IndianaBeer: Dribs and Drams (Hi, David)

If you haven’t heard, Duvel Moortgat of Belgium has inked a deal to buy Boulevard Brewing of KC. The NY Times article says there are 2,600 micros in the U.S.

We get letters:

I am an avid homebrewer and fascinated with historical brewing. I recently came across your book after my move north from Alabama. I have not purchased your book as of yet but definitely plan to within the next couple of weeks (that is if my wife doesn't make me wait until Christmas).

From what I have seen on your website, hoosierbeerstory.com, I can't get enough of the brewing history in Indiana. I was curious if any of the old breweries released any of their recipes or if they kept that information secret. I would love to bring some of this history back to life! If you have any information or could point me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it. I would be more than happy to do the conversions from large scale to homebrew size myself.

Thank you for your time,
Raymond

And make replies

Yes, some old breweries have their recipe available. Notably Terre Haute's Champagne Velvet and SBBA's lager. BUT it isn't possible to replicate these recipes. The malt is different with different temperatures and methods used in its creation. The yeast is very different being now a truer strain that has less microbial variety. The hops are stronger with many new flavors - originally something from the back yard but now sourced from England to New Zealand. And the water even isn't the same as in the pre-prohibition days - now with more chemicals and purity processing.

Upland spent six months getting their new Champagne Velvet into shape to be a new mainstay of their product line but don't expect the same beer as previously available under the same name. Don't expect that you can use a recipe from a book here. Caleb Staton of Upland had lots of brewing school and lots of expert help but theirs is not at all the same as Terre Haute's.

The Big Lebowski at the Brown County Playhouse this next Saturday. Sponsored, of course by our best abiders – Big Woods. info

Bloomington Brewing and Black Acre’s collaboration, a Roggenbier, is now on tap.

1% of Canadians work in the beer industry. proof?

So there’s these drunk guys walked into ~~a bar~~ the sea in southeast England. One rescued without problem but the second was unconscious and "He had had eight cans of beer. The paramedics said that it probably kept him alive because his body had slowed down so much that it might have helped him." Of course he’d be on dry labnd without the eight beers. article

Beer is good for you, let me count the ways: article