Indiana Beer News from August, 2003

8/30 - INDIANA - Upland's seasonal is a 5% ABV Pilsner. Creamy and full-bodied with a full head. Rich gold color. Assertive but not overly hoppy. Plenty of carbonation. Uses Pilsner and Carapils malts with Tettenanger, Perle, and Northern Brewer hops.

Coming up, A winter warmer and a chocolate stout. Then it will be time for the Mai Bock again.

They've found some room for a yeast lab and will spend some time this winter on that project.

8/30 - INDIANA - Good whisky prices at Big Red in Bloomington. Speyburn 10yo: $19. Balvenie DoubleWood 12yo: $30. Highland Park 12yo: $30.

Also 12-packs of Sam Adams for $12. And Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale is back for the season. The original and so far the best.

8/30 - INDIANA - Bloomington Brewing's seasonal is Vision Weiss - a full clove/banana German-style weiss.

"Our Weiss combines wheat, Munich malt and American 2-Row malt. The system we use limits us to a single infusion mash at about 153° F. However, our mash tun (by Specific Mechanical) is great. It’s almost impossible to get a stuck run-off. The hops used are Mount Hood and Tettenanger added in two additions, the latest being at 15 before the end of the boil. The yeast is the new Wyeast Weizen strain. Predictably, it performed well at about 64 to 66° F, producing a light clove and lemon aroma gently laced with banana. We serve this absolutely unfined (and, of course, unfiltered). It is put into kegs instead of a serving tank to conserve tank space; and because of this the yeast was falling out before the tank was done, causing the Weisen to be too clear. Now the bartenders merely roll each keg before it is tapped, distributing plenty of tasty yeast to please the “mit hefe” lovers."

The stout on the handpull (see 8/25) is called "Butter Rum Stout" which does imply the richness of the final product.

In October, a Java Porter.

8/29 - There's a new pouring spout out there that can pour a pint of beer in 5 seconds. It's been developed by Coors - no surprise - and is being tried out in the UK where Coors, Carlings, and various Australian beers have been trying to make inroads into the lucrative beer business by introducing alchopops, TVs, bowling alleys, music, and slot machines to pubs.

By contrast, the perfect pour of Guinness takes 119.5 seconds. For the first part of the pour, the glass is held at a 45-degree angle to the tap, the tap opened all the way. Then the stout sits while the bubbles "cascade" and the beer separates into dark and light. This is the fun part, sort of like watching a lava lamp, and it gets more fascinating the more Guinness you've had. For the second part of the pour, the beer goes straight into the glass, creating a head 1/2-inch to 1 inch thick and curving slightly above the rim of the glass.

8/28 - INDY - Kahn's has some sale prices worth noting:

8/28 - INDY - Coming to town: Lakefront Wit, Key West, La Tropica (although obviously not brewed in Cuba), Anchor Old Foghorn, Shipyard Pumpkin Head, Stone Double Bastard (on Nov 3rd), Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA (Sept 15).

Also: Boulder Brewing and sister Rocky Mountain Brewing - Hazed and Infused, Mojo IPA, Planet Porter, Sundance Amber, Pass Time pale, Buffalo Gold, Single Track copper ale.

8/26 - INDY and INDIANA - The Brewers of Indiana Guild are about to submit a proposal to the BOS Community Development Corporation for use of a building in the Indianapolis downtown canal area as a Guild House.

The Guild House will be a pub and restaurant with education, meeting and entertainment rooms. Plans also call for a pilot brewery both to teach brewing and produce beer for the pub/restaurant. Beer Judge Certification courses would also be available. It would be shared with Purdue's Center for Agricultural Science and Heritage.

IndyBeer has exclusively obtained the actual proposal (and I owe Julie another beer). Much of it is high-faultin language - even footnotes - but there's an excellent history of post-prohibition craft brewing in Indiana, and an well-earned ode to John Hill buried in the history of B.I.G. Recommended reading.

8/26 - INDY - Kahn's (among others) has Stone's 7th Anniversary Ale - a fruity, hoppy, 7.7%, 77 IBU, dark pale ale and a label that's obscure, obfuscating, and even obnoxious in its overuse of obtusely written oratory.

8/25 - 2003 may be a good vintage for wines. The grape harvest in Europe has started already, about 3 weeks early. All the experts say the hot summer will have made the grapes produce lots of sugar and little acid.

8/25 - INDIANA - The Legends of Notre Dame is opening just south of the stadium in South Bend with a grand opening on August 30 with sampling and a band. There will be a casual dining restaurant, an ale house, and a private-to-ND dance hall. The beer menu will include interesting beers including some from Mad Anthony (that we know about so far).

8/25 - INDIANA - Bloomington Brewing's Stout on the hand-pull right now is a serious, thick bittersweet chocolate stout made with serious chocolates. Makes you want a scoop of ice cream. Just tapped two days ago but it was a small test batch so try it out quickly.

Their summer seasonals are a Canadian Ale and a strange, evil twin. The Canadian is golden and crisp and served rightly cold. Clean and balanced although light. The evil twin is - wait for it - Watermelon Ale. Yep, watermelon. It looks the same as the Canadian if you ignore the slice of watermelon on the rim dwarfing any old wimpy lemon slice. Strong watermelon nose. Strong watermelon taste. Strong watermelon aftertaste that lasts for hours. Watermelon extract (squeezings) were added in the secondary.

This fall will see an Oktoberfest and Floyd Rosenbaum's first commercial Barley Wine.

8/25 - INDIANA - Aberdeen Brewing's seasonals include Summer Red Ale, Cherry Stout, and 1776 American Pale Ale.

8/25 - The Great British Beer Festival has named Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted the champion beer of Britain. B&T is a hoppy-bitter session ale. Since Harviestoun's Old Engine Oil shows up occasionally at Chalkies, we may be able to taste the best ale from Scotland here in Indy sometime.

8/25 - Michelob Ultra is getting some company in the low-carbohydrate beer market. Look for Rolling Rock Green Light in October.

  calories carbohydrates
Mich Ultra 95 2.6 grams
Rolling Rock Green Light 92 2.6 grams
Miller Lite 96 3.2 grams

8/22 - INDIANA - The Firkin brewpub in Evansville is having a resurrection. It was open for a time in 1997 but closed after only a year. It is open now as The Little Cheers Restaurant and Pub - still at 329 Main St - and will be brewing beer again in a couple of weeks now that the ATF approval is in. Nate Cruise is returning as brewmaster and intends to have 3 to 5 homemade beers on at any time. The first offering will be a Honey Blonde Pale Ale. Lunches run around $7 and dinners are in the low teens.

8/22 - Czechs are the biggest beer drinkers according to a survey released today. With 326 pints per adult, they beat out the Irish count of 300 (of which 134 pints are stout). Others: Britain - 228. Australia - 176. Norway is the most expensive pint at $5.20. Japan's pint costs $4.20 average. 20% of the beer in the US is consumed in bars. France - 40%. Britain - 73%.

8/21 - More information you don't really need to know: Butt Monkey Beer has proclaimed itself the official beer of the California recall. "When your State is over $38 billion in debt, there's only one thing to do. Drink."

8/20 - Russia's per capita consumption of beer in the last 5 years has more than doubled from 22.5 liters to 49 liters (double that in Moscow). This, while Vodka drinking has nosedived from 22.4 litres (!) down to 19.7. As Russians get richer they appreciate the better things in life. article

8/20 - The Joseph Huber Brewery in Monroe, WI have just about quadrupled their tour counts to about 350 per month. That's still not much but they are happy the new Tap Room and Gift Shop opened in 2001 is being used. Tours are available on Thurs, Fri, and Sat for $2 per person. virtual tour

8/19 - INDY - The Indiana Microbrewers Festival in Broad Ripple last Sunday was a big big success (again). Under two very large tents an occasional breeze and lots of ice were all separating thousands of thirsty Hoosiers from abject thirst.

Designated drivers got in free and got full bottles of Sprecher Root Beer. Nice touch.








8/19 - INDY - Rock Bottom's Vienna Lager will be out about September 18th. a Dunkel Weizen, Hefeweizen, and a Schwartzbier will follow.

8/19 - INDIANA - Eric at Main Street Brewery is using some genuine Budvar yeast he brought back from Czechoslovakia in a test tube. Taste a bit of the unobtainable in the Vinny's Light Lager and the new seasonal Oktoberfest.

8/19 - INDIANA - Mad Anthony's summer lineup includes a Summer Wheat (American), Happy Weasel (German Wheat), and a Kolsch.

8/18 - All of the big-time brewer's trade associations have come out in favor of treating "malt beverages" as distilled spirits when any of their alcohol comes from distilled spirits (vodka) . The proposed rule by the ATF (well, the ATTTB (alcohol and tobacco tax and trade bureau whew)) would eliminate most alcopops from convenience stores and groceries. That's a good thing. The limit they've put on it (.5% of the total alcohol) only allows for flavorings - many of which contain some alcohol. white papers

8/18 - Both DePauw and IU are "Top 10 Party Schools" according to some study by Princeton Review. article Colorado is #1 (11th in beer, 4th in booze, and 3rd in pot) and Brigham Young comes in dead last. As usual, Indiana is the only state to have more than one team in the finals. California and Hawaii are shut out.

8/15 - Germans have reacted to the heat wave by drinking 9.3% more beer in June 2003 than June 2002. Still no shortages though according to the German Beer Brewers Association.

8/15 - Today is the 34th anniversary of the first day of Woodstock.

8/14 - INDY - The Ram will put their Blonde ale on a nitrogen tap today with the name Alchemist's Nitro Ale. An Oktoberfest beer will be out the first week in September and a Kolsch later in the month. See 7/28 for words about their seasonal Mordecia Brown.

8/14 - INDY - Alcatraz unveils Sledge Hammer Ale today. It's an unfiltered ale made with some Munich and a hint of Biscuit malt and Crystal hops. A light pale with adequate and interesting northwest hop taste but without the bitterness. It's sort of misnamed since it isn't a big, beefy beer that you'd expect. Guys will think it's a girlie beer but won't tell their dates it has a 6% ABV kick, hence the name.

8/14 - INDY - BW3 taps include Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA and 90 Minute IPA, Three Floyds' Gumball Ale, and on the handpulls, Thomas Sykes Old Ale and Three Floyds' Dreadnaught. Wednesday's are $2.50 Indiana Microbrew Pints.

8/14 - INDY - Rock Bottom's cask conditioned beers right now are the IPA dry hopped with Cluster for more citrus and the Red dry hopped with Northern Brewer for a more floral/lemon aroma.

Their Harvest Moon Rye is unfiltered dull copper with a creamy white head and medium body. 6% ABV. Some floral aroma is matched in the taste and like most rye beers, a bit of the dry rye grain comes through.

There's still a bit of Brewer's Stash IPA available - it has a bit of honey-sweetness up high that's completely separate from the bitterness. A complex beer that shows itself off immediately. Grab a glass before it's gone.

8/14 - Britain is running out of lager. Carlsberg-Tetley reports 40% sales increase during this heat wave they're having. More vats have been sent from Copenhagen that can ferment 125,000 gallons of beer and they're working 24/7 to cool off the punters.

8/12 - INDIANA - New Albanian Brewing will have Funnel Vision on tap this week and Elector (doublebock) should be unveiled on the 20th.

8/11 - A few tasting notes:

8/8 - Next up from Stone's? Their 7th Anniversary Ale at 7.7% ABV. Oh, and the Great Divide beers (IPA and Imperial Stout) are possibly gone for the year except what's left at Kahn's, Parti-Pak, and Castleton Wine & Liquor. But next month we'll see Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA made with absolutely fresh hops picked and shipped overnight to the Warrrenville, IL brewery.

8/8 - MSN's Citysearch has named the best pizza in Indianapolis (by user voting). It's Nancy's Pizzeria at 8938 E 96th St. Following Nancy's is Bazbeaux, Papa John's (935 E. Hanna), and Some Guys Pizza at 62nd and Allisonville. Their "editors" also recommend Puccini's Smiling Teeth Pizza at 1508 W 86th St.

8/6 - INDY - Chalkies has Stone IPA and Red Seal Pale Ale - a clean and aggressive dark copper ale with dominating hops and a lacey head.

8/6 - INDY - The Parti-Pak has St. Georgenbraeu Keller Bier, lagered in Bavarian caves. Also some J.W. Lees Harvest Ale 1999 at $4.50 a 12ozer.

8/6 - INDIANA - The Gerst House in Evansville is also replacing Hacker Pschoor with Weinstephaner Hefe.

8/5 - Press releases we didn't quite finish: "Interbrew, the World's Local Brewer, is pleased to announce that it will transition into an organisational structure that brings its strategy of solid organic business growth, significant productivity enhancement, and strategic and value-enhancing acquisitions and alliances to the next level." At least the solid organic part may be right.

8/5 - According to CAMRA's Roger Protz, Pilsner Urquell have changed from horizontal fermenting tanks to conical vessels which has shortened primary fermentation to 12 days and lagering to 12 weeks max. - as opposed to 70 days lagering in oak casks. Oh, and it's being made in Poland by owners Miller Brewing / South African Brewing. (Urquell as your remember, means "original").

8/4 - It took two hours for a barrel warehouse at Jim Beam in Bardstown, KY to collapse after the fire started yesterday. article. How does this affect us? Probably not much, but it's sad to see 800,000 gallons of whiskey go bye bye.

8/2 - Brewing News has added another regional beer newspaper and it affects Southern Indiana. The new Mississippi Valley Brewing News covers Southern Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio while the northern portions will stay with Great Lakes Brewing News. MVBN  also covers Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and Tennessee.

Jim Herter of South Bend will continue writing the Northern Indiana news for GLBN and the new "big-time beer writer" for Southern Indiana is, blush, Bob Ostrander, your humble editor. Look for MVBN at the usual suspects or subscribe for mail delivery. Thanks.

8/2 - Are you wondering about the difference between a British Mild and an American Brown Ale? Here's some style guides: BJCP Style Guidelines, Michael Jackson's Beer Hunter - Beer Styles, Beer 100- Intro to Beer, Beer By Mail , 

8/2 - INDIANA - The Tippecanoe Homebrewers Circle and Lafayette Brewing Company put on a small party to release their commemorative beer, Bill, in honor of the late Bill Friday, founder of the THC and spiritual leader of all things beer in Indiana. This unfiltered old ale was brewed with loads of the premiere English malting barley, Maris Otter, and balanced with a hefty dose of Cluster and Fuggles hops. It is a thin-bodied brew weighing in at about 7.3% alcohol by volume. and 52 IBU. The taste is strong malt and hops with warning signs of alcohol. There's also a long bitter aftertaste. You can try it at the Great Taste of the Midwest (8/10) and the Indiana Microbrewers Festival (8/16).

8/2 - Robert Mondavi has listed profits are down 90% from a year ago. The "world-wide glut of wine is depressing prices." Pepperwood Grove's '97 Pinot Noir, for instance, can be found for $4 a bottle according to an NPR report.

8/2 - Iron City in Pittsburgh is behind in its water bill to the tune of $3M dating back to 1996. Oops.

8/1 - INDY - BW3 tapped the last keg of Stone's Ruination IPA last night. Better get there by Monday. On tap it's sort of tamed - there's plenty of hops but it has a smoothness not found in the bottle.

For hop heads, BW3 is a paradise right now. Stone Ruination is joined by Shakespeare's Brutal, Rogue's Dead Guy, and Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA - all on tap. Tongue don't fail us know.