Flat 12 is sponsoring the Beta Cell Bash at Radio Radio in Indianapolis tomorrow night. The event will benefit the Indiana chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and features 10 bands including……Sweet FA? Is this the same Sweet FA that rocked the Hoosier state when I was in high school? Yep, just dated myself with that one.
If you need a good festival for this weekend, Cincinnati is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Bockfest. The festivities kick off Friday evening with a downtown parade, but the real fun kicks in Saturday night with the annual Sausage Queen crowning where finalists are asked to treat a link of sausages like a stripper pole. Don’t shoot the messenger.
If you’re in the South Bend area and interested in Michigan breweries that a few people seem to enjoy, check out the Michigan Brewery Tour leaving from Fiddler’s Hearth on Easter Saturday, April 7th. Destinations include Founders, Bell’s, Hopcat, Arcadia, and Dark Horse. Peeps are generally not recommended, but it’s your call===>
The annual UpCup Competition has been set for Saturday, May 19th. The event will also serve as an American Homebrewers Association rally with VIP tours and lots of great food and beer starting at 5pm. The UpCup winner brews his/her recipe at Upland and the brew is entered in competitions such as the Great American Beer Fest Pro-Am Competition and US Beer Tasting Championship. The 2009 winner, Sunday Morning in Bamberg Rauchbier brewed by Tom Wallbank, went on to become a USBTC National Grand Champion!
Speaking of the AHA, registration for the National Homebrew Competition was delayed until March 2nd. Don’t forget, if you would like to judge or steward in the Indianapolis regional competition round (April 13-15) click here.
The Thr3e Wise Men brewery in Broad Ripple is making a major investment in expanding their brewing capacity. New equipment additions will allow them to produce 6,200 barrels and distribute their beers to all Scotty’s restaurants in the state. Pizza and beer delivery will also kick off March 12th for customers who live within a standard delivery zone of the Broad Ripple location.
Connecticut is moving closer to becoming the 49th state to allow alcohol sales on Sunday. Care to guess who the final holdout would be?
In news that may excite and/or repulse you, Blue Moon Dark Chocolate Bacon Porter is one of three finalists for their new fall seasonal. This concoction will do battle with Caramel Apple Spiced Ale and Blackberry Tart Ale for the coveted lineup spot. Too bad Banana Bread Beer was already taken.
An Iowa homebrewer, beer judge, and beer blogger going by J. Wilson has been named Wynkoop Brewing Company’s 2012 Beerdrinker of the Year. All Wilson had to do to gain notoriety was fast on a strict diet of water and dopplebock for 46 days. The lucky winner receives $250 worth of beer at his local beer bar, which evidently goes by the name El Bait Shop (I can’t make this up). For his sacrifice, the least I can do is mention Mr. Wilson’s blog can be found at www.brewvana.net.
Cheers, Nathan
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| Yum! |
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| My love - Saison! |
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| Call all y'all it's the Yeastie boys! |
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| Add some Hops, much? |
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| Raffle Prizes available for winning a chance to buy I won the chance to buy : 
Which is now in my pantry "aging" :)
What else can I say? Free tastings - Great Location - Friendly beer lovers all around? Oh, yeah - Go to Beerocracy II!
Until then: Check out what is coming up next week at Kahn's Fine Wines and Spirits:
Battle of Belgium 2342 W. 86th Street
March 7-10 6-8 pm
Brackets available online or at all Kahn's locations!
more info call or tweet to @Beer_At_Kahns
All is fun in ale and lagers!
Cheers -
Kathleen
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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
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
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
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.
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
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