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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 - October, 2008
Upcoming Events
Lots more events at http://www.brewersofindianaguild.com/events.shtml. B.I.G. News The Brewers of Indiana Guild announced that a total of $34,000 was raised by the Indiana Microbrewers Festival for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Optimists International, and the Indianapolis Art Center. Total attendance was 4,017. Thanks go to everyone involved on both sides of the tables. The Brewers of Indiana Guild has hired Penn Jensen to serve as Executive Director. Among his first duties will be to organize the Winter Festival scheduled for January 24th, 2009. Indiana Brewery News On Thursday September 4th one of Upland’s oak barrels exploded during the bottling process. Fortunately no one was severely hurt, though one employee was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. However, nearly all of the highly-anticipated Kiwi Lambic batch was lost in the accident. Only a few cases were bottled before the explosion occurred. All of these have been reserved by through the online-reservation. October 1st will be the release party for the other 5 styles and the first day to pick up bottles. The head blew out after they had bottled only 4 cases of beer. Sigh. BUT there are 8 more lambics already in process for next July. On October 1st, some of the Central Indiana Alliance of Beer Judges tasted all the new lambics at the release party. See their notes at IndianaBeer.
Three Floyds gets ink in the NWI Times. Three Floyds Dark Lord gets ink in FullPint. "Mouthfeel: Gooey. Overall: Awesome ... worth the hype". article John Templet at Half Moon is changing the standard lineup a bit. The Pre-Prohibition Pilsner is being replaced by Cannon Shot Cream Ale and the Old Ben Brown will go by the wayside in favor if his very popular Hazelnut Brown. Bloomington Brewing has B-Town Brown back on tap (and at the normal BBC outlets around town). The second piece of news concerns the Cascade hops Floyd started growing last year. The first small organic harvest is in and will be used to dry-hop the Quarrymen Pale Ale for the handpull. Kevin Matalucci of Broad Ripple Brewpub & Sammy Smith went to Hops School in Yakima Valley during the harvest. Sammy's pictures are on IndianaBeer. Indiana Beer News Headline: Retailers split over Sunday alcohol sales - "chances of getting a new law passed .. 50-50." Indy Star article World Class Beverages is teaming up with a variety of Indiana breweries to bring great local beer to the masses at every Colts home game this season.
Monarch Beverage just broke ground on their new site at 52nd St. and Pendleton Pike in Lawrence. The move is scheduled for next July. article Brian Snyder and Tom Stilabower have been hired at Great Fermentations. Brian has left Cavalier Distributing to move to the 65th St store in Indy. Valparaiso-based distributor North Coast gets ink in both NWI Times and the Post-Tribune. Hot Shotz has re-opened but don't look for it on 91st St. It's now in the previously-Bennigan's just east of I-69 and north of 96th St - behind the Cracker Barrel. Twice as big as before. In the same area, the new Old Town Ale House is a new venture for Matt & Elizabeth Morse, owners of the Corner Wine Bar in Broad Ripple. See MattA's review at IndianaBeer. The new 5,000ft building for Keg Liquors in Clarksville is opening Monday, Oct 6. Sorry, no pictures yet but there will be 10 more (22 in total) beer doors. 6 doors for cold wine. More space for tastings and special events. Rate Beer has it ranked #14 in the world. Todd Antz says
Looks like 2009 might bring us Hoosiers beer from Firestone-Walker, 21st Admendment, Rubicon. Lost Coast may return in January. All just a rumor. Indiana Events Mad Anthony's Oktobeerfest was, as usual, a well attended bash and a good time. Pouring were MA, Broad Ripple, both Indy Rock Bottoms, x, Upland, Alcatraz, Lafayette, Barley Island, Warbird, and MASH - Mad Anthony's Serious Homebrewers. There were also taps from Brugge and McGuire's in Pensacola FL. The MASHers served at least 13 of their beers and usually had the longest lines. Brian Spaulding, Kyle Alberda, Mike Heckman, Jim Thompson, Bob Gilmore, and Ben Fogt contributed beers ranging from a Moro Orange Wheat, through a Rye IPA, and an Old Ale to Burning Goat Scrotum based on Papzian's Goat Scrotum supplementing the juniper berries and licorice root with some smoked jalapenos and 1/4 of a habanero - an instant sell-out.
Shoreline's Fall Festival is limited by the space on the brewery's lawn and just about every inch was taken by about 300 people, beer stands from Back Road, Mishawaka, Shoreline, and Three Floyds, and a 34-piece German band complete with 6 alpenhorns. Wow, that's a band. Chicken dances, Polkas, and and amazing Amazing Grace. The Ein Prosit band is based in Kalamazoo with members from all around the Great Lakes. The opened the recent Oktoberfest at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and will play the Michigan City Oktoberfest, Oct 12th. Chuck also took this opportunity to unveil his Autumn Ale (see tastes below).
Down the road from Back Road, Crown Brewing's Oktoberfest went on from noon to midnight. At least 500 people any the peak evening time and probably 1000 during the day. Excellent. A talented band brave enough to spotlight Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd without the backing vocals. Beer served was Crown's Ambler British Mild, Oktoberfest, 3Floyds Gumballhead, and the most expensive glass of Shock Top in the known universe ($5).
Beer Reviews
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) The largest-selling brand of beer worldwide in 2008 may be Snow. Two reasons - it is advertised to 1.4 billion people and it costs about 30 cents a pint. article Forbes looks at America's Best Beer Festivals. When someone delivers 12 kegs of lager to Windsor Castle instead of the Windsor Castle Pub the Sun is there. Guy in Boulder, CO, buys a gold mine and finds the best use is to store beer. article with bonus picture. Bud American Ale went on sale during September. $1.50/6 higher than Bud. article Meanwhile, Bud Light Lime as sold more than 1m bbl already this year. And Miller's Leinie-like "collection" is on hold - to rework Miller Lite marketing instead. Hero: MillerCoors is giving a $100,000 brewery to U of Wisc, Madison. article The Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe filmed an episode in September at HopUnion in Yakima, WA, that will show the dirty side of the hop harvest. Air time not yet determined. article
It's that time of year again. Voting for 2009's St. Pauli Girl. 4 blonde twins evidently in the running. voting goodness Bavaria's premier is in trouble for saying it's OK to drive after drinking two beers. Of course they are Maßes. And novice drivers should "abstain from alcohol". article with bonus URL feature. Plus a guide to Oktoberfest. article with bonus intro picture of, er, well, you'll get the idea New Belgium's Fat Tire is now available in cans in Oregon and Washington. Today's Jurassic Park moment: A Cal Poly guy found yeast in a Burmese weevil trapped way back when in amber. Of course he brewed beer with it. "a weird spiciness at the finish". article Generk's Tap gives Bud American Ale a taste at the Fireside Brewhouse in Greenwood. blog Miller Lite gets aluminum 16oz bottles in a 9-pack in convenience stores. Indiana will be a test market. Bottles made by Ball in Monticello. press release The top 20 beer drinking countries according to CNBC: Portugal, Canada, Poland, Hungary, New Zealand, Netherlands, Croatia, USA (gotta love the picture), Spain, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Finland (what? at those prices?), Denmark, Belgium, UK, Austria, Australia, Germany, Ireland, and in #1 spot with 157 liters per person per year, Czech Republic. Plus bonus facts like "In 1954 Bob Hawke made it into the Guinness Record Book for sculling 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds. He then went on to become the Prime Minister of Australia." Today's guy stealing a beer truck is brought to you by Fargo, ND. Your William H. Macy moment comes when he realized the truck was empty. Embarrassing. article Pictures from Oktoberfest. Bonus: the first two pictures are actually about beer. Or Oktoberfest. Or anything else besides girls in dirndls. Hot girls in dirndls. Yummm, dirndls. We refuse to even mention Kid Rock Beer even though they seem serious. article Michael Jackson's last book has finally hit the US market. Great Beers of Belgium 6th edition is 500 pages at $37. details Beer On A Stick is not the most brilliant idea we've seen. But Jurassic yeast seems to work. article Yep, yeast from a 45m yo amberized weevil. Now Fossil Fuels Brewing Co's yeast is fueling taps at two brewpubs in north CA and they may make the yeast available to more craft brewers. "The difference is drinkability." Is that the new motto of Thomas Harvey's Ale, Stone Brewing Co., or Bud Light? article From the BA magazine and elsewhere come some of the worlds best inventions?
Get your Bud USB drive here. Minimum 250 pieces. Real beer inside.
Utah has banned malternatives (Zima, Smirnoff Ice, etc.) from grocery stores and gas stations. article
New pub game. The World Black Pudding Throwing Championship. By the way, rusk is like zwieback toast. Evidently it goes well with pig blood and fat. Irish pub fined €2500 for watered down vodka. Now that's a nanny state we can live with. article Hot and cold running wine in Marino, Italy during Grape Festival. Not at the festival. In neighboring houses. article The Tabasco Spicy Tequila you'll be seeing on the shelves is part of a test by Heaven Hill of, well, a tequila with Tabasco. Indiana and North Carolina have been chosen as representative states of tequila drinkers. Best obituary ever.
Headline: Eleven charged in Estonia for vodka smuggling via pipeline. Twist: This is the second time. article Miller Sparks Red is set to release on Oct 1. It is a caffeinated energy-like alcoholic drink that they have already been sued over. The Center for Science in the Public Interest cites the "juvenile web site" as part of the evidence they are targeting young people with this 8%er.
It's not suggested that you try a cocktail of Baileys, chilli, tequila, absinthe, ouzo, vodka, cider, and gin. "Doctors in Greece said the swelling was caused by a chemical reaction and they had seen a similar incident within the past couple of weeks." article - bonus: swelling is to a 19-year old face. Like your drinks on the rocks but don't
like a watered-down drink? Try
Nordic Rocks. Some Southern Michigan Brewpubs Dark Horse is funding their trip to the GABF by selling sponsorships. For $150 you help them with expenses and if they win a Gold all your beers for a year are 50¢ each. Silver, $1.00. Bronze, $1.50. Last year they won a Bronze for Three Guy Off The Scale Barley Wine and a Silver for Scotty Karate. That could be $150 well invested (thought you might not hear "well invested" for a while, huh?) The Livery in Benton Harbor has in the last three years to become very well respected locally for the atmosphere and the bands. They've also grown to be widely respected for their beer. There are three areas, a downstairs bar and food area, an upstairs music stage with floor and balcony seating, and an outdoor patio. It's wildly crowded on band nights but the real reason to come is for the beer. 6 or more taps plus 2 handpulls, their own wine and barrel-aged cider. Afternoons are still busy with a few locals and even more first-timers who get a good, knowledgeable, intro to the beer menu and can get a "your choice" sampler. (pictures below)
Just south of St. Joe, MI, the Round Barn Winery has branched out this year to make some distilled spirits plus 3 year-round beers augmented by a summer and a winter Wheat. The tasting room is, of course, mostly wine but small beer tastes are available also - they charge $5 for the complete tasting program which includes a nosing glass. I think this $5 was waived when I bought a $15 growler. They also have the range in corked-and-capped 25oz big-punt bottles (overkill for an American Amber, Cocoa Stout, or Kölsch). All in all, an interesting stop but not a must-see unless you need RB/BA rating points.
News compiled by Bob Ostrander, Webmaster. It's probably fairly accurate but then Bob has been known to have a drink or two while hacking this stuff out. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Brewers of Indiana Guild, in which case Bob will lose his job. Lather, rinse, repeat. Prices slightly higher west of the Mississippi. Processed in a plant that also processes nuts. |
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For those of you who
want to know what's on tap at 
"Selection has been my hallmark. While I will carry the basics
that any liquor store will need, my niche has always been those products
that you will not find in most other retailers.
Gaaah. We think US
label approvals are nuts. Orkney's Skull Splitter "could be withdrawn from
sale following claims its Viking-branded bottles have too aggressive a
theme." UK label at right. 
"Finally! Yes, it's the
life-changing, prayer-answering, best-idea-anyone's-ever-had invention of
the century! Cause seriously, holding a beer is exhausting! And don't even
get us started on holding 6 beers. Whew! But thankfully, the long dark days
of arm-breaking party beer-holding are over. Say "hello" to your new best
friend, the Beer Belt! This sturdy nylon belt feature 6 plastic cup holders,
sized to fit cans or bottles. Fully adjustable, with a plastic buckle.
Imported." We don't see a built-in church key though. $18.
"The next must-have
computer accessory is here. With the USB Mini Fridge at your side, you can
keep your beverage chilled and stay at your computer longer. Just seconds
after plugging the USB Mini Fridge into your computer's USB port (no
additional power needed), the cold plate chills to 45 degrees Fahrenheit,
the perfect temperature for keeping your beverage chilled. Our USB Mini
Fridge works on any device with a USB port (PC, MAC, Xbox 360, Play Station,
and even cable boxes!) Keep your soda cool at work, and your beer cold at
home!" Holds one 12oz can. #32.99
The A
A
neutron walks into a bar; he asks the bartender, 'How much for a beer?' The
bartender looks at him, and says 'For you, no charge.' and other
Coffin-shaped bar in Truskavetz, Ukraine. Named
"The Eternity". 
