Indiana Beer News from June, 2003

6/28 - INDY - Kahn's on Keystone and the Herot in Muncie are reported to have Left Hand's Juju Ginger Ale - An ale with ginger root added. 4% ABV. They also have Tabernash Pilner.

6/27 - INDY - John's in Greenwood has 4-packs of Samichlaus for $17. It has a '95, a '97, and two '96 vintage bottles and they should be about ready to drink now. Another deal is a 12-pack sampler of Great Lakes beers for $18. There's three each of Dortmunder Gold, Locktender Lager, Burning River Pale Ale, and Eliot Ness Amber.

6/27 - Arcadia Brewing of Battle Creek is strong in the Indy area with 6 style of British ales. All use imported English malt and Fuggles and/or Goldings hops but many also have some Northwest hops tossed in to add aroma. Look for IPA, Angler's Ale, ESB, Starboard Stout, Whitsun (summer ale with honey), and a Scotch Ale. About $10 per 6-pack. We had an IPA on tap at Shallos - bright apricot color with a tingly foam head, bright sharp bitterness from Fuggles and Cascade. At 5.8% it could get you in trouble.

6/26 - A German company, Zeo-Tech, has developed a self-cooling keg. The vessel has evaporative water surrounding a inner 5-liter container and will cool beer to 45° for 12 hours. Kirin in Japan will use them to sell Ichiban for about $21 plus $16 keg deposit. article

6/24 - HR 52 is now in committee. It will end federal "luxury tax" on beer. Lots of cosponsors. The federal excise tax on beer was enacted in 1986 and doubled back in 1990 to $18/barrel.

6/23 - In the Stop Them Before They Spread folder, Miller is invading Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Czech Rep, Poland and Italy with MGD. "The aim is to promote Miller as the liquid symbol of America".

6/23 - Augsburger is coming back. Steven Point Brewery is licensing the name from Pabst and the Golden and Dark will hit stores in WI this week. SPB is using a 100% barley recipe though. Augsburger history:

Similarly, Champagne Velvet went through Heilman to Pabst and was bought by Terre Haute Brewing.

6/23 - Ale Street News, a northeast US beer paper has Beer Goddess clothing now. Right down to thongs.

6/21 - The Pheonix Theater's Brew-Ha-Ha was quite the crowd on a cloudless afternoon. Lots of beer to choose from: Alcatraz, Barley Island, Broad Ripple BP, Ram, Rock Bottom, Upland, Main Street (Evansville), New Albany Brewing, Bells. Also tables from Pure and Cavalier Distributing and quite a few more.

The next 3 news items are stuff we overheard on the street with a drink in our hand. It's a tough job reporting the news - risking sunburn and all.

6/21 - INDY - If we heard Tim Marshall, the brewer at Rock Bottom, correctly he will have a Belgian White on tap in July.

6/21 - INDIANA - Main Street Brewery brought Thunderbolt Red (an Alt), Blue Eyed Moose IPA, and a Honey Blonde. They also served a cask conditioned Monk's Dubbel - minimal hopping but lots of interesting malts like CaraVienne and De-bittered Roast. They found it tough to pour 2oz tasting glasses with the handpull. They just replaced their dispensers in Evansville with spun glass lines - sounds very high-tech - and expensive.

6/21 - INDIANA - New Albanian Brewing brought some very eclectic stuff: Elector Ale (7% with cascade and galena hops), Cone Smoker Hoppy Ale (Target and Goldings with smoked malt 6.7%), and Scalawag Saison (strong and bitter with Goldings and Cascade. 7%).

6/21 - Archaeologists in China have found 5 pottery jars of 2,000 year old rice wine - "enough to allow researchers their best opportunity yet to study ancient distilling techniques." article

6/21 - INDY - Barley Island's new Belgian Wit. We predict it will be an instant blue ribbon at the State Fair. It's a hazy cider brown that goes quickly headless. Lots of citrus/coriander in the nose. Spicy banana on the tongue. Smells and tastes like Hoegaarden but more robust and rounded. OK, maybe it's a little dark colored for the style book but it's the Mae West of Belgian wits. Available only at the brewpub.

6/21 - INDY - Mike DeWeese of BW3 is working with Dick's Bodacious to franchise that operation. Rumor says Hamilton county expansion may come soon with the chain selling Barley Island beer.

6/21 - INDY - Chumley's has Oregon Honey, Rebel Pilsner, and Maudite on tap (along with 47 others).

6/21 - We picked up some Stone Vertical Epic 03.03.03. It's a bottle-conditioned ale designed to be laid down to age until "sometime after December 12th, 2012. They will be releasing 9 more beers in this series - one each year. The homebrew recipe is available online. Cool.

6/21 - INDY - Chalkies next cask conditioned firkin is scheduled to be a Bells Two-Hearted on July 16th. Meanwhile they have a few boxed 6-packs of Belgians from the Brouwerij Van Steenberge. For $15.95 you get one each of Bruegel Amber 5.2%, Bornem Double (8%) and Triple (9%), Augustijn Ale (8%), Piraat and Gulden Drak (both 10.5%). Note they are 11.2oz bottles.

6/21 - INDIANA - The New Albanian Brewing's Community Dark is properly black and opaque with a sweet malt aroma. The dark malty taste has hops only to balance. Still, a drying beer on the mouth. It's on tap at Chalkies now.

6/21 - Bars in NYC have unplugged their lottery machines to portest the smoking ban. The owners say $1M revenue to the state has been kept in patron's pockets. The state lottery folks say $49,233 has been lost. article

6/21 - INDY - We got a tour of the Rathskeller's outdoor beer dispensing system by the designer/builder Spencer Rising-Moore of Remote Beverage Equipment Company. The 12 beers on tap are held in a walk-in in the back of the new beer stand with casks being changed about every 15 minutes on busy nights.

This system runs 3 sets of taps, one in the building and 2 at beer stations 60 ft across the courtyard via underground insulated piping. The manifolds are permanently balanced via tubing restrictions for the shorter runs. A cross between a black art and mathematics.

Construction was a Herculean effort by Rising-Moore and master jack of all trades, Ron Jones. Old steam pipes and foundations made the courtyard a mess all winter.


6/19 - INDY - Barley Island's Dirty Helen Brown and Blind Tiger Pale Ales are now in 30 liquor stores in the area.

6/17 - The House of Commons voted yesterday to end the curfew on pubs and if the House of Lords agrees 24-hour open times could start next month. No more "Last call, Gentlemen"? This article doesn't look to be a hoax.

6/16 - INDY - The Mineshaft Saloon on Broad Ripple Blvd has Newkie Brown in draft pints for $1 on Thursday evenings.

6/14 - A 25yo guy in Cincinnati, OH was arrested today for convincing a sales clerk at a liquor store that he was a A-B rep who was recalling $178 in defective beer.

6/13 - INDY - A new beer-friendly bar opened - JR Holiers U-Call-It at Emerson and County Line Rds will have lots of bottled beers and 6 interesting taps (3 Floyds, Whitsun, Bells, Rouge, Goose Island for example). Decor is sort of bistro with couches and racks of wine. Large cigar humidor. And like any modern bar, a dozen different martinis.

6/13 - INDY - BW3 now has a sampler platter. Six 4oz selections of Mike's choice for $6. Current taps include Arcadia Scotch, Bluegrass Hell 4 Certain, Back Road Brewery Maple City Gold. The keep-the-glass deal is still on with Ayinger, Lindemans, and Orval.

The handpulls have Three Floyds Dreadnaught and Thomas Sykes Old Ale from the Heritage Brewery at Burton-on-Trent. It's a 10% killer served in a large schooner at the proper temperature. Still, light gold, clear. Strong with wind and cider. Not at all raisiney. Good stuff.

6/13 - INDY - Rock Bottom tapped a Bavarian Hefeweizen a week ago. It's very cloudy and actually bi-colored - noticably lighter around the edges. Thin head and lots of cloveyness. Good stuff.

Their Harvest Moon Rye is a light pale ale with not much rye note. Coming up is an American Wheat.

6/13 - INDY - Ram - Father's Day whiskey barrel ale - Bourbon Brown. Aged in a Booker's Bourbon barrel. Served in a full snifter for $4. Full crisp, rich, malty brown taste without the expected sweetness or, indeed, much of the bourbon accent.

It's a limited supply available on tap and gift boxes with a 1/2 liter bottle and Father's Day glasses will be available. Get your orders in now - with your kids that is.

On a side note, Wee Creature Scotch Ale is back for a while.

6/12 - The July issue of Playboy has a mini review of 13 American craft beers (brewers dozen) that includes Left Hand Deep Cover Brown and Three Floyds Pride and Joy. It is on the two pages before the playmate of the month (not a bad location). - Mat/Cavalier

6/10 - INDIANA - Aberdeen Brewing's seasonals are Summer Red Ale, Cherry Stout, and Raspberry Ale. They now have outdoor seating.

6/10 - INDIANA - We're used to seeing Upland in bottles, but they have a couple of beers available only at the brewpub.

6/10 - Great Lakes Brewing News has, as always, lots of interesting info. Jim Herter covers Indiana. Pick up a paper at most beer places. Some synopses:

6/8 - INDY - Tuborg (Denmark's best) is back in Indy thanks to Cavalier Distributing. They also say "Two Brothers Dog Days of Summer Dortmunder Style Lager was bottled on Tuesday June 3, 2003 and delivered to Kahn's on Thursday June 5, 2003. How about that for freshness?"

6/8 - INDY - Shallos has EKU 28 (11%) and EKU Pilsner in bottles. On tap is Pyramid Apricot - clear gold, smooth without being overly sweet, plenty of apricot - mainly in the nose, drys the cheeks. Also on tap: Leinenkugel Special Ale - bright copper w heavy, creamy, white head, hops aplenty although a merger of many styles that produces no distinct flavors, a worthy draught.

6/7 - INDY - Coming soon in bottles to Indy via World Class distributors: Great Lakes beers including Dortmunder Gold (5.8%), Eliot Ness Vienna Lager (6.2%), Burning River Pale Ale (American - 6.0%), and their Edmund Fitzgerald Porter (5.8%). Great Lakes is a well-regarded brewpub in downtown Cleveland and they just opened an enlarged 75-bbl brewery in the building next door. They've been in OH, PA, KY, and MI and are now expanding to fill their production capacity of 25,000 bbl per annum. They'll be at Shallos next week and all the other normal places real soon.

6/7 - INDY - At Chalkies, Marvin is planning to subtly alter the beer and food menu toward the Belgian idea of what's right with the world.

6/7 - INDY - Kahn's has Rouge beers in 3-liter bottles for $75. Also Mad Anthony Auburn Lager and Big Daddy Brown. And Val-Dieu Abbey ales: Blond, Brown, Triple. Newcastle Brown in cans - $6/6-pack and a Newkie pint glass. RCH bottle conditioned ales: Old Slug Porter, Pitchfork, and Ale Mary. Finally Freeminer's British bottle conditioned ales: Trafalgar IPA, Deep Shaft Stout, and Shakemantle (Maris Otter, wheat, ginger, and very little hops).

6/7 - INDY - Crown Liquors on south 31 has picked up some discontinued stock from World Class and are selling mixed bottles at $6/6-pack - $19/case. You'll find Wychwood Scarecrow and Black Wych, Woodforde Norfolk Nog and Wherry. Bottle conditioned ales include RCH Pitchfork, Gales Millenium, and Swales Indian Summer Pale Ale. They also have Petrus Winterbeer but I can't recommend it as there is a 1" sludge of sediment. The Rauchenfels Steinbrau is gone (into my cooler at home).

6/7 - Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA is, well, impossible. 45° Plato. Boiled for 2 hours while continuously hopped with American hops. Dry hopped daily in the fermenter for a month. Comes out at 21% ABV and 120 IBUs. Suitable for laying down or being buried with.

6/3 - INDY - The Broad Ripple Brewpub has Scrumpy on the handpull. Scrumpy is a style of British apple cider (if you didn't know). This tart, still example comes from Thomas Family Winery in Madison, IN. BRBP gets a cask in every once in a while so get it while you can.