, and it’s a good starting point if you’re looking to see what Trophy has to offer.
For those interested in checking out Trophy Brew ing Company, it’s open until midnight from Sunday to Wednesday and until 2 a.m. from Thursday to Saturday. It’s hours can be found on line. It frequently changes which beers are in rotation (as well as their specialty pizzas), so if you’re going to head over there, I recommend checking them out on Twit ter (@Trophybrewing) to see what they’ve got on tap.
Trophy Brewing Company is a very interesting concept, and I trust that the beers it creates as experiments run roughly similar in quality to what I tasted with their Hick- O-Tine. Though the space is a bit tight for any sizable num ber of people, find yourself a spot, and I believe you’ll have a winner no matter what you get.
For more of Technician’s Ricky Hopper on local brew eries and beer in general, add him on Untappd (rdhopper), or follow on Twitter (@Ricky Hopper). Please, always drink responsibly.
