It seems appropriate that after a long period of time of not writing that I come back to write about an event that I first wrote about 4 years ago when I joined the crew with IndianaBeer.com.
Dig IN Indiana is not just beer though. It is all things Indiana. Beer, Wine, Food from local farms, prepared into small portioned meals by Indiana chefs and finally treats from Indiana Artisans. Put on by Indiana folks and entertainment by local entertainment. Seriously the biggest Taste of Indiana anyone could have. I've grateful to volunteer with this festival for the past four years.
But this is about the beer!
I was already anticipating all the beer I'd get to sample after my volunteer shift. Especially since my duties for the day was directing all the vendors to their parking and as each brewer came through and we said hello or had a quick catch up chat, my excitement grew.
As the breweries grow in Indiana, the options for beer in Dig IN have grown along with the demand. It was nice to see seasoned vets like Flat 12, Sun King and Brugge there along with some of the new guys like Scarlet Lane and Tin Man Brewing.
My first stop was to Tent C and I visited TaxMan with their saison, Bloomington Brewing Company's hoppy wheat, Thr3e Wiseman and their blonde, but my favorite from Tent C was Indiana City's Yacht Rock. I've had this belgian wheat ale many times but either it was the hot day or the work of Ray and the rest of his crew at Indiana City Beer getting better as time goes by, but it was a nice and smooth beer.
After filling up again on my food ( which was all delicious and I had to use two hands to count how many different kinds of meat was used ) I headed over to Tent B.This time to get my hands on Pooka, which was poured at the Brugge table. It is no secret that Brugge's sours (Harvey and Pooka) are two of my all time favorite beers. It once again did not disappoint during Dig In.
I popped over the next table over to say hello to Rob at Flat 12 and was surprised to see that Flat 12 was offering their Flat Jack. I also love pumpkin ale and I've been seeing a lot of it popping up in liquor stores. I was surprised it was at Dig In but still delighted to give it a try once more. It must be me, cause when I posed a question on Facebook about seeing pumpkin ales early, it seemed to be the norm to have it on the shelf in July.
Lastly Tent A was my last stop. (obviously my beer palate wanted to work backwards when it came to tasting). There I ran into good friends from Bier and has some Weizengoot. Tried the ale that Figure 8 had to offer. I wish I could remember their ale but in the midst of tasting I heard someone in the table over ask for TinMan Brewing Co's Apricot Sour and I honestly downed the sample I had in my hand and popped over to TinMan's table.
I'm not a huge fan of apricots but this sour was the exception to my dislike of apricots. It was perfectly balanced, slightly creamy but with an appropriate zing that I love at the end of my sours. It almost made me question my love of Pooka that day. I have had TinMan Brewing Co's beer before and wasn't really sold, but they have me wanting to come back and give them another shot after that apricot sour.
I didn't get to all the beer at Dig IN unfortunately. (I had a small food challenge of finishing the food passport and after that I had no room for beer) but what I did have was definitely delicious. I also learned a valuable lesson, don't dismiss the newbie breweries, like TinMan. Cause they make sneak up on you with a great out of the box beer.
Thank you Dig In for another year. Now that I'm getting back into the swing of things, it is time to start planning some brewery trips and tracking down some of those new breweries I've let slip through my fingers and give them a try!
Cheers!
Kathleen
Showing posts with label Dig-IN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dig-IN. Show all posts
What Kathleen Has Been Drinking These Days.
The first thing that people say to me when I say that I'm a beer blogger is "You must drink a lot of beer". Yes and no. I'm selective about the beer I drink. However, in some aspects, I do drink a lot of beer.
So, what have I been drinking lately? Let's see!
1. DigIN
 |
| Chillin' with a pint of Pooka! |
This year the following breweries were represented at DigIN:
Sun King
3 Floyds Brewing
New Albanian
Barley Island
Upland Brewing
Brugge Brasserie
Black Swan
Flat12 Bierwerks
Crown Brewing
Mad Anthony
Beer Highlights were Flat 12 debuting their pumpkin ale: Flat Jack which btw will be in bottles this fall. Also of course had Brugge's Pooka. Black Swan had a Belgian Dark, Sun King came with Osiris and Sunlight and stopped by New Albanian to try their Black and Blue Grass saison which with having the black pepper spice and the blue agave, I'd rather have a more sweeter saison.
If you are wondering why I didn't have all - I blame all the delicious food at DigIN. I didn't make it past two tents before I was stuffed!
2. Thr3e Wise Men - Antonius 1742 Oktoberfest
It is nice that the brewery has grown to produce more beer, if you didn't know Thr3e Wise Men select beer styles are available in Scotty's Brewhouse throughout town. It makes it even better to go to Thr3e Wise Men and your only options are house beers. I like a good session beer, but I also like variety. Currently they have 8 different beers available on their board.
3. At home!
 |
| No Intros Needed |
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale and Founder's Breakfast Stout.
I learned last year especially with my pumpkin expeditions that Schlafly was amazing. I need to still try some pumpkin ales - like Southern Tier's PumKing!
Speaking of pumpkin - I never really did a blog on the beer blogger's conference (Ironic, I know), but there was some delicious beer there! (of course) Samuel Adams is currently doing a "Small Batch Series" of beer. This gives the Boston Beer company a chance to bring out some specialty beers such as Fat Jack, which I would say rivals Schlafly in their pumpkin spice. As a side-note - Also try Samuel Adams - Thirteenth Hour. I think Nathan & Greg would agree this one is worth it. (It is a dark Belgian stout with a multitude of flavors such as coffee, chocolate, rum, dark fruits all from its 7 different malts... I could go on and on but this is a different topic :) )
 |
| Fancy Glass - Schlafly Pumpkin Ale |
Also tonight I'll be at The Sinking Ship for the Bell's Brewery Tap Takeover - Going to try Kalamazoo Hopsoulution Ale
In a few weeks, off to Beer Sellar in Castleton for Schlafly Night with Tom Schlafly! - and of course pumpkin ale.
Hope to see you out and about! I've been running into a few readers here and there. Of course you can follow my beer escapades at twitter.com/@KJLSlauzis
Until next time!
- Kathleen
I Dug into Indiana at Dig-IN
The second annual Dig-IN at White River State Park this past Sunday was my first experience at a combined food, wine, and beer festival.
For $20 in advance.. attendees were able to have unlimited samples of beer, wine, artisans goods and with a passport, one sample from each of the chefs, with 5 bonus picks. As a volunteer.. I shared about 3 1/2 hours of my time and received this for free. (hint, hint.. I highly suggest volunteering next year)
There was more wineries to sample than breweries.. However I was able to sample from the following:
Black Swan Brew Pub - A newly brewed Cream Stout. First I was surprised, because I didn't know that Black Swan was brewing a Cream Stout, but the cold malty brew was very rich and satisfying, with the right touch of sweetness.
Barley Island - Flat Top Wheat - pretty smooth wheat beer. I go back and forth on wheat beers. This is a year-round staple at Barley Island, usually served with a lemon. I think the lemon helps the flavor profile of the beer.
Flat 12 Bierwerks - Pogue's Run Porter. I have a growler of this at home already, but why pass up a good thing?
Most of the breweries were in the beer tent for sales. If you bought a Dig-IN pint glass you got a free refill from one of the breweries. My beer of this summer has been Harvey from Brugge Brasserie . A sour ale brewed with fresh blackberries. I had my first taste of Harvey at the Bloomington Brew Fest in June and have made many trips to Brugge Brasserie for more. So of course I had to get a pint of Harvey when I saw it was available at Dig-IN:
The food and wine available was also very delicious. Even though there was 25 options for food, I was full after about 10! The wineries also gave away Dig-IN wine glasses with samples.
Dig into Indiana!
The second annual Dig-IN will be going on this Sunday, August 28th from 12-5.
This festival is a collaboration of local chefs, farmers, wineries and breweries
partnering up to share with Hoosiers
the wonderful local products and food available in Indiana!
During the festival: wine, food and most important beer will be available to sample.
There is also education on cooking and information on food and wine/beer pairings as well.
However.. since here at Indiana Beer we are all about the beer.. I'd like to show you what breweries will be available at Dig-IN:
Sun King Brewery
New Albanian Brewing Co.
Brugge Brasserie
Figure 8 Brewing
Black Swan Brewpub
Upland Brewing Company
Crown Brewing Company
Flat 12 Bierwerks
Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
Barley Island Brewing Company
Mad Anthony Brewing Company
These 11 breweries alone are worth the $20 in advance ticket and $30 ticket at the door. (To purchase tickets please go online at www.digindiana.org)
I know I'll be hitting up all of these breweries at least once during the festival.
This is my first Dig-IN.. I'm going as a volunteer working at the front gate, so I'll be making my rounds after my shift.
If you come to the festival and you see me at the front gate, make sure to wave and say hi!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
