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Brewers of Indiana Guild Newsletter - July, 2007

B.I.G. News

The promotion continues. The advance program for the Microbrewers Festival is now available online. The festival is July 21st. Oh, and you can buy tickets online also. You are planning to be there, right?

There's a couple of events to think about before the big festival.

  • Thursday July 19th - Dave Engbers from Founders Brewery will be hosting a beer event at the Corner Wine Bar/Wellington in Broad Ripple. This will be a tasting of Founders beers with a table of food as well. There will be 3 Founders on draft and 3 in the bottle including Devil Dancer. The event will run from 7 - 9 pm, it is $25/per person. Please RSVP with the CWB @ (317)255-5159. They will accept walk-ins but are trying to limit the event to 30-40 people at the most.
     
  • Friday July 20th - There will be an informal Meet & Greet with the new Stone Rep at Bada Boomz in downtown Indy. This will be a very informal evening of enjoying some Stone and conversation at the bar with someone from the brewery. It will probably run loosely from 7 - 10 pm.
     
  • Friday, July 20th - The Brugge Brasserie in Broad Ripple will have a pre-festival celebration with a band and other fun things to do and drink. It starts at 8pm.

And on Thursday, July 26th Spencer's Tavern will host a Replicale Tasting with 6 Replicales on tap. Starts at 7pm.

Indiana Beer News

The Ram in downtown Indy unveiled not one, not two, but three seasonals this month. Ram's growlers are half price all during July. That's $4.00.

  • Red Rocket Rye - Very rye.
  • Nitro Java Oatmeal Stout - Black and bold.
  • Wit - Very cloudy wit with coriander, orange peel, and coriander.

Power House Brewing met the public this month with it's inaugural tapping party at the Columbus Bar. Brewer Jon Myers' first brew, a dark Northern Brown was proclaimed a big hit by everyone.

Local mug club member, John Young bid $200 to have the first spot in line for the first pour. This honor will continue through future tappings. His wife, Mary, got donations from friends and people at work to buy him this nifty gift. They like the Columbus bar for the food, friendly atmosphere, the no-smoking environment and have become regulars since the move from All The Buzz.

John said about the Brown "It's smooth and a little chocolatey. Leaves a nice lingering taste." His favorite beers also include Gnaw Bone Pale Ale and Arrogant Bastard.

All evening the crowd filled both rooms of the bar and spilled out onto the street. They even blocked the street after dark for a little 5 on 5 basketball. The band-with-no-name played on the balcony. Other goodies included Pabst on the Hopinator (Mt. Hood hops).


Jon, left serves the first glass to John
The next 40 or so glasses
went to the people in line

The band with no name
Doings on 4th St.

Power House tap proudly sits with the other
Columbus Bar offerings

Here's what we can tell you about the Vigo Brewery. You've heard about it. Ted Miller and the Brugge Brasserie are expanding production by buying the facilities of the now-temporarily-closed Terre Haute Brewing Co. Brewing will start bright an early on July 23rd with the hopes of having output on the streets September 1st.

Vigo will use the plant to make Brugge beers for the Broad Ripple restaurant and 750ml bottles for stores. They've hired Micah Weichert as the head brewer. He's the head brewer at the 23rd Street Brewery in Lawrence, Kansas, since 2004 and previously at Waimea Brewing and Whaler's Brewpub in Hawaii. Assistant brewer will be John Kopta, a home brewer from Fort Collins, CO.

Some of the production is contracted to a new beer marketing company, Wabash Valley, who will put out a more typical line of beers than the Belgian-centric Brugge titles. Both companies will be distributed by World Class Beverages throughout Indiana.

Mike Rowe sold THBC but hopes to re-open a brewpub in Terre Haute next year.

BadaBoomz opened to the public on July 3rd. Nothing behind the bar has changed but the rest of the downtown Indy restaurant has had a decor makeover bigger than the last image change of the Chrysler 300. It's subdued browns and burgundy are a complete departure from the BW3 theme as is the food. They had a beta test on July 1st to break in the 20 or so new people of the wait staff (only 5 of the old staff are continuing on - and 5 of the best we might add).

The new menu is still "grill" rather than steakhouse and includes sandwichez, burgerz, pizzaz, entreez, big saladz, and even a kidz menu. Most items run from $7 to $9 with full entrees from $9 to $14 - very reasonable for downtown Indy. Daily lunch specials will be $8. All food items on the menu carry both beer and wine pairings (and there's more beer than wine variety).

The bar, as we said, hasn't changed. Mike DeWeese wouldn't let his fellow beer geeks down. Witness Hopslam on the handpull. The NTN triva and Buzztime games on the TVs are staying also.

North Coast Distributing in Valparaiso has been named the "number one Miller distributor in the United States," a ranking based on sales and management. article

The Rock Bottom (86th St) tapping of Liz's American Dream IPA was, as always, attended by over 100 people. Her version of this month's seasonal is a highly hopped 7% ABV version with lots of Crystal and Amarillo hops and was well received by the regulars. Door prizes of pint glasses and T-shirts added to the excitement. Next tapping - August 8th for the Happy Pils. Stop in at either Rock Bottom between 6:00 and 6:30 and let the brewmaster buy you a beer.

Omar told us Alcatraz's Replicale to be unveiled at the Microbrewers Festival will be cask conditioned with maple syrup.

We're told Upland's Lambics have been bottled and are waiting label approval.

Indiana Homebrew News

Michael Pearson of the MECA Brewers homebrew club scored the clubs first national medal for his Marzen at the National Homebrew Conference. He was the only Indiana brewer to win a national medal. Complete list of winners: http://www.beertown.org/events/nhc/2007_winners.html

There's two new Homebrew Clubs to report. MECA is talked about above and below, but there's another staring up:

I wanted to pass on info on a new homebrewing club in Indiana. After making the long trek to Lafayette several times a few local brewers and I decided to start a new club in Howard County (Kokomo). We have a connection with a local Craft Beer Bar for meetings and advertisement and although we are currently just getting started we have high hopes for the future. We are having our first meeting in about a month. For now our only online presence is a discussion forum.

Howard County Homebrewers

Online Forum at http://www.setbb.com/hchomebrew

Thanks,
Tom Ferguson

State Fair Brewers Cup

The State Fair Brewers Cup Judging is in. Here's the complete results and some highlights.

  • Smoothness was the word of the day. There were enough judges and stewards. Everything ran on time. Heck, the staff did everything perfectly. Anita, Dave, Don, Tom, Brian, Matt, everybody really have their act together.
  • Stats: 631 entries (26% up from last year). 444 amateur, 187 professional.
  • Mark Shiess entered 25 beers, Michael Pearson and Bill Ballinger each entered 24.
  • There were 33 amateur American Ales entered and 32 Belgian Strong ales.
  • Judges came from as far away as Huntington, WV.
  • It was international this year. An entry from Brazil came from an IU student who met the Bloomington Hop Jockeys and sent in his beer when he got home. And it got a blue ribbon.
  • Scott Kincaid also entered one beer and won a 1st. Plus Ted Miller (Brugge Brasserie) entered just one beer which won a 1st.
  • The newest and smallest Indiana brewery, Powerhouse Brewing, entered their first two professional batches of beer and won a 3rd for their first (a Brown) and 2nd  for their Hefeweizen which isn't even being poured at the brewpub yet.
  • Amateur Blue Ribbon winners each got a $50 gift certificate from Quality Wine & Ale Supply in Elkhart. Red Ribbons earned a $35 certificate from Crown Liquors. 3rd place winners got a $25 certificate from Great Fermentations.
  • The food supplied by the State Fair staff was, as always, ample and excellent.





Homebrew Results

Scottish (21 Entries)
Scott Kincaid Indianapolis   Strong Scotch Ale 1
Bill Ballinger Shelbyville, IN Highland Honey Scottish 80 Scottish 80/- 2
Mike Heckman Ossian, IN 101 Ways to Start a Fight Irish Red Ale 3
Strong Ales (10 Entries)
Ricardo Rosa Rio de Taneiro, BR   English Barleywine 1
Andrew Lewis Kokomo, IN   American Barleywine 2
Thomas Wallbank Indianapolis Old Walter Old Ale 3
Smoke and Wood Aged (13 Entries)
Michael Pearson Anderson, IN   Other Smoked Beer 1
Michael Pelter Schererville, IN Smoked Porter Other Smoked Beer 2
Jerry Sadowski Crete, IL   Wood-Aged Beer 3
Bock (21 Entries)
Michael Pearson Anderson, IN   Maibock 1
Randy Wasmuth Indianapolis   Doppelbock 2
Brian Steuerwald Brownsburg, IN Borrowed Bock Traditional Bock 3
Specialty (21 Entries)
Thomas Altstadt Indianapolis Bourbon Vanilla Porter Specialty Beer 1
Steve Yarbery Indianapolis Rye IPA Specialty Beer 2
Mark Mahon Danville, IN Batch #10 Specialty Beer 3
Fruit (18 Entries)
John Morrical Indianapolis Cherry-O-Stout Fruit Beer 1
Bill Ballinger Shelbyville, IN Kiwi Pils Fruit Beer 2
Mike Crowell ,   Fruit Beer 3
Spice/Herb/Veg and Christmas (17 Entries)
Sean Tucker Pendleton, IN Mo's Spring Ale Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer 1
Bill Ballinger Shelbyville, IN Grey Hawk Vanilla Stout Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer 2
Eric Jones Indianapolis Dead Eye Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer 3
Altbier (11 Entries)
Michael Pearson Anderson, IN   Northern German Altbier 1
Scott Courtney Indianapolis   California Common Beer 2
Aaron Evilsizor Noblesville, IN   California Common Beer 3
Light Lager (14 Entries)
Jeffrey Brungard Fishers, IN   Standard American 1
Bill Staashelm Indianapolis   Premium American 2
Randy Wasmuth Indianapolis   Munich Helles 3
European Amber Lagers (10 Entries)
Tom Ferguson Greentown, IN   Vienna Lager 1
Michael Pearson Anderson, IN   Oktoberfest 2
Paul Till Fort Wayne, IN Till's Octoberfest Oktoberfest 3
Light Hybrids (27 Entries)
Bill Staashelm Indianapolis   Kölsch 1
James Matt Fishers, IN Bald Guy Blonde Blond Ale 2
Jason Burk Indianapolis Corn Cream Ale Cream Ale 3
English Pale Ale (18 Entries)
Brian Pickerill Muncie, IN   Ordinary Bitter 1
Michael Pelter Schererville, IN Summer Bitter Special/Best/Premium Bitter 2
Lloyd Chatham Lafayette, IN Broad Sword Bitter Special/Best/Premium Bitter 3
Brown Ales (22 Entries)
Mark Schiess Carmel, IN   Northern English Brown 1
Chris Ingerman Muncie, IN   Mild 2
Carl Saxby Newburgh, IN   Southern English Brown 3
German Wheat and Rye (22 Entries)
Brian Steuerwald Brownsburg, IN 70-30 Classic Weizen 1
Mark Fisher Avon, IN Dot's Double-Take Dunkel Dunkelweizen 2
Thomas Grembowicz Fishers, IN Grembo-wheat Weizen 3
American Ales (33 Entries)
Bill Ballinger Shelbyville, IN Serenity Now Pale Ale American Pale 1
BOS
Mike Crowell     American Pale 2
Chris Ingerman Muncie, IN   American Amber 3
Belgian & French Alses and Sour Ales (31 Entries)
Mark Schiess Carmel, IN Pucker Berliner Weisse 1
Darren Connor Indianapolis Batch #6,953 Witbier 2
James Matt Fishers, IN Lupulin L'Amour Belgian Specialty 3
Dark Lagers (8 Entries)
Bill Ballinger Shelbyville, IN River's Bend Schwarzbier Schwarzbier 1
Chris Ingerman Muncie, IN   Munich Dunkel 2
Robert Heinlein Crown Point, IN Mr. Schwartz Schwarzbier 3
Porters (20 Entries)
Jerry Sadowski Crete, IL   Baltic Porter 1
Bruce Deters Angola, IN   Brown Porter 2
Paul Till Fort Wayne, IN Plum But Boozie Baltic Porter Baltic Porter 3
Dry, Sweet, and Oatmeal Stout (18 Entries)
Mike Heckman Ossian, IN The Right Thing to Brew Dry Stout 1
Jason Rich Claypool, IN   Sweet Stout 2
Brent Chapman Indianapolis Marquee Moon Dry Stout 3
Foreign, American, and Imperial Stout (12 Entries)
Andy Greenlee Columbus, IN   Foreign Extra Stout 1
Chris Ross Indianapolis   Russian Imperial Stout 2
Aaron Evilsizor Noblesville, IN   Russian Imperial Stout 3
IPAs (22 Entries)
Mike Heckman Ossian, IN Simcoe Slam American IPA 1
Neil Rowe Westfield, IN Three Amigos IPA American IPA 2
Kenny Lucas Evansville, IN Blockhead IPA American IPA 3
Imperial IPAs (8 Entries)
Michael Pearson Anderson, IN   Imperial IPA 1
James Mulcare Westbury, NY Jimbo's IPA Imperial IPA 2
Andrew Lewis Kokomo, IN   Imperial IPA 3
Belgian Strong Ales (32 Entries)
Greg Christmas Fishers, IN No-name Dubbel Belgian Dubbel 1
James Matt Fishers, IN Tripel Wordskor Belgian Tripel 2
Mark Schiess Carmel, IN St. Indianus II Belgian Dark Strong Ale 3
Pilsners (14 Entries)
Brian Pickerill Muncie, IN   Classic American Pilsner 1
Bill Ballinger Shelbyville, IN The Crimson Chin Bohemian Pilsner 2
Mark Schiess Carmel, IN Bo Pe Bohemian Pilsner 3

 

Professional Results

Stouts (11 Entries)
Barley Island Brewing Noblesville, IN Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout 1
Bell's Brewery Galesburg, MI Double Cream Stout Sweet Stout 2
Back Road Brewery La Porte, IN Belle Gunness Stout Dry Stout 3
Belgian & French Ales & Strong Ales (12 Entries)
Brugge Brasserie Indianapolis Diamond Kings of Heaven Belgian Specialty 1
Oaken Barrel Brewing Greenwood, IN Epiphany Tripel Belgian Tripel 2
Oaken Barrel Brewing Greenwood, IN Saison Saison 3
Scottish and Irish Ales (11 Entries)
Rock Bottom College Park Indianapolis   Scottish 80/- 1
Ram Restaurant Indianapolis 90 Schilling Scottish 80/- 2
Oaken Barrel Brewing Greenwood, IN Auntie Connar's Scottish Ale Scottish 70/- 3
IPAs (15 Entries)
Bell's Brewery Galesburg, MI Two-Hearted Ale American IPA 1
Barley Island Brewing Noblesville, IN Barfly IPA American IPA 2
Mad Anthony Fort Wayne, IN IPA American IPA 3
Porters (12 Entries)
Back Road Brewery La Porte, IN Christmas Ale Baltic Porter 1
Ram Restaurant Indianapolis Total Disorder Brown Porter 2
Oaken Barrel Brewing Greenwood, IN Snake Pit Porter Robust Porter 3
Light Lagers and Pilsners (12 Entries)
Two Brothers Brewing Warrenville, IL Dog Days Dortmunder Lager Dortmunder Export 1
Mad Anthony Fort Wayne, IN Gabby Blonde Premium American 2
Ram Restaurant Indianapolis Bighorn Light Bohemian Pilsner 3
Light Hybrids (19 Entries)
Rock Bottom College Park Indianapolis   Koelsch 1
BOS
Rock Bottom Orland Park Orland Park, IL   Koelsch 2
Broad Ripple Brew Pub Indianapolis   Blond Ale 3
American Pale Ales (15 Entries)
Mad Anthony Fort Wayne, IN Ol' Woody Pale American Pale 1
Broad Ripple Brew Pub Indianapolis   American Pale 2
Ram Restaurant Indianapolis #71 American Pale 3
American Ambers (8 Entries)
Ram Restaurant Indianapolis Old Jack's Blizzard Ale American Amber 1
Bell's Brewery Galesburg, MI Amber Ale American Amber 2
Back Road Brewery La Porte, IN Red Ale American Amber 3
German Wheat and Rye (10 Entries)
Rock Bottom Lombard Lombard, IL   Weizen 1
Powerhouse Brewing Columbus, IN   Weizen 2
Rock Bottom Orland Park Orland Park, IL   Weizen 3
Sour Ales, Fruits and Specialties (12 Entries)
Dark Horse Brewing Marshall, MI Tres Blueberry Stout Fruit Beer 1
Alcatraz Brewery Indianapolis Chibuku Specialty Beer 2
Upland Brewing Bloomington, IN Upland Raspberry Lambic Fruit Lambic 3
Bocks (8 Entries)
Back Road Brewery La Porte, IN Aviator Doppelbock Doppelbock 1
Ram Restaurant Indianapolis Maibock Maibock 2
Broad Ripple Brew Pub Indianapolis   Maibock 3
English Pale Ales (7 Entries)
Rock Bottom Lombard Lombard, IL   Extra Special/Strong Bitter (EPA) 1
Ram Restaurant Indianapolis Busted Nut ESB Special/Best/Premium Bitter 2
Rock Bottom Brewery Downtown Indianapolis Indianapolis   Extra Special/Strong Bitter (EPA) 3
Brown Ales (9 Entries)
Ram Restaurant Indianapolis Brute IBA American Brown 1
Rock Bottom Orland Park Orland Park, IL   Schwarzbier 2
Powerhouse Brewing Columbus, IN   American Brown 3
S/H/V, Smoked and Wood Aged (9 Entries)
Barley Island Brewing Noblesville, IN Bourbon Barrel Stout Wood-Aged Beer 1
Breckenridge Denver, CO Vanilla Porter Spice, Herb, Vegetable Beer 2
Rock Bottom Brewery Warrenville Warrenville, IL   Wood-Aged Beer 3
Strong Ales (6 Entries)
Rock Bottom Brewery Downtown Indianapolis Indianapolis   Old Ale 1
Upland Brewing Bloomington, IN Upland Winter Warmer English Barleywine 2
Bell's Brewery Galesburg, MI Third Coast Old Ale American Barleywine 3
European Amber and Hybrid Lagers (11 Entries)
Lafayette Brewing Lafayette, IN Tippecanoe Common Ale California Common Beer 1
Rock Bottom Lombard Lombard, IL   California Common Beer 2
Alcatraz Brewery Indianapolis Naptown Alt Northern German Altbier 3

And for the big finish

  • The Amateur Best of Show is Bill Ballinger's American Pale Ale.
  • The Homebrew Club Award went to MECA. More explanation below.
  • The Professional Best of Show is Liz Laughlin's Kolsch - Rock Bottom, 86th St.
  • The Professional Brewery Award went to the Ram.

The Homebrew Club Award goes to the club who's members rack up the most points on a 1st = 3, 2nd = 2, 3rd = 1, BOS = 5 system. Similarly with the Professional Brewery Award. The Ram won 2 golds, 4 silver, and 2 bronze medals.

MECA was started by Bill Ballinger on the south side of Indy as an alternative club to the FBI. This is their first year and obviously doing quite well.

Upcoming Events

Please see http://www.brewersofindianaguild.com/events.shtml for Indiana (and some surrounding area) events. Also lists bands playing at member brewpubs.

On Tap

Please see http://www.brewersofindianaguild.com/ontap.html for the current tap lists of Indiana Breweries.

Miscellaneous News (if you didn't read it at IndianaBeer.com already)

Mad River beer is coming to Indiana. Their Steelhead and Jamaica lines include Pale,  2 IPAs, Porter, Stout, Red, and a Barleywine.

Sam Adams is now selling a new beer glass. Cool.

The Guinness St. James Gate brewery in downtown Dublin may close. Their 9,000 year lease on the 64 acres of land is more valuable for offices. More on this breaking story next year. article

Heineken Premium Light is the newest megaswill planned to take up precious shelf space in liquor stores. Is "Premium Light" an oxymoron?

Energy drinks: 1) Cocaine has been told by the FDA to change its name. 2) 1in3Trinity Corp has introduced a “faith-inspired” beverage much like Red Bull but “made of a special blend handed down from the flourishing vines and trees of the holy land.”

Bad idea: Beer Pops sold at an Alexandria, VA bar. That's right, frozen beer on a stick. The state ABC says it violates a rule that beer must be served in the original container or be served to the customer immediately once it's poured. Thank goodness cooler heads prevail, even if they need to use a technicality.

The 10 most bizarre beers. Includes Uerige's braille label and Sam Adams Utopia. article


Just a reminder, don't drink and pedal. (thanks Mark)

Stone Vertical Epic 07.07.07 was put out a bit early. Something about 7/7 being a Saturday. See if you can guess the style from the Head Brewer's tasting notes.

APPEARANCE:
Deep golden with a touch of haze. Foam is white, creamy and thick.
AROMA:
Grapefruit/citrus, ginger, tropical fruit esters, with a touch of spice. Tropical fruit salad!
FLAVOR:
Citrus and ginger up front, finishing with a touch of clove and more intense cardamom spice
PALATE:
Med body, very effervescent, crisp, dry, and refreshing with a touch of bitterness and alcohol warmth.
OVERALL:
Quite delicious now, and we fully expect the flavors to blend more over time.

Also new to town: Breckenridge 471 ESB, Boulder Cold Hop (British IPA), Great Divide Samurai (brewed with rice), and Founders DECA 10th Anniversary Barleywine.

Meet the killjoy who's trying to eliminate ladies' nights in Denver. He complained that he wasn't allowed free drinks in an adult club's strip contest - among other things. article

The ultimate beer festival hoodie.

Starting in November, Fosters will be brewed by Miller in Fort Worth and in Albany, GA, instead of by Molson (which will still brew it for the Canadian market). The globalization of megabrew continues. "Moving the brand to the United State would cut freight costs, enabling more money to be put into marketing the beer." article

Remember that job as Four Points' Chief Beer Officer? It's been filled - by Scott Kerkmans of Phoenix. He's a BJCP certified beer judge, an ex-professional brewer, and the founder of Draft magazine. Oh, and it doesn't pay anything.

Headline - "Pub landlord fights smoke ban by declaring his boozer an embassy". Doesn't sound like it will work, but a Southampton pub may become the embassy of Redonda. King Robert the Bald approves but will the Queen. article with bonus picture of Edward Elder.

"According to a national beer-drinking survey on behalf of Moosehead, an eyebrow-raising 40% of Atlantic Canadians said if they had to choose between beer and sex, they would forego carnal pleasures and opt for a cold one instead." chaste but inebriated article

Fosters lowers ABV of their Victoria Bitter by .1% in order to save $10,000,000++ in excise tax. 4.9%, 4.8%, who'll notice? Some people obviously do. article

Woodford Reserve Sonoma Chardonnay Finish. Yum

Absolut Vodka is for sale. No really. The whole company. It's owned by Sweden. No really. The whole country. For only $35 billion you too can make a plum vodka and they can pay off their national debt.

Robert Woods Johnson report finds its way into Ad Age. They're complaining that the industry only spends $102,900,000 annually on don't-drink public service TV spots. article - info about Georgetown University's Center for Alcohol Marketing and Youth

Capitol Brewery of Middleton, WI uses "America's #1 Rated Brewery" on their packaging. Wants to trademark it. Guess who objects. Did you guess Anheuser-Busch?

Yep, you can get growlers of Tsing Tao on the streets of Quigdao, where it is brewed. These are poured from kegs and a cheap scale measures the portion. It's drunk from a straw inserted in the bag.

5 1/2 minutes of beers around the world. YouTube

Headline: Hark! It's 'The Canned Beer Apocalypse'. How Dales and Sam Adams went separate ways. article

The abhorrent absolute absence of absinthe from abroad may be abolished as abolition is abandoned. article (Thanks Neal)

There's a warning about Stella Artois in Canada restaurants. Seems there's alcohol inside. And by alcohol we mean "concentrated alcohol". article

Someone steals a Coors Light truck with 51 kegs from a baseball stadium in Louisiana. Police say "I don't think we're dealing with the most intelligent criminals in the world". article

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.