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

Beers, Cheers, and Sneers – March 24th

Welcome to spring! March 25th is the official release date for Bell’s Oberon, which is either the worst or greatest timing ever depending on your perspective. So after you’ve dug out from a foot of snow, here are the official release party locations for Monday morning/night (see Bell’s event page for Indiana for additional events later in the week):

Bloomington	Yogi's Bar and Grill	6-8pm
Bloomington	The Tap	8pm
Elkhart	Sauk Trail on 17 Smokehouse & Grille	5pm
Fort Wayne	Dicky's Wild Hare	5pm
Granger	Tilted Kilt	5pm
Indianapolis	Mousetrap Bar	midnight Sunday
Indianapolis	The Aristocrat Pub	5-9pm
Indianapolis	Mass Ave. Pub	5pm
Mishawaka	Buffalo Wild Wings	5pm
Mishawaka	The Gallery Sports Pub	6pm
Muncie	The Heorot	midnight Sunday
Plymouth	Pizza Bill's	5pm
South Bend	O'Rourke's Public House	midnight Sunday
South Bend	Brothers Bar and Grill	5:30pm

Oskar Blues Brewery is reportedly in talks with distributors for expansion into the Indiana market with a target launch of late spring/early summer. If you’re not familiar with Oskar Blues, they specialize in big, hoppy craft beer in a can. That probably sounds unremarkable at this point, but they were one of the pioneers in challenging the notion that canned beer had to be cheap in both price and flavor. My first experience with the brewery occurred when stopping off at a Colorado liquor store before the 2006 Great American Beer Festival. I hesitated with the clerk recommended Dale’s Pale Ale as a great local choice for a thirsty traveler. Good beer in a can? Inconceivable! But that choice led to a habit of stashing cans of Dale’s Pale, Old Chub, Ten Fidy, and (my personal favorite) Gordon in airline luggage during subsequent trips within their distribution network. Now Oskar Blues is canvassing our region with recent launches in the Ohio, Chicago, and Michigan markets. Who will be next? I’m looking at you Lagunitas.

Fountain Square Brewing is back with another Peep Show event and Miss Poppi was not invited to perform. No, Fountain Square’s version of a Peep Show commissions local engineering talent to design gadgets capable of shooting full-sized Peeps. Kind of like a Punkin Chunkin event for people with real lives. Which is a great approach if you enjoy a good sausage fest. I kid…I kid…it will be a lot of fun. The event takes place on Friday, March 29th at 7:00. Visit the Fountain Square registration page to claim your spot in the competition.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed a bill that legalizes homebrewing in Mississippi, which is nice since an estimated 2200 citizens are doing it anyway. Mississippi now becomes the 49th state to allow homebrewing, and we’re proud to say this is one area where Indiana was a bit ahead of the curve. What about the 50th state? Well, a homebrewing bill in Alabama was removed from the special order calendar when politicians decided to be politicians and ground business to a halt due to other disagreements. Which means Mobile County prosecutor Keith Blackwood is still a criminal for posting his homebrewing exploits on Twitter. C’mon Keith – illicit affairs and laundering campaign contributions might be standard operation procedure, but keep your Berliner Weisse out of the public domain!

Some news on beer and rock and roll. Iron Maiden will partner with Robinson’s Brewery to create Trooper, a 4.7% ABV premium British ale with Bobec, Golding, and Cascade hops. Maiden fans searching for a Belgian Golden Strong will still have to settle for the slightly less-Satanic 668 Neighbor of the Beast from New England Brewing. 

I don’t often have a good excuse to link one of my favorite internet haunts in this column, but the fine folks at punknews.org picked up on the collaboration between Three Floyds and thrash metal band Municipal Waste. The new Toxic Revolution ale is a massive Oatmeal Stout perfect for winter shred sessions. And being a new beer from Three Floyds, it’s probably also perfect for the hallowed Viking quest of online beer trading.

Tip of the cap to People’s Brewing of Lafayette for their participation in a project to conserve the important ecosystem of Mulvey Pond in Tippecanoe County. The land was purchased by NICHES Land Trust and several local businesses, including People’s, are assisting with tree planting and the construction of a visitor platform. The platform will offer views of local and migratory waterfowl including snow geese and sandhill cranes.

Some timely new statistics are in from the Brewers Association following our recent piece on craft beer growth. For the full year of 2012, craft brewers achieved a 15 percent increase in sales volume and a 17 percent increase in dollar growth. These numbers balance out pretty well with an 18 percent increase in the number of U.S. operating breweries. The numbers for 2013 should be pretty interesting as the Association expects new breweries to open at an even higher rate.

As the power struggle between craft brewers and big brewers rages on, a grocer in Chicago scores one for the little guy. Garden Gourmet Market is working on a deal to obtain a liquor license in the mostly dry East Village. The catch? Garden Gourmet could only sell beer produced by craft brewers. While the results look pretty good, selling the idea that Garden Gourmet’s customers are professionals who aren’t interested in hard liquor or “40s” might not help the stereotype of craft beer as an elitist pursuit. On the opposite end of the spectrum, MillerCoors struck back with an exclusive agreement for product placement in all original TNT and TBS shows. There should probably be a joke here, but I can’t name a single original series on either of those networks. And the Ommegang Brewery already claimed Game of Thrones, so maybe we should score two for the little guy in this case.

The coveted Best Beard of Craft Beer award went to Chili of Stone Brewing. Never mind the fact that Chili isn't even a brewer (he is Stone’s groundskeeper and gardener), I suppose going by the single moniker Chili earns you some bonus cool points. I can only assume the guy to the right would be a serious contender if his choice in beer were improved.

Cheers and Hoppy Easter, Nathan

Brew Bracket - Bourbon Barrel Aged Beer Edition

Unfortunatly our reporters were unable to attend Brew Bracket - Bourbon Barrel Aged Beer edition, but we bring you a recap from Brew Bracket's - Mike Sale:

In a twist on the classic Brew Bracket event, the field was trimmed to eight brewers and participation limited to 150. But the style was wide open under the “Bourbon Barrel Aged Beer” category. Brewers could make any beer they wanted, but were required to age their beer in a bourbon barrel for a period of three months. Barrels were provided by Indiana’s own Harrison Bourbon, proving that great bourbon doesn't need to come from Kentucky. The event was hosted at Tomlinson Tap Room in Downtown Indianapolis on Saturday September 29^th, with part of the proceeds benefiting the Greenways Foundation, a charitable trust created around building and improving Indiana’s running and biking trails.

Participating brewers and beers included:

Figure Eight Brewery (Valparaiso, IN): Jumbo Love, a Black Barleywine style Ale aged in a Harrison Bourbon barrel.

Triton Brewery (Indianapolis): Cherry Oatmeal Stout aged in a Harrison Bourbon barrel.

Bier Brewery (Indianapolis): Billy Baroo, a Russian Imperial Stout aged in a Harrison Bourbon barrel.

Flat 12 Bierwerks (Indianapolis): Jailbait Brown, a sour brown ale with milk sugar and tart cherry fermented in a Harrison Bourbon barrel.

RAM Restaurant & Brewery (Indianapolis): Big Horn Maibock aged in a Harrison Bourbon barrel.

Bloomington Brewing (Bloomington, IN): Dry Hopped Bourbon Rye IPA aged in a Harrison Bourbon barrel.

Peoples Brewing (Lafayette, IN): Duncan’s Scottish Ale aged in a Harrison Bourbon barrel.

Barley Island Brewing (Noblesville, IN): Barrel Aged Dirty Helen, an Imperial Brown Ale aged in a Harrison Bourbon barrel.

After several rounds of tasting beers and Harrison bourbon, it was time for the reveal. The final two brewers standing were Andrew Castner’s Big Horn Maibock from RAM, and Jeff Eaton’s Barrel Aged Dirty Helen from Barley Island. After the votes were tallied, RAM was the last brewer standing that would take home the tap trophy.

 Additional supply of both the winner and runner up will be tapped at their home bars later this season. And if you missed this event, stay tuned for a bracket of ambers, to be held at the fairground on December 8^th. More information can be found at www.brewbracket.com. Cheers!

Brew Bracket - Barrel Aged Beers

From the people who brought you --

Brew Bracket I: IPA

Brew Bracket II: Stouts

and

Brew Bracket III: Wheats

It is now time for

 Brew Bracket 

Barrel Aged Beers!

(BBBourbon)

Unlike previous Brew Bracket this one is only 8 breweries. A little more social fun time, participants will be up at the Tomlinson Tap Room and the beer will be brought to you! Along with a tastings of Harrison Bourbon

All of the beers will be aged in bourbon barrels from Harrison Bourbon, an Indiana Bourbon company. Indiana Beer - Indiana Bourbon.  All in recognition of National Bourbon Heritage Month. 

Interested in coming? - Below is the details 

Event Details:

Saturday September 29^th, 6-9PM

Tomlinson Tap Room in the City Market, Indianapolis

Ticket price: $45 (early bird special of $40 through July 29)

Tickets available here

Special Note - Winners from previous Brew Brackets are participating!

Hurry to get your tickets and get ready for one of the best Brew Bracket to come!

Also -- in the fall check out Brew Bracket IV - Amber. 

Indiana Beer News – February 9

From Lafayette Brewing Company on Saturday’s Winter Warmer: BIG beers from 17 breweries, including: Back Road, Barley Island, Black Swan, Bloomington, Broad Ripple, Brugge, Crown, Figure Eight, Half Moon, Mad Anthony, People's, Sun King, Triton, Upland and of course, LBC. We've also got a 1/6 barrel of a very special ??mystery?? beer courtesy of our good friend Terry Schmitt!

And while spending a lovely weekend in the greater Lafayette area, look for the recently released People’s Hop Killa IIPA at People’s taproom, Boiler Market, and Black Sparrow Pub.

If you’re heading over to the Cincy Winter Beerfest you can prepare by checking out the beer list here.

Anyone with a spare bottle of Bell’s Black Note Stout might want to know that they’re selling for an average price of $139 on eBay. Or you could donate it to the cool people at IndianaBeer.com. We might rename the blog in your honor (just kidding Bob).

Great Fermentations had added a couple additional Beginning Brewing classes: March 6th at 6pm and March 10th at 9am.

Here is a list of 10 chocolate beers to share with your lover on Valentines Day. You may have some luck finding Brewery Ommegang, Boulevard, Southern Tier, and Tyranena in Indiana stores. Dogfish Head……not so much.

Girls Pint Out shares a video that ponders what would happen if girls acted like guys in a bar. Kind of mixed results after the first 30 seconds, but the “taco fest” line is my new favorite of the year.

And for your Moment of Zen, here’s a clip of Jimmy Fallon in Indy doing a keg stand with Sun King Sunlight Cream Ale.

Cheers, Nathan

North West Indiana Report

Took a trip up north. Here's what we found.

People's Brewing's tasting room has a full bar at the front of the brewery. Yes, good times.

• Mr. Brown is back with chocolate, black, and caramalt and Columbus and Cluster hops. 7%, 47 IBU, and a full mouth feel.
• The Procrastonator Double Helles Bock uses Pilsner malt and Pearl Hops at 36 IBU to give a sweetish 7.2% strong beer that may become a staple or the grounds for a lighter true Helles Bock down the line.
• Aberrant Amber is a nice dinner Amber with a touch of spice from Amarillo and Centennial. 5.5%, 48 IBU.

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Kennywood Brewing Supply in Crown Point was closed as we went through town. Got a shot of the interior at least.

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Just 2 blocks away, Crown Brewing was open with a few people enjoying their taps. New beers include

• Belgian Triple – Soft peach color. 9.1%. Little aroma, somewhat sweet, neutral and very to style.
• Milk Chocolate Stout – Thick, plenty of carbonation, very drinkable, lots of chocolate coming through from the 20 pounds added to the boil. 7.1%. A+
• Winter Warlock. Reddish cherry. Small malt aroma. At 7.1% a pleasant knickerdropper with no flaws. Uses maple syrup and honey along with spices in the brew kettle.

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Three Floyds hasn't changed much from their winning formula. The beers are varied and interesting.

• The Ostemoller (AKA Osti) – Smoked Helles Lager with 5.1% and 28 IBU. Substantial Rauchness comes in late. More smoke than Spezial and less bacon than Schlenkera. A+
• The Creeper Dopplebock. 9% and 23 IBU. Jet black with a tan head, looking like a Stout, Porter, Black IPA, or a Mild and the Creamy marshmallow, chocolate malt, and nut notes really confuse the Dopplebock designation.
• Also on tap: Alpha King, Robert the Bruce, Pride & Joy, Gumballhead, Dreadnaught, Arctic Panzer Wolf IPA, Sand Pebbles Strong American Brown, Owd Engwish Barley Whine, Aotearoa New Zealand hopped Amber, Hell's Black Inteligencer Oatmeal Stout.

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The new Beer Geeks Pub in Highland was the next stop. It's at 3030 45th St. in a shopping center. 20 taps, 1 handpull. Non-smoking. A comfortable roadhouse feel, knowledgeable staff, detailed beer menu, and a cardigan clientele make this a new favorite local for the area. The beer pictures on the walls were drawn by July Barrera.

 

 

Figure 8 Brewing was also closed as we went through. The Ro Shampo at Beer Geeks sill suffice. It has 6 malts to make an Imperial Red Ale at 7.5%. Not a Rad Red or other ultra-hoppy Summit brew, rather, it is quaffable and sneaky.

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So it was off to Shoreline for a few trials.

• Kolsh Syrah Syrah is bright golden and served quite cold in a wine glass. Fiting since it has been barrel aged in a wine barrel. A distinct wine (not cider) punch to the palatte.
• 5th Anniversary Wet Hop – Good but not a freshness bomb anymore.
• Beltaine – As always, liquid Scottish. A favorite.
• Discombobulation – Barley wine aged on Bourbon barrels. True BW with a touch of oakey vanilla. Strong and ready to drink. Worthy. A+
• Lost Sailor Imperial Stout aged in a Bourbon barrel. Noticeable Imperial Stoutness. Not noticeable barrel.
• Seven Red – Red Rye with 4 types of rye, such as Crystal Red, and 3 other malts.

Sam is putting in 2 30bbl fermenters and a 30bbl conditioning tank in the back room to join the phalanx of oak barrels.

These barrels have produced, with up to year of aging, 6 beers that are available at the bar ($20/750ml): Lost Sailor Imperial Stout, Discombobulation Celebration, Sum Cens IIPA, Big Bella Scotch, Curse the Goat Dopplebock (all of these in Bourbon barrels), and Seven Red on a French Shiraz oak wine barrel.

Coming up: Bavarian Bombshell, Black IPA, Don't Panic English Pale Ale, Singing Sands Oatmeal Stout.

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At Back Road, things are going along as normal. Chuck's Christmas Ale is conditioning. This year it is an oak-aged Baltic Porter. After 1 week in the wood it has a perfumey lavender aroma over a solid base. Give it a month more aging and it'll be perfect for the season.

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Mishawaka Brewing's seasonal is a

• Pumpin Ale that is bright, yellow, and strong pumpkin pie from the aroma through the lingering aftertaste.
• Seven Mules Kick-Ass name got the KA for a reason. Bitter, then a touch of caramel then a massive floral hops attack.

Misc News – Sept 3

September starts with Omar's new job at the Thr3e Wise Men. A loyal group helped him reduce some of the inventory of Devil's Ale, Bourbon American Stout, and other specials sitting in the back room.

Skip Duvall is taking over at Alcatraz and says the Search Light, Rock Bock, Weiss Guy Wheat, and Pelican Pale Ale will remain mostly unchanged while he puts his stamp on all the seasonals.

Power House and Great Crescent breweries are joining the collaboration frenzy. Jon and Dan will be co-brewing a Belgian Abbey Dark Strong at the Aurora facility.

At Power House, the Columbus Bar will be serving Dilligaf, a Rye Ale, any day now and an Oktoberfest is fermenting.

Half Moon has a Rasperry Rye Beer and Skull Splitter IIPA on tap.

Lafayette Brewing has just tapped their Star City Dark, a Schwarzbier with Styrian Goldings. "If you're looking for a lighter beer with depth of colour and taste, then don't be afraid to go dark with our darker version of our popular Star City Lager."

People's Brewing was at the Beer Sellar in Castleton this week. Sandwiched between Texas Hold'em and a pool league, Chris and Fred passed out samples, glasses, and other goodies. Cavalier is distributing People's and their IPA, Amber, ESB, and Pilsner are available to pubs over the state, not just in the Lafayette area.

• People's Pilsner – Plenty of Santium hops – a Tettnanger, Hallertauer, Mittelfruh hybrid. Noble with a touch of Saaz spicy.
• ESB – Dark red-tinged brown. Smooth. Balanced. All EKG. A+
• IPA – Dark, which means malty, but hit with 77 IBU of Columbus, Centennial, and Amarillo hops.
• Aberrant Amber – Has an up-front 48 IBU attack of citrusy Amarillo and Centennial.

Another brewpub is coming to Central Indiana. The Black Swan Brewpub at 2067 E. Hadley Rd. (the ex-Hog Heaven just north of I-70 at the Ind 267 exit) has received zoning approval from the Plainfield authorities. D J McCalister is the guy behind it and has worked with Lafayette Brewing, Oaken Barrel, Barley Island and Alcatraz. He said to zoning commission "Brewpubs in general especially in the Midwest have a long history of combining very good food, very good beer and providing excellent service to their customers." They'll be opening as an English Public House while they source brewing equipment and do all those other little details necessary to brew beer.

Black Swan Brewpub from Fork in The Road on Vimeo.
(Neil, Thanks for the tip, as always)

Indiana was represented at Beer And Sweat a week ago. Jim Matt got a Gold with his American Pale Ale and credits the filtering as being very important in a keg-based competition. Eric King and Clayton Cummings of Indy were second with a Saison and Steve Llewellyn of Bloomington got a silver with a Belgian Specialty Ale.

Quality Wine and Ale Supply has more homebrewing articles:

• How Temperature Affects Wine And Beer During Fermentation
• Get Better Results From Your Beer Brewing Kit With Recipes
• How Seasonal Beers Are Made
• An Introduction To Seasonal Beers
• Why Is Light Beer Light?
• What Makes Dark Beer Dark?
• What The Beer Lover In Your Life REALLY Wants

The Beer Sellar has raised the quality of their craft selection a lot in the past year (above). Right now it's all Monarch/WCB plus a couple of Sun King but Cavalier may make inroads with taps for People's, Mad Anthony, Crown, and New Albanian as the lineup gets more and more Indiana offerings. But please, take down this misleading sign. ==>

Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland made 80,000 bbls in 2009 and has expanded to a 150,000 bbl capacity.

There are about 20 new breweries in the planning in the state of Washington. article

Divers in the Baltic Sea have found a shipwreck and bottles of beer from the early 1800s. sketchy article – better article

Misc News – April 15

Work has started on Big Woods' new brewery extension (right).

People's Brewing's tasting room will open this next Friday, April 16th. Six taps, growlers. Cool detail: The wood for the bar was contributed by about 40 friends. April 30th will see a grand opening celebration.

Location: 2006 N. Ninth St.

Hours: Starting today, noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

Price: New growlers are $12, $8 for refills.

Grand Opening party, April 30, noon+

Upland Maibock will be back next week, Bourbon Barrel Warmer will be out in bottles later this month and Double Dragonfly will hit the shelves in bottles next month in 22oz bombers. 9.1% ABV. They also have some of this year's lambics available at the brewery.

They have also announced the 2010 UpCup Homebrew Competition and AHA Rally on May 15th. Entries are due May 7th. Here's the « The Upland Brewing Company

 

New Albanian is serving its possibly lightest beer ever - Hop-O at 3.5% ABV. "Hop-O was a cereal beverage of less than 1% abv produced by the Southern Indiana Brewing Company during the early years of Prohibition, except that the brewery subsequently was raided, shut down and the owner arrested in 1921 after federal agents determined the alcohol content to be well above 3%."

Oh, it gets better than that:

Indiana Brewer Indicted - He Is Accused of Trying to Bribe Federal Prohibition Agent
Louisville, Ky. March 16. – Indictments charging bribery were returned by a Federal Grand Jury here today against Michael Schrick, former President of the Southern Indiana Brewing Company, and J.H. Booth, both of New Albany, Ind. They are alleged to have attempted to bribe J.L. Asher, Federal prohibition agent, with money and commissions amounting to $100,000 a year to get assistance of that official in transporting illegal beer to Louisville from New Albany. They were released on bond.
Federal agents who said they were concealed in a closet, told the Grand Jury the two men were trapped in Asher's room in a hotel here in January while Schrick and Booth were in the act of paying Asher the first installment of $2,000.
New York Times, Mar 17, 1922

And even better:

Indianapolis, Jan 3 - Judge Albert B Anderson today promised a rigid investigation of alleged promises of immunity from criminal action to high officials of the prohibition division at Washington to Michael Schrick, a brewery owner of New Albany, Indiana. Roy A Haynes, director prohibition enforcement said Mr. Andrews, chief of the bureau of litigation at the department, and John Owen, former campaign, manager of Senator James U Watson and alleged go-between, were named by Schrick today.
Marion (Ohio) Daily Star, Jan 3, 1924

Today's scary headline with little behind it is brought to you by The DePauw: Sunday alcohol sales may create more problems for Indiana citizens than solutions. Seems Hoosiers for Beverage Choices has said "But this points to even more inconsistencies in Indiana law. Now we can go to a microbrewery at 2 a.m. to buy beer, but we can't go to a grocery store."

HBG brings us Scenes From a Beer Dinner: Nøgne Ø at Recess.

Goose Island Fleur will be brewed year-round starting this summer. It is flavored with hibiscus and komnbocha tea.

Ommegang Tripel Perfestion at 8.9% silll be out in May.

Stone's 2010 Imperial Russian Stout hits the shelves next Monday.

Redhook Eisbock 28. "Ice Processed Winter Warmer". This could turn out strange on so many levels. Lessee,  EKU 28 is a trademark of Kulmbacher, and oh, Eisbock's are thought to be illegal to make in the U.S. Since AB/InBev has a third of Redhook and they have lawyers it could become interesting.

Gleaners Food Bank is moving into the old Monarch Beverage warehouse near the Indy Airport.

PBS's Great American Brew Trail will be 23 half-hour programs visiting 26 Michigan breweries. They are now taping.  Airs this fall. press release

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From the Indy Star: Franklin -- San Diego-based TailGate Beer will establish a production, packaging and distribution facility in Franklin Business Park, creating up to 150 jobs over the next three years. Hiring will begin in 2011. TailGate will receive up to $1.85 million in performance-based tax credits and $100,000 in training grants from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. more from Inianapolis Business Journal

From the Tailgate web site: TailGate Beer is The Unofficial Beer of America’s Unofficial Pastime. It is owned and operated right here in beautiful San Diego, by a 24 year old graduate out of SDSU. Over 2 years old, TailGate Beer strives to become the lifestyle brand that people anywhere and everywhere can identify with. Pony up with a company that is innovative, fresh and categorically unique across the board! TailGate Beer currently has employment and internship opportunities available. Contact TGB for more details.

The now have their Blacktop Blonde, Hefeweizen, Amber Wave, Brown Ale, IPA, and a seasonal Sweet Stout contract brewed and distributed in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Oh, and this: TailGate Beer is more than just a variety of delicious craft brews from San Diego, California. It is more than just an incredibly clever marketing concept that fills a void in the life of tailgating fans everywhere. It’s the whole package! It’s about great fun with good people. TailGate Beer embodies beer drinkers’ deepest fantasies. A beer you can identify with and really drink. Tailgaters take their job seriously and TailGate Beer strives to brew the perfect craft style beers that can be enjoyed swig after swig. Don’t settle for a watered down version of what you really want. Pony up to the beer that is original, drinkable and categorically unique across the board.

People's Brewing Co. – Indiana's Newest Brewery

Every month there seems to be a newest brewery. Ain't it great. Bee Creek, Big Woods, Brickworks, Lil' Charlie's, Wilbur, and now People's Brewing.

Not much to look at from the outside but the malt steam wafting to the parking lot is welcoming enough.

A tasting room will be constructed up front in the spring. Garage doors seem to be a popular theme for pubs anymore.

Chris Johnson and Brett Vander Plaats started the long road to People's opening when Chris left his job as Lafayette Brewing's Head Brewer back in January.

They have installed a 20bbl system with 40bbl fermenters obtained from Butte Creek in Chico. Butte Creek they changed from a brewpub into a contractor and is now sourcing its beer from Mendocino Brewing. Not everyone was happy with that, of course. California's loss is Indiana's gain.

Chris and Jessica Johnson
"Who wouldn't buy beer from a six foot Dutch woman?" - CJ

There's only one beer released to the public as of now, an American Porter that is available at the Black Sparrow in Lafayette. It's 4.5% and uses Cluster hops. All their output for the first part of next year is slated to be sold in kegs to area pubs. You can also buy 1/2 and 1/6 bbl kegs directly at the brewery –email for availability.

Hiding behind the shop vac is 9,000 lbs of labeling machine. Bottles will come later.

 

And out back, a bottler and more vats once owned by Burt Grant's of Yakima, WA.