Misc News – July 30 – August calendar marking time

August Tappings. Take that calendar down, turn the page, and mark it up. No doubt there will be more announced later. You'll find them on the IndianaBeer Calendar

Oaken Barrel won best brewery again at the Brewers Cup and they will be tapping some of their award winners at Oaken Barrel on Monday, Aug 2nd. 6pm.

Andrew and Skip have been busy and The Ram has three new beers coming out this month. Aug 3rd will see Primal Porter – right in the middle of Gen Con. Aug 10th it's the ReplicAle Munich Dunkle – just one keg and that one at the Fishers restaurant. Aug 18th they will tap Aries American Wheat.

Aug 3rd is Roger Baylor's 50th birthday and there will be a Tapping of Ancient Rage Smoked Baltic Porter at New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse.

Happy Pils is Rock Bottom's monthly style. Liz will tap at 86th St. on Wed, Aug 11. Jerry will tap his downtown on Thurs, Aug 12.

Lafayette Brewing's Oatis Brown will tap on Sat, Aug 21st.

 

Southwesterners: Don't forget Strassenfest in Jasper. It's August 5th through Sunday the 8th.

Indianoplaceians: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Festive Ale is Sat, Aug 21. 4-8pm. 200 S. Meridian. Indy. $40/$50.

The Hoosier Beer Geeks 4th mini-fest called HBG4 is August 28th at Sun King. 6pm. $32 tickets are only available online.

Oh, there's more:

• Mad Anthony BBQ and Brew on Broadway with a tapping of Cask Conditioned Double Dry Hopped IPA is tonight at 5pm in Fort Wayne.
• Sat, Aug 7 - Hospice at Home Wine and Beer Tasting. South Beach (St. Joseph), MI. $40. 6-9pm
• Sat, Aug 7 - True Brew book signing. New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse. 4pm+
• Thurs, Aug 12 - Cider Tasting. Big Red Liquors, Bloomington. 6-8pm
• Sat/Sun Aug 14/15 - Tour de Upland. Cycling, beer, and music in Nashville.
• Sat, Aug 21 - Chicago Gourmet Beer Tasting. Berfhoff Restaurant. For Pints for Prostates. 5:30-8:30pm. $50.

Misc News – July 29

Lafayette Brewing will have another batch of I Am An American IPA out next week. On Aug 21 Oatis Brown will be tapped. "Brewed with plenty of pale, crystal, carapils and chocolate malts along with rolled oats to create a deliciously pumped-up brown ale.  Malty smooth with a subtle hop balance."

Scott Bort likes Figure 8 Where Lizards Dare IPA.

John Ryan tells about the Tribes Alehouse's Ultimate Beer Bout between Three Floyds and Stone.

Eric Strader tells us 3F Ice Grille 8% Dubbel and Founders Devil Dancer are coming online at Fiddler's Hearth in South Bend.

New Albanian will reprise their bottled beer sale at the Public House. Aug 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11. The last time they cleaned out the basement it was pretty spectacular. This time it they will have – well, click the link for the complete list. Here's some you haven't hear of before:

Alvinne Cuvee Freddy 2009, Alvninne Melchior Calvados Barrel, BFM Bon Chien Grand Cru Vin Jaune, Mirrifico Nora, Dubuisson Scaldis Refermentee, Geants Goliath, Mikkeller Big Worse Barley Wine, Olfabrikken Winter Porter, Pietra Corsican Chestnut Ale, The Bruery Mischief, Thornbridge St. Petersburg.

Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout was recently served at the famous White Horse in Parsons Green for $18 a pint. article

Is Brouwerij Het 't Koelship's Start the Future, at 60% ABV beer or does it have distilled spirits mixed in. We'll probably find out sometime. article

Misc News, July 28

Omar's new American Stout at Alcatraz has 60 IBU and, although hidden in the aroma, tastes like it. Are hoppy Stouts the new thing? Google returns 8.680 hits for "hoppy stout" and many of them are for brew kits and homebrew recipes.

Don't forget Replicales are still on tap around the state. Doesn't look like there will be a Replic-off this year. Sigh.

HBG consolidates the known details of the 5 upcoming Indy breweries.

The Indy Star interviews Cicerone Cari Crowe

The Lafayette Journal Courier was at the True Brew signing along with the THC and took lots of pictures.

New Albanian's third collaboration with Schlafly and O'Fallon will be C3 English Mild. Marris Otter. Citra hops. It's brewed and getting up to 4% ABV. article

Latest ID letter:

"At the checkout counter my husband paid with our credit card and he was asked to show his driver’s license because he had a case of beer.

I was then informed that because I was shopping with him, I had to show my ID, which I hadn’t brought into the store.

I was informed that anyone that is with the person shopping has to have ID because they are with the buyer.

It doesn’t matter how old you are, you must have ID. (What about children, are they supposed to show their ID when they are shopping with their parents? When will they receive their card, at birth?)" letter

BrewDog responds to the critics about their End of History.

Penn Brewery is going to start bottling again next week. article

Victory Brewing in Downingtown, PA is expanding to 100,000 bbls capacity. article

Pyramid and Magic Hat look to be the next stepchildren in the InBev family. article

Bubbly beer blasts Vernon, B.C., brewery. "A small crack in a fermentation vat at the Okanagan Springs Brewery in Vernon, B.C., may be to blame for a creamy beer bomb that blew more than 32-thousand litres of fermented foam across a downtown street." "Nothing like this has happened here before," said Zurowski."

The American Institute of Philanthropy has downrated MADD to a D rating. From the numbers presented, they spend most of their money on fundraising, $30 million on salaries, and just a third on propaganda. I guess we can be heartened by that. article

Misc News – July 22

Black Acre Brewing Co. is a homebrewer operation in Indy headed by Justin Miller. They are looking for investment money to buy a 1-bbl system to start up a commercial brewery with a goal of $8,000. So far they are at $48.95.

Scott Bort reviews Figure 8's Where Lizards Dare. This one could become a long-term favorite.

New beers from Cavalier: Boulder Kinda Blue American Blueberry Wheat; Clipper City Hang Ten Weizen Dopplebock; Great Divide 16th Anniversary Wood-aged IIPA and Double Wit; (all 22oz) - Williams Bros Session Ale, Wee Heavy, Joker IPA, and Midnight Sun Porter (all 16.9oz) - Mad River Mad Belgian Golden Strong Ale; Two Brothers Oak-aged Resistance IPA and Long Haul Oak-aged Session Ale.

A look inside Allagash's barrel room.

City Brewing owns Latrobe and is going to get $7.8M from PA to expand the plant. article

Zero calorie beer? Possible? Flavoring, carbonation, foam enhancer, and synthetic alcohol. "Researchers at Imperial College London, in England, are working on it now, using chemicals related to the anti-anxiety drug Valium. The substance has the same impact on the brain as alcohol, according to reports that say it provides "a feeling of well-being and relaxation." Didn't Start Trek do this?

BrewDog's 55% ABV End of Time has been officially announced. When they said "stuffed animal" they meant road kill, not a plushy toy. Seriously. Road kill. That picture to the right is from their web site. There are 11 bottles available and judging by the comments it may be good they didn't make an entire case. This is taking "it's not normal" to a whole new level. A $762 new level.

 

Misc News – July 21

Three Floyds and Revolution Brewing of Chicago are collaborating on a Russian Imperial Stout and a "small stout" from the second runnings at about 1040 OG – down from the RIS's 1112. They will be named Sodom and Gomorrah and will be on tap at both brewpubs in late August.

Congratulations to Chip Lewis of Elkhart for winning both First and Second at the The Acorn Theater's first homebrew contest. His Scotch Ale was first and Mexican Lager was second. Chris Johnson of Granger was Third with an American IPA, giving Indiana a hat trick in this Three Oaks, Michigan, competition. Looks like they may hold this contest twice a year. article

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The Prime Minister and US President swapped beers at the G20 Summit in Toronto, Canada. Cameron was given a bottle of Chicago's Goose Island 312. The exchange followed a bet made between the two leaders about the outcome of England versus USA in the World Cup — it was a draw so both paid up.

Obama said he had drunk the Hobgoblin ale, brewed by Marston's owned Wychwood, cold. "We have just concluded some excellent discussions, including whether the beers from our hometowns that we exchanged are best served warm or cold," he said.

Cameron said he drank the Goose Island 312 while watching the World Cup. "I enjoyed it so much that when I watched Germany beat Argentina, I actually cheered for Germany," Cameron said.  "That's something that's a big admission for a British person to make, so the beer is obviously very effective."

(From today's Morning Advertiser)

BrewDog has hinted at a 55% ABV Belgian Blond called The End of History. They will make 12 bottles and sell them for £500 each. 'nuff said. No not quite. Each will be packaged inside a stuffed animal. wha?

NPR finds out about Dogfish Head Jiahu.

There are still 328 dry counties in the U.S. 44 of these are in Kentucky.

Possible hoppy beer names:

Bar Hop BarbersHop (etc. etc.) Bell Hop Bishop Bob Hope Bunny Hop Car Hop Cape of Good Hope CHop Suey CHopin CHopper CHopstick Clod Hopper Dennis Hopper Edward Hopper Grasshopper

Hedgehopper High Hopes Hip Hop Hop Aboard Hopalong Cassidy Hop into Bed Hop to the Left     (and then a step to the right) Hop On Hop a Plane Hop on Pop Hop a Ride Hop Scotch Hop Sing Hop, Skip, and Jump Hop Toad

Hop To It Hop the Train Hope against Hope Hopeful Hopi Pueblo Hopped up Hopping Mad Job Hop John Hopkins Lick your Chops Moot the Hopple PsycHOPathic Sock Hop Too Hop to handle Whop Upside the Head

Misc News – July 20

Things we heard at the Festival:

We're told a new brewery is in the planning stages for the Fountain Square area of Indianapolis. Brownfield Brewing Co. has a website and a logo that says "local, sustainable, organic. 500-mile distribution, green, all-natural, LEED certified, employee owned" but not much else is known yet.

Jason Male has joined New Boswell. His title is Brewing Consultant. Picture in the Microbrewers Festival post.

Back Road's Fall Festival is scheduled for September 18th this year. The Ein Prosit band and the Alpenhorngruppe will be back again. Nothing better than 7 alpenhorns playing Amazing Grace while sipping a Crown Octoberfest bier. pictures from last year

Three Floyds has a 3 minute video up of the Dark Lord tapping at the Festival. I count 6 intelligible words.

John Mills took his Indiana State Fair Brewers Cup Best of Show cup on vacation with him and has a picture with Gambrinus at the City Brewery in LaCrosse, WI. He'll be brewing his How Now Brown Cow with Kevin Matalucci at Broad Ripple Brewpub later this year.

Do not do this: "Indiana State Excise Police allege the Stewarts in March charged a $5 entry fee to enter and consume beer from a self-service keg" in Union City, IN, north of Richmond. They are facing both misdemeanor (no permit) and felony (maintaining a common nuisance) charges. article

Our dog days of summer picture of the day

2010 Microbrewers Festival Recap

Once again the Brewers Guild of Indiana pulled it off. 4,900 attendees plus 300 designated drivers, 100 volunteers, 200 brewers and pourers, and 100 other vendors descended on the old ballfield augmented by the western part of the Arts Center in the Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis last Saturday to celebrate beer. They tasted about 350 different beers on offer, played games, drank lots of water, sat in the shade, listened to the Healing Sixes, and generally had 5 hours of fun.

Kudos to main man Jason Larrison and the rest of the Hoosier Beer Geeks for doing 90% of the organization. They were everywhere and seemed to have everything that could happen taken into account beforehand.

Kudos for the small touches like John Hill providing some returned tickets to late-comers who didn't realize all tickets were pre-sale. He kept these very few from being disappointed and even golf-carted some designated drivers to the correct entrance.

Kudos for having enough port-a-potties finally. The 90° day and double last year's count did help – there were virtually no lines there at all.

Kudos for the extra space across the street and down to White River. This allowed an increase of 16% in the number of tickets and a corresponding increase in the money raised for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Kudos to the Healing Sixes for providing great non-formula rock down by the water to the very small group of people that ventured that far.

Kudos to all the Indiana breweries that brought enough beer. Most had kegs floating at the end.

Kudos to the other friendly breweries that brought beer to share from surrounding states and beyond: Atwater Block, Bell's, Boulevard, Bluegrass Brewing (Main Street and the Brewpub), Dark Horse, Founders, Goose Island, Gordon Biersch, Hoppin' Frog, Schlafly, Victory, and more.

Kudos to Cavalier Distributors and World Class Beverages for facilitating those other friendly breweries and filling two massive tents with more bottled beer from Avery, Boulder, Brooklyn, Dogfish Head, Lost Coast, Mad River, Magic Hat, New Belgium, North Coast, Ommegang, Rogue, Southampton, and more.

Kudos to World Class Beverages again for reprising the Hopapalooza tent with goodies like Double Dog, Double Crooked Tree, Double Dead Guy, Double Wide IPA, Hell Hath No Fury, Homewrecker, Hop Wallop, Leviathan, 90 Minute IPA and more.

Kudos to all the workers and friends of Cavalier, World Class, etc. who poured beer in their tents with gobs of people blocking all the air flow. They had the hottest jobs.

Kudos to all the volunteers that took tickets, gave out water to designated drivers, ran the barrel toss, delivered ice, and did everything else that made the festival work seamlessly.

Kudos to World Class Beverages and Crown Liquors for being major sponsors. Not only will their financial support add directly to the LLS income, the time Bob Mack, Jim Schembre, and Mike Sprinkle spent on the Festival's behalf was surely invaluable.

Kudos to the rain which held off until afterwards. No so much kudos to the temperature though.

Kudos to all the attendees. We saw only one frat-boy type who lubed up beforehand – he tried some pull-ups on a tent support but was quieted down quickly by his companions. The 7pm closing was painless with no one begging for more.

All in all, there were very very few complaints from anyone. The bus driver who brought 47 people from the Louisville/New Albany environs did complain about having to empty the dump tank twice on the way up.

(We usually post everything up front but we have a lot of PICTURES that would clog up your RSS feeds. To see them continue to "Read more >>". It's worth it.)

 

Relax, have a beer, and Read More >>

Misc News – July 17

Flat 12 Bierwerks gets ink in the Indianapolis Star. Flat 13 gets weird ink at WTHR.

True Brew gets ink in the Anderson Herald Bulletin.

Bill Ballinger gets ink in the Shelbyville News for his repeat as Homebrewer of the Year. Front page coverage no less.

Eric Strader tells us some Founder's Black Biscuit is on tap at the Fiddler's Hearth in South Bend.

Here's Scott Bort's Northwest Roundup featuring Figure 8 and a short requiem for Brickworks.

A bit more about TailGate Beer. It seems owner Wesley Keegan is a 24-year old guy who fresh out of college. With supposedly four employees,; a bunch of hype; good imagination; the ability to write a press release; and 419 Facebook friends. His beer, contract brewed by Airdale Brewing, the Bayhawk brewpub in Irvine, or Skyscraper Brewing of El Monte, is in about 40 pubs in the area and the local Whole Foods.

And Franklin, IN, is thinking about giving him somewhat around $4M to move his brewery. He doesn't even have a brewery. A total of 24 reviews on RateBeer (averaging 2.94) and 4 on Beer Advocate (averaging C) aren't even encouraging. The Hefe and Amber did score in the 30's (BJCP judging) at the California State Fair – the Brown and Blonde scored in the high 20s.

Now he's billing the city of Franklin $107,000 for wasting HIS time. Someone needs to give the Franklin Redevelopment Commission a quick course in reality.

More about Tailgate at IndianaBeer

Oregon Homebrewing Mess Explained, well sort of.

Here's video from the Moscow Beer Festival.

Misc News – July 15

Rock Bottom's press release about Liz, Jerry, Tim, and Iain's medals at the State Fair gets ink all the way north in British Columbia.

Remember the TailGate brewery story about them opening a big production brewery in Franklin? First it was a $1,950,000 in grants and $2,300,000 to renovate a building. Then it was "At least one commission member questioned whether the city should be providing funding to the brewer without having seen a business plan or other financial documents." Now it seems to be off – or at least put off. Not only hasn't the San Diego company provided their documentation they've "billed the city nearly $107,000 for travel and accounting expenses as well as lost business." article

Sun King has label approval for a generic beer can. They can then add a second stick-on label to produce cans of seasonal products. They may be the first of many breweries to do this as it does away with the extraordinary price that must be paid to order small batches of printed cans.

Chris Pollard has been hosting Belgian Beer Tours for 15 years. Now he's adding battlefields with beer connections. article

The Michigan Summer Beer Festival is offering guided tours. Cool idea.

Brit News:

Donnington Brewery (right) near Stow on the Wold found a recipe for a beer made in 1865 so they did it again as Founders Ale. 4% with Styrian hops.

Bass has declined from 2M bbls to just 100,000 bbls per year and ABInBev has the brand up for sale. £10-£15M is expected. Boddingtons and Flowers may follow as as ABInBev tries to strip itself of merger debts.

PitStop Brewery claims their The Hop beer (8% ABV) has 323 IBU from "Simcoe, Centennial, Chinook, and extract Isolone". article

The Otley Brewery in Wales is selling Thai bO beer with lime leaf, galangal, and lemongrass.

 

Great Fermentations passes this on but Do NOT try it with a beer for obvious reasons.

Indiana Rocks

Having just returned from a vacation on the East Coast, I am glad to be home in Indiana.  I had one heck of a time finding good beer while in Virginia Beach.  There was one brew pub in Virginia Beach and one in Norfolk.  The beer selection in the store was pretty sad, too.  I did luck out and find Stone IPA, Arrogant Bastard, and Smoked Porter in bombers.  There was also Sierra Nevada Pale and a few of the Magic Hat offerings, but that was it for craft beer. 

We then ventured to New Jersey on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry across the Delaware Bay.  The ferry had a bar serving Dogfish Head, which recently opened a brew pub in Rehoboth Beach, which is about 10 minutes from the ferry.  I was stunned by the lack of beer available in New Jersey.  I need to thank John Holl, he sent me to the Tun Tavern in Atlantic City.  It is in a hotel about a block from the beach.  The food was very good, had a chicken Philly that was awesome.  Their IPA was solid, just as their other beers were.  I sampled a Saison, an Irish Red, a Stout, and they were all solid, brewed to style beers.  The tanks are above the bar in glass so everyone can see them.  It was nice to walk in a place so far from home and smell beer brewing, it is a most amazing smell!

With all that said, I am glad to be home.  Indiana has an amazing amount of brew pubs and breweries.  We also have an amazing amount of craft beer available from other states.  I used to think the grass was greener in other states, but after this vacation, I know better.

Misc News – July 14

Keely Thomlinson unveiled the Alcatraz Replicale last night. A true Schwartzbier – balanced and thick with a long small ivory head. Served lightly carbonated. No specific hop profile, just balanced with a lingering finish. A+

Jason Rich of the Kosciusko Kettleheads homebrew club in Warsaw lets us know their meetings are the second Sunday of every month at 3pm at Mad Anthony's Lake City Taphouse. Contact Jason at heatmisers@yahoo.com for more info.

Louisville's LEO talks about Crackdowns in Germantown and New Albany's ROGER talks about Tumbledowns at LEO. But if you live in the area you know all that.

Here's a beer list the beers to be served at next week's Michigan Summer Beer Festival. Friday 5-9, Saturday 1-6 in Ypsilanti – that's near Ann Arbor.

Bell's 25th Anniversary Ale is planned for September. A "unique dry-hopped strong ale made with Michigan barley".

The most awesome idea we've seen all day. ==>

The second most awesome idea we've seen all day. $6.99/6-pack.

Misc News – July 13

State Fair Brewer's Cup winners are online. Homebrew. Professional

Cavalier Distributing has picked up some of the beers from St. Killian Importing including Julius Echter Hefe and Dunkle wheat beers from Germany; and MOA of New Zealand's Noir, Blonde, Triple, and 5-Hop Ale; and a return to Indiana of Tusker.

Brugge Brasserie has Erasmus IPA on tap. Think Arrogant Bastard.

A fire in the warehouse behind the Emerson Ave. Payless Liquors in Beech Grove early Monday morning caused $1.5 million damage. This warehouse was used mostly to store spirits and some wines. Not much beer was lost. Monday they were clearing out truckloads of broken glass. We'd post a picture but the owner asked us not to. article

MacNiven's hosted a tapping of Johan, the Barleywine - Sun King's first brew and blew through a 1/6th barrel in under two hours. With a full year of aging it is ready to drink. Malty and direct to style. All the plum/raisin essence of a young barleywine are mellowed out. It will continue to age nicely for many more years. Sun King has 6 more 1/6ths available at the brewery for $150 each if you want to plan a celebration later – or now.

This week all the taps at MacNiven's are pouring Indiana beers.
Barley Island Beastie Barrel, People's Fiddlin' Willie Scottish, Crown Town Brown,
Three Floyds Alpha King and Robert the Bruce, New Albanian Hoptimus,
Brugge Erasmus IPA, Upland Double Dragonfly IPA,
Sun King Osiris Pale Ale, Bitter Druid ESB, and Wee Mac Scottish Ale

On Wednesday 6 of the taps will be from Three Floyds.

Parti Pak Liquors in Greenwood now has a web site. Bob Tiplick's sons have joined him in the store. And they still have the largest selection in Indiana. This is the end cap right inside the front door. Yep, that's Gales Prize Old Ale from 1996 – 2003.

Roger Baylor has the story of the Excellent Beer Gardening Adventure at Hidden Hill.

Diego (Guinness) to merge with Heineken, SABMiller or ABInbev? rumors by Stephen Beaumont

Misc News – July 12

Indiana Microbrewers Festival Beer lists:

• Indiana Beers
• Out of State Beers from World Class Beverages
• Out of State Beers from Cavalier, Monarch, Zink, etc.
• World Class Beverages' Hopapalooza truck.

We're told Upland sold 160 growlers on the 4th of July.

Ex-Indy guy Greg Christmas got quoted in the New York Times about energy saving at Dogfish Head. It's also rumored he will be prominent in the Discovery Channel's Brewed series. And he's working on a retail Randall the DFH will be offering for $300. Don't quote me on any of this though.

Here is an interesting review of what you can learn from Daniel Okrent's Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. And here's his interview on the Daily Show.

Ryan McCracken of Boss Nacho has posted a 10 minute video of the Phoenix Theatre Brew-Ha-Ha. Lots of interviews with the brewers.

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Even though inflation is at an all-time low, the price of a Maß (one litre) at Oktoberfest will go up again this year. Oktoberfest is Sept 18 – Oct 3.

• 2005: €6.65 – 7.10 ($8.40 - $9.00)
• 2006: €6.95 – 7.50
• 2007: €7.30 – 7.90
• 2008: €8.00 – 8.30
• 2009: €8.10 – 8.60
• 2010: €8.30 – 8.90 ($10.50 - $11.25)

Excerpts from the Official Wiesn-Dictionary:

aufstöin (v.) to donate a beer.

Biafuizl (n.) beer mat, is often used by the waitress/waiter as a note pad where dashes indicates the quantity of beer ordered by the guest.

Bierdimpfe (n.) notorious beer drinker, "tavern potato".

bieseln (v.) term for "to take a leak"

Blembe (n.) should not exist, bad beer.

Dampf (n.) occurs after some Maß beer, the intoxication.

eikastln (v.) to put in prison, to arrest.

Fetznrausch (n.) totally drunk.

Fingahackln (n.) Bavarian sport. Two men hook their middle fingers and try to pull the opponent over the table. Popular activity at the Oktoberfest.

Heisl (n.) toilet.

Maßkruagstemma (n.) a contest, where the contestant must hold one maß beer with straight arms. The one who can carry the beer longest, wins.

Mognschoaß (n.) belch, eructation.

nimma (adj.) no more.

Noagerl (n.) the last remainder of a beverage in a glass.

ogschdocha (adj.) tipsy.

Schuaplattler (n.) Bavarian group dance for men, where you clap your hands on the thighs and the shanks.

Schoaß (n.) methane containing, foul smelling puff, often caused by digestion procedures. Not popular in the beer tents.

Wampn (n.) patronising expression for a oversized oft hanging belly. Caused either through a large consumption of foods with a high fat content or beer.

zupf de (v.) back off, get lost.

2010 Brewers Cup

Indiana Brewers Cup prep work from the Howard County Home Brew Club.

The full results of the Brewers Cup will be up in a couple of days at the Brewers Cup website.

Meanwhile, Congratulations to the winners. From 278 entries in the professional side the Best of Show was Liz Laughlin’s Simcoe IPA that just went on tap at the northside Indianapolis Rock Bottom. The Brewery of the Year went, for the third consecutive year, to Greenwood’s Oaken Barrel. Mark Havens is quoted as saying “Threepeat. Threepeat.”

On the homebrewers side, 753 entries culminated with a Best of Show cup to John Mills of Evansville for How Now Brown Cow – a, you guessed it, Northern English Brown. The Brewer of the year went to Bill Ballinger, a member of the Homebrew Club of the Year, MECA – a group of homebrewers from around the state.

Woodford Reserve gave 11 homebrew clubs each a used whiskey barrel to age a beer for a special award. These clubs made Irish, Scottish, Old, Ales; Oatmeal and Imperial Stouts; and all served them at the awards ceremony. The Woodford Reserve Cup went to the brewers of the Duneland Homebrew Club of northwest Indiana centered around Valparaiso who took a completely different tactic and brewed a Braggot – a beer/mead combination. They used 60 pounds of honey in a 65 gallon batch of beer and aged it for a full 4 months.

Judging Best of Show

Liz Laughlin of Rock Bottom. Mark Havens and John Treeter of Oaken Barrel,

 
John Mills. Bill Ballinger

Monica Pearson of MECA

Duneland Homebrew Club

Brickworks - Sadness

Weekly Local Craft Beer Roundup for the Northwest - Gary Post Tribune

Brickworks Brewing in Hobart is closing as of July 19th. A construction lien on the building has caused the landlord to toss them out. "We are liquidating everything. If you know of someone looking for a new 7 barrel system, 6 glycol jacketed serving vessels, 4 fermenters, malt mill, power washer, etc. Less than 1 year old and greater than 90% efficient. Let us know. It needs to move ASAP. We are also having don’t make me dump this beer specials all week." Sadness.

Indiana Beer Week Calendar

The initial Indiana Breweries beer list for the Indiana Microbrewers Festival is available for your inspection.

Whatcha doing next week? Here's some ideas.

Saturday, July 10

• Indiana State Fair Brewer's Cup Judging and awards reception (6pm). State Fair Grounds. Indy. Taste all 11 Homebrew club's entries to the  Woodford Reserve Cup. 
  
• Grand Opening of New Day Meadery's Tasting Room. 1102 Prospect St. Fountain Square. Indy. 11am-9pm.
• Nature & Craft Beer with New Albanian at Hidden Hill Nursery. Utica. 3-7pm.

Sunday, July 11

• Shoreline Red White and Brew Festival. 11 Breweries. Fireworks at dusk. Michigan City
• Granite City Mug Club Party. 4-6pm. Ft. Wayne, Mishawaka, Indy.
• Hoosier Beer Geeks Pub Crawl, North Indy

Monday, July 12

• Hoosier Beer Geeks Pub Crawl, Downtown Indy
• Chumleys Tapping. Broad Ripple, Indy. Stone IRS, Oaked Aged Yeti, Old Rasputin (nitro), Mojo (nitro), 3 Floyds Blackheart
• Sun King tapping at Crown Liquors, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Southport, 96th & Michigan, South U.S. 31, Downtown Indy. 3-7pm.
• Sun King's Johan the Barleywine goes on tap at MacNiven's in Indy.

Tuesday, July 13

• Tapping of a secret, unnamed beer at Alcatraz. 6:30pm. Downtown Indy
• Hoosier Beer Geeks Pub Crawl, South Indy
• Trivia night at Broad Ripple Brewpub. 7pm
• Barley Island tapping at Crown Liquors, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Southport, 96th & Michigan, South U.S. 31, Downtown Indy. 3-7pm.

Wednesday, July 14

• Brewer's Dinner. Rock Bottom North, Indy. 6:30pm
• Bieres de Garde Paired Dinner. New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse.
• Hoosier Beer Geeks Pub Crawl, Broad Ripple
• Founder's KBS and Devil Dancer at Crown Liquors, Downtown Indy. 3:30pm. And tapping at  Scotty's Brewhouse, Downtown Indy. 6pm.
• Beer Tasting. Westside Liquor, Evansville. 4:30-6:30pm
• Mad Anthony tapping at Crown Liquors, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Southport, 96th & Michigan, South U.S. 31, Downtown Indy. 3-7pm.
• Three Floyds night at MacNiven's. Alpha King, Robert The Bruce, Apocalypse Cow, Dreadnaught, Devil's Handshake, Blackheart IPA on tap. Bottles of Arctic Panzer and Gorch Fock Helles Lager.

Thursday, July 15

• Hoosier Beer Geeks Pub Crawl, Fountain Square, Indy
• Something special going on at the Upland Tasting Room in Indy.
• Sour Night at Brugge Brasserie, Indy.
• Indiana Tasting at Keg Liquors, Clarksville. 5-8pm
• Beer Tasting. Big Red Liquors, Bloomington. 6-8pm
• Beer Sampling. Chalet Party Shoppe, CR 17, Elkhart. 4-6pm
• Upland tapping at Crown Liquors, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Southport, 96th & Michigan, South U.S. 31, Downtown Indy. 3-7pm.
• Sun King's Cream Dream III goes on tap at MacNiven's in Indy.

Friday, July 16

• Indiana Tech 4th Annual Alumni & Friends Beer Tasting Andorfer Commons Ft. Wayne. 6:30-9:30pm $20pp/$35per couple.
• Make it Local Craft Beer & Food. Chef JJ's Backyard, Indy. 6 breweries, 5 chefs. $75. 6:30pm
• Tyranena Tasting. Crown Liquors, Carmel. 4-7:30pm
• Chumleys Tapping. Broad Ripple, Indy. Left Hand Chainsaw, Founder's Devil Dancer, 3 Floyds Apocalypse Cow, Dogfish Head 120, Mojo Risin
• Beer Tasting. Liquor Locker, Evansville. 4-7pm
• Beer Tasting. Parti Pak, Greenwood. 5-7pm
• Trappist Beer Tasting. Vine and Table, Carmel, 3-7pm
• Beer Sampling. Norma's Fine Wines. Indy. 6-8pm
• Indiana beers tapping at Crown Liquors, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Southport, 96th & Michigan, South U.S. 31, Downtown Indy. 3-7pm.
• Beer Tasting. Cap n' Cork, Brooklyn Ave. Foster Park Plaza, Ft. Wayne. 5-7pm.

Saturday, July 17

• Beginning Brewing Class. Great Fermentations, Indy. 9am
• Brewers of Indiana Guild Microbrewers Festival, Indianapolis 3-7pm.

Misc News – July 9

Liz Laughlin and Jerry Sutherlin both served up there new American Cream Dream at the Rock Bottoms in Indy last night. We made it to the 86th St. store where Liz has three new winners:

• American Cream Dream IPA – With Centennial, Nugget, and a bit of Cascade hops for that fresh, floral feel. At 7.6% this bee can only be described as "soft". Soft on the nose, soft on the tongue. Beautiful stuff.
• Oatmeal Stout – Also freshly on tap. It starts full and creamy and finishes medium bitter with a light body and quick finish. 6.4%. It gives the best of a full-bodied stout and leaves you feeling like you just had a sip of Vienna Amber. Dan's calling it the best beer Liz has ever made and he might be right.
• Simcoe IPA – This one comes in at 7.1% and the local hopheads are loving it.
• The current Wheat is a hoppy American-style.
• A Cask Conditioned Dry Hopped Pale Ale is on the handpull. It's mildly hopped with Centennial and Cascade. Still, it comes across earthy as a British Pale.
• The Happy Pils coming out on August 11th will be all Sterling hops.

The Northside Rock Bottom advertised July 4th growlers in-store heavily with reservations for commemorative swing-top growlers and sold 82 of them at $25. Also 75 other new growlers and 96 refills. Good start to a new era.

The initial Indiana Breweries beer list for the Indiana Microbrewers Festival is available for your inspection.

Sun King's Johan the Barleywine goes on tap at MacNiven's on Monday.

Sun King have also picked their third canned beer. Wee Mac Scottish Ale has label approval and should be out in October in 16oz cans. Great choice.

Bob Mack wonders if the Down Economy Helping Craft Beer?

If you're not going to the Indiana Microbrewers Festival at least stop in at the beer festival at Windsor Castle that weekend. They'll have Old Windsor Dark Ale among the 40 cask-conditioned beers. article

Big Woods T-shirts aren't waterproof proof (hint, it's a girl in a wet Big Woods T-shirt – now you'll click that link won't you?)

Misc News – July 7

MSNBC says on July 4th we 'mercuns spent $193m on hamburger, $70m on buns, $86m on cheese, $363m on condiments, $92m on chips, $111m on charcoal, $94m on lighter fluid, $267m on watermelons, $101m on coke and pepsi, and $341m on beer. What, we spent more on ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, and onions than on beer. article

Oaken Barrel reports they sold a growler at 12:01am on July 4th, thus being the first legal Sunday carry-out in Indiana since 1816.

Barley Island's seasonal Beastie Barrel Porter has emerged from 7-months in Buffalo Trace barrels and it's on tap at both locations where 4-packs are also available. It will head to World Class Beverages tomorrow and show up in liquor stores next week. Pale, Crystal 80, Chocolate, Crystal 60, Black, Carafa malts and Flaked Barley. Summit, Celeia, Styrian Goldings, and Cascade hops. 6.7%.

Caleb will have 8 lambics this fall at Upland - Blackberry, Blueberry, Cherry, Kiwi, Peach, Raspberry, Strawberry, and the Persimmon will be back.

Sun King's one-year anniversary brought out Johan the Barleywine and Danile Lee of the Star who calls it A Crowning Achievement for Sun King.

Here's the 22oz label for the upcoming release of Three Floyds/Mikkeller Ruggoop that was brewed back in April.

 

Lift Bridge Farm Girl Belgian Saison is available in the state. At least at Westside Liquor in Evansville. It's brewed by Flat Earth in St. Paul. "Recipe attributes: Belgian Pils Malt, Candi Sugar, Wheat Malt, Spicy Hops and Farmhouse Funk."

Sunday growlers get ink in WLFI and Journal & Courier in Ron Alting's district - Lafayette.

"New Law Draws Ire" says the Richmond Palladium-Item.

Jay Brooks explains a bit about BA and RB ratings. article

Wychwood Hobgoblin sales are soaring since Barack drank one. article

A bs survey says 1/3 of 14-year olds in England are scared when their parents drink. article

Long term: Ommegang Cup O Kyndnes comes in September – Belgian-style Scotch Ale.

Long term: New Belgium Sahti in the Lips of Faith series comes in October. Rye ale with juniper.

Misc News – July 3

True Brew is now available on Amazon. $13.57. You can also browse the Table of Contents, my chapter ("History of Brewing: From Iraq to Indiana in 120 Centuries") and the index.

Jeff Bane made an ice carving of Sun King's logo and included a tap. Cool.

Half Moon's latest seasonal is Big Bad India Brown Ale. 7% 75 IBU. "made in the tradition of an American-Style India Pale Ale (IPA) with lots and lots of Columbus and Cascade hops. This is a big and bold beer that starts with an aroma filled with chocolaty, roasty, and floral notes, followed by the velvety smooth caramel roast flavor of a delicious brown ale, and a dry hoppy finish."

Bob Mack has been busy and the new-look World Class Beverages web site with an easier to find Beer Spy.

Scotty's Brewhouse in Bloomington will have Wilbur Brewing Co.'s Country Mellow on tap and The House Bar in Bloomington will have Mellow and Summer in bottles before going to the taps.

Crown Brewing's Kill 'Em All Double IPA goes on tap July 8th.

American Dream IPA will be tapped at both Indy Rock Bottoms on July 8th. 6pm

Shoreline's Red White and Brew Festival on July 11th will feature 11 Breweries and Fireworks at dusk.

Mad Anthony gets ink for Sunday growlers. Lafayette Brewing and People's Brewing get ink also.

Here's what's on tap in Northwest Indiana.

New to Indiana via WCB:

Abita Satsuma Wit and S.O.S.
Atwater Pale Ale
Avery 17
Boulevard Dark Truth Stout, Single Wide IPA, and Zon
Brooklyn Sorachi Ace
Hair of the Dog Adam, Fred, and Ruth in limited supplies
Harp0oon Leviathan
Hoppin Frog Turbo Shandy
Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale
Rogue Chatoe Rogue Single Malt and Dirtoir
Schlafly American IPA
Three Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf Imperial IPA in limited quantity of bombers
Wittekerke Framboise (limited)
Hite beer from Korea
Lindemnas Faro
Unibroue Raftman only in the low gravity Unibroue Sampler Pack
Zatec Dark Lager

Bell's Eccentric Cafe is doing a big expansion out back. More band room. More room period. article ==>>

<<== 'Nuff said.

Yuengling is adding more four more fermentation tanks  to the nine 2,000 barrel tanks they already have. article