5 Indiana Beers for Warm Weather Drinking

Last week was the first official week of spring. With the warmer weather on the horizon, many beer drinkers’ preferences will shift with the change in seasons.

Here are some fantastic Indiana beers to compliment the warmer weather. Since Indiana has so many tasty beers to choose from, I had to narrow down the contenders. I limited my choices to beers available in bottles or cans, beers with low ABV, and beers packed full of flavor. It’s by no means an exhaustive list but hopefully a starting point for the next time you are at your local beer purveyor.

Champagne Velvet, Upland Brewing Co.

CV- Upland’s take on a classic American Pilsner- provides the smooth, clean and crisp flavors you’d expect from a light lager. This beer finishes nice and dry and keeps you coming back for more- a great choice for those dog days of summer.

As a bonus CV is also available in 16oz cans if prefer a travel friendly format.

Ruby Bloom, Bloomington Brewing Co.

One of the more of the malt forward, sweeter options on this list, Ruby Bloom is an amber ale ideal for anyone who is a little hop-shy. Caramel malts help give this beer its signature color, as well as smooth drinkability.

Indians Lager, Sun King Brewing

Sun King’s seasonal offering is well suited for the ballpark- as the name suggests. The clean and crisp characteristics you’d expect from a lager but with a touch of sweetness in the finish. A really versatile food-pairing beer, Indians Lager will go well with a variety of summer food- and my favorite in particular-grilled meats.

Yum Yum, 3 Floyds Brewing Co.

3 Floyds has built a solid portfolio of hoppy, higher alcohol Double IPAs— and Yum Yum stays within that hoppy wheelhouse. It possesses those quintessential citrusy characteristics found in many American IPAs but in a low-alcohol package. This beer allows you to get your hop fix whilst being able to enjoying multiple in the same sitting.

Damascene, Tin Man Brewing Co.

The realm of sour ales is often perceived as the domain of beer nerds and collectors. Damascene is approachable, refreshing and most importantly- delicious. The apricot fruitiness provides a nice balance to the sour tart character that defines this style. This is a great gateway beer into the world of sour ales.


There are so many great Indiana beers available for spring and summer drinking. I’d love to hear what your go-to-beers are. Share what you like to drink and where to find it in the comments below.

Spring also signals time for the Bloomington Craft Beer Fest! A chance to try beers like these and many more in an open but covered venue just off Highway 37 and perfect for Spring weather! Tickets are go fast but details can be found here

By Ross Hughes;
Ross Hughes is a home brewer, a Cicerone certified beer server, aspiring Certified Cicerone and all-around beer nerd. An English expat based in Bloomington, IN, his passion for American craft beer started after his desire to find a local pub took him to Upland Brewpub and Bloomington Brewing Co. Whether he’s drinking cask ales reminiscent of his native country, or trying the latest experimental hopped IPA, Ross enjoys a variety of beer styles and is always looking to train his palette with another tasty ale.

Dig In 2014

It seems appropriate that after a long period of time of not writing that I come back to write about an event that I first wrote about 4 years ago when I joined the crew with IndianaBeer.com.

Dig IN Indiana is not just beer though. It is all things Indiana. Beer, Wine, Food from local farms, prepared into small portioned meals by Indiana chefs and finally treats from Indiana Artisans. Put on by Indiana folks and entertainment by local entertainment. Seriously the biggest Taste of Indiana anyone could have.  I've grateful to volunteer with this festival for the past four years.

But this is about the beer!

I was already anticipating all the beer I'd get to sample after my volunteer shift.  Especially since my duties for the day was directing all the vendors to their parking and as each brewer came through and we said hello or had a quick catch up chat, my excitement grew.

As the breweries grow in Indiana, the options for beer in Dig IN have grown along with the demand. It was nice to see seasoned vets like Flat 12, Sun King and Brugge there along with some of the new guys like Scarlet Lane and Tin Man Brewing.

My first stop was to Tent C and I visited TaxMan with their saison, Bloomington Brewing Company's hoppy wheat, Thr3e Wiseman and their blonde, but my favorite from Tent C was Indiana City's Yacht Rock. I've had this belgian wheat ale many times but either it was the hot day or the work of Ray and the rest of his crew at Indiana City Beer getting better as time goes by, but it was a nice and smooth beer.

After filling up again on my food ( which was all delicious and I had to use two hands to count how many different kinds of meat was used )  I headed over to Tent B.This time to get my hands on Pooka, which was poured at the Brugge table.  It is no secret that Brugge's sours (Harvey and Pooka) are two of my all time favorite beers.  It once again did not disappoint during Dig In.

I popped over the next table over to say hello to Rob at Flat 12 and was surprised to see that Flat 12 was offering their Flat Jack.  I also love pumpkin ale and I've been seeing a lot of it popping up in liquor stores. I  was surprised it was at Dig In but still delighted to give it a try once more.  It must be me, cause when I posed a question on Facebook about seeing pumpkin ales early, it seemed to be the norm to have it on the shelf in July.

Lastly Tent A was my last stop. (obviously my beer palate wanted to work backwards when it came to tasting). There I ran into good friends from Bier and has some Weizengoot. Tried the ale that Figure 8 had to offer. I wish I could remember their ale but in the midst of tasting I heard someone in the table over ask for TinMan Brewing Co's Apricot Sour and I honestly downed the sample I had in my hand and popped over to TinMan's table.

I'm not a huge fan of apricots but this sour was the exception to my dislike of apricots. It was perfectly balanced, slightly creamy but with an appropriate zing that I love at the end of my sours. It almost made me question my love of Pooka that day.  I have had TinMan Brewing Co's beer before and wasn't really sold, but they have me wanting to come back and give them another shot after that apricot sour.

I didn't get to all the beer at Dig IN unfortunately. (I had a small food challenge of finishing the food passport and after that I had no room for beer) but what I did have was definitely delicious. I also learned a valuable lesson, don't dismiss the newbie breweries, like TinMan. Cause they make sneak up on you with a great out of the box beer.

Thank you Dig In for another year. Now that I'm getting back into the swing of things, it is time to start planning some brewery trips and tracking down some of those new breweries I've let slip through my fingers and give them a try!

Cheers!

Kathleen

Bloomington Craft Beer Week... beer events worth visiting Bloomington for!

Bloomington Craft Beer Week starts Saturday, April 5 continuing through and after the Bloomington Craft Beer Fest on April 12. It is #drinkindiana week! Many local places will have Indiana beer on tap starting April 4! So maybe you went to school in Bloomington or maybe you've driven to Bloomington on a scenic trip to Brown County, Indiana. You fondly recall the quaint town square, maybe a pound of beer (their word for pint) at historic Nick's English Hut, the beautiful limestone buildings, and a warm Spring Day. COME ON DOWN and have a pint of beer or two sometime this week. Revisit, refresh, and reacquaint with a town and its love of quality craft beer!

Note: all beers, bar events, and tappings were checked with reps and organizers but remain subject to change. Get the Bloomington Craft Beer Week APP! for updates

April 5:
Bloomington Brewing Company, the 20-year-old that was the first craft brewery in Southern Indiana has been a draft-only brewery but kicks BCBW off Saturday with the release of beer in bottles by offering 22 oz. "bombers" of gold-medal-award winning Rooftop IPA at the Big Red Liquors big store at 8th and College Ave, Bloomington, with brewer appearances from Noon to 2:00 PM April 5! Rooftop took gold in the IPA category of the most recent Brewer’s Cup Competition, Indiana State Fair, which receives commercial entries from multiple states as one of the largest competitions in the nation. BBC brewers and staff will be at Big Red Saturday and would be glad to sign a bottle or chat about beer. Rooftop bottles start selling at Big Red and will eventually expand throughout central Indiana. This brew delivers the hop forward and balanced IPA that offers both citrus and pine notes with a bitter finish while still balanced with malt. Rooftop will be the first commercially available ‘bombers’ in a series that will eventually (think Summer) include Ten Speed Hoppy Wheat and Ruby Bloom Amber. Get B’ton Craft Beer Week started off right by celebrating this historic moment! Get one of the first bottles ever produced!

What: Bottle Release Party: 22 oz. Bloomington Brewing Co. Rooftop IPA
When: Saturday, April 5
Noon to 2:00
Where: Big Red Liquors, 418 North College Avenue, Bloomington

Indiana brewery Flat 12 pours beers, passes on information, and provides ‘swag’ at legendary I.U. pub Nick’s English Hut Saturday night at 7PM offering limited edition Pogues Run Vanilla Porter, a flagship Flat12 beer with vanilla beans that opens with big vanilla notes backed by the solid hearty roast of this favored porter. Flat 12 beers on tap also include Half Cycle IPA, Walkabout Pale, and Hinchtown Hamer Down Golden Ale.

Bicycle tour to 3 breweries starting at Function Brewpub on 6th starting at 10:30 AM continuing to BBC, and Upland.


April 6:
Flat 12 brings Nunmoere Black American Black Ale along with Half Cycle, Hinchtown, and Pogues Run Porter along with information to Yogi’s, Bloomington at 3:30 PM for “Sunday Funday.”

April 7:
Upland rolls out their collaboration with New Belgian Brewery sampling “Light Synth” and “Dark Synth” at 6:00 PM. Dark Synth to be on tap along with Upland’s new Haystack Lightning American Wheat (the 2nd beer in the new Side Trail Series), Campside, and Wheat plus New Belgian La Folie, Le Terroir, and Snapshot Wheat.

April 8:
Bloomington Brewing, Cutters Brewing, Quaff On!, and Upland will pair beers and food for a candlelight brewery dinner at The Root Cellar inside The Farm Restaurant, at 6:00 PM. A four course meal will pair with Cutter’s Knobstone Pale, BBC Rooftop, Quaff On! Java the Red, and Upland Wheat. $49 per guest. Phone (812) 323-0002 for details as space is limited.

Tin Man Brewing Co. “Beer School” at Yogi's Grill and Bar. Featuring: Czar Russian Imperial Stout, Overlord Imperial IPA, Circuit Bohemian Pilsner, Rivet Irish Red Ale

April 9:
Cutter’s & Bloomington Brewing Tapping at The Tap Beer Bar, BBC: Amarillo Pale, Biere de Mars, Rooftop IPA and Ruby Bloom; Cutters: Nitro Peanut Empire Stout

Sun King Tap Takeover at Yogi’s Grill and Bar: Barrel Aged Ring of Dingle stout, Dominator Dopplebock, Naptown Brown IPA, & Indians Lager

Function Brewing, Bloomington Brewpub taps a test batch of single-hopped pale with Falconer’s Flight hops plus a version adding Mosaic and Citra Hops.

April 10:
Cutters at Nick’s English Hut with Knobstone, Bank Robber Belgian Brown, Rye on the Scarecrow Double Rye IPA, and Monon Wheat

Upland and Oskar Blues at The Tap Beer Bar, 7 PM, with Wheat, Champagne Velvet, and Campside. Oskar Blues beers: White Buffalo West Coast IPA, Dales Pale Ale T45 - dry hopped Dale's Pale, Dales Pale Ale T90 -- another dry hopped Dale's Pale - each beer has a different hop kettle additions.

Bloomington Brewing Company at Yogi’s 6 PM with BBC Biere de Mars, Ruby Bloom Amber, Kirkwood Cream Ale, Rooftop IPA, and BBC/New Albanian collaboration FeastMaster 80 Shilling (delicious session beer with plenty of deep roast flavor)

Function Brew Pub holds a tribute to home brewing with a Robust Porter, Mayan Chocolate Stout, and English Mild

April 11:
Upland holds their beer & music focused Vinyl Release Party at their main Bloomington Brewpub (banquet hall) 5-8PM featuring Vinyl Tap Rye Pale Ale with part of the proceeds from the beer sale going to local community music. All Upland locations start revealing the new Upland logo and look starting April 9.

Bloomington Brewing and New Albanian tap take-over at Nick’s English Hut 7-10 PM featuring: BBC Quarrymen Pale Ale, BBC Ruby Bloom Amber, BBC Vanilla Floyd, BBC Imperial Ruby Bloom Amber, NABC Hoosier Daddy, NABC Oaktimus, NABC/BBC Collab FeastMaster 80 Shilling, + Sampling of BBC Rooftop IPA Bottles

Cutters Knobstone Pale Ale will be the featured Friday beer along with Upland Wheat on tap at the Alley Bar on Kirkwood.

Atlas Ballroom Bar on South College will pour offerings from Cutters, Mad Anthony, and New Albanian.

Player’s Pub on South Walnut will feature Tin Man (Evansville) beers.

April 12: THE BIG DAY

Bloomington Craft Beer Fest is Saturday, April 12, at 2200 Tapp Road 4-7PM for $35. Sponsor The Fourwinds Resort will shuttle you to & from the event from your room with special rates of $89. There will be live music, local food, hundreds of beers from not only most Indiana breweries but many regional and national craft brewers. We participated in a discussion of porta-potties and organizers have considered signage and locations of units to reduce lines. The current weather forecast may prove God and Mother Nature love beer as the sun should shine and forecasts predict temperatures of 71 degrees! If you’ve not been to the historic Woolery limestone mill venue expect a nice canopy of shade with plenty of filtered light and great breezes. Tickets are available at most Big Red Liquors locations (esp. Bloomington – call ahead) and online HERE
Further Fest details here

Then get ready to PARTY at many local venues AND save your wristband for a special deal on Sunday!

Sun King tap takeover and after party at The Tap Beer Bar on the square with Timmie RIS, Batch 666: Sympathy for the Devil (Belgian-Style Black Ale loaded with chocolate, roasted walnut, and banana flavors), Batch 777: Touched by an Angel ( Belgian-Style Tripel), Big Iron Barleywine, Moonlight Serenade toasted oatmeal stout, and Fistful of Hops.

while many BBC and New Albanian beers should remain on tap from Friday, there is no official party at Nick's on Saturday

Upland Beer Fest after party at The Bishop Bar

Max’s bar on the square will have a kill the keg party with BBC Rooftop IPA and Kirkwood Cream Ale where the person to get the last pint gets a Max’s gift card.

AND….
The premier craft beer bars in Bloomington will feature Indiana Craft Beer all week at The Tap Beer Bar and Yogi’s Grill & Bar. As well Scotty’s Brewhouse will feature their own Thr3e Wise Men Indiana beer

Local restaurants
Finch’s Brasserie will feature Indiana beer including Three Floyd’s Dreadnaught, War Mullet, Fountain Square Count Nibula Chocolate Stout, Evil Czech Gypsy American Wheat, Tin Man Rosenweiss German krystallweizen with rose
The Trojan Horse will feature beers from BBC, Quaff On!, Cutters, and Upland

April 13:
Fest Wrist Band Day at Lennie’s Restaurant and Brew Pub 10% off Sunday Brunch at Lennies - Beer Fest attendees get 10% off their meal with their Beer Fest wristbands.

Cheers & hope to see you at an event!

GregKitz

Bourbon Barrel Aged ReplicAle Tasting

The explosive growth of craft breweries in Central Indiana has been closely followed by the emerging craft trend of experimenting with barrel aged beers. New programs have been initiated by many established breweries, while new breweries often begin barrel aging from the moment they open for business. Aging in empty bourbon barrels has become a particularly popular activity, as the bourbon and oak characters can pair nicely with some of the big, aggressive styles that American craft brewers favor to begin with.

A recent tapping event at Tomlinson Tap Room offered a unique opportunity to sit and evaluate a number of local examples side by side. Granted, you may be able to find a number of these beers together at a large festival, but you might run a little short on the “sit and evaluate” aspect. Breweries participating in the special tapping included Barley Island, Black Acre, Bloomington Brewing, Flat 12, and Sun King. All base beers were ReplicAles from 2013’s Winterfest, aged for an unspecified period of time in bourbon barrels. Despite the ReplicAle label, where brewers are supposed to interpret the same basic recipe, there were some significant differences in underlying beer style here. Most were labeled with the pretty nondescript “Strong Ale” classification, while two others were appropriately classified as an Old Ale and a Winter Warmer. Here are my thoughts on each beer:

Flat 12 Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Ale  IBU: ???  ABV: 11.5%

Very strong bourbon aroma with supporting oak character and muted malt in the aroma. The flavor is more balanced with a well-aged caramel malt backbone showing hints of a slightly oxidized sherry character. The 11.5% alcohol content is very evident in the warming character, which has a smooth quality from aging. Overall, there is still too much bourbon flavor and aroma for my tastes. But this one is definitely a grower and I liked it more with each progressing sip. Of course, that could also be the 11.5% working its magic on my brain.

Bloomington Brewing Bourbon Barrel Aged Strong Ale  IBU: 12  ABV: 8.5%

The aroma here is much more subdued after tackling the massive Flat 12 Old Ale. The barrel character initially seemed to be overshadowed by the malt, but the aroma seemed more balanced when I came back to it later. The barrel contribution is more noticeable in the flavor, balanced with the toasty malt character and some chocolate notes. The finish comes across drier than expected with a slightly tart aftertaste. There are some good characteristics here, but overall it struggles to stand out when progressing through this lineup.

Black Acre Bourbon Barrel Aged Strong Ale  IBU: 51  ABV: 7.8%

The aroma and flavor of the barrel is very subdued in this beer. The real star of the show here is the massive hop character and supporting bitterness, which are still quite impressive in spite of extended aging. There is good dose of caramel and slightly oxidized malt character that support the hop profile a bit more than the barrel flavor. I like this beer a lot and imagine it had quite an intense hop profile when it was younger. If someone paid a premium price for this as a barrel aged beer, they might be disappointed by the lack of assertive barrel character to be found here. But if we’re just talking about which beer I enjoyed the most, this one ranks pretty high on my list.

Barley Island Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer  IBU: 50  ABV: 8%

Nice balanced aroma with the barrel character adding complexity to a backbone of caramel, chocolate, and roasty malts. The flavor matches very closely to the aroma with some oak tannins also coming through. The finish is very smooth with a slight warming as it goes down and some bourbon character lingering in the aftertaste. The reported 50 IBUs don’t contribute a high perception of bitterness. This is what I look for in a barrel aged beer. It’s a great Winter Warmer with a barrel character that complements, rather than overwhelms, the base beer.

Sun King Bourbon Barrel Aged Strong Ale  IBU: 50  ABV: 8.2%

Strong barrel character in the aroma with a unique toffee malt character. The toffee malt is more balanced with bourbon and oak in the flavor, with a firm bitterness and oak tannins lingering in the aftertaste. There is also a bit of tartness in the finish of this beer. Good beer – the toffee malt character is enjoyable and really stands out, but it’s also a bit one-dimensional in comparison to some of the other beers in this lineup.

After several runs through the lineup, I settled on the following ranking order:

5th:	Bloomington
4th:	Flat 12
3rd:	Sun King
2nd:	Black Acre
1st:	Barley Island

Barley Island was the pretty clear winner in my book. I thought the greater emphasis on chocolate and roasted malts in this beer paired very well with the bourbon and oak. It also had the best overall balance of the five beers in this flight. Second place was a much closer call. While Sun King’s beer was probably a superior example of a “barrel aged” beer, I found Black Acre’s just a bit more enjoyable despite the lacking barrel character. Flat 12’s submission definitely grew on me and would arguably be the best choice for someone who enjoys a very prominent bourbon character, but the balance was just tilted a little too far in that direction for me. And while there was nothing I particularly disliked about the Bloomington beer, there was little I could pinpoint to make it stand out in this flight.

Did anyone else make it out to try this flight? Agree or disagree with where I slotted them?

Cheers, Nathan

Flat12 opens in L'ville metro of S. Indiana; Sun King plans 5th Anniversary, and more Indiana Beer News, Mar. 12

Flat12 may be the first Indiana brewery to have two tap rooms in two major metro areas when they open in Jeffersonville, IN, on the Ohio River literally within walking distance of Louisville in early-Summer this year! Co-founder and Director of Brewing Operations Rob Caputo gave us lots of details recently as we learned there will be some exclusive features to this new venture. After launching distribution in Louisville in late January, Flat12 announced they leased a building that provides ample room for a taproom as well as sufficient space for distribution or even brewing operation if warranted at some point in the future. The building is across from the Ohio River bank near the Jeffersonville amphitheater and a short walk from the new Jeffersonville park at the base of the pedestrian bridge linking Jeffersonville with Louisville. We caught up with Rob the day after he had been back down to the building who told us, “my initial vision for this is… we will have the 5 house beers, we will have our seasonal beer available, then there will be a lineup of beer that is exclusively available at that taproom. We may simultaneously tap some beer at the two locations. I don’t know how many taps yet.” Rob also shared that while they have only completed a rough floor plan, they do envision the space to eventually have a small kitchen so food is easily available. Caputo also stressed, “the nice thing is it is just blank inside…” so there is opportunity to design whatever fits best.

Rob was pleased that the City of Jeffersonville has a strong plan for development and is welcoming Flat12 to the area. We will keep you posted on developments and we will plan to be some of the first to enjoy a beer at this location! As long as Rob keeps some crazy, cool beers flowing beer-lovers in several states will be happy. I got to try some of the FlatTuesday Mardi Gras features including Mud Bug which was brewed with crawfish in the boil – giving it a decidedly seafood spicy flavor, without the actual taste of the crawfish, which we understood the brewers got to eat after the brew day! The King Cake porter was a big porter with extra sweetness and hints of the almond. I also found Big Black Dog American Stout with rye on tap at the Tap Room for big bold notes.

Flat12 also just announced a partnership with IndyEleven, the new soccer team in Indianapolis. In between Indy Eleven’s exhibitions against the Tourbeau Soccer Academy (March 15) and Indiana University (April 4), Indiana’s NASL side will take to the road on Saturday, March 22, for a contest against the University of Louisville Cardinals. Whoa, in the long run It could be Indy Flat12 Tap Room vs. Jeff Flat12 Tap Room!

There will be big news from Sun King Brewing this Thursday, March 13 7-11P, coordinated with their Naptown Brown Release Party with the Naptown Roller Girls. Not only will party goers get some of the American brown ale, plus tunes by A DJ Squared and food from a Taste of the Caribbean Food Truck, Sun King will announce the Headlining Act for their big SKB 5 Party this summer. SunKing turns five years old this summer and plans a major party on Saturday, June 28. This week first details for the party will be announced. Those at SKB 5 in June will get the first Grapefruit Jungle 2014. Then on the official 5th anniversary of Sun King on July 1, GFJ will be released in cans and to bars and restaurants as will BigIron Bourbon Barrel aged barley wine.

Sun King currently has Hopquarius, a big double IPA with Mosaic and Azacca hops at 69 ibu and 8.4 abv. With 7 Belgian yeast straina where the hops are prominent and provide a mango, lemon, citrus mix while the yeast tingle your taste buds with a spicy flavor. The Doctor of Style (yes, the Doctor is in!) is another Sun King creation providing banana bed and zest in a spicy Weizenbock at 8% alcohol. Both are in the tap room now and at select establishments. And then there is my friend Timmie, the Russian Imperial Stout with 9.4%, molasses, brown sugar, and dark chocolate.

Bloomington Brewing has gone to great length to introduce a new glass at their Lennie’s Brew Pub. A German style “Becher,” German for cup, sends more aroma to you with its curved sides. I found it sleek and stylish and the taste of my Imperial Ruby Bloom Amber that is so tasty on a cool evening.

Upland Brewing announced brand logo and artwork changes are coming soon. Company President Doug Dayhoff says there will be an evolution to the Upland logo as well as to some depth of character to labels. Stay Tuned. Upland also announced Lightwave Belgian Pale is now being tapped with German style Munich malt and Belgian Trappist yeast. Lightwave is a small-batch brew so only available at Upland brewpub and taproom locations in Indiana. Upland released Coast Buster Imperial IPA brewed with Simcoe, Amarillo, Cascade, and Columbus hops and dry hopped twice for aroma in January and it is more widely distributed. Campside Session IPA, a drinkable lower alcohol beer, is also now being widely distributed. And a quick reminder that tickets for Upland Sour + Wild + Funk Fest have gone on sale and if any are available you can find those HERE

Remember that the Bloomington Beer Festival returns April 12, and tickets are available NOW HERE There will be many event locally the week before starting March 4. Check back as we announce events! Rob Caputo of Flat12 stated he feels this is the best festival.

I stopped by Indiana City Beer at 24 East Shelby where I-65 downtown meets Washington Street to learn their fund raiser for the restoration of the historic 1916 Obelisk standing proudly almost in front of the brewery went well and received attention from Indianapolis’ mayor as well as many who donated. While I find their Shadow Boxer oatmeal stout delightful I was also impressed with their Beast of Laurey’s Belgian Golden Strong at nearly 10% alcohol. It has a nice mix of spice with warmth and a pleasant note of malt.

Triton Brewery hosts Girls Pint Out and the Mentoring Women's Network on March 27th for a social/happy hour. Triton's Pink Ribbon Saison will be on tap, and there will be a behind-the-scenes tour of the brewery. Mentoring Women's Network is, "an organization for professional women. Our mission is a community of empowered women supporting one another personally and professionally through mentoring relationships and our vision is the largest and most effective mentoring organization for women in the nation." (mentoringwomensnetwork.com)
facebook notice HERE

Beer at Farmers' Markets; Daredevil to Speedway; & more Indiana Beer News for March 3!

Hoosiers might be able to buy cold, local beer at Indiana Farmer's markets after July, although this beer may need local support. Senate Bill 0016 allows an Indiana micro-brewer to sell the brewer's beer to consumers for carryout at a farmers' market that is operated on a nonprofit basis, in a quantity of not more than 576 ounces per consumer at any one time (according to Ind. Gen'l Assembly, in.gov).

Clay Robinson of SunKing Brewery is President of the Brewers Guild of Indiana and told IndianaBeer, "The farmers market initiative is about parody with Indiana's wineries, but it is also about allowing Indiana's small brewers greater access to consumers. The majority of our members are fairly small and don't even package their beer except in growlers. Allowing them to showcase their businesses and vend their products alongside other Indiana growers and producers will offer them increased exposure to a segment of the population that has demonstrated their desire to support local, buy fresh and in most cases pay a premium to do so."

The Executive Director of BIG, Lee Smith, says many Hoosier, "May not know there is local beer where they live…." This would be a great way for Hoosiers to support other Hoosiers. Smith added, "a lot of tiny brewers, have fewer employees, some have only 2 employees and this is a way for small breweries to market their product locally.” Clay Robinson added, " ...all of the profits from the production, distribution and sale of that beer benefits our economy. In the case of Indiana Brewers, the profits, taxes and economic development implications are HUGE. Every time someone purchases a locally produced Craft Beer, they are helping to create jobs and investment in their community and economy. Craft Brewers have a tradition of giving back and participating with community and charitable organizations in order to benefit their communities and help make them better places to live and work."

The BIG sees exposure at Farmer's Markets a natural extension of local product sales. Jeff Mease, BIG board member and owner of Bloomington Brewing recently commented to us on SB 0016, "I don't see anything to be against...it is a local agricultural product." Beer is made from grain, water, and hops. The only concern voiced at an Indiana Senate hearing was from a major liquor store chain opposing the sale of chilled beer outside of liquor stores. Chilled beer is currently also available at brewery tap rooms, although some local breweries do not operate retail establishments. That retailer did not return our phone calls. Indiana legislators are open to comment from their public.

Daredevil Brewing to build a Brewery Complex in Speedway, IN! “A craft brewery on Main Street provides a new type of destination location that complements and adds to the growing diversity of local businesses and restaurants in Speedway,” said Vince Noblet, President of the Speedway Redevelopment Commission. “We are excited to welcome Daredevil Brewing Co. to Main Street and our Speedway community.”

Daredevil Brewing Co. is currently located in Shelbyville, IN. The Main Street, Speedway, location is an expansion of their growing craft beer business and will be Daredevil Brewing Co.’s first public taproom. Initial development will also include a 10,000-square-foot production brewery with additional expansion possible in the future.

Indiana City Beer released a new specialty 750 ml bottling of Mimi’s Tabernacle Bourbon Barrel Breakfast Stout with pure maple syrup, chocolate and oats infused with locally roasted coffee beans and aged in a Kentucky bourbon barrel. Available this week. They also offer Crimson Bombshell bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Amber Ale and Cratchit's Ale Winter Olde Ale both in 750ml. Indiana City is at 24 Shelby Street, Indy, just East of Downtown.

Bloomington Craft Beer Fest is Saturday, April 12, at 2200 Tapp Road 4-7PM for $35 with early bird available one hour earlier. This year you can be shuttled to the event from your room at the Fourwinds Resort with special rates of $89. Details HERE ; Bloomington Craft Beer Week will kick off the week before and we will keep you appraised of local events!

Flat12 Bierwerks celebrates Flat Tuesday with Doors open at 4pm on March 4th. There will be crawfish races, King Cake, Beads, Beads and more Beads. Plus, four wacky beer concoctions that are crawling with flavor. Beer List Here


Thursday, March 13th is the Naptown Brown Tapping Party at Sun King from 7pm to 10pm. The Naptown Roller Girls will be onsite as well as A Squared Djs, food truck, and pints will be available for $5 each.

Bloomington Brewing releases "Bomber" bottles of Rooftop IPA, the well balanced First Place winning slightly orange in color hop-forward beer with Cascade and Falconer’s flight hops in early April! Also, their Ten Speed Hoppy Wheat release this year is Bicycle Day, April 19.


Remember the Upland third annual Sour + Wild + Funk Fest will be on sale at on Eventbrite on March 10. The event is Saturday, May 17th from 2pm-6pm at the historic Indianapolis City Market, preceded by a VIP Sour lecture and private tasting from 12:30-1:30pm. VIP tickets can be purchased for $75, and will include VIP lecture, lanyard, commemorative T-shirt, swag bag and access to the VIP lounge including food and private bathrooms. General Admission tickets are $45 and include light snacks, with the City Market's artisans open to sell heavier fare throughout the festival. An Upland Secret Barrel Society members-only party will follow from 7pm-9pm.


Dark Lord Day has been announced by 3Floyds as April 26. Check their website for release details

Winterfest '14, Brewers of Indiana Guild, Feb. 1.... some beer highlights

Winterfest for the Indiana Brewers Guild is just around the corner (Feb. 1, Champions Pavilion, Indiana State Fairgrounds -- see below for HOTEL info) and we’ve been asking brewers and reps what they will be sharing. Here are some of the answers:

Head Brewer Rob of Flat12 Bierwerks, Indy, got his brewing staff into a Mexican theme to bring at least 16 different beers with a Mexican concept. Earlier this month Rob showed me his “Whorechata” (a take-off of Mexican rice milk called “Horchata”) fermenting away with rice, almond flour, lactose, vanilla, and cinnamon. He had already shared they would be bringing last Summer’s French Saison aged 6 months in Anejo tequila barrels (8%). Here are a few of the other Flat12 offerings:
Centeno Grande Imperial Rye spin of Pogue’s Run Porter with Mexican Pilocillo sugar (8%) and a version with toasted coconut and cocoa nibs. Pedro Gordo Replicale Owd Gordo old ale infused with Ancho and Guajillo chilis. (9.8%). Tepachedor IPA, a tropical IPA with coconut and pineapple.

And for the more traditional drinker there is BIG Owd Gordo, which Rob gave me a taste of earlier this month. A smooth and spicy old ale aged in top-shelf Blanton’s bourbon barrels (10.5%) . And for hop heads the 1024 Winter Replicale becomes Massive Retaliation American stout with Galena, Calypso, & Chinook then dry-hopped with Simcoe and Citra. Rob was keeping this a secret when we connected 2 weeks ago but today they published the list click here to read the list

We know Black Acre Brewing, Indianapolis, will also have a theme but they are keeping it under wraps for now!

Bloomington Brewing Co. brings eleven beers including their delicious Winter Ale, the recent Ol’ Floyd’s Belgian Dark Strong with complexity and a raisin sweetness, the smooth and balanced with spiciness Rye Barrel Roggenbier collaboration with Black Acre, a Bourbon Stout which is also smooth with wonderful vanilla notes, Krampus Dark Strong Ale which has local hop lovers talking with a piney hop scent and citrus notes ending in a smooth finish, a Bourbon Replicale ’13, plus regular pours: Ruby Bloom, Quarrymen Pale, award winning Rooftop IPA, Java Porter, and RyePA.

Upland offers at least 10 beers including two new ones and some special pours of sours. Coast Buster Imperial IPA is part of the new Upland Side Trail Series to be released in February and is obviously a big hoppy beer with Simcoe, Amarillo, Columbus and Cascade hops shining through with tropical and fruity flavors and dry finish. This will also be offered in a pin with Citra hops. Their recent tart Berliner Weisse, Wolf Eye, will be poured and truly offers wonderful tartness and lots of flavor. Also new is the Spicy Nuts, a version of NutHugger brown ale with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and clove for a really complex flavor. For barrel aged beers Upland will tap the BBL Teddy Bear Kisses Russian Imperial stout which I love on the barrel and a Bourbon Barrel warmer. In addition they will pour Dragonfly, Wheat, Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA, and Champagne Velvet.

Daredevil will build on its portfolio as last year they were new enough just to pour Lift Off IPA while this year we expect Rip Cord Double IPA in a cask as well as regular, Muse Belgian Golden, Carnival Saison, and JWP American Stout – a rich, delightful just-short-of chewy chocolate pudding kind of a stout.

Carson’s of Evansville has opened since last year and should bring their flagship Brown Cow, biscuit nutty brown ale, their Eville (get it) American wheat, RIPA Red IPA with Pacific Northwest hop flavors, and they just tapped a Saint Carson’s “Tripel Quad” (brewed with barley, wheat, oats, and rye with candy sugar added for 11.5%) which was bubbling when I visited them recently so hope it makes it to Winterfest!

At Figure 8 Brewing, Valpo, brewer Mike Lahti will be doing the first ever release of Intergalactic IPA with Galaxy and Mosaic hops. In addition, he promises to bring Dogma Dubbel which mixes German with Belgian styles, which will pour with Snake Pro Double IPA and Pirates Pils (Czech and German hops). Figure 8 will also pour Raven Tor Oatmeal stout carrying a blend of six grains, and Ro Shampo Imperial Red – one Lahti’s known for at 89 IBU and 7.5%. In addition, he’ll have a pin of Black Corridor Choc Imperial Stout.

Zwanzigz of Columbus, IN, will, of course, pour the Ghost Pepper Imperial Stout that made its debut at Winterfest ’13, along with their flagship Chocolate and Blueberry beers. In addition, brewer Mike has Barrel aged some of the chocolate beer so expect a treat, and remember this chocolate ale is a translucent ale, not a stout. In addition, Mike made a German style Eisbock from a lager. Zwanzigz will also bring a barrel aged old ale replicale for the specialty tent.

Bell’s will have some specialty beers this year! Bells will pour Wheat Love, a 7.7% wheat wine which has not been seen since 2005. Those who have tasted this report it is somewhat akin to a German Weizen but clearly ‘bigger.’ Bell’s will also offer Smitten golden rye a newer seasonal take on an American Pale ale, Hopslam, and Harvest Ale, and we hope some Expedition Stout makes it to counteract the cold weather.

Over 80 breweries + distributor World Class Beer's Malt Shop of unusual beers will make this an event to remember. A host of new breweries include Indianapolis' Planetary and Outliers.

Here is the complete Brewery List

Winterfest is sold out online, but some tickets may be available at Big Red Liquor stores or by trade using twitter #winterfest

Early birds will get in at 2:00 and general public at 3:00. The event runs until 7PM

Beer Fans, there are still hotel rooms available at Sheraton City Centre, official Winterfest hotel. Stay where the brewers stay! Great discount and located in the heart of Indy. Here's your reservation link: Click here for reservations Click RESERVE for your BIG rate.


Cheers and hope to see you there!

GregKitz

Indiana Beer News: Dec. 21

Evil Czech Brewery of Culver, IN, paid a visit and brought a sample of their new Czech Pilsner - to be introduced on New Year's Eve at the brew pub. As the brewery's Manager of Sales & Operations, Shawn Erickson, relates to us with a Master Brewer and Owner from the Czech Republic they were not about to release this beer until they felt they have it just right. This is a medium body, complex beer that starts with maltiness with a rounded bitterness and spiciness from Saaz hops. The sample we received tasted very nice!

Evil Czech continues to expand! Later this Spring they will open a new brewery in Mishawaka, IN, which adds to the presence of their Corndance Restaurant in the area which currently serves their beer. They also are expanding with a new MUG CLUB! Click on their restaurant site for details about the mug, growler, discounts, swag, and party(ies) available and the mug club is being offered at a discount with a special party this Saturday afternoon (Dec. 21) Noon - 4 at Corndance Mishawaka.

Planetary Brewing in Greenwood is expanding! The Brewery, located on Polk Place in an industrial park, is adding an expanded tasting room to be open in a couple of months.

Brewer/Owner Andy was proud to offer six beers for growler fills when we stopped by for his nine-month anniversary. One of those beers is a wonderfully balanced big hoppy and malty beer dedicated to a man we lost last year who was an acquaintance of mine and a life-long friend of Andy's. The JSS 550 is over 8% abv and 94 ibu but seems smooth and bold. The new tasting room will allow for pint sales and will allow for a lot more brew room. Planetary beer is also on tap at Shallo's in Greenwood and is slowly and selectively adding taps on the South Side. Andy says they are right on plan as he realizes his dream with this brewery.

Look for beer in cans to explode in 2014. From Tin Man Evansville, to Daredevil Shelbyville, now even Flat12 is adding select products in cans. Cans are portable and can be taken to sporting events and outdoor venues where glass is not allowed. For a brewery the issue is carrying the inventory of printed cans which take much more room than beer labels.

Winter Beers are here as we've profiled in a couple of blogs. Bloomington Brewing just released their Winter Ale with Saigon cinnamon, vanilla, orange peel, and chocolate coming in at about 6%, and only 10 IBU. BBC Winter Ale will be available at Lennie's in Bloomington and at select tap handles in central Indiana.

While we anticipate Winterfest on Feb 1, mark your calendars for the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival on April 12! Bloomington Craft Beer Week will run April 5-12.

Indiana Beer News, Oct. 27-28: Festivals, new Beers and more....

Take your pick of Beer Events this weekend in Indiana!

DOWNTOWN INDY:

The first ever SunKing CANvitational includes at least THIRTY ONE breweries, all packaging in cans, on Georgia Street and PanAm Plaze from Noon (early entry $75) or 1-5PM ($50) Saturday, September 27. click here for TIX Such 'far flung' brewers as Marble of NM, Sockey of ID, Surly of MN, Tallgrass of KS, and Morgan Street of MO will participate as well as one of my favs, Revolution of Chicago and of course our home-state heros TinMan and SunKing of IN and more. There will be food, music, BEE coffee, and fun.

Within walking distance is the Upland Brewery OKTOBERFEST same day (Sat. Sept. 28) 1-9PM promising all the fun of a Munich beer tent, live music, food trucks, music and tix only $5 click HERE for Upland Oktoberfest TIX at Military Park off of West Street in Indya

BrewBracket Oktoberfest City Market Indy, 6-9 PM, Saturday, Sept. 28. $35, Brew Bracket TIX here/ Tomlinson Tap Room, 7 rounds of side by side tastings, Participating brewers include Upland, Flat 12, Bier, Twisted Crew, RAM, Granite City, Iechyd Da, and #BBPales winner Thr3e Wisemen. A portion of ticket sales will be donated directly to King Park Area Development


Connect with your Irish Roots Well, not exactly a beer fest but beer will be served and there will be hurling - you know, the sport (no not THAT kind, we hope) tonight, Friday, Sept. 27, 7-9PM at Kuntz Park, 1502 W. 16th ST, Indy. Flat12 beer will be served in a beer garden and This is the last night of the season for Indy GAA's Premiere League, which has grown into a great spectator event through the year. Info at IndyGAA

Outside downtown Indy

Irvington Brew Fest, Saturday, Sept. 28 7-10 PM (Music at 6:30), $10, 5333 E. Washington St. Indy, No advance sales, beer by Flat12, Fountain Square Brewery, Black Acre, New Day Meadery (pints $4). music and food Facebook page info

Noblesville BrewFest Saturday, Sept. 28, 3-7 PM, Forrest Park, lost of national and local breweries including Barley Island, Triton, Flat12, Cutters, Fountain Square, Half Moon (Kokomo), Upland, Union, SunKing, RAM, and (not local but....) Chimay + many more! More Info Here

We'd mention the Valpo Brew Fest but it is sold out

OTHER BEER NEWS!

Indiana Collaboration Beer: Black Acre Brewing (Indy) and Bloomington Brewing (uh, B'ton,IN) released a collaboration beer yesterday: an American cousin of a German style Roggenbier with a balanced grain bill using a lot of malt including rye malt, chocolate malt and carafa , a hefe yeast strain and variety of German and American hops. This very malty dark beer starts with just hint of yeast esters, delivers a nice rich dark flavor and finishes with a slight spice of rye. This beer is dark in color, rich in flavor and complex. It does not provide much in hop notes like most American ryes and this does not have the graininess of some. We sampled this one on the day it became avaialble and we will be going back for more. It should be on tap both at Black Acre on East Washington St. in Indy and at Lennie's in Bloomington - but don't delay, there are limited quantities.


Meanwhile we've been trying all of the pumpkin beers we can get our mouths on. Yes, we know some do not like beer with pumpkin. It only comes once a year and we enjoy! We had a delicious Pumpkin Ale by Bier Brewery (Indianapolis) the other nite and this is right up there among our favorites - a lot of delicious pie spice coming from addition to fermentation and kegs! Cutters Pumpkin Porter is a tasty spin on the traditional. We hope to get our hands on some Flat Jack Pumpkin Ale by Flat12 this weekend and it is on tap at Flat12 Bierwerks.

RateBeer reports that the top five rated pumpkin styles are mostly not out yet but their number 6 is Pumpking by Southern Tier. We had some last week and loved it but want to do a direct comparison with our favorite so far. After chatting with over a dozen patrons and bartenders at multiple craft beer establishments we select Schlafly Pumpkin as the best so far regionally. Schlafly delivers a wonderful balance of spice with malt underpinning. Smashed Pumpkin by Shipyard is an Imperial that also delivers a mouthful of flavor. Again, we felt the Bier and Cutters offerings hold their own against these widely distributed offerings. If you like less spice we suggest the Shipyard PumpkinHead or the Smuttynose Pumplin Ale (both from Maine). While I rarely rip on a great brewery, I've sampled the Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin twice now (small tastes) and thought it lacked flavor. Clearly more research is needed... and I am waiting for the release of several more.


Upland holds lottery for Lambic's, expands beer to Chicago

Upland Kiwi, Strawberry, and Blackberry fruied Lambic-style ales will be released in limited quantities via a web site open at NOON on October 1 (an d closing at noon, Oct. 8). Lottery winners will receive notice by email on Oct. 9th. Any remaining sours available after Nov. 5th will be sold on a first-come basis in Indy and Bloomington. We had a chance to taste some of the notes sours with Head Brewer Caleb Staton recently in a project looking at flavor over time. It is quite interesting to note the differences in profile based on a few months difference in age! We had not had the chance until then to try an unfruited Upland sour but for those of us who love Belgian gueuze this was a wonderful experience! Upland Sour Lottery site is HERE


Upland beer will hit taps and shelves in greater Chicago in October starting with Upland Wheat and Upland Dragonfly IPA. Seasonals will be rotated in starting with Upland Infinite Wisdom Tripel and the wet-hopped APA Upland Harvest Ale. Upland President Doug Dayhoff shares, "the tremendous reception of Upland's recent wholesale expansion into Ohio and Kentucky has created an opportunity for even more growth....We anticipate strong reception as we move into Chicago." River North, distributors of other national and craft beer, is handling the Illinois expansion.

Daredevil starts canning Daredevil Brewing, Shelbyville, IN, will be making the popular Lift Off IPA available in cans before the end of this year. Lift Off is a well balanced IPA with West-Coast hops and has developed quite a following already in Indiana. Daredevil also has RipCord Double IPA and Seasonals that have included Muse and Carnival, a Belgian Saison now available, as well as a lighter koelsch.

Beers to you! GregKitz

Indiana Beer News - June 30: New Beers, Fun events

What beer will you drink for Fourth of July and what beer will you drink in 2014? The answer to each might change as more and more beers come on the Indiana scene! There is a LOT going on in the next few weeks and a lot more coming.

We did a quick stop at some downtown Indianapolis breweries this weekend finding new pours everywhere and also realizing we have so many offerings in downtown Indy we could not fit them all into our short schedule.

Indiana City Beer (see Kathleen's Grand Opening Story here ) was offering up a Belgian Wheat (Yacht Rock; 6%), Oatmeal Stout (Shadow Boxer; 7%), and APA (Beyond the Pale; 7.2) showing perhaps a trend in slightly 'bigger' beers in alcohol.

SunKing showcased their regular three, WeeMac, Osiris, and Sunlight, plus a hefe-weizen (Big H; 5.8%) ), Vienna Lager (Indian Lager; 5.4%), and a collaboration beer with Solemn Oath (Mythological Wonder, 7.7%) with spicy and rye notes, delicious combo hops.


Flat12 wants to give us our fruits and vegetables with so many beers on tap including their regular suspects (porter, amber, walk-about IPA, half-cycle IPA) and as usual so many seasonals, the newest being KiwiKiwiHefeWeizen with Kiwi fruit and kiwi juice so fruity, as well as Cucumber Kolsch which seems this year truly for those who love cucumbers, their Axis hefe and a Karousel Kolsch - tapped last week at the Elbow Room's 80th birthday party!

the RAM recently rolled out Barefoot wit, perfect for these hot days.

Daredevil has rolled out their Vacation Kolsch now showing up on taps throughout the state, also brewed with German ingredients and is a crisp, clean beer. Of course Daredevil Lift Off remains out there and seasonal Muse Belgian style can still be found on tap at many locations.


If you travel to Cincinnati you'll find a new brewery open (Grand Opening was June 29) with a strong Indiana connection. Rhinegeist brewing in the Over the Rhine District of the Queen City is the new home of Head Brewer Jim Matt who was a home-brewer in the award winning MECA club that also spawned now-pro-brewers Bill Ballinger and Michael Pearson of Daredevil. Jim gained professional status with SunKing, moved to head brewer status with Moerlein when they opened a brew haus in downtown Cincy, and just opened the Rheingeist operation serving a golden ale, English mild, Hoppy Wheat and IPA. Good Luck Rhinegeist and Jim!!

Bloomington Brewing Company has rolled out 10-speed nicely hopped wheat beer and a brand new Seven Sips Belgian Strong ale that has a nod to a wit with coriander + sweet and bitter orange peel but candy sugar to make it a big beer (8.3%). Also new at BBC is a Single Hop Columbus IPA following the trend of single hopped beers.
BBC's sister Lennie's restaurant and brew pub (the home of BBC beers) won a prestigious Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence award this month. The accolade, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor.

UPCOMING:

July 4: most Indiana brewpubs are open on July 4 for growler fills!
If in Downtown Indy for the Freedom Blast (fireworks) check out the Indiana Craft Beer Garden with craft offerings from SunKing, Flat12, Fountain Square, Cutters, Barely Island and Peoples brewers.

Indiana City Brewing (26 Shelby Street a block from Washington Street and I-65), celebrates with a 4th of July Music Festival staring at 4:00 with $5 tickets and lost of live music, local beer, and food trucks -- plus a location to view the Indy fireworks.

July 6: SunKing celebrates their 4th anniversary with a Grapefruit Jungle IPA tapping with music, local beer, and food trucks 4-10PM - $10 tickets at the tasting room. Beer Tappings are scheduled throughout the day: 4pm Grapefruit Jungle, 6pm Port Barrel Aged Wee Mac, 7pm 777, 8pm Afternoon Delight, 9pm Velvet Fog.

Brewers of Indiana Guild 18th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival is Saturday, July 20, 3-7 p.m. at Indianapolis Art Center and Optimist Park in Broad Ripple.
Your favorite Indiana breweries will be joined by a select group of guest breweries from around the country at Indiana’s largest craft beer event. Over 300 beer selections to choose from!Details and Tix

Noted out-of-state beers coming to Indiana!

Green Flash from San Diego, noted for their West Coast style IPA, should be in distribution in Central and Southern Indiana by mid-July. Early reports suggest only 20 bars may be the first to have a GF beer on tap but many liquor stores are to get product! WCB is the distributor.

Smuttynose brewing of New Hampshire, as we previewed for Ft. Wayne story here is kicking off distribution with Cavalier in Indiana in the Northern and Southern parts of the state check releases here . We should be finding best-selling Finestkind IPA and international award-winners Robust Porter and Wheat Wine Ale in most of our areas soon.

DogfishHead has announced their return to Indiana (+ Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Wisconsin) with a cute video watch the video here . Look for DFH to work out the deal with a distributor and be back by 2014, possibly sooner.

Oskar Blues of Longmont, Colorado, the first to use CANS announced in March that they should be available in Indiana soon. Most in Indiana know of the SunKing/Oskar Blues collaboration of CHAKA last year. As OB rolls out to Indiana look for Dale's Pale and Mama's Yellow Pils.

Speaking of cans look for some other craft brewers (in Indiana) to consider cans. Foxnews.com recently released a clip from one of their junior reporters extolling the virtues of cans vs bottles

and finally, having a Summer Wedding? Beer is IN! Anja Winikka, TheKnot.com Site Director recognizes the trend: "Our brides love beer! More and more we've been seeing couples go beyond the traditional bar and really personalizing the experience for their guests. Beer is huge – everything from beer flights and craft beer bars to beer tasting stations and beer and food pairings. Couples are even serving homebrews specially created for their events. That's why we're so excited about Brewlywed Ale – it gives all craft beer lovers a chance to enjoy the trend at their weddings. Plus, what could be better for personalizing your day than a specialty wedding beer?" (thanks to PR from SamAdams)

Upland's Midwest Sour Wild Funk Fest

Upland Brewing organized the second annual Sour Wild Funk Fest, the Midwest’s premier wild ale festival, on Saturday, May 11, at Developer Town in the Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis. Approximately twenty breweries were represented including many Hoosier breweries, brewers from Ohio, from Illinois, from Michigan and some national powerhouses like New Belgium and Sam Adams. This years attenance was reported to be up substantially from last year but the crowd never felt like a 'throng.' Here's our take from the two of us who attended:


from Jake: .....

When I first heard about Upland’s Sour Beer Fest last year, I had already been interested in sours for about a year, and been enjoying being able to get a hold of some good sours from around the country and occasionally the world. I loved last year’s festival. With such a small number of tickets compared to the microbrewers festival in Opti park the lines are much shorter and you get to try more beer!

This year I was lucky enough to snag a pair of VIP tickets, which apparently sold out in minutes. I enjoyed the VIP lecture style presentation from Caleb Staton, Upland’s Head Brewer. The presentation consisted of an overview sour brewing process, but the most interesting part in my opinion was Upland’s specific techniques. It is impressive how much trouble Upland goes through to create their spectacular sours. The list includes a vigorous cleaning each of their 141 barrels, a modified mash tun (capable of a turbid mash typical for Flemish style sours), as well as a 24 Hectoliter Foudre. The fruited lambics only use real fruit, no extracts, and none of their sours are artificially sweetened like the occasional Belgian brewery. Caleb is nobly focused on the exceptionally high quality of their sour program. The VIP portion ended with a sampling of Sour Reserve Batch #2, Raspberry Lambic (2011), and Cherry Lambic (2010).

The festival began and those of us in the VIP walked right in, while all the general admission ticket holders had to submit to getting the horrible re-entry stamp of a brown mustache. Anyway, on to the beers. As expected all of the Upland Sours were spectacular, including Sour Reserve Batch #1, and Batch #3, and a few Fruit Lambics I was able to try. Sun King’s All Brett Wee Mac was particularly tasty with some great characteristics from the different strains of brett used. Next up for me was Black Acre, a young brewery that had a tasty Raisin Sour, while their other option may have been lacking a little bit of complexity. Flat 12’s offerings were strong as always, and it was great seeing some of the other classic Indiana breweries, Barley Island, Mad Anthony embracing the sour tradition/trend. Some people may believe there are new trends in craft beer, which we’ll talk about later this week, but this beer fest shows me that there is still a growing audience for the complex traditional Belgian sour beers and the new American sours that are pushing the limits of what beer can be. I loved this festival again this year, and hope to see you at it next year.

Crowd shot and Mad Anthony description


Black Acre and Flat 12 descriptions




from Greg.....


This is likely the true craft beer lovers' fest. Brewers and staff alike commented that this is one of their favorite events because attendees like to chat about beers, spend time at each table, and sip rather than slam. The attendance proved there are plenty of beer lovers who appreciate tart beer.

Perhaps the most interesting samplings were from Destihl brewery of Normal and Champaign, Illinois. Their 5,000 square foot beer cellar contains over 300 oak barrels, both California wine barrels and bourbon barrels. In addition, they have imported French foudres, large oak casks for storage. They follow a traditional Belgian sour aging process of exposing the fermented beer in casks and barrels to the open air to pick up wild yeast. the Destihl four-and-a-half year old framboise was complex and impressively light at the same time. Their Saint Dekerra plain lambic had been barrel aging nearly two years and delivered a nice vanilla and wonderful sour notes. While Destihl brews or has brewed over 60 beers since opening in 2007, and have a wide variety of beer styles, clearly their focus on barrel aging is providing truly interesting and tasty results.

New Belgium Brewery has a fondness for this festival and provided a "Peach Felix Love" ale on tap that was aged first in the barrels used for their LaFolie and then in peach whiskey barrels. As one participant noted this provided the wonderful type of tartness that gives you a tug at the back and side of the tongue while delivering great flavor. This was one of those beers you could never get elsewhere unless you travel to New Belgium in Colorado and know the brewers.

I was particularly pleased that the beer I had agreed to help pour, Bloomington Brewing Company Cranberry Saison, was so well accepted and so many people made it to the end table of the fest specifically asking for this ale brewed with French Saison yeast and finished with fresh and concentrated cranberries! This was a delightful sample from the saison I've much appreciated before gaining very nice fruit flavor! Several noted beer judges came by because they had heard this one-off beer, not even available at the brew pub, was so good.

Steve of Crown Brewing (Home of the Crown Beer fest this next weekend from 2-6 on Sat., May 18) of Crown Point, IN, poured a Cherry Dunkel Weizen Bock, that gave a nice hint of cherry in the unusual setting of a dunkel weizen. This blending of cherry, banana esters, and spice was quite a nice delight!

SunKing's Stupid Sexy Flanders (did you see that episode of the Simpson's?) was a very nice base oud bruin with wild yeast, brettanomyces, and lacto!

Thirsty Dog from Dayton poured Cerasus Dog Flanders Red that was very smooth and a grest treat. As hard as I tried to recall the exact brewing process which on Saturday I recounted to others, alas, my notes started to fade - but I enjoyed this brew!

Another very interesting beer was Jon's Triton Pink Ribbon Saison, obviously a saison but with pink and white peppercorns delivering a nice but not overpowering spice.

If you wanted a beer lighter in alcohol, Bell's Oarsman is a very refreshing and full-of-flavor tart sessionable beer at 4% abv.

Thanks to Global Beer Network importers for serving Petrus pale, Petrus Oud Bruin, and Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour. These Belgian beers (in bottles) give fest attendees a barometer for what these styles taste like when brewed in Belgium.

And thanks to Avery for shipping in bottles of Odio Equum which is brewed with red raspberries and aged in cabernet sauvignon barrels. Another beer I would not have wanted to miss!

Upland did not have much Dantillion, but a lucky few got a taste just as Starlight distributors from Southern Indiana also broke out a bottle of Cantillion from Brussels -- but alas I was not in the right spot to taste and report which Cantillion.

The list could go on and on but we tried to show some restraint. Truly this is an event for those of us who appreciate tart and tasty ales!

Cheers, from Jake and GregKitz

Pics with Katie (and Mark in the background) from Destihl,
Mark from BBC, and Andrew from Upland

BB5 - AMBERgeddon - New Update

NEW UPDATE!

What goes great with beer? How about some Food Trucks!

Byrnes Grilled Pizza, Spice Box Indian Food & Der Pretzel Truck will be at BB5 to give you something to delicious to fill up on while deciding the best Amber yet

Also?!? -- Group tickets are available!! - buy 4 get $5 off each.

More details below - hope you see you on Saturday! 



Brew Bracket 5: AMBERgeddon!

This competition is better than the rest because YOU get to help decide the winner brew. 

How does it work? 

400 attendees sampling beer from 16 breweries in a March Madness style bracket taste off.  After 4 hours of blind tastings, 4 rounds of voting a winner is announced!

So come one, come all to the Indiana State Fairgrounds on December 8th from 12:30-5pm to participate in this fun, beer swillin' time for only $35 which also helps out a great cause - Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. 

Tickets available at : www.brewbracket.com

This season's participants are some old favorites, previous winners and some new guys:
Triton Brewing Co.
Flat 12 Bierwerks
The RAM Restaurant and Brewery (BBIV: Bourbon Barrel Aged - Winner)
Half Moon Brewery
Bloomington  Brewing Co. 
Barley Island Brewing Co.(BBIII: Wheats - Winner)
Bier Brewery (BBII: Stouts - Winner) 
Three Wisemen Brewing Co. ( a new one to the competition!) 
Rock Bottom  (Rock Bottom Downtown - BBI: IPA - Winner)
Bulldog Brewing Co. 
Fountain Square Brewery
Upland Brewing Co. 
Iechyd Da Brewing Co. (welcome another newbie!)
Powerhouse Brewing Co. 
Oaken Barrel Brewing Co. (Hi - newbie!)
Twisted Crew Brewing Co. 

For some more recaps of the fun of Brew Bracket see our previous blogs:
BBI: IPA
BBII: Stouts 
BBIII: Wheats
BBIV: Bourbon Barrel Aged

Also - Be on the look out for Kathleen and her new Beer Socks. Going red and white for Christmas!

And Also Nathan and Poppi!!

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.