Misc News
Indiana Brew has the backstory on Tom Wallbank's UpCup win. "still had a few bottles left from a batch he made last fall using..."
The Hoosier Beer Geeks plan out 36 hours in Indianapolis. Their friends do 36 hours in Madison Wisconson and 36 hours in St. louis.
The Good Beer Show looks at Big Boss Brewery, New Glarus Unplugged Apple Ale, and three meads from New Day Meadery.
Dark Roasted Blend is good for a bit of insanity with your morning coffee stout. This week it looks at Beer.
The Personality Of Pint Glasses.
British sports include Cricket, Snooker, and Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling (video)
Beer and the Law
Drunkenness at the Indy 500? Expected. But you'll be surprised at the numbers. Nuvo says of the 350,000 attendees there were only 72 arrests. 36 for public intoxication. (28 for having weed). You gotta guess more than 1/100th of 1% were actually over .08 but the track police know how not to ruin a party. Huzzah.
Illinois legislative leaders are considering increasing the tax on beer by 2.6 cents per six-pack to raise $1 billion for a proposed multibillion-dollar statewide construction program. This will be the first increase in ten years. Also, under consideration will be increased taxes on liquor and wine, 80 cents and 13 cents per bottle respectively.
Beers in Indiana
- Broad Ripple Brewpub - Dual Citizenship Ale - On the handpull. I'd guess Fuggles, Cascades, and probably more. Both the earthiness and floral aspects of the hops come through very strong. A 50 IBU IPA. Going to sell out fast.
- Rock Bottom 86th St, Indy - IPA - For all descriptive purposes a carbonated clone of BRBP's Dual Citizenship Ale.
- Rock Bottom 86th St - Cask Conditioned Red - Mmmmm. Dark copper. Proper temperature. Served with sparkler giving creamy head. A bold Southern Mild but with a higher-than-Mild 5% ABV. Caramel. Earthy dryness. A bit of a dull fuzzy finish on the tongue, otherwise could be my desert island beer.
Stone 13th Anniversary should be in stores
From George Saxon of Phoenix Imports, the "A rumor about Thomas Hardy's Ale being discontinued is beginning to spread so we want to set the record straight. O'Hanlon's Brewing Co. Ltd. has informed us that they will no longer brew Hardy's effective immediately, even though we had an order pending with them. This is a breach of our license agreement with them, and consequently we are
terminating that agreement.
We are in the process of interviewing other brewers to brew Hardy's and Royal Oak Pale Ale but, given the time involved in that process and in brewing Hardy's, it's quite likely that there will not be a 2009 vintage. And, obviously, no more 2008."Coming to Indiana: Meantime London Stout. B+ at BeerAdvocate. And it's going to be available in kegs as will their IPA (finally).
Cavalier Distributing reports stocks of Thomas Hardy's in Indiana are plentiful. Indiana won't be so lucky with the excellent Royal Oak as it has a much shorter shelf life.
Hop Problems
Total affected plantings in Germany:
Approx. 10,000 acres or 4,000 hectares
Total est. losses: 5,000 metric tons
Hallertau:
Approx. 2,500 acres complete wipe-out
Approx. 3,700 acres severely damaged
Approx. 3,700 acres lightly to moderately damaged
Tettnang:
Approx. 850 acres severely damaged
Approx. 1,000 acres moderately damaged
Approx. 1,200 acres lightly damaged to not damaged at all
Impact: 170 metric tons of total crop
Czech Republic Saaz region:
Approx. 175 acres severely damaged
Approx. 150 acres moderately damaged
For a meaningful comparison:
Hallertau total plantings = 38,740 acres
Hallertau total harvest > 32,000 metric tons
Total global plantings = about 150,000
Total global harvest = about 110,000 metric tonsSummary:
* The Hallertau as a whole usually produces about one-third of all the world's hops.
* The affected areas represent about 25% of the Hallertau's hop-growing acreage..
* The affected areas represent about 6% to 7% of the world's hop-growing acreage.
* The projected losses of 5,000 mt represent about 15% of the German hop harvest.
* The projected losses represent about 4.5% of the global hop harvest
Market Outlook:
"It is obviously far too early to make any projections about the final crop outcome. Nevertheless it is safe to say that we are unlikely to reach long-term averages for the Hallertau and Tettnang after the devastating storm ... [However] ... we certainly do not predict another hop shortage for crop 2009 at this point ..."
Riley Ridge Wine Beer and Canning Supplies
Riley Ridge Wine Beer and Canning Supplies
6335 Riley Ridge Rd.
Lanesville, IN 47136
812-952-2122
Owner, Becky Riley
web site
South on Ind 62 from I64.
South on Ind 11.
Left at Riley Ridge Road.
Follow to back, around curves, to home/store.
Good selection of grains and yeasts.
Spring and fall classes including an October Brew-in.
Set in a wooded campus with fields of you-pick berries.
Becky is one of the good guys. The October Brew-In combines classes in kit brewing with an open brew day with several Fossils members bringing their equipment and brewing in the yard.
Tastes
- Broad Ripple Brewpub Cerveza De Sol - Back again this year. Bright golden yellow. Minor malt skirmish with a balanced finish that is quenching, fruity, and surprisingly long.
- Broad Ripple Brewpub Violet - "Strawberry Belgian Blonde". Might be BRBP's first-ever fruit beer. Mild strawberry replaces the malt sweetness. Belgianness supplied by the Ram's "777" yeast.
- Gerst Haus Gerst Beer - Contract brewed from Pittsburgh Brweery. Bright cold lager. Presumably all malt. Some depth of color.
- New Albanian Abzug - Pilsner with some wit-like citric.
- Turoni's Black Light Lager - Schwarz. Roasty. Light body. 2008 State Fair Gold Medal.
- Turoni's Helles Bock - A bit dark colored to style. Bright on the tongue. Malt bockness. Satisfying finish. Elegant stuff.
- Founders Cherise - Peach fuzzy thick. Light body. Medium tartness. Belgian yeast but the fruit finish isn't 100% cherry.
Upcoming at Broad Ripple: a Belgian Brown with "777" yeast. Hefe. American Brown. Dual-Citizenship Ale.
New Albanian's Bank Street Brewery
Food specialty is Mussels ($10). Milk and onion sauce (only one offered) that was fairly bland. The Frites ($5) are well made with about 6 sauces offered - none of which were spicy or peppery.
Beer News
Burger beer returns to Cincinnati market - Bucyrus Telegraph.
Beer Geek Mike looks at Icelandic beers. Icelandic? Cool. blog
Alabama gets beer over 6% ABV. Free the Hops has more info.
Mark Schiess has some humor pages. Not all safe for work - Guy walks into a bar jokes, More beer jokes, Beer quotations.
Indiana News
Kudos are extended to Tom Wallbank who took 1st place at the 2nd annual UpCup Competition in Bloomington. Tom’s Classic Rauchbier took top honors in a field of sixty beers. This is Tom’s first Best of Show. Tom’s entry was not entirely normal in that 95% of the grist was home-smoked with American Beech from southwest Indiana. Tom now has the pleasure of brewing his Rauchbier with Upland Brewing Company, and it will be entered in the Pro-Am GABF competition this fall. Shortly after recording his victory, Tom and Caleb Staton, Upland’s head brewer, were trying to figure out how to smoke 1000 pounds of grain.
Other FBI members also did well in the competition. Brian Steuerwald took 2nd place with his Russian Imperial Stout and Andrew Korty took 3rd place with his Belgian Blonde, making it an FBI sweep.
Roger Baylor didn't like the Ohio River Valley Folk Festival - blog
Watch the new New Albanian Bank Street Brewery be set up here, here, and here.
In honor of the lifetime of support for Broad Ripple Village, the Mayor of Indianapolis proclaimed April 30th as John and Nancy Hill Day. - pictureJune 6th. Keg Liquor Fest of Ale has to move from the store parking lot for more space. It will be held at St. Anthony's, 320 N Sherwood Ave, Clarksville. 20 breweries, 100 beers. 3-7pm. $25/$30
Turoni's new restaurant in Newburgh is on Ind 66 just west of Ind 261. The building is up but has nothing inside yet. They hope for a July opening.
Fort Wayne and other North news
Some news taken from the latest Mad Anthony Brewsletter
- “Mug Club members! Join us Wednesday June 3rd for the tapping of our summer seasonal, "Summer Daze Wheat." This beer is brewed with a hypnotic blend of wheat, honey, caramel malt, and various natural aromatics. This annual ale is substantial in character yet remains light, crisp, and refreshing. All mug club members are invited to join us from 5-7pm as we tap the first keg of the season and as usual there will be complimentary food.”
- “Stop by the newest Mad Anthony location in Elkhart IN and check out their newly opened Beer Garden. This is a great spot to enjoy a hand crafted beer while enjoying great atmosphere, sunshine, and great food. The Elkhart location is also accepting reservations for their banquet room. Able to accommodate parties up to 60 people, we can provide a customized menu, large screen tv, AV equipment, which makes this the perfect location for a large party or that perfect place to host your business meetings.”
- “This years Mad Anthony Golf Outing and Octobeerfest will be held on the weekend of Sept 18th & 19th. This years golf outing will be held on Friday at Bridgewater East Golf Club and The Octobeerfest Celebration will be held on Saturday the 19th from 2 - 6PM. Watch for more details as they become available.”
- “Each brew we do in our production brewery yields 32 kegs or 496 gallons of Hand - Crafted Ales. The production brewery is averaging 2 brews per week.”
Tastes
Lots of quick tastes, including this year's Maibock survey:
- Alcatraz Rock Bock - Brownish copper. Quite malty styled bock. Mt Hood hops for balance. Dries out in the finish.
- Alcatraz Bighouse Red - Crisp and clean. Munich, chocolate, and roasted malts. Wilamette and Cascade hops.
- Alcatraz Weiss Guy Wheat - Bold copper color. Thickish. Plenty of wheat and plenty of bitterness combine to give a full mouth experience and a balanced finish.
- Broad Ripple Brewpub Maibock - Fairly dark. Great smoothness and balance. Same as last year. Right to BJCP style guidline.
- Oaken Barrel Munich Helles - Crystal clear gold. Quality thoughout with the drinkability of an American lager but makes BMC seem like artificially flavored pap. 5.2%. 27.9 IBU (what's up with the .9?)
- Oaken Barrel Uberweizen - As always uber cloudy. Bready clove nose. Wheat hits tongue first and stays predominant. Less banana and clove than last year. Heavier carbonation as well. Same great thick mouthfeel.
- Ram -Maibock - Nicely matured. Crisp-looking copper. Crisp in the mouth also. Balanced a bit to the sweet side. Full bodied but not creamy.
- Ram Wit - Golden and hazy. Spicey of stongly citric orange and clove. Stays in the middle of the tongue. Uses the famous Ram 777 yeast. A+
- Ram 90 Shilling Scottish. Nice bitter background. Smooth. Very swiggable at a nice 5.7%. A+
- Ram Dry Hopped IPA - Served from a firkin at their open house. Sarachi hops give plenty of IPA bitterness that comes in late.
- Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy Goat Toppler Maibock - Rich gold color. Good malt aroma. Pleasant sharpness leads to quite a bit of bitter that is joined by some spiciness at the end. Jerry has used a livin-on-the-edge amount of hops.
- RB Downtown Cezanne Saison - Golden color. Small mixed-fruit nose. White winey tartness hits hard and dries fast. Refreshing summer drink. Fermented for 31 days with two yeasts. 6.3%
- RB Downtown Naughty Pappy - This batch of the Naughty Scot 90 Shilling has been aged one full year in a Pappy Van Winkle barrel. Like the Naughty Woody the whiskey is the focal point. Aroma of fruity vanilla. Whiskey hits the tongue first. Finish is sweet.
- Rock Bottom, 86th St, Indy Maibock - Light golden color but at 7.1% it isn't light. Malt start, balanced finish just like it should be. Quite a kick. Robust.
- RB 86th St Naughty Scot on the handpull - Perfect. Smooth. Candy sweetness at start dries by the middle. Begs for a bigger glass.
- Upland Maibock - Darker copper. Pleasant malty aroma. Malt attack slowly translates to bitterness. Slight spice at end. All quite rounded and married. Available in bottles.
This year's King of the Maibocks may very well belong to Upland, Ram, or Broad Ripple. They're all smooth, married, and quaffable. We'll have to set up a direct comparison tasting.
Dixie Brewing is sending 1,000 cases to Fargo, ND to fulfil mayor Dennis Walaker's promise to buy everyone a beer who helped with their recent flood. Dixie is still being brewed in Wisconsin due to Katrina.
AB/InBev is selling the last of their stake in Tsingtao to a Chinese investor. That should bring about $235M to toward paying off the AB purchase.
Replicale and other news
O.G. 12.5 plato IBU's 32
Malt: Global Kolsch 85% Global Vienna 9% Global Munich dark 5% Weyermann Carafa1 1% Hops: Perle 6.3% alpha
Yeast: Whatever your heart desires.
Things we learn from Jim Herter (stolen from his June/July column in Great Lakes Brewing News). New beers coming in June:
- Shoreline - 3Sum Double IPA. Bleacher Bum Bock (small beer from Curse the Goat Doppelbock).
- Back Road - LaPorte UnCommon Ale; 3.8% and a more popular price.
- Lafayette Brewing - Dry-hopped Summer Lager (German Helles with German and American Saphir hops.
- Mad Anthony's - Summer Daze Belgian Wit with Indiana honey. Bavarian Black Lager. Men of Steel American Ale in July.
- Upland - Rad Red Amber Ale
- Barley Island - Belgian Pale Ale
- Oaken Barrel - World of Wheats series - Dunkelweizen, American Wheat, Kristalweizen, Weizenbock. To be released one per month June through Sept.
AB/InBev is selling the last of their stake in Tsingtao to a Chinese investor. That should bring about $235M to toward paying off the AB purchase.
Indiana winners of the National Homebrew Competition:
Congratulations to the Indiana winners in the first round of the National Homebrew Competition:
- Bill Ballinger - Shelbyville - MECA - Specialty Beer - 2nd
- John Blichmann & Doug Granlund - Lafayette - THC - ESB - 3rd, Wood-aged Beer - 1st
- Bruce Deters - Angola - Brown Porter - 3rd
- Robert Heinlein - Crown Point - BOSS - English IPA - 1st
- Jim Matt - Indianapolis - MECA - Bohemian Pilsner - 2nd, Robust Porter - 1st
- Alexander Meadows - Indianapolis - FBI - Spice/Herb - 3rd
- John Morrical - Indianapolis - FBI - Belgian Specialty Ale - 1st
- Michael Pearson - Anderson - MECA - Fruit Cider - 1st
- Brian Pickerill - Muncie - MECA - American Pilsner - 3rd
- Jason Rich - Claypool - MASH - Cyser - 1st
- Mark Schiess - Carmel - FBI - Kölsch - 1st, American Brown Ale - 1st, American Stout - 3rd
- Bill Staashelm - Indianapolis - MECA - Oktoberfest - 2nd
- Brian Steuerwald - Brownsburg - FBI - Eisbock - 3rd
- Tom Wallbank - Zionsville - FBI - Düsseldorf Altbier
- Jed & Ernie Wolkins - Indianapolis - Dry Stout - 2nd
Ft Wayne and other news from the North
The Trion Tavern (New Haven) - The next twenty (20) taps were installed this week and beginning June 1st the tap list will include the following beers per Greg the owner:
Oberon
Alpha King
Brugge Tripel de Ripple
Southern Tier Unearthly
BBC Jefferson’s Reserve
Red’s Rye
DFH 90 Minute
Bells Best Brown
Bells Two Hearted
Bells Hopslam
Victory Hop Wallop
BBC Nut Brown
Lindeman's Framboise
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
Delirium Tremens
Brooklyn Monster
Founders Porter
Breckenridge 471 IIPA
Also, to celebrate the addition of the above-mentioned beers, the following list of beers will be tapped on June 1st:
Two Brothers Cane and Ebel
Founders Cerise
FFF’s Dreadnaught
DFH 120 Minute
Mad Anthony IPA
Warbird Shanty Irish
Ommegang
Rouge Grand Cru
FFF’s Blackheart
A list of the latest offerings at Belmont's (Lima Road, Fort Wayne):
Brugge Black, White
3 Floyds Brian Boru Irish Red Ale, Broo Doo Harvest Ale, Rabbid Rabbit Saison, Behemoth Barleywine
Dogfish Head Red & White, Palo Santo Marron Brown Ale
Hoppin' Frog IPA, Boris the Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout
Moylans IPA, Moylander Double IPA
Avery Mephistopheles Stout, The Beast Grand Cru Ale, New World Porter
Dark Horse Perkulator Dopplebock, Fore Smoked Stout
Van Steenburge Gulden Draak
Konig Ludwig Weissbier
Guinness 250th Anniv. Beer
Bells Lager of the Lakes
New Belgium 1554 Black Ale, Fat Tire Amber Ale, and Mothership Wit Wheat Beer
Crown Brewing is celebrating American Craft Brew Week by offering $3 pints from May 11-17.
Quick Sips
Boulder Beer's Flashback Anniversary Ale is out in kegs and 6-packs. It's an India Brown Ale with lots of Cascades on top of the Biscuit and Chocolate malts.
German beer in Pittsburgh? Hofbräuhaus opened last week and the Penn Brewery is still going strong.
Dixie Brewing is sending 1,000 cases to Fargo, ND to fulfil mayor Dennis Walaker's promise to buy everyone a beer who helped with their recent flood. Dixie is still being brewed in Wisconsin due to Katrina.
AB/InBev is selling the last of their stake in Tsingtao to a Chinese investor. That should bring about $235M to toward paying off the AB purchase.
Indiana Brewery News
"The Shoreline Brewery is proud to announce the release of its first barrel aged series. These beers were aged in bourbon and rye barrels for one year and have been aged further in our beer cellar since. The bourbon aged brews are: Lost Sailor (Imperial Stout), Big Bella (Heavy Scotch Ale), Discombobulation Celebration Ale (Barley Wine), Curse the Goat (Dopple Bock), Sum Nug (IPA), 3 Sum (Double IPA) and Smokestack (Porter). We also aged a quantity of Curse the Goat in a Rye barrel. Sales to the general public (first come, first served) will begin at 9 am Saturday, May 30th. The cost per 750 ml bottle is $20. Cash only please. Free Shoreline “Barrel Aged Series” T-shirt with purchase of a full case.
Hope to see you here!" - Sam and Dave
Great Crescent Brewery will hold an ACBW Open House noon-8pm, on Sat, May 16. They'll also be open on all week Noon-9pm. Normally the counter is open 6-9 on Thurs, and Noon-9 on Fri and Sat.
Barley Island's activities during American Craft Beer Week include $2.50 pints on Mon, May 11 and Tues, May 12. $3 pints of Flat Top Wheat on Wed, Dirty Helen Brown on Thurs,, BarFly on Fri, Blind Tiger Pale on Sat, and Sheet Metal Blonde on Sun. Growler refills all week are $6.50 ($3.50 for the glass).
"Last month an English Brown was brewed and is now on the beer engine. Most of the brew went into the oak bourbon barrels for aging.
The Beastie Barrel Porter has been a big hit. Be sure and come in for a taste before it's all gone. Other specialty beers on tap this month are the Franken Stout, 60 Shilling Scotch, and Sheet Metal Blonde.
Our next new beer is going to be a Belgian Pale Ale or sometimes called an Amber Ale. We have pilot batches being conducted this week with a potential brew date later this month.
We have stepped our brewing schedule this month in preparation for sending pallets of beer to our new Chicago distributor. Yes, you will be able to purchase Barley Island beer in Chicagoland by June 2009!"
Upland get's "ink" on NBC's Parks and Recreation which takes place in Pawnee, IN. What else to drink on-screen, besides Upland?
Bob get's ink in Chesterton Tribune, WTHR, MSNBC. It's all the same article from the Chicago Tribune. If you Google "Cathedral to football" you'll get 22 hits.
Microbrewers Festival News
The Indiana Microbrewers Festival is July 18th. Same place, same time, same cost. Some more space in the field lets the B.I.G. set a limit of 4200 tickets this year and it may sell out beforehand. Tickets will (hopefully) be on sale online and in pubs on May 18th.
Jason Larrimore is coordinating volunteers for the Festival and looking for 80 people. Info about volunteering.
From last June's Ale Street News: "The absolutely best way to attend a beer festival is to work as a volunteer. Just contact the organizers, they always welcome reliable workers. You may be assigned ice or rinse-water delivery at first or cleanup or even maybe the dreaded spit-bucket duty. At the very least you’ll be able to wander the festival for a while and you may even get a break on waiting in lines. And very best, it’s free.
Usually workers get a T-shirt for their trouble (special Event Staff this year) and, at a typical 4-hour festival may only be needed for one 2-hour shift. Cleanup is actually a good gig because it all happens after closing and, if efficient, can take only one hour. Oh, and did we mention the free beer?
If you’re lucky and, most importantly, have, a bartender’s license you might get posted to the job of pouring beer for patrons. This is the best of all worlds as you can educate lots of people about beer and have some samples yourself. (Indiana) requires a server’s license (Application form) and if you can legally pour beer you have a leg up on the other volunteers.
World Class Beverages is planning an IPA trailer at the B.I.G. Fest serving 22 IPA's. Should be cool.
Sunday News
Jerry Sutherlin at Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy has a line-up for American Craft Beer Week including:
- Schwarzhacker - German Black Lager- roasty and smooth
- Saison - Belgian Farmhouse Ale- tart and refreshingly fruity ale
- Goat Toppler - Maibock- slightly sweet and bready lager with a crisp hop finish
- Bourbon barrel aged series - Starting with a English Barleywine aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel, transitioning to Naughty Pappy- a Strong Scotch Ale aged in a 20 year old Buffalo Trace barrel, then on to Naughty Woody- the same Scotch Ale aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel
Jerry will be making a kick-off toast on Mon, May 11th, 6pm. All three downtown brewpubs will host open houses on Wed, May 13 from 6-9pm. That includes Alcatraz, and Ram also.
Check the Calendar for Stone Levitation kick-off parties in Goshen, Greenwood, Columbus, and Fishers.
Oaken Barrel has Mark and Andrew's Oak Aged Porter on tap. It's part of a series of small batch releases. Also right now, seasonals Helles Lager and Uberweizen.
Saturday, May 9: High Gravity Summer Kickoff for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. BW3, downtown Indy. 4pm. They'll be tapping more than a dozen 9%+ beers like DFH Red & White, 90 Minute, Palo Santo Marron; Goose Island Night Stalker; etc. etc. 5-oz tastings will be $5 ($1 to CFF).
If you collect beer bottles, then you're a Labeorphilist. If you collect beer coasters, then you're a Tegestologist.
Ever wanted to sleep in a wine cask?