• Dark Horse Belgium Amber Ale - Dull copper. Tangy, bready, and mildly bitter. Belgian brown sour notes. Effervescent. 5.2% ABV. Basically an American Amber with Belgian yeast and some cloves and candi sugar added.
• Dark Horse Raspberry Ale - A hefe ale with plenty of sediment. Tinge of mild tart raspberry comes on late.
• New Holland Mad Hatter - American IPA. Medium gold. Plenty of bold Centennial hops overwhelming the malt. 5.9% ABV.
• New Holland Paleooza - Explosive head, open carefully. A solid pale that's plenty hoppy. 5% ABV.
• Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout - Pours like dirty 10W40. Put a pinch between your cheek and tongue. Serious, but balanced, mega stout. Not chocolate, not cofee, just serious stouty stuff. 9.5% ABV. 75 IBU. Warmingly alcoholic.
• Eggenberg Urbock Dunkel Eisbock - Strong at 9.8%. Save for after dinner. Nose is dark fruits, bittersweet chocolate. Full bodied. On of Austria's legendary beers and the flagship of Castle Eggenberg. Must be tried by all aficionados.
• New Glarus Spotted Cow - New Glarus's most popular beer found all over Wisconsin. Hint of corn, hint of wheat/citric. Nice drinkable session ale but is 5.1% ABV. Actually a Cream Ale style. A hazy hefe that doesn't have sedimentation.

Thursday through next Mondan - Auburn: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival. Mad Anthony will have a beer tent going. 2nd annual Hangover Breakfast on Saturday.

Thursday through next Sunday - Dearborn, MI: BCCA Canvention #34.

Saturday - Broad Ripple: Dick's BBQ Tent Party. 1:30 - 8:30pm. Music by Little Polka Boy and others.

Saturday - New Albany: Providence Retirement Home's 2nd annual Beer and Wine Tasting on the riverfront. 7-11pm. $50 per person. Info: 812-945-5221 - email.

Chumley's in Lafayette has Sprecher Black Bavarian on tap along with Terre Haute Brewing's Champagne Velvet.

Also coming into the state from New Holland: Sundog (Amber) and Mad Hatter (IPA).

Dark Horse Red Raspberry (a rasp wheat) comes in next week. Also their Amber which is unfiltered and brewed with Belgian yeast.

Oaken Barrel's Razz Wheat will become a seasonal and will be suspended after November until May 1st of next year. Time to stock up.

Bell's Winter White should show up October 1st.

Importers B. United's fall lineup includes Hitachino Nest New Year Celebration Ale, a bottle conditioned Eisbock with crystal, munich, chocolate, and wheat malts, and 5 spices including coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla beans.

The Indiana ABC has OKed sampling of beers in liquor stores effective immediately.

In 1827 a cargo of IPA bound for India was shipwrecked in the Irish Sea and the entire load was auctioned off in Liverpool. This resulted in the first public tasting of IPA in England and the popularity of the style dates from that cargo.

Normally $3.75 / 16oz draft, the specials right now are
Wednesday: Redhook IPA: $2.75.
Thursday: Upland Wheat: $2.75
Friday: Three Floyds Scottish and Gumball Head: $2.75
Saturday: Arrogant Bastard: $2.75
Sunday: Dicks Pale Ale (Mad Anthony's Ol' Woody): $2.75
Monday: All pints $2.75.
Tuesday it's usually Bud Light on special.

Taking a different tactic, Iron City is trying out an aluminum bottle that they claim will keep beer colder for 50 minutes. In fact we may see some of these in Indiana. No, Scotty didn't give them the formula for transparent aluminum. article

The inhaled vodka AWOL machine did NOT appear in a NYC club last weekend. It wasn't banned by the city but the promoters pulled it "voluntarily" after NY state legislators made a full in Albany. Seems there's a state law about serving alcohol from anything but its original container. Lower calories was the main claim to goodness. The misting device did get used - but with Gatorade. Doesn't sound quite as interesting that way. article

The court has spoken. AB gets the French rights to the name "Bud". Budejovicky gets the French rights to the name "Budweiser". Hey, that makes sense. Bud mean's "like Dude". Budweiser means "from Budweise".

We should also clarify that we were told the MENU at Upland has been expanded, not that the food needed improvement. Their Entree Special tonight is Chicken Satay ("Curried yogurt marinated chicken breast that is grilled and then served over aromatic jasmine rice and Asian slaw and finished with sweet and spicy peanut sauce.") and Caribbean Pork ("Pork loin that is marinated in Spiced Rum and lime juice served over aromatic jasmine rice and black beans and topped with a spicy fruit salsa.").

We've learned once again to check with the source - a visit to the establishment is always best. Thank you Charles for promptly pointing out our error.

BI and Mad Anthony have swapped kegs of ReplicAle so you can try both at either location. We're also told Mad Anthony has a third guest ReplicAle on tap (Rock Bottom's?).

BI's is a true grapefruity IPA at we'd guess 60 IBU equivalent (you can't do the math easily after dry hopping). Mad Anthony's has less edges and seems about 40 IBU with less Cascade grapefruit notes.

BI's Summer Belgian Wheat is quite dark for a Wit beer with a firm mourhfeel. Substantial, balanced flavor.

Their Barrel Aged Scotch is on the handpull. Also their last keg of Maibock has been tapped - it's still crisp and full - a local crowd favorite.

Also Sprecher's 2004 Oktoberfest - dark copper, very much more mild than expected. Thoroughly satisfying. Great aroma with hints of caramel and leather.

The full tap menu right now:

Coming up: SN Celebration, St Bernard Grotten, Two Bros Bitter End, Left Hand Sawtooth.

Today (Sunday) - Carmel: Hamilton Beverage presents Red, White, and Blue Extravaganza. Wines, Brews, Food. 6-9pm. At the Mansion at Oak Hill (116th St & Hazel Dell). $50 advance, $60 at the door. Benefiting PREVAIL Victim Awareness and Support Program.

Friday through next Sunday - Yorkville, IL: Czech Rock Fest. Yep, three days of Czech rock bands. Sponsored by Czechvar and Veltins Pils.

Saturday - New Albany: RichO's will have a BJCP exam at 9am. If you don't know what this is, you aren't interested in taking the test yet.

Saturday - Louisville, KY: Brew at the Zoo. 4-8pm. Sample beers from Cumberland, Blue Grass (both of them), Brownings and New Albanian Brewing. Also Buffalo Trace bourbon. food, music, etc. $30 advance, $35 at the door includes zoo admission.

Saturday - Dayton, OH: AleFest at Carillon Park features 150+ beers from about 50 breweries, including some cask conditioned ales. $30 at the door. To benefit Diabetes Association. 2-6pm.

Sunday, Greenwood: Oaken Barrel Open V. Valle Vista GC (across from the brewpub). $75 per person incl gf, cart, prizes, beer, and buffet. Scramble format. 1pm. Sign up by Monday, Aug 23.

• Butler Winery's Amy Butler is due in October. Gale Keenan is going to fill in for a while
• Plans for the rumored (fabled?) brewery on Tap Rd. are moving slow. They need to buy the property, get planning permission, tear down the existing building, build a hotel, restaurant, and eventually the brewery.
• Upland's food has taken a significant upturn in the last few months. The brewpub is called a taproom and the mainstay was burgers and sandwiches.
• Andrew St. Lawrence has left Upland and is (will be?) the new head brewer at a new venture in Columbus, IN. (Or this may be a corruption of the Matt Hill moving to the head brewer's job at the Silo in Columbus, OH news).

Next Tuesday, the 24th, the missing keg of Bob's Bourbon Barrel 15B will go on tap at 11am. Set your watches.

This weekend the special cask is Zum Uerige Alt, a beer that hasn't graced RichO's glasses since Gravity Head.

Take Care,
Jack Everett
Churubusco, IN

Other medal beers brought stateside include Mordue IPA (as Mordue Radgie Gadgie) (2nd Strong Bitter), Hop Back Summer Lightning (3rd Strong Bitter), Titanic Stout (1st Bottle Conditioned Beer).

Alcatraz: On tap now are a bock, pale ale, red ale, brown ale, dry stout, wheat, and Searchlight. Omar will have a new Wheat out this week. A Pale Lager next week, a Red Lager a week after that (basically an Amber Ale fermented with lager yeast at 50° and aged for at least 3 weeks at 33°). A Brown Later will follow shortly after (again, an American Brown Ale recipe with lager yeast). Check out their new boots-n-miniskirt S&M mistress warden T-shirt.

Broad Ripple Brewpub has one of our very favorite British ales, Traveling John's, back on one handpull and Stout on the other. Also Amarillo Red Lager with lots of Amarillo hops. Coming up is a Brown Lager brewed this week with lots of Cascade and destined for the beer engine. Later a European Pilsner with Saaz and Hallertaur. Then an Oktoberfest. A Porter is ready to replace the Stout on the handpull.

BW3 downtown actually had nothing on their handpulls yesterday <sound of shocked eyelids snapping open>. Out of JW Lees, Alpha King, Oberon, and Chimay Grand Reserve. But now there's 3 Floyd's Robert the Bruce, Stone's AB and IPA, Mad Anthony's Ol' Woody, and Terre Haute's Champagne Velvet.

MacNiven's latest additions are Kronenbourg 1664 lager and Abita Turbo Dog. True Scots can stop yawning, there's also Tennents, Smithwicks, McEwans IPA, and Bellhaven Scottish from the isles and Bells 2-Hearted, Dogfish Head 90 Minute, and Three Floyds Robert the Bruce for 'mericun beer drinkers.

The Ram is turning into a 24-hour D&D center for the Star Trek convention but that's not important now. What you want to know is that Dave has tapped his last cask of last February's Scotch Ale and it won't last through the weekend. Lots of specialty malt, East Kent Goldings, and plenty of resting time have made this a balanced and married beer with a good malty bottom end.

Also new on tap is Screaming Knight - this is a reformulated Buttface Amber which will take over that beer's permanent position on the board when the current batch of Buttface runs out. The new recipe kicks up the fermentables from 14^p to 15^p and gives about 1/2% more ABV. Doesn't sound like much but our trial showed it to be noticeably more butt kicking. <applause>

Mid September will see the return of Oktoberfest and Dave plans to rack some off to a Jack Daniels barrel for aging. Later in the fall, a Kölsch and then the annual Old Jack's Blizzard.

Rock Bottom''s cask conditioned beer is a Cherry Stout. Black, big bubbly head, light in the cherries and light in the body. The Hoosier Ma Stout has considerably more of what you buy a stout for.

Tim's Malt Liquor seasonal is the butt kicker of Washington St. At 9.5% ABV. Clear, golden, very very creamy head. Substantial. Clean. Balanced to the sweet end. A special brew. Hope he's laying some down.

In September there will be a new release each week. 1) German Light. 2) Hefeweizen. 3) Marzen. 4) ScharzHacker will return. Look closely and you can find the pattern. In October, it will be Paint the Town Brown IBA (Imperial or India Brown Ale).

The only Brew On Premise in Illinois is the John Rhodell Brewery on the waterfront. Closed Sundays and, evidently, Mondays. Since there are no hours listed, we decided not to stick around to find out. The beer list in the window looked interesting though: Cask Conditioned Pale Ale, Hophead Heaven, Scottish Amber, Oh Ah Amber, River City Wheat, American Brown, Summertime Porter, and Black Berry Weizen.

Demolition Ale is in the same general category but more golden than reddish. Our sample bottle may have been oxidized. The color and the taste didn't match as it had almost stout-like malty, toasty character with very little noticeable hops. Again, built to be layed down.

In other news, they still brew Rainier.

Satiric followup: Hamm's signs the bear as a spokesbear. "When we read about Mickey's bender in the park, we knew we had the bear that could put our brand back on the radar." article

Shallos in Greenwood has added more bottles: Bosteels Triple Karmeliet, Adnams Broadside and SSB, Henniger, Weihenstephaner Dunkel Weiss, Tilburg Dutch Brown.

Thursday - Mishawaka: Vine Liquors Single Malt Tasting. Macallan vertical tasting featuring an 1861 replica. $20. 7-9pm.

Saturday - Cincinnati: Bloatarian League Beer & Sweat competition.

Saturday - Chicago: Chicago Beer Society Blues and Brews Cruise. Beer and BBQ with blues on Lake Michigan.

Next Sunday - Carmel: Hamilton Beverage presents Red, White, and Blue Extravaganza. Wines, Brews, Food. 6-9pm. At the Mansion at Oak Hill (116th St & Hazel Dell). $50 advance, $60 at the door. Benefiting P R E V A I L Victim Awareness and Support Program.

The Taste of the Midwest is everything people say. 3 big tents full of 107 breweries. Yep, 107. Another tent with beer-related goodies. An 88-page program. 5,000 people or so. Folks really had signs saying "I Need a Ticket".

From Indiana, Barley Island, Broad RIpple, Chalkies, Duneland, Lafayette, Mad Anthony, Main Street, Oaken Barrel, Three Floyds, and Upland. Yep 107 breweries. From Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and even Wisconsin. Standout beers we tasted:

• Blue Cat (Rock Island) Tuck's Tenacious Trippel 9%
• Brass (S. Barrington, IL)  Rediculous Imperial Red 7%
• Delafield Brewing (Delafield, WI) 5yo Whiskey Barrel Barley Wine - the last of 18 kegs. 12.5% Massive. Proud to have had the very last drop. Best of Show.
• Delafield Whiskey Aged Imperial Stout and IPA. These guys like whiskey barrels and have lots of patience.
• Delafield Scotch Export style ale.
• Denmark Brewing (Denmark, WI) Belgian Strong Ale
• Kuhnhenn (Warren, MI) A Few Shillings Too Many 140 Shilling Scotch Ale - red beer with yellow head. Superb.
• 'Sconnie (Clear Lake, WI) Badger Dark Mild
• Sprecher Abbey Tripel
• Stevens Point White Biere
• Water Street (Milwaukee) Peche 50% wheat, Belgian yeast, and 0eaches added after fermentation. Peach taste comes through and the color is absolutely correct - but it's not a lambic by any means.
• III Dachshunds Perry, Pommode, and a methode champaign dry cider.

But we missed the Three Floyds new Alpha-Naught 10% ABV, 200 IBU, strong ale.

Did you know Bell's makes a Sake?

One of the three tents.

Seating in the woods, ala Woodstock.

The original 12-pack (Growler carrier)

Budweiser at the festival.
OK, it's really a rinse and watering station.

Available From Brewing News,
The t-shirt, that is.
No, it's not available in Braille.

1) Barley Island, Mad Anthony, and Oaken Barrel are contemplating a 12-beer sampler pack, much like World Class's Midwest Sampler.

2) Duneland may have been sold to become a Texas Corral - a regional Ponderosa clone chain. Future as a brewery doesn't look well.

3) One pallet of Goose Island Pere Jaques and one of Demolition will make it to Indiana. Still haven't cracked the 6-pack we got in Chicago - will report later.

About 20 miles west of Madison sits the small dairy town of Mt. Horeb (pronounce the "H"). Two reasons to visit.

1) The Mustard Museum. Thousands of mustard jars, posters, advertisements, mustard pots, historical artifacts, puns, jokes, cartoons, comics, celebrity endorsements, even a movie on the history of mustard. Due to security concerns a scanner at the door will detect the presence of ketchup or mayonnaise on your person. Oh, and you can buy mustard also.

2) The Grumpy Troll Brewpub. A clean wood and green small town local with Trailside Wheat, Trolls Gold Lager, Grumpy Sout, 2nd St. Amber, fish and comfort food, and a good attitude about their place in the world. The beautiful old 1800s pot still above the bar sadly isn't for sale. The brewer here also does the J.T. Whitneys' in Madison (see below) and he says he enjoys brewing here more. Indeed, we found the beers here better - at least more complex. 10oz beers are $2.25.

• Rye Brown - orange color. A bit of caramel. The rye more balances sweetness than adds much flavor or complexity.
• Red-Eyed Troll - a mild red ale. Cordovan color. Hint of milk chocolate. Hint of Belgian sourness tang. Quite complex. A+ ale.
• Imperial Stout - Toasty almost to burnt. Tasty but a bit thin in body. About 7% ABV.
• Sven's Nut Brown Alt - again, surprisingly orange color. An unimpressive alt.

J.T. Whitneys' is an in-city roadhouse in a shopping mall outbuilding. Big mug club and lots of games. 12 on tap. Lots of locals and lots of conversation. Then the beer tourists, like myself, showed up while preparing for tomorrow's Taste of the Midwest. Talked to people from Cleveland, Kentucky, Minneapolis, and more. Eight 4oz samplers for $8.50. All their beers seemed to be middle of the road - right in the style with nothing pushing up against the envelope.

• The Scotch Egg (1) for $3.25 used commercial fish breading crumbs, served w/ mild brown mustard. Evidently not a Wisconsin specialty.
• Goldenshine - Crisp light ale.
• Badger Red Ale - Not the same as Mt. Horeb's red. Sorta bland but nice.
• Heartland Weiss - Intense German Weiss. Banana & sweetness.
• Porter - Nice but a bit thin.
• APA - Not overly anything.
• Honey Weiss - Exactly as expected.
• Koln Kolsh - Lots more carbonation than expected. Tart and bitter. OK, this one pushes the style.
• Rouch Weisse - Mildly smokey. Very mildly smokey.
• Grand Cru - Finally a beer that extends the envelope. Fine belgian golden. Sour & lactic.

We were told to go to Angelic Brewery before the Great Dane because we wouldn't make it out of the Great Dane before bed time. They were right.

Angleic had only 5 on tap. It's a highly polished brass business bar. Avalon Blonde, Purgatory Pale Ale, Sinner's Stout, and Shakedown Nut Brown. There are a dozen GABF and World Cup awards on the wall - all for differently named beers that weren't on tap tonight.

• Enchanted Abbey - properly dull brown. $4.25/8oz. Not impressive.

Then on to The Great Dane - just a block from the state capitol building at 123 E Doty St. Had to put the notebook away as we partied with folks from Mad Anthony, Broad Ripple, Lafayette, and Mishawaka Brewpubs. The hit beer of the night was a cask conditioned ale - an IPA with lots of Fuggles and Cascades. Good bangers and mash. This place is our recommendation for Madison.

I write this on Saturday morning before heading to the Taste of the Midwest. Now to find a way to connect to the internet and post it.

Ahhh, a good place. Milwaukee Ale House is a big, bare wood, beer-oriented restaurant in the robust downtown, east-or-the-canal, area. Regulars abound watching TV and discussing past conquests - like the Korean war. Daytime prices: 12oz for $2, 16oz for $3.

• Maker's Demise - their Louie's Demise amber ale aged in a Maker's Mark barrel and served on the handpull. It's mildly malty with a very subdued whiskey vanilla note. Tasty.
• Solomon Juneau - A "Golden Ale" by description but dark and cloudy. Dry hopped with Saaz. Malty and balanced on the attack with lots of late bitterness.
• Bit O' Honey Wheat - their session ale, has lots of Cascades. Dark for a wheat but not a dunkle.
• Their oatmeal stout is made with 9 malts and served on nitro. This is the thickest head we've ever seen on a beer. Brown. It left stepped rings on the back side of the glass as we supped. Really thick.

At the Milwaukee Ale House they use pickled hop shoots as garnish in the Bloody Marys. These come in a big jar from hopsdirect.com. As munchies they are interesting with long stems and just a few ragged blooms. There is almost no bitterness bu tthe pickling comes through strong. Called Hop Asparagus.

The Water Street Brewery has been around the east end of Milwaukee for over 10 years. Fancy joint with new brick walls and a uniformed, aproned, staff. Empty at 5pm on a Thursday. The walls are covered with memorabilia including posters, tap handles and a big can wall dominates a side room. Lots of beers including Honey Lager Light, Munich Lager, Weiss, Raspberry Weiss, Amber, Pale Ale, Oktoberfest, Irish Stout.

• Belgian White - served in a stemmed pilsner glass with a orange slice. Properly blueish yellow. Properly Hogaardenish. Massive aroma. Good stuff.

The brewpub in Watertown, WI is gone. 20 mile trip to see a cute town and it's a nice day so not a big waste.

Then there is Randy's FunHunter's Brew Pub in Whitewater, WI. Got in right at dusk. Already a busy night was in progress. This is an Italian restaurant in a very picturesque town. Beers include Warhawk Wheat, pale ale, oatmeal stout, and

• Tye The Knot Rye - wheat light. A bit bitter and a bit metallic.
• Amber Lager - more golden in color. Smooth and well balanced. Neither are exceptional but worth writing home about.

• Belgian Blonde - light gold, slight carbonation, some Belgian notes but on the light side all the way.
• Barley Wine - cask conditioned. 10% ABV. Brewed for their 10th anniversary. Rich brown, citric, dark fruit, salt, and sour in an uncomfortable blending. Overall intense but not focused.
• Brewers Reserve Cream Ale - Golden, malty. A bit of green vegetable notes.

The Map Room is fabled of song and story - really a neighborhood local that doesn't serve Old Style. Instead, there are 24 taps including 9 Belgians. A local where you don't look silly drinking beer from a stemmed glass. In fact, we counted 35 different glassware on the counter - like Belgium, each beer is served in the proper glass. Ahhh.

• Verhaeghe Dechesse De Bourgogne - a Belgian Red Sour Ale with a dark note of bittersweet chocolate. Some horse sweat makes it all the more interesting.

Piece Brewpub is also fabled far and wide. Won some GABF awards. Sorta disappointing though, the brewpub is a party bar for the young crowd with enough TVs to show all the MLB games at once. Oh well. Worse, the beer was served rock cold. Even worse, the aroma of burnt pizza added to the bummer. Had three beers though - what we won't put up with for our readers <grin>. In addition to their own, they serve 8 taps of guests including Gumballhead right now. Had only 4 of their own on tap, the two below plus Big 'n Curvy Hefeweizen (American hops, German yeast) and Dysfuntionale (and American IPA).

• Golden Arm - a sparkling, straw yellow kolsch. Quite bitter.
• Anniversary Ale (2004) - a malty, almost chocolately mild. Deep mahogony. 5% ABV.
• Victory All Malt Lager - Victory Brewing of PA. Smooth, nay, creamy. Not pilsner hoppy by any means. Acts almost like a cream ale. Tasty, good beer.

A mile east is the Goose Island Clybourne St. brewpub. Always have loved this place. Always happy when their mild is on the handpull, but not tonight. Instead, they had 312 (American hefe), Kilsch, Pils, Hefe, Honkers, Palisades IPA, Red Felt, IPA, Saison (6%), Hex Nut Brown, Old Clybourne Porter, and

• Naughty Goose (on the handpull) - a very dark southern brown. Won the gold at the 2003 GABF. Big, brown, creamy head. Warms nicely. Thick, rich, balanced. Did I say big? Not black, malty, just thick.
• Trippel - Yep, from Goose Island. Dark red but delicately colored. A bit overblown on the nose. Surely a lot of malt. Not sweet, just powerful. Not very subtle.

Coming up at GI is a Schwarzbier, a doppelweiss, RyePA, and a smoked porter. Much different offerings in person than through our local Marsh stores.

We picked up two Belgians to taste later (and to age a few years). Demolition Ale and Pere Jacque. Reports to come later.

Then the disappointment. Sam's Liquors is a warehouse-sized liquor store directly across the street from GI. Remember when the Peach Records in Broad Ripple opened, taking over an entire supermarket? That's the way we feel about Sam's Liquors. Huge. The entire Schwann catalog of beer and Scotch is in one place. The big sign on the door "We Never Close" is still there but a small sign on the door says it closes at 9:30pm. Aaarggghh. We'll just have to brave the Kennedy, Dan Ryan, and 80/94 on the way back to stop there on Sunday.

Ken also plans to match his Gold-medal winning Belgian Tripel with a Dubbel later this year.

Bob Moore is back from his Air Force Reserve stint and is helping along with Chris Armstrong in the brewery. Bob previously worked at the Post Rd. facility.

Since Estonia joined the EU a year ago their alcohol tax revenue is up over 40%.

Finland's taxes are much higher and a bottle of Vodka costs about 16 euros, as opposed to 6 euros in Estonia. EU membership has eliminated the limit on how much booze Finns can take home and "vodka tourism" has skyrocketed.

Now, of course, the Estonian government is talking about raising alcohol taxes. Sigh. article

Next Sunday - Fort Wayne: Oyster Bar Beer Tasting and Tapas Dinner. 6 courses, six beers, live music. 5:30 - 8:30pm. $27. By advanced reservation only - call 260-490-6755.

• Greek Avgolemono with applewood smoked chicken - Burning River Pale Ale
• Marinated Sashimi Tuna with vegetable lemongrass consumme - Harp Lager
• Pacific Island Salad - Spaten Premium Lager
• Braised sea scallps with chilled avocado salad - Bell's Oberon
• Fried Manicotti - Bell's Amber Ale
• Ginger Peach Fizz - Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse

Still current (2001): Wisconsin's Best Breweries and Brewpubs - Searching for the Perfect Pint

Pretty Old (2000): The Beer Lover's Guide to the USA - Brewpubs, Taverns, and Good Beer Bars

Getting long in the tooth (1999): Tap into the Great Lakes - A Guide to Brewpubs & Microbreweries of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, & Wisconsin (Locally Brewed)

Obsolete (1995): Beer Here - A Traveler's Guide to American Brewpubs and Microbreweries

Obsolete (1995): Beer Across America - A Regional Guide to Brewpubs and Microbreweries

Historical reference (1994): On Tap - A Field Guide to North American Brewpubs and Craft Breweries, Including Restaurant Breweries, Cottage Breweries, and Brewery Inns

The original (1991): On Tap - The Guide to U. S. Brewpubs

Darn near anthropology (1987): Star Spangled Beer - A Guide to America's New Microbreweries and Brewpubs

Also tapped last Thursday, a son. Brewer Michael Brochers' that is. With 9 months aging in wife, Veronica.

"A huge panel of completely underqualified judges using methods not seen since the word biased was invented have named the top 100 brewers in the world. These judges who sampled malt beverages while eating chili dogs and Doritos in front of last Sundays NASCAR telecast, have put beers through a not so blind, but rigorous tasting. Some testers even claim to have had at least 100 ounces of "some pretty damn strong ale" before rating the finest and most delicate beers on the planet. Not since your high school prom king/queen voting has this kind of popularity contest been seen. Congratulations go out to all the winners.

  1) AleSmith Barrel Aged Speedway Stout - San Diego
  2) Westvleteren Abt 12 - Belgium
  3) Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel  - Montreal
  4) Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout - Munster, IN
  5) Rochefort Trappistes 10 - Belgium
  6) Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA - Munster, IN
  7) Apis Póltorak Jadwiga Mead - Poland
  8) AleSmith Speedway Stout - San Diego
  9) LaConner India Pale Ale (Bottleworks) - LaConner, WA
10) Great Divide Hercules Double IPA - Denver

Others available in Indiana include Stone Imperial Russian Stout (11), Dogfish Head WorldWide Sout (12), Bells Expedition Stout (14), Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock (19), Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine (23), Stone Ruination IPA (25), North Coast Old Rasputin (29), Stone Double Bastard (32), Kulbacher Eisbock (34), Fullers London Porter (35), St. Bernardus Abt 12 (36), Bells Kalamazoo Stout (37), Stone IPA (38), De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserve (39), Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (42), J.W. Lees Harvest Ale, Rochefort Trappistes 8 (45), Unibroue Trois Pistoles (47), De Fonteinen Oude Geuze (49), Cantilion Lou Pepe Pure Kriek (51), Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer (54), Bells Third Coast Old Ale (55), Drie Fonteinen Schaarbeekse Kriek (56), Thomas Hardys Ale (2003+) (59), Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout (new to Indiana) (60), Chimay Bleu (54), Rodenbach Grand Cru (65), Sam Smiths Oatmeal Stout (66), Zywiec Porter (69), Avery The Beast (71), Bells Batch 6000 (73), Three Floyds Alpha Klaus (75), Unibroue La Terrible (76), St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout (79), Rogue Imperial Stout (80), Tripel Karmeliet (81), Taquair Jacobite Ale (82), Bells Two Hearted (83), Sam Smiths Imperial Stout (85), Fantome La Gourmande (88), Dogfish Head Raison d Entra (92), Three Floyds Alpha King (95), Rogue Brewer (Anniversary) (98). Quite a shopping list.

They also have lists by region and style. In the Midwest, Back Road's Millennium Lager gets a silver and Three Floyds gets awards for their Dreadnaught (a gold medal), Pride & Joy, Alpha King (gold), seasonals Gumballhead, Dark Lord (another gold), Behemoth Barleywine (yet another gold), Ol'' Dread, Alpha Klaus (yep, gold again) and Big Ups (a seasonal only available at the brewery),

The Top 100 Brewers list has Three Floyds at #2 followed by Stone and Kalamazoo (Bells).

Google shows Rate Beer.com has 1,924 references to "urine" and it's variants. Modifiers include cat, skunk, kangaroo, chihuahua, dog, donkey, hooker, yak, horse, camel, llama, and "combination of homeless man urine and old garbage". This little known fact has no relation to Bulgarian beer. article

The Champion Beer of Britain for 2004, chosen at the Great British Beer Festival, is Kelham Island Brewery's Pale Rider. This is not the same as Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider Beer brewed by Celis in Texas about 6 years ago.

The Great American Beer Festival, Sept 30 - Oct 2, will serve 1600 beers from 320 breweries to 23,000 people. Yow. Official sponsors include Coors Light and Bud Light. Double yow.

Want to start your own brewery? Want to be the biggest brewery in Indiana? Tours for $200k plus moving expenses. classified ad

Bell's Bar in Galveston, TX can continue selling their Starbock beer at least until the trial next year. In other news, Starbucks is planning to sell their own brand of liquor made contract-distilled by Jim Beam. No news why Bell's Bar isn't being sued by Bell's Beer. article

Some tastings:

• Stone Vertical Epic 04/04/04 - More of sweet saison as opposed to last year's Belgian strong ale. Unmalted wheat and Kaffir lime leaf give it a lightness. Still balanced. Will eventually be interesting to see how this ages until 2011 - when it is designed to be imbibed.
• Orkney Dragonhead Stout. - Black, black, roasty, roasty stout with a dark brown head. Fairly complex. "From the land of blue skies and clear waters" as opposed to "from the land of sky blue waters.
• DAB Low Carb - Served to a panel without description, they universally said it was a boring beer. Maybe not quite as boring as U.S. low carbs but still no one asked for another. Maybe some leather or faint tobacco notes.
• Unibroue Ephemère. Brewed with apple juice, coriander, and curacao. The tart green apple cider comes through. Straw and yeast also.

Thursday through Saturday - Evansville: 43rd annual Volksfest at the Germania Maennerchor. Food, bier, more bier, and especially German music. Actually the bier is Warsteiner and Paulaner. More of a family fair than a beer-drinking event. Brat-eating contest. See this article about last year's.

Thursday through Sunday - Jasper: Strassenfest. More of a family street fair - hence the name. But stop by the Schnitzelbank for a big selection of beer.

Friday and Saturday - Libertyville, IL: Mickey Finn's 10th Anniversary. In a tent behind the brewpub.

Sunday - Indianapolis: Brickyard 400.

Since Eric doesn't like to repeat his Christmas seasonals but Rudolph's Revenge was such a hit last year he compromised by brewing this this year's Rudolph's with 30% more malt, 30% more hops, but not 30% more water. 

President - Blaine Stuckey of Mad Anthony
Vice President - Jeff Eaton of Barley Island
Sec/Treas - Julie Grelle

Three beer tents with 28 breweries, distributors, restaurants, wineries, and homebrew stores/clubs serving over 120 beers and ciders. Attendees were allowed unlimited sampling for 4 hours. Keg toss, dunk the brewer, climbing wall, a good rock band, food from Chalkies, Dick's BBQ, and Yats. how could a good time not be had by all?

Kudos go to Julie Grelle for organizing the entire event. A lot of in-kind sponsorship saved costs so the Optimists and the Art Center could benefit more.

We have very few minor suggestions for next year. There were just enough port-a-potties - need about twice as many to avoid lines and keep them nicer inside. Facilities for designated drivers were sparse - designate where pop and water can be found and maybe include a food ticket. Coolers of water for drinking and glass cleaning would be nice.

Now for the picture gallery.