Misc News – Nov 30

Figure 8 Brewing started bottling over the weekend. 30 cases of Ro Shampo bombers are available at the tasting room in Valparaiso and at Pat's Liquors in Porter.

M.A.S.H. (The Mad Anthony Serious Homebrewers) get ink in the Ft. Wayne News Sentinel.

Three Pints Brewpub expects their brewing equipment will arrive today.

This week in beer:

Tues	10 Schlafly beers on tap at Rocky's Italian Grill - Jeffersonville. 4-11pm
Wed	Snowplowed Winter Ale tapping. Mad Anthony, All locations. 5-7pm Reservations for Upland's Lambics begins. Rita Kohn and a panel of craft brewers will talk at the West Lafayette Library. 7pm
Thurs	Holiday Beer Tasting. Keg Liquors, Clarksville Sun King Winter Storm Warning tapping at the Rathskeller, Indy. 6pm Beer Tasting. Big Red Liquors, Bloomington. 6-8pm Beer Sampling. Chalet Party Shoppe, CR 17, Elkhart. 4-6pm
Fri	BeerMBA Class Part 2/3. Carmel. 6:00-9:30pm Beer Tasting. Liquor Locker, Evansville. 4-7pm Beer Sampling. Norma's Fine Wines. Indy. 6-8pm Beer Tasting. Vine and Table, Carmel, 3-7pm Beer Tasting. Crown Liquors, Downtown Indy. 3-7pm; Carmel & Fishers. 4-7pm Beer Tasting. 21st Amendment, Broad Ripple. 5pm. Holiday Beer Tasting, Godfathers, Valparaiso
Sat	Black Swan Brewpub Grand Opening. Featuring FFF/DFH Poppaskull Highlands Beer Festival, Valu Market - Mid City Mall, Louisville. 5-9pm Holiday Beer Tasting. Godfather's, Valparaiso. Holiday Beer Tasting. S&V Liquors, Illinois Rd., Ft. Wayne. 5-8pm

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Colorado has unearthed a weird state law that pubs and restaurants can't sell any beer under 4% ABV, only carry-outs can. article

Are you Wynkoop's 2011 Beerdrinker of the Sear? Get your resume in during the next 30 days. info

Fuller's is reaching back in their archives for seasonals. First up: Past Masters XX Strong Ale, 7.5%,  "pale mild", Fuggles, Goldings, 3 months matured then bottle conditioned, from a 1891 recipe. Available only in London. article

"A Los Angeles man said he is fighting the United States government to allow his Oklahoma company to print the Pledge of Allegiance on bottles of its beer." article

Misc News – Nov 24

Four Upland's Sour Ales will be available in December – Strawberry, Blueberry, and Peach Lambic along with Dantalion Dark Wild Ale. info Starting Dec 1, a reservation form will be found on the Upland web site. To ensure you get some, you'll need to fill out that form then check back later to find the exact release date and how many you can pick up at the Bloomington brewpub.

Jim visits Figure Eight Brewing in an HBG report.

Tastes:

• Alcatraz Bock – Skip Duvall's first batch at Alcatraz will be on tap in about a week. A preview shows a dark bock with little aroma. Starts malty balanced with Noble hops. A slight caramel sweetness comes in at the middle. Finish is drying but short. A summer quencher or a winter warmer. A+ stuff.
• Brugge Brasserie Thunder Monkey – It's back again. Big malt spiced with cinnamon, coriander, and 2 types of orange peel. About 6%.
• Ram Blue Pride Pilsner – ABV in the 5%s. Bright yellow gold. Hits me as a Red Stripe. Darn good.
• Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy Gummy Gummerson – Dry-hopped wheat. Needs no orange slice – that's already there with a big aroma from 3lbs of Simcoe hops.
• RBDI Cask Conditioned ESB – The Raccoon Red (4 straight medals at the Indiana State Fair) served at the proper temperature and carbonation. Long-lasting white head on a reddish beer. Big caramel makes it a British ESB for sure. A+
  
   
• Sun King Batch 222, The Golden Princess - "Belgian Golden Ale hopped aggressively like an IPA" 10% ABV. It doesn't come across as aggressively hopped as the 50 IBU would suggest. Quite quaffable, though please quaff only half as much as you would a 5% beer.

Sun King's canned beers are Sunlight Cream, Osiris Pale, and Wee Mac Scottish. $10-11 at the tasting room for 4x16oz cans. Somehow, they have sucked up most of the downtown Indy head brewers, Dave and Clay of course, Adrian Ball is doing most of the brewing, Dustin Boyer is doing sales, Jon Simmons works a couple of evenings a week. Award winning homebrewer Jim Matt rounds out the crew.

Are prices going up? In today's posts you'll see the three newest places are perched above most others. Tomlinson Tap Room is $5.25 and $7.25 per pint, $5 for three 3oz tastes and $12 or $16 for a growler. Three Pints is $5 (but a real 20oz pint). And growlers at the Bier Brewery are $12.

Roger laments the end of tap Pilsner Urquell – at least the end in Indiana. blog

A list of the 100 malts and 60 hops in Bell's Batch 10,000.

Chicago Business says Pay-to-play infects Chicago beer market. A very in-depth look at the market next door.

"The fight between Bud and Miller helps consumers by keeping beer prices in Chicago lower than the national average. . . But pay-to-play also means fewer craft beers poured from Chicago bar taps—the most coveted spot in any tavern—even as their national popularity grows. Consumers drink roughly twice as much craft beer per capita in Spokane, Wash.; Charlotte, N.C., and Des Moines as in Chicago."

Bier Brewery and Taproom

5133 E. 65th St. (west of Binford).
At the other end of the building from Great Fermentations.
darren@bierbrewery.com

Fri – Sat: Nominally 3-7pm
Sun: Noon-4pm if there is any beer left from Friday and Saturday.

www.bierbrewery.com

Darren Conner and Ben Starrett have been busy setting up the brewery so don't expect much in tap room decor right now. Darren seems to be following the successful Sun King method of free samples and growler sales late in the week but he has no plans to bottle, can, or sell by the pint.

Opening night they had 7 on tap. The PDG Pale was the first to go but it lasted long enough. Friday and Saturday might see the other 6 disappear but fear not, there's more for next week. Check the website then to see which are on.

Quick notes:

• Special K Kolsch – Krisp. To style.
• German Wheat – Again to style. Mild esters and spices.
• Belgian Blonde – Lots of nuances, big and small.
• PDG Pale – 45 IBU of Citra IPAness.
• Dred Brown – UberRich Southern brown.
• Porter – Smooth robust porter. Just a touch of roast. Fireplace stuff.
• Oat Stout – Exact. Hit it the first time (as if this is the first time Darren has brewed and Oatmeal Stout). A+

First night crowd from 3pm until after 7pm.

Where it all starts.

Other blogs also are talking: BrewIndy

Tomlinson Tap Room

Second floor of center section of the Indianapolis City Market.

222 E. Market St., Indianapolis
317-432-BEER

Wed – Fri: Noon – 8pm
Sat: 11am – 5pm

www.indycm.com/tomlinsontaproom

The TTR has the second floor all to itself. Plenty of seating. Bring up your food from the downstairs food court and make yourself at home on the balcony.

To answer the most-asked question: It's run by the City Market, not the B.I.G. Ted Miller is in charge of arranging the beer lineup but there are no financial ties.

One bartendress and a manager weren't overly busy on their first day Wednesday.

$5.25. Three 3oz tasters for $5. Growler fills are $12. The chalkboard also has a currently-blank place for "seasonals" at $7.25/$16.

The beer menu was disappointing. Not the selection – it's quite good, the menu itself. The chalkboard lists a few beers but you need to find a table tent for the complete list. All the breweries would like to have a better description of the beers (at least give a style for good grief). Give the city also. People won't find People's without a map. And why aren't there stacks of the B.I.G. flyers available? Things like this will get worked out.

Other folks are already talking about the TTR: Girls' Pint Out

Three Pints Brewing

Just a  5-wood from the Black Swan Brewpub on Ind 267 just north of I70. These two will be continually lumped together as a unit since they have increased the number of good beer bars in Plainfield by to 2. Right now neither are brewing or even have vessels but the plans are there. They are both serving Indiana beers and they both are rapidly being accepted and building a local patronage.

5020 Cambridge Way, Plainfield

317-839-1000

www.threepintsbrewpub.com

brewpub@threepints.com

Hours:
Sun: 11am-11pm
Monday: closed
Tues, Wed, Thurs: 4-11pm
Fri: 4pm – 12:30am
Sat: 11am – 12:30am

Food:
Appetizers: $7-12
Soups: $4-7
Salads: $8-9
Dinners: $10 (Jambalaya) - $25 (Filet Mignon)
Sandwiches: $7 (Pulled pork) - $9 (Pot Roast)
Desserts: $6

Beer: 6 taps. All Indiana. All $5 for 20oz pint. Bottles are "domestic" to put it mildly, at $3. Current tap list is Sun King Sunlight Cream, Osiris Pale, and Wee Mac Scottish; Oaken Berrel Razz-Wheat; and Upland Preservation Pilsner and Dragonfly IPA.

Three Pints has two faces, a quiet family dining room on one side and a busy, noisy, bar with lots of conversation, standing areas, and plenty of TVs. In the middle is a adequately-sized room set off for the future brewery, windows covered right now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope your fest includes great local beer!

Wandering around Indy on the day before Thanksgiving we got a taste of a cask-conditioned ESB and the Naughty Scotty Scottish Ale at Rock Bottom downtown, the new Pilsner plus the S'No Angel Weizenbock at the RAM downtown, and the black IPA and regular IPA at Rock Bottom College Park North. Sun King offered a milk porter while Oaken Barrel served up an American Brown Ale.

The RAM pils is clean and smooth with moderate to low crisp bitterness, a very refreshing beer, while the Weizenbock, offers complexity of the bready characteristic of wheat with the deep underpinnings of a bock beer and we can love the name "S'No Angel" weighing in at 6%. Brewer Andrew tells us he's working with Great Fermentations on an upcoming homebrew competition which will lead to one lucky homebrewer having their beer on tap at the RAM.

The ESB in the cask won't last long at Rock Bottom downtown so for those loving a cask-conditioned ale now is the time! Andy Brewer Jerry's scotch ale fits the cold weather perfectly. On the Northside Brewer Liz caters to the local preference for hops as the Black IPA provides the dark deep flavor background of some roast character but explodes with hops.

The Tomlinson Tap Room opened in the Indy City Market where we can get a variety of Indiana beer on tap.

We have a LOT of great local beer to be thankful for! Enjoy!

Misc News – Nov 20

Eric Strader tells about New in Michiana From Three Floyds Brewing Company, Founders Brewing Company, Brooklyn Brewing Company and more. and Blue Sunday at New Holland Brewing Company – a preview of their lineup prior to December 5th.

Mike gives us a Sneak Preview: Tomlinson Tap Room at City Market.

The first episode of Brewmasters, Sunday at 10pm, is called Bitches Brew. Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew is available in 750s all over Indiana. "A bold, dark beer that's a fusion of three threads imperial stout and one thread honey beer with gesho root". Chicory Stout is also out but we'll have to wait until January for this year's Burton Baton, World Wide Stout, and Squall IPA.

Ypsilanti is going to add a 10% tax to the tickets for the Michigan Beer Fest. People aren't happy. blog

The first microbrewery to be hit with a cease-and-desist from the FDA is New Century Brewing who's Moonshot contains 4% ABV and 69 milligrams of caffeine (about half a cup of coffee). press release Maybe this won't end well after all.

Misc News – Nov 17

Some tastings:

• Broad Ripple Brewpub Armadillo Oscar – Darkish tangerine color. No head. That's a 60 IBU bunch of American IPA. Then the hops taper of to a still orangey, less bitter finish.
• Broad Ripple Brewpub Bigger Boy – Very married but not to peak of maturity. Subtle fig, grape, caramel and probably more notes. A+
• Sun King / Broad Ripple Brewpub Sun Ripple ESB – Big rocky ivory head (that's all to be seen in the plastic cup at the 20th anniversary party. 1/2 glacier hops and 1/2 fuggles hops, being a combination of both brewerys' ESBs but made at 20° Plato for the 20th anniversary. Very nice, very drinkable.
• Rock Bottom, 86th St, Indy Blitzen Ale – Pure Black IPA and Pure Cascade grapefruit nose and similar taste. Could be 40 IBU plus lots of late addition hops. 6.5%. This is going to join the regular rotation of seasonals (as is Naughty Scot and Buffalo Gold).
• RB86thSt Doppleganger IPA. 6.7%. All-Amarillo. Bright lager gold that even looks crisp. Grassy floral nose, grassy bitter on tongue.
• RB86thSt Cask Conditioned Dry Hopped Pale Ale – Dark red copper apricot. Suitably warm, suitably low carbonation, suitably smooth, suitably ESB bitter with orangey Am hops notes.
• RB86thSt – Ask about the secret Espresso Stout, it's the GABF Silver-medal Oatmal Stout with a shot of liquid expresso in every point. 6.5%. Strong coffee with a nice sweetish background. Just short of Oaken Barrel's Coffee Stout of last March because there's less coffee in the aroma.

Bell's Batch 10,000 will be their last numbered batch and it's heading south next week. "The last of a series, Batch 10,000 Ale looks back to our roots, symbolizing the end of the home-brewing season with a creative take on 'cleaning out the brewing supplies closet'.  After combing through the catalogs of many malt and hop suppliers, our brewers used over 100 different malts, grains, and other fermentables, and followed them up with a blend of  60 different hop varietals between the kettle additions and dry-hopping. The resulting beer presents a deep, chocolate brown hue and offers roasted and caramel notes from the malts mixed with an assertive hop character. Sharply bitter, the beer possesses a full mouthfeel without being heavy and will withstand aging in your cellar, if you prefer." 9.2% ABV, "Shelf life: Unlimited".

Brew Masters Videos

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Caffeine, alcohol. FDA, FTC, and Chuck Schumer. They may make it unnecessary for the Indiana congresscritters to outlaw alcopops by doing it themselves. The BA has responded quickly with a petition to the TTB (U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau) that “seeks to disallow synthetic and pure caffeine additions to alcohol beverages, but allow incidental caffeine from ingredients that have a long tradition in brewing, such as coffee, chocolate and tea. The petition seeks to clarify that coffee, chocolate, herbs, spices, seeds and fruit are ingredients that should remain available to brewers to make beers for responsible enjoyment by beer drinkers.” This may turn out all right after all.

The FDA has some info online now which includes "Does this action apply  to coffee-based liqueurs?

No.  These Warning Letters are not directed at alcoholic beverages that only contain caffeine as a natural constituent of one or more of their ingredients, such as a coffee flavoring. The alcoholic beverages that are the subject of FDA's Warning Letters are malt beverages to which the manufacturer has directly added caffeine as a separate ingredient."

Yes, it may turn out all right.

Meanwhile, Four Loko, one of the oft-mentioned concoctions along with Joose, has announced they are dropping the caffeine. Right now a 16oz can is 12% ABV and has the caffeine of 3 cups of coffee.  press release So the headlines are now

Partyers rush to stock up on Four Loko before it gets pulled from shelves ...

Nanny State Watch: Loko Edition

FDA: Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks Are Unsafe

'Blackout in a can' yanked

Parents sue makers of Four Loko drink after son shot himself in 30-hour binge

Broad Ripple Brewpub's 20th Anniversary

John Hill's Broad Ripple Brewpub is, if not the first of the Modern Era breweries in Indiana, at least the spiritual granddaddy of most of them and the actual granddaddy of many.

The Modern Era started in 1989 when the Indianapolis Brewing Co. name was revived after 41 years by Rick Harris and Tom Peters. This first micro lasted until 2003 (the last 6 years under control of Oaken Barrel. (Right: Brook Belli oversaw the carting off of the vats on March 5, 2003)

John was right behind. He'd moved his emphasis from the Corner Wine Bar and Wellington's to the auto shop which was to become Indiana's most successful brewpub and opened for business in 1990.

John's legacy already includes a family tree that stretches now three generations.

Greg Emig, John Hill, Gil Alberding, Kevin Matalucci, Ted Miller

• Gil Alberding was the first brewer. He's now the Brewing Business Unit Leader for MillerCoors in Eden, NC.
• Greg Emig replaced him in in 1992. He went on to found the Lafayette Brewing Co. His father Joe then started Aberdeen in Valparaiso where Sam  Strupeck brewed before starting Shoreline Brewery in 2005. Greg's brewer for nine years, Chris Johnson, just opened People's Brewing Co. in Lafayette.
• Ted Miller replaced Greg and went on to start a couple of overseas breweries and then in 2005, the Brugge Brasserie just across the canal from the BRBP.
• Kevin Matalucci is now the "old head" has been brewing at "the brewpub" ever since.
• Dave Chichura (right) was a waiter at BRBP before going on to be the second brewer at the downtown Indy Rock Bottom. He went on to Mountain Sun in Boulder and now the head brewer at Oskar Blues.
• Russ Levitt was also a waiter at BRBP before he set up and was the first brewer at Bloomington Brewing and also at Upland.

So twenty years later, it's gone from Two Week Ale through Wee Alec Heavy, ESB, IPA, Big Boy, to Bigger Boy and a heckova 2-tent party.

The Hoosier Beer Geeks have recently interviewed Gil, Greg, and Ted about BRBP.

Here's some pictures of the night (click to biggify). Lots of old-timers were there, don't you wish you were?

              
 

Misc News – Nov 16

"Centerbridge Capital Partners Forms CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, Inc. via the Concurrent Acquisitions of Rock Bottom Restaurants, Inc. and Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group, Inc." press release – new web site

From Bloomington Brewing: "Java Porter returns, and will be followed by a very special BBC ale: Batch#1,000. We brewed Batch 1,000 on Friday in the brewery space adjacent to Lennie's... a very special and commemorative beer for us, as Batch #1001 has already been brewed in our new expanded Brewery Production Facility--or Brew :2 as we've been calling it for the past ten months. Batch #1000 will be a Belgian Dark Strong Ale. We're currently in fermentation state, eagerly checking gravity on a daily basis. Once we know more about this very special release party, you'll know more!"

November 11, 2010 News Release – Tomlinson Tap Room Indianapolis City Market and the Brewers of Indiana Guild are set to open Tomlinson Tap Room, an all-Indiana craft beer bar, on November 24, 2010 at Noon in the historic facility’s main Market House mezzanine. The craft beer bar is the first of its kind in representing all 32 Indiana craft beer microbreweries at one location. In its effort to rekindle Indy residents’ love affair with artisan, craft and local foods, Tomlinson Tap Room fosters that commitment on the beverage side of the aisle. The bar boasts several taps that will rotate Indiana’s finest brews, and will pay particular attention to not-so-readily available beers from brewers like Mad Anthony Brewing Co. in Fort Wayne, People’s Brewing Co. in Lafayette, Big Woods Brewing Co. in Nashville and Crown Brewing in Crown Point. The name itself pays homage to the Tomlinson family who, in the latter half of the 19th Century bequeathed land to the city of Indianapolis to erect several public market buildings, and Tomlinson Hall was one of those edifices. Tomlinson Hall contained an auditorium, gymnasium, meeting rooms, as well as retail and vegetable stands on the ground floor. Tomlinson Hall was severely damaged by fire in 1958, and was subsequently demolished. The “local” feel of the bar extends beyond the beer itself. The three 8-ft. long, waist-high community tables are locally artisan-crafted using 1800s reclaimed wood from southern Indiana. The back bar is a rescued and restored architectural gem from a 1930s Indiana pharmacy. Tomlinson Tap Room’s front bar is hand-crafted by local master wood crafters, blending the historical aspect with modern day craftsmanship. Tomlinson Tap Room is scheduled to be open Wednesdays through Fridays from Noon until 8-ish and Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The bar is available to corporations and businesses on Mondays and Tuesdays for corporate outings, team building, business meetings and other important business.

Senator Chuck Schumer says he won and the FDA will rule caffeine is an unsafe food additive to alcoholic beverages. This might not end well. press release

A Harvard study of 70,000 women from 1984 to 2006 showed alarming reduction in health risks if they have one drink a day. Stroke: 20% reduction. Living to age 70: 28% increase. article Skoal.

Misc News – Nov 14

Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy

• Naughty Scot – Creamy yet with a lightness. Seems like a cross between a Scottish and a Porter rather than a gigantic Scotch Ale. Malt trumps hops. Warms to give a stronger, almost Barley Wine, quality. 8.9%. A+
• Buffalo Gold. 5.8% "fairly aggressively hopped blonde ale". Gold is a good name, colorwise. Not that aggressively hopped. Pleasant, rich, good bitter finish. Let's call it suggestively hopped.

The Ram's new assistant is Chris Knott – stop in and say "hi".

• Sno Angel Weizenbock – Murky brown. Served 10 days after mashing. 6.4%. This was made to a Ram directive to be not over 6.4% and 18 – 23 SRM. Tasty and mild but the appearance is off-putting.

We're told Sun King's barrel-aged Oktoberfest was a hit at the Chicago Wood and Barrel-Aged Festival and was pronounced better than Adam Smasher.

Gotta get a hop tongue tattoo.

North West Indiana Report

Took a trip up north. Here's what we found.

People's Brewing's tasting room has a full bar at the front of the brewery. Yes, good times.

• Mr. Brown is back with chocolate, black, and caramalt and Columbus and Cluster hops. 7%, 47 IBU, and a full mouth feel.
• The Procrastonator Double Helles Bock uses Pilsner malt and Pearl Hops at 36 IBU to give a sweetish 7.2% strong beer that may become a staple or the grounds for a lighter true Helles Bock down the line.
• Aberrant Amber is a nice dinner Amber with a touch of spice from Amarillo and Centennial. 5.5%, 48 IBU.

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Kennywood Brewing Supply in Crown Point was closed as we went through town. Got a shot of the interior at least.

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Just 2 blocks away, Crown Brewing was open with a few people enjoying their taps. New beers include

• Belgian Triple – Soft peach color. 9.1%. Little aroma, somewhat sweet, neutral and very to style.
• Milk Chocolate Stout – Thick, plenty of carbonation, very drinkable, lots of chocolate coming through from the 20 pounds added to the boil. 7.1%. A+
• Winter Warlock. Reddish cherry. Small malt aroma. At 7.1% a pleasant knickerdropper with no flaws. Uses maple syrup and honey along with spices in the brew kettle.

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Three Floyds hasn't changed much from their winning formula. The beers are varied and interesting.

• The Ostemoller (AKA Osti) – Smoked Helles Lager with 5.1% and 28 IBU. Substantial Rauchness comes in late. More smoke than Spezial and less bacon than Schlenkera. A+
• The Creeper Dopplebock. 9% and 23 IBU. Jet black with a tan head, looking like a Stout, Porter, Black IPA, or a Mild and the Creamy marshmallow, chocolate malt, and nut notes really confuse the Dopplebock designation.
• Also on tap: Alpha King, Robert the Bruce, Pride & Joy, Gumballhead, Dreadnaught, Arctic Panzer Wolf IPA, Sand Pebbles Strong American Brown, Owd Engwish Barley Whine, Aotearoa New Zealand hopped Amber, Hell's Black Inteligencer Oatmeal Stout.

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The new Beer Geeks Pub in Highland was the next stop. It's at 3030 45th St. in a shopping center. 20 taps, 1 handpull. Non-smoking. A comfortable roadhouse feel, knowledgeable staff, detailed beer menu, and a cardigan clientele make this a new favorite local for the area. The beer pictures on the walls were drawn by July Barrera.

 

 

Figure 8 Brewing was also closed as we went through. The Ro Shampo at Beer Geeks sill suffice. It has 6 malts to make an Imperial Red Ale at 7.5%. Not a Rad Red or other ultra-hoppy Summit brew, rather, it is quaffable and sneaky.

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So it was off to Shoreline for a few trials.

• Kolsh Syrah Syrah is bright golden and served quite cold in a wine glass. Fiting since it has been barrel aged in a wine barrel. A distinct wine (not cider) punch to the palatte.
• 5th Anniversary Wet Hop – Good but not a freshness bomb anymore.
• Beltaine – As always, liquid Scottish. A favorite.
• Discombobulation – Barley wine aged on Bourbon barrels. True BW with a touch of oakey vanilla. Strong and ready to drink. Worthy. A+
• Lost Sailor Imperial Stout aged in a Bourbon barrel. Noticeable Imperial Stoutness. Not noticeable barrel.
• Seven Red – Red Rye with 4 types of rye, such as Crystal Red, and 3 other malts.

Sam is putting in 2 30bbl fermenters and a 30bbl conditioning tank in the back room to join the phalanx of oak barrels.

These barrels have produced, with up to year of aging, 6 beers that are available at the bar ($20/750ml): Lost Sailor Imperial Stout, Discombobulation Celebration, Sum Cens IIPA, Big Bella Scotch, Curse the Goat Dopplebock (all of these in Bourbon barrels), and Seven Red on a French Shiraz oak wine barrel.

Coming up: Bavarian Bombshell, Black IPA, Don't Panic English Pale Ale, Singing Sands Oatmeal Stout.

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At Back Road, things are going along as normal. Chuck's Christmas Ale is conditioning. This year it is an oak-aged Baltic Porter. After 1 week in the wood it has a perfumey lavender aroma over a solid base. Give it a month more aging and it'll be perfect for the season.

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Mishawaka Brewing's seasonal is a

• Pumpin Ale that is bright, yellow, and strong pumpkin pie from the aroma through the lingering aftertaste.
• Seven Mules Kick-Ass name got the KA for a reason. Bitter, then a touch of caramel then a massive floral hops attack.