Indiana Beer News – March 29

This Saturday the Melody Inn in Indianapolis combines two things I tend to enjoy - Triton beer and punk rock. Triton will be debuting their line of bottled beer along with some specialty beers starting at 9:00. Music starts at 10:30 and features the psychobilly romps of Detroit’s Koffin Kats. The sitter is lined up and I’m ready to roll!

The mad geniuses at Fountain Square Brewery are rolling out their first annual Peep Show on April 6th. No, not the kind where you expect to find Miss Poppi. This Peep Show features a beer brewed with Peeps and the chance to show off your own design for a Peep Shooter (which shoots/catapults full-sized Peeps). I know a lot of you brewers are engineers, so this is a chance to show off your skills.

Andy at The Beer Is Good blog has posted a full beer list for the upcoming Blue Chip Brewfest on April 14th at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. VIP ticket holders will get the chance to sample the highly sought Bell’s Black Note Stout paired with mini cupcakes. Unfortunately it appears that VIP tickets are sold out, so you’re back to scrounging the resale market if you want in on that.

We previously reported on the progress of the “Three Floyds Amendment” legislation, so its worth noting that it was recently signed into law. It allows small breweries to produce more beer by excluding beer that is brewed for consumption and distribution outside Indiana from the cap of 30,000 barrels per year. Congrats to everyone involved in making this happen!

Here’s one for the category of good news that’s unlikely to surprise you. Despite a 1.32 percent volume decrease in 2011 for the overall beer market, craft brewers achieved a 13 percent rise in volume and a 15 percent rise in retail sales. No word on when they plan to count eBay Dark Lord Day ticket sales in the retail tally. You may find that last statement pointless, but it’s a proven fact that any mention of Dark Lord Day substantially increases our hit rate. Dark Lord Day……Dark Lord Day……Dark Lord Day

Results are out for the 18th Annual U.S. Beer Tasting Championship (USBTC) Winter Competition. The Bier Brewery in Indianapolis was a Midwest region winner with their Belgian Dubbel. Grand champion beers that you may be able to find in Indiana liquor stores include Founders Porter, Magic Hat Black Lager, New Holland Pilgrims Dole (Barleywine), Sam Adams Wee Heavy, and Victory V-12 (Belgian Strong).

If you’ve never cried over spilled beer, check out what happens when Goose Island barrels and a forklift do not work in perfect harmony.

More bizarre stuff from Japan – here is a machine that adds frozen beer bubbles to the top of your beer to keep it cold for about a half hour. Perhaps they’ve never heard of the American koozie.

Cheers, Nathan