Misc Stuff – Jan 28

As of this morning there are only 125 online tickets to Winterfest. All the brewpubs probably have some still. Weather says 25°and sunny. Doors will open at 2:30pm. Beer starts flowing at 3:00.

RateBeer Best Awards have Three Floyds sitting on top of the list. Dark Lord variations at #4, 5, and 7. Dreadnaught at #26, Behemoth at #69. They are also the 25th best brewpub.

FFF also garnered style awards for best English Pale Ale (Blackheart), best American Pale Ale (Alpha King), 2nd best IPA (Dreadnaught), 4th best Strong Lager (Decimator Doppelbock), 5th best Strong Ale (Behemoth Barleywine), and of course the 3 Dark Lord variations weren't forgotten.

Crown Liquors in Fisher s is the 31st best liquor store and Keg Liquors in Clarksville is #44.

In other awards, NABC Public House is the 10th best beer bar and the Rathskeller in Indy is the 50th best restaurant for beer.

Some tastes:

• Barley Island Dirty Old Helen Sour Brown – A bit thin-bodied and cidery.
• Ram Replicale Java Oatmeal Stout – Nice tiny notes of oatmeal ashy dryness (think Sheaf Stout).
• Ram Big Red IPA – Newly tweaked for more west coast hop bitterness. Highly recommended.
• Sun King Amarillo the Princess Warrior – Amarillo and Warrior hops of course. An excellent combination. Less citrus than Amarillo's Cascade cousin; Warrior's Nugget-style bittering. Ends up being an American IPA but not a big northwest bomb. 9%. Make it a regular.
• Sun King Clementine Porter – Proper color. Proper but lightish mouthfeel. Bitter without a specific hop signature. A. 5/6%
• Sun Kin Java Mack – Reddish brown from the Scottish base. Very mild cold coffee notes. More than pianissimo without even a threat of overwhelming. 5.3%.
• Upland Komodo Black IPA – Amarillo and Simcoe dry hopped with lavender. Stout brown, opaquer than Bad Elmers. An IPA first with a deep bitter malt in the middle, pushing the bitter hop aside. Long black malt finish of course. 6.5%. 65 IBU.

Sun King now has community recycling bins in the back area. Papers, cans, and plastics can be dropped off freely.

The World Class Staff, Ron Smith, and Carrie Crow took the Cicerone test. Results (and Carrie's article about the test) soon.

Carrie has started Girls Pint Out. A meet-up group for women in Indy.

Meet Kendra Travez, the brewster at the Indy Granite City.

The U.S. ban on Haggis may be lifted soon. Don't schedule your Robbie Burns night yet though.

Jay Brooks rants effectively about the neopros bashing AB about Haiti, for putting their brand on canned water, for issuing a press release. article

Burger King plans beer-selling Whopper Bar in South Beach.

Swedish students stage beer pipeline protest at nearby brewery. They want a pipeline to their student union.

Misc News – Jan 27

As usual, HBG follows the State of the State address with a must-read 2010 State of the Six Pack covering the Craft Beer Scene, Sunday Sales, Excise Taxes, Brewing Trends, and 2010's forecast.

Worth note: Sparks fly over alcohol sales bill that will let wholesalers distribute beer, wine, and liquor instead of beer and wine or wine and liquor.

The Great Crescent Brewery in stained glass.

Thank Heaven for Beer raves about Sierra Nevada ESB spring seasonal.

Beer Business Daily has an article about The Effect of Mass. Decision on Small Brewers. An appeals court ruled differing laws for breweries depending upon size is unconstitutional. In Indiana, breweries under 20,000bbl (all of them right now) can self-distribute to retailers, have a true brewpub, and sell directly to the consumer (as in growlers, bottles, and kegs).

This may turn into a good thing in disguise since Three Floyds and Upland may soon be bumping up against that 20,000bbl limit. If the powers-that-be-in-granite-buildings realize no BMC breweries are coming back to Indiana they can just take the 20,000bbl limit off.

Sixpack by OOOMS of the Netherlands. ====>

"U.S. beer sales volumes fell 2.2% last year, the highest rate since the 1950s, with demand worsening late in the year in a sign of the pressures on big brewers to make their mergers pay off." Wall Street Journal article

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CDC data for US cities of at least 10,000: (based on the percent of people who say they had at least one drink in the last 30 days.

Wettest Cities Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA Nassau-Suffolk, NY Barnstable Town, MA Burlington-South Burlington, VT Boulder, CO Barre, VT Concord, NH Denver-Aurora, CO Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Fargo, ND-MN Essex County, MA Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, ME Boston-Quincy, MA Worcester, MA (Ranging from 69.4% to 64.3%)

Dryest Cities Provo-Orem, UT (11.7%) Ogden-Clearfield, UT (24.6%) Kingsport-Bristol, TN (27.7%) Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH (28.9%) Idaho Falls, ID (29%) Charleston, WV (32.1%) Tuscaloosa, AL (35.4%) Chattanooga, TN-GA (36%) Okeechobee, FL (36.9%) Memphis, TN (37.4%) Salt Lake City, UT (37.5%) Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC (37.9%) McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX (38.4%) Lake Charles, LA (38.8%) Louisville, KY-IN (40.4%)

Meanwhile, 80% of the online tickets to Winterfest are sold. There are still plenty at most of the brewpubs all over the state. No tickets will be sold at the door. See you Saturday.

Misc News – Jan 23

Senator Sipes from New Albany added his name as a sponsor of the Sunday Growler Bill just before it passed the Senate 41 – 9. Now to the House.

The Anderson Herald Bulletin gets behind Sunday growler sales. article

In South Bend, they say ""It gives kids another day on the weekend, another chance to buy alcohol instead of going to Michigan or wherever it is that they are obtaining alcohol," says Sergeant Regis Thimons of the Saint Joseph County Police Department." article

"Upland Brewing Co. recently received Gold Medal ratings [at the World Beer Championships] for its Badder Elmer's Baltic Porter (92 points) and Teddy Bear Kisses Imperial Stout (90 points). Both are currently on draught in our Bloomington Tap Room and Indy Tasting Room, and later this year, you'll be able to find Teddy Bear Kisses in 22 oz bombers."

If the Colts win the Super Bowl, the day after Bowl will be a day off for Monarch employees. article.

The BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse chain donated $521,000 to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. press release

For Indy folks, Trader Joes Vintage Ale 2009 is again from Unibroue. Read about it at Thank Heaven for Beer.  Cloves "Overall, This is a good beer for the money.  I might still pay the $7.99 or $8.99 that is more typical of Unibroue offerings.  I’d still drink Trois Pistoles, La Fin Da Monde, Maudite, Terrible, Seigneriale, and Chambly Noir over this one any day of the week.  However, it’s good for the price."

Avery to start canning in April.

There are over 3,400 beers entered in the World Beer Cup – They have 183 judges lined up. article

Misc News – Jan 20

Fountain Square (Indy) news: Deano’s Vinos is now Naptown Juice Restaurant & Wine Bar.

Martin Brungard tells us about Sun King Amarillo the Warrior Princess from the tapping at Binkley's Kitchen & Bar:

As you might surmise from the odd name of this beer, it is hopped with Amarillo and Warrior hops.  It turns out that this is an Imperial IPA with a whopping 9% abv.  The surprising thing was that the alcohol was very muted and unnoticeable.  But, the hop aroma was incredible and pronounced without being grassy.

These hops give the beer a strong American hop character that was less citrusy and softer than the typical Cascade hopping result.  I really enjoyed the hop favor and aroma.  If you've sampled Boulevard Pale Ale from Kansas City, you'll recognize the Warrior character.

The bittering was reported to be 90 IBU.  But since the iso-alpha solubility limit in wort is about 80 ppm (IBU), this big beer ends up fairly balanced.  In many respects, this beer is similar to Bell's Two-Hearted Ale in that it is big, hoppy, but with relatively balanced bittering for an IPA.  Two-Hearted is much more a Cascade focused beer though.

The malt character of the Princess was appropriately nearly one-dimensional.  I find that highly hopped PA's and IPA's do better when their malt character is not too multi-dimensional since that competes and interferes with the hop perceptions.

The body was not too heavy even though it is a big beer.  Its big enough to please, but not big enough to indicate the wollop that this beer packs.  This beer is a real sleeper in that you won't recognize the danger you're in while you're drinking it.  Additionally, the flavor is going to invite you to have another.  That's where the danger lies and the flight into inebriation could await those who don't heed the very faint warnings of this outstanding beer.

You'll need to make a point to visit a bar with this on tap!

 

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Mr. Centlivre, proprietor of the French brewery, while he has a good business and is generally prosperous, feels that Fort Wayne people, especially all the business men, should be more liberal in their patronage, and especially more generous in their comments of a home industry which brings so much money to the town.

Mr. Centlivre pays, on an average, twelve hundred dollars per month to the government in the shape of taxes, and employs a large number of men, who must necessarily spend their money here. Mr. Centlivre makes a quality of beer equal to any of the brands imported from outside cities, and it would be a credit to the city for the people to call for it in preference to any other, in order to give encouragement to a worthy home enterprise. Mr. Centliver has been in business here for many years and has proven himself to be a good and very enterprising citizen.

We are not urging the consumption of beer, but so long as people will drink it they should use the article, which is made at home.

Fort Wayne Daily Gazette - August 10,1881.

Winterfest News

The Preliminary Winterfest Program is online in pdf form for your perusal.

Just in time for out-of-town Winterfest visitors, the Beer Geeks compile Where to Drink - Great Beer, Bars, and Brewpubs in Indianapolis (Downtown, Mass Ave, and Fountain Square). We bet parts 2, 3, and 4 aren't far behind.

Also for visitors: We've had problems finding a hotel with a shuttle to the fairgrounds. Actually no luck at all. But we have a good alternative from Martina Findley of

Comfort Inn & Suites by the Pyramids
9090 Wesleyan Road
I-465 and US 421
317-875-7676

Standard room (1 or 2 beds): $55 +tax
Reservations must be made by phone for this rate
Rate Code: "Winterfest"

No shuttle but they will coordinate cab vans (seat 6) to go to and from the Fairgrounds at about $60 both ways. Leave Comfort Inn at 2:00pm. Leave Fairgrounds at 7:15pm.

Note the Winterfest will open the doors at 2:00 2:30pm but everyone will be roped off from the beer until 3:00pm.

The Comfort Inn also has storage space for distributors and completely expect the breakfast room to be filled with empty tasting bottles if the Ratebeerians and Advocates show up. Save room for me.

Misc News – Jan 18

There's a rumor afoot that puts a shudder into Highland's Liquor Stop. Stone will move into Illinois soon.

Indiana will soon see Eel River's organic beers IPA, Amber, more.

White Labs – Big QC Day is coming up. Brewers, check your counts. Order kits by Feb 4. Some results from last year.

Briess Seasonal Malts. If seasonal beers need seasonal malts, try Caracrystal Wheat Malt during Jan/Feb/Mar.

Stan Hieronymus' A short history of Jackson’s ‘world classics’. "In the course of seven guides, 19 beers earned a top rating every time: Pilsner Urquell, Jever Pilsner, Zum Uerige Altbier, Paulaner Salvator, Schlenkerla Märzen, Duvel ,Rodenbach Grand Cru ,Westmalle Tripel, Chimay Blue, Orval, Brakspear Bitter, Courage Imperial Russian Stout, Fuller’s ESB, Marston’s Pedigree, Thomas Hardy’s Ale, Traquair House, Guinness Extra Stout, Anchor Steam, Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus."

In Tacoma you get a pint of beer for a pint of blood. There's an idea for Winterfest. article 

In Singapore women get free beers – one to three for A- to C-cups. A bottle of vodka for D-cups. That should end well. article

This last item isn't about beer but about something that will affect us all. Indiana Lawmakers Push Freeway Speed Cameras. They plan to let construction companies issue automated $300 tickets at their leisure. We have to stop this before it gets legs. The ticketing company who will profit from this has given bribes of $40,500 to Mitch Daniels and $16,500 more to the congresscritters. The sponsor of this piece of crap is no Friend of mine.

Fort Wayne Upcoming Events

Mark your calendar for the following events:

1. Belmont Beverage (Lima Road) will have a free beer tasting this Thursday, the 21st, from 4p.m.-6p.m. pouring numerous Bell's beers.
2. Brewfest 2010 will be held downtown at the Masonic Temple (216 E. Washington) on Saturday, March 20th, from 2p.m.-6p.m. The cost is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. There will also be a homebrew competition. The website for this event is: http://www.brewfestfortwayne.com/. More details will be forthcoming as they are made available.
3. Granite City Food and Brewery will have a Mug Club party on Monday, January 25th, from 5p.m.-7:30p.m. for the tapping of McK's Scottish Ale.

Legalities and other Misc News – Jan 15

Senate Bill 75 (Sunday growler sales) got out of committee with a 9 to 2 vote.

AP: "Even if the bill clears the Senate, its chances of passing the House aren't good.

Some lawmakers worry the bill could be amended to include Sunday carryout sales from other venues or to expand takeout cold beer sales to places other than liquor stores and certain bars. Sen. Phil Boots, R-Crawfordsville, has filed a bill that would allow those changes.

Alting said he will not give Boots' bill a hearing, and he vowed to kill the microbrewery bill if it is amended with such changes.

But Democratic Rep. Trent Van Haaften, chairman of the House Public Policy Committee, has still expressed concerns that Alting's bill could become a catalyst for more sweeping changes in alcohol sales. Alting's bill likely would be assigned to Van Haaften's committee if it passed the Senate."

Meanwhile in a House committee for consideration: Drop dry election days. Extend bar closing on Monday mornings to 3am.

The IABR (liquor stores) are trying to stop or stall a bunch of beer permits the ATC is ready to issue. 97 for Walgreens stores, for instance. article

Resurrecting Sunday Sales Aim Of New ID Push says Channel 6.

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Hopcast interviews Three Floyds Brewing. Lincoln Anderson says they hope to grow 25%. Moving into Kentucky. Gumballhead is tied with Alpha King for sales leader. 16 minute video.

Bob Mack tells us about World Class Beverages' New Beer Releases in Indiana.

Hoosier Beer Geek: Bacon!

John Hickenlooper is running for Governor of Colorado. He's the mayor of Denver and founder of the Wynkoop Brewery.

Misc News – Jan 12

Convenience Stores to Verify Ages of All Alcohol Buyers. The Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association (IPCA) is asking for voluntary checking by their members. Have signed up 450 stores. Mostly to support SB 189 which contains Sunday sales and convenience store cold sales.

HBG's survey says the opening of Sun King was the "favorite Indiana craft beer development of 2009". So here's The Rise of Sun King by Mike.

Tastes:

• Broad Ripple Brewpub Hopcicle – Summit APA dry hopped with more summit. Lots of base, lots of alcohol, and lots of summitness. 7.7%.
• Broad Ripple Brewpub Wee Alec Scottish Ale – Kevin's annual December present for the regulars. On the handpull. Creamy head, creamy mouthfeel, creamy malt chocolate caramel sweet balanced creaminess. Thins a bit when warmer. 7.7%
• Rock Bottom, 86th St, Indy Trippel Trouble - It's back this year with all the cotton-candy finish that made it the 2008 Indiana State Fair Gold Medal winning Belgian Strong Ale. 8.4%

Take note the Downtown and North Rock Bottom's will no longer have their tappings on the same night. North is moving to Wednesdays.

Ram has half price growlers all month.

New Albanian's Poor Richard's Ale "Old Lightning Rod" Colonial Strong Ale debuts Sunday, January 17 at the Bank Street Brewhouse. Just in time for Ben's 304th birthday.

The C1 – a collaboration of NABC, Schlafly, and O'Fallon's will be tapped at the Bank Street Brewhouse on Thurs, Jan 21. At the Public House on Fri, Jan 22. And a little bit will come north to the Winterfest.

Good Grief. New Albanian has Lots of stuff going on in January.

Bill Watch: Evansville: IN lawmakers consider approving the sale of some Sunday beer.

Heineken is going to buy FEMSA's beer business. Mexico's second-larges brewer (after Grupo Modelo – Corona) makes Dos Equis and Tecate. No big deal for us since Heineken was already the importer for FEMSA.

Misc News – Jan 11

Education: BeerMBA. Fishers. Ron Smith's 3-part classes.

On Saturdays, Jan 23rd, Feb 6th, Feb 13th
And on Fridays, Feb 12th, 19th, 26th

Roger Baylor tells us "Through the kind offices of Indiana University’s Southeast’s Division of Continuing Studies, there’ll be two offerings of my non-credit beer education class during the spring semester of 2010. The first time we held the class in the spring of 2009, I was inspired to write about it: Beer class tonight.

The 2010 listings are now posted at IUS's web site, where you can register and pay for the course. The price is $65, which includes my time and tales, the venue and numerous beer samples."

1st session: February: 3, 10, 17, and 24 (all Wednesdays)
2nd session: April 7, 14, 21, and 28 (all Wednesdays)
Times: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Location: NABC Pizzeria & Public House

NABC has also posted the preliminary list for Gravity Head 2010, beginning Friday, February 26. 8 to 18 percent. Heck, the lightest is Harviestour Ola Dubh Special 18 Reserve 2008. On Tap!

Bee Creek Brewery now has a 4-head Meheen bottling line from Lake Louie Brewing in Wisconsin so we can get more Hoosier Honey Wheat – and soon Clay County Coffee Stout. See it in action on their web site. The welded-up vessel behind it is a homemade 30bbl fermenter. Their major outlet has become Baesler's Market in Terre Haute.

The Courier-Journal has a good essay on why the growler bill may not pass. Legislature to look at alcohol law changes.

This from Paul Edwards:

"According to an article in the Indy Star, Veolia (the Indianapolis Water Company)will be adding additional chlorine to the city water supply as part of an annual disinfection maintenance effort, This will go on until early March or so. So if you use tap water for your brewing, make sure you either use activated charcoal filtering or something like Campden tablets to remove the chlorine. You ought to be doing this anyway. I'll be stopping by the hardware store for a new filter cartridge for my filter. One Campden tablet will bind up the chlorine or chloramine in 20 gallons of water."

Out but probably not headed to Indiana: Mikkeller 1000 IBU. Not a typo.

An even stranger style: Proefbrouwerij Witte Noire – not a black Wit, an Imperial Amber Wheat Ale. a little info

And even stranger: Guy Ritchie in brewery plan.

Misc News – Jan 8

Great Crescent Brewery is moving to 315 Importing Street in Aurora this spring. That's at the corner of Mechanic and Importing Streets in a building built in the 1840s as the J. W. Gaff distillery. The new 9,000 sq ft space will offer beer by the glass, thus becoming a brewpub. An expansion of the brewery will follow.

Dan Valas explains, "Since opening the brewery in November, 2008 in downtown Aurora, we have experienced steady growth. Lani and I believe the opportunity to obtain this building and stay in the downtown area is a terrific benefit for us and the city of Aurora. There is something unique about having a brewery close to the customers. As we continue to develop a growing consumer base we really appreciate interacting with the customers and it continually rededicates us to provide the best experience possible. Our goal is to become a 'local favorite' and we will accomplish that by continuing to provide fresh, high quality, hand-crafted beer."

Going to be a busy week for tappings and tastings:

• Wed: Three Floyds night at Rocky's Sub Pub, Jeffersonville. 4-7pm. On draft: Gumballhead, Dreadnaught, Robert the Bruce, Pride and Joy, Alpha King, Alpha Klaus, Broo Doo, Moloko,Ham on Rye, Großer Kurfürst, and hopefully Alpha King on a beer engine. Bottles: Behemoth, Black Sun Stout, Gorch Foch, Dreadnaught, Pride and Joy, and Alpha King. Do they have any idea what those do to my spell-checker?
• Wed: A firkin of Bell's Expedition. Plus the Indiana release of Bell's Hopslam. Intrigued? It's at Barley Island, Broad Ripple, Jan 13. 6-9pm.
• Thurs: Tapping of Baltic Porter. Both Indy Rock Bottoms, 6pm
• Thurs: Sun King Amarillo the Princess Warrior IPA tapping at Binkley's Kitchen. 7:30pm
• Plus the regular liquor store tastings all over the state. Find them here.

Some tastes:

• Alcatraz Super Sledgehammer – A 7.4% earthy Imperial Saison. Or sort of. Not yet carbonated. Will go on tap next week.
• Brugge Dementia, A Farmhouse Tale – Dark Saison.
• Brugge Thunder Monkey – Spiced ale for the season. Doesn't get old. While the snow still falls.
• Sun King Crab Apple Wit – Made with fresh hand-pressed crab apple juice, and that ain't easy to do. 5.6%.

Sun King's Amber is replacing Warbird's at the Rathskeller in Indy. It's unveiled tonight at 7:30. Band at 8.

Watch a 120bbl tank being delivered to Three Floyds. Pictures

Drie Fonteinen to Stop Brewing, Keep Blending, Start Distilling.

Misc News – Jan 7

Mike noticed it first. Dark Lord Day is April 24th.

Some tastes:

• New Albanian Naughty Claus – Candi sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and rose hips. You get the idea. 7%.
• New Albanian Tafelbier – Belgian table beer. A mild of Belgian Wits. More Belgiany with more wheat malt and less total effect.
• Power House Jack the Bum Pale Ale – American ESB. Uses the hop bill of Diesel Oil Stout. The "mildly hoppy" on the beer menu is an adequate statement to say the least.
• Ram Double IPA - Adrian's creation for their 888th batch (or close enough). 88 IBU, 8.8%. Dry hopped twice. Smooth finish on this hop bomb.
• Ram Winter Wit – Milky opaque, just this side of chunky. Beautiful foamy white head. The presentation of this beer looked like one of those expensive candles with a bright orange color and a meringue topping. Big orange coriander citric. An Imperial Wit or Grand Cru with a long sweet finish. Jon likes it with a shot of Grand Marnier.
• Upland Badder Elmers Porter – Dark cordovan, almost translucent but bright and clear. A step towards maybe a Baltic Porter. Very smooth and sneak-up-on-you drinkable.

Top 10 Fictional Beers. "Given that Strange Brew is the greatest beer movie ever made (though I still hesitate to actually call it a “good” movie)". Don't miss his Complete list.

Pete Brown is giving away a trip to Budvar. 1) Write the best 1000 words on "Why Beer Matters". 2) Get yourself to London or Prague in the spring. Ready, Set, Go.

Misc News – Jan 5

"On Wed. Jan 13th Rocky's Sub Pub on the river in Jeffersonville, IN will host the best display of beer from the best brewery in the state. On draft: Gumballhead, Dreadknaught, Robert the Bruce, Pride and Joy, Alpha King, Alpha Klaus, Broo Doo, Moloko,Ham on Rye, Großer Kurfürst, and hopefully Alpha King on a beer engine. Bottles: Behemoth, Black Sun Stout, Gorch Foch, Dreadnaught, Pride and Joy, and Alpha King. Lincoln Anderson from 3 Floyds will be down for the event to talk about some of these great craft brews. It should be a great night, hope you can join us."

Should we wait for NBA season to unveil our new logo?

The Hoosier Beer Geek 2009 End of Year Readers Survey: RESULTS.

Here's the 2010 release schedule for Dogfish Head.

Don't stare at Left Hand's new JuJu Ginger Ale label. It's moving to seasonal ale status this year and will be out in Feb.

Predictions for 2010 and the Next Decade from Beer Business Daily. Interesting. Beer is heavy, other beverage packaging is much lighter. 7-Eleven to private label but with troubles. Stuff like that.

Got 5 minutes? Here's a diatribe on the Abt/Quad style.

Over in Europe Guinness announced a 5% price hike and Heineken a 4% hike.

Misc News – Jan 4

Roger has cooked up another festival down at the New Albanian Public House. This one is for NABC beers. Starting this Friday (Jan 8) the taps will pour the regulars plus a selection of seasonals and specials from the vaults. The selection will change daily (actually hourly) through the next couple of weeks.

Regulars: Abzug Beak's Best Bob's Old 15-B Community Dark Elector Hoptimus Kaiser 2nd Reising Mt. Lee Tafelbier Tunnel Vision Possibles: Dry Knobs Dubbel Nugget APA Smoked Abzug

Seasonals: Anniversary Ale V., Oak Aged, '07 Anniversary Ale VII., '09 ConeSmoker Le Douche Mental ELI Elsa Von Horizon Farmhouse Saison Jenever Malcolm’s Old Setter's Ale, '09 Naughty Claus Phoenix Kentucky Kommon Solidarity '09 Sour Red Strathpeffer ThunderFoot '09 WeeFoot Session Stout

Reviews of  BrewDog's 32% Tactical Nuclear Penguin. Brewdog Paradox (10%) which was aged for 9 months in a Spayside cask then 9 months in a Smokehead cask, then taken to an ice cream factory and frozen over the course of 2 weeks, then the non frozen liquid was drained off. Your basic Barrel-aged Eis Imperial Stout.

Ratebeer – BeerAdvocate - Jay Brooks

The British News: 

Headline of the day - Customers stuck at England's highest pub. Nothing like a 3-day New Years Eve party.

Another headline of the day - Pints for 99p at Wetherspoon pub sale. Jan 4 – 18. Greene King Ruddles. Yep, 20oz pints.

Some folks in London organized a beer festival last September. The ticket sales weren't very good an they cancelled the event 2 weeks beforehand. Loss = £926,765. Yep, they owe $1.5M. article

Sunday Sales Slips Into the Senate

HORRAY. It's in. Introduced Version, Senate Bill 0120. Put into play by Sens. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette and Vi Simpson of Bloomington. Thanks Ron. It'll go to the Committee on Commerce and Public Policy & Interstate Cooperation instead of the Trent Van Haaften's Public Policy committee (he's against the bill).

Synopsis: Sunday sales for microbreweries. Allows a microbrewery to sell the brewery's beer for carryout on Sunday. It adds the bold text below:

(7) The holder of a brewer's permit or an out-of-state brewer holding either a primary source of supply permit or an out-of-state brewer's permit may do the following:

(5) If the brewer's brewery manufactures not more than twenty thousand (20,000) barrels of beer in a calendar year, do the following:

(I) Sell the brewery's beer as authorized by this section for carryout on Sunday in a quantity at any one (1) time of not more than one-quarter (1/4) barrel, but the beer may be contained in bottles or other permissible containers.

If it passes - on Sundays, growlers and (for all practical purposes) 1/6th bbl kegs will be able to be sold at brewpubs and production brewery tasting rooms (Sun King, Back Road, Crown, Great Crescent, Figure 8, Peoples). Also at satellite pubs owned by the brewery (Mishawaka, Mad Anthony, Ram, Upland, Barley Island, Turoni's).

The out-of-state clause allows BJ's and Granite City in on the action.

The Fiscal Impact Statement prepared for this bill says "To the extent that this bill increases alcoholic beverage sales, collections of alcoholic beverage excise taxes could increase. Any impact on Sales Tax revenue is expected to be minimal since any additional purchases of alcohol would likely reduce consumer spending on other sales taxable items."

Contact your Congresscritter.

Article in the Bloomington HeraldTimes. Article in Indy.com.

Misc News – Jan 2

LaPorte county gives a Recognition of Service Excellence award monthly to the "front-line staff that has shown exceptional customer service". Shoreline's servers won it 5 times in 2009. Katie Schaefer (Jan & Mar), James Knight (April), Sheila Burroughs (Aug), and Dave Cunningham (Oct). article

New Albanian gets ink in The Courier-Journal. Including a picture of a guy in a tie.

Upland is officially looking for a sales rep in Milwaukee. memo

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"Barley Island Brewing Company has acquired and installed 2 more 20 barrel fermenters for increasing our brewing capacity in 2010.  The used Specific Mechanical fermentation tanks came out of the Northwest are in great working condition.

Long time Brewmaster Jon Lang has resigned from Barley Island in order to pursue other career interests.  We thank Jon for his 8 years of brewing excellence and wish him well in his future endeavors.  Assistant Brewer Mike Hess has been promoted to Brewmaster.  Mike will continue his brewing and packaging duties."

Happy Holidays and Cheers,
Jeff Eaton

Jon and Mike (Photos courtesy Mark Schiess)

 

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Penn Brewery is open again. The first beers after the meltdown are Penn Pilsner and a Pale Ale. An Ale. Heresy. article