Indiana Beer News from October, 2003

10/30 - INDIANA - Terre Haute Brewing has lowered their normal beer price to $3.25 per pint. The bigger brewery across the street has enabled quantity production to be cheaper. They are also now in 14 outlets around Terre Haute including Outback Steak House. The old, smaller brewery in the pub is being used for specialties and seasonals such as the current Cvar using an old original recipe from Budvar. It is more mildly hopped than, say Pilsner Urquell, but more aggressive than the flagship Champagne Velvet.

10/30 - INDY - Word on the street has a new Belgian restaurant and beer emporium may be opening in town next spring. Names like Brugge Belgian Inn and Ted Miller are associated with this rumor.

10/30 - INDY - We've been sent more data about Cantillion Isis (10/23 - Kahn's). "It is a 100% barley based beer as opposed to the traditional turbid mashing of roughly 65/35 pale/wheat in Lambic/Geueze. This may very well be turbid mashed as well as Cantillon is one of the kings, but the barley thing is rather important to this release.

10/30 - INDIANA - RichO's is overstocked with Anchor Porter. 12 oz bottles "fresh from the left coast" are on sale this weekend - $26/case, $6.75/6-pack. Anchor Porter and Liberty Ale are both on draft also.

10/29 - INDIANA - Looking over someone's shoulder, I spied the number 13 in the "Indiana gets XX cases of 2003 Thomas Hardy's Ale. Don't rush out yet - it'll be a couple of months. "Worth its wait in gold".

10/29 - INDY - The Ram is releasing Colt's Kolsch today. (And see about any trademark problems later.) In Early December it will be Old Jack's Blizzard - the sequel. A malty Celebration style winter warmer at about 10% ABV. Near Christmas a big Caribbean stout will come out made with crystal, chocolate, and coffee malts and an OG of about 1070.

10/29 - INDY - Winter at Alcatraz will bring a Scotch ale made with aromatic and chocolate malts and lots of Liberty hops. After a 2-hour boil it came out at 1078 – Omar’s heaviest hitter to date.

10/29 - INDY - The Rathskeller will replace Oaken Barrel's Razz Wheat with a Sprecher Razz Wheat when the OB runs out. BTW, This is a problem with supply rather than demand. It looks like the Sprecher is a special brewing specifically for the `skeller.

Right now, they have two dunkels so be aware of which you are ordering.

10/29 - INDIANA - Stone's Double Bastard is sold out. Well, at wholesale anyway. Deliveries to the usual sources will begin on 11/3 (except for the pre-release party on 11/1 at Chalkies (see above). Stone's next release will be an Old Guardian Barley Wind in February.

Great Divide's Hibernation Ale will be in the state in a couple of weeks. It won a Silver in the strong ale category at this year's GABF.

10/28 - INDY - Tim at Rock Bottom promises some interesting beers over the winter: Chai-Porter, Russian imperial stout, Cask-conditioned Saison w/light Belgian candy sugar and whole cracked pepper, Bourbon barrel conditioned imperial stout, Sub-Zero Winter Ale, a doppelbock, and a cream stout. Way to go Tim!

10/28 - INDIANA - Main Street Brewery will have their seasonal Irish stout on for the duration of the winter. During December, Rudolph’s Revenge will sooth neighborhood shopping jitters - it’s a high-gravity Belgian spiced specialty ale with coriander, ginger, and an OG of 1090.

10/28 - Durango, CO's blood drive offers a pint of beer for a pint of blood. article

10/28 - Rugby fans try to drink the pubs dry

10/28 - News from the Campaign for Real Ale:

10/27 - "He gave a toothy grin and placed two unlabeled bottles down on the table." The Exponent has a nice article about the Tippecanoe Homebrewers Circle. "not a club for drinking"

10/25 - Workers remodeling a 19th-century rehearsal hall at the Peabody Institute have found 10 dusty jugs of moonshine in an unlocked closet, where they apparently sat for nearly 60 years. Faded labels on the bottles suggest that the hooch was the handiwork of Gustav Strube, the first conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. article

10/25 - INDY - Oaken Barrel has more brewing room now that an outdoor refrigerated walk-in has been built behind the building. It's true - you can actually walk through the brewhouse and right out the back door without even turning sideways once.

Brook's Apple Buzz is back on but get it quick. By popular demand, Ken has made a batch of this crisp, tart, tangy, cidery, cloudy, beerish concoction that is just this side of illegal in Indiana. It's part malt, part honey, and part apple cider, all mashed together and fermented up in one big vat.  Additional tasting note: Lots of mouthfeel with a cidery start and almost no aftertaste. Our growler was well received at a card game.

Oh, that "almost illegal" part? Breweries in Indiana can't make cider or mead, they have to use a malted barley base.

Also on tap is a mildly-hopped-for-a-pilsner "Harvest Pilsner" doing Meridian Street duty right now.

10/25 - Geoff Thevanat won the spelling bee at Fado Irish Pub in Austin, TX and gets a pint of beer each day for a year.

10/25 - From the Brewing News family of papers, these stories. Pick up a Mississippi Valley Brewing News or Great Lakes Brewing News at your favorite good beer purveyor.

(Thanks to Jim Herter for these Northern Indiana notes.)

10/24 - INDIANA - Upland is brewing a Chocolate Stout which will go on the seasonal tap around the end of November. Next will be a Winter Warmer barley wind unleashed about New Years. They will bottle about 100 cases of each for easier access away from 11th St.

There's a new 100bbl horizontal tank on the floor that they intend to use mainly for the Wheat. This leaves 2 smaller horizontals open for more production. They've also started a small yeast lab designed to, with weekly tasting panels, ensure consistency between batches.

10/24 - INDIANA - Big Red in Bloomington has Spaten Oktoberfest 12 packs for $12.99.

10/23 - INDY - Yesterday (Misc. Notes below) we noted Kahn's having 39 of 50 etc. etc. Oops. They are getting this year's Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale tomorrow. Jon Adkins writes:

"We have also received a crop of new Belgians and the like including all the Cantillons (my personal favorites), although I've sold through my supply of Gueuze and Rose de Gambrinus (raspberry) at Carmel. Sean still has some at the Keystone store, but I'm down to Iris (fruitless), Kriek and Vigneronne (Muscat grapes).
We also have a case each of St. Lamvinus, the ultra special two to three year old lambic fermented in Bordeaux casks with Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes -  $45.99 a (750ml) bottle while supplies last. This is truly the most allocated beer we've ever received and I'm quite excited about it as I personally had to pull some strings to get those few cases."

10/24 - INDIANA - RichO's wants to also brag about their supply of Cantillons and St. Lams. They are available by the bottle or with a glass.

10/23 - The Brewers of Indiana Guild proposal for Indiana Canal Guild House fell through as you know. The city did award the building for $1 to a friendly citizen. It will end up with a couple of restaurants including a Ritters Frozen Custard. Bah. article

10/23 - BIG will support another alcohol bill in the short legislative session next year. It will only cover carryout sales on Sundays at breweries (like you can now do at wineries). They're not optimistic of passage but this will keep it in the lineup for consideration in 2005. At least that's how it was explained to us.

10/23 - INDY - At Alcatraz, Omar has honey-conditioned 5 kegs of the IPA and they are coming into their own in test sippings. He'll filter and put them on tap in a couple of weeks.

A 6.5% ABV Stout is on tap with lots of coffee roasty taste and a lighter body. "Less filling; higher kick".

10/23 - Misc. Notes:

10/23 - INDY - Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA is back in town. Expect to pay over $9 for a 12oz bottle. It's dry hopped daily for a month and comes in at 21% ABV. Yep, that's not a typo. We've seen it at Hamilton Beverage.

And also some of RCH Brewery's Ale Mary, a bottle-conditioned winter warmer. It was the CAMRA Gold Medalist in 2001. Additional tasting note: This was a bit of a disappointment as we were expecting a full spicy, fruity winter warmer and got an adequately hopped strong ale instead.

10/23 - First gas, then toilet paper, then the great mime shortage of 1988. Now it's serious. There's a desperate shortage of Lagavulin and Oban. A new importer is screwing things up stores can't get any of the "Classic Malts" series found on every liquor store shelf 3 years ago. Except Dalmore who has a new importer. Soon to disappear are Talisker, Glen Kinchie, and Dalwinnie.

10/22 - INDY - Chalkies IPA Fest started at 5pm and continues until the kegs run dry. This should take about a week.

On tap are 9 of the following: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, 2 Bros Heavy Handed, Stone's Arrogant Bastard and IPA, 3 Floyds Dreadnaught, Gumball Head, and Alpha King, New Holland Mad Hatter, Rockies Hazed and Infused, BRBP's IPA, NAB Elector, Upland Dragonfly, Anderson Valley Hop Otter, Piece IPA, Mountain Sun IPA, Goose Island Special IPA, Bell's 2-Hearted, Rouge Brutal Bitter and IPA squared, New Holland's Mad Hatter, Victory Hop Devil, Upland's Dragonfly, Arcadia's IPA, Founder's Centennial, Anchor Liberty, New Glarus Hop Hearty, Lost Coast Indica IPA, and more from Flossmoor Station, Summit, well you get the idea. Special pricing - typically: 3oz: $1.25 -- 10 oz: $2.50 -- 16 oz: $2.75 -- 20 oz: $4.75 -- Pitcher: $13+

PPS, That's a 3 liter Double Bastard held by Mike Sprinkle. At 10% ABV. Should be priced around $80 when available the third of November. You Bastard fans can also find the original AB in the 3 liter bottle - we hear there's one at Shallos.

10/22 - INDIANA - RichO's has both Saison Scalawag and Haggisdaddy Stout on going on tap this week. Some Haggisdaddy has been resting in Woodford Reserve bourbon casks to a release near Christmas.

Friday a cask conditioned Bells Two Hearted will be unleashed.

Later: A yet more potent Bush Hog (Turbo Hog?) and a Belgian modeled after Palm or maybe De Koninck. (You gotta have your arcane Belgian trivia hat on for that one).

10/20 - New tool for truth and justice or yet another loss of our American way? Oregon excise officers have a new alcohol sensor that is about the size of a flashlight. Just wave it 5 to 7 inches from someone's face or stick it in their car window and see if any CH3CH2OH shows up. article

10/19 - INDY - Barley Island Hogtoberfest to benefit the Noblesville Boys and Girls Club was fairly well attended considering the briskness of the evening. Unfortunately the Oktoberfest beer didn't make an appearance. Sometimes, actually pretty rarely, a batch can to awry and this batch of O'fest just wasn't right and it hit the non-human recycling plant. Sniffle.

Undaunted, the next offering will be an Oatmeal Stout that we will see as bottles in the 100+ outlets Barley Island delivers to. This winter seasonal should be available through March.

To accommodate their rapid growth in bottled-beer sales the old stage in the west room is becoming a new bottling line and the rest of the room will be turned into an arcade. The open-mike nights will be in the front banquet room from now on.

10/19 - Chalkies will be starting a Wednesday evening pool league on Oct 29th. 9-ball. $5 for table time and $10 to the pot. 7:00pm.

10/17 - In England, the number of drunken pedestrians has raised by 50% since they have cracked down on drunken driving. article but no hard numbers.

10/17 - Things to look for in stores around Thanksgiving - just whistle whetting right now:

10/17 - Some things to look for in December - Christmas beers: Don't worry, there will be more.

10/16 - INDY - BW3's Taste of Ale was very crowded. A Pacer's game just 2 blocks away didn't hurt. Neither did a prime set of beers from Merchant du Vin. Lambics, Orval, Traquair House, lambics, Sam Smiths, Chouffes, and a bunch of good food. Good value as always

10/16 - INDY - BW3's keg of Tom Sykes Old Ale is going out at $3.50/pint until it's gone. It will be replaced by a succession of J.W. Lee varieties aged in port, brandy, sherry, or scotch casks.

10/16 - INDIANA - 700 cases of Bud Lite gave their lives Tuesday in order to provide refreshments for the meeting or US 52 and Indiana 101. The intersection was closed for several hours when a semi tipped over on a curve. US 52 appreciated the event but Indiana 101 just hiccupped quietly and laid down in a corner.

10/15 - INDIANA - Old news with a new news article. Three Floyds has outgrown their digs and is looking to expand - and add a brewpub and restaurant while they're at it. They are raising money for this venture by sales of stock. The plan is to sell 1,000 shares at $500 per share by Christmas. If so, the brewpub could be open by April. article business plan

10/13 - INDIANA - New Albanian Brewing, is opening a cask-conditioned Electro today.

10/13 - INDIANA - BBC Porter - is on tap at the soon to open Uncle Fester's House of Blooze on Kirkwood
in Bloomington.

Stone IPA & Sprecher Black Bavarian - are now on tap at All the Buzz in Columbus, IN.

Achel, Cantillion, De Ranke, Fantome, Jopen, La Choulette and Rochefort have arrived and have been delivered to Kahn's, Big Red, Rich O's.

Kahn's, Rich O's and The Herot have received small quantities of the rare Cantillion Saint-Lamvinus. "The grapes, of the merlot and cabernet-franc varieties, are soaked in Bordeaux barrels containing two to three years old lambic. The beer is not blended before the bottling. The foam is caused by the addition of a liquor which starts the fermentation." 

10/13 - IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL NOTICE (IRONY DEPARTMENT) - As a precaution, Miller Brewing Company is issuing a voluntary product recall for 12-ounce cans of Sharp's non-alcohol brew sold parts of Illinois. Because of a filling error, some of these Sharp's containers may contain alcohol. article

10/13 - INDIANA - Randolph County is a tough place to sell warm beer as the manager of the local Aldi supermarket learned when he applied for a 2-way license. Dozens of residents of Winchester demonstrated at the ABB meeting and the license application was withdrawn quietly. Recently the RCABB rejected license applications from Marsh and CVS.

10/7 - INDY - Head Brewer Dave Colt hosted a Mug Club event at the Ram to let them taste some Mordeci Brown that has been aged in a Woodford Reserve whisky barrel. It's on pressure serve with very light carbonation. The splash of Honey Malt in the Brown and the oak/vanilla/char of the barrel are very married. Smooth ans super drinkable. There's only one barrel (2½ kegs) so hurry.

10/6 - The numbers are in. Munich's Oktoberfest was attended by 6.3 million people and they drank 6.1 million liters of beer. That's second high in history - after 2000. Munich has 1.4 million residents. Oh, and a liter of beer cost 6.50 euros ($7.51).

10/5 - Canada's largest movie theatre chain is going to start selling beer and wine in the theaters. Sounds like a trend. article

10/5 - INDIANA - The Star tells us Maggie Kernan likes Buccoo Bay Lemon Lager - and you've never even had it. article

10/4 - INDY - Rockies Brewing's Hazed and Infused (an unfiltered American IPA) is in the state. Lafayette Brewing Company has 2 kegs.

10/4 - INDY - The Festive-ALE was a good success with a full house and music too loud to talk. The usual suspects were on hand including 6 Hoosier brewpubs: Alcatraz, Barley Island, NAB, Ram, Rock Bottom, Upland.

Bluegrass BC came up from Louisville with their Altbier - light, refreshing and kolshy - and Hell for Certain - their 2nd batch just finished in time for the show, complex yet balanced.

Ram had some Spinal Tap barley wine - very rare right now.

All American Wines had 11oz cans of Peters Brand Dutch lager. Fresh and sprightly.

We tried the Anheuser World Select. Zink distributors had a case or two of this new product currently being test marketed in Texas. It will compete with Heineken at Michelob prices. The first blush on the tongue has the Heine skunk then it settles to be an AB beer.

10/4 - INDY - Beers to look for: Allagash Special Reserve - 5% session ale. Soft malt. Dogfish Head Punkin Ale - Big whit head, Orangish copper, nice pumpkin pie that doesn't overwhelm (darn).

10/4 - INDY - Dick's Bodacious BBQ (who were serving at the Festive-ALE) at 96th and Gray Rd. will have a Red Hook IPA in cask conditioned form as will the Wellington.

Another Dick's will open near Broad Ripple Ave and College about November 1st. It will have 8 drafts including Bells, Alpha King, Piraat, AB (as in Arrogant Bastard), etc. No AB (as in mass-market lagers).

10/4 - INDIANA - Some guys in Crown Point, IN have invented The Pint Jacket - a "cardboard insulator specifically designed to fit a standard pint glass." It makes the glass easier to hold without getting your hand wet. And it has advertising possibilities.

10/2 - INDIANA - Down at New Albanian Brewing, Roger has Haggisdaddy Stout brewed but it's resting in a Woodford Reserve barrel until the holidays when it will be reborn as Bourbondaddy. There are 5 gallons of last years left that will be opened tomorrow - that's 10./3

Saison Scalawag should be on tap in a couple of weeks.

10/1 - INDY - The Stout Omar will unveil at Alcatraz next week is a thick, chunky, black ale with a rocky tan head. Solid with plenty of bitterness but no roasty/toasty notes - yet. We tasted this from the fermenter after only 7 days. It'll come in at about 7.5% ABV.

10/1 - INDY - Rock Bottom's Dunkelweizen is a very dark brown (brown seems popular this week). It's mild and well balanced with some chocolaty malt notes.

10/1 - INDY - BW3 has some new taps: Piraat, Kirin, Three Floyds's Robert the Bruce, Arcadia Scotch, 2 Brothers Heavy Handed IPA (the one with the 3 lbs of super-fresh hops in every half-barrel), and . . .

Sprecher Oktoberfest - Darkish brown copper. Crisp maltiness. Good session beer made with NW hops.

10/1 - INDIANA - Discount grocer Aldi will start selling beer and wine in its stores by the end of the year. Beers "such as a match of the Mexican beer Corona and German lagers all packaged in Aldi-exclusive labels". Hope they end up with a better contract-brewed product than at Trader Joes.