Indiana Beer News from May, 2003

5/28 - Louisville Scene has an extensive article about Bluegrass Brewing, Browning's, Cumberland Brews, and Richo O's.

5/30 - INDY - New Albanian Brewing's Beak's Best ESB is on tap at Chalkies. It's dark brown and mild-looking (that is it looks like a mild). There's a healthy northwest hops presence over a strong malt note. Not at all roasty, toasty, or porterish. A malty IPA in a Matrix overcoat? It does grow on you.

5/28 - This summer you'll see Anheuser World Select continental pilsner on the shelves. Motto: Four continents, one beer. "Our team of brewmasters used the finest natural ingredients including European noble hops and North American two-row and Munich barley malts. Brewing this beer here in the U.S. allows beer lovers an opportunity to enjoy a sophisticated pilsner at its best - when it's fresh." 

5/28 - INDIANA - Mad Anthony's has been having trouble with their plant but a new boiler is on its way. We in Indianapolis haven't been affected but the brewpub has seen a shortage of variety.

5/25 - INDY 500 - We went to the Indy 500 - at least we went the night before. Good party on Georgetown Rd. IndianaBeer's report has plenty of pictures. Enjoy.

5/22 - INDY - Alcatraz has a new-recipe Big House Red ale. It's very dark red copper with a great white head. Crisp and palette cleansing. This is the first and last run of this ale as Omar is going to concentrate more on lagers. In fact, next month's Big House Red will be a lager and coming up are light, summer, and brown lagers.

The Summer Lager is on now. It is medium gold with a good head. Balanced. Built with Vienna, chocolate, and biscuit malts. Centennial and Yakima Gold hops. 12.5° Plato. And a month of lagering.

We tried the still-conditioning Brown Lager and it's balanced and sweet with some biscuity notes. Yakima Gold hops.

Ales aren't abandoned though, as the Pale Ale will stay. It's a hoppy American almost-IPA with 12 pounds of Centennial, Horizon, and Perle hops.

5/22 - INDY - BW3's taps today see the addition of Arcadia Scotch, Hell for Certain, Stone IPA, Type Sykes, Back Road Brewery Maple Gold, Sprecher Dopplebock, and Piraat. On the hand pull is Harvestown's Old Engine Oil and Three Floyds Dreadnaught.

You get to keep the glass if you buy an Ayinger, Lindemans, or Orval.

Plus, Mike is breaking out some of his vintage-dated beers for sale at $4 per bottle or $20 a 6-pack. Rogue I2PA '02. Bells's Consecrator '00 '01 '02, Sweet Stout '01, Oatmeal Stout '01, Spiced Stout '01 '02, Java Stout '01 '02, Trumperter's Stout '01 '02, Sparkling Ale '01 '02.

5/22 - INDY - Rock Bottom's Bavarian Hefeweizen is a thick gold beer with a nice thick head. It has the German clove and banana notes without being overwhelming. The hefe is very thick - the type that is noticeably more transparent near the corners of the glass. Good beer to sit with in the sun on Washington St.

5/22 - Recent beer / health studies.

5/20 - A broadband network in the UK is planning to sell wi-fi internet access to pubs for about $300 hardware costs. They hope to outfit 3,000 pubs this year. Now pubs can offer no-smoking areas, no-cell-phone areas, and no-laptop areas. Most British pubs already have no-screaming-baby areas as we do here in Indiana. article.

5/18 - INDY - Babushka's Deli (86th and Ditch) carries the full line of Baltika beers from St. Petersburg, Russia. Much of the old Russian beer tasted of soap but we understand that's all been fixed. Comments?

5/18 - INDY - Barley Island's Maibock is on tap. Blind Tiger Pale Ale is available at Kahn's.

5/16 - INDY -Chalkies hand pull this weekend sees the return of Gales Prize Old Ale in Cask Conditioned form. It's young, still, and as winey/raisiny as any barley wine ever made. Also on the beer menu is Mad Anthony's Ol' Woody pale ale - a reddish-copper, hoppy, American-style IPA.

5/15 - If you're interested in what Michael Jackson's beer tastings are like, here's his write-up of a German tasting in Washington DC the day this latest war started.

5/14  - INDY -Look for Sterkens Brewery products: Dubble, White, Bokrijiks, Hoogstraten Poorter, St. Sabastiaans Golden and Dark. You can find these at the normal good-beer outlets.

5/13 - INDY - The Star reports any public smoking bill in the City Council will probably not include a smoking ban in bars although restaurants will probably be included - if anything is done at all.

5/12 - INDY - Barley Island will have Blind Tiger Pale Ale bottles and in stores this week. Dirty Helen is already in 24 local liquor stores.

5/10 - Look for Santiago beer in June. Or don't. It's a proprietary brand to be sold by 7-Eleven at $6/6. "Santiago will hopefully tap two lucrative markets: imported beer drinkers, and the growing Hispanic demographic." Brewed by Miller in El Salvador. Can you say "yellow fizzy water"? They plan on following that up with a private-label wine in August. Shudder.

Other store-brand beers include Lawson Creek, Caguama, and Hollande at Krogers.

5/9 - INDY - Shallos has Arcadia Whitsun on tap.

5/7 - INDY - BW3 is putting more summer beers on tap. New are Arcadia Whitsun, Bell's Sparkling, Sunrye, and Goose Island's Kolsch. They join Back Road Brewery Blueberry Ale, Einbecker Maibock and McEwan's IPA.

And now BW3 (downtown) has some good sake (16%ABV).

5/7 - INDY - The Rathskeller now has Ayinger's Jahrhundert on tap (along with Sprecher's Amber). Oaken Barrel's Razz Wheat will return within a week.

Here's what Ayinger says (and that's their picture also):

"Served in a pescara glass, Jahrhundert is bright and beautiful, the color of a desert at sunrise. The long lasting head is creamy and thick. The taste is pure malt, clean, fresh, and round, like a fine dry wine. The flavor is bread-like, fruity and earthy—delicious, with an aftertaste that is clean and long lasting.

Recommended with a wide variety of food including duck breast, grilled lamb, pork or beer. Exceptional with fresh bread, nuts and aged cheese."

5/7 - INDY - Broad Ripple Brewpub's Czech style pilsner is crisp and hoppy with lots of Saaz. It's bright golden with a short white head. A true pilsner.

A German hefe-weizen and a Kolsch are coming up and their Nut Brown will be ready for the Broad Ripple Art Fair this weekend.

Also, spradically they've had some varietal hard cider from Thomas Family Winery in Madison. The Scrumpy went down a corker and will be- repeated. You need to stop in often since it only lasts a day or two.

5/7 - Just heard from a reliable source that Three Floyds new 22oz bottling line is up and running. Word is they are bottling Dreadnaught Imperial IPA this week. No word on when we'll see it in stores, but it should be soon. - Bob Moore

5/4 - You too can own a piece of Three Floyds. First download their business plan.

5/4 - INDY - Cavalier lets us know In town next week we'll see Shipyard Brewing Co's Export Ale, IPA (100% Fuggles hops), and Old Thumper (silver medal at '03 Real Ale fest). BluCreek Brewing's Blueberry Ale and Herbal Ale. Efes Dark and Extra from Turkey. Tuborg Lager and Stieg's Pilsner and Golden Weizen are also coming be back.

5/4 - INDY - Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale is on tap at the Ale Emporium, BW3 (downtown Indy), Fox and Hounds, Lafayette Brewing and RichO's in New Albany who by the way weres the first in the state to have it on draft. (Thanks Mat).

5/2 - INDY - Chalkies spring & summer styles tasting gave about 50 people a chance to try a couple of free beers - Oberon; Whitsun; SunRye; Schneider, Paulaner, Franziskaner, Upland wheats; 2-Brothers Ebel and French Country, Reisdorf Kolsch, Wittekerke White. Thanks to Marv and the Cavalier Distributing folks (who only got three stitches between them).

5/2 - INDY - Chalkies has Swale's IPA on the handpull. It's a golden ale, dry, hoppy with lots of Goldings.

5/2 - INDY - Barley Island is rumored to expand their bottled line with a "hopped up" pale ale. Should be just a couple of weeks.