Hot Shotz Ale and Grill

February 26, 2007

Some like it hot. Brian Graham clearly has a taste for fire and brimstone. Just when he had a good thing going with Dick's Bodacious Barbeque in Carmel, he kicked it up a notch. Several notches, actually. On February 19, Hot Shotz Ale and Grill opened its doors with a mission to marry craft beer and spicy food at one of the most unique joints in the Indy area. It must have been an epiphany with attitude. An exceptional idea and a dream come true.

We visited one week after opening night. The paint was still drying. The walls bare. But the heat was definitely ON. Located in the shell of the former DBB and next to A 2 Z Cafe at 96th and Gray Road in Carmel, Hot Shotz is Brian’s new venture. Unlike Dick’s, Hot Shotz isn't a chain. And there's no gimmick. Everything is made from scratch using fresh ingredients. Almost everything on the red-blotched menu is offered spicy, hot, or very spicy and hot. And if you want to kick it up yourself, walk over to the cabinet that holds some 60+ bottles of different hot sauces. May we recommend "Flaming Sphincter"? Or are you the "Fuckin' Nuts" type?

With blistering food reigning supreme, Brian snagged Chef Chris McClary (formerly of Lulu’s and Something Different) to oversee the kitchen. The menu is loaded with spicy delights including… "Fire Cheese"- Cheddar cubes coated with Habanera powder then beer battered and fried. "Hot Shotz Chili"- Smoked brisket, tomatoes, beans, spices, all simmered with dark ale for hours. Of course, the menu contains some milder yet equally flavorful options; for example, "Chicken and Applewood Bacon Pie"- Hearty hunks of chicken, applewood smoked bacon, and veggies in stock and Saison ale and blanketed with a flakey crust. And that's just a few of the offerings. The common denominator is, you guessed it, our good friend beer. Chris strives to incorporate it as often as possible. It's a beer dinner at Hot Shotz, every day and night.

Further connecting food and beer are at least three recommended beer pairings for every menu item. Kolsch, Mai bock, Dopple Bock... almost every style is represented. Behind it all is none other than Brian, himself an accomplished beer geek. He circulates from table to table, answers questions, and regularly provides samples of beer. Don't be shy about asking him something. We wanted to know about the Boulder Single Track on tap and, in asking him, uncorked a discourse of the nuances of that beer, including how the blend of specific hop varieties (forget what they were) introduced during specific times of the boil provided the resulting bouquet. Wow. He knows his stuff. After all, he is an experienced home brewer (a decade he tells us), and has won medals at competitions including Best in Show at the 2000 Indiana Brewers Cup. Ah... the Holy Hooiser Grail of home brewing.

More about the beer. It's a tidy but diverse selection, available in as small as 12-ounce or as large as 20-ounce servings. Look for interesting seasonals as well as unique offerings on your own visit. At the time of this writing he still has the last keg of Dreadnaught in Indy and expects to receive a firkin of Two Hearted this March. See for yourself... (Framboise is off camera)

And if bottled beer is your preference, there are 60 or so interesting choices...

Beer dinners and tastings are also on the horizon and should be posted on the Hot Shotz website. But hey, it's only been a week.

We began the evening with a 12 ounce draft of Goose Island Matilda, a Belgian-style strong ale which we enjoyed with the Beer Cheese Soup, a blend of three cheeses and ale, smooth and satiating with textural hints of onion and a gradually increasing spicy heat. This... was great!

We also ordered Chris’ signature hickory smoked wings....

...That's right, they smoke them on site. We did feed the fire with some "Insanity"- a sauce chosen from the help-yourself cabinet...

Time passed, our mouths burned, and our beers were gone. We ordered a couple of Dreadnaughts to tame the searing heat and ordered a Pulled Pork Sandwich- pork slow smoked for over 12 hours served on toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, and onion. Undefeated we added some fiery goodness: "One Fuckin' Drop At A Time." We also enjoyed the great skin-on fries. Crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, and good all over.

We want to congratulate Brian and his staff for establishing what will certainly be one of our favorite places to get a zesty bite to eat and quench our resulting thirst. Nick and Hans agree.

Nick and Hans.

The end.