Spring 2009

May 6 Join us on Facebook where you can post photos, reviews, and news of your own!

Jerry Sutherlin at Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy has a line-up for American Craft Beer Week including:

  • Schwarzhacker - German Black Lager- roasty and smooth
  • Saison - Belgian Farmhouse Ale- tart and refreshingly fruity ale
  • Goat Toppler - Maibock- slightly sweet and bready lager with a crisp hop finish
  • Bourbon barrel aged series - Starting with a English Barleywine aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel, transitioning to Naughty Pappy- a Strong Scotch Ale aged in a 20 year old Buffalo Trace barrel, then on to Naughty Wood- the same Scotch Ale aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel

Jerry will be making a kick-off toast on Mon, May 11th, 6pm. All three downtown brewpubs will host open houses on Wed, May 13 from 6-9pm. That includes Alcatraz, and Ram also.

Check the Calendar for Stone Levitation kick-off parties in Goshen, Greenwood, Columbus, and Fishers.

Oaken Barrel has Mark and Andrew's Oak Aged Porter on tap. It's part of a series of small batch releases. Also right now, seasonals Helles Lager and Uberweizen.

Saturday, May 9: High Gravity Summer Kickoff for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. BW3, downtown Indy. 4pm. They'll be tapping more than a dozen 9%+ beers like DFH Red & White, 90 Minute, Palo Santo Marron; Goose Island Night Stalker; etc. etc. 5-oz tastings will be $5 ($1 to CFF).

If you collect beer bottles, then you're a Labeorphilist. If you collect beer coasters, then you're a Tegestologist.

7 Beer Barons.

Ever wanted to sleep in a wine cask?

May 2 J.K. O’Donnell’s Irish Ale House (Fort Wayne, IN) – Starting today they will be open on Saturdays from 11a.m.-12Midnight.  From their newsletter: “The first three Sundays in May (the 3rd, 10th and 17th) we will be open from Noon - 9 PM. On Sunday May 31st, we will open at 10 AM and begin Sunday Brunch! We are so excited to be bringing this offering to downtown and can't wait to show you what we’ll have! Brunch will be served from 10 AM - 3 PM with full menu availability from 3 PM - 9 PM. Look for great Eggs Benedict variations, homemade Corned Beef Hash, Local Breads and some killer Brunch Cocktails! At some point, we will be family friendly, so keep checking back.”

May 2 An article on Dark Lord Day, 2009 by Bob Ostrander

April 30 Rodney and Jess's excellent report about Dark Lord Day at Hoosier Beer Geek. Bob's will be up in a day or so. His right hand isn't working too good. Can hardly double-click. But can still lift a glass.

Shoreline has 8 barrels aging in the back room that will be released sometime in June. Sam plans a big release party  with bottle sales of all eight. Aging times vary but some are up to 1 year. These are mostly his normal offerings, just on wood - Smokestack Porter, Sum Nug, Big Bella, 3 Sum, Lost Sailor Imperial Stout, Discombobulation Barleywine, and Curse the Goat Dopplebock (in both Bourbon and Rye barrels). Another eight are aging for a release later this year.

Some tastes:

  • Crown Brewing Brown Ale - Standard and quite good American Brown. 'nuff said, drink one.
  • Half Moon Kokomonster Strong Ale - Darkish copper, small head, clean glass aroma, creamy mouthfeel. Hugh unsweet malt attack. Lingering wetness in finish. When warmer more bitter. I'd love to try some of this after 3 months of wood finishing. 8.0% ABV, 22 IBU.
  • Half Moon Blueberry Wheat - American Wheat with slight green tinge to the gold color. Modicum of semi-tart blueberries.
  • Mishawaka Brewing Resolution Barleywine - In between an Old Ale and a Barleywine in that it's not raisiny (aging is over) and not overly strong. 8.2%.
  • Mishawaka Seven Mules Strong Ale - What happened to the "Kick Ass Ale" name? Caramel aroma trumps everything.
  • Shoreline Kölsch Syrah Syrah - Aged three months in French Oak Syrah wine barrel. Served in a wine glass (right with Jim Knight, Assistant Brewer)
  • Shoreline Smokestack Porter - Milk-thick and deep-sea black. Roasty, toasty, with tons of Nugget bitterness to add to the pressure on your roof-of-the-mouth buds.
  • Shoreline Queen Mum IPA - English bitter IPA right now served on Nitro with the nitro turned up high.
  • Foothills (Winston Salem NC) Baltic Porter - Amazingly similar to Brugge Black. At Dark Lord Day, I probably tasted about 50 different beers, that one short review is all the notes I took. Even Walter Cronkite took time off to smell the roses.

Spring is getting busy. Coming up:

  • Now through May 2 - Spring brewing supply sale at Butler Winery, Bloomington
  • Thurs, Apr 30 - Lafayette Brewing tapping of Maifest during Firkin Thursday.
  • Thurs, Apr 30 - Sierra Nevada sampling, Rich O's, New Albany. 6pm+ $7.50
  • Fri, May 1 - Sat, May 2 - St. Louis Microfest. 6-9pm
  • Fri, May 1 - Bloomington Brewing's Brewer Floyd Rosenbaum will release summer and spring seasonal ale, Vision Weiss, at Lennie’s. Vision Weiss is a traditional German-style Hefeweisen, often simply called a “wheat beer” or “weiss.” Lighter in alcohol than Bloomington Brewing Company’s fuller-bodied ales, Vision Weiss is beautifully pale yellow in hue, and cloudy, due to the special Bavarian yeast strain. Vision Weiss is refreshingly complex with subtle hints of vanilla, clove and banana. These interesting tropical flavors are actually created by the yeast during the fermentation process. Lennie’s, located at 1795 E 10th Street, will host a special Vision Weiss release party at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 1.
  • Fri, May 1 - Tickets go on sale for Great Taste of the Midwest. Madison, WI
  • Fri, May 1 - Beer Tastings: Liquor Locker, Evansville. 4-7pm, Parti Pak, Greenwood. 5-7pm, Crown Liquors, Carmel. 5-7pm.
  • Sat, May 2 - Upland Maifest 11am-1am. Bands from 2pm
  • Sat, May 2 - Big Brew and Homebrew Garage Sale at Great Fermentations. 11-4pm.
  • Mon, May 4 - Kahn's Keystone, Indy Beer Tasting. 5-7pm.
  • Tues, May 5 - Broad Ripple Brewpub Cervesa de Sol release and Mexican food all that week.
  • Tues, May 5 - Mexican beer dinner. Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy
  • Tues, May 5 - Beer Tasting. Chalet Party Shoppe #3 CR 17 Elkhart. 5-7pm
  • Wed, May 6 - Beer Tasting. Westside Liquor, Evansville. 4:30-6:30pm
  • Thurs, May 7 - Tapping of Goat Toppler Maibock. Both Indy Rock Bottoms, 6pm.
  • Sat, May 9 - High Gravity Summer Kickoff for CFF. BW3, downtown Indy. 4pm.

Bob stopped by Pat's Liquors (finally) which should be in the IndianaBeer Stores directory.

Pat's Liquors

1 W. US Highway 20
Porter, IN 46304
219-926-5460

Just west of Ind 49 on US 20. Take I94 exit 26.

Beer Advocate reviews

Owner: Lis Tilden

Liz is the 2nd generation owner of this laid back little liquor store. Much more space is devoted to interesting beers than to the mainstream. Hint: Liz hides goodies (like Black Albert) on the shelves for devotees to find.

Finnegan's Pub, down on US 30 from Three Floyds has 4 doors of interesting beers. Had a Maudite for $4 and listened to the Resonators. Suspicious, that Dopplebock name. They are a party rock band with some Texas rock left over from before their makeover. They made up for lack of practice with real talent, showmanship, and a happy proud gleam in each of their eyes as they appreciate each others' solos.

"I personally consider myself lucky to have viewed this film as it was played for the first time on Tuesday as part of the Craft Brewers Conference Keynote Speech in Boston by Greg Koch from Stone Brewing. It is truly amazing and cool. His speech that followed the film was equally amazing and cool. I hope / think that his speech will be available for all to view sometime soon. Enjoy the show." - Mat Gerdenich, Cavalier Distributing.

Founders Cerise Cherry Ale is out.

New Albanian has their famous "These Machines Kill Fascists" shirts finally available for women.

Britain has raised the tax on beer another 2% this week. Last year it was 18%. Beer sales there dropped 8.2% in the first quarter. That's 1.7 million fewer pints per day. "ax income from duty in January and February was down £17 million on the same period in 2008, despite an 18 per cent tax increase during the period."

Belgian antitrust authorities have been asked to start an informal investigation to find out if Anheuser Busch-InBev is making use of its dominance in the market to make unfair deals and contract changes with its suppliers. The Wall Street Journal also reported that AB-InBev is supposedly pressuring its suppliers into new purchasing contracts which could state a new policy of the company taking up to 120 days to pay suppliers after goods have been received. The brewer reportedly also cut back on its malt purchases which prompted some European malt suppliers to complain that AB-InBev is breaking its contracts with them. Its no secret that AB-InBev has planned on cutting $2.25 billion in costs in order to help pay for the $52 billion A-B purchase last year, and the brewer says that savings from suppliers will account for some of those cost savings. In the U.S., a federal judge too has been asked to hold a hearing to review the merger settlement with U.S. antitrust regulators.

Beer mats: http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-41829.html

In case of emergency, lift glass.

April 29

• An update to the list of beers reported on April 16th on tap at The Oyster Bar (North location) in Fort Wayne, IN – Also on tap are Guinness, Newcastle and Leinenkugels Summer Shandy.  They also have 19 different bottled beers.
• Downtown Eatery & Spirits (205 E. Center St., Warsaw, IN, (574-267-6000) – Currently has six (6) taps which features Bells Two Hearted Ale, Bells Oberon, Blue Moon, Newcastle, Harp and Guinness.  They also have 35 bottled beers. This establishment features a large food menu as well as outdoor seating. The Manager, Dana, and the Owner, Tom, are into craft beer and they were both very generous with their time to discuss their beer offerings with me.
• A huge crowd gathered again for this year’s Dark Lord Day at 3Floyds Brewery.  Along with food and music, there were a lot of beers were brought to the tables for sharing and trading and members of Ratebeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com were able to put faces with names throughout the day.  This reporter heard a lot of positive comments while strolling through the crowd about this year’s event compared to year’s past.  There was a listing given out to the attendees listing the guest beers and the time that each of them would be tapped.  There were a total of 37 beers listed from such breweries as 3F, Pizza Port, Stone, Struise, Surly, Rock Bottom, Dogfish Head, Firestone, Flossmoor Station, Victory, Gordon Biersch, Bells, and Founders.  All-in-all a fun filled day at Dark Lord Day where there was beer, beer and more beer!    

April 28 Big Brew, honoring National Homebrew Day, brings together brewers from across the U.S. and the world to simultaneously brew beer. Great Fermentations will be a Big Brew site on Saturday, May 2nd from 11-4 PM. Great Fermentations is located at 5127 East 65th Street in Indianapolis.
 
Bring your brewing equipment, brewing water, homebrew to share, sunscreen and a lawn chair and join in this communal brewing event in Great Fermentations’ back parking lot. This year’s Big Brew recipes are a mild and a saison and the ingredient packages can be found at http://www.greatfermentations.com/products.asp?dept=1144
 
And if this isn’t enough excitement for one day, we have more. This will be homebrew garage sale day. We will set up tables for people to sell their brewing and wine making equipment. This is the time and the place to sell equipment you have out-grown or no longer want.

But wait, there is more! We’ll grill some brats and provide some raffle prizes too!

April 24 Via Anita Johnson...

Hello Friends of the USA, and around the World;
 
I am Taska Brown, the mother of Tonya Cornett who is formally from
Marion, IN.  A Graduate of Marion High School, and Ball State University.  She now calls Bend, OR. "home".
 
Tonya is the brew master of www.bendbrewingco.com in Oregon, Bend's
2nd largest brewery.  She is a 2001 graduate of the World Brewing
Academy of Germany, a partnership between Seibel Institute of Chicago, IL
and Doemens Academy of Munich, Germany. 
 
In recent years she has won several gold, silver and bronze medals at the
Great American Beer Festival (GABF) held in Denver, CO.  In 2008, she
was honored as the first woman to win the title of Brew Master of the Year
and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year at the World Beer Cup, held in
San Diego, CA.  The most recent acclaim of Tonya's is the recognition of
her by the International Real Ale Festival.  Tonya was one of six international
brewers to be asked by www.jdwetherspoons.co.uk to participate in this
year's guest brewing to represent the USA.  She is the first international lady brewer ever asked to the festival.
 
In March, she traveled to Burton upon Trent, UK and was a guest brewer
at Marston's Brewery.  She produced 325 barrels (over 10,000 gallons) of Wild Blue Yonder, Oregon Amber Ale to be distributed at J.D. Wetherspoon's 720 pubs in the UK during the World's Biggest International Real Ale Festival.  Tonya is featured on pages 14-15 in the program, with a description of her Wild Blue Yonder, Oregon Amber Ale on page 27.
 
The international brewer who gets the most votes will be asked to
return next year.  Anyone can vote as many times as you want during the
festival starting Wednesday April 15th to Monday May 4th, 2009.
Just a note, the UK is 7 hours ahead in time, from the west coast USA.
 
It would be wonderful to let the UK know that we, the USA, are very proud of
Tonya, and all the women in the brewing industry she represents around the world.  Let's get the word out to all our friends to vote.  Let's have another
first for the USA!

TO VOTE
www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk
Tonya Cornett, USA
Wild Blue Yonder
Oregon Amber Ale

April 22 Shelton Brothers importers has a new spring lineup and it's in stores starting now. The Crown Liquors in Carmel has Amager Batch One, Amager Hr. Frederiksen, Amager Sundby Stout, Baird Angry Boy Brown Ale, Baird Kurofone Porter, Cantillion Fou'foune Pure Apricot Lambic, Cantillon Saint-Lamvinus, Dieu du Ciel! Equinoxe du Printemps, Dieu du Ciel Solstice d' Hiver, De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis (Russian Stout), De Molen Storm and Averij, De Ranke Cuvee de Ranke, Nils Oscar Coffee Stout, Panil Barriquee, St. Somewhere Lectio Divina, St. Somewhere Saison Athene, Nogne-O Toshi Double IPA, Nogne-O Dark Horizon. That ought to keep you busy for a while.

Stone's Levitation Amber Ale is just hitting the streets. This batch was brewed on April 17th. Yep, just last week.

Fat Tire gets ink in NWI Times. article

April 21 Rita Kohn has a large article in this week's Nuvo about Upland's new green brewing plant. article

Charles Sauer of Evansville, has renovated the Hartmetz home and now has the Museum of Southern Indiana Brewery Families open for display by appointment. Hartmetz was the original owner of the Sterling brewery. article

Jerry Sutherlin's Cézanne Saison is still fermenting so the downtown Indy Rock Bottom served Liz's from the 86th St. brewpub. 7%

Dave Colt's last tapping at Indy's Ram was a treat for everyone. He and new (now official) head brewer John Simmons cooked up the typical Ram Maibock. Perfect dark golden color, great malt, maybe a touch young, try it about the first of May to catch the peak. They also brought out the Barrel-aged Maibock from last year (the GABF Silver medalist) and Dave's Jack Daniels-aged Stout. Also look for the Rye with a pound of Cascade and Nugget in every bbl.

Founders fan? the Hoosier Beer Geeks are also, with lots of opinions. blog

Guinness 250th Anniversary Stout will launch April 24th. Other than that we know nothing.

"It is reported that AB-InBev is exploring possibilities of selling its struggling Rolling Rock brand. This comes just three years after Anheuser-Busch bought the brand from InBev for $82million. Rolling Rock sales have been declining in recent years, down 13% last year to 7.4 milliion cases."

"InBev plans on putting new product launches on hold for the time being. The company states that consumers are nervous with the current economy and, as other reports have shown, they are sticking with brands that they know. Planned brand extensions for the Becks’ and Budweiser brands have been put on ice."

"As for further efforts to raise money to pay down debt stemming from its $52 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch last year InBev is still considering letting go some of the brands in its portfolio – included in possibilities are the ale brands, Estrella Damm and Michelob as well as Leffe and Hoegaarden."

Meantime of Greenwich has been named the Brewer of the Year by the British Guild of Beer Writers. article

April 18 Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA is available at J.K. O’Donnell’s Irish Ale House in Fort Wayne.

“J.K. O'Donnell's has been bestowed with the privilege of being selected as one of only two spots in the state of Indiana to pour a special 250th Anniversary edition Guinness. This is a real celebration and we aren't holding back. The Hard Travellin' Boys will be playing from 7 PM - 10 PM and Lou Henry from Aalco Distributing will be on hand with TONS of free Guinness gems to give away. We might even throw in a trivia contest or two, so study up on your Guinness obscurities and have a pint of plain!”

April 16 Here are the latest happenings from the Mad Anthony Brewsletter:
 
Mad Anthony Celebrates XI Years of Brewing
XI Years of brewing. My how time flies. Join us the week of April 13th - April 19 for great food and drink specials at all four locations. We want to express our thanks to our customers, vendors, retailers, friends and family for all their support throughout the years.
Thursday April 16th - Wings & Pitchers
Join us on Thursday for .25 cent traditional wings (dine in only) and $10.00 pitchers of select Mad Brew. In Ft Wayne we will also celebrate the opening of the outdoor beer garden with a Tin Cap Rally before the first home game from 4:30 pm -6:30 pm. Chriss Dodd's will be playing live acoustic music on the patio and special ball park food specials will be available. Our beer release for Thursday will be Java Porter.
Look for Mad Brew at Parkview Field in concession 101 down the first base line and in the outfield bar .
Friday April 17th - Brew & Q
We will be offering fills of our Anniversary Ale in growlers from 5 - 7pm (limit one per person) and each location will offering up BBQ Rib Dinners. The Fort Wayne location will feature award winning BBQ from Mad Anthony sponsored Shigs In Pit Competition BBQ Team. They will be offering up Ribs, pulled pork, smoked sausage, and combination plates. Limited quantities available. BBQ will be available for carryout.
Saturday April 18th - Shrimp Fest
Enjoy buckets of Beer - Boiled Peel & Eat Shrimp, Oysters on the 1/2 Shell, and Buckets of Steamed Mussels from 1-4 pm.
Sunday April 19th - Buy One Get One 1/2 Price
Join us Sunday as we offer buy one entree and get the second of equal or lesser value for 1/2 price. We will also be offering up $8.00 Pitchers of select Mad Brew.
We look forward to seeing all of you as we celebrate XI years of brewing fine hand-crafted ales and lagers.”

Reports that Pier 32 in Hamilton, IN has closed and is For Sale have been confirmed.

The Cerulean Restaurant & Sushi Lounge, 1101 E. Canal Street, Winona Lake, IN
(www.CeruleanRestaurant.com) has an impressive beer menu worth checking
out.

As reported, Pier 32 has unfortunately closed and is For Sale; however, there is still a good reason to go to Hamilton, IN and that is to stop at Four Corners Liquors just north of Hamilton on State Road 1.  The owner, Wil Howard, recently told me that his store has at last count 482 different beers of which he mentioned he has some 2007 Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA’s which seem to be aging nicely.  I have been to this store a couple of times and have spoken to Wil who is a real craft beer enthusiast and enjoys talking all things beer.  If ever in the Hamilton, IN area, take the time to stop at this store to see what Wil has to offer.

Here is the current list of beers on tap at The Oyster Bar (North location, Fort Wayne):
Dogfish Head 90 Minute
Chimay Red
Bells Oberon
Bells Two Hearted
Bells Lager
Bells Porter
Bells Amber
Spaten
Spaten Dunkel

April 14 Dave Colt is moving from the Ram effective May 1st. He's joining Clay Robinson in the new Sun King brewery being built in downtown Indy. April 16th is the going-away celebration when the Ram Mug Club tapping (Maibock) goes supersonic. Everyone is invited to join the Muggers downtown starting at 6:30pm for the new Maibock and a surprise Last Dance Double Rye Pale and even some of last year's Maibock that has been aging on wood. No mohawks, though.

Jon Simmons looks to be a strong possibility but not a lock at press time to take over as Head Brewer at the Ram.

A Rock Bottom tapping (Cezanne Saison) a block away at 6:00 makes this a double-barreled event.

Speaking of Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy, Jerry and Adrian have a couple of beers you really should try. Schwarz Hacker is a very thick black lager with subdued roast all over it. 5.3%.

And, ah, the Naughty Woody - Jerry's Scottish Wee Heavy aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel for 14 months. Yep, 14 months. It won Bronze at the Festival from the wood last winter and now available on tap. Big perfumey, winey, floral, whiskey nose hits first. Initially it gives a dry vanilla oak whiskey with more of the grape. The finish is a surprising sweet port/sherry that lingers like the final stanza of Hey Jude.

Alcatraz has an excellent full-bodied Rock Bock and 1¾ Belgian, not quite a Doubel. Ask for a Shane's creation: Coffee Bock with a shot of Van Gogh Coffee Vodka.

Stone Levitation is at Yogi's in Bloomington and a Northern Indiana kick-off at The Heorot in Muncie is scheduled for the 18th (Plus Old Guardian). Leviation will also be poured at Dark Lord Day. We also hear Stone 2006 Double Bastard that has been aged in a Brandy barrel will be available at DLD.

DLD? It's Insane. Golden tickets to get some Dark Lord have been seen at $150/pair.

Three FLoyds says "DO NOT SUPPORT SCALPERS!
Do yourselves a favor. If you decide to support scalpers and buy golden tickets from craigslist, understand a few things. You DO NOT NEED a Golden Ticket to attend Dark Lord Day and have a great time. The Golden Ticket is not for admission to the festival. It is only to guarantee you the opportunity to buy a couple bottles of Dark Lord. Going to the Fest and enjoying the bands and entertainment is free. Without a Golden Ticket you will still be able to drink Dark Lord and many other amazing beers on draft. Also, If you buy a Golden Ticket for $100 or so, don't be surprised IF more become available at the original $10 price from the brewery as the brewery finishes bottling Dark Lord or on the day of the event. The ticket itself has almost no value and gets you only the opportunity to purchase a couple bottles of beer (which these scammers will probably soon be selling on ebay for less than they are asking for the Golden Tickets)."

"Alcohol tax draws strong opposition" AP report "Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, told The Associated Press that he was probably going to amend his proposal next week to remove the statewide tax hike and instead give Marion County an array of taxing options to fund the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board. That could include a local alcohol tax, he said."

Shmaltz gets in in BrooklynInk.

Homebrewing was just made legal in Utah. Still illegal in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. blog

"Two San Luis Obispo, CA, brewers were eager to open their new pub, but first they were told they had to protect the beer from terrorists. As far as they can tell, they may be the only guys in the country who have been forced to fortify their brewing tanks, and no one can give a clear answer why." article

April 9 House Bill 1604 has come down to doubling all alcohol excise tax to mollify Irsay and Simon's greed. It's passed the committees. It will add $14M to the price of our beer.

xUpland Solar Day is this Saturday. They will unveil their solar water-heated brewery and Helios Pale Ale. Party starts at 2pm+. Music at 5pm. BTW, Helios will be available throughout the state in bottles and draft. 4.2% ABV, 19 IBU.

The Beer Institute's 2008 numbers say beer employs 23,911 people in Indiana with total wages of over $500M. The total economic impact is $2.88 billion. $640M goes to Indiana's coffers in various taxes, of which $14M is excise tax. report

Shmaltz Brewing is turning 13 and is planning a bar mitzvah with Human Blockhead 10% lager, Rejewvenator with dates and figs, and Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah (13 malts, 13 hops, 13% to be released on October 13th. interview1, interview2

The most expensive Scotch Whiskys. list

April 8 Upcoming beer events in Northeast Indiana:
• Belmont’s Easter Open House Tasting – April 9th at Belmont Beverages  (Dupont Road in Fort Wayne) Spring and Summer beers, Wine and Liquor will be featured.  Bells, Three Floyds and Dogfish Head will be featured from 6p.m.-9p.m.
• Downtown Eatery & Spirits (Warsaw) – Downtown’s Spring Beer Tasting on April 9th featuring beers from Spaten, Franziskaner, Bells, Three Floyds and Abita from 9p.m.-11p.m.
• Gay’s Hops N Schnapps (Auburn) – Gay’s Hops N Schnapps Easter Tasting on April 10th featuring Bells, Three Floyds, Sam Smith and Lindeman’s from 5p.m.-7p.m.
• Cap N Cork at 10020 Lima Road (Fort Wayne) – Cap N Cork Dupont Beer Tasting on April 17th from 5p.m.-7p.m. featuring beers from Dogfish Head, Three Floyds, Bells and much more.

April 7 After stopping all alcohol bills, including a possible excise tax increase, the dupes in the government may have found another reason to stick it to us - further subsidizing the Irsay and Simon families. paying for the football and basketball stadiums in Indy with increased alcohol taxes. What else is new?

It increases the beer and cider excise tax from $0.115 to $0.65 per gallon. Increases the wine excise tax from $0.47 to $2.07 per gallon. Increases the liquor excise tax from $2.68 to $6.95 per gallon.

The guvmint folks are fearmongering. Some reps, both D and R, are agin it. but it's passed the first committee.

"Get closer, though, and the whole deal starts to smell skunky, like a can of Bud left in the sun." - Post Tribune

Muncie, Richmond, Evansville, Kentuckiana, Bloomington, and Da Region don't like the idea of paying for Indianapolis's teams. Lafayette, Wabash, Indianapolis, and Fort Wayne seem to think it's OK.

The Granite City in Indianapolis will get a new brewery manager - Mike DeWeese - surprise. Mike's off in Kansas right now for training and he'll take over the fermentation tanks when he gets back. He and store manager Mike Bugler plan to have kegs available for carryout in a few weeks. Tuesday is $5 growler refills. The Wheat beer will become a permanent 5th menu selection. The seasonal Ostera Ale will be a berry flavor this year.

Broad Ripple Brewpub will help you with the taxman with $3 pints on April 15th. Not to be outdone, Lafayette Brewing pints will be $2.

Uberweizen is here for the summer at Oaken Barrel.

Power House has a new web site.

Charlestown Pizza gets in in the Courier Journal. article

"The beer list — reflecting that owners Shawn Vest and Tajana Johann count stints at Roger Baylor's New Albanian Brewing Company on their resumes — includes a nice assortment of Belgian ales and German wheat beers and a great collection of American craft beers, including a good sample of brews from Indiana brewers like the Brugge Brasserie in Indianapolis, Three Floyds in Munster and Upland in Bloomington. And though the list includes a few mass-market options, Vest is always eager to offer a taste to someone interested in experimenting with something new."

New Albanian's new Bank Street Brewhouse gets ink in Metromix. article

New item for your calendar - a new festival. Septembeer12. Zoo Brew - Potawatomi Park, South Bend. 7-10pm. $25-$35.

Now in the Monarch warehouse: New Belgium. Fat Tire in 22oz bottles and 12oz cans. 1554 and Mothership Wit in 22oz bottles. All this should hit stores about April 20th with the big bottles retailing for about $4 each. Draft will come in June and 6-packs of 12oz bottles in July. New Belgium is also moving into Georgia, Wisconsin, and the Carolina's this summer.

And another. Founders' Kentucky Breakfast Stout Tapping Party at the Fickle Peach, Muncie. is Fri, April 17th. 4pm. With a bonus Good Beer Show taping. Starting on the 13th they'll be serving Backwoods Bastard, Breakfast Stout, Double Trouble and Imperial Stout.

HotShotz in Fishers is no more. They've changed the name to 97th Landing. Still 11 interesting taps.

Founders Cerise is out. "A wonderful Cherry fermented Ale that is the perfect summer quencher. It pours ruby red and is wonderfully fruity, tart, and refreshing. Founders Cerise is made with 100% Michigan Cherries and is a unique summer quencher perfect for the season. It will be available in both 4pks and on draft at the right places."

Monday, April 6th is the official release date for the 2009 Stone Imperial Russian Stout. "As always, the Stone IRS is a gorgeous beer worthy of its incredibly high acclaim. It's big, bold, complex and absolutely incredible. Bottles will be hitting the market starting the 6th and there will be a few choice locations with some draft as well. Keep your eyes out for it and get it quick, because there is only a finite amount in the state and when it's gone, its gone."

"Louisville restaurateur Anoosh Shariat and a business partner have received a $100,000 loan from the Louisville Metropolitan Business Development Corp. to open a restaurant and brew pub at Louisville Slugger Field." Sounds like a second life for Browning's restaurant.

Utah has legalized homebrewing. That leaves Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

"To celebrate the life and accomplishments of the late Michael Jackson, the world’s foremost expert on beer and whisky before his untimely death in August 2007, thirteen of his colleagues donated original essays to create a new book in his honor called Beer Hunter, Whisky Chaser. The international release got underway in Chicago, London, Austria and the Netherlands on March 27th, which would have been his 67th birthday. Thebook is comprised of original essays by Julie Johnson, editor of All About Beer Magazine, Lucy Saunders, author of The Best of American Beer and Food and editor of beercook.com and other leading international writers on beer and whisky Stephen Beaumont, Dave Broom, Ian Buxton, John Hansell, Charles MacLean, Hans Offringa, F. Paul Pacult, Roger Protz, Conrad Seidl, Carolyn Smagalski, and Gavin D. Smith. All proceeds from the publication, which was supported by leading single malt whisky Glenlivet, will be donated to the Parkinson’s Disease Society of the UK."

Philadelphia is beeg enough to have a bi-monthly dead-tree magazine - Philly Beer Scene launches in June.

The World's most perfect food. It's Swedish. 100% bacon paste. "Each serving is as healthy as real bacon, and equivalent to 4 premium slices of bacon!" $8. buy

Schaefer Beer meets the Moog synthesizer. Youtube

"Snow Breweries, a joint venture between the Chinese Government and UK-based brewing giant SABMiller, claims Snow Beer is now the best-selling beer in the world, with 61 million hectolitres in volume sales for 2008.

Contacted this week, AB InBev spokesperson Gwendoline Ornigg declined to produce figures to substantiate a statement published in the company’s 2008 annual report claiming “Bud Light has become the world’s best-selling beer”.
The number reported by Snow Breweries for its Snow Beer (61 million hectolitres in volume sales) compares to 128.4 hectolitres in volume sales in 2008 for AB InBev’s combined portfolio, which includes Becks, Stella Artois and the Budweiser family of beers, among other leading global brands.
Market research firms estimate Bud Light beer sales for 2007 ranged between 51 and 52 billion litres. AB InBev has refused to verify the figures.
Snow Beer has seen meteoric growth since Snow Breweries began investing heavily in breweries and distribution channels in 2001, with volume sales roughly doubling each year.
Snow Beer has received dismal reviews from English-speaking beer reviewers. It is not available for sale outside Mainland China."

March 29 Beer news from the New Haven and Fort Wayne area:
• Bells Oberon will be tapped on Monday, March 30th at the Trion Tavern (New Haven) and also at J K O’Donnell’s Irish Ale House (Fort Wayne).
• Some of the current beers on tap at the Trion Tavern are Brooklyn Monster Ale, Brugge Tripel de Ripple, Founders Porter, and Founders Red Rye.
• A call made to Mad Anthony Brewing Company (Fort Wayne) found that a new beer called Pale Dopplebock is currently on tap.
• J K O’Donnell’s Irish Ale House will be hosting an event on Monday, April 13th to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Guinness.  More details to follow.

March 28 Rocky's Sub Pub has issued a news release: "If you are in the mood for a great pizza and some really good beer, come to Rocky’s on the river in Jeffersonville. . Rocky’s recently added 32 new draft beers to their line-up, ranking them as the Largest Craft Beer Selection on tap in Clark County. "

March 27 Been a slow news week? No, not really. Bob has a carpal tunnel problem and hasn't been typing much. Slow improvement is predicted. At least he can drink left-handed.

New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse is open. blog

Upland's Solar Day is Sat, Apr 11. They will be unveiling both Helios Pale Ale and their solar water-heated brewery. There are 167,566,755 BTUs of Apricus tube solar collectors on the roof that will supply 3.5 kWh/m2/day. That means 120 gallons of hot water on tap at any time. Tours and event start at 2pm. It's Upland so there will be a band beginning at 5pm.

Upland has scheduled their 2nd UpCup  Homebrew Competition for May. Entries due by May 8th. Judging and party on May 16th. Winner gets brewed for the Taproom and entered in the GABF Pro-Am.

Hoosier Beer Geek reviews Upland's AHA Rally. blog

Uncle Jack's Stout is on at Oaken Barrel. Aaron Evilsizor's Best-of-show Imperial Stout is still on at Broad Ripple Brewpub.

If you snoozed, you lost. The "golden tickets" for Dark Lord Day sold out in 4 hours. Still, the April 25th parking lot party is worth a day. See you there.

Heartland Distillery is up and running. Indiana Vodka has shown up at Vine & Table for $22.

North Coast Brewing plans to add two more 500bbl fermenters and a 500bbl bright tank. That's a bunch of growth.

This is not the droid you are looking for.


Left Hand's new truck, the Moo Mobile.
 

Coming up:

March 22 A thick, viscous celebratory ale brewed with 12 malts and 12 hops at 12% ABV, He'Brew's Jewbelation 12 not only deserves to be sipped, it must be sipped. The crazy nut who concocted this potion should have insisted that the label read "share this bottle with friends." But here I sit, sipping and sipping as 1/2 hour approaches a full one. It's a little nutty and a wee fruity but certainly the sweetness of the malt dominates the flavor of this dark lady. It is "mallllll tayyyy." The fine print on the bottle is a must-read and worth the purchase. Who knew 12 was such and important number. Had they limited it to twelve ounces I might be able to function better at this point!

March 16 Bloomington's Herald Times has started IndianaBrew.com. News, reviews.

Power House / Columbus Bar says "We have introduced the Rouge Spirits to the Columbus Area. They are a huge hit (especially the smooth gin). We currently have: The Gin, White Rum, Dark Rum, and The Hazelnut Spiced Rum. We are the only ones in the region to have access to these spirits, so come and try them out."

Utah is becoming more normal. As of July 1, they won't require every patron of every bar to become a member (which usually costs $4 to $12). article Pub crawls are back on. Whoops, forget that "normal" stuff. Now they wan to tax caffeine. different article

Lexington, KY is becoming less normal, although only one bar will have self-service taps this year. article

Here's the mandatory March "how to pour a Guinness" article.

The Octopus Tap. 4-head picnic tap. Why didn't you think of this? Just right for when pouring one beer at a time just isn't fast enough.

Headline "Today's Inbox: Women and beer judging don' t mix". We think it's in jest. article

March 13 Crown Brewing Update – From an email I received from Adam at Crown Brewing: “Move over Guinness, Crown Brewing’s Celtic Pride is now on tap.  This dark, almost black ale is brewed with 12 different malts for a very complex palate.  Roasted coffee like malt aromas are prominent in the nose.  Celtic Pride Stout has a rich flavor with a medium body and moderate bitterness.  Its caramel and coffee like character gives way to a distinctive dry-roasted bitterness in the finish.”  This description makes this reporter very, very thirsty!

March 11 Upland Ard Ri is now fully ensconced into pub taps and liquor store shelves. Make sure you get some before Mar 17th.

Three Floyds has bottled Pop Skull. This is the FFF/Dogfish Head collaboration of a beer they haven't defined yet. It will be on sale at DLD. A cask-conditioned firkin was at the Day/Night of the Living Ales in Chicago. People expected an over-the-top IPA but got a dark cordovan balanced Belgiany Brown.

Have you read the Indiana laws about homebrewing?

Some tastes:

  • Crown Brewing Ecstasy of Gold - The Blonde finally got a name.
  • Three Floyds Banana Split 7 - A 9% Dunkelweizen that has sharp esters with noticeable banana.
  • Three Floyds Dwarven Hammer - An Alt with coffee. Not heavy on the coffee. Good sweet/bitter balance. Pretty smooth with maybe a rum note.
  • Goose Island Imperial IPA - With Cascades, Tettnang, and Simcoe hops with 9% ABV, what else would you expect.

Speaking of the Day/Night of the Living Ales; the Chicago Beer Society has gone and done it again. The back room at Goose Island, Wrigleyville, was massively crowded last year with 450 people so they broke the festival into two 4-hour sessions this year. 41 Cask Conditioned firkins, plenty of servers, very short lines, 4-ounce pours. Excellent concept and perfect execution.

Beers ranged from Lakefront's Ungespundet Bock (yep, cask conditioned), Moylan Batch 1000 Double Kilt Lifter aged on oak chips, Bear Republic Apex (piney hops, and lots of alcohol), Tim Marshall's Rock Bottom ShamRock Stout (really a Thin Mint Stout with plenty of mint), Popskull, to Surly Tea Bagged Furious Double Dry Hopped Amber IPA (intense but not overwhelming).

Beer Wars is a documentary film about the "David and Goliath story" about independent breweries. It will be shown in 15 theaters around Indiana on April 16th, 8pm. A live broadcast discussion with the kahunas at Dogfish Head, New Century, Stone, and, for some reason, Ben Stein will follow.

You know it's bad when the Cheers bartender is laid off. The real one. article

March 6 Worthy news from the latest newsletter about upcoming events at Mad Anthony Brewing Company:
 
Mug Club Party March 11th
Join us for our first mug club party of 2009. Mug Club Members join us on Wednesday March 11th and be the first to try our spring seasonal brew, "Irish Red Ale." We will tap the first keg at each of our locations beginning at 5PM and as always there will be free hors d’oeuvres. The parties run from 5pm - 7pm.
"Get Your Cold Beer Here"
Mad Anthony Brewing Co. has secured two taps in the Parkview Field Stadium. Look for us down the first base line and enjoy a Mad Brew while attending a Tin Caps Game. Join us before and after the game as well.

Mad Anthony's to Celebrate St Patrick's Day in Grand Style
Join us Tuesday March 17th for our huge St Patrick's Day Party. Corned Beef & Cabbage, Irish Beef Stew, Fish & Chips, Brisket Dinners, and other great eats will be available along with plenty of Green "Gabby Blonde" Lager, our "Irish Red"Ale, & "Harry Baal's" Irish Stout. Each location will feature live music with Yo Yo Pa kicking it off in Fort Wayne at 5 PM followed by The Fabulous Rythm Kids at 8 PM. Auburn's Tap Room will play host to local favorites Nick & Paul while Warsaw's Lake City will feature Joe's Garage. Wear your Green and head on down for grand celebration.

BBQ On Broadway
Join us at our Broadway location on Friday March 20th as Mad Anthony's sponsored competition BBQ team, Shigs In Pit will be hosting BBQ On Broadway . The Shigs will be cooking up some of their regional favorites. Big juicy Pork Steaks smothered in their signature BBQ sauce is a St Louis and Midwest tradition. From the south we will be featuring our version of Louisiana BBQ Shrimps. Shell on sauteed in butter, cajun spices, garlic, & hot sauces make this southern dish incredible! From the far east, our smoky chicken wings with Thai chili mustard glaze will keep you in perfect balance between sweet & spicy. Dinner will be available after 5 PM. Afterwards stick around for one of the areas hottest bands, "Walkin Papers" Music begins at 8:30 pm.

7th Annual Chili Cookoff
The 7th Annual chili cookoff sponsored by the Fort Wayne Southside Kiwanis will take place on Sunday March 22nd beginning at 3 pm. Mike Conley will host the event and the cost is $5.00. There will be all u can eat house chili, competition judging, live music, and great prize giveaways. If you are interested in entering your chili please contact Tim Noyes at 260.749.5903

Haps on The Hops
In the coming days, Mad Anthony will be releasing our newest spring seasonal beer, "Irish Red" Ale. Our version of this beer is unique in that it uses a percentage of rye malt (an Irish Whiskey ingredient) giving this beer a notable spicy character. It is deep Ruby red, getting its color from a combination of sweet caramel malt and roasted barley. It has a medium hop character and bitterness from the highly renowned East Kent Goldings hops grown in the UK.

Pale Dopplebock - a pale golden lager, brewed with the finest European Barley and German Tettnang hops. It has a rich malty sweet character but finishes cleanly. With its light color and flavor and an alcohol percent coming in over 8% this is a deceptively dangerous beer. Fine for sipping on early spring nights.

March 4 Clay Robinson has leased property just south of Easley Winery in Indianapolis (College & Ohio) and bought a set of 15bbl brewing equipment from Stone Coast in Maine to fill it. He hopes by June to have Sun King beer in people's hands, lips, mouths, and stomachs. See Neal Taflinger's Indy.com blog and watch the video

Regulars may be a Wheat, Pale, and Blonde and he plans up to 2 seasonals per month. Distribution will be at the small tap room but mainly by by kegs in Indy restaurants.

Anchor has released Our Barrel Ale aged in Rye barrels for 6 months. 100 cases total and only available at the brewery.

Sam Adams is responding with an "Imperial series". Three beers; Imperial Stout (9.2%), Imperial White with 10 spices and 10.3%, and a new, reformulated Double Bock with 9.5% ABV. Retail will be as high as $10/4-pack. tasting notes

March 3 Record attendance for the first night of Gravity Head. The first keg to run out at Rich O's was a Bell's Expedition Stout / Double Cream Blend. Allagash Curieux was right behind. In fact there was a 30% turnover during the first day. But there's 71 in all and they will just keep coming, including some surprises for later - Aventinus Eisbock, Coney Island Human Blockhead.

Roger keeps saying New Albanian's Bank Street restaurant will be open this month. They menu may be laced with mussels and frites.

On Saturday of Gravity Head, the Fossils homebrew club hosted some Hop Jockeys from Bloomington. Bob Capshaw's vertical tasting of barrel-aged peary was a special treat. Their Black Hole bar/garage/homebrew operation is astounding.

The Indianapolis Ale Fest has been cancelled.

Kilroy's in Bloomington holds 850 people, sells more Red Bull than anyone else in the state and "we sell 70 percent spirits to 30 percent beer, while most college bars sell 30 percent spirits to 70 percent beer". That must make it the 36th best nightclub in the U.S. (according to Nightclub & Bar Magazine). article

What's coming up:

  • All Month - 11th annual Gravity Head continues at RichO's. Celebration of Big Beers. "Liver Olympics"
  • Fri, Mar 6 - Upland Tapping of Norton Wisdom Triple. label artist will be there. 7-10pm
  • Sat, Mar 7 - Power House / Columbus Bar Tapping of Million Mile Stout (8%. Aged in Jack Daniels bbl). 8pm
  • Sat, Mar 7 - BJCP Study Group. Indy. 12:30-6pm. 1 of 4.
  • Thurs, Mar 12 - Tapping of St. James Irish Red at Indy Rock Bottoms 6pm
  • Sat, Mar 14 - Hoosier Beer Geeks Beer Breakfast. Brugge, Indy. 10am. $25. Limit 50 people.

Three fonts walk into a bar. The bartender says, "We don’t serve your type in here."

February 26 Upland will tap their Infinite Wisdom Tripel on Fri, Mar 6th, 7-10pm. Norton Widsom, the artist who did the label, will be there with more of his art to see and buy.

The 11th annual Gravity Head starts at RichO's this Friday. A celebration of Big Beers. "Liver Olympics".

  • Allagash Curieux (Bourbon Barrel Aged Tripel) … 11%
  • Bell’s HopSlam … 10%
  • Bell's Bourbon Barrel Aged Expedition / Double Cream Blend
  • Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA … 20%
  • *Founders Breakfast Stout (10-01-07) … 8.3%
  • Het Anker Cuvee Van de Keizer… Belgium … 11%
  • Koningshoeven Quadrupel … Netherlands … 10%
  • *L'Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien (aged in oak barrels formerly used for red wine and grappa) (2007) … Switzerland … 15.5%
  • *Left Hand Smoke Jumper Smoked Imperial Porter … 9.2%
  • Moylan’s Double Kilt Lifter … 11%
  • NABC Solidarity Baltic Porter … 10%
  • NABC Thunderfoot (2008) … circa 11%
  • New Holland Pilgrim’s Dole Wheat Wine … 10%
  • Rogue Old Crustacean Barley Wine (Batch 6530; Jan. 2003) … 11%
  • Sierra Nevada Double Debockel … 9.4%
  • Stone Twelfth Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout 9.2%
     
  • On The Handpull - Harviestoun Ola Dubh Highland Park 40-year (single malt barrel aged) … Scotland … circa 11%
  • Tapped on gravity 2/28 - JW Lees Vintage Harvest Ale (Lagavulin barrel-aged) (2008) … Circa 11.5%

The short, short history of U.S. homebrewing in an article with more words than new ground.

Brugge gets ink in the Indianapolis Business Journal. article - Ted Miller takes George Harrison's place in the photo.

With total U.S. beer being more than a $100 billion industry, the Brewers Association estimates the actual dollar sales from craft brewers in 2008 were $6.34 billion, up from $5.74 billion in 2007. Taxable barrels of the total beer category was 1,210,018 more in 2008 with craft brewers producing 473,364 of those barrels. Total craft brewer barrels for 2008 was 8,596,971, up from 8,123,607 barrels in 2007. - BA
 

February 25 New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse gets ink in the Courier-Journal. article

Roger has the opening lineup for Gravity Head online. Drool.

Three Floyds has a website just for Dark Lord Day (April 25th). They will use a "Golden Ticket" system. Register online. When available, buy a ticket ($10 to charity) to guarantee there will be beer for you. The party in the parking lot should be just as good as ever.

Mike DeWeese has landed at the new Granite City in Indy.

Pictures of Crown Liquors special tasting last Friday are online.

Butler Winery's homebrew shop guru, Amy, says hops are in good supply except Fuggle, Galena, German Perle, UK Kent, and Target. They will have rhizomes for $6 in April - preorder by next Wednesday.

The Hoosier Beer Geeks review Rock Bottom's Brewer's Dinner.

New in Indiana - 2009 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine (11.3%, 95 IBU), Two Brothers Red Eye Coffee Porter (9.3%, on tap first at Shallos (Greenwood) and Finches (Bloomington)).

Lucifer strong Belgian ale may be coming back. Originally made by Leifmans, it was stopped before their bankruptcy. Leifmans was bought by Duvel who never started brewing it again. Now Het Anker has purchased the recipe and marketing rights.

Michigan Brewing Co. has been approved for a $723,000 tax credit for developing and marketing Kid Rock beer. Seriously. article

There will still be a 5% ABV cap on beer in Mississippi. They killed the bill to raise it to 17%. And legally you can't take your own beer into the state, so half the beers in the world are illegal to drink in our most backward state.

But it does look as if Alabama will raise its cap to 13.9%. And they may let larger cities have referendums for Sunday sales.

Meanwhile Idaho may go from 8.4¢ to 29.3¢ per six-pack.

University College London did a study of 12,500 three-year-olds and found "boys born to light drinkers were 40% less likely to have conduct problems and 30% less likely to be hyperactive than those whose mothers had abstained." article

In 1756 there were 180,000 registered stills in Sweden. That's one for every 10 people. Then the government took over the entire business after the 1917 Russian revolution, leaving 3. Thank goodness the EEC made them privatize distilling again so people can make their own Aquavit. article

February 16 Hello everyone! We wanted to do a special tasting for one the owners daughters, 4yr old Caroline Symmes, that has been going through cancer treatment. Ryan Pierce of Cavalier Distributing has offered up his vertical of Stones Vertical Epic Ale(minus the '02)and lots of other brews. The point, to get more people to come up and taste some great brews and if the mood strikes you, to give a donation to Rileys Children Hospital. In addition to the Vertical Epic, we will be pouring alot of other brews from Cavalier. Here are a few... Southern Star Pine belt Pale Founder's Porter Founder's Double Trouble ---Other founders??? Stone Old Guardian ---Other Stone's??? Mikkeller Its Alive Mikkeller Monks Brew Aventinus Weihenstephaner Hefe I also talked with Bobby and we will be bringing some special brews from our own stashes, I have heard ramblings of Darkness, Lost Abbey, Russian River and loads of other goodies. We will also be having a drawing for prizes, give aways and beer. So please join us for a great cause and come tastes some worldclass brews! We will be doing this next Fri at Crown Liquors #15 in Fishers, Feb 20th at 5pm.Cheers! Mike Sprinkle

Rare Vos. $2/pint. This week only at Power House in Columbus.

Oregon House Bill 2461 would increase the excise tax on a barrel of beer from $2.60 to $49.61. article - article - If this isn't an April Fools joke. Yeah, we're going to see that kind of thinking here in Indiana also.

February 14 Caption contest. Winner will receive an indianabeer.com keychain/bottle opener! Submit your caption for the photo below (Obama) to: webmaster@indianabeer.com

February 13 The Brewers Guild numbers are in. There were 2398 attendees at the Winterfest. Plus 156 designated drivers. See you all next year summer.

Cavalier has picked up Southern Star beer. Pine Belt Pale Ale is the first offering and it's hitting shelves now. APA;5.3%;45IBU; Sorachi Ace, Galena, CTZ, andPalisades hops. Beer Advocate gives it a B+. The real news: it's in 16oz CANS. You can take them to the beach, the races, etc. Lets see if they succeed where Dale's didn't here in Indiana.

Later on, we may see SS's 8.2% Stout and let's start begging them to can their Logger Dortmund Export.

BW3 in Downtown Indianapolis will tap a keg of Behemoth Blonde on Thurs, Feb 19. 7pm. Thought you might like to know.

Mike Westervelt makes good points about Indiana blue laws in the Purdue Exponent. article - "An MIT study last summer concluded that churches in states that repealed their Sunday liquor bans saw a dip in both attendance and average donations."

Chicago Tribune Headline: Beer and the president: A new political reality? article - bonus picture and a reference to Three Floyds. Oh, heck with it, here's the friendliest presidential picture you've seen since Harry Truman was in office.

February 11 Recent Visit/Tastings:
 
Trion Tavern (New Haven, IN) – Stopped in recently at Trion Tavern for the first time and was not disappointed by the friendly service, food or the beer. Greg Jacquay has owned the Trion Tavern for almost 14 years. He currently has 22 taps and hopes to add another 20 or so more taps and he has approximately 50 bottles. The Trion is kid-friendly as there is a Family Room, the bar area and a room for playing pool. Smoking is allowed in the bar and in the pool room. On tap was Bells Bourbon Barrel Double Cream/Expedition Stout which is a RETIRED beer! The aroma is very much bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, roasty, and dark fruits. Nice! The bourbon takes its place in the front seat in the flavor, roasty, vanilla, oak, little hoppiness and dryness to the finish. Very, tasty indeed!  An extremely nice balance and it all blended together very well. I also had the Bluegrass Nut Brown Ale. The aroma was brown malt, caramel, semi-sweet, and nutty. Ditto for the flavor along with some chocolate and a bitter finish.  In talking with Greg today via telephone he told me that he just tapped Three Floyds Behemoth and Victory Hop Wallop as well as having Bells Hopslam on tap. I was also informed there is still some of the Bells BB Double Cream/Expedition Stout left for anyone wanting to have the experience of tasting this fine Retired Bells beer.

February 9 Winter Warmer notes:

  • The Keg Grip challenge was won again this year by the strong hands of Linda Swihart who held a 1/8bbl keg for 2 minutes, 43 seconds.
  • Back Road Pole Shirt Pale Ale - With oats for body, Amarillo hops for finish, and pear juice for some reason.
  • Back Road 2012 IPA - The end of the world as the Maya new it. Served cask conditioned. About 65 IBU. Chinook and Amarillo hops. Warmth gives flavor boost.
  • Barley Island Jack Daniels barrel-aged Replicale - Light crisp body. Little whiskey. Aging has made the Scottish ale more delicate.
  • Crown poured Winter Warlock, VFT IPA, and "The Blonde with no Name" - a laid back light-colored ale looking for a name.
  • Lafayette had Marley's VSOP and Noel Belgian Double - Blended tart sourness. One of the kings - and as a special treat Big Boris Barleywine from 2008, 1999, and 1998. The 2008 is worthy already and seems light to "style". The vintages were poured from bottles Greg put up long ago. The 1999 has fresh cider and raisin aromatic notes and is deceptively drinkable. The 1998 is fuller bodied and spicy of raisins and pears.
  • Mad Anthony ran out of all their beers except the Old Crippled Bastard Barleywine.
  • Rock Bottom North IPA - 6.8% of pure Cascadey goodness.
  • Upland served Bad Penny IIPA and Winter Warmer - better on tap than in bottles I thought. The higher carbonation adds to the complexity.

Part business plan, part manifesto. "in terms that the money people could grasp." New Albanian's expansion papers are a rousing Roger read. blog

The huge Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida wants to enlarge their liquor distribution into Indiana. Can't. Owners must be Indiana residents. Suing ensues. Commerce clause vs. 21st Amendment. article

Nutshell: Constitution says states can't interfere with interstate commerce. 21st Amendment gives states absolute right to write alcohol laws any way they want. Mail-order beer ban has been upheld but the plaintives were California wineries who didn't have much to gain. Now Indiana's National Wine & Spirits distributor has a lot to lose.

HBG Interview - the history of Power House - with Jon Myers. blog

Beer bottle dominos. YouTube

February 8 Photos from Lafayette Brewing Company's Winter Warmer

February 6 Recent beer events/tastings – The Fort Wayne Locals group, comprised mostly of members belonging to ratebeer.com as well as some homebrewers, recently got together for a tasting/rating event.  This event had a total attendance of sixteen (16) thirsty beer geeks.  Below is a list of the beers that were brought to the event:

Midnight Sun Venus 
Midnight Sun Mars 
La Folie 
Mikkeler Santa’s Little Helper 2007 
Sam Adams Chocolate Bock 
De Molen 1914 Triple Stout SSS 
Founders Double Trouble growler 
Hopslam (Growler) 
Lagunitas Brown Shugga 
Founders Backwoods Bastard 
Bells Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout 
Ten Fidy 
Upland Peach Lambic
Midnight Sun Gluttony 
Honey Run Ragnars Reserve Mead 
Ring of Fire Alaskan Statehood Anniversary Mead 
Numerous homebrews

A good time was had by all and it was great seeing that nine (9) out of the sixteen (16) in attendance were first-time attendees including five (5) who came from No. Manchester, IN.  Who says Fort Wayne doesn’t like craft beer?

Recent seasonal brews at the Ram in Fishers:
• Kolsch
• Java Stout
• 777 Belgian Triple
• California Common – a malty, citrus, pine and grapefruit aroma and ditto for the flavor, nicely balanced, clean mouthfeel, and worthy of a try

It was extremely good to see a big turnout (soldout as I understand) at the recent B.I.G. Winterfest.  A lot of long lines of people waiting to try a beer that they may or may not have already had and talking with people who were trying different styles of beer that they had never experienced before.  It was quite something to see and experience.  Looking forward to next year’s event!

February 5 Fort Wayne's Mad Anthony Serious Homebrewers have a nice article in the Journal Gazette. Highligts Ben Fogt's Goat Scrotum, Mad Anthony, and Brewer's Art Supply. Buy Emma a beer sometime, guys.

Time for spring planting already. Hop rhizomes are coming up. Great Fermentations has a pre-order system and mail-order capabilities. ""We have chosen nine different varieties of hops that grow particularly well here in the midwest.  Orders need to be in by March 1st. Please be advised that hop vines can grow 25 feet or more in a season so trellising or some other type of support is advised. Follow this link for more details and to reserve your rhizomes." $4.75 in Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, Glacier, Horizon, Liberty, Mt. Hood, Nugget, and Willamette.

Valentine's day in on a Saturday. How romantic. Ought to be a busy evening everywhere. Here's two posters - for the same event. Details: Beer Dinner. Fickle Peach, Muncie. 6:30pm. $40. "Instead of an overpriced frou-frou meal, treat your beer-loving sweetheart to a Bell's Valentine's Dinner. Four gourmet courses, each paired with a pint from our exclusive Bell's selection, including a bonus beer you'll find nowhere else."


Band Aid courtesy IndianaBeer.com

February 4 Chris Johnson and Brett VanderPlaats have a web site up now about their upcoming brewery, the People's Brewing Company, in Lafayette. Chris was the brewer at Lafayette Brewery for many years. The new venture uses a name from a pre-prohibition brewery in Terre Haute. It seems to be destined to be a brewery rather than a brewpub.

Nick speaks (in Beer Advocate): 3floyds.com is now Three Floyds Brewing Co official website but you can still order things from threefloyds.com. We are having trouble getting our own domain name back?? Three Floyds will be selling DarkLord Day Tickets in the near future to assure everyone that waits in line will get to buy some DarkLord and as always we are trying to smooth out any kinks in the festival so everyone is happy.

Prohibition and Cincinnati. article

Old Style has announced new packaging, advertising, premium pricing, and "a return to the time-honored German brewing tradition of Authentic Kraeusening". All this while saying "We proudly brew our beer with the same quality we have for more than 100 years." Except for that pesky kraeusening, evidently. article

Police in Flint, MI are looking for 2 guys who stole 4 cases of Bud. "They should get caught just based on the fact they risked a criminal record for Budweiser of all beers." article that is an example of why we don't have comments on IndianaBeer.  

February 3 "Though it is snowing and icy outside as I write this, the planning for this year's Keg Liquors Fest of Ale is moving forward. Our date for this year's festival will be June 6th, from 3 - 7 PM. We are looking at two locations to hold the event this year, as I believe we have outgrown holding this in our parking lot. Both spots that I am in discussions with are still in Clarksville, within 10 minutes of the store. We are continuing our charity with the WHAS Crusade for Children. Last year we raised $1500 for them, and I hope to do more for them this year. Regards, Todd, Keg Liquors"

February 1 Headline: Three Floyds and Dogfish Head Collaborate To Brew Popskull. article

Boulder Mojo Risin 10.5% IIPA will be on tap soon at Shallos, Rich O's, Columbus Bar, Patrick's Kitchen, Black Sparrow, Old Town Ale House, Constant Spring.

The only Jack Daniels-aged Replicale your reporter has had is the Kevin Matalucci's Broad Ripple version. It initially is fresh and light bodied - just as a Scottish Ale should be. Whiskey quickly becomes the guiding force in your mouth. Bitterness is bashed to neutrality by the whiskey right through the long finish.

Brookston Beer Bulletin's Top 10 Beer Stories of 2008. article

Cincinatti's Christian Moerlein has been bringing back old local brands Burger and Hudepohl. Now they have bought the rights to Little Kings and plan to put out 7oz Cream Ales. Oh, the nostalgia.

It's not beer but "John the toilet laid to rest at Utah restaurant". article

January 27 WLFI TV in Lafayette ran a story about 2 bills in the works; Election Day sales and Sunday brewpub growler sales. Even with the hiatus of alcohol laws this year, these may pass. The story has interviews with 4 liquor store managers and Greg Emig. article with 2 minute video

Want ad: World Class Beverages in Indy is looking for an Administrative Assistant. Assists Sales Division management in efficiently carrying out routine duties. Provides clerical and administrative support to Sales Representative and all levels of Sales management. Provides customer service to internal and external customers. info

Give your Salvatory glands a month head start for Gravity Head at RichO's. Starts Feb 27th. Roger has a potential lineup posted. Highlights? How about Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine 15.04%, Moylan Double Kilt Lifter 11%, L'Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 15.5%, Het Anker Cuvee Van de Keizer 11%, Regenboog ‘t Smisje BBBourgondier 12%. That's gravity just waiting to happen.

January 26 Winterfest. Synopsis: Sold out. About 2500 people - no accurate count yet. Crowded. Here's a link to Friday's article in the Star, with previews by Liz, Jason, and Mat. Thanks for attending. See you next July.

Crown Brewing is welcoming Steve Mazylewski as their new head brewer, replacing Jim Cibak. Steve has 20 years of brewing include the Wild Onion brewpub in Lake Barrington, IL, and the Hog Haus in Fayetteville, AR.

Stuart Hobson, former owner of Fisher's Liquors, is now licensed and making Indiana vodka. Only the second distiller in our state. article

January 25 There was a whole bunch of things "right" about the first annual Brewers of Indiana Guild Winterfest! Click here.

January 23 Keg Liquors has a list of their most interesting bottles on Beer Advocate. Nice touch.

Mad Anthony's sponsored Shigs In Pit Competition BBQ Team finished the year ranked 22nd in Team of the Year Standings. Over 4500 Teams were ranked by the Kansas City BBQ Society.

Fail: Speedball brand beer. article Ghosts of John Belushi and River Phoenix ordered a growler to go.

Virginia is considering a privatization of their liquor stores, figuring to raise "a substantial amount of its $3 billion budget" with franchise fees while still collecting liquor taxes.

There's a shortage of chicken wings in Buffalo. article Everybody Panic

January 22 It's confirmed that the Friday Indianapolis Star's Go section will have a cover story about the Winterfest. Writer Matt Gonzales has interviewed several of the usual suspects for this story. Buy yours Friday.

Rodney and Jess look at the Michelob "Craft" Pack at Hoosier Beer Geek. blog

As if Iowa City isn't silly enough. First they want to have drink prices set by the week. Now they want police to breathalyze bartenders, wait staff, and the band. With a $500 fine for being over .02. article "It's probably going to pass".

January 21 The  Winterfest is this Saturday. But you knew that. Just sending a couple of notes:

1) The program for the Winterfest can be found on the BIG site as a 9mb PDF file. Has a complete list of beers to be served.

2) We have set up two hotel deals.

    Ramada Indy - I465 & US36 (Pendelton Pike) - Northeast - $56
    317-879-4000 Ask for Fairground rate

    Homewood Suites - I465 & Keystone - North - $99 (sleeps 4)
    417-253-1919

Both have shuttles to the fairgrounds. These are not tested yet, let me know how they work out.

3) We have some exhibitors lined up. 8 tables are reserved for the BCCA folks with breweriana. Mike Deweese (of BW3/Badaboomz/J.Gumbos) will be there with obsolete tap handles. Neal Dannison will sell his popular 6-pack plaques. T-shirts from Yesterbeer. Maybe more.
See you there,
Bob.

Questions - bob@indianabeer.com - 317-856-6092

January 20 The program for the Winterfest (next Saturday) can be found on the BIG site as a PDF file. (9mb) Has a complete list of beers to be served. Sorry, no Dark Lord. Highlights of the Indiana winter beers that will be tapped:

  • Replicales from Alcatraz, Barley Island, Broad Ripple Brewpub, Mad Anthony, Ram, and Rock Bottom
  • Alcatraz - Belgian Double
  • Barley Island - Barrel-aged Count Hopula – Imperial IPA. Plus Beastie Barrel Stout – 2008 Great American Beer Festival Bronze Medal winning wood-aged beer.
  • Broad Ripple + Aaron Evilsizor - Russian Imperial Stout - 2008 Indiana State Fair Best of Show in the Homebrew division. Co-brewed at BRBP.
  • Brugge - Thunder Monkey – Belgian Brown Holiday Ale
  • Crown will bring a surprise barrel-aged beer.
  • Half Moon - Winter Warmer
  • Lafayette - Big Boris, Noel Dubbel, and Marley’s VSOP (Very Special Old Porter aged on Jack Daniels barrel wood)
  • Mad Anthony - Bourbon Barrel Imperial Porter
  • Mishawaka Russian Imperial Stout and Resolution
  • New Albanian 15-B Porter
  • Oaken Barrel - Superfly and Epiphany
  • Power House - Wee Heavy Scotch Ale
  • Ram - 777 Belgian Tripel and Java Breakfast Stout
  • Rock Bottom Downtown - Old Curmudgeon. Plus Naughty Woody - 2008 Festival of Barrel Aged Beers Bronze Medal-winning Wee Heavy.
  • Rock Bottom 86th St. -  Bourbon Barrel Stout (2007), Wheat Wine, and Tripel Trouble – 2008 Indiana State Fair Gold Medal winning Belgian Strong Ale.
  • Turoni's Main Street - Rudolph's Revenge
  • Three FLoyds - Bird 'O Prey. Plus Oatgoop - Oat wheat wine made in conjunction with Mikkeller of Denmark.
  • Upland - Winter Warmer and Chocolate Stout
  • Wabash Valley - Harvest Amber
  • Warbird - Shanty Irish Ale

Courtney Hall and the The Hop Shop get a Q&A in the Indianapolis Star. article bonus use of the word dopplebach. Twice.

Indiana's state beverage is - - - water. "Why we didn't pick beer for our state beverage -- Indiana Amber comes to mind -- is beyond me." space-filling article

The Ohio Valley Homebrewers Association now has their expanded newsletter online. Full color and worth reading.

Winterfest and organic beers get ink in The Examiner. article

DCist tells Washingtonians since they can't get Goose Island or Piece for the inauguration, they should drink Three Floyds at Birreria Paradiso. article

Mississippians for Economic and Beverage Advance is trying to raise the legal ABV of beer from 5% to 17%. blog

January 18 What's inside: WCB's Indiana Craft Beer Sampler. Click for detail.

January 17 Breweries at the Winterfest : Alcatraz, Back Road, Barley Island, Broad Ripple, Brugge, Crown, Half Moon, Lafayette, Mad Anthony, Mishawaka, New Albanian, Oaken Barrel, Power House, Ram, Rock Bottom Downtown and 86th St., Three Floyds, Turoni's Main Street, Upland, Wabash Valley, Warbird. Also brewers or reps from Bell's, Bluegrass, Left Hand, Magic Hat, Sierra Nevada, Stone, Two Brothers. Great Fermentations will pour a couple. Plus a whole lot more.

Senate Bill 442 has been sent to committee. If passed it will let Indiana microbreweries and brewpubs sell beer for carryout on Sunday. This means growlers, etc. It will add a line to 7.1-3-2-7(5).

(5) If the brewer's brewery manufactures not more than twenty thousand (20,000) barrels of beer in a calendar year, do the following:
(I) Sell the brewery's beer as authorized by this section for carryout on Sunday in a quantity at any one (1) time of not more than one-quarter (1/4) barrel, but the beer may be contained in bottles or other permissible containers.

Explanation of State Expenditures: This bill could increase administrative expenditures for the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission (ATC) by requiring the ATC to amend rules governing issuance of a brewer’s permit. It is estimated that the ATC will be able implement this provision with its existing level of resources.

Explanation of State Revenues: This bill allows a brewer to sell beer for carryout on Sundays to a consumer at a quantity of not more than one-quarter barrel. To the extent that the provision of this bill increases alcoholic beverage sales, collections of alcoholic beverage excise taxes could increase. Any impact on Sales Tax revenue is expected to be minimal since any additional purchases of alcohol would likely reduce consumer spending on other sales taxable items.

The alcoholic beverage excise taxes are distributed in varying amounts to the following funds: state General Fund, the Post War Construction Fund, the Enforcement and Administration Fund, the Addiction Services Fund, and the Wine Grape Market Development Fund. The state retains 50% of the General Fund distribution of beer and wine excise tax revenue. The remainder is distributed to cities and towns based on population.

Kahn's, for instance, has post-holiday specials. Whitbread English Pale Ale at $7/6. "get it while we still have it, it has been discontinued". Anchor Christmas $6/6.

You'll find Hopslam, Founders Double Trouble, and Magic Hat #8 out now in bottles. (#9 should be at the Winterfest.

Latest blonde German size zero St. Pauli Girl unveiled. Well she's Slovaki-American, and not a size zero and she's not wearing a veil. But she is blonde, and enjoys wrestling. web site - press release

March of the Beers. Penguins have it easy. video - No beers were harmed in the making of this film.

If you've been laid off and your 401k is worth a case of Miller Lite, it could be worse. 80 years ago it became illegal to drink beer.

January 15 We talked about Jerry's Trouble at Rock Bottom Downtown a couple of days ago (scroll down). Liz's Tripel Trouble at Rock Bottom on 86th St. is a 9% Tripel. Rich. Right to style. Good burp factor.

Her Old Curmudgeon is now Cask Conditioned on the handpull. Brilliant dark gold. Fluffy white head. Creamy smooth. Aroma, taste, finish, and memory are all of the massive  Amarillo and Simcoe. Dry hopping with even more to past the magical 100 IBUs has removed much of the strong malt base. 8.6%. Yikes.

The ever-changing wheat is a dry-hopped American style. Hefe darkness and cloudiness. Dry hopped with Amarillo making it nicely dry throughout without the floral aroma that would jar a wheat. Much more interesting than most American Wheats.

We're told the Indianapolis Granite City will open on Feb 10th. 96th and Meridian. Not confirmed yet.

Flash: Explosion Rocks Abita Brewery. article Tank was over pressurized. Heard 2 miles away. No injuries. 1am. Nobody deafened but shrapnel hits nearby home.

January 13 Bob has put together the indianabeer.com year in rebrew

January 11 Jason Larrison has put together a must-read State of the Six Pack report covering many topics of beer in Indiana. Comments by the professionals. It's on Hoosier Beer Geek in 3 parts. One - Economy, Hops. Two - Craft vs Mega. Three - Sunday and Online sales.

Cask Conditioned Bell's Two Hearted. Yum. There's one at the Columbus Bar which will be tapped at 8pm, Thurs, Jan 22.

Also on the 22nd: Three Floyds hosts Dogfish Head for a brewers dinner. $80. Off Centered and Not Normal. Tickets at the brewpub.

Carie at Kahn's in Indianapolis tells us they have Anchor Christmas $5.99 a 6-pack, was originally $11.99. Oaken Barrel Epiphany $4.99 a 6-pack, was originally $10.99. "I was lucky to get a case each of Three Floyds and Mikkeller collaboration Oatgoop, an Oatwine, and Brooklyn Black Ops, a Russian Imperial Stout that was aged in bourbon barrels for four months and refermented with Champagne yeast. Like I said, very little available, so it will be first come first served but allocated to one bottle per person."

Youtube has a lot of Guinness commercials. Here's a starter.

January 10 Go to the Ram this weekend for the last of the Java Stout. Thick but plenty of carbonation lightens the mouthfeel nicely; all the better to pair with food. Mild roast coffee is restrained and lingers in the long finish. Bitter from the coffee isn't prominent and the overall bitterness is about that of an Oatmeal Stout rather than an Irish Dry Stout.

Or go to the Ram anytime in January for half-price growler refills.

"Trouble" was unveiled last night at the Indianapolis Rock Bottoms. Jerry's at the downtown location is a Strong Belgian Golden at 8.9%. Very nice, very dangerous. Just the right spiciness.

His Old Curmudgeon is an 8.2% IPA with lots of smoothness built in. It's been out a month and is right on song. American hop finish comes from Mt. Hood and US Goldings, both European hop derivatives. Bright and malty at the same time.

(on song - an automotive term for a hi-performance engine that is tuned and running just right - Urban Dictionary)

Broad Ripple Brewpub has expanded their menu and it's now kept up to date online.

De Strusse Black Albert, the new hottest Russian Imperial Stout is now in Indiana. Seen at the Heorot and soon coming to the Fickle Peach. (thanks JT) Pricey stuff at $10+/pint, $10+/bomber in stores.

Ever wondered how to use beer in a mixed drink. Duvel, gin, and absinth go into a Green Devil. Other ideas

January 8 "No More Free Beer at Busch Theme Parks". article Here's to you Mr. Tilt-a-Whirl Vomit Cleaner Upper Guy.

Anheuser-Busch has been leasing England's oldest brewing plant, the 600 year old Stag Brewery in Mortlake, London. After 600 years, this former Watneys and Scottish Courage facility will be closed in 2010 by InBev. article

Some bottle reviews:

  • Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown - "Beer with natural flavor". Very hazelnutty and artificial but nice enough for the non-anal drinker.
  • Shiner Holiday Cheer - "Ale brewed with peaches and pecans and with natural flavor and caramel color". Nutmeg. Nutty of black walnut. Maybe there's some peach in there somewhere.
  • Shiner Bohemian Black Lager - Almost 7-Up fizziness. Malt dominates with vegetable and grapey notes. Could be a bit oxidized.
  • Mishawaka Jibber Jabber - "Stout with coffee added". Foamy tan head. Not strong of coffee. Flavors blend nicely.
  • Xingu Black Beer - Brazilian Black Schwartzbier. Not overly malty. Quite drinkable.
  • Aris Greek Lager - East European Pils. All the Pils character without being skunky. OK stuff.
  • Pike Naughty Nellie - "Brewed with organic ingredients". Pleasant lightish American Pale. Balanced. Nice rich golden color.
  • Bornem Double Ale - Not an attractive beer to look at. Headless, dull and muddy brown. Malt, alcohol. Pineapple notes. Fairly nondescript. 8% ABV.
  • Minhas Simpler Times Pilsner - Bright copper. Bright clean noble hop aroma. A good ballpark beer circa the 1950s.
  • Cave Creek Chili Beer - "Premium lager beer with chili pepper added". This stuff has changed recently (as has the label). It was previously vinegary and hot but they've changed the fruit to a plain green chili pepper. The pepper is not, itself, hot when eating. The beer, though, is very hot and the heat hits you immediately - before you can get any taste at all.
  • Defumada Eisenbahn Smoked Lager - Another Brazilian and the gem of this collection. Very mild smoke on a good Dunkel. Rich, smooth, drinkable.

January 7 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Don't expect Indiana lawmakers to consider any bills to repeal a ban on Sunday liquor sales during the General Assembly's legislative session this year. The session kicks off on Wednesday.

A group will delay its effort at persuading legislators to change the state's ban on Sunday alcohol sales at drug, grocery and convenience stores. Hoosiers for Beverage Choices had formed in August to push for changes to the state alcohol laws.

But Grant Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council, says that no bill will be introduced this session because legislative leaders have called for a moratorium on alcohol-related legislation for the General Assembly session. Instead, the topic will likely be assigned to a two-year interim study committee on alcoholic beverage issues.

Meanwhile, morning Sunday sales as well as a state-wide smoking ban have been defeated in Michigan.

By the way, The Elkhart Mad Anthony's is open.

January 6

• Currently on tap at J.K. O’Donnell’s (Fort Wayne) – Kulmbacher Eisbock – very smooth, tasty and a nice winter beer to warm you up, Murphy’s Stout, Guinness, Smithwick’s Red Ale, Warbird Shanty Irish Red Ale, Warbird Mustang Gold, Harp Euro Pale Lager, Old Speckled Hen, Stella Artois, Three Floyd’s Gumballhead, Ommegang Witte, and Strongbow Cider
• Seasonal Selections (Limited Quantities) at J.K. O’Donnell’s – Harvey’s Christmas Ale, De Ranke Guldenberg, Urthel Samaranth, New Day Dry Blueberry Honey Wine (Mead) from Elwood, IN, New Day Semi Sweet Plum Honey Wine (Mead) (from Elwood, IN), Dansk Viking Blod (Mead), and Lurgashall Tower of London (Mead)

January 5 Just a reminder, the B.I.G. Winterfest is in 3 weeks. Sat, Jan 24. Indiana State Fairgrounds. See you there.

The official Hoosier Beer Geek New Years Eve party at Deano's Vino ended sometime in the early AM. With Dogfish Head 120, Delirium Tremens, and Brugge Thunder Monkey on tap, no telling exactly when the last dog was hung. pictures

Short sips:

  • Alcatraz Belgian Dupple - Candi sugar, honey, and lotsa malt.
  • Rock Bottom, 86th St 2007 Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout - Big, big whiskey nose. Sweet whiskey vanilla. This is secretly on tap now and is scheduled to be poured at the B.I.G. Winterfest.
  • Mike Ditka Merlot and Pinot Grigio. Not even tasted but available at Old Town Ale House.

Beer Advocate has discussion groups including their Great Lakes Group. They have now started a Chicago Group.

There's a bit of Moylan's IPA and Moylander Imperial IPA out in Indiana stores. Victory Storm King and Old Horizontal will hit stores in the next couple of weeks. You can find out where at World Class Beverages Beer Finder. We're also told Goose Island Mild Winter is also here.

Hoppin' Frog is looking for your beer ideas. email

Bell's will team up with De Proef for collaboration beers in 2009. article

You might remember the Treasurer of the BJCP when all the money disappeared. He's pled guilty. article

"It took an hour to clear the intersection". You know where this is headed. Frozen beer lake story.

Recession and deflation combine for the 99p pint. JD Wetherspoon's real ale at their 713 pubs becomes the cheapest on the planet? article

Stolen directly from Fark: "If you ever wanted to smell, taste, and feel the need to use the urinal all at once, the 'Heineken Experience' reopens in Amsterdam" article

Denver guy with 15,569 bottles of beer on the wall. But they're all Bud. sad guy

January 1

Happy New Beer! For recent news click on Fall, 2008 on the Beer News Menu to the left!

Some links in the old news may now be "broken".
Newspaper articles disappear over time.
Thanks for your understanding.