Tailspin fest, Feb. 20 - a great way to learn Indiana and Kentucky beers in a historic setting

This years Tailspin Ale Fest in Louisville promises to be better than ever on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. Eight Indiana breweries (the venue is just 8 miles from the Indiana state line) are serving including Tin Man and Carson's of Evansville, Flat 12 of Indy and Jeffersonville, New Albanian of New Albany, 450 North of Columbus, Upland of Bloomington, Central State of Indy, and 3 Floyds of Munster. Kentucky brewers will come from far and wide including new breweries!

The airplane hanger at Bowman Field provides a great historic setting for brewers from sixteen states! Against the Grain Brewery of Louisville was part of the Brewdogs television series and distributes in several states as well as several countries! ATG will have a barrel aged wheat wine and a rye imperial stout along with others. Sponsor West Sixth Brewing of Lexington will serve several beers including a coconut porter and a tripel. Country Boy of Lexington will offer a Red Ale aged in sherry bbls with blackberries along with other beers. Goodwood of Louisville features a coffee stout on oak. Yet another brewery in a church has opened in Louisville, and 3rd Turn Brewing will offer a porter and a cucumber saison. Rhinegeist Brewery of Cincinnati, with former Indy brewer Jim Matt, will share a bbl aged imperial stout and a Belgian style dark ale. Louisville's Apocalypse Brewing, with strong ties to Indiana, presents a Pro-Am collaboration with LAGERS local New Albany home brew club. Dry Ground Brewing of Paducah, KY is so named because their building, an old Coca-Cola bottling plant was flooded by the Ohio River in 1937. They too will bring a bbl aged imperial stout, a Belgian style rye PA, and a tripel.

With over 200 beers offered from nearly 50 breweries to sample between 3-7PM this Saturday and a chance to help the Dare to Care Food Pantry the event will build on the three successful past years offering up Honky Tonk music plus several food trucks and promised sixty-degree weather this year! For tix, directions and more CLICK HERE Everybody get's a free empty growler from Liquor Barn.

Dig In 2014

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

BIG week of Indiana Beer Days in Indianapolis! July 11-19

Today starts the first of more than one week of BIG days for Indiana. BIG can mean Brewers of Indiana Guild as they are heavily involved in many of the truly big events.

Brewer's Cup Competition: The premier beer competition in the Midwest is The Brewer's Cup, which has nearly 1300 entrees from both Professional brewers and home brewers. Approximately 120 trained beer judges will assemble at the Indiana State Fair Grounds for the weekend starting tonight (July 11) for the first round of judging. Judging continues all day Saturday. The big announcement of winners comes Saturday night at the closed reception for brewers and judges (6-8PM). We will have the unofficial (meaning we wrote them down from the announcements) list of top winners on this blog by Monday. This year two new awards have been added. The Bill Friday Homebrew Club award for the club with the best winning percentage and the Grand Champion Brewer award for the pro brewer that earns the most points in the competition.

Saturday July 12 is the 19 mile Tour De Biere starting at 67th and Cornell at 10:00 AM down the Monon Trail and beyond to Fountain Square brewery, Flat12 Bierworks, Triton's Tap, and for those who want to head north back beyond Broad Ripple, Union Brewing in Carmel. map here

Sunday July 13 is the Broad Ripple Brew Pub's 2014 Hoods and Hops antique, classic, and custom car show with $5 entry fee for cars but free for browsers. Noon to 5:00PM.

Tuesday July 15 is Indiana Girl's Pint Out's gathering at Mass Ave Pub, 745 Mass Ave, Indy, 6-9 PM with the unveiling of the top three beer cocktails recipes from the GPO contest with samples and available to purchase the drink! The Winning beer-tail will be featured at Mass Ave Pub for the rest of July!

Saturday July 19 is the largest beer festival held in Indiana as nearly 6000 converge on Broad Ripple's Optimist Park for the 19th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival with over 350 craft beers from 80+ brewers, mostly Indiana. Tickets are likely still available at Big Red Liquors and online HERE. The main event is 3-7PM and sold out last year. A portion of ticket sales benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

And a shout out to bartenders and servers: HopCat Broad Ripple plans to open August 16, and is now hiring
for all positions with interviews until Aug. 1 (M-F 9-6). Those interested inquire at jobs@hopcat.com

We hope to see you out at one or more events!

Cheers! GregKitz

The 4th Annual Bloomington Craft Beer Festival

A while ago I had written a story about what drives me to go out and try the new beer from all these new breweries popping up left and right in Indiana. In my blog I mentioned how at this point I was more likely to go out to a brewery boasting something different, generally a twist on an already solid beer instead of just going for the same styles over and over again.

What is the relevance to Bloomington Craft Beer Festival? A lot and at the same time not much. Festival time though is generally the time where breweries who usually play it same crank it up a notch. Some breweries do special beer tappings (which in bigger festivals generally make some beer drinkers upset if they can't cut through the crowd to try a special beer). Some breweries pick a theme for their beer offerings (I'm looking at you Flat 12 Bierwerks). Some breweries have some of their house beers but also bring some twists or outrageous beers.  I was pleasantly surprised and delightfully happy that this year's Bloomington Craft Beer Festival offerings were exactly what I was looking for.

First off..having a festival in Bloomington in April is amazing. The weather is perfect, the location is awesome. (Who can argue with an old mill as the festival backdrop), and the festival is smaller, more quaint and also gives attendees the ability to try more beer and get more bang for the buck.  However,  I think it has already started to get a little snug in the Woolery Mill this year with a sold out crowd of 3,000.  Unless you are good at snaking through crowds, being a little tough to get to your next beer, or don't mind being pushed around then by all means come back for the 5th annual BCBF.  This year did offer a little more as far as a grander musical stage, more accommodations and a "dining hall" up the hill for beer drinkers to rest and enjoy local food fair.

But enough about the layout and crowds.. I mentioned how the offerings were what I was looking for, so let me get to the important part of this piece - the beer.

Right out of the gate, I bee lined to Zwanzigs Scorpion Pepper Imperial Stout.
Taking a step away from the Ghost Pepper Infused Imperial Stout that Zwanzigs used to offer, this beer was still exactly what I was looking for. A chocolate, robust start and a slow tickle in the back of my throat burn.  The first offering was just a little to see if I actually would like it, but after quickly swallowing it down I asked for more, plus they had a small batch of it set aside to "kick it up" a notch. I, of course, had that added.  I was almost scared that it would cause a flame to shoot out my mouth, but was back to just having a pleasant burn, a bit more noticeable than the first time, but still just a nice pleasant beer.

From there I stepped down the row, my eyes in search of unique beers and Broadripple Brewpub did not disappoint. Their Cinnamon Roll Porter, could have been a great breakfast beer, if I drank beer at 8am.  The cinnamon flavor was just a slight, but there was definitely a creaminess that gave the drinker a mind set of licking icing off a Cinnabon roll.

Before my next crazy beer I did have a few interesting solid beers.  18th Street Brewery's Bitch Hands Pale Ale was a strong beer, that I would definitely drink more off, not just to say I was drinking Bitch Hands either (which brings up another thought I had during the festival off how crazy beer names are getting).  Choss - A triple IPA from Figure 8 was another solid good beer, that actually gave me a pop of taste as it hit the back of my tongue. It wasn't something that made my head turn like the beer was made unusually, the pop seemed to come naturally from the basic ingredients used for this beer .

Back to the crazy, (again looking at you Flat 12). Sidetrack - Flat 12 never disappoints me. Honestly, even if I may not like some of their crazy beers, <cough> Cucumber Kolsch, </cough>, they take the risk, they combine, they go crazy and almost all the time they hit their mark.  CC3, aka a Cotton Candy flavored Belgian Style Trippel was really great. It smelled like Cotton Candy, it tasted like Cotton Candy, I almost wish it was pink like Cotton Candy. I tried a sip of my friends Caramel Corn flavored beer for their table as well, it was sweet like caramel with that corn twinge.  If I wasn't on a mission to cover as many tables as I could for IB.com I would've tried all the beers at Flat 12. I'm hoping CC3 makes a comeback in the taproom. I know it won't be at another festival. Flat 12 keeps up with a theme per festival and so far hasn't repeated many of their festival beers at other festivals I've been able to attend.

My last special call out of beers has to be Crown Brewing's The Dude White Russian Java Porter.  The Dude definitely abides with this beer. I could almost hear the ice clink in the glass drinking cream, Kahlua and vodka with each sip of this beer.  

Besides being happy with finding these special diamonds in the beer festival rough, I was also happy to find good solid beers. Makes me rethink my intro of only popping into breweries that are pulling beer stunts.  Lafayette Brewing gets a shout out for their Star City Bock. I was definitely fan of this clean,slightly caramelized beer.  Salt Creek also deserves some love for the cream ale.  The biggest applause however goes to the homebrewing club, the Bloomington Hop Jockeys. I love their Berliner Weisse, the sour blonde and I did make it over the tapping of the sour stout.  Their Berliner Weisse opened my eyes to a new style of beer that may rise above regular sours as my favorite. the BHJ Berliner Weisse and later Desthil Brewing's Berliner Weisse were my ideal summer kind of beers. Tart, sour and shocking.

All this love for beers.. I bet you are wondering, did I love them all? No, of course not. There were some beers that just didn't cut it for me. One sip and the rest ended in beer blasphemy by hitting the rocks of the "floor" of the Woolery Mill.  I'm not one for knocking a brewery's beer down cause it could be an amazing beer for someone else, but I will say there was a new brewery's IPA that I was just not a fan of at all, it was flat and flavorless.  Another brewery's wheat ale was just about the same.   It could have been the location or the beer travel. I had a sample of a black ale that I had tried in the pub recently and it didn't taste nearly the same chocolately, slight tilt of sour that it did when I a pint of it a few weeks back.

Overall, the BCBF was a lovely festival. I hope that the 5th year sees an expansion of the layout so people can walk around easily without almost crowd surfing for beer. I also hope more breweries from the north come back down. I missed seeing Iechyd Da Brewing and Bare Hands Brewery.  I hope they either come down and join the southern fun or that centralized northern festival is in the works. Until then, I look forward to the Microbrewer's Festival in July and other great times come forward as the great weather festival events start off.

Hope to see you around!

Cheers,
Kathleen

Bloomington Craft Beer Week... beer events worth visiting Bloomington for!

Bloomington Craft Beer Week starts Saturday, April 5 continuing through and after the Bloomington Craft Beer Fest on April 12. It is #drinkindiana week! Many local places will have Indiana beer on tap starting April 4! So maybe you went to school in Bloomington or maybe you've driven to Bloomington on a scenic trip to Brown County, Indiana. You fondly recall the quaint town square, maybe a pound of beer (their word for pint) at historic Nick's English Hut, the beautiful limestone buildings, and a warm Spring Day. COME ON DOWN and have a pint of beer or two sometime this week. Revisit, refresh, and reacquaint with a town and its love of quality craft beer!

Note: all beers, bar events, and tappings were checked with reps and organizers but remain subject to change. Get the Bloomington Craft Beer Week APP! for updates

April 5:
Bloomington Brewing Company, the 20-year-old that was the first craft brewery in Southern Indiana has been a draft-only brewery but kicks BCBW off Saturday with the release of beer in bottles by offering 22 oz. "bombers" of gold-medal-award winning Rooftop IPA at the Big Red Liquors big store at 8th and College Ave, Bloomington, with brewer appearances from Noon to 2:00 PM April 5! Rooftop took gold in the IPA category of the most recent Brewer’s Cup Competition, Indiana State Fair, which receives commercial entries from multiple states as one of the largest competitions in the nation. BBC brewers and staff will be at Big Red Saturday and would be glad to sign a bottle or chat about beer. Rooftop bottles start selling at Big Red and will eventually expand throughout central Indiana. This brew delivers the hop forward and balanced IPA that offers both citrus and pine notes with a bitter finish while still balanced with malt. Rooftop will be the first commercially available ‘bombers’ in a series that will eventually (think Summer) include Ten Speed Hoppy Wheat and Ruby Bloom Amber. Get B’ton Craft Beer Week started off right by celebrating this historic moment! Get one of the first bottles ever produced!

What: Bottle Release Party: 22 oz. Bloomington Brewing Co. Rooftop IPA
When: Saturday, April 5
Noon to 2:00
Where: Big Red Liquors, 418 North College Avenue, Bloomington

Indiana brewery Flat 12 pours beers, passes on information, and provides ‘swag’ at legendary I.U. pub Nick’s English Hut Saturday night at 7PM offering limited edition Pogues Run Vanilla Porter, a flagship Flat12 beer with vanilla beans that opens with big vanilla notes backed by the solid hearty roast of this favored porter. Flat 12 beers on tap also include Half Cycle IPA, Walkabout Pale, and Hinchtown Hamer Down Golden Ale.

Bicycle tour to 3 breweries starting at Function Brewpub on 6th starting at 10:30 AM continuing to BBC, and Upland.


April 6:
Flat 12 brings Nunmoere Black American Black Ale along with Half Cycle, Hinchtown, and Pogues Run Porter along with information to Yogi’s, Bloomington at 3:30 PM for “Sunday Funday.”

April 7:
Upland rolls out their collaboration with New Belgian Brewery sampling “Light Synth” and “Dark Synth” at 6:00 PM. Dark Synth to be on tap along with Upland’s new Haystack Lightning American Wheat (the 2nd beer in the new Side Trail Series), Campside, and Wheat plus New Belgian La Folie, Le Terroir, and Snapshot Wheat.

April 8:
Bloomington Brewing, Cutters Brewing, Quaff On!, and Upland will pair beers and food for a candlelight brewery dinner at The Root Cellar inside The Farm Restaurant, at 6:00 PM. A four course meal will pair with Cutter’s Knobstone Pale, BBC Rooftop, Quaff On! Java the Red, and Upland Wheat. $49 per guest. Phone (812) 323-0002 for details as space is limited.

Tin Man Brewing Co. “Beer School” at Yogi's Grill and Bar. Featuring: Czar Russian Imperial Stout, Overlord Imperial IPA, Circuit Bohemian Pilsner, Rivet Irish Red Ale

April 9:
Cutter’s & Bloomington Brewing Tapping at The Tap Beer Bar, BBC: Amarillo Pale, Biere de Mars, Rooftop IPA and Ruby Bloom; Cutters: Nitro Peanut Empire Stout

Sun King Tap Takeover at Yogi’s Grill and Bar: Barrel Aged Ring of Dingle stout, Dominator Dopplebock, Naptown Brown IPA, & Indians Lager

Function Brewing, Bloomington Brewpub taps a test batch of single-hopped pale with Falconer’s Flight hops plus a version adding Mosaic and Citra Hops.

April 10:
Cutters at Nick’s English Hut with Knobstone, Bank Robber Belgian Brown, Rye on the Scarecrow Double Rye IPA, and Monon Wheat

Upland and Oskar Blues at The Tap Beer Bar, 7 PM, with Wheat, Champagne Velvet, and Campside. Oskar Blues beers: White Buffalo West Coast IPA, Dales Pale Ale T45 - dry hopped Dale's Pale, Dales Pale Ale T90 -- another dry hopped Dale's Pale - each beer has a different hop kettle additions.

Bloomington Brewing Company at Yogi’s 6 PM with BBC Biere de Mars, Ruby Bloom Amber, Kirkwood Cream Ale, Rooftop IPA, and BBC/New Albanian collaboration FeastMaster 80 Shilling (delicious session beer with plenty of deep roast flavor)

Function Brew Pub holds a tribute to home brewing with a Robust Porter, Mayan Chocolate Stout, and English Mild

April 11:
Upland holds their beer & music focused Vinyl Release Party at their main Bloomington Brewpub (banquet hall) 5-8PM featuring Vinyl Tap Rye Pale Ale with part of the proceeds from the beer sale going to local community music. All Upland locations start revealing the new Upland logo and look starting April 9.

Bloomington Brewing and New Albanian tap take-over at Nick’s English Hut 7-10 PM featuring: BBC Quarrymen Pale Ale, BBC Ruby Bloom Amber, BBC Vanilla Floyd, BBC Imperial Ruby Bloom Amber, NABC Hoosier Daddy, NABC Oaktimus, NABC/BBC Collab FeastMaster 80 Shilling, + Sampling of BBC Rooftop IPA Bottles

Cutters Knobstone Pale Ale will be the featured Friday beer along with Upland Wheat on tap at the Alley Bar on Kirkwood.

Atlas Ballroom Bar on South College will pour offerings from Cutters, Mad Anthony, and New Albanian.

Player’s Pub on South Walnut will feature Tin Man (Evansville) beers.

April 12: THE BIG DAY

Bloomington Craft Beer Fest is Saturday, April 12, at 2200 Tapp Road 4-7PM for $35. Sponsor The Fourwinds Resort will shuttle you to & from the event from your room with special rates of $89. There will be live music, local food, hundreds of beers from not only most Indiana breweries but many regional and national craft brewers. We participated in a discussion of porta-potties and organizers have considered signage and locations of units to reduce lines. The current weather forecast may prove God and Mother Nature love beer as the sun should shine and forecasts predict temperatures of 71 degrees! If you’ve not been to the historic Woolery limestone mill venue expect a nice canopy of shade with plenty of filtered light and great breezes. Tickets are available at most Big Red Liquors locations (esp. Bloomington – call ahead) and online HERE
Further Fest details here

Then get ready to PARTY at many local venues AND save your wristband for a special deal on Sunday!

Sun King tap takeover and after party at The Tap Beer Bar on the square with Timmie RIS, Batch 666: Sympathy for the Devil (Belgian-Style Black Ale loaded with chocolate, roasted walnut, and banana flavors), Batch 777: Touched by an Angel ( Belgian-Style Tripel), Big Iron Barleywine, Moonlight Serenade toasted oatmeal stout, and Fistful of Hops.

while many BBC and New Albanian beers should remain on tap from Friday, there is no official party at Nick's on Saturday

Upland Beer Fest after party at The Bishop Bar

Max’s bar on the square will have a kill the keg party with BBC Rooftop IPA and Kirkwood Cream Ale where the person to get the last pint gets a Max’s gift card.

AND….
The premier craft beer bars in Bloomington will feature Indiana Craft Beer all week at The Tap Beer Bar and Yogi’s Grill & Bar. As well Scotty’s Brewhouse will feature their own Thr3e Wise Men Indiana beer

Local restaurants
Finch’s Brasserie will feature Indiana beer including Three Floyd’s Dreadnaught, War Mullet, Fountain Square Count Nibula Chocolate Stout, Evil Czech Gypsy American Wheat, Tin Man Rosenweiss German krystallweizen with rose
The Trojan Horse will feature beers from BBC, Quaff On!, Cutters, and Upland

April 13:
Fest Wrist Band Day at Lennie’s Restaurant and Brew Pub 10% off Sunday Brunch at Lennies - Beer Fest attendees get 10% off their meal with their Beer Fest wristbands.

Cheers & hope to see you at an event!

GregKitz

Bourbon Barrel Aged ReplicAle Tasting

The explosive growth of craft breweries in Central Indiana has been closely followed by the emerging craft trend of experimenting with barrel aged beers. New programs have been initiated by many established breweries, while new breweries often begin barrel aging from the moment they open for business. Aging in empty bourbon barrels has become a particularly popular activity, as the bourbon and oak characters can pair nicely with some of the big, aggressive styles that American craft brewers favor to begin with.

A recent tapping event at Tomlinson Tap Room offered a unique opportunity to sit and evaluate a number of local examples side by side. Granted, you may be able to find a number of these beers together at a large festival, but you might run a little short on the “sit and evaluate” aspect. Breweries participating in the special tapping included Barley Island, Black Acre, Bloomington Brewing, Flat 12, and Sun King. All base beers were ReplicAles from 2013’s Winterfest, aged for an unspecified period of time in bourbon barrels. Despite the ReplicAle label, where brewers are supposed to interpret the same basic recipe, there were some significant differences in underlying beer style here. Most were labeled with the pretty nondescript “Strong Ale” classification, while two others were appropriately classified as an Old Ale and a Winter Warmer. Here are my thoughts on each beer:

Flat 12 Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Ale  IBU: ???  ABV: 11.5%

Very strong bourbon aroma with supporting oak character and muted malt in the aroma. The flavor is more balanced with a well-aged caramel malt backbone showing hints of a slightly oxidized sherry character. The 11.5% alcohol content is very evident in the warming character, which has a smooth quality from aging. Overall, there is still too much bourbon flavor and aroma for my tastes. But this one is definitely a grower and I liked it more with each progressing sip. Of course, that could also be the 11.5% working its magic on my brain.

Bloomington Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Strong Ale  IBU: 12  ABV: 8.5%

The aroma here is much more subdued after tackling the massive Flat 12 Old Ale. The barrel character initially seemed to be overshadowed by the malt, but the aroma seemed more balanced when I came back to it later. The barrel contribution is more noticeable in the flavor, balanced with the toasty malt character and some chocolate notes. The finish comes across drier than expected with a slightly tart aftertaste. There are some good characteristics here, but overall it struggles to stand out when progressing through this lineup.

Black Acre Bourbon Barrel Aged Strong Ale  IBU: 51  ABV: 7.8%

The aroma and flavor of the barrel is very subdued in this beer. The real star of the show here is the massive hop character and supporting bitterness, which are still quite impressive in spite of extended aging. There is good dose of caramel and slightly oxidized malt character that support the hop profile a bit more than the barrel flavor. I like this beer a lot and imagine it had quite an intense hop profile when it was younger. If someone paid a premium price for this as a barrel aged beer, they might be disappointed by the lack of assertive barrel character to be found here. But if we’re just talking about which beer I enjoyed the most, this one ranks pretty high on my list.

Barley Island Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer  IBU: 50  ABV: 8%

Nice balanced aroma with the barrel character adding complexity to a backbone of caramel, chocolate, and roasty malts. The flavor matches very closely to the aroma with some oak tannins also coming through. The finish is very smooth with a slight warming as it goes down and some bourbon character lingering in the aftertaste. The reported 50 IBUs don’t contribute a high perception of bitterness. This is what I look for in a barrel aged beer. It’s a great Winter Warmer with a barrel character that complements, rather than overwhelms, the base beer.

Sun King Bourbon Barrel Aged Strong Ale  IBU: 50  ABV: 8.2%

Strong barrel character in the aroma with a unique toffee malt character. The toffee malt is more balanced with bourbon and oak in the flavor, with a firm bitterness and oak tannins lingering in the aftertaste. There is also a bit of tartness in the finish of this beer. Good beer – the toffee malt character is enjoyable and really stands out, but it’s also a bit one-dimensional in comparison to some of the other beers in this lineup.

After several runs through the lineup, I settled on the following ranking order:

5th:	Bloomington
4th:	Flat 12
3rd:	Sun King
2nd:	Black Acre
1st:	Barley Island

Barley Island was the pretty clear winner in my book. I thought the greater emphasis on chocolate and roasted malts in this beer paired very well with the bourbon and oak. It also had the best overall balance of the five beers in this flight. Second place was a much closer call. While Sun King’s beer was probably a superior example of a “barrel aged” beer, I found Black Acre’s just a bit more enjoyable despite the lacking barrel character. Flat 12’s submission definitely grew on me and would arguably be the best choice for someone who enjoys a very prominent bourbon character, but the balance was just tilted a little too far in that direction for me. And while there was nothing I particularly disliked about the Bloomington beer, there was little I could pinpoint to make it stand out in this flight.

Did anyone else make it out to try this flight? Agree or disagree with where I slotted them?

Cheers, Nathan

Saint Patrick's Day weekend! What beer to drink?

Saint Patrick's day 2014 spans nearly 4 celebration days as some toasted on Friday and will continue through the actual day on Monday. While Chicago colored the River green on Saturday, Indianapolis parallels New York City's timing and the 34th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is Monday, March 17th, 2014 in downtown Indianapolis starting at 11:30AM, with a festival on Vermont Street from 10AM to 3PM. While Guinness, Murphy's, and perhaps Harp or Kilkenny are likely the most traditional beer there are plenty of craft beer options!

Just a block away from the festival, Flat12 Bierwerks has established a St. Patrick's Day spot above the Elbow Room, one of Indy's quaint older pubs, for a parade viewing spot and serving up a special beer called Kiss Me, I'm Irish Amber, the amber aged in a Jameson Whisky barrel! This is a small batch that may only end up available at this one spot on this one special day! There is a drawing at 10AM for the earlier birds to get a Flat12/Elbow Room gift pack. Flat12 also has their LactoMatic Milk stout at the TapRoom which is open Sunday noon-6.

Sun King has again brewed their delicious Ring of Dingle, a GABF gold-medal winning Irish dry stout which has been available in cans since February and will be available on draft at select pubs and restaurants throughout.

Daredevil has J.W.P. AMERICAN STOUT™ in distribution at limited pubs, a rich, silky espresso and chocolate flavor in an expressive American Stout.

Triton delivers with their Deadeye stout found around central Indiana.

Indiana City Beer has Shadow Boxer oatmeal stout as a flagship (and the earliest beer we tasted before the brewery opened) and is open Sunday until 4:00 at 24 Shelby Street a block from Washington.

Upland has Rad Red, And without listing every brew pub around, most have some version of a Stout or Red available for your celebrations.

If you can find this beer, 3Floyds has one of the top rated stouts according to BeerAdvocate. The Black Sun 6.5% ABV dry stout has a nose of coffee, roasted malts and piney hops.

One of the more interesting Craft Irish Style beer's I've had recently was Boulevard Irish Ale (Friday, on tap, at the Alley Bar, Bloomington, but available in Indiana)which combines six kinds of pale and roasted barley to give it rich malty flavor and a nice light 'toast.'

And then for the traditional, Indianapolis' oldest Irish pub is actually a tiny spot at 2533 E. Washington Street, called the Golden Ace. Their St. Pat's celebration is huge with tents, visits by the local priests, and plenty of family plus lots of music from Ireland. You'll likely find Guinness on tap and not local craft beer. The music starts at noon and goes all day into the night. Details here



Of course, every Irish named bar from Claddagh to Kilroy's, from The Brockway Pub on North Meridian in Carmel, to Mo's in Noblesville, and even the German themed Rathskeller and the American themed Slippery Noodle downtown will help everyone squeeze out any bit of Irish heritage or just get a good pint!

We've been out and about in our hometown but will get out and about in Indy on the Big Day and bring back some photos.

Indiana Beer News; Beer at the Indiana State Fair, and more.... Feb. 22, 14

Will beer finally be sold at the Indiana State Fair? Indiana Senate Bill 0339 passed out of committee to the Full House this past week allowing sale of alcoholic beverages during the State Fair. Alcohol is sold on State Fair grounds during the remainder of the year. Brewers of Indiana Guild Executive Director Lee Smith says Indiana is one of just a few states not allowing the sale of beer and wine. The BIG focus is on alerting Hoosiers to the beer made here in Indiana. While currently brewery awards are displayed during the State Fair there is no way for attendees to try the beer. Craft Beer lovers may want to encourage their State legislators.

On Saturday, Feb. 22nd Flat12 Bierwerks opened the Taproom at 9 am for the 10 am Olympic Hockey bronze match. With Indianapolis natives, cousins Rachel and Emma Bowling in attendance the two middle schoolers that both tried out for and qualified for the US Olympic Luge Development team could cheer on the U.S team. On Sunday the 23rd Flat 12 opens 7am for the final Olympic hockey match for the gold. Flat 12 releases their spring seasonal Nunmoere Black, on Sunday, March 2nd . The beer is an homage to the movie Spinal Tap so there are many plans for that day at the brewery. details here

Thursday, March 13th is the Naptown Brown Tapping Party at Sun King from 7pm to 10pm. The Naptown Roller Girls will be onsite as well as A Squared Djs, food truck, and pints will be available for $5 each.

Upland Brewing Company recently announced tickets for the third annual Sour + Wild + Funk Fest will be on sale at on Eventbrite on March 10. This year's festival will take place Saturday, May 17th from 2pm-6pm at the historic Indianapolis City Market, preceded by a VIP Sour lecture and private tasting from 12:30-1:30pm. VIP tickets can be purchased for $75, and will include VIP lecture, lanyard, commemorative T-shirt, swag bag and access to the VIP lounge including food and private bathrooms. General Admission tickets are $45 and include light snacks, with the City Market's artisans open to sell heavier fare throughout the festival. An Upland Secret Barrel Society members-only party will follow from 7pm-9pm.

Bloomington Brewing announced a single hop IPA using only Simcoe providing light pine and citrus notes. Ole Floyd’s Belgian Dark Strong Ale is also a seasonal at 8%, a Winter Warmer.

Winterfest '14, Brewers of Indiana Guild, Feb. 1.... some beer highlights

Winterfest for the Indiana Brewers Guild is just around the corner (Feb. 1, Champions Pavilion, Indiana State Fairgrounds -- see below for HOTEL info) and we’ve been asking brewers and reps what they will be sharing. Here are some of the answers:

Head Brewer Rob of Flat12 Bierwerks, Indy, got his brewing staff into a Mexican theme to bring at least 16 different beers with a Mexican concept. Earlier this month Rob showed me his “Whorechata” (a take-off of Mexican rice milk called “Horchata”) fermenting away with rice, almond flour, lactose, vanilla, and cinnamon. He had already shared they would be bringing last Summer’s French Saison aged 6 months in Anejo tequila barrels (8%). Here are a few of the other Flat12 offerings:
Centeno Grande Imperial Rye spin of Pogue’s Run Porter with Mexican Pilocillo sugar (8%) and a version with toasted coconut and cocoa nibs. Pedro Gordo Replicale Owd Gordo old ale infused with Ancho and Guajillo chilis. (9.8%). Tepachedor IPA, a tropical IPA with coconut and pineapple.

And for the more traditional drinker there is BIG Owd Gordo, which Rob gave me a taste of earlier this month. A smooth and spicy old ale aged in top-shelf Blanton’s bourbon barrels (10.5%) . And for hop heads the 1024 Winter Replicale becomes Massive Retaliation American stout with Galena, Calypso, & Chinook then dry-hopped with Simcoe and Citra. Rob was keeping this a secret when we connected 2 weeks ago but today they published the list click here to read the list

We know Black Acre Brewing, Indianapolis, will also have a theme but they are keeping it under wraps for now!

Bloomington Brewing Co. brings eleven beers including their delicious Winter Ale, the recent Ol’ Floyd’s Belgian Dark Strong with complexity and a raisin sweetness, the smooth and balanced with spiciness Rye Barrel Roggenbier collaboration with Black Acre, a Bourbon Stout which is also smooth with wonderful vanilla notes, Krampus Dark Strong Ale which has local hop lovers talking with a piney hop scent and citrus notes ending in a smooth finish, a Bourbon Replicale ’13, plus regular pours: Ruby Bloom, Quarrymen Pale, award winning Rooftop IPA, Java Porter, and RyePA.

Upland offers at least 10 beers including two new ones and some special pours of sours. Coast Buster Imperial IPA is part of the new Upland Side Trail Series to be released in February and is obviously a big hoppy beer with Simcoe, Amarillo, Columbus and Cascade hops shining through with tropical and fruity flavors and dry finish. This will also be offered in a pin with Citra hops. Their recent tart Berliner Weisse, Wolf Eye, will be poured and truly offers wonderful tartness and lots of flavor. Also new is the Spicy Nuts, a version of NutHugger brown ale with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and clove for a really complex flavor. For barrel aged beers Upland will tap the BBL Teddy Bear Kisses Russian Imperial stout which I love on the barrel and a Bourbon Barrel warmer. In addition they will pour Dragonfly, Wheat, Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA, and Champagne Velvet.

Daredevil will build on its portfolio as last year they were new enough just to pour Lift Off IPA while this year we expect Rip Cord Double IPA in a cask as well as regular, Muse Belgian Golden, Carnival Saison, and JWP American Stout – a rich, delightful just-short-of chewy chocolate pudding kind of a stout.

Carson’s of Evansville has opened since last year and should bring their flagship Brown Cow, biscuit nutty brown ale, their Eville (get it) American wheat, RIPA Red IPA with Pacific Northwest hop flavors, and they just tapped a Saint Carson’s “Tripel Quad” (brewed with barley, wheat, oats, and rye with candy sugar added for 11.5%) which was bubbling when I visited them recently so hope it makes it to Winterfest!

At Figure 8 Brewing, Valpo, brewer Mike Lahti will be doing the first ever release of Intergalactic IPA with Galaxy and Mosaic hops. In addition, he promises to bring Dogma Dubbel which mixes German with Belgian styles, which will pour with Snake Pro Double IPA and Pirates Pils (Czech and German hops). Figure 8 will also pour Raven Tor Oatmeal stout carrying a blend of six grains, and Ro Shampo Imperial Red – one Lahti’s known for at 89 IBU and 7.5%. In addition, he’ll have a pin of Black Corridor Choc Imperial Stout.

Zwanzigz of Columbus, IN, will, of course, pour the Ghost Pepper Imperial Stout that made its debut at Winterfest ’13, along with their flagship Chocolate and Blueberry beers. In addition, brewer Mike has Barrel aged some of the chocolate beer so expect a treat, and remember this chocolate ale is a translucent ale, not a stout. In addition, Mike made a German style Eisbock from a lager. Zwanzigz will also bring a barrel aged old ale replicale for the specialty tent.

Bell’s will have some specialty beers this year! Bells will pour Wheat Love, a 7.7% wheat wine which has not been seen since 2005. Those who have tasted this report it is somewhat akin to a German Weizen but clearly ‘bigger.’ Bell’s will also offer Smitten golden rye a newer seasonal take on an American Pale ale, Hopslam, and Harvest Ale, and we hope some Expedition Stout makes it to counteract the cold weather.

Over 80 breweries + distributor World Class Beer's Malt Shop of unusual beers will make this an event to remember. A host of new breweries include Indianapolis' Planetary and Outliers.

Here is the complete Brewery List

Winterfest is sold out online, but some tickets may be available at Big Red Liquor stores or by trade using twitter #winterfest

Early birds will get in at 2:00 and general public at 3:00. The event runs until 7PM

Beer Fans, there are still hotel rooms available at Sheraton City Centre, official Winterfest hotel. Stay where the brewers stay! Great discount and located in the heart of Indy. Here's your reservation link: Click here for reservations Click RESERVE for your BIG rate.


Cheers and hope to see you there!

GregKitz

What makes you go to to a local craft brewery?

I've been rattling these thoughts in my brain for a while now, more so with the recent addition of more and more craft breweries filtrating and saturating Indianapolis and surrounding area.  First off, it is great that craft beer has taken on a success that so many people want to be apart of and share that passion. It is also great that there is still the market for craft beer, otherwise why would so many banks approve business loans for the making.

However, as a drinker, I'm beginning to wonder if all these breweries really are great news after all, especially if they are going to bring around the same styles, done up with different names and try to draw in a crowd to their brewery over pale ale or that stout.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good solid made stout. Nothing makes me linger and enjoy ever sip as a smooth, well malted and balanced stout goes down my throat on a cold day. The thing is, these days my time is short, so unless these  new breweries have created the best stout ever known to Indianapolis, chances are I probably won't visit. Unless I'm in the mood for a brewery tour or to network with new brewers or take my friends out around town.

My decision these days to go out to breweries for visits rests more on finding beers that aren't normally produced in Indianapolis. They are generally not the "norm". Flat 12 Bierwerks is famous for pushing the edge and going to different levels with their beers. Now, they have their house beers, but they also have their beers that draw the eye and pique the curiosity.

An example of me searching out the different beers, is going all the way down to Columbus simply for the chance to get a pint of Zwanzigz Ghost Pepper Infused Imperial Stout.  Or I'd travel all the way to Great Crescent to try their Coconut Porter on tap. Those are what drives me to breweries. Those are the bottles I buy at Kahns or Payless or Crown Liquors.

It may be hypocritical to say I'd still travel to New Holland, or Founders or to Dogfish Head to try their beers and yet maybe never try all the Indianapolis breweries beers, due to those breweries being more established. I may even be short changing myself by not making  it a point to go out to the new breweries more and more often.

I'm not saying I'll never get out to visit, take pictures and sample, but new breweries - What are you going to do to get people in the door? And fellow readers - What makes you go to a local craft brewery?

- Kathleen

Flat 12 Bierwerks Anniversary Party

First off, congratulations to the crew at Flat 12 for hitting the three year mark! That is amazing and I for one hope to see you continue on with not only your great classic house beers but all the crazy fun beers that, let's face it, you are famous for.

This was my first time hitting up a big part of Flat 12 and I'm glad I could make it. Got there a little bit after it opened at 11am and after getting my wristlet, sample tickets and map I was ready to go.  There were 5 stations, a total of over 30 different beers. I went through my sample tickets fast, and bought additional tickets to sample. Thanks to a friend who went, and sharing samples, we tasted 18 of the amazing beers offered at the party.

I could go through all of them but really these are so unique and amazing it is best for you to try and get to Flat 12 whenever they tap them again. I'll give you some of the highlights though.

Mudder Funker - Two sour stouts, blended and aged in bourbon barrels. The aging took the tartness back, which is perfect and made the sour ale nice and drinkable.

Cherry Perpetual Summer -  A Belgian Dark ale with dark cherries. It is almost indescribable with the cherry note and the creamy dark ale.

Rum Jack - Flat Jack Pumpkin Ale aged on Rum Chips, giving it a slightly smooth taste from the rum and still subtle with the clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon spices.

Whiskey Cat  - An amber ale aged in Corsair Quinoa Whiskey barrels. This was perfect for the cold day, cause it warmed you to your toes and also went great with the Cave Man truck's barnyard chili.

Some interesting beers there was - Pickle - which smells and tasted like brine, Plumpkin was a nice pumpkin with plum and Pineapple Sage Walkabout which could have used more pineapple flavor.

My last beer though.. was Pinko 23 and boy was that deep, dark imperial stout the best way to end the party.

I wasn't there long enough to try them all or hear the music, but I have to say this event was fun, free ( at least to go in, and try five samples) and well organized. Plus the beer list was insane. Looking forward to Flat 12's Winterfest offerings and of course going to their party next year to celebrate their 4th anniversary.

Cheers!
Kathleen

End of Movember!

Beer and mustaches and raising awareness and funds for men's cancers are a great combination.  Actually anything paired with beer is a great combo!  

To help celebrate and show of your mustaches,  we wanted to share this great event - The End of Movember Gala put on by the Movember charity.  

Sun King, Flat 12 and more local Indiana craft beer will be on site. This is a great time to enjoy fresh local beer for a good cause.  

For more Details, please check out below:

 End of Movember Gala! 

• December 6th!
•   Time.: 7:00pm – 11:00pm
•   Location: The Speak Easy in Broad Ripple
• (5255 North Winthrop Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46220)
•   Featuring: Auctions, Raffles, Contests, and much, MUCH MORE
•   Local Indiana Craft Beer to quench your thirst!

• Hard Hat Tour Lager and multiple other styles from Sun King
• Moustache Ride Red and multiple other styles from Flat 12
• Curious Tenacious Traveler Shandy

•   Food Trucks  (Scribble & Caveman Truck)
• Live entertainment to move your feet!
•   $10 Entry Fee – ONE HUNDRED PERCENT goes to charity – tickets available at door!
• Sorry we’re unable to honor Official Movember.com-provided Gala certificates
•   NO MUSTACHE REQUIRED TO ATTEND – They have Loaners!
• This is a 21+ event

Indiana Beer News - collaborations, new beers, and more....

SunKing has released a seasonal beer IPA: Fistful of Hops. At 73 ibu and 6.4% it delivers great hop notes featuring Pacifica and Zythos providing orange, tangerine, a little grapefruit but still a nice balance with a big beer. WeeMuckle is also available and tasted mighty good last night with higher alcohol and nice caramel and toffee!

RAM releases the much awaited (at least in my house) S'No Angel tonight, Nov. 20, but also features a Barrel Aged Bock starting at 6:30 PM downtown. Of course the seasonals will end up at both DT and Fishers, but do not expect the BBL Bock to last long.

Flat12 has a Girl's Pint Out event with racer Sarah Fisher tonight at Lino's 5-7 PM. Flat12 starts their always anticipated Twelve Beers of Christmas 12/5 and runs through 12/22.

Upland has TWO collaborations with New Belgium Brewing: Light Synth is 50% NB Felix, 40% Upland Sour Reserve, and 10% Upland Cherry Lambix. Dark Synth is 50% NB Oscar, 40% Upland Dantillon, and 10% Upland Raspberry Lambic. Both will be released in 750 bottles in 2014.

Bloomington Brewing released their Persimmon Ale on Nov. 6, and last we checked it was still on tap at Lennie's Bloomington. This has a reasonable spice that almost reminds of pumpkin beer. BBC also released their Homegrown Ale featuring organic Cascade Hops grown on their own farm providing a light bodied ale with a bit of pine bit and some grassy flavor.

Daredevil cans of LiftOff IPA have hit shelves with distinctive graphics.

Bell's (Okay, a bit further afield) ships CANS of Two Hearted and Oberon in late April 2014. These will eventually be followed by cans of Bell's Best Brown, Winter White, and Smitten Golden Rye.

So many breweries.... SO much good beer!!

Cheers, GregKitz

Flat 12's Flat as Hell

…so here’s the thing: I really like Flat12. I mean, they’ve got a lot to offer the local craft beer consumer. A standard roster of great beers (Walkabout and Pogue's Run come to mind) but they also have a track record of pushing the envelope and trying any number of unusual ingredients or odd mash-ups in beers that find their way to the tasting room or beer festival. These are the folks who bring us Bleeding Heart IPA, Cucumber Kolsch, and the infamous 12 Beers of Christmas.

So it was that my lovely spouse (and all-around good sport) and I found our way down to Dorman Street for their Halloween event: Flat as Hell. The event hinged upon an interesting line up using their amber as a base beer and dosing nine different kegs each with a different pepper ranging from green bell peppers in beer # 1 all the way to Scorpion peppers in beer #9 (a la Dante’s Inferno). As if this weren’t enough, Flat 12 also coordinated a salsa bar courtesy of Tlaolli  featuring salsa made with each separate pepper. Along with great food and exciting beer choices the night included live music and the obligatory costume contest. Despite rainy weather and municipal insistence that Halloween festivities take place on Friday the 1st, the place was packed. The crowd was good spirited and all seemed to be enjoying the event.

For the very competitive price of $12, intrepid party-goers received a ticket to be punched for a sample of each of the nine beers AND a commemorative pint glass AND a full pour of the beer of their choice. What a great value. We were all in.  
Here's the part where I attempt to offer some insightful and informative narrative regarding the beers on offer.  But my tasting notes from the evening read a little like that well-circulated internet gag about the poor rube who volunteered to judge the chili cook off and likely wound up with a peptic ulcer as a result…. which is to say that by about beer 4 or 5 I couldn’t really taste much of anything outside of hop character and heat. This didn’t stop me from trying all nine of my samples, mind (I'm no sissy).  It just means that I have very little to offer by way of review outside the memory of a delightful evening tasting out-of-the-ordinary beer.

Which brings me to the over-arching point of this missive: I wish more of our local breweries would steal a page from Flat 12’s playbook. If there’s one thing we can count on it’s that Flat 12 will push the envelope and try some new things. Some of them may not be commercially viable on a large scale (I don’t foresee a scorpion-pepper infused amber making its way to bottles and distribution sites any time soon…) but they will always be fun. And if that draws folks down to the tasting room on a Thursday or to the next beer festival, well that’s good for everyone in the craft beer community. Let’s be fair: I can hit my local bottle shop and purchase lots of great local beer from lots of great local breweries. Or I could make a special trip to the brewery for the same beer. And as creatures of convenience it takes more than a simple sixer of Walkabout to draw me downtown on a weeknight. This is the sort of thing where Flat 12 excels. I for one would like to see more of it in the future. And speaking of more beer fun in the future I hear there will be special Black-Friday beers on the schedule from the Flat 12 folks… something about turkey day leftovers? Rumor has it there may be a reappearance of one of those pepper infusions for the 12 Beers of Christmas just a few weeks away. It’s big fun for everyone. Take yourself down to your local brewery and grab a pint of something out of the ordinary. Variety is the spice of life after all.
slainte’
dave

Brew Bracket 8: Oktoberfest

About two years ago, I discovered the existence of Brew Bracket. I've been a hooked fan ever since.

This past weekend I was able to go to my first Brew Bracket in the Tomlinson Tap Room. Just as much bracket style, great craft beer fun as their events at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, this event is only 8 local breweries, and the blind tasting happens table side, where voters can relax, snack, and drink beer poured by the expert double pourer volunteers.

Brew Bracket 8 was right time on time with their Oktoberfest style beer challenge: right in the middle of the traditional Oktoberfest celebration going on in Munich!

The fierce competitors of this BB8 was:
Flat 12 Bierwerks
The RAM
Twisted Crew Brewery
Sun King Brewing Co.
Thr3e Wisemen
Bier Brewery
Iechyd Da Brewery
Upland Brewing

Some of the beers were really interesting. Flat 12 had their Red Oatober in the competition, and it was distinct with the hop  flavor in the nose and on the tongue.  Twisted Crew (I believe, based off my tally sheets) gave their Oktoberfest a coffee enhancement.  Other than that the other breweries had the same malted lager, creamy traditional Oktoberfest flavor.

Being only 8 breweries the voting, and tasting went quickly and it was within no time that the RAM picked up their third win.

Every time I go to a Brew Bracket event, I can't even describe the camaraderie that just surrounds the venue. Between Mike and Ryan, the charity involved, the brewers, the sponsors, the visitors, it is just a special kind of event. There is always good music, good food and I always run into good friends there.

So if you still haven't gone to a Brew Bracket.. you must go to Brew Bracket 9 - Porters! (I'm very much looking forward to this style!)

Prost!
Kathleen

Indiana Beer News - June 30: New Beers, Fun events

What beer will you drink for Fourth of July and what beer will you drink in 2014? The answer to each might change as more and more beers come on the Indiana scene! There is a LOT going on in the next few weeks and a lot more coming.

We did a quick stop at some downtown Indianapolis breweries this weekend finding new pours everywhere and also realizing we have so many offerings in downtown Indy we could not fit them all into our short schedule.

Indiana City Beer (see Kathleen's Grand Opening Story here ) was offering up a Belgian Wheat (Yacht Rock; 6%), Oatmeal Stout (Shadow Boxer; 7%), and APA (Beyond the Pale; 7.2) showing perhaps a trend in slightly 'bigger' beers in alcohol.

SunKing showcased their regular three, WeeMac, Osiris, and Sunlight, plus a hefe-weizen (Big H; 5.8%) ), Vienna Lager (Indian Lager; 5.4%), and a collaboration beer with Solemn Oath (Mythological Wonder, 7.7%) with spicy and rye notes, delicious combo hops.


Flat12 wants to give us our fruits and vegetables with so many beers on tap including their regular suspects (porter, amber, walk-about IPA, half-cycle IPA) and as usual so many seasonals, the newest being KiwiKiwiHefeWeizen with Kiwi fruit and kiwi juice so fruity, as well as Cucumber Kolsch which seems this year truly for those who love cucumbers, their Axis hefe and a Karousel Kolsch - tapped last week at the Elbow Room's 80th birthday party!

the RAM recently rolled out Barefoot wit, perfect for these hot days.

Daredevil has rolled out their Vacation Kolsch now showing up on taps throughout the state, also brewed with German ingredients and is a crisp, clean beer. Of course Daredevil Lift Off remains out there and seasonal Muse Belgian style can still be found on tap at many locations.


If you travel to Cincinnati you'll find a new brewery open (Grand Opening was June 29) with a strong Indiana connection. Rhinegeist brewing in the Over the Rhine District of the Queen City is the new home of Head Brewer Jim Matt who was a home-brewer in the award winning MECA club that also spawned now-pro-brewers Bill Ballinger and Michael Pearson of Daredevil. Jim gained professional status with SunKing, moved to head brewer status with Moerlein when they opened a brew haus in downtown Cincy, and just opened the Rheingeist operation serving a golden ale, English mild, Hoppy Wheat and IPA. Good Luck Rhinegeist and Jim!!

Bloomington Brewing Company has rolled out 10-speed nicely hopped wheat beer and a brand new Seven Sips Belgian Strong ale that has a nod to a wit with coriander + sweet and bitter orange peel but candy sugar to make it a big beer (8.3%). Also new at BBC is a Single Hop Columbus IPA following the trend of single hopped beers.
BBC's sister Lennie's restaurant and brew pub (the home of BBC beers) won a prestigious Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence award this month. The accolade, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor.

UPCOMING:

July 4: most Indiana brewpubs are open on July 4 for growler fills!
If in Downtown Indy for the Freedom Blast (fireworks) check out the Indiana Craft Beer Garden with craft offerings from SunKing, Flat12, Fountain Square, Cutters, Barely Island and Peoples brewers.

Indiana City Brewing (26 Shelby Street a block from Washington Street and I-65), celebrates with a 4th of July Music Festival staring at 4:00 with $5 tickets and lost of live music, local beer, and food trucks -- plus a location to view the Indy fireworks.

July 6: SunKing celebrates their 4th anniversary with a Grapefruit Jungle IPA tapping with music, local beer, and food trucks 4-10PM - $10 tickets at the tasting room. Beer Tappings are scheduled throughout the day: 4pm Grapefruit Jungle, 6pm Port Barrel Aged Wee Mac, 7pm 777, 8pm Afternoon Delight, 9pm Velvet Fog.

Brewers of Indiana Guild 18th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival is Saturday, July 20, 3-7 p.m. at Indianapolis Art Center and Optimist Park in Broad Ripple.
Your favorite Indiana breweries will be joined by a select group of guest breweries from around the country at Indiana’s largest craft beer event. Over 300 beer selections to choose from!Details and Tix

Noted out-of-state beers coming to Indiana!

Green Flash from San Diego, noted for their West Coast style IPA, should be in distribution in Central and Southern Indiana by mid-July. Early reports suggest only 20 bars may be the first to have a GF beer on tap but many liquor stores are to get product! WCB is the distributor.

Smuttynose brewing of New Hampshire, as we previewed for Ft. Wayne story here is kicking off distribution with Cavalier in Indiana in the Northern and Southern parts of the state check releases here . We should be finding best-selling Finestkind IPA and international award-winners Robust Porter and Wheat Wine Ale in most of our areas soon.

DogfishHead has announced their return to Indiana (+ Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) with a cute video watch the video here . Look for DFH to work out the deal with a distributor and be back by 2014, possibly sooner.

Oskar Blues of Longmont, Colorado, the first to use CANS announced in March that they should be available in Indiana soon. Most in Indiana know of the SunKing/Oskar Blues collaboration of CHAKA last year. As OB rolls out to Indiana look for Dale's Pale and Mama's Yellow Pils.

Speaking of cans look for some other craft brewers (in Indiana) to consider cans. Foxnews.com recently released a clip from one of their junior reporters extolling the virtues of cans vs bottles

and finally, having a Summer Wedding? Beer is IN! Anja Winikka, TheKnot.com Site Director recognizes the trend: "Our brides love beer! More and more we've been seeing couples go beyond the traditional bar and really personalizing the experience for their guests. Beer is huge – everything from beer flights and craft beer bars to beer tasting stations and beer and food pairings. Couples are even serving homebrews specially created for their events. That's why we're so excited about Brewlywed Ale – it gives all craft beer lovers a chance to enjoy the trend at their weddings. Plus, what could be better for personalizing your day than a specialty wedding beer?" (thanks to PR from SamAdams)

Brew Bracket Pale Ales

After tackling Ambers, Belgians, Bourbon Barrel Aged, India Pale Ale, Stout, and Wheat; the latest incarnation of Brew Bracket featured the popular American Pale Ale style. If you’re not familiar with Brew Bracket, it’s the unique beer competition where the winner is determined based on the votes of blind tasting participants. No qualifications required, no guidelines, just pick the beer you enjoy the most. Participants taste two beers at the same time and the winner of that voting round advances to face a new opponent in the next round until an overall champion is determined.

Jake, Jason, and I attended the event and decided to take a new approach by publishing each of our votes here for a good round of public ridicule. Our picks deviated significantly from actual winners early in the competition before falling in line a bit more as we drew closer to an overall champion. Congrats to Thr3e Wise Men for winning the tournament with their Rocky Ripple Pale Ale, and to Rock Bottom Downtown for claiming runner-up with Sugar Creek Pale Ale. We’ll start with the matchups and our choices followed by a bit of commentary.

Sweet 16 Round

Flat 12 vs. Rock Bottom College Park (North Region)

Jake’s Pick: Flat 12

Jason’s Pick: Rock Bottom College Park

Nathan’s Pick: Flat 12

The People’s Choice: Rock Bottom College Park

Three Wisemen vs. Union Brewing (North Region)

Jake’s Pick: Union Brewing

Jason’s Pick: Union Brewing

Nathan’s Pick: Union Brewing

The People’s Choice: Three Wisemen

RAM vs. People’s (West Region)

Jake’s Pick: RAM

Jason’s Pick: People’s

Nathan’s Pick: People’s

The People’s Choice: RAM

Brugge Brasserie vs. Bloomington Brewing (West Region)

Jake’s Pick: Brugge Brasserie

Jason’s Pick: Brugge Brasserie

Nathan’s Pick: Brugge Brasserie

The People’s Choice: Bloomington Brewing

Upland vs. Rock Bottom Downtown (East Region)

Jake’s Pick: Upland

Jason’s Pick: Upland

Nathan’s Pick: Upland

The People’s Choice: Rock Bottom Downtown

Evil Czech vs. Triton (East Region)

Jake’s Pick: Triton

Jason’s Pick: Triton

Nathan’s Pick: Evil Czech

The People’s Choice: Evil Czech

Barely Island vs. Indiana City (South Region)

Jake’s Pick: Barley Island

Jason’s Pick: Indiana City

Nathan’s Pick: Indiana City

The People’s Choice: Barley Island

Iechyd Da vs. Half Moon (South Region)

Jake’s Pick: Iechyd Da

Jason’s Pick: Half Moon

Nathan’s Pick: Half Moon

The People’s Choice: Half Moon

Elite 8 Round

Rock Bottom College Park vs. Three Wisemen (North Region)

Jake’s Pick: Rock Bottom College Park

Jason’s Pick: Rock Bottom College Park

Nathan’s Pick: Rock Bottom College Park

The People’s Choice: Three Wisemen

RAM vs. Bloomington Brewing (West Region)

Jake’s Pick: RAM

Jason’s Pick: RAM

Nathan’s Pick: RAM

The People’s Choice: RAM

Rock Bottom Downtown vs. Evil Czech (East Region)

Jake’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Jason’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Nathan’s Pick: Evil Czech

The People’s Choice: Rock Bottom Downtown

Barley Island vs. Half Moon (South Region)

Jake’s Pick: Barley Island

Jason’s Pick: Barley Island

Nathan’s Pick: Barley Island

The People’s Choice: Barley Island

Final 4 Round

Three Wisemen vs. RAM

Jake’s Pick: Three Wisemen

Jason’s Pick: Three Wisemen

Nathan’s Pick: Three Wisemen

The People’s Choice: Three Wisemen

Rock Bottom Downtown vs. Barley Island

Jake’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Jason’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Nathan’s Pick: Barley Island

The People’s Choice: Rock Bottom Downtown

Championship Round

Three Wisemen vs. Rock Bottom Downtown

Jake’s Pick: Rock Bottom Downtown

Jason’s Pick: Three Wisemen

Nathan’s Pick: Three Wisemen

The People’s Choice: Three Wisemen

From Jason C………….

For the record, I went into this thing a Brew Bracket virgin. I had really been wanting to attend since its inception but I suppose I was just saving myself for the right style. When I saw pale ales on the calendar well, I just knew that I was ready both physically and emotionally...it was just my time. Little did I know the mental anguish that awaited when the beers I liked left the competition without so much as a goodbye note. At least I am able to take some comfort in knowing that I can stalk those beers now that their identity has been disclosed.

After sampling everything from the Sweet 16 (rounds 1&2), I felt that the North Region was in control of the bracket (even tweeted it at the time). Oddly enough, I ended up voting against the eventual winner for it's first two pairings. This isn't meant to slight Three Wisemen in the least, their beer was certainly deserving as they did receive my votes in both the Final 4 & Championship rounds. Looking back, I still feel that the toughest decision for me was the Round 1 match-up between Flat 12 & Rock Bottom CP and I maintain that the Rock Bottom CP offering was the best beer I had all day.

I was surprised that the People's entry was knocked out in Round 1 as I felt that they had the strongest offering in the West Region (and no, I'm not being a homer!). The East Region's best match-up came in Round 1 with Upland vs. Rock Bottom DT. While I gave the edge to Upland, I wasn't surprised to see Rock Bottom DT advance to the finals. Again, a first round match-up that knocked out a pretty nice beer. The last thing I really want is to be a hater but there really wasn't much to get excited about in the South Region. The only beer that really caught my attention was the offering from Indiana City. Looking at the bracket it's obvious the majority of the beer drinking populous didn't share in my taste for this beer. The flavor contained an interesting spice note (ginger maybe?) that I found to be unique and pretty tasty. Because of this combination I gave it my vote, albeit in vain, to move on to the next round.

So that's my brief summary of my first venture into the exciting world that is Brew Bracket. They say you always remember your first and I feel that the pale ales will be no exception. I've also been told that it gets better with experience so, that being said, bring on the Oktoberfests!

From Jake………….

Like Jason, I popped my brew bracket cherry this past weekend. So the theory behind this event was a March Madness style bracket of beers, with the final beer standing being the champion. This is a great idea and the execution of the event really makes it easy for the consumer to simply enjoy themselves. A pair of food trucks fed the few hundred or so people with pretzel bun sandwiches from a german food truck and scratch truck’s indian style offerings. I was surprised to see just how many brewers were at the event; a few made it out to mingle with the crowd but most of the time they were behind the scenes drinking amongst themselves. A corn hole style long toss, a raffle, and a trivia contest sponsored by NUVO kept the mass entertained as the bottle cap votes were counted.

At the beginning of the festival a 1 page handout from Ron Smith gave a brief rundown of the style’s history and what a BJCP trained judge would look for in this style. Essentially the style is an American hop showcase. Just enough malt backbone to help balance the moderate to high hop bitterness and flavor, and low to no yeast character. This is a great style for an event like this because you do not overwhelm your senses with the first few rounds.

Anyways enough about the event, lets talk about beer. As I’m sure you read I only got 7 of my 15 picks correct. This didn’t really surprise me as I had no idea what to expect. Like Jason, I thought the North and West regions were stacked with great beer, the East had a few tasty ones. Regretfully, most of the South region would have struggled against any beer in the North or West. After discussing the event, after round 2, with some friends from another blog; I picked the beer I thought would win the whole thing. I choose Andrew Castner’s creation for the RAM. Andrew’s offering made it to the semifinal round and only lost to the overall winner, Omar’s offering from Three Wisemen. Some notable first or second round upsets were Rob Caputo’s offering from Flat 12, Upland’s Campside, Ted Miller’s Brugge beer, and newcomers Indiana City. Some of the underdogs who did well were Barley Island, always great beer but more well known for their darker beers, who made it to the semifinal, and Evil Czech who lost in round 3 to finalists Rock Bottom Downtown. After only voting for Three Wisemen once, against my pick to win it all by the way, I can’t really say I think Omar’s was my favorite beer. In reality any of the semifinalists could have won, as they were all pretty tasty.

Congratulations to Omar, and everyone at Three Wisemen! The future of brew bracket is promising. With Oktoberfests on the horizon for the next event in September and another one later this year there will be plenty of opportunity for you to end your brew bracket virginity as well. Oktoberfest is one of my absolute favorite styles, so I will be at the next event. Now I’m sorry I missed Bourbon Barrel Brew Bracket, sounds like it was a good time. What I would love to see next year is some more interesting styles like Saison, Schwarzbier, and perhaps a Berliner Weisse competition.

From Nathan………….

This was a pretty strong field of beers, I can only think of one entry that the three of us were unanimously unimpressed with. So there were a fair amount of tough decisions, and the brackets pretty much guarantee some of your favorites will be knocked out early. It’s interesting to note that as a group we unanimously voted against Thr3e Wisemen in the two North region matchups, but this is primarily because the Union and Rock Bottom CP beers were exceptional in my opinion.

The first round matchup between Flat 12 and Rock Bottom CP was just brutal – those were probably my two favorite beers in the competition. The Evil Czech vs. Triton matchup was also very difficult as they both ranked near the top of my list. I haven’t had the chance to try a lot of offerings from Evil Czech, so it was great to find out they had such a strong offering in this competition. Of course, none of the four beers I mentioned as favorites advanced past the round of 8, and the people have spoken! On the other hand, the few entries I didn’t care for were also eliminated in the first two rounds.

Once we reached the Final 4, my favorites were gone but the remaining entries were very solid. At this point, my notes tabbed the Thr3e Wisemen entry as the best remaining beer in the field. This seems illogical since I had voted against it twice, but the North Region entries were disproportionately strong. Once we pass the Porter competition in December, the next challenge may be finding new styles that Indiana brewers produce commonly enough to hold a full 16 brewer competition. Brown Ales, Lagers, and Light Hybrids (Cream Ales, Blonde Ales, etc.) are a few that still come to mind. Thanks to Brew Bracket for putting another great event and motivating me to pick up a sixer of the Flat 12 Walkabout!

 

Check out the Brew Bracket event page for your next chance to participate and select a champion (hopefully with a better rate of success than we had)! Upcoming events include:

Oktoberfest Beers

September 28th, 2013

8 Brewers, 150 Participants

Held at Tomlinson Tap Room (in City Market, Indianapolis)

Porters

December 7th, 2013

16 Brewers, 400 Participants

Held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis