January 7 During January growlers are half price at the Ram. Most fills are $4 (the growler itself is still $3). No, you can't drink them at the bar. Ram will also make appetizer trays for your playoff party.

Power House / Columbus Bar is staying at the forefront with 2 beers on tap at once (a first for this 20-gallon brewery) and a bonus:

• Black Hole Porter  - "A beer so dark it collapsed in on itself". Little aroma, perfect temperature. Strong black taste with big balanced black aftertaste. Served on nitro.
• Scotch Ale - Some peat smoke. Perfect for a wet winter afternoon. Sweet touch but well under control. We stopped back later for more.
• Nana's latest hop ice cream has Columbus, Centennial, Chinook, Simcoe, and Warrior hops. 1/4 oz of each. In 1/2 gallon of ice cream. It has an excellent home-made texture. The first couple of bites give a hop-head's bitter finish. Subsequently the bitterness adds as if you're palette is a battery being charged up.
  
  They've also added Wi-Fi and a free browser terminal on the bar.

Coming to Indiana soon: Allagash Black. Torrified wheat, oats, roasted malt, candi sugar, Belgian yeast. Methode champenoise. 7.5%. Want to watch them make some lambic? YouTube

Also coming up: Left Hand Widdershins Barleywine. 9.1%. 70 IBU. And a very interesting press release.

Fred Scott tells ust to check out the Cantillion Grand Cru on tap at Hot Shotz in Carmel. "They bought it from Chalkies. Pretty old in a good way. They bought several cask/firkins and this was the only beer that was drinkable."

You gotta be kidding. Budweiser + Clamato + can = Chelada. This stiff might make Miller Chill look good by comparison.

Futurama fan makes Bender with a brewery inside. Complete with plans, pictures. No plans for R2D2 model.

The Many Myths of Jack Daniel

Ya gotta hate it when this happens.
Especially embarassing in Munich's Hofbrauhaus. Flickr original

January 3 Random tastings:

• Upland Pilsner - Medium bitterness. Good body. Worthy. Rumor has it this may find a place in the regular lineup.
• Brugge Sint Sylvester Vooranvand - A keg of this new beer was tapped at midnight 1/1 at Deano's Vinos and was floated well before 1am. Ted will probably correct me but it acts like an unfiltered Grand Cru Wit. Fuggles hops? Translucent dirty orange color. Alcohol is not doubt high but is only noticeable later. (December 31 is Sint Sylvester's Eve in Belgium)

Heroes at Deano's new beers eve party: Bob & Lisa Mack who went back to the World Class Warehouse at 11pm to get second kegs of Two-Hearted and Delirium Tremens.

Hoosier Beer Geek's review. Better pictures here.

Ratebeer's reader favorites by brewery:

Alcatraz Penitentiary Porter - 3.44
Back Road Christmas Ale 2005 - 3.88
Barley Island Black Majic Java Stout - 3.48
Bloomington Strong Ale - 3.35
Broad Ripple ESB - 3.46
Brugge Brasserie Diamond Kings of Heaven & Quadripple (tie) - 3.72
Half Moon Brewery Elwood’s IPA - 2.95
Lafayette Big Boris Barleywine - 3.58
Mad Anthony Bourbon Barrel Aged Porter - 3.86
Main Street/Turonis Blue Eyed Moose - 3.30
Mishawaka Loopy Lupilin - 3.49
New Albanian Solidarity Baltic Porter - 3.76
Oaken Barrel Superfly I.P.A. - 3.49
Power House Black Hole Porter - 3.11
Ram Big Daddys Bourbon Brown Ale - 3.50
Rock Bottom College Park Weizenbock - 3.11
Rock Bottom Indianapolis Chai Porter - 3.27
Shoreline Lost Sailor Imperial Stout - 3.81
Three Floyds Oak Aged Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout - 4.48
Upland Raspberry Lambic - 3.94
Warbird Thunderbolt Wheat  - 3.32

If you were walking along the Scottish coast at Stinky Bay and found this 90ft long tank would you think it was a) a fuel tank for a rocket, b) an oil filter for a Hummer, c) a beer fermentation tank. Congratulations, your beer-addled brain got this one right. article

In the "huh?" department. Is a Bock an Ale? Did we sleep through a double leap year? Or was that just a Gambrinus Society Christmas party?

$3000 worth of Australian wine smashed at airport security. And that's just 2 bottles. article

We're told Jim Koch may be in Indy sometime in January. We'll keep our ears open.

Payless Liquors has purchased the Castleton Wine & Spirits and the two Fishers Liquors. Cavalier Distributing reports shipments to these three stores have gone up in volume and quality.

December 25 New Years Eve in Indy gives beery choices, one beerier than the other:

• Hoosier Beer Geeks NBE party at Deanos Vino. Three Floyds Alpha Klaus, Bells Two Hearted, and Delirium Tremens on tap. No cover
• Budweiser Select Masquerade Ball - Union Station, Indy. Silent Auction. For Children's Organ Transplant Association. $50. 8pm++

On the heels of the Sam Adams glass, comes the JW Lees Grip Glass.

You've heard of the Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe including "There is no medical evidence to suggest that you need that much water." Turns out the British Guidelines on Safe Alcohol Consumption also isn't based on science. The 21 units for men and 14 for women was "plucked out of the air" by someone on a committee in 1987. (A unit is 1/2 pint of 3.5% beer). article Kicker: "One found that men drinking between 21 and 30 units of alcohol a week had the lowest mortality rate in Britain. Another concluded that a man would have to drink 63 units a week, or a bottle of wine a day, to face the same risk of death as a teetotaler."

Check out Deschutes' portable pub. Perfect for dispensing at Oktoberfests and Soapbox Derbies throughout Oregon.
 

Pennsylvania's Straub Brewery is hit by hop price but will soldier on as a 135-year old family brewery. article Thanks Neal

December 20 Rock Bottom's Old Curmudgeon is on tap at both locations. On Washington St, Jerry's is a young Old Ale/Barleywine and wins the ABV contest at 8.2%. Up on 86th St, Liz has a Double IPA with Simcoe, Amarillo, and Nugget hops that came in at 7.8%. Sounds like some people will be doing a 2-pub pub crawl to try both.

Downtown, the Miracle on Washington St. will culminate on the 25th when about 500 people will be treated to dinner and a Christmas day by the Rock Bottom Foundation and $1 from each Miracle Ale sold.

FYI, here's the tentative Rock Bottom schedule of tappings for 2008:

Jan 9 – Belgian Tripel
Feb 6 – Sub Zero
Mar 6 – Fire Chief Ale American red
April 16 – Cezanne Saison
May 7 – Vienna Lager
Jun 6 – American Dream IPA
Jul 11 – Kölsch
Aug 6 – Happy Pils
Sep 18 – Rocktoberfest
Oct 8 – Harvest Ale
Nov 21 – Blitzen Ale
Dec 11 – Old Curmudgeon

The Potable Curmudgeon has the current Saturnalia tap list at Rich O's. It ranges from Naughty Claus to N'Ice Chouffe. Coming up: Alpha Klaus to De Glazen Toren Canaster Winter Scotch and beyond

The Brewers Guild is hoping to have these signs on Indiana highways.

New and returning beers from World Class's January sheet: Abita Bock, GOlden, Harvest Strawberry, Jackamo IPA; Anchor Bock; Avery Mephistopheles Stout; Bells Hopslam; Dark Horse One Oatmeal Stout, Tres Blueberry Stout, Scotty Karate; Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine, Pangea, World Wide Stout; Hopin' Frog Hefeweizen; New Holland Pilgrim's Dole; North Coast Le Merle Saison; Rogue Juniper Pale; Three Floyds Brian Boru; Samichlaus Helles; Kastel Rouge, Du Cha Brown Donker; Elwood Flag Porter; Paulaner Wiezen; Alba Ebulum, Grozet; Belhaven Twisted Thistle.

Some beers we've tried recently:

• Pyramid Amber Weizen - Cloudy amber, no surprise there. An American yeast base with extra malt. Good quaffing brew but doesn't fit in a top-10 list.
• O'Fallon 5 Day IPA - Amber/copper color. Malt and hops in balance and in good quantity. 6% ABV. Grade A stuff.
• Kingfisher Light Lager - Indian beer brewed in New York. Pour one and drain it - down a real drain.
• Full Sail Wassail - Nice 7% easy-drinking winter beer - and that's tough to do. Deep brown. Herbs and spices abounding.  Beer Advocate reviews list spruce, rose petals, orange, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, chocolate, resin, roasted malt, toasty, cherry, raisin, mineral, leaf mold, mint, bing cherries. Evidently something for everyone.
• Bell's Sparkling Ale - An American Tripel, they claim. Upon pouring, an intense champagne-style bubbly uprising causes you to pause and stare for 60 seconds. Big candi-sugar, fruit, sour, with a decent bitter ending. Alcohol is noticeable. Antithesis of a girlie beer. A+
• Moorhouse Black Cat - With a new and less prominent label. A 3.4% Cark Mild. Plenty of Black Patent. Actually a showcase for the strong (taste) end of the style. Hints of chocolate, licorice, and wood.
• Moorhouse Pendle Witches Brew - Maris Otter and Fuggles hops - the best combination for a English Ordinary Bitter. Quite good but maybe a little sweet.

South African bar built inside a Baobab tree. article

Wall Street Journal discovers rich landowners get most of the farm subsidies and both the Republicans and Democrats want to increase it for "votes". Without mentioning PAC contributions bribes. bleak article

Flying Dog Brewery is moving its brewing operation out of Colorado and into the former Wild Goose Brewery facility in Frederick, MD. Presently, about 70 % of Flying Dog’s production already takes place in Frederick. Colorado will retain its accounting, marketing and sales staff.

December 16 The Oaken Barrel Holiday 8-Pack has 2 each of Indiana Amber, Gnaw Bone Pale Ale, Razz Wheat, and Apple Buzz. Mark is making a small batch of Alt and plans to have 3 Oatmeal Stouts in January (plain, vanilla, and coffee). Also Snake Venom which is oak-aged Snake Pit Porter.

Michael Van Meter (below) is a temporary Assistant Brewer at Oaken Barrel. After homebrewing for a couple of years, he's getting some professional experience and then plans to take the Siebel World Brewing Academy course with class time in Chicago and Munich. Then he will decide whether to go into full-time brewing or continue homebrewing. That's commitment.

Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy had Jerry's Pale Ale on the handpull, dry-hopped with Fuggles. Dark, unfiltered orange color. Beautiful foamy cask-conditioned head that lasts much longer than the normal. Full earthy Fuggles bitterness. A+

You'll have trouble finding Kasteel Rouge but kegs are at  anywhere else except BadaBoomz - unless you wait for it to come on tap at Rich O's (as part of Saturnalia) or at the Three Floyds tap house.

A bit of Bells is back in Chicago. A new brand, Kalamazoo will hopefully get them in (lawsuit to come). Royal Amber Ale is the first. Among the others in planning are an unfiltered wheat and a Chicago-only double IPA. article/interview

Here's how to brew beer in a pumpkin. "Hoppy with an interesting raw squash flavor". article

There's a third Hofbrauhaus planned in the U.S. This one in Pittsburgh and due to open in 2009. article Thanks Neal

Newsweek tells us "What really happens to your body when you drink too much--and why most hangover remedies won't work". article Bonus quotes by Dr. Robert Brewer and references to prickly pear.

Frozen Falcon beer ad. video

Grolsch Christmas tree. picture

December 10 Ale Street News now has an Indiana report. Yrs Truly, BobO is the writer. Pick up your Dec/Jan copy at the usual places. Right next to the Great Lakes Brewing News.

In Indianapolis, the institution that was once Chalkies has bit the dust. After Marvin McKay was forced out it went downhill but 2 years later it's an empty building.

Lafayette Brewing and Great Fermentations get ink in the Lafayette Journal & Courier for, wait for it, news of high hop prices. article

We've been remiss in not reporting the Alpha King Challenge. It's for 60+IBU beers and sponsored by Three Floyds, Hopunion, White Labs, and Brewing News. 2007 winner: Russian River Pliney the Elder. 2nd: Bell's Two Hearted. 3rd: Pizza Port El Camino IPA.

It's Winter beer time. World Class has a winter 12-pack. One each of Abita Christmas, Anchor Christmas, Avery Old Jubilation, Barley Island Java Stout, Bells Double Cream Stout, Bells Winter White, Brooklyn Black Chocolate, Brooklyn Winter Ale, Flying Dog K-9 Cruiser, Harpoon Winter Warmer, Oaken Barrel Epiphany, and Pyramid Snowcap. $17 at the The Hop Shop in Carmel, for instance. Or maybe a Bell's Two Hearted 5 liter mini-keg. $20.

Left Hand has released Smoked Goosinator Doppelbock.

That bottle of 1926 Macallan? Estimated to sell for $20,000+. Christies sold it for $54,000. Just think how much it would have cost if it had hops.

It's not beer, just a slow news day. Tortoise escapes through open gate. article

Thornton Melon: "Bring us a pitcher of beer every seven minutes until somebody passes out. And then bring one every ten minutes."

December 7 Newly on tap at BadaBoomz downtown Indy: Kasteel Rouge (Kriek), Bell's Double Cream, Gouden Carolus Noel, NABC Hoptimus, and this year's Double Bastard.

We're not sure Roger wants you to read "Baylor Planning Brewery For Downtown New Albany" in the New&Tribune

Indiana has one (legal) distillery. Here's a list of the 10 in Michigan.

If you're looking for a New Year's Eve beer night in downtown Indy, the Hoosier Beer Geeks will, of course, be hanging at Deanos Vino. Three Floyds Alpha Klaus, Bells Two Hearted, and Delirium Tremens will be on tap. No cover.

Lewisville TX has a new Killian Middle School. Named after a teetotaler. Neat mascot. article

It was Lagavulin, now hops. The future rare liquor is Cognac. article

10 Unexpected Uses for Beer. #10: Drink it. Bonus slug reference article

There's lots of "How to Build a Kegerator" plans on the internet. Here's another one.

Christies to auction a 1926 Macallan. Should bring $20,000+. An 1811 Cognac just $4000. Scotland 1, France 0. article

December 3 Nope, you're not still asleep from Thanksgiving dinner. IndianaBeer hasn't updated the news for a week. Slow season. Winter weather blues. Heroes and Dirty Jobs marathons. Well no more excuses, here's a week's news, slim as it is.

The Ram gets ink from Rita Kohn in Nuvo.

Vigo gets more in in the TribStar. With bonus Wabash Valley coverage.

New to Indiana: Shmaltz Jewbelation 11 - just in time for Hanukkah (11 malts, 11 hops, 11%). Weihenstephaner Vitus Weizenbock (7.7%). Allagash Odyssey. Avery Samaels Oak Aged Ale (think Duvel with massive marshmallow addition). Founders Backwoods Bastard.

Coming in a month: Wabash Valley Beers. The initial four below. More explanation at the TribStar.

Hi guys,
MacNiven's (Downtown Indy) is making changes. They have just put out this week their new beer list, with 30 new beers on it. There are also new descriptions, and well as abv, ibu, size, etc. It is well organized and built like a beer list should be. I want to tell you more, but I feel like I'd be spoiling the surprise for everyone. - Matt Clapesattle

Roger Baylor is planning a Pacific Northwest Brew Tour, May 6-14. Portland, Widmer, McMenamins, Walking Man, Full Sail, Seattle, Hale's Ales, Pike Pub, Pyramid, Astoria, Fort George, Newport, Rogue, Brewer's on the Bay, museums, a Mariner's game, etc. Check his itinerary. Sounds busy, fun.

Roger's trip not enough for you? Here's a 60-pub 27-day round-the-world crawl in March. From under $10,000. London, Düsseldorf, Prague, Munich, Reykjavik, Phuket, Australia, Honolulu, Cancun.

Wish list for the Brewers Guild in 2008: Microbrewery signs on the highway (like golf courses and wineries). Sunday sales of growlers.

Hoosier Ag Today says "New Group To Tell Truth About Ethanol". According to that "new group" it takes 1,500 gallons of water to "process" a barrel of beer. Huh? It's really more like 120 gallons and 31 of those end up being beer. Some truth.

Time to look into the financing of Renewable Fuels Now. Or maybe it's obvious. No word from their site or links about how much subsidy is going to farmers.

They brag that 18% of the US corn crop was converted to ethanol in 2006. Yike. 2 billion (with a "b") bushels of corn can feed a lot of people.

One press release is headlined "Americans Believe Higher Oil Prices and Increasing Worldwide Demand For Food Major Causes of Higher U.S. Food Prices". Dumb Americans. At least 1000 Dumb Americans.

The Indiana Corn Growers Association got a new 1/2¢ state tax per bushel of corn (IC 15-4-10-24.5). 25% of this goes to promote the sale of E-85 ethanol fuel. Lesse, that's just a squinch over one billion bushels in Indiana in 2007. Times $.005 = $5,000,000. So we Hoosiers next year will spend $1.25m on advertising E85 that nobody uses. Great.

Meanwhile subsidies for corn are making big farm companies richer. Heck, the Feds gave $720m to Indiana corn growers in 2005.

Even Lugar doesn't like it, but then he only gets about $12,000 in annual subsidies. And now the Wall Street Journal wonders about it.

The Wall Street Journal also has an article about St. Sixtus, brewers of Westvleteren 12.

"In the last two years Guinness sales by volume have declined by 13% in the UK and things are even worse in Ireland, where sales are down nearly 30% since 2001." article  But that doesn't stop someone from stealing a lorry with 180 kegs of Guinness, 180 kegs of Bud and 90 kegs of Carlsberg. Oh, and the lorry was valuable also. article

How did they brew beer in 1366? Stella knows. interactive video

Merry, Pippin: "You can search far and wide. You can drink the whole town dry. But you'll never find a beer so brown as the one we drink in our hometown. You can drink your fancy ales. You can drink them by the flagon. But the only brew for the brave and tru-u-u-ue comes from the Green Dragon!"

Things to do:

• Wed, Dec 5 - Mad Anthony release party for Snowplowed Winter Ale. All 3 locations.'
• Wed, Dec 5 - Liquor Locker, Evansville, Tasting 4-7pm
• Fri, Dec 7 - Saturnalia winter celebration starts at Rich O's
• Fri, Dec 7 - Vintage Beer Tasting at BadaBoomz. Indy 5pm. $8
• Fri, Dec 7 - Bell's Eccentric Day. Wear eccentric attire at the Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo.
• Sat, Dec 8 - Upland release party - Pilsner. 6pm. $10 cover to Sycamore Land Trust.

December 1

COME SEE WHAT STAN HAS FOUND IN THE CELLAR!! THE THIRD ANNUAL CELLAR SALE STARTS TODAY AT THE HEOROT

November 24

Power House has put Andy Greenlee's Chocolate Pumpkin Porter in the waiting list to be brewed. Andy (right) won the local homebrew club's competition.

Nana's hop ice cream is currently a "mystery blend" because she doesn't remember what she used.

The Madison Homebrewers and Tasters Guild is one of the premier clubs in the country. For one, they put on the Great Taste of the Midwest. For two, they have enough enthusiastic members to fill a bus on a trip to the Van Winkle distillery in Kentucky.

On the way, they stopped at the Broad Ripple Brewpub on Friday and RichO's on Saturday after the distillery tour. Sunday saw them at The Brugge and they even had time for a stop in Terre Haute at the Vigo brewery on the way back.
 

Every year Stone holds a Most Arrogant Bar challenge. Sell the most Arrogant Bastard and win a visit from the brewery. This year the following bars in Indiana have signed up for the competition: BadaBoomz (Indy), Fiddler's Hearth (South Bend), Fickle Peach (Muncie), Max's Place (Bloomington), RichO's (New Albany), The Heorot (Muncie), Scotty's (Bloomington and Lafayette), Shallos (Greenwood).

From the "who cares" file, Reinhard Wurtz carried 20 1-litre steins of beer to smash the record (16) held by German barmaid Anita Schwartz. He plans to apply for the job as Wilson's replacement on Home Improvement. short article

SABMiller is buying Grolsch and paying 84% too much. article

November 16 Brugge has added an Imperial to the lineup. It's probably an Amber but it's spiced up a bunch. Unfiltered. Muddy cordovan in the Brugge's light but really a dark orange. Lots and lots of very tiny bubbles give a unique bathtub-ring head - try it for yourself, tilt the glass and see. Taste? Earthy, grassy, and mature. Certainly hi-test.

BadaBoomz has picked up the Brugge's The Black on tap and Mike DeWeese says people are stopping in specifically for it. They'll also be pouring The Black at the International Festival in downtown Indy this weekend (World Class will be sampling some of their range there also).

Broad Ripple Brewpub has Circle V's Pacer Pale on the handpull. It's Kevin Matalucci's tribute to Mark Vojnovich who brewed this at his Circle V a few years back (from '96 to '01 to be exact). It has Centennial hops and 5.5% ABV. "V" is the assistant now at BRBP. The clarity invites you to think "crisp" just by looking at it.

But the main reason a couple of dozen folks stopped in at the Brewpub last Wednesday was to get the first taste of Bill Ballinger's Serenity Now APA. Bill and Kevin brewed Serenity Now to Bill's recipe for the Indiana State Fair 2008 Best of Show. It's more brown than expected. With 20 pounds of Amarillo, Cascade, and Columbus hops in the 7-bbl batch, it could be compared to Ruination with more malt and much more body.

Bill say's this release is "young but exactly what mine was at this time in 2006". You see he brewed his State Fair entry way back in July 2006 for the July 2007 competition. Traditionally a keg of last year's BoS is tapped at the awards ceremony so we should be able to taste this quite close to what the judges ruled the best. Bill also jokes that there are "enough hops inside to mask his mistakes". And on one last note, his mama says she's proud.

The MECA mob

Bill and Pat Berger, ISF Administrative Director

"Hundreds of bottles of Jack Daniel's whiskey, some of it almost 100 years old, may be unceremoniously poured down a drain because authorities suspect it was being sold by someone without a license." article

November 15 Matt Dunn does more than attend Chicago's Barrel Aged Beer Fest... he survives it

November 14 The Foam Blowers of Indiana and more specifically Ron Smith will be holding a BJCP Study Group again this winter. The 3hr classes (6:30-9:30pm) will be held on 11 Thursdays starting November 29th at the Payless Liquors in Fishers. Contact Ron if you're interested. It will end just in time for an Exam for Beer Judge Certification Program credentials on March 1. This is the third season for the program which has attracted more than a dozen people each year.

Bill Ballinger's Serenity Now is on tap at the Broad Ripple Brewpub. This American IPA was the Indiana State Fair 2007 Best of Show.

Stone's first shipment to Indiana after the fires includes this year's Double Bastard. We should also see some of Boulder Beer's Obovoid Empirical Stout soon on shelves - it's an oak-aged oatmeal stout.

Bells announced a $5 million expansion that will bring them to 140,000 bbl per year. article

Brugge now has a blog and they are happy to explain the creative name, BruggeBeer.

Rock Bottom, 86th St has Liz's Imperial Stout on tap right now. It's a 6.7% beer served on nitrogen with a deep brown color and a dark manila long-lasting, mustache-clinging head. Little aroma when cold, then roasty malt once warmed. Taste is bold, black, roast, sweet milk stouty notes with side-of-tongue unspecified bitterness for great balance.
 

Dateline Britain - "Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda now offer lager at just 22p (45¢) a can - less per litre than their own brand mineral water and cola, and cheap enough to allow someone to get drunk for just £1. Lager is now so cheap that the stores pay more in excise duties than they charge at the till." And this isn't good because it hurts real ale sales in pubs (at more than £2 per pint). article

Maybe the Tesco and ASDA generic lagers don't use hops. Even the Seattle Times notes "Shortage of beer ingredients may mean higher prices" article And even NPR has found out about the problem. article

Anheuser-Busch has obtained TTB approval to produce a draft version of its new Bacardi Silver Mojito malternative beverage. They are also set to debut Chelada - a mix of Bud and Clamato (their response to Miller Chill?).

A waitress in a bar in Brooklyn was cited for putting a lime in a Corona. Seriously. For using her bare hands. article

Coming up:

• Fri, Nov 16 - Vintage Beer Tasting at BadaBoomz. Indy 5pm. $8
• Wed, Nov 21 - Barley Island Barrel Aged Night 5pm+. 3 of theirs on tap. Brewery tour. Raters welcome to bring trades.
• Wed, Nov 21 - Liquor Locker, Evansville, Tasting 4-7pm
• Fri, Nov 23 - Blitzen Ale release party. Both Rock Bottoms in Indy. 6pm
• Fri, Nov 23 - Store social at Great Fermentations, Indy 5:30-7pm.
• Fri, Nov 23 - Vintage Beer Tasting at BadaBoomz. Indy 5pm. $8
• Sat, Nov 24 - Turkey Trot-07 Breweriana Show - K of C Hall, 601 Reed Rd., Fort Wayne. 9am-1pm
   

November 9 Jim Herter's upcoming report in the Great Lakes Brewing News says Three Floyds is adding three 100bbl tanks and a new boiler. In partnership with Danish brewery Mikkeller, they are making HVEDEGOOP Wheat Wine. It will be available only at the TFBP and in Copenhagen.

Jon Myers tells us he's added another fermenter to better keep the folks at the Columbus Bar satisfied.

British/US study on mixing Red Bull and Vodka found, among other things, "compared to those who did not mix caffeine and alcohol they had almost double the risk of being taken advantage of sexually." Fill in your own lame joke here. article

New Guinness commercial. File under "pretty neat".

Earl Dodge died on November 7th. He was the head and the perennial presidential candidate of the Prohibition Party, getting 208 votes nationwide in 2000. He made a living selling campaign buttons. With his death, the schism in the party may be won by rival Gene Admondson, mainly because he's still alive.

Jim Herter's upcoming report in the Great Lakes Brewing News says Three Floyds is adding three 100bbl tanks and a new boiler. In partnership with Danish brewery Mikkeller, they are making HVEDEGOOP Wheat Wine. It will be available only at the TFBP and in Copenhagen.

Jon Myers tells us he's added another fermenter to better keep the folks at the Columbus Bar satisfied.

British/US study on mixing Red Bull and Vodka found, among other things, "compared to those who did not mix caffeine and alcohol they had almost double the risk of being taken advantage of sexually." Fill in your own lame joke here. article

New Guinness commercial. File under "pretty neat".

Earl Dodge died on November 7th. He was the head and the perennial presidential candidate of the Prohibition Party, getting 208 votes nationwide in 2000. He made a living selling campaign buttons. With his death, the schism in the party may be won by rival Gene Admondson, mainly because he's still alive.

November 5 Roger Baylor at Rich O's is planning a group trip to Portland, Seattle, and Newport on May 6-14 or sometime thereabouts. If you're interested in joining, contact him at istanbul85 (at) yahoo.com.

The Hop Shop in Carmel sends this: All Liquor 20% Off. In order to be able to expand our beer selection, The Hop Shop has decided to closeout all the liquor that we carry. We will be adding new beers as the liquors sell out, greatly increasing the number of beers we are able to keep in stock. On top of the 20% discount on every bottle of liquor in the store, we will still be offering our normal case discount of 10% on 12 or more bottles.

Absinthe is back? Steve Colbert calls for absinthetinence.

Unofficial DUI is "zero tolerance policy" in Washington DC. article with MADD tie-in bonus.

Tractor Brewing Company is at www.getplowed.com. Go figure

Headline: UK Ban For Reduced-alcohol 'wine'. 8% just isn't enough. Bonus, it's distilled then the alcohol is removed by centrifuge. article

Quote: "A beer after playing a game of football, a long run, or a strenuous round of golf can be good for the body, scientists say. In a rare piece of good news for those who like a pint, Spanish researchers say beer can help someone who is dehydrated retain liquid better than water." article

Thanksgiving is around the corner and the dog hasn't eaten the turkey yet. The Brewers Association says "Craft Beer with Turkey?!? You Bet!" and Beer Advocate has beer pairing tips.

Whoops, 2.3% of breathalyzers overstate the BAC. That's from a New Jersey case in 1985. Now that somebody else looks at it, Double Whoops, make that 23%. article

October 30 Upland's Schwarztag gets ink in the Indiana Daily Student. But in the big-time, it also gets US News and World Report ink. "A brewery at Indiana University coordinated the launch of its new black beer with a fundraiser for the Exotic Feline Rescue Center, the Indiana Daily Student reports. Now if only someone could rescue the growling and clawing 2-year-old caged black panther that was the "guest star" at the event." Schwarztag (or black cat in Englishspeak) was unveiled with a cat that isn't really fond of people.

The Schwartztag itself is style-perfect, rich, and quite quaffable. Suitable for sitting in any German garten and watching the leaves change color.

Vigo Brewery gets more ink in Terre Haute.

Cavalier reports Stone's 2007 Double Bastard will be a little delayed because of the fires. "Fire came with in a mile of the brewery causing disruptions in shipping and production. Apparently the air quality around the brewery is very poor. The good people at stone will regroup soon and let us know what the plan will be soon. We currently do not have any IPA (bottles) in the warehouse. Otherwise our inventory for the rest of Stone products is growing thin to varying degrees. On average we have about one to two weeks of Inventory (and) I do not see any reason for our customers to start hording Stone at this time." Mat

Coming events:

• Wed, Oct 31 - Liquor Locker, Evansville, Tasting 4-7pm
• Fri, Nov 2 - Vintage Beer Tasting at BadaBoomz, Indy. 5pm. $8
• Sat, Nov 3 - AHA Membership Rally at BadaBoomz, Indy. Noon-3pm. Free for AHA members. Join the AHA for $33. Special releases, brewing on the sidewalk, trip to Vegas.
• Sun, Nov 4 - All-grain Brewing class. Great Fermentations 6pm.

October 27 The 2007 Big Red Beerfest sold out to a youthful, beer-loving crowd

October 26 Apple Buzz is back at Oaken Barrel. 1/3 beer, 1/3 cider, 1/3 mead, all special.

Vigo brewery gets more ink in Terre Haute's TribStar. "Terre Haute’s long brewing history — dating back 170 years — is about to enter a new era, and Belgium has everything to do with it." Thanks Fred.

That new era will be delayed a bit. We're told the bottling machine in Terre Haute needs some parts that will tack 3 months to be custom-made. Fear not though, kegs will be out sooner and the new brewery is already supplying The Black and The White to the Brugge Brasserie. The 40 barrels of Tripple de Ripple that are fermenting will be out soon also. Ted hopes to have all on tap at better places around the state well before the bottled product hits the street.

Thunder Monkey at the Brugge Brasserie is massively treacle (with some plum and cherry) that somehow is balanced by massive amounts of Styrian and Saaz hops without the hops getting uppity.

Rock Bottom's Pumpkin Ales were tapped last Thursday and will be on through most of November. The tapping Downtown was held in the basement due to thousands of Future Farmers in town who might grow pumpkins but can't yet drink pumpkin beer.

• Jerry's Downtown Pumpkin is a light orange with lots of pie that comes across nicely tart rather than sweet like many pumpkin-pie spiced beers. Once it warmed up more nutmeg came through giving the whole thing an earthy character that evokes the romantic sight of pumpkin fields.
• Liz's 86th St. Pumpkin is dark amber/orange with much more pumpkin than pie flavor. It's also much more subtle than most.
• Kevin's Pumpkin at the Broad Ripple Brewpub is cloudy and frankly not a terribly attractive orange/brown. Faint pumpkin.

Jeffery T tells us of a third Indiana connection to a GABF medal: "Tonya Cornett of Bend Brewing Co. is from Marion IN. She won the gold in American IPA last year (biggest number of entries of any 2006 category). This year she silvered in The Old/Strong Ale category. This former Hoosier is one of the top female brewers in the USA. I recorded a wonderful show with her in Oregon at her pub shortly before she left for the GABF. We sampled all the beers she was entering this year." That Good Beer Show can be heard here as an MP3.

Cool. IU's libarary has a 1811 book on the Oktoberfest. article

The Sam Adams For Mayor (of Portland, OR) website has been told to shut down by Sam Adams of Boston. Patriot, Brewer, Rabble rouser, Candidate. article

The worst cookbook name ever:

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers has sent a cease and desist letter, demanding Mothers Against Illegal Aliens change its name. article

A free lifetime of beer is being offered to anyone who returns a stolen company laptop to a New Zealand brewer. Croucher Brewing, a microbrewery, said the laptop contained all its financial reports, new label designs and important contracts with suppliers and customers. The reward of 12 free beers a month for life has an estimated value of $19,500. The thief broke into the building secured only with a padlock, grabbed the laptop and took off. The owner said the thief didn’t even take any beer.

Craigslist classified: "We have a HOT new club opening in Indianapolis, IN and we are looking for Dancing Bartenders (females), Beer Tub Girls, Body Shot Girls ($10 per shot sold), and Cocktailers." Yummm. Body shots.

October 23 Bob took a week to get to GABF. Along the way there's (at least) 26 brewpubs. His reviews and travelogue are here.

Brewers: Industry Circular 2007–4, Pre-COLA Product Evaluation This new industry circular describes the various types of evaluations alcohol products must undergo before TTB will issue a certificate of label approval (COLA), and sets forth an alternate procedure for the voluntary use of for TTB F 5100.51 for the submission of formulas, pre-import letters, and products for laboratory analysis.  This circular supersedes Industry Circular 2002–2.

The 2007 Pilgrim's Dole Wheat Wine will be released on November 2nd along with this year's Dragon's Milk.

MSN lists 10 Great Fall Beers

Bill Ballinger writes "As State Fair BOS winner, I had the privilege of brewing my beer, an American Pale Ale called 'Serenity Now', at the Broad Ripple Brew Pub.  Tuesday, October 16 was a great day to brew, and the staff at BRBP were simply the best!  It was such an honor to help out with recipe formulation and the brewing process.  According to Kevin, the head brewer at BRBP, the ale is fermenting nicely and delicious smells are escaping the air lock on the fermenter.  Look for it on tap in late November."

October 23 Bob hits the road again and visits 26 brewpubs. Wow!

October 20 Thomas Marine reports on Kokomo's newest and only brewpub, Half Moon Brewery

October 18 Kahn's in Carmel, as you remember, is now separate from Kahn's on Keystone. Cole Varga is the beer guy at Keystone and now the Carmel store has a top-notch beer guy also: Marvin McKay. There's just something right about that.

Indy Star: "Badaboomz Ale House & Grill owner Mike DeWeese has roped in four coveted draft beers. On tap at Badaboomz, 15 E. Maryland St., are Bell's Oktoberfest, Bell's Batch 8000, Stone XI and the 2005 Rogue Frosty Frog. Don't tarry for a taste, DeWeese warns: "Once the kegs blow, that's it until the stars align again."

Rich O's has the listing for the Lupulin Land Harvest Hopcoming that has just started. THe initial lineup includes Boulder Cold Hop, Clipper City Loose Cannon Hop 3, Great Divide Hercules Double IPA, NABC Elsa von Horizon Imperial Pilsner (poured on the Randall dry-hopping machine), NABC Oaktimus, Rogue JLS Glen 2007, Stone 10th Anniversary Ale, Two Brothers Heavy Handed India Pale Ale (wet hop), Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse, Coniston Bluebird Bitter, Gaspar, Geants Saison Voisin, Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted, Houblon Chouffe, Poperings Hommel, Urthel Hop-It, and Wintercoat Double Hop.

Tastings, Downtown Indy edition:

• Ram: Their medal-winning Buffalo Bock may appear as a very limited sampling at one of their mug-club events. Ask at the bar about membership. The beer has hints of dark citric, vanilla, and wood cask goodness. Drying finish.
• Alcatraz: Devil's Ale is a pre-prohibition style that is floral and sweet. Sledgehammer is a 6.8% unfiltered beer that is soft-edged and quite drinkable. It uses Southern Cross and Crystal hops.
• Rock Bottom has their beautifully hoppy IBA on the handpull with even more Crystal hops added. Both Rock Bottoms will have a tapping party on the 24th for their Pumpkin beers.

Why does nature hate us? Two beer garden tents were blown down at the Tulsa, OK Oktoberfest this past Wednesday, sending 21 people to the hospital.

Waltham, MA: "In the next few weeks an apparent intoxicated customer will be visiting your establishment. The first round of testing will serve as an educational example." article

Fosters truck crashes somewhere in Russia. Party time picture.

October 17 It's sale time again at Butler Winery in Bloomington. Through Sunday, Oct 21st, all equipment, yeast, grains, and hops are 20% off. Kits, carboys, bottles, and kegging equipment are 10% off.

Headline "Hold Onto Your Mugs - Beer Prices are Heading North". Yep, barley and hop prices have about doubled. Craft beer should be about $1 / 6-pack higher next spring. article

Article: Founders goes from near-bankruptcy to 18,000 bbl/yr expansion in 6 years.

Yes, it's official. Coors and Miller will combine US operations into a company called MillerCoors. You may resume breathing now. article

Dixie is again brewing in New Orleans.

Pennsylvania may allow sales of 6-packs next year (but still not single bottles). RIght now only cases can be sold, which seriously impedes customers who want to try out a new beer. article Thanks Neal

Coming up:

• Thurs/Fri, Oct 18/19 - Big Red Beerfest, Bloomington, 6-9pm
• Fri, Oct 19 - Vintage Beer Tasting at BadaBoomz. Indy 5pm. $8
• Wed, Oct 24 - Rock Bottom both 86th St. & Downtown Indy. Tapping Parties. Pumpkin Ale. 6pm
• Wed, Oct 24 - Liquor Locker, Evansville, Tasting 4-7pm
• Thurs, Oct 25 - Keg Liquors  Clarksville - Tasting

October 16 Indiana took three awards this year at the Great American Beer Festival. Time for some bold type.

Three Floyds is bringing back a Silver Medal for their Gorch Foch Münchner Helles

The Ram in Indianapolis will be displaying their Bronze Medal for Buffalo Bock in the Wood- and Barrel Aged Beer category.

CONGRATULATIONS

The third?

The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and the Brewers Association (BA) presented the Craft Beer Distributor of the Year Award to Monarch Beverage Co. of Indiana. "The award recognizes the beer distributor in America who does the most to market, sell and promote craft beer in their market."

Everybody at IndianaBeer is thrilled that our owner/sponsor, World Class Beverages, the craft beer arm of Monarch, is THE BEST.

Plus the Craft Beer Distributor Recognition Award went to Cavalier Distributing of Ohio. Congratulations to Cavalier also. We're sure Cavalier in Indianapolis helped their Ohio brethren.

Another Indiana connection surfaced in the Silver Medal placing Crimson Phog from the 23rd Street Brewery in Lawrence, KS. This is (we think) a recipe of Micah Weichert, now at Vigo in Terre Haute making Brugge and Wabash beers.

Neighboring states' beers with friends here include

• Arcadia Cereal Killer Barley Wine - Silver
• Bell's Batch 8000 - Bronze - Belgian Strong Specialty Ale
• Bell's Double Cream Stout - Silver - Sweet Stout
• Dark Horse 3 Guys Off the Scale Barley Wine - Bronze
• Dark Horse Scotty Karate - Silver - Strong Scotch Ale
• Flossmoor Station Killer Kowalski - Gold - Baltic Porter
• Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter - Silver
• New Holland 2003 Pilgrim's Dole - Silver - Aged Beer
• Two Brothers Domaine Dupage - Bronze - Belgian & French-style Ale

The full list of GABF medals is here. Looking in detail at the medalists we note some interesting choices the judges made.

• Fruit of Vegetable Beer: Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss, a very pleasant beer, got the gold while New Glarus' Raspberry Tart, a legendary treat, won bronze. The line at GABF at the New Glarus booth was about 40 deep for 1-oz shots. While I didn't notice, I doubt the Leinenkugel line was quite that long.
• Blue Moon's Honey Moon Summer Ale got gold in the Specialty Honey Lager or Ale category. It's OK but we're surprised it was rated better than the much more complex Dogfish Head Midas Touch.
  
  Both Raspberry Tart and Midas Touch are distinctive and well known. The judges at the GABF are probably the best in the country and should well know what beer they are tasting in these cases. With 94 and 39 entries, respectively, they went through two levels of judging and the "mini-best-of-show" done by the best of those judges chose the final order. We have to wonder whether knowing the beer affected the results. Not that we're implying at all that politics was involved, just would have loved to hear the discussion.

October 15

Dear IndianaBeer,

Hi, I'm in Denver at the Great American Beer Festival. Been to 26 brewpubs on the way out. 86 new beers tried. Having fun. Actually got beered out yesterday, the first day of the festival. That might have been helped by some serious overindulgence at the Bull & Bush Wednesday night. Might also have been helped by trying to get to 4 more downtown Denver brewpubs before the festival started.

About the festival, there are 4 sessions. Thurs, Fri, Sat, 5:30-10pm are the public sessions and Saturday afternoon is for Brewers Association members with the judging results. Each session is $45. They are all sold out.

The venue is the Colorado Convention Center in one of the giant halls with a bit less than 100,000 sq ft. With 400+ breweries, almost 1900 beers it's massive but once inside with 4 or more hours to explore it is doable. One-ounce pours keep it sane.

Yep, 1-ounce pours. In plastic glasses no less. Still, it works. They sold over 41,000 tickets and have over 2,000 volunteer workers. The sheer size keeps the lines usually 3-deep at most (New Glarus, Alaska, etc. excepted).

Arrangement in the hall is by region of the country - Midwest and Mountain are the biggest. Each brewery has a booth just like most festivals - but here many less breweries have their own people pouring - there's tons of volunteers and you have some assigned just to you.

It's possible to get a sense of a beer from a 1-ounce pour but it sure isn't enough to evaluate fully. In the end it is both a mecca for beer folk around the country and lots and lots of Denver drinkers (of which there are lots). It isn't a place to sit quietly and reflect. Actually, it isn't really a madhouse either.

Some beers to try (an alphabetical list by brewery - the 100-page program makes it easy to find and mark a path to trod): 75th St Reverend Waldo's Abbey Ale, Alaskan Smoked Porter 2006, Augusta Single Malt Scotch Ale, Bluegrass Old RIP VanWinkle, BridgePort Ebenezer Ale, Brooklyn Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen Weisse, Brugge Diamond Kings of 7 (gotta tease Ted about the typo). Carter's Magic City Mild, Chama River Demolition Dubbel, Chelsea The Tsar's Revenge RI Stout, Clipper City Balto Marzhon, CooperSmith's Sigda's Green Chili, Dragonmead St. Nicoles Weizenbock, Elevator Procrastinator Doppelbock, Elysian The Wise ESB, Firestone Walker Quercus Alba, Flossmoor Station De Zuidentrein Frambozenbier, Foothills Baltic Porter, Full Sail Old Boardhead Barleywine, Great BasinSmoke Creek Rauchbier, Great Lakes Glockenspiel, Hoppin' Frog BORIS The Crusher, Humperdinks Smokin' Mesquite Ale, Kona Old Blowhole Barleywine, Maui Belgian Abbey Ale, McKenzie Wee Heavy, Michigan Big Mac, New Glarus Raspberry Tart, Papago El Robusto, Walter Payton's No Such Thing as White Chocolate Beer, Pizza Port Hop Suey, Real Ale Sisyphus, Rock Bottom Chicago Redline Bourbon Imperial Stout, Russian River Pliny the Elder, Titletown Hopasaurus Rex, Two Brothers Project Opus, Victory V Twelve, Water Street Sexy Mexy Chile Beso.

See ya next week with a review of the brewpubs along the trip.

Write soonest,

Bob

October 6 Jim Matt informs us we were "close on the alcohol level (8.5%) of Lupulin L'Amore... there are no Fuggles in the brew. Columbus for bittering, Saaz for aroma/flavor and dry hopped with Amarillos. Ted did a "hop tea" of Amarillos to expedite the process. We tried it vs. the homebrewed version last night...the homebrewed version is much lighter in color (also goes by the slightly different name Lupulin L'Amour) is boozier (9.5%), and has a different flavor profile because I use a different yeast." Thanks Jim for keeping us honest.

October 5 Our junior Southern Indiana correspondent Rob Sassano reports from across the border at Oktoberfest Zinzinnati

October 4 Last year, the Great American Beer Festival first held a Pro-Am competition and it looks to become a permanent piece of the big weekend. This year there will be 3 entries from Indiana. Truth be told, it's a To recap from earlier news:

• Michael Pearson brewed his Equilibrium Imperial IPA at the Ram. It won a gold medal at this year's State Fair Brewers Cup and at Chicago's Spooky Brew. It's now on tap and highly recommended.
   
• Jim Matt brewed Lupulin L'Amour at the Brugge Brasserie. This same beer got a bronze at the Brewers Cup. It's on tap now also (there's a short review just down-page).

Ted Miller of Brugge said " It's a bunch of fun to be able to open our mash tuns and capture some of the unbridled homebrewer enthusiasm. Sometimes we brewers for profit get stuck in our spreadsheets and this gives us an opportunity to throw out all of the rules and find our inner homebrewer. I've had a ball with this one and hopefully Jim can come home with something for his trophy case which seems to be growing without the help of a pro."

• Greg Christmas brewed Sinister Minister Belgian Black Ale at Barley Island after this recipe won a bronze at the Titletown Open in Green Bay back in April. It uses plenty of dark candy sugar and two different Belgian yeast strains. They've run out of it at the brewpub but it will be out soon in 22oz bottles.

“Greg was tremendous to work with on this project, not just sampling his test batches and the final commercial product, but the overall process was very rewarding” says Jeff Eaton.

Rumor has it Three Floyds brewpub tapped a cask of JW Lees Harvest Ale last weekend.

Did you know Goose Island has 30 brewers on staff? Their 312 Urban Wheat can be found at the Weber Grille and Pierre Jacques is on tap at Locals Only, both in Indy.

Monarch Beverage just won the Beer Excellence Award - Harp/Smithwick's in the Fourth Annual Golden Bar Awards. We also wonder just what that means. press release

Headline: Drunk Gets Stuck In Chimney As Ocktoberfest Begins article

Men's Journal has three beer lists: 25 Best Beers In America, The Best American Specialty Beers, and Best Beers In the World. Thanks HBG

October 3 Bob attends Mad Anthonys' Octobeerfest and Golf Tourny

October 1 Broad Ripple Brewpub has Kevin's Dual Citizenship Ale back on tap - on a handpull even. It's a British Golden Ale with lots and lots of bitter hops. Not a breakfast beer.

Brugge Brasserie has Lupulin L'Amore on tap. It's their Pro-Am entry to the GABF brewed with homebrewer James Matt of Fishers. It's a Belgian "Specialty" beer - consider it a Tripple. Chill-hazed dark orange with long-lasting white rocky head. Little aroma. Tasting, one immediately gets sweet candy sugar and lots of Noble and Fuggles (we're guessing here) hops to balance. 8% or so alcohol (another guess). A winner (and that's fact).

The Vigo Brewery in Terre Haute has finally brewed the first batch - Brugge's The Black. Maybe they'll auction off the first bottle.

Sinister Minister is all gone at Barley Island but it will be back soon in 22oz bottles.

And where can you find Maudite on tap? The Heorot. At $4.50 per pint, it's a steal.

There was a breweriana trade show in Indy last weekend. Here's some sample pictures of Indiana brewery advertising materials from way back. The keg is clearly labeled "Centilivre".

Saturday was a busy night at The Heorot. Jeffery T and the gang did a Good Beer Show podcast (it'll be online after JT gets back from an Oregon trip) Participating were the regulars, band members of A Caesar Holiday, and the Goose Island rep (at right). Then Goose Island and Stan put on a tasting with some excellent high-end snackums. More pictures were in order of course. The first one below shows Traci Lutton, Randy Davis, Mikey Mason, Jeffery, and one of the band, either Daniel, Ben, or Zach. I really gotta stop drinking while taking notes.

The night continued for many with a stop at the Fickle Peach, just a block south. Their draft lineup is just a hair-breadth behind the Heorot's with Grotton, Hommel's, Koneingshoeven Quadrupel, 5 Bell's, Founder's Dry Hopped, Alpha King, and always Upland Ard Ri. Bottles are similarly good including some vintage ales including JW Lees and A. LeCoqs from past years. A second reason to duck off I-69 into Muncie.

The Crooked House Pub in Himley, West Midlands, England has subsided over the years due to an underground coal mine. It now tilts at 15° but still serves real ale from Banks.

Oh, and Britain and Ireland can keep using the pint measure for beer (the 20oz pint that is). The EU had decided everybody had to move to liters but they just reversed that ruling.

Time Magazine noticed that A-B is trying to buy Budvar. "The truth is that I would have to quit drinking beer altogether. Better that than to drink some slop." article

"The price, a record for a Scotch whisky at auction, was almost double pre-sale estimates, despite the fact that the whisky's cork had dropped into the bottle." £29,400. Bowmore single malt bottled in 1850. article