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Brewers of Indiana Guild Newsletter - December, 2006
Indiana Beer News Shoreline's new assistant brewer is Layton Cutler. He's a Purdue grad who studied in Germany and has been making cask-conditioned ale in Edinburgh for the last two years. Mishawaka Brewing's new brewer is Tom Webster from the local Mega homebrew club.
Upstairs at Lafayette Brewing has been known for a decade as Lafayette's top band venue. To prove it, Buckwheat Zydeco will appear on Valentine's day. Tickets went on sale Dec 4. $15. Thomas Altstadt was at the Broad Ripple Brew Pub in early December to brew his Hopsia American IPA that won Best of Show at the State Fair Brewer's Cup. It will be available before Christmas. We at IndianaBeer aren't the only ones kept way too busy with a keyboard in one hand, a mouse in the other, and a glass in the third. Roger Baylor is going back through old invoices to create BARD (Beer Archive Research Division) - a list of the 600++ beers Rich O's Public House has served since 2001. BW3 in Downtown Indy has Three Floyds' Dreadnaught, Goose Island Matilda, Bell's Hell Hath No Fury and Hopslam on tap. Friday seems like a great time to drop in for Mike's basement-clearing vintage tasting (5-7pm) and try many gems. The Columbus Bar has a newly renovated web site that includes their beer list. Huzzah. The Columbus Hombrewer's Club meets there the first Tuesday of each month, 8pm. Indiana News for Retailers The Indiana ATC is auctioning off a bunch of confiscated spirits. 4708 bottles of a big assortment. One-price takes all. Bids in by Dec 31. Upcoming Events Please see http://www.brewersofindianaguild.com/events.html for Indiana (and some surrounding area) events. Also lists bands playing at breweries. Miscellaneous News (if you didn't read it at IndianaBeer.com already) Stephen Beaumont's blog says Sam Smith ales is now being sent to the U.S. in dark brown glass bottles. "A Covington bar must now "cover up" after it was busted for baring backsides. According to the Cincinnati Post, police using binoculars could clearly see the activities associated with "Thong Thursdays" at Joe's. But ironically, the problem wasn't with the bare bottoms, it was that they could be seen from the street. The owner of Joe's says he's happy to cover the windows if it means "Thong Thursdays" can live on." The Horse You Came In On is the name of a tavern in Baltimore. OK, that's strange. They claim to be the oldest saloon in America, dating back to 1775. Hmmmm. It just sold at auction for $1.5M. article MSN's Top 10 Cities for Beer Lovers: Amsterdam, Berlin, Brugge, Burlington VT, Dublin, Mexico City, Montreal, Portland OR, Prague, Sapporo. Mexico City? MSN? Germany has joined the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Lithuania in the protest against the EU's proposed 31% hike in beer tax. Beer in Europe generated 10.5 billion euros in 2005. This tax increase wouldn't affect wine which is made everyone north of the Alps a bit squeamish. Germany's major role in EU politics is reported to be the black ball in the bag and the tax won't be raised. Widmer (40% owned by A-B) will spend $22 million on an expansion aimed to increase their Hefeweizen output. It will nearly double capacity to 550,000bbl but it will be 2008 before the new plant is operational. Today's chuckle from the BBC: "On Monday Britain's biggest beer brand, Carling, is officially launching a 2% lager - C2. 'We've finally cracked the mixture of art and science to brew a mid-strength lager that tastes just as good as a regular pint,' says Andy Cray, brand director for Carling." Today's chuckle from www.daysthatendiny.com "Boon Oude Geuze Mariage Parfait - I made the mistake of drinking this while eating bittersweet chocolate chip cookies. Not a good combination." Today's chuckle from A-B: "A new refrigeration system introduced today by Anheuser-Busch and Hussmann Corporation is making it possible for beer drinkers to enjoy ultra cold beer that stays colder longer. The Chill Chamber uses super-cooling technology to take the temperature of beer in aluminum bottles as low as 22 F or 10 F colder than ice, without freezing it. . . . The Chill Chamber will soon be available for convenience stores and will hold approximately three cases of aluminum bottles." Actually A-B is, under new President Auggie IV, hopes to have 128 different products on the shelves by the end of 2006. This includes 60 new items. Including:
Beer Business Daily's list of the 20 most powerful people in the beer industry:
Guns N' Roses were told they couldn't drink "beer, wine and Jagermeister" on stage in Portland, ME so they canceled the show 2 hours before curtain time. A band spokesperson blamed fire marshals for "making it impossible for the band to perform their show to the usual high standards that their fans deserve." The Brewers Association says craft beer sales in the first 9 months of 2006 were up 17% over 2005. Imports were up 10%. Overall, beer sales increased 1.9%.
We wish we knew if the Executive Opening: Chief Beer Officer job at Sheraton's Four Points is real. Hmmm. Could be but the test is just too easy. Do you have what it takes to be Beer Drinker of the Year? You only have until the end of the year to submit your resume to Wynkoop Brewing. For the record, the only three states that still ban Sunday sales are Georgia, Connecticut, and Indiana. Celtic Sprit web site looks for The Worst Whisky in the World and finds German and Surinamese malts worse than even those from Malaysia. We don't make this stuff up. Farkers favorite whisky. We don't even want to make this stuff up. "The Kremlin is considering re-establishing its 400-year-old monopoly on alcohol production and sale, to the alarm of Russia’s private alcohol manufacturers. In the past two weeks the Government and state-controlled media have conducted a campaign against instances of alcohol poisoning, which has killed 17,000 people in the first nine months of the year." article -- Bonus coverage: "Indeed, the number of alcohol poisonings this year is down on the year before."
Shelton Brothers, the importers, had to defend Bad Elf, Criminally Bad Elf, Seriously Bad Elf, and Very Bad Elf in Connecticut last year because the good people in the government thought it catered to children. That was fixed but now New York has banned the beer for the same reason. It's imported from Ridgeway brewing in England but the label was drawn by Shelton Bros. From their web site:
While Bad Elf is fighting for freedom in New York (see 11-24) Santa's Butt Winter Porter is being banned in Maine. The Liquor Enforcement Bureau doesn't like the back view of a fat Santa and don't appreciate the wordplay (Porter was originally called Entire Butt), calling the label "undignified or improper". article
Duvel has bought Achouffe. There's a rumor afloat saying Guinness may produce version using lightly roasted barley that will have a deep red color. It supposedly will be tested in English pubs next spring. Granite City, IL instituted a ban on all beer in bottles of 40oz or larger. That should solve all their problems. No need now to enforce public intoxication or littering laws. How long before Colt 45 is available in 39oz bottles? Beer sommelier? That's just ostentatious, even for a posh restaurant with an adequate beer list. How about "cellerman". Here's a thought on the subject from Philly, where they don't have any expert beer advice. Sounds like one of the perfect jobs. Are you listening, St. Elmos? The New York Times has found strong beer. Headline starts with Three Floyds beer but never mentions the brewery. "Dark Lord, Alimony Ale, Old Ruffian: Here Are the Brawling Beers" 30 cases of Oak-ages Stone Arrogant Bastard have hit the state. BW3 Indy has one and is only charging $6 per bottle. Chris Hardacre is probably the youngest licensed bartender in the world. 12. What third world country allows 12 year olds to serve beer? England. article Don't think neo-prohibitionists have gone away. One right here in Indiana is getting funds from the infamous Robert Wood Johnson Foundation under the name "Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking". (Gotta love the acronym ICRUD). Their director, Lisa Hutcheson, had a TalkBack in the Indianapolis Star advocating increase of alcohol tax - ignoring once again the complete lack of correlation between price and underage drinking. Previously this wingnut organization has said Sunday sales would encourage teens to drink and Lisa has claimed alcohol is as "dangerous and deadly" as guns and has called alcohol a "deadly drug".
Boston's Bistro and Pub in Dayton, OH won Stone Brewing's annual Most Arrogant Bar in America contest by selling 18 kegs (2,634 pints) in 6 days. Who finished second? David Boston says "Actually, I don't care". Durint the contest time they had Arrogant Bastard on all 12 taps and priced it at $2, $7 for a growler. You've no doubt browsed some of the beer entries in Wikipedia but have you browsed the Uncyclopedia? "For the support group nearest you, look in the Yellow Pages under 'Golf Courses' ", "Give us this day our foamy head", "Proof that God was a player.- Ben Franklin". Uerige Brewery in Dusseldorf is putting Braille labels on its bottles. Seriously. Should be handy for those who are blind drunk. (Sorry) Starting in February, Anheuser-Busch will be the importer of Stella, Beck's, Bass, Hoegaarden, and Leffe. All are InBev products. Headline: 137-year-old brew tastes "absolutely amazing". We'll let you read about this 1869 Worthington's White Shield Ratcliff Ale for yourself. Teasers: Bottle conditioned, "around 10 per cent", "raisins and sultanas, baked apple and honey". Oops, too bad for MADD. The Toronto Star has a scathing article about how 81% of the $12M annually donated to MADD Canada goes to fund-raising and "administrative expenses". MADD counters by saying the spiel given by paid telemarketers is education. "Fundraisers typically take 70-90 cents of each dollar". "The money comes in because of the deaths of our daughters, sons, husbands and wives". "Founder John Bates said the group has lost its way".
Headline: New Tap Pours A Faster, Better Beer. Eight seconds. CO2/nitro. Swan neckish. Here's an article from Bloomington about the sad loss of Bells in that town. Ooops, make that Bloomington, Illinois. Never mind. See ya next month. Keep your head up. News compiled by Bob Ostrander, Marketing Director. It's all considered accurate but then Bob has been known to have a drink or two while writing this so-called tome. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Brewers of Indiana Guild, in which case Bob will lose his job. Some coupon offers are for Associate Members only, non-transferable, and may be withdrawn due to unforeseen circumstances, acts of the gods, bankruptcy, or other capricious reasons. It's illegal in Indiana to offer any alcoholic beverage at discount through coupons, prizes, or the fact that the drinker is female. Sorry. |
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Indiana
has a head brewster again! Liz Laughlin is replacing Iain Wilson at the
Our old
friend Tim Marshall is leaving the Warrenville RB to set up a new one in
Yorktown, also near Chicago. Ian Wilson will be leaving the Indy Rock Bottom
College Park, moving temporarily to Warrenville until his new brewery in
Orland Park, also near Chicago is ready to be built.
Did you
hear about the hikers who found a bunch of 50 year old Coors in the desert?
"The beer is the color of cough syrup and smells like a combination of
fermented wine and dirt." 
Headline: