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Breweries Calendar of Events What's On Tap News Articles Links Contacts |
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Brewers of Indiana Guild Newsletter - August/September, 2007
B.I.G. News The 2007 Indiana Microbrewers Festival is over. Thank you all for making it a success. Here are some reviews: Nuvo, IndianaBeer.com, Hoosier Beer Geek, Beer Advocate, Good Beer Show (video) The Broad Ripple Gazette coverage of the Microbrewers Festival isn't available online but they do have a lot of pictures available. Their reporters liked the program, the potties, and finding lagers aren't dark beers. Not so much the Fantabulous Resplendence, and Cask Conditioned beers ("The thought of drinking fermenting beer makes me almost want to vomit in my mouth."). But they've learned a lot and will be back next year. Indiana Beer News Greg Emig writes in Rushing the Growler about the new bottled beer from Lafayette Brewing and why it will be a little more time before you can get it at Village Liquors.
Warbird Brewing is moving into Michigan, about 500 cases are poised to roll north this week. They already have a Philadelphia area distributor also. All this when just as they loose their brewer.
Looks like BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse plans to open their first Indiana brewpub in the Greenwood Park Mall on the south side of Indy. The Star reported that they plan to open in November. Nana Willey's hop ice cream at the Columbus Bar uses Amarillo, Simcoe, and Magnum hops. The BadaBoomz at 4930 Lafayette Rd in Indy is now open. If you adore the BadaBoomz Burger with bacon on a glazed doughnut you might want to try a Peanut Butter Burger at the Columbus Bar. Indiana Events
You've heard the story. From the Upland web site: "I began in the spring of 2006 by brewing 300 gallons of top-fermented beer using wild yeast to create a Belgian-style Lambic," Head Brewer Caleb Staton explains. "We conditioned the beer in American White Oak casks from a local winery and initiated a secondary fermentation using whole fruit from Huber Orchard in Starlight, Indiana." The result is a tart beer balanced by the aromatic and distinct qualities of the various berries that were used. Bottled in 750 ml champagne-style bottles, this inaugural edition consists of four different Lambic versions: Raspberry, Blueberry, Strawberry, and Blackberry. Which one to try first? All are filled with authentic sharp tartness bordering on the sour so you really can't go wrong. The Strawberry is the most aromatic. The Blueberry has less aroma and possibly the most sweet (or least tart). The Blackberry has the strongest brown stock flavor and the least fruit overall. It also leads the sales figures as the starting gate is lifted. The Raspberry has an attractive pink head that dissipates quickly leaving an almost florescent red color. It also has the most carbonation and the sharpest edges. Take your pick. There are 900 gallons in the big kegs now for next year and Caleb plans possibly 6 or more styles including Elderberry. To balance, Upland's seasonal Saison now on tap is soft, full, earthy, and the 7% ABV augments a touch of peppery spice.
Lots of Indy and Lafayette beer folks joined the regulars to give a standing o to Head Brewer Jon Lang (at left), Assistant Mike Hess, and Guest Brewer Greg Christmas (at right). Greg's recipe uses debittered black malt, candi sugar, and a blend of yeasts to give a big malty sweet beer with mild malt aroma and an unmistakable Belgian influence. Pick out your own favorite flavors. Indiana may have more Belgian Black Ales right now than anywhere on earth (they're not often found even in Belgium). Brugge's "The Black" is similar but with a spicier aroma and base. Three Floyds has Gorm Noire on tap, their Belgian Black ale. Reviews on Beer Advocate are good. Actually Bloomington Brewing / Lennies has a Belgian Dark which is very close. The only other notable Black is New Belgium's 1554 Brussels Style Black Ale and you're not going to find that on Indiana shelves anytime soon.
The recipe calls for Europils, brown, and amber malts and a bit of corn. The hops used were left to the brewer with a limit of one hop strain giving about 23 IBU.
The Festiv-Ale raised about $55,000 of which almost $50,000 will go the the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. More pictures hopefully later. The nearby Hop Shop reported "at least 150 people came in asking for a specific beer" during or immediately after the event. The Prost room at Rich O's was filled as it always is whenever Roger Baylor yells "party" on his blog. This time it was because Greg Koch was in town as part of his visit back to Columbus, Ohio, this month. With 11 Stone beer on tap, only their least arrogant, the Pale Ale, was missing. Ruination, 10th Anniversary IPA, and Vertical Epic 7/7/7 were highlights for this reporter. The Vertical Epic is much like a Saison. Crisp, malty, and restrained. Full in mouthfeel. A touch of anise or cardamon, a touch of sourness, and a touch of alcohol. The 10th Anniversary IPA has plenty of sweet fruit notes. Dark cherry brown. It's on the verge of being winey (or barley winery) but retains some of the sharp Summit edges of the Bastard series. The Smoked Porter is dark brown, thick, rich, smooth. Noticeable smoke at the start that morphs to become a porter with lots of alcohol apparent. Reviews at The Seven Footer & Potable Curmudgeon. Buddy Sandbach was at RichO's and Greg (right) liked his tattoo.
New Albany's Mayor James Garner (center below) was there to bestow the city's best wishes and a plaque to Greg.
Wherever there is a comfortable pub with friendly people and some rare, world-class beer, we'll be there. The first weekend of September was RichO's again. The Sandwerka NA Festival and NA doesn't stand for "non alcoholic" but rather, "North America". It's Roger Baylor's answer to the august August street festival in Bamberg. Comfortable: The plush couches and light to read by. Friendly: We met two couples from Cleveland (right) who came down for the event and to spend the long weekend at BBC, Brownings, etc. Rare beers: Taps poured 4 from Aecht Schlenkerla, 5 from Mahrs, 1 from the Spezial, and more from Kulmbach and other central German cities. Bahnhof of Leipzig was represented with a
deep malty clean dunkel and their Gose. That's rare! 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)
Bud to sell bottled water. No, really. That what this article says anyway. Insert your own joke here. 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" but ones with big bladders. article Hop ice cream at the Columbus Bar. Beer popsicles in Virginia. Now chunky bacon ice cream in Delaware. (thanks Neil) At BadaBoomz in downtown Indy, Mike DeWeese has restarted the Vintage Beer Tastings on Friday evenings, 5pm. He has about 300 different dated, matured beers hidden away and he brings out 3 each week. It costs $8 for which you get three 5-ounce samples. Did you hear about the $200,000 5-hour champagne tasting. That's for 18 people so it's not so bad. "When the party left at 5 a.m., the bill was 81,471.50 pounds, which with tax and service added amounted to 105,805.28 pounds. It included the cost of six Coca-Colas." article First they stop growing barley to make corn to burn in cars. Now the agave crops are threatened. The Buffet Nation isn't going to stand for this. article Beer in space: A short but frothy history. article Goodies: "She sent a miniature brewing kit into orbit aboard a space shuttle several years ago and produced a few sips of beer." - "Without gravity to draw liquids to the bottoms of their stomachs, leaving gases at the top, astronauts tend to produce wet burps." Larry Bell talks in BeerAdvocate about the problems behind returning to Illinois. "Bell's continues to work on a way to return to Illinois. NWS (owner of the distribution rights) won't return my call. I have had discussions with other wholesalers and there is a possibility that we would return, but not with any brand we currently produce. However, we, and any new distributor we have, are likely to be sued at the point of reentry by NWS. Illinois franchise law is complex and not always favorable to breweries. Add in corruption and the bad guys at NWS and you've got a sticky situation. Chicago is my home town and I would love to sell beer there again. It IS being worked on, so please be patient." "a lack of cigarette smoke in British pubs has revealed the quite unpleasant odor of sweat and stale beer" article Ontario canned beer sales up 27%, bottled beer sales down 6%. long, involved article Get your world drinking age map merchandise here. This Aug/Sept issue of the Great Lakes Brewing News is on the streets (or more likely a stack in your favorite brewpub). Publisher Bill Metzger sends out 55,000 copies of just this regional paper and other sister publications cover the Rocky Mountains, Northwest, Yankee, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic states. It's all advertising supported (plus Bill sells imaginative T-shirts to make up the difference). Too bad there's only two advertisers from Indiana in this bi-monthly issue. There's a lot to be learned. Here's a bare sampling:
Boston Beer Co. has bought the Lehigh Valley Brewery to expand Sam Adams production in 2008. The $55M plant has a capacity of 1.6M bbl. Stereotyping:
The Champion Beer of Britain for 2007 was announced at the CAMRA Great British Beer Festival. Hobsons Mild. Yep, a Mild. 3.2% ABV. The last two years is was Crouch Vale Brewers Gold - an American IPA and, in this reporters view, it's nice to see a return to native Fuggles hops rather than Cascades imported from the US.
We do get Greene King's beers including Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale, but that may become rarer. Strong Suffolk is made by blending a very strong "stale ale" (12%) and BPA (Best Pale Ale) then aging in 100-gallon wooden casks for 2 years. The resulting sour lactic beer is much prized (Rate Beer 94, Beer Advocate 88) but one of their 3 casks sprung a leak and they can't fix it without replacing a lot of wood and destroying the character. By the way, it's thought that Rodenbach Crand Crue was developed in the 1870s as a Belgian version of Strong Suffolk. Belgium's Oud Beersel lambic brewery closed in 2002 but is open again and their first Gueuze, Kriek, and Bersalis blond is now available - in Belgium. There's a US importer and we may see it someday in Indiana.
The major players have done well this spring. Second quarter, 2007, results are in:
Two Brothers Helio Centric is shipping to stores. It's a Braggot. From the B.I.G. Dictionary: "beer that is made with substantial amounts of honey providing the fermentables. Or a mead that is made with substantial amounts of malt providing the fermentables. A cross between beer and mead. Braggot is sometimes blended at the bar." This is going to be fun to try. Great Taste of the Midwest - Hoosier reviews: Potable Curmudgeon, Others: Beer Musings, and the longest at The Isthmus Appellationbeer.com's rule #2: A beer consumer should not be allowed to drink a beer with IBU higher than her or his IQ. A recent study served an inexpensive wine with an expensive meal. Half of the people were told it was a California wine, half told it was from North Dakota. "Those drinking what they thought was California wine, rated the wine and food as tasting better, and ate 11% more of their food. They were also more likely to make return reservations." article Note to the police in Bellows Falls, VT - If you're going into a bar undercover to check IDs be sure you have yours. And if the guy at the door doesn't let you in without one don't arrest him for "impeding a public officer". And certainly don't call the press first unless you want a lawsuit. article Bell's Batch 8000 is out at $13 or more per 6-pack. "The Batch 8000 is a wheat ale spiced with Coriander, Orange Peel, and Paradise Seed. They are calling it an Imperial Wit due to the 9% alcohol content." While the other Batch x000 beers have been suitable for laying down, 8000 will probably be best immediately. New beers available among the 2000+ at the Delirium Cafe in Brussels. Drooling is optional - but acceptable only if you can pronounce the names.
Preview Popular Science's 1-piece almost-all-automatic extract brewing system. Heck, it even includes a cold plate and tap. article (with video) and photos (You will smile at the 5-minute video but it's, as yet, only part 1) New marketing - The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp is wafting the aroma of freshly cut grass into the beer section. French bread in the wine aisle, coconut in the rum section, cedar near the whisky. Coming up - Abita Pecan Harvest Ale - made with real Louisiana pecans. Most beers like Nut Brown Ales can claim no nuts were harmed in the brewing of their beers but this isn't the case here. “The natural oils from the Louisiana pecans give the ale a light pecan finish and aroma”.
VodkaKalashnikov Another Yike. This from importer Distinguished Brands. "With grain farmers worldwide turning to growing oil (corn) over barley, the price of barley is soaring. Reports in the USA put the increase in brewing barley up as much as 38%, while in Europe the price of brewing barley is projected to be up as much as 50%. Only about 10% of the barley grown in the world is of the quality required for brewing. Hops are reported to be increasing by 30% due to heavy summer rains. A 25% fuel related increase is expected for glass bottle prices. Combine these cost increases with a 12% YTD hike in freight related costs and they total up to major beer price hikes for the 4th quarter of 2007 and early 2008. Rumors among Chicago distributors suggest Heineken and Star Brands may be the first to test price hikes as early as October 1st." In the "first they came for the" department, California has followed Main in classifying malternatives as distilled spirits rather than beer. The additional tax should add about $2 per 6-pack and about $40M to the state coffers. Another "Anheuser-Busch to sell water" story. This time it's Borba Skin Balance Water who's tagline is "Clear skin begins with BORBA drinkable skin care products!" Bonus points for a powdered version. 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. |
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At
A full house on a
Wednesday in Bloomington and it wasn't for a frat party. The first day of
the Lambic release was exciting as most of the tables had big $15 bottles of
Lambic rather than wimpy little 16oz glasses of their other 8 beers on tap.
In fact, about half of the 300 gallons of precious brew are now gone from
the back room (100 gallons was pre-reserved by the regulars).
Homebrewer
Greg Christmas of Fishers has won the Indiana State Fair Brewers Cup award
for the best Belgian strong ale for 3 years running.
Sex
appeal sells beer. The Easter Bunny we're not too sure about.
Did
you hear the one about the single malt whisky made by a 150-year-old brewery
in Pakistan?
The
World's Most Expensive Beer
Don't
know that we completely understand this concept.