Misc News – Dec 30

The Post-Tribune finds out Microbreweries, brewpubs wedge way into NWI market. and companion stories: Special Forces Ale brings Crown Brewery out of shadows and Homebrew winner now on tap at Crown Brewing.

And there we learn "The first three cases of Crown Brewing Special Forces Ale in 22-ounce bottles was sent out to Holiday Liquor in Cedar Lake [and]are available for purchase at the brewpub for $6.99."

Lafayette Brewing's latest Big Boris Barleywine will be released at the New Year's Eve party. 9.2%. "hints of alcohol in the finish". An American IPA will be out in mid Jan with Centennial and Amarillo.

Mad Anthony's, Shoreline, and Deano's Vino are also having New Years Eve parties.

Upland's Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA comes out in 6-packs and kegs on Jan 7th. 6.5%. 65 IBU. Dry hopped with a pinch of lavender.

Butler Winery's Bloomington homebrew shop has 15% off all "non-wine" items (including phone and email orders). Just through tomorrow.

Heavy Seas release schedule for 2010: Holy Sheet Uber Abbey Ale – January Siren Noire Chocolate Stout – Feb Big Dipa IIPA – March Red Sky at Night Belgian Saison – March thru May Letter of Marque Hop Rye Porter – April Below Decks Barrel Aged Barley Wine – May Smoke on the Water Smoked Imperial Porter – June Summer Ale – June thru September Hang Ten Weizen Dopplebock – July Prosit Imperial Oktoberfest – August The Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale – Sept The Greater Pumpkin Boubon Barrel Aged – Sept Winter Storm Imperial ESB – Oct thru Dec Below Decks Barley Wine – Nov You Tide Belgian Tripel – Nov

Stone's release schedule for 2010: Stone Old Guardian – 2/15 Stone Imperial Russian Stout – 4/19 Stone Anniversary Ale – 6/21 Stone Vertical Epic – 10/11 Stone Double Bastard Ale – 11/2

Meet Albert Christian Friedrich Wichmann, the owner from 1877 – 1881 of the brewery in Kendallville. Honest. Scroll down about 2/3 of the way on this page if you're not convinced.

Jay Brooks gives us the Top 10 Beer Stories of 2009.

Beer truck crashes in Papua New Guinea. 4,000 cases stolen by villagers. "Superintendent Tondop said he hopes common sense will return when everyone sobers up today." article

A reader points out It's been a great year for beer in Asheville.

Brewing News has a 41-question survey - with prizes.

Misc News – Dec 27

Read about Roger Baylor's trip to Bamberg and their luggage's trip to Paris. The first 5 parts are online.

See some pics of the New Albanian / Schlafly collaboration; an Oak Aged Dry Hopped Smoked Rye Pale Ale. "Have you ever bbq'ed an orange/lemon?" Available in January.

"Indiana remains only a belch on the national craft beer scene." The creative Daniel Lee of the Star gives some love to all the brewers as State craft brewers drink in segment's heady growth.

Clipper City keeps adding to their Mutiny Fleet. Coming in February in 22oz bombers. 8%. The Holy Sheet Uber Abbey Ale is going to bombers also.

Stan Hieronymus gives A short history of Jackson’s ‘world classics’ and tells us what Michael said about Tomorrow’s classic beers.

Chicks doing kegstands. Oh, yeah. Had to follow a classy post with this one.

The New Crown – Indy Downtown

Downtown Indianapolis finally has a Liquor Store to compete with John's at Penn and Washington. We aren't qualified to compare the big wine selection in John's basement with the basement at Crown Liquors at Ohio and Delaware, but it Crown  has 5 times the beer selection and quality than John's.

The American Beers section is good but the Imported Beers section is astounding. Plan to spend most of your lunch hour browsing, or just trying to figure if there's any rhyme to the layout.

Stopped in the other night and found some bargains. The Samichlaus is heading for a cool, dark place for a few years. The Lagavulin is a reserve bottle not passable-up since it's $20 cheaper than seen elsewhere. The rest is for Christmas guests.

McChouffe - $9.99
Hook Norton Hooky - $5.99
Samichlaus Classic 2009 - $21.99 a 4-pack
Van Den Bossche Buffalo Stout - $8.99
Reischdorf Kolsch - $4.69
Brew Dog Dogma - $7.99
Bowmore Legend - $29.99
Lagavulin 16yo - $89.99

The Imported Beers section ranks with the best anywhere, not for the size, but for Mike Sprinkle's obsession with having the rare, the serious, and the damn near unobtainable. Click the picture below for a warped 2meg panorama that even shows prices.

Yep. Prices. Everything in the store is priced, something most stores don't do well.

Misc News – Dec 22

"Crown Brewing signatures like Special Force Ale will now be available on draught at restaurants and bars . . . also is about to begin selling is Special Force Ale in 22-ounce bottles in select liquor stores." Calumet Brewing will be their distributor.  article

Thank Heaven for Beer reviews Teddy Bear Kisses by Upland.

The latest gadget Brew Balls– makes sense for light ales. 1.005, 1.10, 1.20, 1.035, 1.055 density balls sink as fermentation progresses. Gives a quick look without breaking the seal. Sanitize in boiling water. Keep out of reach of children, especially the boiling water. Also available at Great Fermentations.

The International Breweries' Competition's Beer Stars were handed out last Saturday. Winners available in Indiana include (without doing a whale of cross referencing so error-prone – please correct in comments):

Marzen – Bronze – Sam Adams Octoberfest
Belgian – Gold – Du Bocq Gauloise Ambree – Silver – Affligem Blond
Belgian Dubbel – Bronze – Du Bockq Gauloise Brune
Belgian Tripel – Silver – Gouden Carolus – Bronze – Affligem Tripel
Pilsner – Bronze – Lagunitas Pils
Dry Stout – Silver – Rogue Shakespeare Stout
English Ale – Silver - Flying Dog Doggie Style
Imperial Stout – Silver - Sam Adams Imperial Stout
Porter – Gold - Baltika No6.
Hefeweizen – Silver – Schneider Unser Original
Kristallweizen – Bronze – Schneider Mein Kristall
Weizenbock – Silver – Schneider Meine Hopfenweisse
Specialty/Honey Beer – Gold - Sam Adams Honey Porter – Silver – Dogfish Head Midas Touch
      – Bronze – Mission Street Honey Blond (Trader Joe's brand brewed by Firestone-Walker)
Sweet Stout - Gold – Left Hand Milk Stout – Bronze – Sam Adams Cream Stout

Trion Tavern – New Haven

503 Broadway St.
New Haven, IN,
260-493-2265

In downtown New Haven, on the east edge of Fort Wayne, there's a new kid on the block. Family-owned for a thousand years until the cook, Greg Jacquay, bought the place and installed 45 taps.

There's no web site yet, so we'll send you to RateBeer for 10 other reviews.

Good food, pool tables help give it a small-town bar atmosphere. But that atmosphere includes smokers and smoking.

My only other complaint would be the complete and utter lack of prices. With a range from $3 for Mad Anthony IPA to $10 for a Bourbon County Stout, there's a range worth checking out before ordering.

Mad Anthony's Vintage night

Mad Anthony's brought out 8 of Todd's vintage ales in 12oz bottles. The festivities started at 5pm last Wednesday and only 3 offerings were still around by 9pm - the 2006, 7, and 8 Barley Wines.

In IndianaBeer style (see Upland Lambics) we formed a roundtable so we could best describe (not rate or rank) these fine beers. Tried around the table by Dan Goble, Bob O, Mark Snow, Eric Basset, theDM, and Grant Curlow.

• 2003 Imperial IPA – Big aroma. Dying traces of dark fruit. Taste, though, is shockingly mild – almost bland. – Sweet aroma. Nutty. Bold start. – Soapy. Not the favorite.
• 2004 American Barley Wine – High aroma. Not as dramatic to the palette (start). Good finish. High barley. – Bright fruit taste. Little bitterness in the aftertaste.
• 2006 American Barley Wine – Bold alcohol presence that smoothes in the finish. A 2-tiered beer. – Slight bite. Hoppy. Short finish. Slight apricot fruit flavor. – Medium clear uncarbonated red. Mild Barley Wine aroma tingles from start to finish. Strong hop bight. Strong ale malt flavor, crisp and yummy. Oily. Beer shivers. – Sweet aroma with a short finish. Bold, bold, bold, Low carbonation. Hoppy. Strong roast. Too bold for a first beer of the day.
• 2007 American Barley Wine – Sharp strong start. Mid finish. Low carb. Needs more time. – Light brown. Crisp hop old ale aroma. Tingly throughout. Nice sharp hop bite. – Lighter, crisper, and more ready to drink than the 2006. – Harsh bite. Cloudy. Nutty flavor. High alcohol. Orangey notes. Not the favorite.
• 2008 American Barley Wine – ABV seems quite high. Bitey. Hot. Almond notes. Brandy flavor. – Let it age. Rich and bitchy. Crisp but vinous alcohol. Strong caramel and malt. – Good color. Sharper than the 20078. Hot but not bitter. Almost brandy-like. Not the favorite.
• 2004 Imperial Stout – Great deep black color. Opaque dark ruby red. Woody and smoky flavor. Rich taste. Multidimensional roasted and dark malts with roasted malt in the fore and aftertaste. Mellow yet mildly biting hops. - I liked it. – Weak aroma. Smoky start. Light woody finish.
• 2007 10 Year Anniversary Ale – Small, frothy head. Transparent dark orange. Mild caramel giving an old ale taste. – Apricot grows as it warms. Crisp. Orange peel. Pine/cedar aroma. Higher ABV. Nice carbonation.
• 2008 Bourbon BBC Imperial Porter – Vanilla. A fun beer. Flavors are swirling around including Black Patent and did I mention Vanilla. Smooth with contoured edges. – Oily lace. Strong vinous aroma. Bourbon, vanilla, and oak flavors. – I like it. - Great carmel color. Vanilla flavor. Creamy. Oak. Robust. Prize catch.

Total tab: $74 plus tip for these 8 beers. $6 to $12 each. (Thanks JimS)

Also on the board, they are ready for the cold with

• Snowplowed Winter Ale - A spicy hop ESB.
• Smoked Amber – Bamberg worthy. A bit less body than a marzen but well worth calling a classic. Brighter than the classic Schlenkerla and that brightness helps it become my new desert island beer. A+.

Misc News – Dec 19

Take the The Hoosier Beer Geek 2009 End of Year Readers Survey.

It's time to renew your Mug Club memberships.

Indiana Rep. Baron Hill joins the Small Brewers Caucus.

Bruce and Barb Kehe, Duneland Homebrewers, and Shoreline get ink in the News-Dispatch. article

Bob O's full Dec/Jan article for Ale Street News is online. They synopsizeit for print. Maybe the first 3 paragraphs explain why.

Things we learned from Jim Herter's column in Great Lakes Brewing News.

Shoreline's Batch 200 will be out this month. It's a black IPA. Sum Nug IPA and Beltaine Scottish will be available at the brewpub in 22oz bottles starting in January. Sam has Upland's old 12oz bottling line so look for 6-packs next year.

Back Road will have Pole Shift out soon. Made with pear juice and Amarillo hops. Chuck, please bring some to the Winterfest.

Bee Creek Brewery is adding Clay County Coffee Stout to their lineup. It uses Brazilian Santo coffee from Jameson Coffee in Greencastle. Look for it in stores and pubs. They have 16 outlets now – mostly in a line from Terre Haute through Indianapolis.

Alcatraz will have Sledgehammer on tap next month. 8% from crystal hops and honey.

Muncie:

Everyone in Muncie is talking about Savage's Ale House. No web site to send you to, sorry. Just opened. 8 or so draft beers and 60 (craft, import, and oddball beers). They say the food is great and the restrooms are spotless. We'll have to stop in sometime after the 3pm daily opening. They serve food until 2am. 127 High Street at Main.

We're told The Fickle Peach is the #1 Founders account in Indiana. Right now, only three on tap though, Dirty Bastard, Dry-Hopped Pale Ale, and Breakfast Stout – the ale you drink with a fork.

The Heorot has a keg of the Dogfish Head / Sierra Nevada collaboration which should be tapped any day now. Stan has 48 on tap and some bargain pints to be found.

• $3 and less: Bell's Oberon, FFF Alpha King, Upland Rad Red,
• $3.50 and less: BBC Bourbon Barrel Stout, Bell's Sparkling, Brooklyn Sorachi Ace, DFH 60-minute, New Belgian 2° Below, Pyramid Juggernaut, Spaten Optimator, Upland Schwarz.

Speaking of good food, Brugge Brasserie's Steak and Eggs for $13 is a bunch. Way over a half pound of excellent skirt steak, 2 eggs, all slathering your frites. Oh, and did we mention the pictured beer is this year's Thunder Monkey. Yep. It's back in time for New Year's Eve. Cherry bark brown. Belgian winter ale that's light on Belgianness with quite subtle hints of spices. Tamarind, Galanga Siamese ginger, and touches of nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice. Special and quaffable even at 7.5%.

Rock Bottom, 86th St, Indy, has Liz's version of Old Curmudgeon on tap. It's a hazy wheaty yellow IIPA with nice Belgian lace. IIPA. Orange citrus hop bomb alert. Abandon all hope all ye taste buds who enter here.

J K O'Donnells in Fort Wayne

What Should I Drink? Beer Edition (Flowchart).

Northwestern Notes

Lafayette Brewing's Winter Warmer is February 13th. Too bad it's sold out already. Went on sale last Tuesday at 10:06am. (10:06?) When we got there at 2pm they were gone.

Lafayette also has new swing-top 1-liter growlers. New: $9. Refill: $5. Tues. Refill: $4.

• Winter Lager – Heather lager with meladonin malt, Celeia and Sazz hops. 6.1%. Basically a big Munich lager. The noble hop presence keeps it bright.

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Figure 8 Brewing in Valparaiso hasn't started production yet. They are now working on the floor of the brewery. A full description is at the News button of their web site.

In the most out of focus picture ever, Jon Uban checks the new flat Figure 8 floor after a day of grinding.

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Brickworks Brewing in downtown Hobart is rapidly becoming a hometown restaurant and their brewing can barely keep up with demand. Only 2 were on tap on our visit but Rubus Wheat, Wind Chill Factor, Potawatomi Porter, and Hoar Frost are due up this winter.

• Browncoat Brown Ale – Dark clear light American Brown with infinitely-lasting tan head. A+ for looks. Light aroma. Massive chocolate malt belies the light color.
• Cornerstone Bitter – American Pale Ale with wake-up bitter NW hops tang.

 

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 Crown Brewing in Crown Point has 7 beers on tap.

• Xtacy of Gold Blonde - "Our lightest offering. Brewed to be drinkable without too much flavor". Oops. 4.1%
• Blueberry Wheat – The Weiss with flavoring, ala Back Road. Nice tang without being obnoxious. Tang is the correct word. 4%
• Lady in Red – Malty Scottish 60/-. Went down quickly. Nae, richt noo.
• Crown Town Brown – Maris Otter and Fuggles. My favorite. Simple presentation of basics puts it dead square in the middle of the Southern Brown kingdom. 4%. Please, put this on a handpull.
• Winter Warlock – Cinnamon, nutmeg, clover of a pumpkin but lots of pine and cascade citrus makes it a 2002 Sierra Nevada Celebration.
• Industrial Porter – Solid, broad taste band incorporating roast and toast encompassed by a flight into fresh beer brightness around the edges. Halo effect?
• Special Force Ale – The Crown flagship is an unfiltered IPA with 7 hop applications of Summit, Centennial, and Cascade. A Cascade hop bomb worthy of the Alpha King Challenge. 5.8%

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Three Floyds' Brewpub is one of my two favorite beer bars in Indiana. Great guest list on tap and more goodies in bottles. Always good conversation at the bar. And a big selection of house beers.

• Ham on Rye – A collaboration with Piece Brewery. Aroma of smoked ham. Not just any ham. Certainly not one of those clove-infested spiral-cut hams they sell for 89¢ per pound right after Christmas. A real Virginia smoked damn ham that you have to soak for a day before slicing and pan-frying. They should export this stuff to Bamberg. 6.2%
• Admiral Lord Nelson British Strong Bitter – Emphasis, of course, on "bitter". Hey, there's apricot; distinctly apricot. Neat. 6.8%
• Grosser Kurfurst Munster Dunkel – Dark amber Vienna. Subtle caramel is the keynote. It's darn near normal. 5.8%
• Black Sun Stout – Black American Stout. Very black – which just enhances the surprising lightness of body. All that chocolate, molasses, etc. that you expect without getting into the coffee realm. 7%.
• Stay in School - Let's let is grow a bit more. Dull, dark persimmon color. Aged 6 months in a Palo Santo barrel and another year in a bourbon barrel. Not yet drinkable. Discussing this beer is tantamount to judging Obama's presidency after 1 year with 7 more to go.

People's Brewing Co. – Indiana's Newest Brewery

Every month there seems to be a newest brewery. Ain't it great. Bee Creek, Big Woods, Brickworks, Lil' Charlie's, Wilbur, and now People's Brewing.

Not much to look at from the outside but the malt steam wafting to the parking lot is welcoming enough.

A tasting room will be constructed up front in the spring. Garage doors seem to be a popular theme for pubs anymore.

Chris Johnson and Brett Vander Plaats started the long road to People's opening when Chris left his job as Lafayette Brewing's Head Brewer back in January.

They have installed a 20bbl system with 40bbl fermenters obtained from Butte Creek in Chico. Butte Creek they changed from a brewpub into a contractor and is now sourcing its beer from Mendocino Brewing. Not everyone was happy with that, of course. California's loss is Indiana's gain.

Chris and Jessica Johnson
"Who wouldn't buy beer from a six foot Dutch woman?" - CJ

There's only one beer released to the public as of now, an American Porter that is available at the Black Sparrow in Lafayette. It's 4.5% and uses Cluster hops. All their output for the first part of next year is slated to be sold in kegs to area pubs. You can also buy 1/2 and 1/6 bbl kegs directly at the brewery –email for availability.

Hiding behind the shop vac is 9,000 lbs of labeling machine. Bottles will come later.

 

And out back, a bottler and more vats once owned by Burt Grant's of Yakima, WA.

Misc News – Dec 14

Three Floyds has commissioned some new artwork at the brewery. Click for the full-sized pic. You know you want to.

This Wednesday, the 16th, is a tapping of Floyd's Holiday Ale at Bloomington Brewing. 5pm. "Holiday Ale is one of the Bloomington Brewing Company’s most distinctive brews to date. Created with Special Pale Malts and unique Slovenian Celeia aroma hops, this Winter Ale displays a radiant golden amber hue. A slight elderflower and spicy aroma with noble and pleasant hoppy notes is followed by a well-balanced taste, wonderful malty mouth feel and a long smooth bitter finish."

Jason Rich gets ink in the Warsaw Times-Union. Meet a Mad home brewer. Oh, their starting a homebrew club in Warsaw. 

Upland's Komodo DragonFly Black IPA will be out in January. 6-packs also.

Beer ingredient eyed in prostate cancer prevention. Yet another use for the noble hop.

Sombody is crowdsourcing buying the Pabst Brewing Company, $5 at a time. Information on this IndianaBeer is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

The Wall Street Journal wants you to know January is the 75th anniversary of the beer can and that BCCA membership is down, losing under-30-somethings as the population ages.

The Boss will never notice.
 

Wilbur Brewing

Meet Dan Hause, the owner of the Wilbur Brewhause in the middle of the woods between Martinsville and Wilbur, Indiana.

That's Dan on the right. The goats really don't have anything to do with the brewery. They won't even eat spent malt, they are just there to eat the poison ivy – but who could resist such a picture?

Dan seems to jump hip-deep if not head-first into his projects, like timber-frame building (including the goat shed), and brewing. It started 5 years ago when he and his son got a homebrew kit for Christmas. Now he has federal and state licenses and even Certified Organic status for his beers.


Let's talk about the idyllic setting for a minute. Can you spot the brewery in this picture?

The little A-frame is one of three buildings left from when this woodsy enclave of a dozen houses was a Girl Scout Camp.

Now the small kitchen is a homebrew-sized 5 gallon brewery. Just enough room for a half-dozen fermenters, a brew kettle, a manual bottling line, and a pallet of empty bottles in the living room waiting patiently to be used.

Dan is making 2 beers right now,

• Country Mellow – Creamy sweet Pale Ale with Nugget hops. 8%
• Biker Brown – Thick and creamy with big cocoa/coffee type flavors over a light maltness. 9%

Right now, they are available only at the Old Northside Bar & Grill in Martinsville but they'll appear shortly in the World Class Beverages Indiana 12-pack.
All of Wilbur Brewhause's beers are krausened and naturally carbonated to produce a bottle-conditioned product.

     

A Tale of Three Cities

Took a short trip to New Albany on Wed/Thurs. The original plan was to  spend a night at Saturnalia. Did that but also found a slew of new New Albanian beers to try also.

• New Albanian Sour Red Belgian – Brown with hints of red under these dim lights. Aroma is light with a bit of Belgianness. Carbonation tang is quickly replaced by tartness. Dark cherryish finish. 4.5%.
• New Albanian Tunnel Vision – Belgian Wit. Nice but the day is crowded, let's go on.
• New Albanian Abzug – Think of it as a session Marzen. Looks like a Pilsner. Mouthfeel of a Cream Ale. Hoppier than, say, Kentucky Kommon.
• New Albanian Wee Foot Stout – Medium dry mild session stout. Soft roastiness. Nice.
• Bell's Christmas Ale – Slick-feeling Scottish Ale. Dark cordovan. Little hops (as per style). Interesting that they call it a Christmas beer. 5.4%.
• Thirsty Dog 12 Days – Spiced winter ale. Sweet and spicy with stuff wile cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, etc. Not really a pumpkin pie ale though. Mouthfeel is thick, almost syrupy by beer standards. 8.3%
• New Albanian Community Dark – I feel compelled to come back to this for the penultimate beer each visit to NABC. The British Mild will calm you down for the trip home. 3.7%. Served tonight with excruciatingly high carbonation.
• Schlenkerla Marzen – When I can have this wonderment as the last beer of the night it gives courage and the smoke protects one from the hangover gods.

Stopped back in on Thursday for the Anstich keg tapped at 1pm.

• #3 – The importer uses numbers pasted to identical casks to differentiate the dozen or so different beers from different small breweries around Germany. #3 is said to be Ahornberger Dark but it doesn't seem likely. At any rate, #3 is a beautiful sight looking like a big slide of fluffy lemon meringue pie, especially with the cold 28°. (addition) But who cares when it's great, fresh, German beer not available anywhere else in the midwest. Roger explains.

Seeing Roger Thursday afternoon at the Public House, he looked like Wednesday was not kind to him.. Read about Roger's long day in Indy, and the HBGs version of the story.

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Second city: Columbus - Power House / Columbus Bar. The Columbus bar was on the cover of Indiana Preservationist Magazine and featured in the Liquid Assets article.

We just made a quick stop to say high and try two of the taps.

• Power House Berliner Weisse. Perfect for style greenish yellow. Thickest mouthfeel and probably the sourest Berliner I've ever had. Not an Imperial Berliner but definitely on the high end of the scale. We'll probably see this on the podium at the State Fair.
• Power House Wee Heavy – Scottish with lots of hops and a roasty character throughout. Think of it as a Porter.

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Now, it's getting dark. SR 46 will deliver us to Nashville and Big Woods Brewing. They're serving lots of customers not only because of the fresh, local beer, but also for the food. Passing up the duck breast dinner for one killer, and huge, pulled pork sandwich, we're full. The two beers with that sandwich had a travel distance of about 8 feet from the brewery to the bar.

Spring's menu is attracting customers and Tim's beers are keeping them.

• Big Woods Possum Trot Pale Ale – They've hit it. Unfiltered foggy deep orange gives a premium look. Small white head. Nice malty balanced taste with a clean, quick finish. As an intro beer it's certainly upscale to the Bud found elsewhere in town.
• Big Woods Tim's Big Stout – Thick from flaked malt used in an Oatmeal Stout. Dry graininess reminiscent of Sheaf Stout.

Misc News – Dec 8

Mad Anthony's will be releasing their Vintage Ales in the Fort Wayne location on Wednesday December 16th. These are some of their strongest and most flavorful ales lovingly hand bottled and aged for long periods of time, allowing them to develop a depth of character unavailable in most beers.

Like fine wines, these ales improve with age and are only available here, during the holidays, and in very limited quantities. These beers will not be available for carryout.
The following is a list of vintage ales that will be available;

2003 Imperial IPA
2004 American style Barley Wine
2004 Imperial Stout
2006 American Style Barley Wine
2007 American Style Barley Wine
2007 Ten Year Anniversary Ale
2008 American Style Barley Wine
2008 Bourbon Barrel Imperial Porter

The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association's DoingIndy podcast covers the microbreweries of Indy. 6 minutes of Oaken Barrel, Rock Bottom North, and Sun King. They interview Mark, Liz, Clay, and Dave. And use "very unique" twice.

The 32nd annual National Homebrewers Conference will be held June 17-19, 2010 in Minneapolis. Sign up and reserve your room now.

"It seems to be one of those mad pub ideas that actually happened." article

Beer Films like Marzen Attacks, Silence of the Lambics, The Big LeBrewski, A Beer and Present Danger, Search for the Holy Growler, Full Metal Jacketed Conical, The Keg and I, Harold and Maudite, Barley's Angels, Jungle Bock, Men in Bock, Cape Beer, and of course M*A*S*H.

Winterfest Information

Here's the opening salvo of information about the Brewers Guild of Indianapolis Indiana Microbrewers Winterfest.

Saturday, January 30. 3:00 – 7:00 pm Indiana State Fairgrounds 38th & Fall Creek, Indianapolis Ag-Hort Building Tickets: $30 Brewpubs Barley Island, Noblesville Broad Ripple Brewpub, Indianapolis Brugge Brasserie, Indianapolis Lafayette Brewing, Lafayette Upland, Bloomington Crown Liquors: - Delaware & Ohio - Carmel Dr & Meridian, - 62nd & Allisonville, - 116th & Brooks School, - 146th & Ind 37 Online Tickets You print $33.46 includes ticket fees No tickets at the door

31 Indiana Breweries. Plus 10 Breweries from surrounding states. Plus Bottled craft beers Over 200 different beers to try. Plus Cask Conditioned table with 16 firkins served on gravity. Plus Indiana's Winter ReplicAle, an Oatmeal Stout. Plus World Class Beverages' Malt Shop with 25 Winter Beers. Commemorative tasting glass and Program Guide Food, Music, Games Hoosier Breweriana Exhibit To Benefit

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Now for the legalese:
21 years old and above only. No toddlers. No babes in arms.
No pets. Service Animals OK of course.
No smoking inside the building.
Specifics like the number of breweries are subject to change, of course.
Designated Drivers are $8 $10 $8. This includes complimentary water and soft drinks. Available only at the door. No advance ticket needed.
Major sponsors are World Class Beverages and Crown Liquors. Also sponsored by the Broad Ripple Brewpub.
Sponsors-in-kind include Nuvo, WTTS 92.3, Brewers Supply Group, Great Fermentations, Elgin Water Care, Hop Union, Hoosier Beer Geeks, IndianaBeer.com, Indy Custom Cornhole, Cavalier Beverages, Monarch Beverages, Zink Beverages.
Information at www.brewersofindianaguild.com/festival.html or call Bob Ostrander at 317-856-6092 (after 10am, please).

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Now for the nitty gritty:
The Firkin table from the summer Microbrewers Festival will be repeated with a direction toward winter beers. This will be in an outside beer garden with fire pits.
World Class Beverages' Hopapalooza will be repeated as Malt Shop with about 25 winter beers. They'll be serving from their semi-truck outside the back door.
The Indiana ReplicAle will happen again. This time an Oatmeal Stout.
We know last year's Winterfest was quite crowded. This year we promise much more space. Jason Larrison has laid out the new building with 74 tables inside.
The South-Central Indiana chapter of the Brewery Collectibles Club of America will display a gaggle of old bottles and cans from Indiana breweries going back to Chris Ingermann's great great grand daddy back in the 1800s.
New breweries their first festival Big Woods, Brickworks, Figure Eight, People's, Sun King, and Wilbur Brewing. We guarantee to have beers you have never tried before.
Out-of-state breweries that have responded already are Bell's and Rust Belt of Youngstown, OH. Also expected include Bluegrass, Left Hand, Magic Hat, Sierra Nevada, Stone, and Two Brothers.
World Class, Cavalier, and Zink will provide tables and tables of beer as normal. Thanks, guys.
Look for more posts, but no tweets, in the next 54 days.

New Indiana Employee Permit requirements.

Employee Permits are necessary to be a Bartender, Liquor Store Clerk, or Wait Staff serving alcohol in Indiana. Permits are good for 3 years (check your wallet now). Renewal used to be a form and a check. But now. . .

LOOK OUT for a big change to get or renew an Employee Permit. From the Indiana ATC web site: "Starting January 1, 2010, all employee permit holders in the state will be required to attend a certified server training program prior to their permit being issued or renewed.  To review a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions, please click here".

Retailer and dealer permit holders must have a management representative attend server training also.

The State Excise Police training classes will still be at least one per month in each district with a limit of 30 people. List of Traning Class Dates

"If you are interested in becoming a certified trainer that can train servers, please click here".

Misc News – Dec 5

Sun King now has 74 taps – still Indianapolis-centric but widening out to Scotty's Muncie and Lafayette, Wolfies Waterfront Noblesville and Fishers.

• Sun King Winter Storm Imperial ESB – Bold but not over hopped, not over alcoholed, even at 8%.
• Sun King Winter Storm Imperial ESB Dry Hopped with Warrior – Murkey, Warrior hops didn't make much other difference. This pin went down in less than 10 minutes at the SKWSIE tapping at MacNiven's.

The Geeks show us Scenes from a Tapping: Barley Island Grand Opening and 10th Anniversary Celebrations.

MPs call for higher tax on 6% abv lager. There's something ironic here about Olde English 800. In other news, Morrison's grocery stores in England have a 4-pack of Carlsberg for £1.00 – about $1.64. article

Wine Enthusiast has a Top 25 Beers list. Many we can't get here. Mouthwatering list.

Sierra Nevada Glissade Golden Bock is their next seasonal. Due out in January.

See the Sam talk about the Dogfish Head / Sierra Nevada collaboration of Life & Limb/Limb & Life.

ABInBev has 132 different brands. MillerCoors has . . . 133. Atlas to Zubr The Big Brewer’s Brands

20 Things to know about beer.