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Brewers of Indiana Guild Newsletter - November, 2008

Upcoming Events

Lots more events including liquor store free tastings can be found at http://www.brewersofindianaguild.com/events.shtml.

B.I.G. News

The Guild has solidified the date for the Winterfest. January 24th. At the State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. More details later.

Indiana Brewery News

It's time to start thinking about renewing your Mug Club memberships. Just a reminder.

We swept a category at the GABF! "Wood- and Barrel-aged beer" is owned by Indiana. Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer Gold: Old Jack, Ram, Indianapolis Silver: Buffalo Bock, Ram, Indianapolis      (Also won a Bronze last year) Bronze: Beastie Barrel Stout, Barley Island, Fishers      (Also won a Silver in 2006) German-Style Märzen Bronze: Munsterfest, Three Floyds, Munster American Style Amber Lager Gold: BJ's Oktoberfest, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Indianapolis Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year Rock Bottom Brewing and the Rock Bottom Brewing Team

Upland's Schwarz and Cody the cougar get ink in the Indiana Daily Student "After the cougar’s departure, local bands started playing and continued late into the night as Upland had its most successful day ever."

Mad Anthony may get a beer garden. article

Great Crescent Brewery in Aurora will open it's doors to the public on November 15th. the first offerings from Dan Valas's 3bbl system will be a Blonde Ale, an English Mild, and a Stout. He will quickly add a Witbier and a Cherry Ale to the lineup. Packaging will be in mini-kegs, growlers, and 5-gallon kegs. A few limited releases, such as the Cherry Ale, will be distributed in 750ml bottles. The Aurora brewery doesn't have a proper tasting room yet but they will offer samples and sell beer on-site to the public. They will also self-distribution to southeast Indiana stores and pubs.

This year's Oaken Barrel Epiphany Christmas Tripel will soon be in stores in bottles and will appear in the World Class Winter 12-pack Sampler.

Brugge Brasserie's second floor is now waiting on a board of health inspection and is expected to open by December.

Indiana Retailers News

Marv McKay has moved on from Vine and Table, Carmel. His new home is the Crown Liquors at 116th and Brooks School Rd. in Fishers.

In October, Mike Sprinkle invited the RateBeerian and Beer Advocates to stop by the new-this-year Carmel Crown Liquors for a tasting of Upland's Lambics. About a dozen people came from as far away as Ohio.

Mike has enlarged the beer selection even more - another 20-something feet. We'd venture Crown Carmel and the Parti Pak are about tied in number of titles on the shelves. That's all good stuff in the picture below.

Indiana Pub News

As we found out earlier the Old Town Ale House in Fishers has the best pint price in town on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Right now that includes Brugge Tripel de Ripple, Stone Ruination, Goose Island Matilda, and BBC Jefferson Reserve among a dozen others. Get in on the goodies before Matt comes to his senses.

Also in Fishers, Hot Shotz has just reopened.

Beer to be found in Indiana

GABF Gold medal winners that should be found in Indiana: Lone Star, Pyramid Crystal Wheat, Pyramid Apricot Ale, Dogfish Head Red & White, Mad River Steelhead Extra Pale, Redbridge, Coors Light, Flying Dog Dogtoberfest, Leininkugel Creamy Dark, Full Sail Pale Ale, Rogue Dry Hopped Red, Widmer Drop Top, Hoppin' Frog BORIS The Crusher.

Look for Clipper City Winter Storm Category 5 Ale, Pinkus Jubilate, Left Hand Twin Sisters Double IPA, and Sam Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner. Rogue Double Dead Guy and Yellow Snow IPA will also be back this winter.

We'll be seeing plenty of Founders this winter. Breakfast Stout, Dirty Bastard, Double Bastard, Fresh Hop, Backwoods Stout, and even a return of Curmudgen.

The friendly feelings between St. Louis brewers Schlafly and Indiana's Monarch Beverages are paying off with Indiana getting 3 of the 5 kegs of Hop Harvest that left the brewery tap. One each has gone to Rich O's, J. Gumbo's and Pikk's Tavern. It's a 6% American Pale Ale dry-hopped on fresh-picked-and-airlifted Simcoe hops.

Indiana Beer Reviews

• Broad Ripple Brewpub Brown - In honor of Brugge's second floor opening, Kevin Matalucci has brewed the latest batch of his Southern Brown with a Belgian yeast and it is magnificent. Malty dark and tart rather than bitter. A++
• Brugge Brasserie Belgian Dark Strong - Belgian? Check. Dark? Double Check. Strong? Checkmate. Bold malt and lots of ABVs, probably 11. Made with homebrewer Paul Edwards.
• Brugge Pivo Defendu Belgian Strong Pale Ale - "Forbidden fruit". Dark brown with a mustache-hugging stoutish ivory head giving a stark contrast to the liquid. Lots of Belgian brownness with a touch of fresh hay. BTW, the second floor is now waiting on a board of health inspection and is expected to open by December.
• The first 15bbl batch of Oaken Barrel's Apple Buzz disappeared in 4 days (including 334 growlers - almost 20%). The second batch is on but might not last through the weekend. Extremely cloudy with dying white head. Sweeter apples this year give the ciderness reign over the honey and malt. A longer fermentation keeps the dryness but makes this years batch a beast at 8.5% ABV.
• This year's Oaken Barrel Epiphany Christmas Tripel will soon be in stores in bottles and will appear in the World Class Winter 12-pack Sampler.
   
• The Rock Bottom seasonal this month is Harvest Ale which is supposed to be  pumpkin ale. Both of the Indianapolis RB brewers have decided not to punish us the chunks.
  • Rock Bottom, 86th St, Indy Harvest Pumpkin Ale - Color very close to a pumpkin. Very subtle with no actual pumpkin and only 5oz of spices in the 8bbl batch. The allspice alludes to the pumpkin.
  • Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy Harvest Pumpkin Ale - Hazy deep copper. Bright white lacey head. The nose gives a touch of cinnamon and allspice just as the liquid hits your lips. 12 oz of Pumpkin pie spice in a 9bbl batch.
• RB86th Johnny Mac's IPA - Golden copper. Nicely bittered ESB.
• RB86th Cask Conditioned Pale Ale - Dry-hopping with Amarillo gives a bright fresh non-floral presence to the Double Barrel Pale Ale. Stronger than a British Golden Ale, it's almost a new breed of ESB. A+
• RBDowntown Cask Conditioned Strawberry Hefeweizen - A thick hefe with a beery nose through the dense head. Unsweet strawberry tang thoughout. Hey, this works.

Ram 's Mug Club Tapping in October was special. Two new beers (Harvest Ale and this year's Old Jack's Blizzard). Plus the Good Beer Show did a podcast with Dave Colt and Jon Lang - together the owners, owners I say, of the Barrel Aged Beer category. (Podcast, as usual, nsfw)

• Ram Alt (Fishers) - Dark copper with rocky white superhead. Very drinkable but likely gone by now.
• Ram Harvest Ale - Dark ESB with balanced maltiness. Well carbonated. Bold. 6.9%. Will be barrel-aged for next year.
• Ram Kolsch (Fishers) - Still bright and brilliant. Excellent floral balance. A+
• Ram Old Jack's Blizzard - Dark, dark copper. Strong Ale/Old Ale with big malt. Always a rip-roarer. 7.5%
  
  Dave and John brought out tastes of the GABF winners at for the Mug Clubbers and even pub 5 gallons of Buffalo Bock on tap by the pint. THANKS.
• Ram Gold medal winning Old Jack Stout - Strong coffee, sweet and alcoholic vanilla. Soft with an agreeable warmth. A++
• Ram Silver medal winning Buffalo Bock - Maibock aged in Buffalo Trace barrels. Pilsner and Munich malts. Sweet oak gives lots of character. Ultimately drinkable. Deserving.

IndianaBeer's Cindy Modesitt reported on some Indiana Beers.

Stopped in at Shoreline Brewery & Restaurant (Michigan City) and sampled:

• Ly-Co-Ki-We-Kolsch which was crisp, refreshing, malty, hoppy, Sesh Wheat Ale an American style wheat ale which had Amarillo hops for a refreshing citrus flavor and a nice session beer, Seven Red which is a rye ale using seven (7) different malts and four (4) different types of rye. Lots of Centennial hops which blended very well with the maltiness of this beer
• Beltaine Scottish Ale which won Silver Medals in the 2006 and 2008 World Beer Cup competition and is also the #1 selling beer at Shoreline according to the beer sheet that Nikki, the server, provided to me. A very easy drinking beer with a nice malt and caramel aroma and flavor
• Big Bella Heavy Scotch Ale, was told the ABV was 10.5%, very sweet tasting with flavors of molasses, berries and caramel
• Singing Sands Oatmeal Stout with flavors of coffee, chocolate and some oatmeal to round out this beer. Shoreline is definitely worthy of a stop as they brew some very tasty beers.

Also visited Crown Brewing (Crown Point, IN) for the first time. This is a small facility with an adjoining pizza parlor and the bar area consists of seven (7) tables and five (5) seats at the bar. Met Jim Cibak, Brewmaster, and he had two (2) beers on tap

• Sara Blonde Ale which was malty, citrus hops, sweet and fruity aroma with a hint of caramel and a citrus hops, hint of pine, sweet, fruity, crisp and refreshing flavor. Flavors seemed to mimick an American Pale Ale rather than a Blonde Ale; however, very tasty indeed.
• Kilmister Stout that has a roasty brown malt, coffee, and chocolate aroma and flavor. Nice balance and also very tasty. According to Jim an IPA is the next style coming up.

Granite City Food & Brewery (Fort Wayne) Oktoberfest – Tap, reddish orange, aroma was caramel, sweet, and a lot of Munich, Vienna and Crystal malts were used. Flavor mimicked the aroma with a mild hoppy touch. Smooth and clean with an ABV of 6.1%. A good Oktoberfest that is worth trying. More please!

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)

Get your Bud USB drive here. Minimum 250 pieces.

Or a much more usable KEGlove. Sizes for growlers, 5L minis, 3 & 5gal corneys, and 15gal kegs. With optional ice blankets for messless picnics.

Hot and cold running wine in Marino, Italy during Grape Festival. Not at the festival. In neighboring houses. article

What could be more mouth watering than two beer trucks colliding? Two Lays trucks of course. article

What could be better than a peeled-open Lays truck? Why Doritos on the beach from a lost container. article and picture

This year's Oktoberfest, the DOW of beer festivals, showed 6.6 million litres of beer (along with 104 oxen). Sadly, this was down 5% from last year due to hot and rainy weather. But condom sales were up. article with bonus gratuitous cleavage

Oskar Blues and Dave Chichura make a video showing off the new brewhouse. YouTube video

Palm/Rodenbach has a new importer for the US and supplies are promised to come back of Grand Cru and this winter we should see their very strange 10% Vin de Cereale.

Wynkoop's 13th annual Beerdrinker of the Year competion is on. Send your self-nomination - info here.

You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. Palestine at least has a beer. article

The World of Beer in St. Petersburg (FL, not Russia) has 500 beers. "there has been a 100 percent increase in my quality of life". My hero. article

Headline: "PBR For Sale?" The IRS says the owners of the Pabst empire must sell by 2010. article

CAMRA (UK) has an £5 add-on for GPS units that adds all 4500 Good Beer Guide pubs. Victorians are not amused. article

Sam Adams Long Shot Homebrew contest this year was won by two guys in California with a Bock and a Double IPA. The bottles will be out in Feb, 2009.

Another reason to love beer. "Drinking coffee can have a major effect on breast size," article Oops, smaller. But only half of the population has that gene.

Goodbye Zima. If you've never tried this intoxicating mix of alcohol and flavorings get some soon because they're stopping production. Mike over at Hoosier Beer Geek suggests cellaring the Pineapple Citrus style.

"Does a real 16-ounce beer exist in Portland, Ore.?" NPR reports.

Duvel is available on tap. In the UK. It's doesn't have a secondary fermentation and is only 6.8% instead of 8.5%.

When in Khun Han, do as the Khun Hanians do, make your Buddhist temple from 1 million recycled beer bottles. pictures

Looking for a mild? Looking for a beer you can drink twice as much of? Try Miller Genuine Draft 64. The 64 is for calories. Which makes the ABV 3.0%.

BAs and RBs are wimps. These 4 guys "got bored with their local" and have been to 14,000 pubs and have had 84,000 pints. Since 1984. article with bonus bar-towel vest picture

The Nose is insured for £1.5M. Richard Paterson, master blender for Whyte & Mackay also has a new autobiography, Goodness Nose.

Top 10 beers worldwide (by volume): Bud Light, Snow, Budweiser, Skol, Corona, Heineken, Brahma, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Tsingtao. Snow is Chinese brewed in partnership with Miller. Skol and Brahma are Brazilian. article

We get press releases: "This year’s Stella Artois World Draught Master title has been awarded to Tommy Goukens – Belgium (1st place winner), Claire Dong – China (1st runner-up) and Volodymyr Vavryk - Ukraine (2nd runner-up).

First held in 1997, the Stella Artois World Draught Master Competition assembles the best bartenders from around the world to rate their tapping skills, bottle-pouring finesse and table-serving protocol when it comes to serving Belgian beers. Every step of a competitor’s attempt to perform the perfect pour is carefully scrutinized by a panel of expert judges.

The competition heralds the importance of the Stella Artois 9-step pouring ritual. To ensure that the chalice glass is completely pristine, the ritual begins with a cleaning process known as ‘The Purification’. ‘The Sacrifice’ of the first drops of beer from the tap is then carried out to start the ‘Liquid Alchemy’ as the chalice is held at a 45 degree angle without touching the tap. The chalice glass is then lowered to allow the natural formation of ‘The Head’ followed by ‘The Removal’ of the chalice from under the tap. As the head foams up and overflows the side of the glass, a head-cutter is used for gently ‘Beheading’ the excess foam preparing it for ‘The Judgment’. A careful re-dipping or ‘Cleansing’ of the chalice to restore its proper drinking temperature is done before ‘The Bestowal’ of the perfectly poured Stella Artois. It is presented on a clean coaster with the logo facing the consumer. Even the shape of the brand’s signature chalice glass is chosen to release all of the beer’s multi-textured aromas."

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.