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".

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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

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