IndianaBeer

Dribs and Drams

At Nuvo, Rita talks about Broad Ripple's 25th anniversary, Upland's sour ale expansion, and some new beers.

Three Floyds is looking at an expansion into the distillery game.

Figure Eight Brewing gets love from Valpolife.com.

New Corner Brewery in Muncie is moving to the old freight depot. After 18 months they have outgrown their facility.

Central State Brewing is moving into the Chicago market. They already have Louisville distribution. Their beers are all-brett prepared by Black Acre.

Sarah at Indiana on Tap reviews Flat12's Zombrewery on halloween.

The Indianapolis Recorder visits the Big Lug Canteen.

Eric reviews Iechyd Da Brewing's 300th batch.

Elkhart's Dining Days included (and there's a quick review) New Paradigm Brewing.

Misc

Legally, Bud Light Lime Is a Craft Beer. Well, every beer is a craft beer according to a U.S. District Judge.

They (The Brewers Association) say we should look out for a shortage of cans. Rexam and Ball mergered earlier and Crown is cutting back and cutting off brewers.

CNBC says we should look out for a shortage of aroma hops. Blame 100 degree temperatures in Washington.

Guinness Tweaking Its 256-Year-Old Brewing Process So Vegans Can Enjoy A Pint, Too.
They're just replacing the isinglass in "late 2016".

The Rise, Fall, and Revival of All-American Whiskey

Which City has the Tastiest Tap Water? Spoiler alert: Hamilton, OH.

The 3 foundational principles of beer and food pairing.

IS VODKA MADE FROM POTATOES? HOW MANY GRAPES GO INTO ONE BOTTLE OF WINE? BOURBON HAS TO BE MADE IN KENTUCKY, RIGHT? WHY CAN ALL CANADIAN WHISKY BE LABELED AS RYE? WHAT DOES A DECANTER DO?

Short video: The ultimate back yard refrigerator.

Chalkboard taps

Who can't be amused by chalkboard taps?

Dribs and Drams - Spooky edition

What's Happening

Wed - maybe Saturday: Tomlinson Hall in Indy will have the GABF medal-winning beers on tap from tonight until they run out (2-9pm) Wed/Thurs (Noon-9pm Fri/Sat. These include

Bier Brewery - Sanitarium (Belgian Quad)
Flix Brewhouse - Generation Alt (Altbier)
Mad Anthony Brewing Co. - Auburn Lager
Sun King Brewing Co. - Sun Light Cream Ale
The Tap Beer Co. - Electric Stinger (Honey Beer)
Taxman Brewing Co. - Qualified (Belgian Quad)

Friday: There's an in-store tasting at the Cap 'n Cork, New Haven. Oct 30, 5-7pm.

Friday: Flat 12 Haunted Zombie Brewery Tours 6-8pm.

Saturday: This will be the last weekend for a while that doesn't have at least a half-dozen things going on. If you are Central Indiana stop by the Indy Brewery Collectibles Show on Sat. Free entry. 9am-1pm. Pick up some decorative bottles/cans or a tap for your cooler. Or a poster or calendar for the wall. Or a copy of Hoosier Beer or Indiana Prohibition.

Saturday: If you're in the northwest, Four Fathers Brewing is having a beer dinner on Halloweeen. $50. RSVP required. 7-9pm. Costumes optional.

Saturday: Bent Rail Twangtoberfest. 9pm++. $10

Get your samples now. November looks to be bleak.

Hoosier News

Jeffersonville. Beer Syrup. Pancakes. What do these have to do with each other? Answer: Russ Meredith.

Rita talks about hops.

Flix Brewhouse in Carmel will be serving a Russian Imperial (stormtrooper?) Stout and a Belgian Double during the release showing of Star Wars. Dec 18.

Scarlet Land and Taxman have teamed up to release Heaven and Hell. See this link for tasting schedule through the weekend.

Upland has news about expanding the Sour Ale program. They're going to build a cellar at the 11th Street brewpub. In use by April.

Sun King and the Pacers will be doing a pick and role with Tip-Off Ale.

Here's a long report on Scarlet Lane and its origins.

Get your Amber Smashed Face before all the fans of Cannibal Corpse get their teeth into it.

Indiana on Tap asks owners What's it Like Running a Brewery in Small-town Indiana. Parts 1 and 2.

And other stuff

Will Mega Beer Merger Lead To Higher Prices & Fewer Choices For Consumers?

MillerCoors Gets Court To Throw Out Blue Moon “Craft Beer” Lawsuit. You know the one - where a guy in California started a class action lawsuit wanting to impose the Beer Association's definition of "craft" for a few bucks. California allows fictituous names on beer (as does probably every other state). MillerCoors says their trademark registration is enough to let buys know Blue Moon is a MillerCoors beer. Guess you just have to take your trademark registry with you at all times. Might not be enough in this case since they've trademarked "Artfully Crafted" also.

So you get a craft beer and you get a craft beer and you get a craft beer. Everyone gets a craft beer.

In defense of pumpkin beer

Go ahead and pair wine with Halloween candy.

What's the Right Way to Make a Margarita?

Dribs and Drams

Here are some major things to do the rest of this month:

Oct 24	Carmel	Brocktoberfest at the Brockway Public House. 4-11pm. $25.
Oct 24	Indianapolis	Great Fermentations 20th anniversary party. 3pm-??. Please RSVP.
Oct 24	Noblesville	Beards and Brews. Noon-4pm.
Oct 24	Portage	Portage Brewfest. Noon-4pm. $35-$70.
Oct 24	Valparaiso	OAKtoberfest at Taltree Arboretum & Gardens. With beer pairings from Third Coast Spice Café $55. 2-5pm.
Oct 25	Bloomington	Upland Sours tours. Free. No reservations needed. 3, 4, and 5pm.
Oct 29-31	Indianapolis	Indy Brewery Collectibles Show Wyndham Hotel West. Free to punters.
Oct 31	Valparaiso	Feast of Brews beer dinner Sage Restaurant. with Four Fathers Beers. 7pm. $50.

Rita tells us about Indiana breweries supporting charities Pink Ribbon and Cheers for Charity.
She also looks at Rock Bottom north Indy, Mad Anthony of Fort Wayne, and Oaken Barrel of Greenwood. Plus there's more news.

Rita's Nuvo column this week looks at Big Lug Canteen, Great Fermentations's 20-year anniversary.

Rick Castner of Indy Beer Sleuth wants to see a Indiana Craft Beer Week next year. Haven't had one since 2008.
Roger passes on that Akasha Brewing Co. in Louisville has opened.

Ryan and Jennifer Fox wax about Mad Anthony's Oktobeerfest.

Eric Strader says "Goshen Brewing Company welcomes members of Goshen Homebrew Club into the brewhouse."

Other random stuff:

Regulators Probing AB InBev Over Allegations Of Pushing Out Craft Brewers By Buying Distributors

There's a bill, finally, in PA that would allow licensed grocery stores to sell wine and beer. Maybe they'll get rid of the state monopoly sometime.

16 Delicious Facts About Guinness

Bring Da Funk

Just a short post. It seems Sam Adams has Kosmic Mother Funk Grand Cru going out soon. Very limited. Maybe just at company tastings. Right now the closest plans are in Chicago in late September and mid-November. Or Cleveland next week. Their final stop is going to be decided by online votes (read: ballot box stuffed with bits). Indy, Nashville (TN) and Tampa are in the running right now. Votes are due by Oct 15th.

They say

This one-of-a-kind Belgian ale is fermented with multiple microorganisms including Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus and other wild critters found in the environment of our 150-year old Boston brewery
The unique yeasts impart layers of spicy, fruity, & bright tart notes to the beer. Aged in our Hungarian oak tuns, the porous character of the wood allows air to slowly seep in during aging creating micro-oxidation that smoothes any harsh flavors
Grand Cru often denotes a vintage of the highest quality or ‘the best of the best’. This release has been aging in our Barrel Room for just over a year.
Kosmic Mother Funk is the soul of our Barrel Room Collection, blended to varying degrees in each of our five Belgian brews creating a distinct & complex character

SO..... go to https://www.samueladams.com/kmf and vote for Indy. Thanks.

Bob.

You will be rewarded with karma points, fuzzy head points and more nonsense pictures.

Dribs and Drams

What are you doing this Saturday?

Oct 10	Albion	Lions, Tigers & Beer. Black Pine Nature Preserve. SOLD OUT
Oct 10	Ferdinand	St. Benedict's Brew Works Oktoberfest Celebration. - 11:30am-??
Oct 10	Indianapolis	Barrels on Bonna barrel aged beer festival. Hosted by Black Acre Brewing. 1-5pm. $50.
Oct 10	Indianapolis	Indianapolis Biergarten Day. Athenaeum, Traders Point Creamery, Sun King, Eiteljorg, German Klub. Etc?
Oct 10	Indianapolis	Indy Literary Pub Crawl. Mass Ave. 5:30pm-??
Oct 10	Muncie	All Beers Considered by Indiana Public Radio. 2-5pm. $30.
Oct 10	Porter	Porter's Perfect Pint Festival presented by Pat's Liquors. 1-5pm. $35-50.
Oct 13	Indianapolis	Beginning Brewing Class. Great Fermentations. 10am.

Rita tells about Bloomington's The Tap Brewery and their new downtown Indy adjunct restaurant.

Eric tells about the Thomas-Stieglitz Brewery in Goshen. And takes a picture:

Three Floyds Zombie Dust was named by Men's Journal as one of the best 100 beers you can buy on shelves. article

Outside Indiana

Pennsylvania is going to auction off some stuff that their Liquor Control Board can't/won't sell. The first auction is on Oct 13 selling 24 bottles of "Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection". It seems to be really a lottery since the news article (s) say "Each 375 ml bottle will cost $48.49. . . and is limited to one bottle per participant".

InMill? SABev? Budweiser Maker Officially Offers $104 Billion To Buy Miller That would make the US / Canada / Belgium / England / South Africa / Australia / Brazil conglomerate 30% of the world market. And 70% of the American market <emoji for "shudder">. Just how much Bud Light Lime can they make?

Goose Island and Virtue Cider of Pennville, MI are co-"brewing" an Apple Cider. It'll be next year before it's out.

Brooklyn Brewery is exporting to Australia and now they will have Cooper's make their lagers.

Heinekin is indeed buying 50% of Lagunitas.

Miller has bought Saint Archer Brewing of San Diego.

The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin was named Europe's best tourist attraction by the World Travel Awards. $18 euro entry fee.

Drinks

Old Fashioned - Chocolate Whiskey - Prohibition Whiskey - Scotch Map - 11 cocktails

Elsewhere

11 Harsh Truths About Hangovers

12 Pumpkin Beers get tested. Yahoo Plus 5 new facts about Pumpkin Beer.

In Portland, You Can Now Drink Salmon-Safe Beer And they think midwesterners are wierd.

Pabst to revive Old Tankard Ale brand. But the Wisconsin Brewing Co. will brew it. Outsourcing to a 2-year old startup. Will hipsters care?

Or will Natty become the latest hipster craze? article

Why you shouldn't use a frozen mug. It's all about the taste. article Oh, and you shouldn't use a shoe either. It's all about the taste.

Groom?

Dribs and Drams

Summer's over and the September festival season is over. That doesn't mean nothing's going on.

Oct 2	Indianapolis	Kiwanis Club's Pints for Half-pints. $20. 6-10pm.
Oct 3	Evansville	America on Tap. 2nd Ave & Sycamore St. 1-5pm. $35.
Oct 3	New Albany	Biers on Parade at the New Albany Farmers Market. 1-6pm. Free. Food & Beer extra.
Oct 10	Porter	Porter's Perfect Pint Festival presented by Pat's Liquors. 1-5pm. $35-50.
Oct 10	Indianapolis	Barrels on Bonna barrel aged beer festival. Hosted by Black Acre Brewing. 1-5pm. $50.

Rita tells the tale of Black Acre prior to their Barrels on Bonna (which promises 20+ Hoosier breweries with samples of special brews.)

She also scooped us with the 10 GABF Medals brought back to Indiana. Bier, Flix, Mad Anthony, Sun King, Tap Beer Co. (a new brewpub in Bloomington), Taxman, Thr3e Wise Men if you want the spoiler. more

And she talks about People's Brewing's Local Farm Series.

Last week she talked to Greg Eaton about his new Deer Creek Brewery in Noblesville.

Brewer David Pierce leaves NABC to return to BBC Thanks for making the big facility hum. I still owe you a taxi ride.

Back in the heyday of the elaborate family park - the ones with permanent rides like roller coasters, Ferris wheels, boat rides, swimming beaches - many were built by interurbans in order to attract weekend traffic. This fine tradition is now back in northwest Indiana.South Shore CVA Collaborates with Local Breweries to Launch Brewery Trail App - details here. Oh, that's the convention and visitors bureau, not the interurban. Rats.

Indiana Brewery Will Fetch You A Beer For Your Dog (Flat 12, if you want the spoiler.)

Other Beer Stuff

Hey, has anyone see the Wheaties beer? Let us know when you try it.

Bud Light Apple? They gotta be kidding.

Other stuff entirely

Did you know there's an American Whiskey Trail?

~~All~~ about Canadian Whiskey.

And the world's largest bottle of whisky. (Tomintoul Distillery 105 litres - oops, spoiler alert)

17 whiskey cocktails and the Sezerac as a plus.

11 items of false knowledge about alcohol.

Oktoberfest Time

Before we get into this season's drndle-fest there are a couple of news notes:

1) Kennywood Brewing Supply is moving from their Crown Point digs to space in the Saint John Malt Brothers Brewery, 9575 Wicker Ave. St. John. They are closing the downtown square space as of Monday, Sept 28 and opening in St. John on Oct 1. Until the 28th everything is 20% off (except Blichmann)

2) Amazon is selling "The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All: Know Your Booze Before You Choose" Somehow I don't think the Kindle version will go over as well.

3) Taxman Brewing in Bargersville has added a fitness/exercise area for those who enjoy a quaff after their gym owrkout. Just one Saturday per month though.

OK, lets go to Munich. The Chive has a short look at the history and the rules: There’s more to know about Oktoberfest than beer (15 Photos).

The Thirsty Swagman also looks at Drndls.

And so do we.

Dribs and Drams

There's plenty to do again this weekend:

Sept 17-18	Bloomington	Quafftoberfest beer dinner. 6-9pm. $65. Friday is on Grant Street with beer, games, music. 3:30-10:30pm.
Sept 17, 18	Bloomington	Upland Sours tours. Free. No reservations needed. 3, 4, and 5pm.
Sept 19	Evansville	Brewbeque. Noon-8pm. $10 (cash bar)-35.
Sept 19	Indianapolis	Beginning Brewing Class. Great Fermentations. 10am.
Sept 19	Indianapolis	Indy Eleven Oktoberfest. 5:30-7:30pm. $20-30.
Sept 19	Hobart	Brews & Blues Festival. 2-6pm. $40-65.
Sept 19-20	Nashville	Rally in the Alley. Big Woods. 1pm-midnight. Sunday is the Kegs & Eggs Brunch in Nashville and Bloomington.
Sept 19	Whitestown	Brew Fest. 1-6pm. $35-55.
Sept 19	Racine, WI	Great Lakes Brewfest. 3-7pm. $49.
Sept 19	St. Charles, IL	Brews on the Fox. Plus BBQ contest. 4:30-9:30pm. $45-65.
Sept 19 - Oct 4	Munich, Germany	Oktoberfest
Sept 20	Hobart	Brews & Blues Festival Park. 3-6pm. $35-65/
Sept 20	Indianapolis	CANvitational Pan Am Plaza. (Hoosier Beer Geeks are coordinating volunteers)
Sept 24	Columbus, OH	Fat Tire Clips Beer & Film Tour. 7-8:30pm.
Sept 24-26	Denver, CO	Great American Beer Festival

Rita tells us about the Brewpub's first 25 years then she talks to David Sims of Heirloom Acres about Taxman Brewing's gastrofood.

18th Street Brewery looks at Hammond expansion

Brewery project makes history with city application (Wasser in Greencastle)

New Corner brews up homage to IPR

Review of the SWIRCA brewfest.

Other

What’s The Right Way To Make A Tom Collins?

Why Is American Beer So Bland?

Monticello May 11. 1821.

I have no reciept for brewing, & I much doubt if the operations of malting & brewing could be succesfull[y] performed from a reciept. if it could, Combrune’s book on the subject. would teach the best processes: and perhaps might guide to ultimate success with the sacrifice of 2. or 3. trials. a capt Miller now of Norfolk ... was during the late war, confined by the Executive to our neighborhood, perhaps indeed by yourself. I took him to my house. he had been a brewer in London, and undertook to teach both processes to a servt of mine, which during his stay here & on one or two visits afterwards in the brewing season, he did with entire success. I happenes to have a servant of great intelligence and diligence both of which are necessary. we brew 100. galls of ale in the fall & 100. galls in the spring, taking 8. galls only from the bushel of wheat. the public brewereis take 15. which makes their liquor meagre and often vapid. we are now finishing our spring brewing. if you have a capable servt and he were to attend our fall brewing, so as to get an idea of the manual operation, Combrune’s book with a little of your own attention in the beginning might qualify him.
- Thomas Jefferson (transcribed from the Jefferson library at Monticello)

Blaming Overeating On Drinking

Micropubs leading the way for better beer as new research shows 70% of pubs now serve real ale

- yes, it's a CAMRA press release. but its good news

CAMRA announces the Top 16 pubs in Britain. I can vouch for 3 and the blog will start covering British pubs next week.

CANvitational quick pics

Here are a few of our pics from CANvitational on Saturday, Sept. 12!
Weather was great, crowd was great, so many beers we can't get here and good beers we love here!
If YOU have some pics you would like to see us share, send to bob1ostrander@gmail.com

We will post some highlights from this event soon!