Dribs and Drams

Sunday sales is dead this year. Basically the proponents (grocery stores, wallmarts, and convenience stores, aka gas stations) all wanted different things. Grocery stores and gas stations didn’t want server licensing and training. The big-box guys didn’t mind a separate area (except for the expense of remodeling) for alcohol but that’s impossible at a gas station. Keeping cans and bottles behind a counter was unacceptable to everyone.  article   article   Ind. Assoc. of Beverage Retailers take.

RateBeer ranks Three Floyds Bourbon Vanilla Bean Dark Lord as the best in Indiana. Alpha King, Dark Lord, Dreadnaught and Zombie Dust all made the top 100 in the world. The brewery is also rated the 4th best in the world.

Also in the Indiana rankings: New Albanian’s Public House as the best brewpub, M. Moggers as the best beer restaurant, New Day Craft as the best tap room, Keg Liquors as the best store and The Heorot as the best pub.

In the email:

Beer book gurus John Palmer & Stan Hieronymus to Visit Butler Winery!

beer books     The Brewers Of Indiana Guild is hosting its first annual Brewer's Conference in Bloomington on the first weekend of March. Two featured speakers at this conference are John Palmer & Stan Hieronymus. Butler Winery has agreed to set up a table at the conference & sell a selection of their books.
     So why does this really matter to you? Well, a super cool benefit of this conference coming to Btown is that John & Stan have both agreed to come to our shop on Friday, March 6th to do a meet and greet with our brewers!  And if you are a homebrewer & these names seem familiar to you, they should! These renowned authors of the beer world have published a total of 6 books between them. Hieronymus has written For the Love of Hops, Brew Like A Monk, and Brewing with Wheat. Palmer has written the ever popular, How To Brew & also co-authored Water & Brewing Classic Styles. These are all wonderful books, chock-full of info that every brewer should have at their fingertips!

     As for the meet & greet at our shop on Friday afternoon, they are both due to arrive about 3:30, with official introductions to start at 4:00. To lead it off, John will do a quick talk on his 5 priorities of great beer, then Stan will do a similar thing, focusing on 5 points from a combo of his most popular books, hops & monks. They will then do a joint Q & A session (this is where you come in!) and then we will do the meeting and greeting (this is also all about you!)

     SO if you want to pick some expert beer brains on how to make your beer better, this is the time to do it! This is a first time thing for us & a wonderful opportunity that you won't want to miss! Be sure to bring along a copy of one of their books, & get it autographed, or if you don't have one of their books yet we will have some copies available for purchase as well. Hope to see you for this exciting event!! (explanation marks are theirs)

Have you noticed the Today in Indiana Beer over atIndianaOnTap.com? Check it out at work to find out what to do this evening. Our calendar is more long-term.

They say the 18th Street Brewery in Gary is expanding next door with a 1,100 sq ft. space that will hold 5 fermenters and a canning line.

Templeton Rye is being sued for saying their “craft whiskey” is made in Iowa. It’s actually from Lawrencburg’s Squibb, Schenley, Seagrams, Pernod Ricard, Angostura, MPG distillery which is the largest in the world. I’m guessing the class action lawsuit will probably be worth about 15 cents to you if you’ve bought any. article


Trademarks news: Two Brothers Brewing of Chicago has sent a cease and desist to Zwei Bruder Brewing in Fort Collins, CO.

Headline: Every alcohol in the world, what’s in it, and how it’s made. picture article with a lot of stuff you’ve never heard of – Horilka or Kilju anyone?

Owls are the hot thing in London pubs. Well, at least one London pub that says it will have 3 or 4 owls in residence.  Great news for owlcoholics. article
And The Independent complains about “hipster” beers from the 30 craft breweries of London. article

Spreadsheet of volume, pricing, ABV, etc. of the 20 best selling beers in the U.S. Yuengling is the only independent at #19. All are lagers. article

Headline: Beer Byproduct May Help Fight Nitrates. Whaa? Nitrates are bad for you? They make celluloid which makes ping pong balls. Sounds like vegetarians have to worry though. Maybe. Damnit Jim, I’m a doctor, not a nutritional anthropologist.  article

Some adults can be more susceptible to the effects of nitrates than others. The methemoglobin reductase enzyme may be under-produced or absent in certain people that have an inherited mutation. Such individuals cannot break down methemoglobin as rapidly as those that do have the enzyme, leading to increased circulating levels of methemoglobin (the implication being that their blood is not as oxygen-rich). Those with insufficient stomach acid (including some vegetarians and vegans) may also be at risk. It is the increased consumption of green, leafy vegetables that typically accompany these types of diets may lead to increased nitrate intake. A wide variety of medical conditions, including food allergies, asthma, hepatitis, and gallstones may be linked with low stomach acid; these individuals may also be highly sensitive to the effects of nitrate. – Good old Wikipedia.

2-pack KBS
Ofest Sunset

Dribs and Drams – Arctic blast edition

3Floyds2-22-15IndianaOnTap has a picture of the new construction at 3 Floyds. So I stole cribbed a small version.

An article in CBS-4 says the economic impact of Indiana’s 100(+) small brewers was about $600 million in 2013. (as the writer celebrates the Support Indiana Brewers passing out of committee).

The Examiner does a short tour of Flat 12, Sun King, Chilly Water and New Day.

Everyone bemoans Indiana’s lack of Sunday sales but they should try Kansas where true beer (and wine and spirits) can only be sold in liquor stores. In groceries and convenience stores, yep, the 3.2% days are still with us. Whadda ya want from a state that still hasn’t ratified the 21st Amendment and had “nothing by the drink” laws until 1987 – banning pubs. 13 counties of the 105 are still pub-dry. Consider your young adulthood in Kansas. Now shiver. No, that isn’t the arctic blast, just a cold chill down the back of your neck.

But “Kantsas” is progressing. There are 22 brewpubs now and groceries may get “full-strength” beer by a bill in committee. That bill would go into effect in July 2018.

Headline: Carlsberg is Developing Non-clinking, Biodegradable Beer Bottles. And bottle caps. Made of wood chips. article

Headline: Beer and Doughnuts … yep, they’re that good article

Content: “Over the past decade, craft breweries have more than tripled their market share, from 2.5 percent by volume in 2003 to 7.8 percent in 2013” article Maybe that explains the infamous Superbowl commercial.

Bar11

Now find a cozy place and pop a Winter Warmer – or an Eisbock if you’re a polar bear.

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It says to “enter post name here” so it has to be Dribs and Drams

Another day, another post. Let’s go to the board.
Indiana’s “come to our business-friendly state” features Sun King and Clay in his new Amish beard. web Hope he can use that when it’s time to testify on Support Indiana Brewers. BTW HB 1311 which will raise the limit to 90,000 bbls. has unanimously passed its House committee.
Synopsis: Alcoholic beverage issues. Raises the barrel limit for a small brewery from 30,000 barrels a year to 90,000 barrels a year. Specifies the barrel limits apply to the aggregate amount that the brewer manufactures at all of the brewer's breweries. Prohibits a small brewer from selling and delivering more than a total of 30,000 barrels of beer directly to a person holding an alcoholic beverage retailer or a dealer permit. Clarifies language regarding food requirements at breweries. Establishes requirements for farmers' markets where wine or beer are sold. Provides that the holder of a farm winery permit or a small brewer's permit that provides only wine or beer by the glass at a festival, fair, or other temporary location and does not provide food: (1) is exempt from the sanitation requirements governing food establishments; and (2) may not be subject to local government licensure, registration, or certification. Allows a small brewer, with the approval of the alcohol and tobacco commission (commission), to participate in a trade show or an exposition for not more than 45 days in a calendar year. Allows a small brewer to store or condition beer in a building separate from the brewery that is owned or leased by the brewer. Provides that to qualify for an artisan distiller's permit, a person must hold at least a majority ownership interest (instead of 100% ownership interest) in the entity that holds a farm winery, brewer's, or distiller's permit. Provides that a township or county (in addition to a city or town) may not regulate a liquor retailer's business or affect a person's ability to hold a liquor retailer's permit. Repeals a provision requiring the clerk of a city or town to certify and mail to the commission an ordinance regulating a liquor retailer in violation of the law. Effective: July 1, 2015.
There’s a class action lawsuit filed against Jim Beam for calling it “handcrafted”. Australian article
A for sure startup: Realistic baby flask. Not what you think. It discretely holds beer in an insulated belly-baby-carry-around.  kickstarter. shudder.
Carlsberg sales are down 7% due to the bad Russian economy. Actually this is due to Carlsberg subsidiary Baltika. article
Headline: The most expensive ingredient in beer? It’s not hops, it’s taxes. Reuters article But their idea of craft beer is an orange in a Blue Moon.
Headline: Beer researchers look for the secrets behind the perfect head article
Isn’t it a shame there is no grey beer. Brown, red, pale, white, but no gray. So many (50) beer name puns going to waste.
Display-Guinness Display-GuinnessTank

Dribs and Drams

“Read all about it. Read all about it. Sunday sales news” articles at Indiana Policy Review, WishTV, Fox59.

And the cap on craft beer production needs to rise. older article and current info.

Maybe also the ability to combine breweries, wineries and distilleries. Courier Journal.

Drewrys has signed to take their beer to Wisconsin. (That makes up for Wisconsin brewing Berghoff). Yes, if you didn’t notice, Drewrys is back.

The Indy Star asks What Indiana Craft Beer are You?

The Dump Buckets have a 17-minute YouTube video of the Winterfest.

The Hop Growers of America says 8 acres in Indiana are devoted to growing the bitter stuff. Here’s their report.

BasilMomma takes a Johnson County Brew Tour on the Brew Bus.


This year’s panic is a barley shortage. article

Brand Packaging magazine spotlights cans from Tin Man Brewing.

TappedIn out of Indianapolis has released an Apple App that will let you know what craft beers are on tap nearby.

Here’s why grease on the glass kills the head. study

MSN’s choices as the best beer from each state.

And The Drinks Business looks at the top 10 according to what the world media says.

Paste’s Drink ranks 23 of the best Barrel-Aged Imperial Stouts and a beginner’s guide to Porters and Stouts.

A list of the 6 most expensive American beers. Dark Lord and Murda’d Out Stout are tied for #5.

Going south for the winter? Here’s the Best Beer Gardens of Australia.

The Splendid Table looks at the 7 flavors of beer and how to pair them.

11 of the world’s oldest breweries. article

Here’s pre-war Japanese beer posters.

Cool Material gives a flowchart of what style beer you should drink.

The crash of the week goes to a coal truck and a beer truck in Pennsylvania. And THEN the DOT salted the road to keep the beer from freezing. article. Gonna be a cold night.

Beer at a funeral in Mozambique killed 56 (more) people. Next time don’t use crocodile bile in your homebrew. article with gratuitous picture of crocobile. And what is cocodile bile anyway?

Woman gives money to 2 guys to bring back beer. They horded it in their tent. She set fire to the tent. Gotta be Florida. Article and herpes-sore picture. Bet that will get you to link to the article.

Indy-Heidelberg-1915

The Heidelberg tavern on Indy’s Circle in 1915.

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valentines_day_6

TiltedWheat

Well timed.

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Indiana's Flat12 & Tin Man sponsor Beer and Bourbon Fest just across the Ohio River: Feb. 20 (BBL aged & booze) & 21 (beerfest)

Do you love beer? Are you interested in Bourbon? Get a $20 Discount and enjoy not only Indiana but Kentucky barrel aged beers and Kentucky Bourbon this Friday night 11 minutes from Jeffersonville, IN, at the Tailspin Ale Barrel Roll event at Bowman Field, Louisville! Spend a night in Louisville and mingle with Brewers and Brewery Reps, enjoying limited Barrel Aged Beers, Bourbons and Craft Cocktails with local food and entertainment. Enjoy such beers as
Flat 12 (Indianapolis) Pinko Russian Imperial Stout aged in Willet Bourbon Barrels,
Flat 12 Snowdog Russian Imperial Stout aged in Canadian Whisky Barrels,
Tin Man (Evansville) Cherry Cordial Barrel Staved Czar Russian Imperial Stout,
Apocalypse Brewing (nano - Louisville) Official Tailspin PRO/AM Ale – “Spit Fire” Russian Imperial Stout w/Peppercorns,
Against the Grain (Louisville) We Mint Well Scotch Ale Brew Dogs Collaboration to be featured on the BrewDogs TV show in April,
West Sixth Brewing (Lexington) Transy Brandy Belgian Tripel Aged in Copper & Kings Brandy Barrels, and dozens more.
The Friday night VIP event features gourmet tapas from Mussel & Burger Bar, El Taco Luchador, CENA, and Guaca Mole Louisville plus national recording artists the Pimps of Joytime, and a photo booth for candid memories with friends.
Tickets are discounted to $65 per person (vs. $85 at the door if available) by entering BARREL into the promotion code. More info and tickets here

On Saturday, Feb. 21, at the Tail Spin Ale Fest over 40 breweries with at least 3 Indiana breweries (New Albanian, Flat 12, Tin Man), a dozen Kentucky breweries and more will be represented in a super cool vintage airplane hanger. With a smaller venue and representation of Southern states there are many beers you may not otherwise get to try elsewhere! Last year we enjoyed the expansion of KY breweries and trying special products as well as chatting with so many in the industry. The brewing industry is like a family. Brewers from all across the nation know each other. Larger local brewers are often found helping the smaller breweries as they grow. This is well represented in this nice brew fest! Check out the brewery list and tix (if still available - going fast!) HERE

Kentucky and Indiana brewers tend to be just great folks. Our early venture into barrel aged beers was from Kentucky brewers. We'd venture to Louisville and sample Bluegrass Brewing's Bourbon Barrel Stout. (available at Tailspin) One fine day we stopped in at a BBC location and met Brewer Sam Cruz. Sam was pleased to show us the operation and provide us with samples of many barrel-aged products. Eventually Sam left BBC and with partners opened Against the Grain Brewery at Louisville's Slugger Field. We shimmied up ladders with Sam to see the multi-storied brewery and sampled more notable beers like Kentucky Ryed Chicken (available at Tailspin). We are now excited to try the ATG/BrewDogs (think TV show) collaboration at this Tailspin Barrel-Role. Sam represents so many fine brewers that are so congenial and love to talk about their beer just like DH and Evan, founders of Country Boy Brewing in Lexington and Roger Baylor of New Albanian (NA IN) Brewing. Good people brewing good beer!

Kentucky, just like Indiana, is going through legislative action that tends to be the local brewers vs. the big international giants Ky Beer legislative action here
Indiana brewers can't grow due to a cap put on brewing for local distribution. Details here We can help by providing our opinions to legislators!

IF YOU LIKE NUMBERS Craft beer (US Dept of Commerce numbers) grew 18% in 2014. Belgian beer imports grew 25% but on a small base of sales while Mexican imported beer represented 60% of all imports in 2014, growing 15%.

Read our Valentine's picks here....

Saint Valentine's and Beer!

Saint Valentine's Day may conjure up many options and the celebration may go back centuries to a Roman imprisonment. Most of us think of romance -- even if it might be the love of beer.

While there are a number of events and options on February 14, Indy Girl's Pint Out promotes a movie night at Scarlet Lane, McCordsville called "Labyrinth movie night!" A $30 ticket (click here) includes Punch Burger, popcorn, 4 Birds Bakery gift, & 2 pints of beer! Take your camping chair!

We found several early Valentine's gifts this week:
Upland (Bloomington) hosted a joint tasting with Jolly Pumpkin Brewery (of Dexter, MI). Upland and Jolly Pumpkin brewed a collaboration beer which ended up in the bottle as Jolly Pumpkin Persimmon Ship - a nice fruity & sour saison with dragonfruit and persimmon aged in French and American oak - delicious with nice pucker level. The second beer tasted from the two was Permission Slip under the Upland label, a blend of two beers: a blond wild ale aged on persimmon in oak + a lambic aged on dragonfruit in white oak barrels -- delicious and complex with notes of the fruit, but spice and lemon notes along with a slight pucker.

Upland offered two guest beers on tap from Jolly Pumpkin for that night only: the Fuego del Otono (Autumn fire) which is a wonderful complex spicy, caramel notes ale that is oh, so sippable. The other Jolly Pumpkin treat was Smoked Gose, a formerly rare German style brewed with wheat and this one with smoked malt. This was a delectable cross between a light rauch or lightly smoked beer and a slightly spicy yet lactic tart light ale.

Of course if you missed the tasting and just want to stop at an Upland location for a special treat, the Upland Barrel Chested Barleywine starts out with sweet vanilla from the Willet bourbon barrels, moves into caramel fig notes, and for us ends with a dry toasted oak from the barrel. I'd like to find each of these in bottles!

Dogfish Head stopped our way to not only remind us that the 90 is available in Indiana, but to bring some 120 continuously hopped-for-two-hours heavy ale that still is wonderfully balanced between malt and the hops (Sam Calagione talks about the beer here) But for me the "Valentine's Gift," which I had to get another small glass of on Feb. 13, was Raison D'Extra. Yep, I liked the original Raison D'Etra, and this Extra is a big Belgian Yeast ale brewed with lots of raisins and beet sugar increasing total alcohol as a huge winter warmer (small glass recommended).

Flat12 released their Bleeding Heart IPA this week, a big single hop IPA with zest of blood oranges and available only around Valentine's Day as well as Halloween.

Sun King
released the Ring of Dingle - and what better beer for this time of year than a nice, warming dry stout!

So.... wherever you are, check out the brewery or brewpub close to you for the special beer you might only be able to love this time of year.

If you need a Valentine's gift for your beer lover, why not plan a beer weekend on Feb. 20-21 and broaden your beer horizons at Tailspin Alefest in Louisville which not only features Indiana Breweries, such as Flat12, Tin Man, and New Albanian but allows you to sample beers from all over Kentucky as well as North Carolina and further. (TICKETS HERE)

Keep reading with more of Bob's Dribs and Drams (HERE) including news of Flat12's Flat Tuesday this week.

Dribs and Drams – Indiana

1a) It’s late in the day but the New Haven Cap ‘n’ Cork has a beer tasting going on from 5-7pm this evening. Stop in on the way home from work.

1b) Flat 12 will have a party at both the Indianapolis and Jeffersonville locations on Feb 17th. Flat Tuesday

2) The Sunday Sales bill has been moved from the committee to the full Indiana House. The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers got provisions that

a) Spirits must be behind the sales counter or in a separate area that can be controlled (handy in gas stations where there’s usually many more kids than clerks).

b) Clerks must have server training. (This is primarily how to recognizing fake IDs. Meh.)

The grocery/convenience store folks say it’s anti-consumer. See IAoBR press release, WISHTV, Chamber of Commerce (who support “b” above).

3) Scotty’s Brewhouse will be looking for investors for a Muncie location and renovations to Wise’s 12 other locations. article

4) Greg Emig of the Lafayette Brewing Co. is the new president of the Brewers of Indiana Guild. VP is Rob Caputo of Flat 12. Justin Miller of Black Acre is the Secretary and D.J. McAllister of the Black Swan, the treasurer.

5) You’ll notice a change in the IndianaBeer.com web site. The Links have a list of all breweries, homebrew clubs and suppliers. The Calendar is simplified. If you have any items to add or know of any stores that have regular tastings, please notify webmaster@indianabeer.com. Thanks.

Scotland’s Ales

Scottish Ale

Scottish-Belhaven80Mainly produced in Scotland (no surprise there). The style evolved separate from British Pale Ales in the 20th century and the differences are due to the different malts available, cooler fermentation and aging, and also in large part to the softer water.

Barley is grown throughout Scotland and native malt is used almost exclusively by those brewers. Interestingly, northern barley is most used for Scotch Whisky and southern barley for beer. The Treaty of Union that married Scotland and England in 1707 was negotiated to eliminate the English malt tax on Scottish barley.

Scottish ales use less hops, seemingly because hops don't grow well in Scotland. They are also sweeter and richer due to more dark malts and a higher finishing gravity which leaves more unfermented sugars in the final beer, giving it a thicker mouthfeel.

Historic styles of Scotland include unhopped varieties such as Heather Ale. Heather, ginger, pepper, spruce, bog myrtle, and herbs have also been used in beer made from combinations of malt, fruit, and honey as early as 2000 years ago in Scotland.

DarkAlesScottish-FlagCurrently a bit of roasted unmalted barley is used to give a darker color and a characteristic malt sweetness to Scottish Ales. One hundred years ago they would have used barley that floated during a water bath. This barley was dried, sometimes over a peat fire, while the rest of the barley went on to be malted.

Named 60/-, 70/-, or 80/- (60, 70, or 80 shilling) for the price of a cask back in the 19th century - not the tax as is often said. The shilling names came into vogue only since 1970.

60/- ("Light") is really a Dark Mild Ale that is even less alcoholic and might be a bit more hopped. Usually found only in Scotland and in Cask Conditioned form.

70/- ("Heavy") is a lighter colored beer that would best correspond to a British Pale Ale.

80/- ("Export") is a darker, sweeter version that is really more of each than an British ESB. It is mainly produced in bottled form. It could be considered the IPA of Scottish Ales as it was formulated to be sent out of country to the US, England, and the European continent. Still, it isn't as strong nor does it use as much hops as a British IPA.

Historically there have been 50/- ales (Brakspear's) and numbers as high as 160/- (Younger's) back in the 1800s.

60/- | OG: 1030 – 1035 | FG: 1010-1015 | ABV: 2.5-3.5 | IBU: 10-20 | SRM: 10-18

70/- | OG: 1035 – 1040 | FG: 1010-1015 | ABV: 3.2-3.9 | IBU: 10-25 | SRM: 8-16

80/- | OG: 1040 – 1050 | FG: 1010-1015 | ABV: 4.0-5.0 | IBU: 15-30 | SRM: 10-25

Scottish ales are marketed much truer to style and with less of the confusing overlap than British Pale Ales.

Note that Scottish Ales made in North America are usually of the 70/- or 80/- variety and, while generally brewed to style, quite often have a higher ABV due to a higher attenuation (lower FG).

Native Territory: Scottish Lowlands.

Color (SRM): See table above. Copper to distinct reddish amber. The darker color of 60/- beers is not representative of the strength. (8 - 25).

Head: Small white or ivory head. Usually quite thin in cask conditioned form.

Aromas: Caramel maltiness. Light roasted or smoked notes. Sometimes a peaty aroma is achieved or maybe it's just perceived by romantic drinkers.

Flavors: Malt that has a slight caramel sweetness. Earthy or bready notes.

Finish: Most have a bitter dryness.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with often some graininess. Bottled versions are usually fairly light.

Carbonation: Quite low. Cask Conditioned forms use no CO2.

Alcohol: Not noticeable in the mouth. 2.5 - 5.0% ABV.

Bitterness (IBU): All have fairly low hopping but adequate for balance. (10-30)

Serving: Pint or half-pint English straight-side glass or handled mug. Serve cool, rather than room temperature - 45°F or a bit less.

Malts: Pale Malt. Unmalted roasted barley. "Kettle carmelization" is sometimes done to give a sweetness and color to the beer - this is done through an extended boil that cooks the wort. They rarely use any Caramel Malt. No self-respecting Scottish brewer would use sugar or other adjuncts.

Hops: East Kent Goldings. Fuggles.

Yeast: Normally a special strain of yeast that has low alcohol attenuation but thrives at cooler temperatures. Lacking that, British Ale Yeast is a substitute outside of Scotland.

Related Styles: Southern Brown Ale, British Pale Ale

Notes: Any peaty character usually comes from the water rather than the use of any peat-smoked malt.


Bob's Pick

Logo-BelhavenBelhaven 80/- Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland megabrewery - Brown. Malt with good tart hop balance and a touch of nut. Possibly a little weak for style at 3.9% ABV. Known as Belhaven Scottish Ale outside the UK.

Rare Gems

Logo-MadBoarMad Boar 60 Shilling Ale - North Myrtle Beach, SC brewpub chain - Uses peat-smoked barley. The smoke does come through strongly. Nicely dark and thick. 4.8%

Barley Island 60 Shilling Scotch Ale - Noblesville, IN brewpub and microbrewery - Medium bodied. Butterscotch and caramel malt flavor. No apparent hop bitterness. Properly sweet and sharp. 5.0%

Appalachian Brewing Jolly Scot (70 shilling)- Harrisburg, PA brewpub chain - Medium malty. Not sweet and low bitterness. Very light but solid body. Reddish copper. 5.2%

Bosco's Squared Isle of Sky Scottish Ale (80 shilling)- Memphis, TN brewpub - Dark to style. Horizon and Glacier hops. Very acceptable. Not overly sweet. Middle of style flavor. Faint vanilla notes. 4.9%

Lafayette Brewing Piper's Pride (80 shilling) - Lafayette, IN brewpub - Crystal, chocolate, and smoked malt. The malt sweetness at the start is matched by the malt smokiness in the finish. 5.7%

There are many cask conditioned versions brewed in Scotland; too many to even note here.

Widely Available

60/-

McEwan's 60/- - Edinburgh megabrewery (Caledonian, part of Scottish & Newcastle) - The best selling example in Scotland with a reason. 3.2%

70/-

Logo-OrkneyOrkney Raven Ale - Quoyloo, Orkney islands, Scotland micro brewery - Orange color. Grainy and yeasty in a good way. Full malt balanced by citric hops. 3.8%

80/-

Caledonian 80/- - Edinburgh megabrewery (Caledonian, part of Scottish & Newcastle) - The cask conditioned version is a regular in many Scottish pubs. Dark red color. Long-lasting off-white head. Biscuity and earthy. 4.1%

McEwan's Export Ale - Edinburgh megabrewery (Caledonian, part of Scottish & Newcastle) - Probably the largest production of bottled 80/- although only sporadically seen in the US. Lighter in color and character than most. Some sweet butterscotch and bitter coffee notes.

Three Floyds Robert the Bruce - Munster, IN regional brewery - Not overly thick but quite strong. Roasted and caramel notes come through. 6.5%


Scotch Ale

BritishScotchXmasBelgium-RomanChristmasBellIf Scottish ales are comparable to British Pale Ales, then Scotch Ales are the Scot's equivalent of an Old Ale. Just right for a fireplace and a copy of Burns' poetry.

Popularly known as Wee Heavy and sometimes labeled 90/- (90 shilling) or even 120/-. They have a roasted, earthy quality.

This style is an adopted darling in Belgium where some of the very best examples can be found. They tend toward bigger, roastier, and smoother than the typical from Scotland.

A sub-style is produced as a Christmas ale that often uses a lot of roasted barley and some toasted malt to give more smoky notes and a darker color. A long boil time accents this malt. Sweetness is also enhanced by the use of candy sugar in the wort in Belgium.

Native Territory: Scottish Lowlands.

Color (SRM): Dark amber to dark brown. Color influenced by roasted barley. (15 - 25).

Head: White or ivory head. The best give Belgian lacing.

Aromas: Malt predominates. Smoke and peat may come through.

Flavors: Coarse malt, again from roasted barley. Caramel sweetness.

Finish: Long an biting. Alcohol comes through and stays in the mouth.

Mouthfeel: Medium to chewy.

Carbonation: Very low.

Alcohol: 6.0 - 10.0% ABV.

Bitterness (IBU): Only to prevent extreme sweetness. (20 - 35 IBU).

Serving: Usually served in half-pint or .25 liter stemmed glass. The Thistle-shaped stemmed glass from Gordon is an absolute classic. Serve at almost room temperature - 55°F or so.

Malts: Pale Malt. Roasted malt or unmalted roasted barley is usually included - 3% is not untypical. "Kettle carmelization" is sometimes done to give a sweetness and color to the beer - they rarely use any Caramel Malt.

Hops: East Kent Goldings are typical.

Yeast: Normally a special strain of yeast that has low alcohol attenuation but thrives at cooler temperatures. Lacking that, British Ale Yeast is a substitute outside of Scotland.

Related Styles: Scottish Ale - Similar grains, yeast, brewing technique. Old Ale - the English cousin.


Bob's Pick

DarkAlesScotch-GordonGordon Highland Scotch - Genval, Belgium (part of Scottish and Newcastle) regional brewery (distribution by Anthony Martin) - Dark brown walnut color. Big malty Scotch with strong vanilla and roasty notes. Almost seems concentrated. Invariably served in a thistle glass that fits the hand perfectly. 8.6%. AKA Douglas Scotch Ale.

Also look for Gordon's XMAS Ale, the original, dating back to the 1930s. 8.8%

Rare Gems

Logo-Dragonmead-UnderTheKiltDragonmead Under the Kilt - Warren (Detroit), MI brewpub - Deep red. Tan head. Lots of intriguing aromas and tastes. Raisins, dark chocolate, caramel, oak, brown sugar. Alcohol also comes through. 7.8%

Flat Branch Pub & Brewing Scottish Ale - Columbia, MO brewpub - On handpull. Reddish color. Strong malt and balancing hops. Sweet. 6.0%

Widely Available

Logo-Achouffe-McChouffeAchouffe McChouffe - Achouffe, Belgium microbrewery - Dark orange. Deep red color. Spicy with a very dry finish.

McEwan's Scotch Ale - John Smiths, Tadcaster, Yorkshire, England (part of Scottish and Newcastle) megabrewery - Reddish color. Caramel, treacle, even cherry notes. 8.0%

Orkney Skullsplitter - Quoyloo, Orkney islands, Scotland micro brewery - Spicy, smoky, and more hoppy than most. 8.5%

Oskar Blues Old Chub - Probably the best tasting canned beer available. Complex roasty and smokey notes. 8.0%

Traquair House Ale - Innerleithen, Peeblesshire, Scotland regional brewery -  Considered the classic example of the style. Almost black. Dense ivory head. Dates, raisins, chocolate, A big, big beer. 7.2%

Traquair Jacobite Ale - ditto - A spiced variant of Traquair House Ale. Has a bit of coriander, berries, plums, and even more chocolate character. 8.0%

Irish Ales

Irish Red Ale

DarkAlesIrish-GreenBeerThe Irish make (or made) more than Guinness. Their version of a Pale Ale is darker and maltier due to softer water, higher fermentation temperatures (and corresponding yeast), and the use of less hops. The characteristic reddish color comes from roasted or Vienna malts that also enhance the sweetness of the beer.

Unfortunately, Ireland doesn't produce many Irish Ales. In fact, there are only 20 breweries in the entire country (Guinness/Smithwicks/Harp own 3, Murphy's, Beamish, plus 3 brewpubs and 12 microbreweries).

John Smithwick first brewed an Irish ale in 1710 but after WWI the big three were happy with their stout and porter lines so by WWII there were just some smaller breweries making this style. The last few merged together in the 1950s to form Irish Ale Brewers and that was bought by Guinness in 1965.

Not until the 1990s did Irish Ale make a comeback. Smithwick's expanded to  Canada and Kilkenny became de rigueur for fake Irish pubs all over Europe. Smithwick's was finally exported to the US market in 2004 after Guinness quit distributing Bass Ale.

Today there are many more American-made examples of the style than on the Emerald Isle.

Murphy's and Beamish's offerings are now "smooth" with nitrogen widgets and Smithwick's has the market for discerning beer drinkers to itself.

Oh, you'll run across an "Irish Ale" that is actually a lager. This isn't really unusual and in fact happens quite often in bottled commercial beers including the ersatz Irish Killian's sold by Coors in the US.

Native Territory: Ireland.

Color (SRM): Amber to deeper red copper. (10 - 18).

Head: White and frothy.

Aromas: Light. Some sweetness. Very little, if any, hop bitterness. Some have some buttery (diacetyl) character. Some soft fruit notes are typical.

Flavors: Some caramel sweetness. Sometimes bready or toasty with roasted grain coming out.

Finish: Fairly short. Dry but without lasting bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium.

Carbonation: Should have full carbonation. Sometimes served on nitrogen or canned with a widget. After all, Guinness invented the widget.

Alcohol: 4.0 - 6.0% ABV.

Bitterness (IBU): Only to balance. (15 - 30 IBU).

Serving: Pint or half-pint English straight-side glass or handled mug. Serve cooler than British Pale Ales. (40 - 45°F). Almost never found in Cask Conditioned form.

Malts: Pale. Malt. Roasted Malt or Melanoidin Malt or even Munich or Vienna Malt (giving some of the red color). Often with some corn or sugar adjuncts.

Hops: East Kent Goldings. Fuggles.

Yeast: British Ale Yeast. Irish Ale Yeast.

Related Styles: Southern Brown Ale, Scottish Ale


Bob's Pick
Logo-Smithwicks-6Pack

Smithwick's Irish Ale - Dundalk, Ireland megabrewery (owned by Guinness/Diageo) - The largest selling brand worldwide. Full dark red color. Thin head. Complex bitter finish. 5.0%

Rare Gems

Logo-Walnut

Draught House Nimrod - Austin, TX brewpub - Mild and malty. Deep copper. Served in cask conditioned form at their pub in Austin.

Walnut Brewery Restaurant St. James' Irish Red Ale - Boulder, CO brewpub chain - Coppery color. Malty. Unusually hopped with a bit of Cascade. Also cask conditioned at the pub.

JT Bitting Brewing Co. O'Holloran's Irish Red - Woodbridge, NJ brewpub - Dark red copper. Good use of British hops. "Based on a 100 year old recipe from the Belhaven Brewery". Good bite. Lingering aftertaste.

Vermont Pub & Brewery Burly Irish Ale - Burlington, VT brewpub - Reddish brown/red. Well balanced. Mild.

Widely Available

George Killian's Irish Red - Coors, Golden, CO megabrewery - May be called an Irish-style but really a light, mass-market lager with artificial coloring. Don't be confused.

Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale - Kilkenny, Ireland megabrewery (owned by Guinness/Diageo) - Similar to Smithwick's Irish Ale but with a distinctly stronger taste and a bigger head. First brewed in the 1980s as Smithwick's Irish Ale for the Europe and Canada market but made into it's own brand.


Irish Dry Stout

Stout-NinkasiGuinness. It's may not be the granddaddy of stout but it's surely the patriarch of the family. That explains the "Irish". The "Dry" comes from not only a high-hopping rate to balance the sweetness but also from the use of roasted unmalted barley to give a grainy and roasty character (a similar effect is found in Scottish Ale).

A lot of stout is served on tap on by nitrogen pressure rather than by carbon dioxide. In fact that's expected anymore. The nitrogen bubbles are smaller and give a cascading effect to the beer, taking a long time to clear. It also gives a thick creamy head that lasts throughout the drink, coating the glass. Canned and even bottled stout is also often found in Smooth form also using nitrogen - often called Pub Draught or Smoothflow.

So we see there's a big range throughout the style. Most are pretty light in alcohol, some have a lot. Some are grainy and have little carbonation, some are smooth from the nitrogen. Some are quite sweet but most are highly hopped to balance the large grain bill.

Guinness (Dublin) along with Murphy's and Beamish (Cork) are the big Irish breweries today. The Cork breweries were bought up in the 1960s by foreign companies that wanted to compete with Guinness around the world. Now it's easier to find these two brands outside of Ireland than in an Irish pub.

Murphy's was bought by Watney in 1965. Watney went belly up in 1982 and Murphy's was sold to Heineken.

Beamish was bought by Carling in 1962 and resold to Scottish & Newcastle in 1995.

The American take on a dry stout might include some Northwest hops but they typically aren't a focal point.

Native Territory: London and Ireland.

Color (SRM): Very black. The blacker the better. Completely opaque. Some have a touch of hidden red. (30 - 60).

Head: Tan or brown head if from a small brewery; but the big commercial brands usually have a white head.

Aromas: Roasted malt. Coffee.

Flavors: Roasted malt. Sourness. Hop bitterness. Coffee. Bitter chocolate. Nut. Vanilla.

Finish: Moderately long but not cloying.

Mouthfeel: Filling and grainy. Can be as dry as sidewalk chalk.

Carbonation: Tan or brown head if from a small brewery; but the big commercial brands have a white head.

Alcohol: Quite variable. On tap often much lighter than in bottles. 3.8 - 6.5% ABV.

Bitterness (IBU): Enough to give the sweet beer a bitter balance and leave a long bitter finish. (40 - 90 IBU).

Serving:  Pint or half-pint English straight-side glass or handled mug. Serve fairly cool for an ale - 40°F. In fact Guinness markets an "Extra Cold" variety in UK pubs.

Malts: Pale Malt, Roasted unmalted barley. Chocolate malt. Black Patent Malt. Non-roasted unmalted barley may also be used to enhance creaminess. Acid malt is sometimes used as a substitute for a lactic acid to enhance sourness.

Hops:  Brewer's Gold. Bramling Cross. Challenger. Goldings.

Yeast: Irish Ale Yeast.

Related Styles:  Export Stout - Higher gravity, dryer, hoppier, and all-around stronger.

Notes: Brewing water is usually a bit high in bicarbonates that counter the acidity of the roasted barley and the hops. This has the effect of extracting more of the tannins from the barley, making the beer darker, and enhancing the hop bitterness.

Brettanomyces bacteria is often added during a secondary fermentation to give a sour tang, just like they did in the 1800s. Some breweries add a bit of old, soured beer to the wort to gain dryness and complexity.


Bob's Pick

Logo-Guinness.jpg

Guinness Extra Stout - Dublin, Ireland megabrewery - Bottled non-smooth, please. Everything the epitome used to be. Unfortunately not found worldwide. 5.5%

Rare Gems

Logo-Hidden

Hidden Hidden Depths - Salisbury, Wiltshire, England microbrewery - Black black black dry stout.  Roast and chocolate. Earthy Fuggles hops. Always served cask conditioned. 4.6%.

Mickey Finn‘s Brewery Classic Irish Stout - Libertyville, Chicago, IL brewpub - The name says it all. Served on both CO2 and nitrogen. 5.7%

Wasatch Brewpub Stout - Park City, UT brewpub - Full body with long lasting, foamy head. Balanced. Non-biting but affirmative. 4.0 ABV (3.2% ABW - the most allowed in Utah).

Ninkasi Noire - Lyon, France brewpub - A big black stout with a big tan head that dissipates quickly. Lots of toasty, almost burnt malt. Coffee. 4.8%

Library Bar and Restaurant Shafthouse Dry Stout - Houghton, MI brewpub - Completely opaque. Deep, deep brown with gray head. Mild, dry, balanced. A bit of tempting burnt malt taste. Solid beer. Moderately thick. 5.0%

Widely Available

Logo-Avery

Avery Out of Bounds Stout - Boulder, CO regional brewery - Very big. Roasty from unmalted barley. Chocolate. Sourness is a plus. 5.1%

North Coast Old #38 Stout - Fort Bragg, CA microbrewery - Fluffy brown head. Roast and dark fruit. 5.6%

Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody's Wholesome Stout Herefordshire, England microbrewery - Creamy and very mild. Maris Otter, Flaked barley, Roasted barley, Crystal and Chocolate malts. Northdown hops. Winter seasonal. 4.6%

Beamish and Murphy's widget nitro-can stouts are very much like Guinness' Pub Draught. See below for various varieties of Guinness.

Indy Winterfest 2015, truly enjoyable -- reviews and comments

Indy Winterfest 2015 is behind us, but is a very pleasant memory! Over 3000 distinct users checked in to the Untapped app alone and by our count 105 breweries shared beer. Spanning two buildings made plenty of room though lines at some breweries later in the afternoon were longer but moved well.

Kathleen comments
What a way to start out the new beer year with a twice as big Winterfest! I was impressed last year as a volunteer seeing Winterfest move from the Agriculture building in to the Champions Pavilion but now with the addition of the Blue Ribbon, giving the event I believe twice as many people and 30+ more breweries it was amazing. I was, of course, one of the many volunteers working the gates like usual. I love going to festivals more as a volunteer even if it doesn’t give me a lot of time to drink beer, or get all the beers I want to try, it still is the best way to go. For starters, you get to check out everything before anyone is even there!

Anyways, I am rambling; let’s go on with the beer. As breweries got set up I noticed a common theme amongst a lot of breweries, it seemed the big thing was bacon, bacon, bacon. Crown Brewing had a nice Bacon Coffee Stout. Wabash Brewing had their Bacon Face Brown. For a minute there I thought I was actually at Bacon Fest instead of Winterfest (Which btw, was an actual event going on the same day).

I also noticed that I’ve been out of the brew scene for a while cause there were so many newer Indiana breweries that I had no idea about. Basket Case Brewing, Burn ‘Em Brewing, and Wabash Brewing were just a few that were new to me. I didn’t get a chance to find Basket Case, but Burn ‘Em Brewing’s Red Dead ReVelvet was a nice red stout (I didn’t even know you could have a red stout). If only I had a Red Velvet Elvis Flying Cupcake at the same time, I probably would’ve been on cloud 9.

Before I get into some of my other favorites – I need to give a bow to Bare Hands Brewing Co. I believe they had a least 20+ beers.. at least it seems like it was that much. They delivered variety, great flavors and hands down the experience that I so love at a festival. They got me hooked with their PB Stout three Winterfests ago, and I love that they keep it coming. I loved the Coconut Chocolate Mail Order Bride RIS.

What else got me going at Winterfest? –
Here is just a quick list of a few that I remember. (So many beers, so little memory)
• TinMan Brewing – Apricot Sour
• Upland Brewing – Barrel Aged Vanilla Porter
• Upland Brewing – Sweet Myrtle
• Black Acre – Beard Tax RIS
• Destihl Brewing – Here Gose Nothing
• Flat 12 Bierwerks – Hinchtown Hammer Ale with Black Currant
• Wabash Brewing – Smash Cherry
• FBI’s - Saison
• Zwanzigs – Ghost Pepper RIS (ok, that was a cheat cause I’ve loved that one and track it down every festival)
Big thanks to the guild, the brewers, and my fellow volunteers. It was an awesome event and can’t wait until the summer.

Andrew Korty is our featured guest blogger who is a BJCP National judge whose homebrew has won awards at the regional and national levels.

Winterfest stands apart from other beer festivals in the region, partly because is it so well organized, but mostly due to the diverse selection of beers. Breweries know that Winterfest attendees, rather than perfunctorily seeking anything with “IPA” in the name, favor the unique, the interesting, and the beer-geeky. Still, beers at this festival don’t make it on quirkiness alone. Quality is a requirement.

Straight away, Shoreline treated us to a wonderfully complex, twelve-year-old barleywine whose nutty, sherry-like tones were the perfect antidote to the blustery cold outside. On the crisper side, their Bavarian Bombshell schwarzbier offered a clean Pilsner malt base with just a hint of dark malt.

Apparently aiming for full-on zany, Evil Czech delivered an expertly balanced rye IPA with kale, jalapeƃ±o, and citrus zest, a combination I couldn’t have conjured up without several twirls of the culinary spinning wheel. They were also tipping cans of their General George Patton Pilsner, which brims with Czech hop character over a crackery malt canvas.

Function had a solid lineup, including Kinetic, whose chili pepper aroma and flavor blend harmoniously with the malt and won’t scorch your palate. Their sessionable bitter was pleasantly British, evoking the expected hop, malt, and yeast notes. And over in the firkin tent was their milk stout, accompanied by just enough java to compliment but not overpower the malt flavors.

The Dude from Crown Brewing is a porter brewed with a White Russian flavored coffee that really ties the whole beer together, man. I wish my special lady would have been there to enjoy it. I chased it with the deliciously bacony Hatchetation smoked strong stout.

Venerable Upland continues to pleasantly surprise, this time with their Side Trail, a skillful blend of a roasty stout and a currant-infused Belgian ale. I also tasted their latest Blueberry Lambic, whose fruity, lactic backbone is sharpened up with just the right amount of acetic sourness.

Grand Junction has been wasting no time building a new, hard-hitting lineup. Their Dark Road Porter is the best of the bunch and, to my taste, the best American-style porter in the region.

The most impressive beer of the night was Daredevil’s JWP stout aged in a Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel. I tend to be pretty harsh on this style, as the booziness in most examples masks the complexity of the base beer. Not in this case—Daredevil clearly allowed only a passing acquaintance between bourbon and beer, allowing the nuances of the stout to play off the whiskey notes delightfully.

Every Winterfest I shed a tear for the breweries I missed, usually due to line length or poor planning on my part. This year was no exception, and I returned home without a taste of the offerings from 18th Street, MashCraft, and several other of my favorite breweries. I console myself by reflecting on the highlights above, a list that seems to get longer every year.


Greg Kitz Adds
One of the best and most unusual beers for me was was from Bare Hands Brewery of Mishawaka, IN: Mole Mail Order Bride - a Russian Imperial Stout with deep dark malt that was aged on Mexican cinnamon with cocoa nibs and multiple Mexican style peppers. Bare Hands is well known for its Thai PA (IPA with Thai ). It also became well known in 2014 for the serious injury owner/brewer Chris Gerard suffered in the brewery. We are very glad to see Chris doing well and working hard again.

With a focus on newer breweries, I finally caught up with Drew Fox who opened 18th Street Brewery in Gary in 2013. The 18th Street Vanilla Hunter is the sweet stout plus Mexican vanilla beans and really delivers the wonderful base of the stout and just enough great vanilla without overpowering. Drew's concept, partly conceived when living on 18th Street in the Pilsen area of Chicago, is to brew a variety of beers. While Hunter Sweet Stout is close to a flagship beer, Drew has been bringing out varieties of Hunter from Vanilla Hunter, to Cherry Hunter, to Coconut Hunter. BBL aged Hunter will be out in April 2015.

Taxman Brewing of Bargersville has been brewing in house since November, 2014, and Taxman Tax Holiday delivers an amber ale close to their quad with notes of molasses and nice spice. Their Winter Wit was a very nice lemon forward version.

Mashcraft, Greenwood, featured a very special Mashcraft Ancho Annie pepper infused Amber. This provided tremendous flavor with a slight burn. No hops.

Four Fathers Brewing of Valparaiso had a Fathers Beer, Belgian Pale (5.3%) that was very nice. Their collaboration with Burn 'Em Brewing is Smoke That Shizz, and it is a complex Imperial Smoked Blonde Ale fermented with Honey. Really unique.

Burn 'Em Brewing opened in Michigan City in Feb. 2013, and their Long John's On winter warmer really delivered a lot of flavor and warmth. Their Fallen Swine Smoked Pork Chop porter seemed to be a popular beer attendees were talking about.

The Devils Trumpet Brewing Company of Merrillville, offered me Pandemonium in Purgatory Belgian Style Tripel (9.6%) that had nice flavor.

Trying to visit breweries I do not normally get to I found:

New Boswell Brewing (Richmond) not only offered a deep roasty Skye Island Stout with coffee, but a thirst quenching Root beer balancing sarsparilla, sassafras, vanilla and spices.

Basket Case Brewing operates within the Mill House Restaurant gave me Sgt. Pepper blond with scorpion peppers that had a great level of spice.


Chapmans Brewing of Angola, had RIOS, aptly named as Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout coming in at 9.5% alc but very smooth and creamy while being dark and delivering that deep dark malt flavor.

Zwanzigz of Columbus brewer Mike Rybinski had promised me a few weeks ago he'd have some 'good stuff.' As always Mike delivers. Mike is already on the radar screen for the ghost chilli stout which we sampled before he brought to Winterfest about 3 years ago. In addition, this year Nullius in Verba (See for yourself in Latin) used 13 types of grain, 3 types of sugar, and multiple hops is a barleywine that defies explanation other than complexity of spices with so many dimensions of fruitiness, nuttiness, and just deliciousness. The barrel aged version did all of that with the vanilla and oak added.

And of course there are some of our brewer friends that just knock flavor to the next county:

Daredevil (Shelbyville but soon to be Speedway) had hinted we'd get BBL aged Muse, and since I am hooked up with a major consumer of Muse we had to get our sample of this wonderful golden ale that adds the depth of the oak. I just had to get a sip of Daredevil JWP while stopping - the rich complex stout.

Upland served me the Barrel Chested Barleywine adding the caramel, toffee, dark fruit flavor of the base beer with toasted oak vanilla from the barrel. Head Brewer Caleb also poured us some Dragonfruit sour - a highly carbonated, nicely tart beer that delivered citrus and green pepper and was almost like a delicious bubbly wine.

Sun King Indy had Hot Rod Lincoln, the Barrel Aged Timmie imperial stout with cherries and chocolate.

Flat 12 used a music and art theme while experimenting with their top notch Pogues Run Porter with different yeasts. At first I was enthralled with the Belgian yeast version but the Indiana wild yeast provided such an interesting tartness to the porter to sway me.

Bloomington Brewing hooked me back with Ol Floyd's Belgian Dark Strong delivering fig, plu, some spice while smooth for a 9% beer featuring a unique yeast blend this year.

I want to give a shout out to three out-of-state breweries. Against The Grain Louisville has built from a small takeover in the L'ville Cardinals stadium, to serving nearly 20 countries in Europe, major metro areas in the U.S. and all with fun, sometimes funky, often BBL aged beers that we can love. Look for our brewer/owner buddy Sam to be featured on Brew Dogs TV in April. Sam Cruz is originally from and still lives in Indiana.
Rhinegiest Cincinnati has Indiana roots in brewer/owner buddy Jim Matt who was QA at SunKing and moved around before settling in to one of the breweries that my craft beer friends always talk about in the Ohio Valley.
Country Boy Lexington (KY) brought their beer to IN way before there was any hope of distribution here just because they are great guys and they want to share the beer love. Brewer/owner Evan Coppage was on hand at Winterfest and chatting it up with our man Josh H who will have a new brewery open in 2015, just because brewers tend to stick together and share. CB partner DG was MIA and I mention not only because they brew great beer but because they are extremely nice people - who, by the way, can host one helluva party as I can well attest.
All three of these breweries (and many more) are part of the wonderful family of local craft brewers who love beer, love the people and are most anxious to just share.

Winterfest is a wonderful event -- we only wish it somehow could be held on at least 3 consecutive days because it is impossible to try everything we want, or to just settle in and drink a couple of our favorites that we cannot get often. To all of our brewery friends who we talked with, took pictures of, shared stories with - THANKS for being part of one of the best and most open enterprises as a heart of America. We can't write about all of the wonderful people and post all 100+ pics we have of this year's Indy Winterfest. But Brewers of Indiana Guild, and all of the volunteers, police agencies, and many involved should feel very, very good about this year's event! Thanks to all, and we will see many of you soon.

This year's venue seemed to provide more restrooms, more space, and a really fun atmosphere!

Remember, there are MORE festivals coming up! Now that Winterfest is behind us, here was our post of what is coming just in the next weeks, and some beyond.


Dribs and Drams–ROFL edition

Headline: “Hey Look, Someone’s Already Made Beer out of Sewage Water. link

Headline: Who knew Girl Scout Cookies and Beer Paired so Well? link

Gotta be Icelandic: “The beer is flavored with real whale testicles that were smoked in sheep excrement.” link

Article: 11 Common Misconceptions about Beer link

Article: “Professional clown Paul Miller hopes the growing craft brewery industry will allow him to expand his circus business, Circus Mojo in Ludlow (near Cincinnati).” link

Headline: Flaming semi full of beer closes I-76 (in Colorado) link

Slate says hops is killing craft beer. link

 

Bar12 HeinekenBoat

SnowBar

 VendingMachine VendingWhisky

Board-WhiskyIsSunlight

fascinating_pics_12

ChillForBestResults

NOT ROFL:

Hidden Gems looks at the history of Muncie’s Heorot. link

The Shelf Ice Brewfest is in Michigan City on Feb 7. Be there. link to pre-review

Headline: Why Grease Kills the Head on a Beer link

Headline: The 6 most Expensive American-brewed beers link Three Floyds Barrel-Aged Dark Lord and Murda’d Out Stout tie for 6th at $50.

Travelling? Here’s “The best Beer Gardens in Australia” link