Dribs and Drams–May 28

For the northerners among us, Eric Strader’s blog with the Elkhart Truth has changed his blog to “Hop Notes” at http://blogs.etruth.com/hopnotes.

The Senate bill introduced this year that would allow micros to sell at farmers’ markets has fallen flat. article

You’ve probably heard that Mark Havens of Oaken Barrel fame is moving to Big Woods Brewery. blog

Headline: Evansville is getting a new place for a pint. Carson’s Brewery has their permits and will used their pilot system to make a bit for the retail trade. They hope to start work on a 20-bbl brewhouse and tasting room soon. article

The Drewrys project in South Bend isn’t as dead as some people thought. The headline of this article says “Drewrys’ book, beer set for sale this summer”.

Also coming up: a brewery in Angola. Scott Ferguson is planning “Chapman’s American Ale Cider” that will half lots a ale character and 6 1/2% ABV. article

Headline of the press release: Indiana Beer Distributors Generate 2,079 Direct Jobs, $739 Million in Total Economic Impacts. Didn’t even know they wanted anything from the government. article with more states

Finally figured out why there are Big Red signs around Indy. The Bloomington-based chain has bought the 24 United Package Liquors.

Press Release: Berghoff will be back. The Chicago version of the company (including the restaurant with Illinois liquor license #1) will have Stevens Point making their beer for a push into Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin starting in June. Yes Judy, this will qualify as a craft beer.

The initial offering will be a “seasonal Solstice Wit Beer (5.2% ABV), made with Calamansi juice, an Asian citrus fruit, and spices, it is a refreshing summery beer from a long tradition of unfiltered wheat beers.  Perfect for warm weather drinking, Solstice Wit joins Berghoff’s other major year-round labels:  Straight Up Hefeweizen (5.2% ABV), a Bavarian hefe-weizen, with the creamy goodness of wheat, plus a fruity and spicy nose;  Dortwunder Lager (5.5% ABV), a classic and evenly balanced pale lager in the Dortmunder tradition;  Reppin’ Red Ale, Malt & Rye (6.2% ABV), a serious red ale that mixes tangy rye and crisp toasted malts with plenty of American hop character;  Sir Dunkle Crispy Dark Lager (5.5% ABV), smooth and malty, with a bright crispness, making a drinkable and very satisfying beer.  Berghoff will also introduce the first beer in its Überbier Series, Germaniac Extra Pale Ale (6.3% ABV), brewed with honey and molasses, it will be a briskly hopped extra pale ale patterned after the old “outlaw” beer style, Kottbüsser.”

Rich Higgins (one of five Master Cicerones) is going to host a tasting at the Tomlinson Tap Room on Mon, June 3.

Higgins will explain the historical and cultural background of each style, and the tasting will feature two Indiana- brewed craft beers from each style to illustrate the artistic and stylistic differences.
Higgins joins the Tomlinson Tap Room to present the event. Located on the mezzanine level of the Indianapolis City Market, the Tap Room is Indiana’s hub for fresh, local beer, pouring the delicious beers of the Brewers of Indiana Guild.
Featured pilsners -- real golden lagers with nuance, personality, and peppery, herbal hops: 
- Fountain Square Workingman's Pilsner 
- Three Floyds Jinx Proof
Featured Belgian-style farmhouse ales -- with flavorful, rustic, Belgian yeasts and a sparkling, dry finish:
- New Albanian Black & Bluegrass
- Bloomington Brewing Biere de Mars
Featured American IPAs -- built around bold malts and citrusy, floral hop aromas, and so much more than just brash bitterness:
- Daredevil Lift Off IPA
- Oaken Barrel Superfly IPA
Tickets cost $25 (+ 2.37 fee), and include tastes of 6 beers, plus a pint of your favorite choice after the tasting. Soft pretzels, chips, and popcorn will also be served. Tickets and more information are available at: http://www.richhiggins.com.

Magic Hat has whooped a lawsuit on Lexington KY’s West Sixth Brewing. Evidently a 9 upside down is a six. article sigh.

A beer wheel.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is probably going to become the state microbe of Oregon. article

News from Jolly Old England:

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) got the beer tax rate lowered with an immediate pence per pint. Breweries have promised to lower their prices (by that pence) or give the excess to charity. Members are less than impressed and 1,300 showed up at the annual meeting to yawn and to yell about the second of Camra’s showpiece pushes.

Camra earlier had called for minimum prices on beer to combat pubs’ price for real ale being much more than supermarket prices on Carlsburg/Heineken/etc. The membership meeting made Camra back off this stance as the populous don’t want anything to do with the “nanny” government setting prices, foreseeing increased taxation that could take real ale the way of tobacco.

Now the members are railing about Camra’s finger to the wind about supporting craft beer as well as real ale. Invective, invective.

Headline: Taste of Beer Makes Men Crave Getting Drunk. According to an paper published in Neuropsychopharmacology. article slightly_better_article

Budweiser is testing an “iconic” bowtie-shaped can. It will be sold as an 8-pack of 11.3 oz beers. “It holds 11.3 ounces of beer and has about 137 calories, approximately 8.5 fewer calories than a traditional 12-ounce can of Budweiser.”

This is the first time I’ve hear that Beer Filtration Could Add Arsenic. article

Headline: George Washington’s Whiskey: Not the Best article

Tips for new microbrewery customers (from the Purdue Calumet).

Tip for everybody: Keep a bottle colder by keeping it dry. article

Slate’s tip for brewers: The Craft Beer Industry’s Love Affair with Hops is Alienating People who don’t like Bitter Brews. article

Labor Day Beer Trek

This labor day was a little quieter than previous weeks with the beer festivities at least for me.


However... I was able to take part in a little trip down south to Bloomington to visit a couple of breweries.


First stop was at Upland Brewing Company . Most Hoosiers know of this company, since they have been one of Indiana's top micro brewers for the past 13 years.  This was my first time actually visiting the brew pub. I have had many samples of Upland during beer fests and at local bars but there is always something better about coming to the place where all it comes together.

I arrived to Upland a little before noon.. (hey.. it's always 5 o'clock somewhere).. and right of the bat ordered a sample set of all 7 drafts available along with the spinach and artichoke dip to help snack in between sampling. 


(I was slightly disappointed that they didn't have their Bad Elmer's Porter which is usually a year around beer on tap, but the selection available seemed to be a good variety.)


<-- From bottom to the right I went around the board..

My order of tasting was:
1. Double Dragonfly Imperial IPA
Despite the high IBU, this was very nice IPA. I could even see myself drinking more of it. Even with the floral notes in the aroma. 
2. Rad Red Amber Ale
3. Helios Pale Ale 
Both of these were drinkable but not distinctive enough for my taste. However, they are smooth enough for anyone to drink. 
4. Wheat Ale 
I liked that this was a Belgian Wit  instead of more of a weissbier. The orange peels that were added during brewing gave it a nice light citrusy taste, however I prefer a lemon flavor more with my witbeirs than orange, but overall a very nice brew. 
5. Oktoberfest
As the Amber Ale and Pale ale previously, the Oktoberfest was a smooth beer but didn't have me craving more. 
6. Nut Hugger Brown Ale 
Another festival tasted brew.. but in this line up stood out more given the carmelness of the malts. 
7. Mother's Milk Stout 
If you read my review of HBG5 then you know this is one was on top of my list from the beginning. 

After visiting Upland, I will say I had more of an appreciation for their beers, even the ones that are not my typical profile choices. I do suggest if you get a chance to visit their Bloomington Brew Pub or at least their tasting room in BroadRipple. You may be surprised as well.


 After Upland and the scenic tour of Brown County, the next brewery I visited has only been on the map for 2 years.  Big Woods Brewing Company literally sits in the heart of Brown County's crafts district.

 (which is a pain to find parking, but fun if you are on foot.) 

If you'd like More information on Big Woods can be found from Bob's blog from 2010: Big Woods Addition.

Sitting at Big Woods Brew Pub is by the honor's code, as in they don't have a hostess and you line up on the porch. It's a small brew pub, but it has a small friendly staff. After a brief wait, a table was free and I got to order their sample flight and an appetizer. 

Sample of  7

My samples from left to right where:

• Busted Knuckle Ale -- a hybrid ale.. with the color of a porter but the taste of an ale.
• Cat Tail Wheat -- an American Wheat, however had more weiss taste. The orange slice addition actually was a little too much. 
• Six Foot Blonde -- a soft blonde ale
• Possum Trot Pale -- followed by a soft pale ale
• Hare Trigger IPA -- this one was actually the "winner" of this round of sampling. a figuratively light IPA with only an IBU of 75. I preferred it above all the rest because it had more of a robust flavor than the other 6. 
• John's Red Ale -- an easy drinking red ale
• Tim's Big Woods Stout -- a light tasting stout. It seduced me by name, color and smell but left me hanging with no richness that I have come accustomed to with stouts. 

As you can see overall the beer was OK, but my expectations were set high with a name like Big Woods... I was hoping for Big Flavor. 


I would however go back to Big Woods Brewing Company because the pulled pork nachos were amazing.


Both breweries should definitely be on the map to try for yourself, mostly because no one know can tell you what you'll like.. you just have to go experience yourself.   I know that trying the IPAs from both places made me rethink my stance on hoppier beers, but I could have been under the influence of my Flat12 Bierworks shirt -- "Hopheaded Stepchild" 


In the end.. I want to say thank you Upland and Big Woods for the visit.. hope to see you again soon!

Indiana Beer News – Aug 6

Figure 8 Brewing has 22oz bombers available in better liquor stores. A recent Kahn’s add lists Where Lizards Dare IPA ($7.99), Solar Collector Pale Wheat ($6.99), Snake Pro Double IPA ($7.99), Ro Shampo Imperial Red ($7.99), Offwidth Double Pale Ale ($7.99), First Ascent Belgo Honey Lager ($5.99).

Oaken Barrel says “We are running out of beer!  Due to the high demands of our customers at the restaurant, Sunday carry out beer sales, and the demand of our beer distributor, we’ve ran out of few beers this summer.  We are in process of expanding our brewery, and plans are in the works to add 3 large fermenters to double our capacity.  Thank you for the understanding.”

Sun King’s Pale Rider will be tapped at the Captains Cove at Victory Field. 6:35pm, August 18th. Dave Colt will throw out the first pitch.

Thr3e Wise Men’s newest seasonals are Long Fang Abbey Ale, 7%; and Centennial Martyr Double IPA, 7.7%.

Fountain Square Brewing is starting construction of the inner walls including the tap room. The “could be open by Labor Day but that’s in a perfect world”.

The Tuxedo Park Brewers homebrew store in Fountain Square, Indy, is starting an in-house homebrew club. MONK – Midwestern Order of Ninkasi" – has about 15 members already.. They also have acquired much of the Wilbur Brewhause consumables including:

• Malt Extract – Organic Pale Malt. $1.50/lb. $85 / 60 pound pail.
• Cases of clean, unused, bottles – $10/case
• Organic Hops – 2009 crop. $1/ounce. Leaf Hallertauer, Fuggle pellets, Nugget pellets.
• A 24-head bottle rinser.

Big Woods Brewing has opened the Big Woods Pizza Co. It’s on Indiana 135, N. Van Buren St, just east of the brewpub, north of Main St. It’s a family place (the brewpub is 21+) and has 2 taps of Big Woods beer – right now Busted Knuckle and Cattail Wheat.

Eric Strader uncovers an effort in Elkhart to start the Iechyd Da Brewing Co. (that’s Welsh)next year. article

Flat 12‘s Axis Hefe is the “featured beer of IndyFringe. On tap at Mass Ave bars and Fringe Festival Outdoor Stage "Club Fringe" and will be served at the Sullivan Hardware Indy Egg Fest – nope, an Egg is a big round BBQ.

Owen Lingley from Wyeast Labs will be joining Great Fermentations for their monthly Friday Night Club meeting and at 5:30pm on August 12th, he will make a short presentation then be available for questions. Attendees are encouraged to bring home brew or wine to share, and we have a special 20 gallon batch of beer split and fermented four different ways to showcase the yeast. Our Friday Night Club always meets on the second Friday of each month from 5-7pm, and is an informal get-together of brewers and winemakers to share information, ideas and beverages.

Triton In Lawrence has signage up now.

St. Peters has some new flavors. Sorgham Beer, Old-Style Porter, Cream Stout, IPA, Fruit Beer-Grapefruit, Organic English Ale.

The Great British Beer Festival has named Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde Mild as the Champion Beer of Britain. 3.7%, Champion Mild of Britain in 2006, CAMRA Beer of the Year, 2002, and not available here (or much of anywhere outside of Essex).

Strained headline of the day: “Coney Island Brewing opens as world’s smallest brewery”. one-gallon. output is bottled.

Indiana Beer News – July 27

Big Woods Brewing’s alley adjunct, Big Woods Pizza Co., is open. A tied house just across the street will have weekly changing gourmet pizza and, of course, Big Woods Beer. In fact, they have a brewery over there and will be released Busted Knuckle ale in bombers soon.

This week’s pizza is Black and Bleu:  It's a slightly spicy, and unconventional combination of Cajun Alfredo sauce, shaved lamb, Gouda, red onions, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, and cool creamy gorgonzola.

There’s a Hops Workshop on August 17th at Michigan State University’s school in Benton Harbor. 9am-3pm. $25. article

While you’re in that area, the Round Barn Brewery in Baroda, MI will have Grape Expectations “Malt beverage brewed with peppercorn and grape.”

Brownings in Louisville is getting a makeover and a new name – Against the Grain Brewery and Smokehouse. Still at Sluggger Field. According to their facebook page they can satisfy about any taste: Food Styles, American (New), American (Traditional), Asian Fusion, Barbeque, British, Burgers, Cajun/Creole, Caribbean, Chinese, Cuban, Diners, French, Italian, Latin American, Mexican, Pizza, Sandwiches, Seafood, Soul Food, Southern, Steakhouses, Taiwanese, Tex-Mex, Thai, Vegan, Vegetarian.

Sub-headline: Chicago-area suds scene still riding a surging wave. The Trib outlines Chicago breweries – From Chicago Beer Co. to New Chicago Brewing Co.

Brew Dog isn’t being allowed to have their beers among the over-1,000 that will be served at the Great British Beer Festival. CAMRA says they aren’t real ale. Brewdog asks “what is real all?” and accuses that CAMRA of applying different standards to domestic and imported beer (which doesn’t need to be real ale). BD’s blog

They say MDG 64 Lemonade, although planned to be available from Memorial Day to Labor Day, might disappear any day now – from the Miller catalog, since it isn’t disappearing from store shelves.

Businessweek chronicles the Fall of the House of Busch.

Misc News – Dec 22

It’s time to renew your mug club memberships.

Big Woods Brewing is expanding again. They are going across the street (ok, alley) to put in a new keg washing facility. “Last week, Ed, Jeff, Tim and Dave travelled to the Tall Grass Brewery In Manhattan Kansas and bought their inventory of kegs.  With more kegs and more space to clean and store the empties, we'll be able to brew more often and start to meet the demand for our beer at more locations around the state.”

Tastes:

• Bier Brewery and Taproom Dark German Wheat. Fairly dark. Not overly sweet like many. Yes, it’s the season as shown by the Bier Tree at right.
• Bier Brewery and Taproom Winter Porter. Thick body. Made with star anis and a bunch of other wintery spices but they are quite subtle. 6.5%
• Bier Brewery and Taproom Chocolate Mint. Yep, a chocolate mint stout. Semi-sweet baker’s chocolate and a pound of mint. Again subtle. More subtle than “a pound of mint” would suggest. Got a growler.
• Broad Ripple Brewpub Wee Alec Heavy. Kevin’s malty Scotch Ale returns at 7.7%. Big foamy head through the handpull that lasted through the entire quaff. Potent but not brassy. We wonder if Kevin has a vertical stashed away.

Coming up at Bier: Tripel, Barleywine, Smoked Brown, and variations with wine-barrel oak chips.

Also, according to Jim Herters’ column in Great Lakes Brewing News:

• Back Road. Now Available: No. 9 Barleywine and the corresponding Small Beer. Christmas Ale (a Baltic Porter).
• Barley Island. A Barley Wine in January.
• Crown Brewing. Now on: Winter Warlock (through February). Coming: Industrial Porter. Bourbon barrel aged Grand Poobah Imperial Stout. Batch 100 Black IPA and AlkoholikA Blonde Dopplebock in January.
• Great Crescent Brewery. Now available: Bourbon’s Barrel Stout aged in Maker’s Mark barrels – made expressly for Bourbon’s Bar & Grill in Lawrenceburg. Chocolate Porter in January.
• Half Moon. No on tap: Steel Curtain Stout. 7.0% Scottish. Honey-Rye (7.1%) in January.
• People's Brewing. Ardell Scottish Ale. Small-batch IPA in January.
• Sun King. Imperial Stout in January.

Pelican Brands of Carmel has purchased the Napa Smith Brewery & Winery. Pelican was the exclusive sales agents for Napa Smith before and has taken them into 17 states. article

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) finds that alcohol can’t be absorbed through skin abstract. And that white wine slows down digestion of cheese abstract.

Misc News – Nov 9

Congratulations to medalists at the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beers:

• Three Floyds – Silver, Chocolate City, Silver, Conquistador de la Muerte
• Upland Silver, Dantalion

Big Woods Brewing's new HoneySuckle Red is newly on tap and last month, Lieutenant Gov. Becky Skillman presented Big Woods Brewing Co. with the "Indiana Main Street Business of the Year" award. The Indiana Main Street program honors outstanding local achievements in downtown revitalization and development. Their 1st anniversary is Thursday and a new Oatmeal Stout will be summoned out from it's Woodford Reserve barrel to celebrate at 7pm.

Roger Baylor is planning some group trips in 2011. "In late June or early July, Bamberg Beercycling (Northern Bavaria), and then in September, Belgian Beer Hunting via motorcoach, including the hop fest in Poperinge. Each will be 7-8 day durations, minimum, and details are forthcoming as I get to them. Let em know if you're interested." He's also posted pictures from previous trips.

Three Pints Brewpub will open in Plainfield Friday according to this news release. Not brewing yet. Nor is their web site.

Greg waxes on to Jason about John. Hill, that is.

Todd Antz of Keg Liquors reviews some wintery beers for the Clark County Focus.

The fire at Dark Horse affected the office, beer supply store, and a tattoo shop. The tap room was broken into and the local Fire Chief thinks the fire is suspicious. The brewpub is open and the brewery not affected.

Here's an excellent editorial about MADD. In the Toronto Sun. Yes, MADD invaded Canada years ago.

Bob Mack reviews The End of History. Wasabi. 55%.

Report from the Norman Upland

OK, what's a Norman Upland and what does it have to do with the Upland Brewery? That's a two-part question. 1) The Norman Upland is a region of south-central Indiana that is beyond the limit of the Wisconsin glacial deposits. 2) Nothing really except way back when Marc Sattinger named the Upland Brewery for these hills.

So why is this post titled thusly? It contains information about the brewpubs in the Norman Upland, OK, maybe a little further. Bloomington, Nashville, and Columbus. A nice drive on a fall turning-leaves day and an easy way to visit 4 brewpubs with a 30-mile drive on Ind 46. Or take Ind 45 to Nashville via Helmsburg for more 2-lanes. That's what I did the other day.

Upland 

The Bourbon Barrel-aged Winter Warmer on tap is a malty barley wine hidden away in Buffalo Trace barrels for the summer. The 47 IBUs don't balance or tame it – consider it was a 1082 OG.

In two weeks they are looking forward to sticking a tank out the top of the brewhouse, effectively doubling the capacity.

Caleb is kept pretty busy but has time to nose some lambic samples for next year. 

Speaking of Lambics. The Kiwi goes in for fruiting in a couple of weeks and many others of the 2010 release are waiting in glass. Blackberry, Peach, Strawberry, Blueberry, Red Raspberry, and Dantalion Dark Wild will be back also along with a new one called Gilgamesh.

     

 

Bloomington Brewing's handpulls change constantly. I was lucky enough to get a Cask Conditioned Mild Ale. The dry hopping puts nonsense to the posted 5 IBU. This comes to an effective 30 IBU. A perfect Brit ESB for Americans. 4.7%. Coming up on the handpull in November include Quarrymen Pale and Double Hopper.

Scott's 6th law: If your beer does not go with chocolate, you're drinking the wrong beer.

 

Big Woods Brewing

Busted Knuckle – Now their signature beer (replacing Tim's Big Woods Stout). A hybrid ale close to light-bodied porter but with a 7.5% basis. 27 IBU from Crystal and EKG. A bit of roasty and well-balanced. A+ stuff. Stood up to the spicy chili.

 

Power House / Columbus Bar The Great Powerhouse Collaboration Abbey Ale is freshly on tap with plenty of modicums of funky Abbey Ale yeastiness.

White River Brown is highly carbonated for a Dark Southern Brown / Mild. Malt predominates and the carbonation adds spriteliness which seems out of place at first.

 

Misc News – Aug 21

Big Woods Brewing American Wheat is now on tap at the Story Still Tavern at the Story Inn in Story Indiana. It's Big Woods' first off-site account and Story Inn's only draft beer.

Big Woods is also instituting a new Sunday Growler policy. The first 10 new growler customers every Sunday get the bottle for free.

Mini-editorial: Every brewpub we have talked to since July 4th has been very happy with Sunday Growler sales, reporting double-digit sales every week. Two have estimated 50 growlers filled every Sunday. This is the biggest success story yet for the Brewers of Indiana Guild's lobbying dollars. Over and above the extra income generated, the publicity for Indiana brewpubs during June and July was all-in-all positive and will give long-term benefits.

Hopefully the B.I.G.'s next effort will result in a change Indiana law that will see Indiana-only beer and wine booths at the Indiana State Fair. This could be accomplished for the 2011 Fair and it would introduce the members' products to the 800,000 attendees. There could be no better use of the Guild's time and money than to achieve this level of recognition to new potential customers.

Coming up – new and strange brews from breweries – and distilleries.

Rogue Chatoe Creek Ale – A Belgian Kriek hits the shelves in October. Hopefully here in Indiana as well as Oregon.

Avery will have Ellie's Brown, White Rascal and IPA out in cans in September. article

Springbank has 5 new Scotch whiskies out. Hazelburn – 8yo unpeated and aged in both bourbon and sherry barrels. Springbank 10yo. Springbank 15yo - finished in sherry wood. Longrow CV – a blend of single malt ages with smoky notes. Longrow 10yo – finished in sherry wood. article

Big Woods Addition and other Big Woodsy News

The boys have done a lot of construction down in Nashville Indiana's labyrinth area known as Molly Lane and here's the completed result; a new home for Tim O'Bryan and a new brewing system for Big Woods. The extension sympathetically merges with the rest of the building and the neighbors are happy.

The second-floor doors are for receiving grain. Bags are stored upstairs, relieving some of the cramped conditions in the front part – the brewery. The back half of the extension is a walk-in for beer storage and serving manifold systems for 4 taps.

The brewing system has been upgraded for double-batching into the new 2-barrel fermenter. The frame is custom-made with a roll-out mini-stand for access and tilt-forward vessels for easy cleaning. Neat idea. It was fabricated by a local (Nashville) company.

   

Like any good brewery, they are starting some hops on the front porch. Trained on fishing line suspended from old fishing rods and stringer. When filled in they will provide shade and batches of special wet-hopped beer starting in autumn, 2011.

 

On tap now:

• 6 Foot Blonde - Clean starter beer.
• Possum Trot Pale – Nice American Pale  Recommended with food. Tim is still tweaking the recipe but we thought he hit on the formula back in December. (Maybe he'll a touch of honey and some malted wheat for body).
• Big Woods Stout – The Big Woods original. Smooth creamy milk-ish Oatmeal Stout with a very thick tan small-bubble head. Roast but no toast. Just black max.
• Busted Knuckle Red – Tim's secret recipe. Dark, dark red. He'll reveal Crystal and Munich malts with Fuggles hops and some Belgian candi sugar which ramps up the up-front sweetness that is immediately balanced by plenty of bitterness. Has a medium-long finish with a touch of sourness which may or may not come from some strain of Belgian yeast. A sipping double red.

Next up is a Common Ale that is now fermenting.

   

A big Weber grill outside provides much of the food from the recipe book of Spring Smith and Emily Stone. We highly recommend the home-pulled pork, the peppery big-hunk red cabbage slaw, and especially the portabella mushroom sandwich with avocado spread.

Next Monday they will be serving Steak Monday from a happy Angus cow that has been eating the spent grains to prepare for the occasion.

The Woods Abide.

   

Misc News – May 21

Big Woods Brewing is going to be closed next week from Sunday the 23rd through Friday the 28th while the install the new brewing system and remodel the kitchen. After that is done they will be open 7 days a week and have more beer. Until now they have been closed on Monday and Tuesday while they used the kitchen area to brew. Way to grow, guys.

Hey breweries, The Brewing News is holding a summer beer bracket contest again this year - The Global Warming Open. To submit beers by June 7th, see the rules, etc.

New from Cavalier:

• Clipper City Barrel Aged Below Decks Barley Wine
• Clipper City Red Sky at Night Saison
• Cottleigh Golden Sea Hawk Premium Best Bitter, Barn Owl Premium Ale, Tawney Owl Bitter. Also in "Beers of Prey" Mix Packs
• Mendocino Summer Blonde Ale
• Coney Island Mermaid Rye Pilsner. Only found in a variety pack with Albino, Python, Sword Swallower & Lager
• Shmaltz He'Brew RIPA on Rye. Aged in Sazerac 6 year Rye Whiskey Barrels for over 3 months
• Laverstoke Park Organic English Ale & Lager
• Williams Sir Perry Pear Cider

Wenlock a mascot for the 2012 Olympics. Maybe the Mayans were right. ==>
Who will be the first to make the Wenlock bottle opener?

Coming up BrewDog Paradox Macallan with a 12-month barrel age. 180 cases are being sent to the U.S. and Indiana should get some.

The Pennsylvania Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement has been going nuts recently, kicking pubs about minor infractions, fining people for selling beer that doesn't have the right certifications. To sell a draft-only beer at Philly Beer Week, Bells had to get label approval when there isn't any label. Now we see this: A warning that "You, by your servants, agents or employees, identified Monks Ale Beer with a tap labeled Monks Flemish Sour Ale Beer."

Misc News – Mar 24

Big Woods Brewing is currently constructing a new brew house. Having shared the restaurant kitchen, Tim O'Bryan will get his very own digs on the north side of the building. Currently they are closed on Monday and Tuesday so brewing and cooking don't conflict. Once the project is complete they plan on being open 7 days a week and will have more beer available.

Right now Busted Knuckle Red, Possum Trot Pale, Hare Trigger IPA, and Tim’s Big Woods Stout are on tap.

Carrie has a post up about Girls Pint Out on St. Paddys Day. Their next outing is April 6th to taste Three Floyds beer at Vine and Table in Carmel.

The Beer Scientist at Thank Heaven for Beer has posted a 6-part series wherein an huge Imperial Stout is laced with bourbon and then eised to maybe 45%. Or 103%. Or, well there are a lot of questions. Here are links to the individual posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

A Tale of Three Cities

Took a short trip to New Albany on Wed/Thurs. The original plan was to  spend a night at Saturnalia. Did that but also found a slew of new New Albanian beers to try also.

• New Albanian Sour Red Belgian – Brown with hints of red under these dim lights. Aroma is light with a bit of Belgianness. Carbonation tang is quickly replaced by tartness. Dark cherryish finish. 4.5%.
• New Albanian Tunnel Vision – Belgian Wit. Nice but the day is crowded, let's go on.
• New Albanian Abzug – Think of it as a session Marzen. Looks like a Pilsner. Mouthfeel of a Cream Ale. Hoppier than, say, Kentucky Kommon.
• New Albanian Wee Foot Stout – Medium dry mild session stout. Soft roastiness. Nice.
• Bell's Christmas Ale – Slick-feeling Scottish Ale. Dark cordovan. Little hops (as per style). Interesting that they call it a Christmas beer. 5.4%.
• Thirsty Dog 12 Days – Spiced winter ale. Sweet and spicy with stuff wile cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, etc. Not really a pumpkin pie ale though. Mouthfeel is thick, almost syrupy by beer standards. 8.3%
• New Albanian Community Dark – I feel compelled to come back to this for the penultimate beer each visit to NABC. The British Mild will calm you down for the trip home. 3.7%. Served tonight with excruciatingly high carbonation.
• Schlenkerla Marzen – When I can have this wonderment as the last beer of the night it gives courage and the smoke protects one from the hangover gods.

Stopped back in on Thursday for the Anstich keg tapped at 1pm.

• #3 – The importer uses numbers pasted to identical casks to differentiate the dozen or so different beers from different small breweries around Germany. #3 is said to be Ahornberger Dark but it doesn't seem likely. At any rate, #3 is a beautiful sight looking like a big slide of fluffy lemon meringue pie, especially with the cold 28°. (addition) But who cares when it's great, fresh, German beer not available anywhere else in the midwest. Roger explains.

Seeing Roger Thursday afternoon at the Public House, he looked like Wednesday was not kind to him.. Read about Roger's long day in Indy, and the HBGs version of the story.

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Second city: Columbus - Power House / Columbus Bar. The Columbus bar was on the cover of Indiana Preservationist Magazine and featured in the Liquid Assets article.

We just made a quick stop to say high and try two of the taps.

• Power House Berliner Weisse. Perfect for style greenish yellow. Thickest mouthfeel and probably the sourest Berliner I've ever had. Not an Imperial Berliner but definitely on the high end of the scale. We'll probably see this on the podium at the State Fair.
• Power House Wee Heavy – Scottish with lots of hops and a roasty character throughout. Think of it as a Porter.

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Now, it's getting dark. SR 46 will deliver us to Nashville and Big Woods Brewing. They're serving lots of customers not only because of the fresh, local beer, but also for the food. Passing up the duck breast dinner for one killer, and huge, pulled pork sandwich, we're full. The two beers with that sandwich had a travel distance of about 8 feet from the brewery to the bar.

Spring's menu is attracting customers and Tim's beers are keeping them.

• Big Woods Possum Trot Pale Ale – They've hit it. Unfiltered foggy deep orange gives a premium look. Small white head. Nice malty balanced taste with a clean, quick finish. As an intro beer it's certainly upscale to the Bud found elsewhere in town.
• Big Woods Tim's Big Stout – Thick from flaked malt used in an Oatmeal Stout. Dry graininess reminiscent of Sheaf Stout.

Misc News – Oct 10

Big Woods Brewing in Nashville has the Timber Framing done for the patio and restaurant expansion. Good thing Jeff McCabe, one of the owners, also owns Hearthstone of Indiana, timber frame specialists. They are anticipating an October 24th soft opening.

The Indiana Excise Police are looking for people who don't look for IDs. Seemingly they find plenty.  They say 35% failure rate (maybe using the guy who is "the size of a moose with a bunch of tattoos"). article

Crown Point debates churches vs. bars.

The Knights look in depth at Southern Tier's Biers.

CAMRA did a study and found Real Ale sales in Britain are up in 2009, the first rise since 1982. 825,000 bbls in the first six months from 660 breweries.

"America’s anti-alcohol movement is composed of dozens of overlapping community groups, research institutions, and advocacy organizations, but they are brought together and given direction by one entity: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation." Thus starts a look behind the group behind the neo-prohibitionists. article – full report (28-page pdf)

Speaking of the anti-alcohol movement, Bud Light Golden Wheat hits the shelves any day now. "Whether garnished with an orange or enjoyed straight from the bottle or in a glass, Bud Light Golden Wheat offers a light wheat-malt sweetness upon first sip, which quickly gives way to a refreshingly crisp, citrus finish." 4.1%

Big Woods Brewing Co.

Tim O'Brian, Jeff McCabe, Ed Ryan (below) are three nice Irish boys in Brown County that are already brewing pilot batches at their upcoming brewpub. They're working at full speed shooting for an Oct 24th opening.

Big Woods is located in the alley ½ block north and ½ block west of the main intersection in Nashville, Indiana. Actually at 60 Molly Lane at the corner of Honeysuckle where The Jug bar previously sat.

Spring Smith (the pretty one) will be running the kitchen side of the business with the one mandate: "no fried foods". She isn't planning a set menu but each day's main entrees will change according to availability in local markets.

Tim is the main brewer even though they are all homebrewers. So far they have brewed some pilot batches on their 15-gal SABCO system including a Pale Ale, Stout (their favorite), and a Blonde. The Blonde will be essential to their tourist business and Tim's has some wheat for a nice citric freshness.

Reverse osmosis systems are needed for the limestone-rich water. Two of them will yield enough "clean" water for the kitchen and customers as well as the brewery.

The current building shown here will be completely changed with the front pushed out to double the seating area to about 40 people. In fact, they are erecting in a timber frame roof today.

Porch seating, good food, good beer. A place to wait for the spouse to finish shopping on a nice fall day. Could be they are onto something. After all, their motto is "We're not going to stop until Budweiser is out of business".