Indiana Beer News June 23 12

indianabeer.com is having a "meet up and tweet up" at Tomlinson Tap Room in the Indianapolis City Market this coming Wednesday, June 27, 6 PM. Visits from some of our professional brewers, free gifts, and surprrises and a chance to grab a pint of great Indiana beer on tap at the TomTap Room! C'mon down! We'll also have a few copies of Bob Ostrander's book "Hoosier Beer...Tapping into Indiana Brewing History" for sale!
Visit FIVE central Indiana breweries on the first Indy Brew Trek bus! On Saturday, July 7, participants will meet at Thr3e WiseMen in Broad Ripple and be transported by bus to Triton brewery, Flat12 brewery, Fountain Square brewery, BlackSwan brewpub, and back to Thr3e WiseMen. All for $25 for the bus ride and most of the breweries will provide a taster or two and your chance to buy a pint or more at each place. Call Jeff at 317-432-8798 to find out Tickets on E-Bay


Triton Brewing is participating in the Lawrence 4th Festival with beer available. http://www.facebook.com/4thFest


Downtown Brew Pubs
Gettin' downtown to stroll around and find a pint?

RAM downtown has three seasonal beers on tap. The Ghost King IPA is a session IPA and a great Summer beer. Both the wit and the California Common (Steam) beer are very tasty for the Summer. The RIS is complex with appropriate high alcohol.















Rock Bottom downtown has a Summer honey blond for the season. There are actually EIGHT beer on tap right now.


Brewer Jerry of RB was busy getting his entries ready for the Brewer's Cup competition of the Indiana State Fair when we visited. Credits to Anita Johnson and Tom Stillabower for making this one of the top beer competitions in the U.S.


















Just a short distance from Downtown, though not a brew pub,there is plenty of seating room at Fountain Square Brewery. the Summer offering would be their hefeweizen. But they just tapped a nugget IPA that is pretty tasty too.

Fountain Square, like most near-town brewers, has free parking.













SunKing -- remember, SunKing tap room will be closed starting July 4 until July 18 for renovation but right now they have their regulars plus Seasonals: Bitch'n Camaro and

Flat12 is at the Chatham Arch/Mass Av Brew-Ha-ha today until 7. with Cycle IPA, F12 Amber, Karousel Kolsch, Bourbon Barrel-aged Big Black Dog (68),Rye Stout, Moustache Ride Red, Bourbon Barrel-aged 12 Penny Scottish Ale, El Blanco Diablo Roble (The white oak devil – chili blonde aged in an oak barrel), Glitter Walkabout, Belgo Porter,
Fire Fly Wheat

Greenwood Freedom Fest includes a micro-brewery and wine 'garden' this year June 29-30, click for details

Again, meet up with us Wednesday! 6 PM TomTap at City Market!

Working it for Winterfest

Unlike roaming free with my fellow reporters, I decided to join  Hoosier Beer Geeks's volunteer squad for Winterfest.  I was at the fairgrounds at 11am, about 4 hours before the VIP were allowed in, and worked til about 9:30pm, which was after a massive cleanup!!


Volunteering was an interesting experience.


I ran into people I had met volunteering at the summer's Microbrewer's Festival, I had people I knew volunteer with me. I got to walk the halls and talk to new breweries like BullDog, see my local favorites like Bier Brewery, meet people from the home brewers club such as from the Ohio Valley Home Brewers Association, and taste on tap for the first time Founders' Breakfast Stout and Cerise.


I'd say my favorite times were being able to get behind the scenes and participate, use my volunteer "powers" for beer, and just basically talk with a lot of people while I was out and about.  It was also the first time all the IndianaBeer reporters were together :) 


As for the beers... the Highlights of my Day was:

Flat 12 Bierwerks - Moustache Ride  - An amber ale aged in used whiskey barrels w/ vanilla beans (Jim Beam Barrels).


Dark Horse Brewery  - Scotty Karate Scottish Ale - A smooth Scottish ale with a small smokey chocolate/vanilla like taste. 


Barley Island - Count Hopula - An Imperial IPA. (I know. me.. a malty girl, actually enjoyed a hoppy style beer)  What can I say, even at 84 IBU, it was still smooth to me. 


I had plenty other delicious beer while I was out and about. The volunteering experience even started with us passing around bottles of Bell's Brewery - Hopslam.  I finally got to try Flat12 Bierewerks - Blackberry Porter.  Overall, I think there was a definite plus to Winterfest that will make me come back again next year and volunteer all over again. 


As for some picture highlights -- check out the views below:

  Pre - Winterfest  Prep -

 Getting all those Wristbands ready to attack arm hair! 

There are a lot of glasses here.. 

unfortunately we ran out!

Goes to show that Winterfest was a big hit. 

Small Crowd going already with the VIP's and Media inside. 

Winterfest Brochure.  It did exist!

I hope everyone had a good time, plenty of great beer, and made it home safe. 

Thanks for all the high fives and the fist bumps while I guarded the exit!

- Kathleen

Bob's Interview with Nuvo

In case you didn't get to read this week's Nuvo. IndianaBeer's own Bob Ostrander was interviewed!

IndianaBeer.com - Bob Ostrander Interview

Beer Overload?

May Day -- I think we've hit Beer Overload!

The other day on twitter I saw an event regarding nothing else than a beer festival. Triton Brewing Company in collaboration with Flat 12 are doing a tasting at the Rivera Club. Samples from both companies plus food from 7-11pm on 10/8.  I should be excited! That day is my birthday, but I'm already going and have been looking forward to Brew Bracket for over a month. Which is the same day - 10/8 from 12:30-5. 

What if I did both!? -- Beer Overload 

(almost 12 hours of tasting.. brings up the question.. is there such a thing as too much of a good thing?)

Everyday I scroll through twitter, I read IndianaBeer, I pop onto Hoosier Beer Geek, I check my inbox for brewing companies e-mail updates and I've gotta say.. If you like beer and live in Indiana, most specifically Indianapolis. You could probably go to a beer related event -- EVERY DAY. 

Breweries like Sun King, Thr3e Wisemen, Bier Brewery are constantly tapping new styles. Bars are have kegs from outside the city from craft brewers to tap as well. Almost every weekend there is an event or festival. 

Makes me want to be a beer butterfly fluttering to each keg to sip on the sweet brewed nectar. 

Try as I may I'll never get to try it all, but I won't give up. I'm a beer lover through and through and will continue to blog about it, talk about, tweet about, and like it Facebook.  


Though my blogs may have slowed ( I still owe the readers: The Search For The Great Pumpkin: Beer Edition Round 2 & 3 & So on, and a recap of my visit to Lexington Brewery)  


I am still here.. to drink beer!


Cheers. :) 




On a small sidenote: I will be at Bier Brewery tonight for their weekly release. Flat 12 for their Flat Jack Pumpkin Ale Tapping on Friday.  Sun King also on Friday.  Brew Bracket on Saturday! 

Want More to do this Week (9/12-9/17) - Go Beer!

A small addition to Bob's wonderful beer update :) & IndianaBeer.com's Calender  update -->

Tonight 9/12  -  Ale Emporium - Tapping @ 6pm - Bell's Brewery "Oracle" - DIPA
Tuesday 9/13 - Thr3e Wisemen Brewery  - Tapping @ 6pm - Strong Scotch Ale
Saturday 9/17 - Hoosier Hops and Harvest Festival - in Brown County
Saturday 9/17 - FalltoBeerFest - Beer Seller in Indianapolis.. (Castleton) from 4pm-5pm


We'd love to hear if you have more events or information on current beer festivities! :)

Hoosier Beer Geek's 5th Anniversary Party

If you are fan of festivals such as the Indiana Microbrewers' festival,

then you would've loved going to the Hoosier Beer Geek's 5th Anniversary Party. 

From 6pm - 11pm this past Saturday, Sun King Brewery's Tasting room opened their doors to 150 people in celebration of the team that continues to inform the masses, support the festivals and amuse beer lovin' Hoosiers. 

I was very happy to be 1 out of the 150 in attendance. 

Shortly after the party started (or fashionably late), I proudly walked in with my yellow Beer Knee Highs and Bier Brewery shirt and received a warm welcome from Rodney, Gina and other Hoosier Beer Geek associates at the door.  Thanks to the power of the Internets and Twitter, I was recognized as the new reporter for IndianaBeer.com. (which made me quite ecstatic to be "known" )

I was handed a one of a kind pint glass with an HBG5 logo on one side and Sun King Brewery on the other along with 5 red tickets for 5- 16oz pours of delicious beer of my choice. The glass is also how I was able to get unlimited samples of the 30+ beers available. Lastly I was also given a raffle ticket for the prize drawing to be take place later in the evening. 

Now, Ok.. I know you all are thinking enough with the small stuff.. Let's get to the beer! 

Out of the 30+  beers available, I actually only sampled 10 beers and used three of my pint tickets. Of course you make think.. in 5 hours that is not enough beer, well my friends.. let's just say the team behind the taps, were more than generous with their samples. 

In numerical order.. the beers of my night were:

Stone Brewing Co. - Sublimely Self Righteous Ale 

Brugge Brasserie - SuperKitty Fantastico!

Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Company - Hoosier Beer Geek Double Brown

Barley Island Brewing Company - Barrel-Fermented Rust Belt Porter 

RAM Brewery - Bjava Disorder Porter
The St. Louis Brewing Company aka Schlafly - Raspberry Coffee Stout
 Sun King - A Few More Hops 

Flat12 Bierwerks -  Nunmoere Black 

Founders - Cerise
Upland Brewing Company -  Mother's Milk
 

The pint winners were:

 The RAM's Bjava Disorder Porter -

 a well blended mix of B-Java coffee beans and the RAM's Total disorder porter

The best of two worlds Coffee & Beer

Brugge Brasserie's SuperKitty Fantastico! - 

a barrel aged tripel, 

which surprised me because my tripel experience always has me comparing the beer to bananas

Upland Brewing Company's Mother's Milk -

a creamy malty milk stout

I'm a sucker for stouts

All the samples were fantastic and even though Founders and Schlafly are not Indiana beers, I highly suggest going and sampling the Founders - Cerise and the Schlafly - Raspberry Coffee Stout if you can, especially if you like a small fruit like sensation in your brew. 

In addition to all the beer goodness, Papa Roux  spiced up the night with make your own po-boys and cheesy etouffee.

As the beer clock ticked towards the end of the night.. Jason from HBG held a raffle. Some raffle winners won Hoosier Beer Geek wears or local brewery goods. Some lucky people took home growlers!  This gal was given a t-shirt from Triton Brewing Company from a winner for her beer shirt collection. 

Other highlights of the evening was meeting Jim and Jason from HBG, talking with Tara and others from Bier Brewery and interacting with many of my fellow beer aficionados.. which that part was mostly due to my socks. 

All in all a very good night for beer indeed!


And in closing I want to say:

Thank you Hoosier Beer Geek & Sun King for a fun night and I look forward to HBG6!

IndianaBeer call for bloggers + Changes to B.I.G.s web site

IndianaBeer is looking for reporters. Nana Wiley of the Columbus Bar is going to join Cindy Modesitt, Greg Kitzmiller, and myself and we are looking for people to report on what's going on in their region, what beers they like and dislike, etc. It doesn't pay anything but you'll be able to help promote Indiana's beer scene and our 35 breweries.

Updates can be done online via Google's Blogger or offline via Windows Live Writer. Camera and editing skills are nice but not required.

IndianaBeer exists to help promote good beer in Indiana. Our sponsor and sorta-owner, World Class Beverages doesn't put any editorial policies on us at all. Gush about a Cavalier beer - OK. Dis a WCB beer - OK. Just don't say anything nice about Bud Light Lime.

PLUS

Rodney Weaver is taking over the Brewers of Indiana Guild web site. The Indiana Beer Calendar has moved to the IndianaBeer web site which Bob Ostrander will continue to maintain. Also the Indiana Brewing History and Beer Dictionary.