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!

     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

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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.