Indiana Beer News – February 23

Columbus will host the D’Vine Winter Wine and Beer Festival this Saturday from 11am – 7pm at The Commons on the second floor of the Nugent-Custer Performance Hall. Upland will be representing the Indiana brewing community. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on Saturday.

Construction is underway at the new Tin Man Brewing Company in Evansville. They are shooting for an opening this summer, but in the meantime you can follow the progress on their Facebook page.

The Heorot Pub is Muncie is poised to become the city’s only brewery. Stan Stephens and Robert Cox have put together a unique brewing system with a wooden frame to go with their Viking theme. Each batch produces just 10-11 gallons (…maybe my patio qualifies as Sahm Park’s first brewery…) so there will plenty of room for experimentation. This article claims it will be Muncie’s first brewery, but the pre-prohibition Muncie Brewing Company might dispute that.

The Hoosier Beer Geeks report plans for a collaborative brew involving Sun King and Colorado’s craft beer canning pioneers Oskar Blues. The breweries will be creating an 8% Belgian-style ale called Chaka that will be released in their respective markets. Oskar Blues is not distributed in Indiana, but should you find yourself in a state where it appears on the shelves pick up some Gordon and thank me later.

Since it’s 50 degrees outside and you’re already thinking about spring, it’s worth mentioning that Bell’s Oberon will be released on March 26th. Prepare yourself for some overhyped much anticipated release parties coming to a bar near you.

We’re looking for judges and stewards for the National Homebrew Competition first round judging at Sun King Brewing in Indianapolis. If you are a BJCP-certified judge or would like to participate in a fun event as a volunteer steward, the online registration site is now open here: http://tinyurl.com/nhcindy2012. There will potentially be four judging sessions:  Friday evening, April 13th @ 7:00, Saturday morning, April 14th @ 10:30, Saturday afternoon, April 14th @ 2:30, and (if necessary) Sunday morning, April 15th @ 10:30

I leave you with a Zymurgy magazine cover featuring swimsuit model Kathy Ireland from 1988 that resurfaced thanks to AHA founder Charlie Papazian. Who says homebrewers are geeks?

Cheers, Nathan

Dribs and Drams - February 21

I was discussing with Brock Benefiel of Indysphere last night that a true German brewery would probably do well in Indianapolis.

Today Laura Jacewicz (thanks) spotted this website about a possible upcoming brewery:

New Oberpfalz Brewing Company

An American craft brewery that melds American beer-genuity with Old World European craftsmanship and brewing techniques. New Oberpfalz Brewing is planning to locate in Northwest Indiana.

The Oberpfalz is a district of Northern Bavaria where our founder's ancestor emigrated from in 1855 to be a homesteader on the Wisconsin frontier. On their honeymoon, our founders made a pilgrimage back to the Oberpfalz and to the very town that Georg Johan left so many years ago.

They drank helles bier from the Castle Brewery Holnstein- a building in existence since the 1100's- in the shadows of the old castle- and very likely the last place that Georg Johan had a beer before riding on horseback to Hamburg, and then on to America.

Avid homebrewers, they determined that day to bring the family friendly, quality focused and responsible beer culture of that quaint Bavarian village to America.

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 R2Keg2

Evil Genius Beer Company/Four Horsemen Brewing Company - February 20

I received the following Press Release (see below) to pass along to our readers.  Also, according to Trevor Hayward of Evil Genius Beer Company, their plan is to eventually build a brewery in Pennsylvania, but they are committed to supplying both the state of Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Evil Genius Beer Company is pleased to announce the introduction of the first beer in its "EYE" series, Evil EYE PA, an American India Pale Ale.

At 6% ABV, this AIPA goes down easier than (insert dirty thought here). Brewed with two types of malts and four varieties of hops, including Australian Galaxy, pineapple, citrus, and passion fruit aromas and flavors wave through the pallet.

For those looking for a sessionable IPA, this one’s for you. Evil EYE PA pairs well with any entree, as its citrus flavors and tropical fruit aromas add a zest to any meal.

Stats:

ABV: 6%

IBU: 68

Malts: Two Row, Simpsons

Hops: Amarillo, Falconers Flight, Warrior, and Galaxy

About the Company
Evil Genius Beer Company is the brainchild of Luke Bowen, Trevor Hayward, and Mark Braunwarth. Founded in 2010, Evil Genius Beer currently contract brews its products through Four Horsemen Brewing Company in South Bend, Indiana. Evil Genius is committed to brewing full-flavored, yet sessionable craft beers which can be enjoyed by all.

Web: www.evilgeniusbeer.com

Twitter: @evilgeniusbeer

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EvilGeniusBeerCompany

Contact: Luke Bowen (610) 563-8055

Email: Luke@evilgeniusbeer.com

Dash-In (Fort Wayne) - February 20

Dash-In in downtown Fort Wayne has tapped these beers for this week according to their Facebook page:

Four Horsemen Nitro Stout,  Bells Consecrator Dopplebock ( for Lenten beer), Flat 12 1/2 Cycle IPA, and Dark Horse Special Black Bier.  Also, on Saturday, February 25th, starting at 6p.m. they will tap Three Floyds Zombie Dust which is an American Pale Ale. 

Indiana Beer News – February 16

Indiana House Bill 1054 Amendment #3 (aka Three Floyds Amendment) passed unanimously out of committee yesterday. If ultimately passed, the new law will raise the ceiling of how much beer a brewery in Indiana can produce and sell in state to 30,000 bbls. Great news for our growing craft beer scene.

Speaking of growth, Clay Robinson of Sun King recently told The Brewing Network their production increased nearly 100% in 2011 – from 5200 to just shy of 10,000 barrels.

And speaking further of growth, the American Homebrewers Association just surpassed 30,000 members. They also estimate there are 1 million homebrewers in the United States – not sure what that says about their ability to attract members. Online registration for the National Homebrew Competition opens February 28. Indianapolis will again serve as a first round judging site hosted by Sun King. Interested beer judges and stewards can mark their calendars to participate April 13th – 15th.

The program for New Albanian’s Gravity Head starting February 24th is available here. The festivities kick off with a 7:00am tailgate breakfast – nothing like a cask-conditioned Belgian Imperial Stout to kick off your day!

Details are posted for the Michiana Beer Nuts 3rd anniversary party on March 8th at the Constant Spring in Goshen. Six beers from Greenbush Brewing with five weighing in at a minimum 7.6% ABV (does Goshen have cab service?). Congrats to Eric Strader on three years and 575 blog posts!

Love beer festivals but can’t seem to lose enough money afterwards? Check out the Blue Chip Casino’s Brewfest on April 14th. General admission is $35 and an extra $20 will get you VIP admission with early access and a complimentary pint glass, bottle opener, t-shirt, and lanyard!

Cheers, Nathan

Bloomington Craft Beer Updates

Bloomington Brewing Co/Lennie's tapped "Blaze" Belgian Brown Ale this week. With Special Pale, Chocolate, and Biscuit malt + American hops + Abby yeast this is a complex beer with chocolate character, slightly sweet and slight warmth. Third in the Belgian series this winter! Still on tap for your weekend

Upland Brewing Co, added the ever popular Schwarz beer, nice dark malty beer in German tradition

Alley Bar this Friday (at 4 pm) will tap a mini-key of Figure 8 Brewing (Valparaiso, IN) Solar Collector American Wheat Ale with amarillo hops giving citrus notes.

Yogi's had a SixPoint Brewing Tap Takover this week on Valentine's day and should have some of those beer still on tap!

LBC Winter Warmer

Saturday brought one of the coldest days of winter which made it the perfect day to huddle inside around some BIG beers at Lafayette Brewing Company’s Winter Warmer. Indiana craft breweries and the Tippecanoe Hombrewers’ Circle (THC) served up their finest assortment of barrel aged and other strong beers to 240 appreciative patrons. The event also features raffles, food from the Beer-B-Que Bar, a Keg Grip Challenge, and best of all……free taxi rides home!!!!

The storied history of Winter Warmer dates to January of 1995 as a barleywine and strong ale tasting event for the LBC Brew Crew. The annual tasting event grew in popularity and in 2002 LBC moved it to the second floor, invited other breweries, and opened ticket sales to the general public. Ticket sales have gone from lasting about 5 weeks to selling out in a few hours and allowed LBC to donate over $30,000 to Laura’s Kids and a Purdue scholarship fund. This year’s event drew brewery support from Back Road, Barley Island, Black Swan, Bloomington Brewing, Broad Ripple, Brugge Brasserie, Crown, Figure 8, Half Moon, Mad Anthony, People’s, Sun King, Triton, and Upland.

Some tasting highlights included:

Crown Grand Poobah Imperial Stout – Upfront bitterness with flavors of chocolate, black licorice, dark fruit, and spicy hops. Very bitter but not astringent.

Figure 8 Jumbo Love Barleywine – Complex aroma of malt and grassy hops. The smooth flavor emphasizes nutty and caramel malt character with a late warming from the 10% ABV.

THC Rum Barrel Aged Weizenbock – I was a little apprehensive when this one smelled like dominant rum with just a hint of malt. But the flavor was well balanced with rum, rich bready malts, and the classic banana ester. Nicely done – what will these homebrewers think of next?

People’s Space Cowboy – Double IPA that incorporates Summit and Galaxy hops yielding a nice blend of tangerine, pineapple, and grapefruit flavors backed up by 92 IBU.

Figure 8 Imperial Corridor Chocolate Stout – Chocolate malt and earthy hop aroma. Chocolate flavor with upfront bitterness followed by more chocolate, dark fruit, and alcohol warming.

We’re blessed with great breweries in central Indiana but I’m starting to become envious of those who live closer to Crown and Figure 8. This was a great event put on by Greg Emig and the group at LBC. And kudos to the industrious Girl Scouts with their cookie table outside waiting for revelers to trickle out……brilliant…..and evil.

Cheers, Nathan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Lord Day Tips

Three Floyd's has offered tips for DLD 2012.

http://www.darklordday.com/uncategorized/dld-2012-tips/#comments

Ladies and Gentlemen -- Start your Brew Bracket Engines!

Brew Bracket III - Wheat Beers are coming to an Indiana State Fairground near you.. well, not specifically near you unless you live near the fairgrounds, but anyways.. Brew Bracket is approaching soon!

But.. what is Brew Bracket? It is a way for 400 beer lovin' Indiana or beyond residents to get together, try 16 different delicious varieties of a selected style of beer and be the judges on who gets to be declared the winner.  That is right! Voting is done by YOU! (well.. if you pay and show up of course)

If you need more details -- Check out my experience at Brew Bracket II: Stouts Edition.

But if you want to know how to go to Brew Bracket in two months check out below:

Saturday - April 14th (2 months away!)
12:30 - 5
Indiana State Fairgrounds
$35 to participate, $7 for DD
(visit Brew Bracket to purchase tickets - on sale NOW!)

16 Breweries who will be participating:

Barley Island Brewing Company

Bloomington Brewing Company

Bier Brewery (BBII: Stouts Edition - Winner)

Brugge Brasserie

Bulldog Brewing Company (First time Competitor!)

Cutter Brewing (First time Competitor!)

Flat12 Bierwerks

Fountain Square Brewing Company (First time competitor!)

Half Moon Brewery

Power House Brewing Company (First time competitor!)

The Ram Brewery

Rock Bottom Downtown Brewery (BBI: IPA Edition - Winner)

Triton Brewing Company (2nd place winner at BBII)

Twisted Crew Brewing Company

Two Deep Brewing Company (First time competitor!)

Upland Brewing Company

I'll be there! It should be a great time. With of course lots of beer. Come support your local favorite brewery, or just get out and try the different fun variations of wheat beers that will be available.

Also check out Brew Bracket on Facebook or twitter. In the fall there were contests for tickets and other merchandise.

- Cheers -
Kathleen

Dribs and Drams - Feb 13

Andy of The Beer is Good reports the City-Wide Liquors in Michiana will have Sun King in cans since they drove down to Indy to get some.

The excellent Monk's Cafe in Philly (home of Monk's Cafe Sour Ale) will be closed for a while after a city bus ran into the front of it.

The Heorot makes Draft Magazine's Top 100 Beer Bars and gets ink in the Muncie Free Press.

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

Northwest Indiana Rumblings and Grumblings

The anticipation is brewing (horrible pun intended) for Dark Lord Day 2012.  The annual April event has not been publicized by the brewery and details are hard to get.  The only thing I know for sure is that it will be on a Saturday, it will probably be horribly planned, and the only way to get the news is to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or visiting the brewery's website.  Unless I've missed something horribly, nothing has been spoken since early January when we were told, "stay tuned."

In the meantime, December's release of Black Sun, a stout by 3 Floyd's description, more like a black IPA by mine (I'm no expert, I'm just saying with the hop content a novice could be confused), January's release of Behemoth, a hoppy, sweet barleywine, February's release of Brian Boru, an Irish red, and the trickling of Zombie Dust making its way out of the brewery should keep drinkers satisfied until the April date.  Heck, stock up and bring every bottle with you to Dark Lord Day because you will certainly need it.

Crown Brewing has also been abuzz with activity and heavily promoting their sponsored Illiana Mayfest, Saturday, May 26.  There lineup is constantly being updated on their Facebook page.  You can get there via their website crownbrewing.com.  Some confirmed breweries include: Sun King, Barley Island, Flat 12, Upland, Goose Island, Moylan's, and several others also appearing at BIG Winterfest.

Crown is also hosting a brewing class with Marty Nachel, author of Beer for Dummies and Homebrewing for Dummies on Tuesday, March 6 at 7pm.  Tickets are $20 and include 5 half pints of beer.  Sign up must be at the bar.

Bulldog Brewery is struggling to maintain an optimum brewing schedule.  I talked a little bit with one of the co-owners down at Winterfest and he says they are slowly getting a handle on this brewpub thing.  They are also getting involved with the community and hosting an evening with Northwest Indiana business movers and shakers sponsored by Emerge South Shore.

If you find yourself up Michigan City way, stop by Shoreline Brewery.  If you haven't tried their Scottish Beltaine yet, you don't know what you're missing.

Figure 8 has been in their new place for a while and I have somehow still not managed to make my way there.  Shame on me.

Cap n' Cork FREE Beer Tasting

On Saturday, February 11th, from 5p.m.-7p.m., Cap n' Cork located at 5430 Coldwater Road, Fort Wayne, IN, http://capncork.com/ will have a FREE beer tasting.  According to their post on Facebook, they will feature the following beers for sampling:

Newcastle Founders' Ale
Samuel Adams Lager
Samuel Adams Irish Red Ale
Samuel Adams Alpine Spring
Samuel Adams Whitewater IPA
Samuel Adams Black Lager
Finch's Beer Co. Blonde Ale
Finch's Beer Co. Pale Ale
Sixpoint Righteous Rye
Sixpoint The Crisp Lager

PLEASE NOTE:  Must be 21 yrs. of age or over with valid photo ID to sample the beers.

Dribs and drams - Feb 6

Kevin Cox of Muncie has been notified he is a semi-finalist for Wynkoop's Beer Drinker of the Year Award. The wininer gets free beer for life (in Denver).

The Milwaukee Crispin Cider, made in California and made very popular here by Chad Lushin has been sold to Miller-Coors where it will become an independent arm of the independent arm Tenth & Blake.

Headline: Woman accused of illegally transporting 112 gallons of beer Who knew that was illegal in Alabama? Who's not surprised it's illegal in Alabama? Bonus quote: "According to the report, Salazar was planning to have a party."

Headline: "Pub landlord suspended for serving pints 'too full' of beer" Yep. The well-respected Sam Smith brewery in England . . . well you have to read it to believe it. CAMRA will be livid. article

Boulevard Chocolate Ale sells out in one day - at the bars in KC. article

BIG Game? No BIG Winterfest

I am a little late to the party.  It has taken me a solid week to sit down and talk about my adventure at Winterfest.  Not sure if it's even worth a read any more since everyone's attention had shifted to some football game going on in the capital.  Hope everyone down in Indianapolis is enjoying themselves.

My wife and I made the trek from Northwest Indiana to experience all that is Winterfest.  We were given the opportunity to enjoy the NFL Experience but I had an intent focus on the task at hand: beer.  My wife, Michelle, not being a beer drinker, truly surprised me with how many she sampled and how great it made the day having her with me.

I am not going to draw this entry out as there is only so much about Winterfest you can hear, but I echo the sentiments of my fellow bloggers.  The experience was phenomenal.  The amount of new brewers opening shop is awe inspiring but on the heels of the news of Bee Creek closing, we are reminded that there is a tremendous amount of time and money needed to keep the craft beer movement going.  Let's remember to support the little guy who brews as much as the more popular brands.

With that thought in mind, it was truly amazing to taste the home brewed beers.  Thanks to those who quickly assembled and provided their offerings. 

One prevailing theme as we progress on the craft beer train is the emergence of barrel beers.  It's amazing how the industry in America is coming full circle.  I was reminded of the Miller Brewery tour where the guests are taken to the old caves where barrels of High Life used to be stored as the yeast worked its magic.  Some of the best barrel beers are in limited supply, mostly due to the amount of storage space needed to accommodate them.  As their popularity continues to grow, maybe brewers will make the efforts to produce more of them.  If not, I'm always good with an American Pale Ale.

Indy Super Bowl Beer notes and more

We love beer and THIS post is for both SUPER BOWL VISITORS and our LOYAL indianabeer.com followers!

Remember, we posted a COMPLETE GUIDE to LOCAL BREWERIES on this link
http://indianabeer.blogspot.com/2012/02/super-bowl-city-is-super-beer-city.html

Super Bowl City is BEER CITY

Wandering around downtown Indy watching Super Bowl Activitis the last few days brought a few surprises and a few reminders:

Surprise: Winner's Circle relocated OTB (Off Track Betting) restaurant and bar to 90 N. Pennsylvania Av. just 1 1/2 blocks N of SuperBowl Village and has SEVEN local beers plus other craft beer on tap. (2 Triton, 2 SunKing, Oaken Barrel, Upland,Barley Island) Only $5.50 per pint! Who knew?

Surprise: Velocity Bar in the grand JW Marriott serves several Indiana and local beers. We are used to hotel bars having National Brands. Props to JWM for having local beer!

Surprise: Crowds concentrated on Georgia, Meridian, and Capitol with waves up and down Penn and other streets; but until Friday night Mass Ave and Fountain Square was fairly quiet. Even Friday it was just above a normal Friday night.

Surprise: While there were plenty of blue aluminum beer bottles there really is a lot of local and Indiana and just craft beer available in downtown Indianapolis

IF YOU ARE STILL GOING...

The Free IndyGo busses were full, and one line blew by one of us several times never stopping.

The Shuttle between City Market, Fountain Square, SunKing, and Mass Ave is fabulous. Parking at Fountain Square yesterday was a breeze.

People are generally nice!


MISC:

Tappings:
Rock Bottom College Park
Sub-Zero Winter Warmer
Tuesday, February 7, from 6 pm to 6:30 pm

Music at

SUNKING in the tent Saturday

Fountain Square Brewery tonight 8:00 PM $5 (2 blocks South of the Fountain set back to the West)

ALL of our local brewers are ready and able to serve us great craft beer. Special Thanks to them!

The Delicious Dozen Tapping Event at Trion Tavern - February 3

Mark your calendar for Friday, February 17th, at 7p.m. as Trion Tavern in New Haven, IN http://www.triontavern.com/ brings to Northeast Indiana 12 rare, stellar and unique draft beers. Plus, they have several of them in bottles for carry-out.  Many of these beers haven’t been available in this area for years and some of them are making their debut.  The 12 beers that will be available are:

Bam Biere (Farmhouse Ale) by Jolly Pumpkin (Dexter, MI)
Bam Noire (Dark Farmhouse Ale) by Jolly Pumpkin (Dexter, MI)
Boogoop (Buckwheat Ale) by 3 Floyds & Mikkeller
Behemoth (Blonde Barleywine) by 3 Floyds (Munster, IN)
Blue Sunday Sour 15 (American Wild Aged in Oak) by New Holland (Holland, MI)
Biere de Mars (Biere de Garde) by New Belgium (Fort Collins, CO)
Cocoa Mole (Chile Beer) by New Belgium (Fort Collins, CO)
Alpine Spring (Unfiltered Lager) by Samuel Adams (Boston, MA)
Jenlain Blonde (Biere de Garde) by Brasserie Duyck (Jenlain, France)
Kulmbacher Edelherb Pils by Kulmbacher Brauerei AG (Kulmbach, Germany)
Kulmbacher Eisbock by Kulmbacher Brauerei AG (Kulmbach, Germany)
#100 (Barleywine) by Nøgne-Ø (Grimstad, Norway)

PLEASE NOTE:  This is a NON-SMOKING event.  Check out Trion's website for more information as to the beers they currently have on tap, what beers will be going on tap, upcoming events, food menu, and they also have their own Package Store for carry-out beers.

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

Jimmy Taps Another 1, or 2, or 3, or 4...

Is there really ever a thing that can truthfully be labeled a healthy obsession?  Health food nuts, exercise gurus, and PETA would certainly advocate there is.  Readers of this blog are probably more familiar with the habits that are deemed not so healthy.  In the midst of it all, Jimmy Jones straddles the fine line between healthy and unhealthy with an obsession for brewing great beer.

Jimmy is a Hoosier native, transplanted into the western suburbs of Chicago, with an eye for living in the city proper prize.  His love of brewing has made him invest in a two bedroom apartment when a one would do.  That second room however, filled with nothing but brew paraphernalia, can only be described as Jimmy's very own fortress of solitude.

I was privileged enough to be invited to a party where Jimmy was showcasing a sampling of his latest creations.  Yes, creations.  Jimmy does not brew one batch at a time (ok, he might I wasn't able to get that specific), but he had a variety on hand that could rival a tasting room.  He designed his very own kegerator complete with check valves on every line, a drip pan under the taps, and four taps with a great collection of handles.

For our tasting pleasure we were provided Alicia's Sweet Ass, a cream ale; Red Amerika, naturally a red ale; Hairy Werewolf, which described by Jimmy was an attempt at a Zombie Dust clone; and The Hef, which was an English bitter ale attempt that mystically transformed itself into a hefeweizen.

Alicia's Sweet Ass was a good cream ale.  Jimmy admitted he rushed the production in an effort to put it on the line, but you wouldn't be able to tell.  I wasn't able to tell.  The more refined craft beer palates out there may have been caught off guard by it, but all I tasted was a rich brew with a buttery finish that was a great way to start my evening.

From there I transitioned to The Hef.  Wheat style beers are generally not my thing but I did enjoy the brew.  My first reaction was a bit of sour and I conveyed that to my host.  I was wrong in that notion however, for when I went to get a second pull it wasn't sour as much as it was tart.  The beer had great flavor and was more potent than most of the other hefeweizens I've had, but I was not quick to get another glass (my second pull was a quick drink at most).

At halftime, as a thank you for bringing a bottle of Three Floyd's Baller Stout, Jimmy poured me a glass of Jolly Pumpkin's Baudelaire IO Saison.  Do you like funk?  Mr. Jones certainly liked his funk.  A word like funk though brings to mind old gym socks, armpits without deodorant, or flaming cheese at your favorite Greek establishment.  Baudelaire IO was infused with rose and hibiscus and with the beer under your nose you get both.  Oh yeah, you get the funk too.  It's almost like you opened a pack of SweetTarts, but not really SweetTarts.  Before I lose you, imagine fresh fruit but in tangy form.  It's bold on the first sip and then mellows to a fruity, yeasty blend that makes drinking a bottle an exercise in ease.

From here, I grabbed a shot of the Zombie Dust clone.  As an aside, Zombie Dust is flying out of the Three Floyd's warehouse.  Once they offer cases for sale, they are gone in short order.  My host even mentioned that Zombie Dust is, "the best beer on the face of the earth."  I didn't exactly share his sentiment, but it is a damn good beer.  The clone however, reminded me more of Three Floyd's Pride and Joy, an equally hoppy experience but loaded with the taste of sliced grapefruit.

The last pour of the night was Red Amerika.  The pride in Red Amerika was that it was a 9% beer that didn't taste like a 9% beer.  Oh boy was that an understatement.  With a long drive home ahead of me, I was very careful as to my beer intake.  When I met Red Amerika though, I indulged a little.  It was an amber, and I'll even go so far as to compare it to an Imperial Red (because you can put Imperial in front of anything these days) and I like the reds.  It was bold, but smooth and akin to Southern Tier's Big Red, minus the hops.

Home brewers take immense pride in their beer and Jimmy is no exception.  Given the means he will make a great brewmaster one day.  It's unfortunate he took his skills to Illinois because the Hoosier beer scene would welcome his talents.  Passion and pride are always a better ingredient to beer over barley and hops.  As evident also at the B.I.G. Winterfest, home brewers are just like the bigger boys but with less capital.  Brew on Jimmy, brew on.

Another Winterfest Post - February 2

Another Winterfest has come and gone and by all that I observed it was another huge success.  Beer, beer and more beer in all directions.  People, people and more people in all directions.  My focus this year was making my way through the throngs of people to the newer breweries in attendance whose beers I had not already had an opportunity to sample before this event.  I sampled beers from:  Cutters, Das Big Dawg Brewhaus, Four Horsemen Brewing Co., Against the Grain Brewery, Bulldog Brewing Co., Triton Brewing Co., Three Pints Brewing, Finch's Beer Co., Black Swan Brewpub, and Fountain Square Brewing.  I was not disappointed with any of their beers that I sampled and even went back to a few of the tables for more samples. 

I look forward to next year's Winterfest and hopefully to even more new breweries in attendance.