This is an archived copy of the post originally posted on Facebook.
Saturday night the Great Brewery Tour took me into Aurora, IN... a quaint town on the Indiana side of the Ohio River opposite Kentucky, not far from the river casinos of the Indiana side and the horse tracks of the Kentucky side (and less than an hour from Cincinnati).
Gracing the downtown area of Aurora is the Great Crescent Brewery, which on this night was celebrating its 10th Anniversary, with me lucky enough to be providing the music. The brewery and taproom are in an older brick building that seems to take up more or less a city block, and the inside of the taproom took advantage of the old brick facade and old wood to create a rather large yet cozy environment. The kitchen was putting out some terrific smelling sandwich platters, which I think included brisket, although I only observed the food from a distance.
Great Crescent Brewing Co - Aurora, IN
The beer is available exclusively at their taproom, on tap or by the growler.
Played: 11/17/18, 3/17/19
To commemorate the anniversary they were tapping the Darkness on the Edge of Brown Porter, which I used to start off my evening, and it was a tasty way to do so. Nice and dark, yet lighter to medium bodied for a dark porter, and it had that dark toasty flavor you want, but without being too heavy, and with a decent level of carbonation.
The Coconut Porter was recommended to me next, and I went for it. I've had several coconut brews on this leg of the tour, ranging from weird to excellent, and this one was very nice, with the coconut rather understated (to the point where I think some might not detect it if not told about it). This one was done in the English Porter style, and had a touch of nuttyness and a hint of chocolate, more so than an outright or blatant coconut flavor (which was a good think, IMO). The pour was a real dark brown, with a coffee colored foamy head, and again the body wasn't too heavy, and the carbonation rather light. A very good drink, I'd go back for more.
The Dark Lager was another favorite from the night. A dark pour with a thick cream colored head, the aroma is a delicious toasty malt, and the drink delivers on the malty goodness without being overdone or too bitter. The body was well balanced with the heft of the beer and the level of carbonation being very well balanced. This was probably my favorite of the night, as it was a really well done Dark Lager.
Dan and his family run a nice and very friendly operation. There was a big crown onhand for this night, and they all seemed very into the beers and the music. I'll look forward to hitting Great Crescent again, and if you find yourself in the Aurora, IN or Florence, KY/racetrack region, it would be very worth your time to venture over to Aurora and check out this great little brewery.