Indiana Beer News - June 30: New Beers, Fun events

What beer will you drink for Fourth of July and what beer will you drink in 2014? The answer to each might change as more and more beers come on the Indiana scene! There is a LOT going on in the next few weeks and a lot more coming.

We did a quick stop at some downtown Indianapolis breweries this weekend finding new pours everywhere and also realizing we have so many offerings in downtown Indy we could not fit them all into our short schedule.

Indiana City Beer (see Kathleen's Grand Opening Story here ) was offering up a Belgian Wheat (Yacht Rock; 6%), Oatmeal Stout (Shadow Boxer; 7%), and APA (Beyond the Pale; 7.2) showing perhaps a trend in slightly 'bigger' beers in alcohol.

SunKing showcased their regular three, WeeMac, Osiris, and Sunlight, plus a hefe-weizen (Big H; 5.8%) ), Vienna Lager (Indian Lager; 5.4%), and a collaboration beer with Solemn Oath (Mythological Wonder, 7.7%) with spicy and rye notes, delicious combo hops.


Flat12 wants to give us our fruits and vegetables with so many beers on tap including their regular suspects (porter, amber, walk-about IPA, half-cycle IPA) and as usual so many seasonals, the newest being KiwiKiwiHefeWeizen with Kiwi fruit and kiwi juice so fruity, as well as Cucumber Kolsch which seems this year truly for those who love cucumbers, their Axis hefe and a Karousel Kolsch - tapped last week at the Elbow Room's 80th birthday party!

the RAM recently rolled out Barefoot wit, perfect for these hot days.

Daredevil has rolled out their Vacation Kolsch now showing up on taps throughout the state, also brewed with German ingredients and is a crisp, clean beer. Of course Daredevil Lift Off remains out there and seasonal Muse Belgian style can still be found on tap at many locations.


If you travel to Cincinnati you'll find a new brewery open (Grand Opening was June 29) with a strong Indiana connection. Rhinegeist brewing in the Over the Rhine District of the Queen City is the new home of Head Brewer Jim Matt who was a home-brewer in the award winning MECA club that also spawned now-pro-brewers Bill Ballinger and Michael Pearson of Daredevil. Jim gained professional status with SunKing, moved to head brewer status with Moerlein when they opened a brew haus in downtown Cincy, and just opened the Rheingeist operation serving a golden ale, English mild, Hoppy Wheat and IPA. Good Luck Rhinegeist and Jim!!

Bloomington Brewing Company has rolled out 10-speed nicely hopped wheat beer and a brand new Seven Sips Belgian Strong ale that has a nod to a wit with coriander + sweet and bitter orange peel but candy sugar to make it a big beer (8.3%). Also new at BBC is a Single Hop Columbus IPA following the trend of single hopped beers.
BBC's sister Lennie's restaurant and brew pub (the home of BBC beers) won a prestigious Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence award this month. The accolade, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor.

UPCOMING:

July 4: most Indiana brewpubs are open on July 4 for growler fills!
If in Downtown Indy for the Freedom Blast (fireworks) check out the Indiana Craft Beer Garden with craft offerings from SunKing, Flat12, Fountain Square, Cutters, Barely Island and Peoples brewers.

Indiana City Brewing (26 Shelby Street a block from Washington Street and I-65), celebrates with a 4th of July Music Festival staring at 4:00 with $5 tickets and lost of live music, local beer, and food trucks -- plus a location to view the Indy fireworks.

July 6: SunKing celebrates their 4th anniversary with a Grapefruit Jungle IPA tapping with music, local beer, and food trucks 4-10PM - $10 tickets at the tasting room. Beer Tappings are scheduled throughout the day: 4pm Grapefruit Jungle, 6pm Port Barrel Aged Wee Mac, 7pm 777, 8pm Afternoon Delight, 9pm Velvet Fog.

Brewers of Indiana Guild 18th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival is Saturday, July 20, 3-7 p.m. at Indianapolis Art Center and Optimist Park in Broad Ripple.
Your favorite Indiana breweries will be joined by a select group of guest breweries from around the country at Indiana’s largest craft beer event. Over 300 beer selections to choose from!Details and Tix

Noted out-of-state beers coming to Indiana!

Green Flash from San Diego, noted for their West Coast style IPA, should be in distribution in Central and Southern Indiana by mid-July. Early reports suggest only 20 bars may be the first to have a GF beer on tap but many liquor stores are to get product! WCB is the distributor.

Smuttynose brewing of New Hampshire, as we previewed for Ft. Wayne story here is kicking off distribution with Cavalier in Indiana in the Northern and Southern parts of the state check releases here . We should be finding best-selling Finestkind IPA and international award-winners Robust Porter and Wheat Wine Ale in most of our areas soon.

DogfishHead has announced their return to Indiana (+ Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) with a cute video watch the video here . Look for DFH to work out the deal with a distributor and be back by 2014, possibly sooner.

Oskar Blues of Longmont, Colorado, the first to use CANS announced in March that they should be available in Indiana soon. Most in Indiana know of the SunKing/Oskar Blues collaboration of CHAKA last year. As OB rolls out to Indiana look for Dale's Pale and Mama's Yellow Pils.

Speaking of cans look for some other craft brewers (in Indiana) to consider cans. Foxnews.com recently released a clip from one of their junior reporters extolling the virtues of cans vs bottles

and finally, having a Summer Wedding? Beer is IN! Anja Winikka, TheKnot.com Site Director recognizes the trend: "Our brides love beer! More and more we've been seeing couples go beyond the traditional bar and really personalizing the experience for their guests. Beer is huge – everything from beer flights and craft beer bars to beer tasting stations and beer and food pairings. Couples are even serving homebrews specially created for their events. That's why we're so excited about Brewlywed Ale – it gives all craft beer lovers a chance to enjoy the trend at their weddings. Plus, what could be better for personalizing your day than a specialty wedding beer?" (thanks to PR from SamAdams)