Here are a few pics from the event:
Muncie Brewfest Wrap-up
Over 200 attendees were at the first Muncie Brewfest on Saturday, November 24th. The crowd was smaller than what was hoped for, but respectable in my opinion. Everyone appeared to be having a good time sampling the array of beers that were available and talking to the representatives from the various breweries and distributors. The convention hall was very nice and roomy and the beer tables were good size to accommodate the crowd. I was more than surprised upon signing in and getting my VIP writstband to not be handed those frosty looking plastic cups to sample the beers. This event had pint glasses so the consumer who wanted to make notes about the beer he/she was consuming could actually see what the beer looked like in terms of color, size of the head, lacing etc. I only wish all beer events/festivals would have clear drinkware because, I for one, do want to get a good look at what I am drinking. Overall, everyone from the admission tables to the beer pourers, to the food servers were more than friendly and eager to answer any and all questions throughout this event. I look forward to attending next year's Muncie Brewfest!
Here are a few pics from the event:
Here are a few pics from the event:
Misc News – Oct 30
Crown Brewing is starting a Mug Club with an initial event on Dec 4th. Also includes 22oz for 16oz price, T-shirt, tapping parties, and more.
Butler Winery's annual Fall supply sale goes through next Tuesday, Nov 3. Online, email, phone, or stop in the Bloomington store. Equipment, yeast, grains, malt extracts, hop pellets, adjuncts 15% off. Additives 20% off. Brewer's Best kits, books, kegging equipment 10% off. 50 and 55lb bags of grain 25% off.
See Gina's Random Beer Roundup for all the Indy news and more.
Coming up sooner or later: Two Brothers Heavier Handed IPA – wet hops. Sam Adams Noble Pils - "all five Noble hops" (in 2010). New Belgium Frambozen.
Whoa. Glut of hops unlikely to lower beer prices Eh? "Hops prices are now so low that some Oregon and Washington growers left hops unharvested this fall."
Old Speckled Hen fake handpumps. In New York. (Thanks Kevin)
Pints for Prostates gets ink, er, air on CNN with Sanjay Gupta. See it at founder Rick Lyke's blog.
This may be a blessing.
Misc News – Oct 28
Webmasters, if you link to any of these pages be aware the URLs have changed. If you link to the Indiana Beer History at IndianaBeer.com please change your links to the Brewers Guild site. Thanks. Bob.
Who is Tim O’Bryan and why would he lasso himself to a tree? There will be a quiz.
Alcatraz still has some 1.66666 Belgian on tap and it's better than ever. Rich malt. Balanced. Pure beer with a touch of dark fruit and a drying finish.
News from New Albanian (Grant Line Road): On Friday, October 30 an Anstich keg of Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weisse will be tapped in the early afternoon. It could be gone by 6pm so stop in right after work. An Edel Weisse is "an unfiltered wheat ale from Germany's celebrated Schneider Brewery. Traditionally brewed for the Oktoberfest Celebration in Munich before Märzen style lagers became the standard, Edel-Weisse is described as full bodied, with unfermented sugar, and with more hops for balance, as having a more noticeable hop character than typically found in German Hefeweizens. Next Friday, November 6, we'll have another Anstich (gravity) pour: Hochzeitsbier Märzen von 1810, from Brauerei Hofstetten in Austria."
Some new Jolly Pumpkin we'll see soon include Noel and Bam Noire Dark Farmhouse Ale. Also Thirsty Dog 12 Days of Christmas and Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah, their 13th anniversary beer (13 malt, 13 hops, 13%).
Woodford Reserve and the Ram
The First Frost Strong Ale aged all this year was made with oats, wheat, rye, chocolate malts, and English hops by the previous administration. 7.25%. Mild oak and vanilla and a lot of alcohol sting.Ram's beer is available at Colts games – Section 108 off the Main Plaza & Section 135 at the bank entrance. If you stop at the brewpub, welcome Ross Katz, the new manager, to Indianapolis. He's just moved down from Chicago's Ram.
Woodford Reserve is the newest distillery in the Brown-Forman family. The rebuilt an old facility with new Scottish pot stills (the only Bourbon manufacturer to use pot stills). The limestone water from on-site wells (the only ... to use well water) gives the soft character. The triple distillation (the only...) makes it very clean but since fermentation is stopped at a very low 110 proof it's still rich. Think Auchentoshan if it were a Scotch.
Woodford Reserve has a unique buy-your-own-barrel offer. Unlike most places where you buy a barrel before aging, at WR you go to the distillery and taste many many barrels with Chris (he CAN drink you under the table), then choose up to 4 barrels to blend into 180 bottles for $8,000.
You can also tour the Brown-Foreman cooperage in Louisville.
Misc News – Oct 26
The Muncie Brewfest is covered by the Ball State Daily News.
Bloomington Brewing's Java Stout gets ink in NUVO's Beer Buzz. A Release Party for the Java Stout will be held at the brewery/Lennie's Pizza on Wed, Nov 4. 5pm. Uses Sumatran Blue Lingtong coffee from Bloomington roaster Partridge & Quigley.
Upland is going Bomber. 22oz bottles of Winter Warmer, Dragonfly, Ard Ri and others are planned to be released in early December. Teddy Bear Kisses Imperial Stout will be released on Nov 9th.
The Broad Ripple Brewpub gets front page ink in the Broad Ripple Gazette about their new solar panels, the first in the area. The savings are up to 1000 gallons of hot water a day.
Newcastle Brown, now brewed in Gateshead, is to become Taddy Brown (except in name) when it moves to the John Smith brewery in Tadcaster. Roger Protz says it's more S&N's fault than Heineken. article
"I drink, therefore I am" - René Descartes via Monty Python
Misc News – Now with more pumpkin
"Supporters of an effort to allow carry-out Sunday alcohol sales and expanded cold beer sales in Indiana say they are "not deterred in the least" article
What to do in the next week or so:
- Thurs, Oct 22 – Tastings at Big Red Liquors, Bloomington. 6-8pm. United Fine Wines, Olio Rd. McCordsville. 5pm+. Chalet Party Shoppe, CR 17, Elkhart. 4-6pm.
- Fri, Oct 23 – Tastings at Liquor Locker, Evansville. 4-7pm. Parti Pak, Greenwood. 5-7pm. Crown Liquors, Carmel. 5-7pm. Norma's Fine Wines. Indy. 6-8pm. Cap n' Cork (Georgetown) Fort Wayne 5-7pm.
- Sat, Oct 24 - Muncie Brewfest. Horizon Cenvention Center. 20 breweries, homebrew contest. 1pm-10pm. $35 - $50
- Sun, Oct 25 - All-grain brewing class at Great Fermentations. Indy. 10am.
- Mon, Oct 26 - Beer 101 class. Downtown Eatery & Spirits. Warsaw. 8-9pm.
- Mon, Oct 26 - Beer Dinner. Woody's Library Restaurant & Goose Island. Carmel. 6:30. $40.
- Tues, Oct 27 - Woodford Reserve dinner at the Ram. Indy. 6:30. $80 per couple.
- Wed, Oct 28 - Beer Tasting. Westside Liquor, Evansville. 4:30-6:30pm.
- Wed, Oct 28 - 5-Course Hoosier Beer Dinner. at Zing, Indy.
- Thurs, Oct 29 - Harvest Dinner, Upland with the Local Growers Guild and 5 chefs. Bloomington. 5:30pm. $75.
- Fall Beer Tasting. Keg Liquors, New Albany. 5-8pm BBC Beers and a Randall. Rye 75, Professor Gesser's Mind Numbing Ale, Luna de Miel Raspberry Mead, Heine Brothers Coffee Stout, ++
- Beer Tastings. Big Red Liquors, Bloomington. 6-8pm. Chalet Party Shoppe, CR 17, Elkhart. 4-6pm.
Rock Art Brewery wins, Hansen backs off Monster Energy letter. video news. But Vermonster cannot be reformulated as an energy drink. another article with a letter from a US Senator.
There's a brewery for sale in Wisconsin and none of the BAs know which one.
Australian Jamieson's Raspberry Ale ad has Disney ticked off. Seems Ho White, Filthy, Smarmy, and Randy aren't approved. Ahh, Aussies. You just have to see the article and picture.
We'll leave you with the classic drunken pumpkins.
At least they don't need someone to hold their hair back. 
Misc News – Oct 20
Indiana legislative committee rejects Sunday alcohol sales and cold beer at groceries.
It's over, at least as far as the big two-year committee. An apparent win for liquor stores. They did propose some changes though: Election Day sales, photo id necessity on all purchases regardless of buyer's apparent age.
Direct wine shipments, wine sampling in wine shops, multi-warehouse distributors, and a limit for carryout sales were also discussed to day but not commented on. The committee report has not been formally released and there is more work to do.
We'd, of course, like to see Sunday growler carryouts at breweries and brewpubs. Write your congresscritter.
The Hoosier Beer Geeks visit Dark Horse Brewing. "A stop in to their brewpub was all the insight we needed to figure out their marketing philosophy."
Nate tells us How to make Belgian Candy Sugar.
Brew Dog in Aberdeen has been sending some spectacular big beers to the US. Look for more now that the investors behind Skyy Vodka have bought in (and so can you). article
Frosted Frog Christmas Ale. 8.6%. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Early November launch.
Misc News – Oct 19
Inside at the tasting room they were serving 8 of their own including Sunlight Cream Ale, Osiris Pale Ale, Bitter Druid ESB, Oktoberfest, Saison de Taffy, Wee Mac Scottish Ale and Java Mac.
Clay says they have some Oktoberfest, Tipping Point, and Alt on oak barrels, the Alt will go to the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer in Chicago on Nov 7th.
Coming up: Wheat with Hickoryworks Tulip Poplar syrup and a Belgian yeast.
Some Jalepeno Cream Ale will also see the light of day at Cheff JJ's Back Yard on Oct 31 for Hell Night. Minimal but identifiable pepper taste. Cream Ale aroma. The 25 Scoville units is certainly mouth-tingling – on the edge of needing a mitigating slice of bread. Also there will be Gallo Negro Black IPA.
The coffee infusion in the Java Mac soaks up a lot of the sweet malt from the Wee Mac and adds a touch of roast from the coffee. Nicely restrained. You wouldn't guess they are the same beer.
Could Muncie be Indiana’s craft beer capital? The Star Press tells about next Saturday's Muncie Brewfest.
Coming next month: Victory Yakima Twilight Ale
State Fair Best of Show tapped. Another coming up.
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Lots of lactic lactose and plenty of oatmeal gives a big, chewy body. Gobs of hops overcome the sweetness but it's a battle – hops win in a 2 out of 3 cage match. There's a touch of roast, a hint of toast, and a breath of bittersweet chocolate. Still, the lactic character builds though a long finish.
A couple dozen of the Barnhart's friends and family were at the tapping – coming from as far away as Wisconsin. Larry brought the recipe which shows 16% of the grain is oats and 8% milk sugar. Uses Scottish Ale yeast. 1060, 25 IBU from Fuggles. An outstanding 282 calories per pint.
Big cloudy brass color with an active white wheat rocky but compact head. Made with malt, ciderf rom Adrian Orchards, clove, and honey from Who's Your Honey to a recipe from Ken Price back in, we think, 2003.
Tart cider, sweet malt, honey notes. 7%. As always, A++. But it's gone. Mike and Jen Wolcott are shown here walking out of the brewery with the last case. Sob.
Mark's Pum-Kwan Ale that won the State Fair Best of Show in the Professional division is mellowing for an October 31st release at Oaken Barrel's Pumpkin Festival, Noon-3pm.
Indy Samplings
Some Tastings:
- Granite City Oktoberfest. Bright red/brown leather-look. Very cold in an iced glass so aroma test was abandoned. Good fat white ½" head that held on a while. First taste was sharp, not quite metallic, as the strong bitter finish cam in too quick to appreciate the still-frozen malt. Once warmer, it becomes a fairly rich, traditional O'fest with a big, quick, floral bitter finish. Order with a warm glass.
- Rock Bottom, 86th St, Indy, DWANA-nother beer Hefe – A coriander Belgian Wit with enough Ginger to make a difference. Smooth and very quaffable.
- RB86th Pifer's Pale – Brewed for the wedding of two regular customers. A 6.9% APA/IPA with 60 IBU of Amarillo and Crystal hops. Big throughout but a bit one dimensional.
- RB86th Pumpkin Seasonal – Deep Labrador-eye orange brown. A tank of varying refracted shades from loam to wheat. Long-lasting dense ivory head. Pumpkin spice aroma sings over the malt base only because we expect the malt, sort of like a rhythm section. On the tongue it isn't very sweet or pie spicy, just a solid blend.*
- Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy Pumpkin Seasonal – Unfiltered dark hefe-looking. Full in-your-face pie spice aroma comes through. 5.3%.*
Also on tap at RBD, Hop Bomb, Happy Pils, Hefeweizen, Coffee Stout.
* No pumpkins were harmed in the making of these Pumpkin ales.
Granite City has some new "brew mixers" on their beer menu (but not online). They had a Two-Pull (Light and Bock). Now there are a whole slew up to a Blarney (Bock and Stout).
Rock Bottom, 86th St, Indy has a Brewers Dinner on Wed, Oct 21st but it's sold out at 65 people. So they're having a prequel – another Brewers Dinner on Tues, Oct 20th. Call 317-471-8840 for details.
Apple Buzz is back at Oaken Barrel. 28 barrels made, half gone already.
Collapsable plastic Port-A-Pint Beer Glass. $8.
Misc News – Oct 15
New Albanian Public House (Rich O's) Lupulin Land Celebration is upon us. It starts tomorrow and will run for a couple of weeks. Here's the starting lineup. <<Roger: Kudos for the informative links>>
All American IPAs this year – that is from American breweries. There are IBA, Belgian IPAs, Dark IPA, Double IPAs, Brit IPAs, Rye Double IPAs, American Strong Ales, Imperial Reds, and Dogfish Head 120 Minute.
Here's a nice article about the couple who own the Hickoryworks shagbark syrup company near Trafalgar. Bottling the Shagbark - American Profile. Their product was an integral part of the 2006 Replicale.
Coming up at Mad Anthony's: Smoked Amber Ale, Hop X IIPA. A Cream Stout is on tap now.
Abinbev is selling off most of the East European operations for $2bn+. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia will shed Belgium's control and get some company named CVC Capital Partners instead. Abinbev has already sold their breweries in China, Ireland, Scotland, and South Korea.
Rick Lyke talks about a really obnoxious trademark fight. Monster Energy Drink vs Rock Art Brewery's The Vermonster IIPA.
Owner/Brewer Matt Nadeau talks passionately for 6 minutes about
starting the brewery, The Vermonster, the Monster Energy folks,
and trademark law, and why this even happened.
(Hint: Monster Energy Beer)
MASH Meeting & The Trion
I attended my first MASH (Mad Anthony Serious Homebrewers) (http://www.mashfortwayne.com/) meeting, even though I am not a homebrewer, at The Trion in New Haven, IN this past weekend. I enjoy trying homebrewed beers and I was invited by Brian Spaulding of MASH and I figured I would take him up on his invitation and that this would be a good way to try some homebrews from members of MASH. I was first of all very impressed with the warm welcome I received from all the members in attendance and secondly was very impressed with the various styles of hombrews that I sampled. The styles that were passed around the table for sampling were: Vienna Lager, Octoberfest, Irish Red, bottle conditioned Imperial Irish Red, American Brown, Oatmeal Stout, American Amber, Amarillo Pale Ale, Rye IPA, Blueberry Brown Ale, English Barleywine, 3 blended Mead which was brewed 2 1/2-3 years ago, and a Braggot. Everyone explained what brewing process was used, the ingredients used to brew their beer and then members gave their opinion of each beer. After sampling each and everyone one of those beers, I quickly decided that I will be attending more of these meetings. The meetings take place on the second Sunday of the month at 3p.m. at either Mad Anthony Brewing Company or at The Trion.
Speaking of The Trion, they have 45 taps. That's right 45 taps of some mighty fine beers. They have beers from breweries such as Founders, Bells, Lindeman's, Southern Tier, 3 Floyds, New Belgium, Mad Anthony, Dogfish Head, Ommegang, Victory, Stone, and New Holland just to name "a few". Well worth a visit for a good brew or two and good food as well.
Speaking of The Trion, they have 45 taps. That's right 45 taps of some mighty fine beers. They have beers from breweries such as Founders, Bells, Lindeman's, Southern Tier, 3 Floyds, New Belgium, Mad Anthony, Dogfish Head, Ommegang, Victory, Stone, and New Holland just to name "a few". Well worth a visit for a good brew or two and good food as well.
Misc News – Oct 14
Anita, Larry Barnhart John Blichmann, and Tom as Larry receives somewhere close to the time Larry Barnhart was presented with the
Best of Show at the 2009 brewers cup.
(Thanks Brian)
Larry Barnhart's Susie's Sweet Stout was brewed by him and Kevin Matalucci
and will be tapped this Saturday at the Broad Ripple Brewpub.
Left Hand Warrior "Colorado Fresh Hop Beer" is in the Cavalier warehouse.
Oktoberfest Munich wrapup. Attendance down to 5.7m from a high of 7.1m. Beer? 6.5m liters, up from 6m last year. Oxen? Up from 104 to 111.
Mike wonders which beer to get for newborn presents. He needs one that will age well for 21 years. blog. A bottle of mead may do the trick.
Britain's Pub Signs. Part 1, Part 2. Plus Big, Pricey Beers. Or maybe you'd like to know the History of Gummy Bears.
Misc News – Oct 10
The Indiana Excise Police are looking for people who don't look for IDs. Seemingly they find plenty. They say 35% failure rate (maybe using the guy who is "the size of a moose with a bunch of tattoos"). article
Crown Point debates churches vs. bars.
The Knights look in depth at Southern Tier's Biers.
CAMRA did a study and found Real Ale sales in Britain are up in 2009, the first rise since 1982. 825,000 bbls in the first six months from 660 breweries.
"America’s anti-alcohol movement is composed of dozens of overlapping community groups, research institutions, and advocacy organizations, but they are brought together and given direction by one entity: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation." Thus starts a look behind the group behind the neo-prohibitionists. article – full report (28-page pdf)
Speaking of the anti-alcohol movement, Bud Light Golden Wheat hits the shelves any day now. "Whether garnished with an orange or enjoyed straight from the bottle or in a glass, Bud Light Golden Wheat offers a light wheat-malt sweetness upon first sip, which quickly gives way to a refreshingly crisp, citrus finish." 4.1%
Beer Can Collecting – Swap Meet
40 vendors and a couple of hundred people spent Saturday in Indianapolis shopping for old bottles, cans, beeriana, and even new current cans such as the Bud Light college-colors editions. People were here from Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc. If you're interested in collecting, be sure to see the Brewery Collectibles Club of America web site.
Upland, Schwarztag, and a Lynx
It's available now only at the brewery on tap and in bottles. You'll be able to get it in stores around the state as 6-packs are heading to Monarch on Monday.
The EFRC is now caring for 196 big cats from 22 states. All were "pets" that grew up. Take a tour sometime. 108 acres, 3,000 pounds of meat a day.
Inside the brewery the new bottling line is clean and ready for the next batch.
Beside the bottling line, one of the fermenters was making naughty on the floor with froth from the second batch of this year's Winter Warmer. A great sight.The last picture below right shows the inside storage tanks for the solar collectors on the roof.
Misc. - North West Indiana
Every beer lover would envy a trip to a mecca, Three Floyds Brewery in Munster, IN. We were lucky enough to enjoy great beer plus meet the senior Floyd on a recent trip. Imagine a spot in an industrial park that is packed on a Friday night, serves great food, and most of us go for some over-the-top often only available there beer.
Got to try the de Muerte, or death, barrel aged chili pepper beer with roasted malt and lingering spice burn from the chiles. Looking for beers we can't get everywhere tried the Pride and Joy, a 5% smooth American mild that was delicious. How many places can you go that has their own great beers on tap plus Rochefort 10 & 8 in bottles!
Michael Floyd, elder of the three, physician, and great guy told us a cute story. Son Nick was looking for a brewery location. Nick found one and called his M.D. dad who was pumping gas at the time and also talking on the phone to a nurse. The nurse was describing a medical situation and making a procedural recommendation while Nick was on another line talking about the brewing location. Michael answered to the nurse, "yes, we should do that," Nick heard the words, and it seems the brewery was born! Whether we heard the story exactly right or not, it is clear the Floyds have great spirit to go with their super beer.
When making the trip stop at Crown Point to visit the Crown Point Brewery! Award winning Brewer Steve Mazylewski brews a very tasty malty brown and, while appealing to the "light" crowd, brews a Crown Light in a German Helles style -- so very crisp, clean, but with flavor. His IPA at 6.7% ABV dry-hopped for flavor is unfiltered and a beer-geek's delight! Only 17 miles from 3-Floyds and just 3 minutes from I-65 from the Crown Point exit (go into town and look left for the old smoke stack) this brewery is a must visit.
Thanks to Crown for hosting the Pro-Am Crown challenge beer competition that was a delight ... go here for winners http://crownbrewing.com/CrownChallenge.html
Got to try the de Muerte, or death, barrel aged chili pepper beer with roasted malt and lingering spice burn from the chiles. Looking for beers we can't get everywhere tried the Pride and Joy, a 5% smooth American mild that was delicious. How many places can you go that has their own great beers on tap plus Rochefort 10 & 8 in bottles!
Michael Floyd, elder of the three, physician, and great guy told us a cute story. Son Nick was looking for a brewery location. Nick found one and called his M.D. dad who was pumping gas at the time and also talking on the phone to a nurse. The nurse was describing a medical situation and making a procedural recommendation while Nick was on another line talking about the brewing location. Michael answered to the nurse, "yes, we should do that," Nick heard the words, and it seems the brewery was born! Whether we heard the story exactly right or not, it is clear the Floyds have great spirit to go with their super beer.
When making the trip stop at Crown Point to visit the Crown Point Brewery! Award winning Brewer Steve Mazylewski brews a very tasty malty brown and, while appealing to the "light" crowd, brews a Crown Light in a German Helles style -- so very crisp, clean, but with flavor. His IPA at 6.7% ABV dry-hopped for flavor is unfiltered and a beer-geek's delight! Only 17 miles from 3-Floyds and just 3 minutes from I-65 from the Crown Point exit (go into town and look left for the old smoke stack) this brewery is a must visit.
Thanks to Crown for hosting the Pro-Am Crown challenge beer competition that was a delight ... go here for winners http://crownbrewing.com/CrownChallenge.html
Misc. - Bloomington, Oct. 10
It is SchwartzTag at Upland Brewery in Bloomington today, Oct. 10. Ok, so that translates to "black day" but on this sunny, fall day refers to the Schwartz beer or Black Lager just put on tap. This is a solid lager at 5% alc (ABV) with a nice roast slight character which brewers Caleb and Eileen say comes from the dark malt used (just a tiny hint of roasted malt was added). This is a very smooth drinkable session type beer.
A live bobcat is to be making an appearance until 7:00 PM for a fundraiser for the exotic feline rescue center. Bands will be on hand tonight. If you miss the Saturday fun, the Schwartz beer will continue on tap along with the delicious Rauch bier or German style smoked lager and the Oktoberfest! Of course the normal popular Upland beers such as wheat, Rad Red, and Porter are also on tap.
Though mentioned on these pages once, cudo's to brewer Eileen Martin of Upland who scored the first ever American Distilling Institute Craft Distilling Internship to work with another distiller in the making of whiskey in the greater-Louisville area, Eileen's hometown.
Across town in Bloomington, Lennies and the Bloomington Brewing Co. brewpub has a very delightful Mild on tap weighing in at only 4% alc (ABV). Brewers Floyd and Asst. Dustin did a great job on this session beer.
A live bobcat is to be making an appearance until 7:00 PM for a fundraiser for the exotic feline rescue center. Bands will be on hand tonight. If you miss the Saturday fun, the Schwartz beer will continue on tap along with the delicious Rauch bier or German style smoked lager and the Oktoberfest! Of course the normal popular Upland beers such as wheat, Rad Red, and Porter are also on tap.
Though mentioned on these pages once, cudo's to brewer Eileen Martin of Upland who scored the first ever American Distilling Institute Craft Distilling Internship to work with another distiller in the making of whiskey in the greater-Louisville area, Eileen's hometown.
Across town in Bloomington, Lennies and the Bloomington Brewing Co. brewpub has a very delightful Mild on tap weighing in at only 4% alc (ABV). Brewers Floyd and Asst. Dustin did a great job on this session beer.
Misc News – Oct 8
Scott Wise, the owner of the 5 Scotty's Brewhouse in Indiana has been named the 2009 Restaurateur of the Year by the Indiana Restaurant Association. article
Kahn's in Indy is 30. During October sing "Happy Birthday dear Kahn's, Happy Birthday to You" at the cash register and get 5% off. Seriously.
Spotted at Kahn's: Hottenroth Berliner Weisse 750 $9.50. Ørbæk Bryggeri Old Danish Braggot 750 corked $35. (Braggot is a beer and honey brew similar to a mead).
Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy has a non-dryhopped Pale Ale on the handpull for those of us who aren't hop heads. For those who are, try Jerry's Summit-based Hop Bomb. My my.
Arlington Heights, IL may ban single-bottle sales of beer in any bottle under 40 ounces. Bye bye bombers and 750s. Surprisingly, Chicago has such a law but the minimum size is 16 ounces. These efforts are to stop oil-cans of Steel Reserve. article
The Wall Street Journal says Cheese Chooses Beer. We agree.
Sat, Oct 10 - Plus goat cheese & beer tasting at 2pm at New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse.
World Class Beverages is looking for some people. Here's the 8 jobs from their web site:
- Sales Representatives in Evansville, New Albany, Fort Wayne, and Columbus/Franklin
- Promotional Specialists in Evansville and Indianapolis
- Merchandiser in Evansville
- Payroll & Benefits Coordinator Indianapolis
We finally grabbed some pictures of the new Monarch / World Class warehouse out on Pendleton Pike at 52nd St. in Lawrence.
First, it's massive. 580,000 sq ft. 13 acres.
That is smaller than the nearby Fort Harrison Finance Center but the ceilings are higher.
Offices, as usual are up front with the warehouse behind.
This shot is looking to the back so it shows the depth but not even a tenth of the width.
Tasting room.
Misc News – Oct 6
Upland's license for the 49th & College Indy location has been approved.
Elkhart’s sister city is Burton-upon-Trent. They make beer there.
Here's why beer is getting more expensive while other food and beverage prices drop. Reason 3: "At A-B the top 13 executives made $73 million in the first half of 2009, or $5.6 million each, on average -- up from $38 million a year before." (Which was a 79% increase from 2007).
Three coming from Left Hand. Fade to Black – Export Stout at 8% in 2-packs. Warrior IPA Fresh hopped Cascade, Warrior, and Goldings. 6.6% in 22oz bottles. Oak Aged Widdershins American Barley Wine aged in Heaven Hill brandy barrels at 8.8% next year.
This is a different take from Scotland: Top cop: Pubs safer than home drinking. You'll drink more at home and there's no CCTV to watch you.
Men's Journal tells us which are America’s 25 Best Beers.
Meet Blake Montgomery of Tipton. His garage is insulated with beer bottles. Over the last 10 years he's saved one of each beer bottle he's opened.
Sunday Sales update
The minutes of the Interim Study on Alcoholic Beverage Issues' September 15th public meeting are up. and there were some interesting points made.
- The Excise Police pointed out current problems with election day prohibition.
- Sen. Phil Boots said he will introduce the legislation next year and supported Sunday sales and Cold grocery/drug store sales. (He owns convenience stores "that do not sell alcoholic beverages").
- The committee discussed stores using alcohol as loss leaders and the possible need for minimum price controls.
- The committee wondered if liquor stores should be allowed to sell "more non-alcoholic beverage products". (Maybe cold sodas and mixers).
Then the Pros testified
- David Hanson, Prof. Em. Sociology, SUNY said Sunday sales won't increase DUI accidents.
- Matt Norris of Hoosiers for Beverage Choices said the "Indiana Petroleum Council, Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, and the Indiana Retail Council financially support the coalition." They've achieved 65,000 signatures on their petition.
- John Elliott of Krogers said it isn't fair that liquors stores have a monopoly on cold beer sales and made other good points. He did say, though, "Allowing Sunday sales would not put all package stores out of business, but most would not be able to compete." He doesn't like the idea of separate 21+ liquor sections in grocery stores partly because it would prevent parents with kids from entering the area.
- Douglas Pendleton of Grapevine Cottage gourmet food and wine store said Sunday is the 2nd busiest and he'd like Sunday carryout.
- Grant Monahan of the Indiana Retail Council said $9 million in sales and excise tax is lost to the Sunday ban because of cross-state shopping. The IRC also "oppose price controls because retailers know best how to price items, and consumers want the best price."
And then the Antis were scheduled. - John Livengood of the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers (the liquor store lobby) played a video and pointed out competition between liquor stores and grocery stores is healthy to have. You can buy cold beer to go at many taverns. The few states that have "wide-open" Sunday sales don't have a strong package store industry.
- Warren Scheidt, also from the IABR, said "Kentucky and Indiana, in that order, have the most conservative alcohol policies, and the lowest number of traffic fatalities. Michigan and Wisconsin have the most liberal alcohol policies and the highest number of alcohol related traffic fatalities."
- Randy Zion who owns the Indianapolis Liquor Barns said "He is not interested in changing the law to expand the non-alcoholic beverage products sold in package stores, because this is contrary to why package stores were created, and package stores cannot compete with grocery and big box stores on these products."
- John Sinder who owns Crown Liquors said "big box retailing has caused a lot of Indiana businesses to die."
- Ronald Culp, owner of Elmwood Liquors in Lafayette, said it will cost $20,000 in labor alone to open on Sunday at his one store. He also made the point that Indiana residents own the liquor stores and if grocery, etc, stores have control over alcohol then that control will effectively be transferred out of Indiana.
- Jerry Corliss, owner of the Chalet Party Shoppes in Elkhart Co. said "Allowing Sunday carryout sales would reduce the value of package store permits. His package store permits cost $300,000 each. Last year the state auctioned off licenses in Westfield and Fishers for $450,000 each." He also predicted "Allowing grocery and drug stores to sell cold beer would put 4 of his 6 stores out of business."
- Pamela Erickson of Public Action Management out of Arizona spoke. PAM supports "alcohol moderation and methods to "push back" on toxic cultural messages that encourage kids to drink." Basically, PAM seems to be a small, 2-person, newsletter that will travel and testify.
- Chris Ward of Lawrence, a private citizen, said "he just wants to be able to drink responsibly on Sunday.
- Rev. Amy Mildenburg from Boone County "spoke to the correlation between repealing blue laws and reduced church attendance and increase in alcohol and drug use by formerly religious people."
- Jeff Harlow of Crossroads Community Church in Kokomo said, among other things, "Deregulating alcohol or making it more accessible, will be making a statement to misdirect children."
- Clarke Kahlo of the Greater Broad Ripple Community Coalition presented the Drug Free Marion County position statement.
- Michael Lockard of the Westside Improvement Association in Evansville refuted David Hanson(point 5 above) and claimed a New Mexico study Hanson denigrated was really a valid study. He also said "Non-liquor stores should use colored bags for carryout liquor so police would have probable cause to question customers about their purchases." He added "Underage drinking in Indiana costs $450 million in medical costs and loss of work costs."
The day ran out of time before people from various neo-prohibitionists and other clubs could testify. These included the Advisory Council on Underage and Binge Drinking, Drug Free Marion County, Drug Free Tippecanoe County, Indiana Collegiate Action Network, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation lackey Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking (ICRUD).
Written-only testimony included Karen Michler's of Drug Free Tippecanoe County. "Ms. Michler submitted her testimony in writing to the Committee concerning the compliance checks she coordinates, in which a minor accompanied by a plain clothes police officer attempts to purchase carryout alcohol (Exhibit 14). She said of the 121 checks done in Tippecanoe County since January 1, 2009, 5 stores were non-compliant, consisting of convenience stores, a grocery store, and a 'big box store'."
The Interim Study on Alcoholic Beverage Issues' next meeting is Oct 20th, 1pm. Two hours are allocated for public testimony on the topics to be discussed:
- Expanding cold beer sales by vendors other than liquor stores.
- Establishing procedures for allowing direct wine shipments to consumers from Indiana wine sellers and establishing procedures for allowing out of state wine sellers to ship wine, pre-purchased by an Indiana consumer, to an Indiana vendor for delivery to the Indiana consumer.
- Allowing gourmet wine shops to provide wine sampling.
- Additional permits for additional warehouses of beer wholesalers.
- Limitations on the amount of alcoholic beverages that may be purchased at the point of sale for carryout or delivery.
Indiana Beer History – Time in a Bottle
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"If I could save time in a bottle." - Jim Croce.
Meet Derrick Morris who does save time in many bottles. The times of Indiana's pre-prohibition beer barons – Cook, Muessel, Schellinger, Rettig, Reising, Raupfer. The times of the pre-WWII big breweries – Lafayette, Indianapolis, Kamm. The times of the mega-breweries and their downward slide out of state – Terre Haute, Drewrys, Sterling, Falstaff. Even the times of the Modern Era – Naptown, CircleV, Wildcat, South Bend, Duneland, Hops, Aberdeen, Oyster Bar, NineG.
Derrick has 20 years dedicated to collecting thousands of artifacts of Indiana Beer History. Not just those closed breweries, the open ones as well. We don't know the superlatives to use so just sit back and admire his all-Indiana bottles, cans, growlers, signs, banners, menus, press clippings, and more.
Derrick adds:
To everyone who ever had anything to do with the production and distribution of Indiana made beer, it has been a very exciting 20 years, watching the brewing industry grow. I have pleasant memories visiting microbreweries in the early years of development. I am thankful for the talents and generosity of the owners, brewers and the staff of all the breweries. Today the Brewery Collectibles Club of America and the Brewers Guild have exploded in popularity and function. Now is the time they can make each other shine brighter. Local collectors are bound to their favorite brewpub beers and enjoyed participating at the Winterfest early this year. Continued group participation to such type events is beneficial to everyone. This is all very exciting, I say wow, Thanks!
- Derrick Morris
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