Indiana Beer News

2004, The Year in Review

IndianaBeer.com

In March we published our Brief and Incomplete History of Brewing in Indiana. It has has minor updates throughout the year. There are 8 pages of information and pictures available if you click the "Articles" button above.

In November we added a review of Southwest Michigan Breweries. Enjoy.

We'd be remiss not to pass on the tip that the World Class Beverages web site has a "Find Local Seller" function. Once you've found your beer via the Search form, you can find the liquor stores or bars that have it within a 20-mile radius of any given zip code. Hint: If you choose, say, a 15.5 gal size you'll find where it's available on draft (or at least which bars have had a barrel delivered recently).

"Would you really trust a skinny beer writer?"

Indiana Breweries, etc.

• The Little Cheers (Evansville) returned to life in August. This was the Firkin brewpub in an earlier life.
• WarBird (Ft. Wayne) started brewing in October and will have cans of T-6 Red Ale on the shelves in 2005.

Closed Breweries:

• The Oyster Bar in Ft. Wayne closed the brewery in February.
• Aberdeen Brewing stopped brewing in May after brewer Sam Stupeck moved to Chicago to start a new brewery. It's still a darn good beer bar featuring Back Road's beers
• Duneland Brewpub in Michigan City closed in October, leaving brewer Barb Kehe out of a job.
  
  "I went in on Monday the 4th and dumped A LOT of good beer down the drain.
  I didn't cry but I was very tempted.
  The aroma was wonderful.
  I hope that the good Lord will forgive me."

In the planning stage:

• Both Rock Bottom and The Ram have new outlets in the paper stages in the Keystone At The Crossing neighborhood in Indy.
• We're not supposed to mention it, but Ted Miller's Brugge Brasserie is planning to open in Broad Ripple in the spring.
• A third brewpub is still being planned for Bloomington. They need to buy the property, get planning permission, tear down the existing building, build a hotel, restaurant, and eventually the brewery. It's doubtful they will open in 2005.
• We think the plans for a brewery in Gas City have fallen through.
• Three Floyds' restaurant is being built on the brewery site now and a spring opening is planned.
• Mad Anthony is planning another satellite bar in Warsaw.

Brewer movements:

• Ken Price moved from Upland in Bloomington to Oaken Barrel in Greenwood when Brook Belli left.
• Matt Hill hit a trippel from home at the Oyster Bar in Ft. Wayne in January. First Upland, second at the Elevator in Columbus, OH, and on to third base back in Ft. Wayne at WarBird.
• Eric Watson left Main Street Brewery in Evansville in October to a rescue attempt in Maryland. Jack Frey replaced Eric. He is a member of the Ohio Valley Homebrewer's Association and had been Eric's part-time assistant most of this 2004.
• Tim Marshall also left Indiana in October to change Rock Bottoms (from Indianapolis to Warrenville, IL). Dustin Boyer, a previous assistant in Indy moved back from Denver to take over.
• Tim's assistant, Jarad moved to the Rock Bottom in Westminster, CO in June.

Good News:

• Barley Island's Brass Knuckles and Barrel Aged beers have taken off in bottles on store shelves around Central Indiana
• The March/April issue of Brew Your Own Magazine had an article about Brother Gabriel Hodges, a brother at the Saint Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana. He continues brewing there - a tradition since 1860. He mainly produces beer for feast days and has included a Dogfish Head Midas Touch clone. Also included is his Rye beer recipe. Thanks, Angie
• Mad Anthony's was voted Fort Wayne's best neighborhood tavern by the readers of Watzup magazine.
• Terre Haute Brewing's bottling line is up and running and their products are starting to show up in liquor stores around the state.
• Upland won a bronze in the World Beer Cup brown porter category for Bad Elmer's Porter.
• Oaken Barrel had a 10th anniversary party on July 4th. They've brewed 13,236 bbls of beer and served 74,820 lbs of BBQ ribs.
• Rich O's had a write-up in the Courier-Journal on in June for, of all things, their chef's salad. It did advise to not ask for a Bud.
• Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout was named the 4th best beer in the world by Rate Beer.com. Dreadnaught placed 6th.

Bad News:

• Indiana Brewers were shut out at the GABF in 2004. No awards at all.

• The Terre Haute Brewing Tap Room was sold to Mogger's next door and a passage opened between the two. The bad news is the antiques of the CV Museum have been put into storage until Mike Rowe finds a place to display them in the brewery.

Other Movements:

• Mike Sprinkle went back to Kahn's in Indianapolis in March after a while helping Matt Gerdenich at Cavalier Distributing.
• Ace Liquors in Fishers lost its major beer guys in October. Brian Snider is now at Payless Liquors on 96th. Steve St. Peters is still taking some time off.
• Jeff Crotty, manager and inspiration behind the Legends of Notre Dame is moved on.
• Stuart Robertson and Troy Gregory, left their jobs as Manager and Chef at the Indianapolis Rock Bottom in May to open MacNiven's.

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Indiana Festivals

March: The Big Red Beer Festival's was well attended, well appreciated, and well, amiable. 50 breweries, importers, and distributors were serving samples of at least 300 different beers from Abita to Zywiec. Breweries in attendance personally included Arcadia, Back Road, Barley Island, Bloomington, Duneland, Oaken Barrel, Sprecher, Terre Haute, and Upland.

Phoenix Theater BrewHaHa in June kicked off a couple of busy months and made $13,000 to support the theater projects. They had great weather to match the great people, great music, and great beer. Four hours of unlimited tasting almost drained the tanks of the dozen-plus breweries pouring samples

World Class Beverages held 6 Beer Geek Ale Fests during the summer - Lafayette, Ft Wayne, Sellersburg, Muncie, South Bend, and Indianapolis.

The Brewers of Indiana Guild Festival in Broad Ripple was attended by (our rough estimate) 2000 people. A good turnout similar to last year's fest. For the first time in memory, EVERY brewery in Indiana was in one place, pouring their beers. 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?

Dave at the Ram arranged and interesting opportunity for the Brewers of Indiana Guild members which gave us patrons a very interesting taste test opportunity. Mid America (suppliers to all good breweries) sent their Rahr 2-row and Simpson Crystal malt to all participating brewers along with Liberty and Cascade hops. Each then made an American Pale Ale aimed at about 40 IBU that was dry-hopped with 1/2 lb of Cascade per barrel. Only the brewers' water, minerals, yeasts, and temperatures varied. We got to taste them side-by-side at the Indiana Microbrewers Festival.

The Cystic Fibrosis Festive Ale in September at the Claddagh was quite large. Two tents were jam packed with tasters, brewers, food, and auction tables. The band played well into the night while neighboring businesses wondered how to get their parking places back.

Eight breweries were at the BIG / Mad Anthony Oktoberfest last Saturday. Good music, good beer, and good brats. Since about 32 beers were served to about 120 people, the atmosphere allowed for comparative tasting of many different styles.

The September Evansville Museum Brew Ha Ha was attended by about 350 people. The setting, along the banks of the Ohio, and the weather couldn't have been better. Nostalgic discussion about last year's storm made the weather seem even better. World Class Beverages, Main Street Brewery, Bells, The Ohio Valley Homebrewer's Association, The Gerst Haus (brats, kraut, and German potato salad), and Frito Lay all contributed to the goodies for the public.

The Big Red Liquors fest in October was lightly attended by previous standards because of mid-terms. That means there was room to move - still 300+ people. Tonight should see the usual riot back. The Big Red organization is to be commended for changing this from a combative chug-fest just 18 months ago to a civil party.

There were also many smaller beer tastings around the state at venues such as BW3, Chalkies, Rathskeller, Shallos, Jungle Room, Legends of Notre Dame, and Anthony's Cafe.

One of the best was an Aged Beer tasting at the Dick's BBQ  in Broad Ripple with about 30 people. 13 beers were sampled, mostly from '00 to '02. - St. Bernardus 8 (sweet malt), Bell's Trumpeter Stout (woody, burnt), Dopplebock (strawberry), Batch 6000 (not ready), Batch 5000 (smoother), Gales Xmas (cherry fruit), Jubilee (smooth, A+), Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (mellowed), DeDoole Oerbier Reserva (A++), North Coast Old Stock (sweet start, hoppy finish), Sam Adams Chocolate Bock (chocolate has dissipated with time),  Triple Bock (prune thickness is still there and mellowing), Anchor Xmas 99 (spiced pre-pine release).

Don't forget in-house festivals such as RichO's Gravity Head, Saturnalia, and Lambic weeks; Upland's Oktoberfest and Winter Warmer openings; Barley Island's Oktoberfest; and Mug Club tastings at Rock Bottom and Mad Anthony.

In Indianapolis, the BeerAdvocate.com folks have a pub crawl about 4 times a year.

Indiana - Good Taste, Good Tastings.

Now it's time to play Spot Your Favorite Brewer:

Hint: Upland, Lafayette, Barley Island, Mad Anthony, Three Floyds, Duneland, Broad Ripple, Back Road, Main Street, New Albanian are among the commercial brewers represented at the Winter Warmer 2004.

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Indiana State Fair

There were 304 beers entered.

Chris Ingermann entered 12 beers and won 9 ribbons.

About 50 qualified home brewers and a dozen professionals did the judging - this isn't just a neighborhood dog show. These folks should be thanked for their time to make this happen. Anita Johnson, owner of Great Fermentations homebrew shop in Indy, did the organization and is the real hero of the event. Hip Hip Hurray. We can't say enough good about her or her annual efforts to the Brewers' Cup.

Homebrew Best of Show: Mark Schiess of Indianapolis for his Southern Brown Ale. (Mark is also the founder of CIBAS, the Central Indiana Beer Appreciation Society). His winning beer was brewed at the Broad Ripple Brewpub in December.

Professional Best of Show Runner Up: Mad Anthony 's Old Crippled Bastard.

Professional Best of Show: New Albanian Brewing's Bourbon Daddy Stout.

The amazing Anita Johnson and
Professional Best of Show winner, Michael Borchers
of New Albanian Brewing

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Homebrewing

• MEGA (Michiana Extract & Grain Association). It's been organized by Tim Sovine, Kyle Wheeler, Branden Moore, Phil and Holly Perdan, and Stacie Mayes. See their web site for details. Their meetings are on the 2nd Sunday of every month at 2:30pm - usually at Mishawaka Brewing.
• The Hop Jockeys formed in July in Bloomington. They have planned meetings on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month. "We will probably have occasional events on weekends as well." Contact - Ryan Clarke 812-337-0196 homebrewer@pobox.com

Easley Winery enlarged their homebrew supply room.

Our visit to the Charlotte's Rock Bottom in April turned out to be very special as we met Ale (Allen) and Julie Clayson. He's the Operations Manager at Homebrew Advantures with the best URL around -  homebrew.com - and an avid member of the Carolina Brewmasters homebrew club (60 members strong). While it's not unusual to strike up a conversation with a homebrewer at a bar, it's unusual to talk to one who went on the 1999? trip to Belgium with Bill Friday! We toasted Bill's memory a few times and my wife forgave me for getting back to the motel later than promised.

Headline: Homebrewers Conference Breaks Attendance Records. The AHA event in Las Vegas had 776 attendees  Eh, no offense, but that's less people than are in the Slots 'O Fun on a Saturday night. article

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Laws

• Sunday sales may start at 10am (instead of 11am).
• Closing on Sunday night stays at 12:30am including New Years Eve if that is a Sunday (we'll worry about that in 2006).
• Liquor stores and bars may provide samples of beer - up to 6oz. (Previously only wine and liquor samples were allowed).
• Suites at sporting events, halls, convention centers, theaters, etc. may have self-serve alcohol. The renter of the suite is responsible to see all drinkers are over 21 or they may have a supervisor or bartender on hand.
• Breweries may sell by the glass on premises if they also sell food. This seems to only affects Back Road and Three Floyds but may also eliminate the need for a temporary permit to have a beer festival outside the normally licensed premises, say, in the brewery itself.
• Allows minors to be where alcohol is sold in licensed areas of a college or automobile race track. (There are many other such places in Indiana Code 7.1-5-7-11 such as bowling alleys, grocery stores, and restaurants.)

Courts are looking into a new Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM) anklet that tests the user's sweat every 30 minutes for alcohol. It can detect a blood alcohol level of .025%. It will be used for DUI and repeat alcohol offenders. A court in Ohio is charging offenders $12 a day to wear the $1,500 device plus a $100 deposit and a $75 installation fee, thus ensuring the court makes a profit from the equipment. This article says it's also being tested in Indiana.

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Odd News
(or at least maybe interesting)

The official IndianaBeer 2004 flu shot.

Indiana

Charilie Papazian on Three Floyds Dreadnaught: "WOWWWW! Hops in the aroma. Hops in the flavor and Hops in my head! I am in the September fields of Yakima! This is not a beer. It is an experience! If you like hops, you must seek this beer. Full flavored, full strength, full of hops and enchanting dreams. A palate-pleaser for hopheads. This is not a beer for wusses. Excuse me while I swallow."

The Prohibition Party had their national meeting at the Islamic Society of North America in Plainfield, IN in March. They got 140 votes this year vs 208 in 2000. A splinter Concern for People Party got 1,944 votes. Both were on the ballot only in Colorado. Go figure.

First Nuvo published an article about Shallos. Said it's a paradise for Harley-ridin' beer lovers deep in the heart of Greenwood. Then a reader replied with a 7-point critique of their critique. "Hey dude, gimme a Warsteiner Dunkel."

Mad Anthony got a lawyer's letter from the Stone Brewing Company. Seems they think MA's Old Crippled Bastard Barley Wine is named a little too close to the name Arrogant Bastard. They won't be naming it Elderly Debilitated Illegitimate Progeny Barley Wine, but maybe The Beer Formerly Known as Old Crippled Bastard Barley Wine.

“This lagering tank holds 3,600 barrels of beer. There are 66 of them in this building, and 500 altogether at this brewery.”

- Anheuser-Busch tour guide, pointing to a chilled aircraft fuselage, and informing Jay Tyler and Roger Baylor that the A-B plant in St. Louis has space enough to store 3,500 years worth of NABC beer.

On a September Sunday morning in Terre Haute, 12:30am. Excise, city, and state officers busted a frat party and ticketed about 135 18-20year olds and one adult for booze. The house was charging $10 to get into the party. Yike. 135.

Some sports-page pundit finally posits the If It Was Good Beer He Wouldn't Have Thrown It At Ron Artest argument. article

Indianapolis police in December located an empty semi-trailer that once had 14,000 cases of Miller Lite. Evidently a deliveryman let go by Monarch Beverage parked it there 6 weeks ago to be looted (and there was still some beer inside). Police were tipped off by a liquor store after someone tried to sell them a pallet of beer. article article

U.S.

An Iron Maiden concert (that's a band for you youngsters) in New York was ruined by beer in February. Just one glassful actually. Some yahoo tossed his down from a balcony and it landed on and shorted out the mixing board.

Oregon had the US's first prohibition law back in 1843. It was repealed in 1848.

Isn't that the biggest Heine you've ever seen? (J Lo not excepted).

The governor of Maine signed a bill in March that, starting last summer, allowed beer on golf courses. Previous to this, golf and alcohol just didn't mix in Maine and liquor will still be illegal. Opponents stated "What's next? Let baseball players drink during games?" They evidently don't have sand lot softball in Maine.

Maryland excise confiscated over 1500 cases of Yanjing beer, brewed in Beijing. They were smuggled into the state without paying state taxes. They are storing the whole batch until a trial. We bet they won't disappear from the property room since these bottles of light, ricey lager were brewed in 2000. Shudder.

An antitrust lawsuit was filed in Madison, WI to stop price-fixing of beer and mixed drinks that involves 24 downtown bars and the University of Wisconsin. The university chancellor urged local establishments to eliminate Friday and Saturday special pricing and 24 of them complied starting in 2002 - including the Angelic Brewing brewpub. Three UW-Madison students brought the suit.

Beer Hats.com

Attention liquor stores. A guy in the Green Bay area has been telling people he's from a beer distributor and their neon signs need to go in for cleaning. Good way to steal neon signs. Now he's been captured on surveillance cameras and is officially a light-fingered thief. article

A beer contract brewed by City Brewery in LaCrosse is getting press for the advertising campaign based on it's name. That's Sechs (German for Six) we're talking about. Billboards in Grand Rapids, Jackson, Lansing and Ann Arbor have slogans such as "How you have Sechs is none of our business," "As long as you're 21, it's OK to pay for Sechs" and "It's OK to have Sechs by yourself".

Anheuser Busch's lawyers sent Diamond Bear Brewing (Little Rock) a letter about the use of the word Ultra in their Ultra Blonde.

The Ithaca Beer Company claims their latest release, Double IPA,  is the first beer in 50 years to use all New York state hops. They used 7.5 pounds of hops per barrel of beer using locally-grown varieties of Cascade, Mount Hood, and Willamette hops. They say that area was the largest hop growing area in the country back in the early 1900s.

Portland Brewing stopped selling Governator Ale because Arnold asked them to.

After a man was run over by a bus in Newport while he was on an organized pub crawl, one of the Rhode Island legislator said he's would introduce a bill banning pub crawls.

Pennsylvania is has a fine legal mess. First they gave tax credits to PA breweries. Then Miller complained. Then they made it just small breweries. Then Pittsburgh Brewing wanted to be included. Now it includes bigger breweries also (Yuengling, Latrobe). Now Miller is complaining again.

Kingfisher Lager, the best selling Indian beer is actually being made by Mendocino Brewing in CA and Olde Saratoga Brewing in NY.

David Gillespie will possibly never again get a date in New Jersey. His complaint to the civil rights board there got a ruling that ladies nights discriminate against men and can no longer be held. The Governor doesn't agree but the ruling will stand unless they pass a specific law - an unlikely event. Discounts based upon sex are also verboten in many other states including Indiana. Illinois and Washington have ruled that ladies nights don't discriminate against men but, rather, encourage women to attend.

But New Jersey passed that specific law  after 20/20 and Jay Leno picked up the cause. "I'm very angry about it," said Gillespie. "How else could I possibly feel?"

One of the fine regulars at Ratebeer.com made a cross-country trip in May visiting other beer raters and exchanging beers. Stopped for speeding in Utah, he was arrested and charged with distributing beer illegally. The charges were dropped quickly but the Utah police kept his substantial multi-cooler supply of beer. Bummer.

What the world needs most?: 3 Vodka Distilled from soy.

Nope. What the world needs most: CicadAle.

This picture of the Brewing News' Bill Metzger, Mississippi Valley BN's Bob O, and Great Lakes BN's Karen Bujak is published partly as an apology for previously including a picture of Keith Ubben with a purple hat band.

Have you ever looked at beer up close?

Here's a 5-part kegerator building guide.

Old Dominion brewery in Virginia received Valencia orange instead of bitter orange to add to their beer. They went ahead and brewed a batch but threw it away saying "We're smart enough to say, 'Wait a minute, this shit's not going to sell.'"

Until the US Constitution was adopted in 1789, the federal government was paid for by donations from the 13 states and some customs duties. The first tax imposed by the new congress was one on distilled spirits that went into effect in 1791. Immediately this was expanded to include tobacco, sugar, carriages, auctioned property, slaves, and a "stamp tax" on legal documents. It wasn't until 1817 that they thought of the idea of just issuing money and going into debt.

Ice is just so old-school, dude. Now there's the self-chilling aluminum can. Drops the temperature inside 30° in 3 minutes. Twice the size and twice the landfill space, though. article

The inhaled vodka AWOL machine did NOT appear in a NYC club in August. It wasn't banned by the city but the promoters pulled it "voluntarily" after NY state legislators made a fuss 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

On an official slow news day a black bear in Washington is found passed out amid dozens of beer cans. "He didn't like that (Busch) and consumed, as near as we can tell, about 36 cans of Rainier." article 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

Budweiser at the Taste of the Midwest.
OK, it's really a rinse and watering station.

The original 12-pack (Growler carrier)

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

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 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.

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

John Kerry had a Berghoff Famous Red Ale and Teresa had a Solsitce Wit today then the 7 buses made off with a mini-keg and several bottles of each beer along with 20+ pounds of limburger cheese. Whoopee. Thanks, Bob Paolino, Madison Capital Times, and Green County News

Beer Goggles.

Now there's an Oktoberfest Barbie dressed in a dirndl with a tiny metal stein on a tiny chain around here neck.

The Red cross offered a pint for a pint in Cleveland in September. If you donated a pint of blood, you got a coupon for a pint of beer redeemable at any bar in the Warehouse District.

Science. Here's a robot that asks patrons for beer money. When it gets enough, it orders a beer. Still haven't figured out how to pick up girls but they're trying. Quicktime Movie

The Vegetarian Society Awards named Guinness one of the three most coveted foods containing meat. Isinglass is used in the finings. The other two products are Licorice Allsorts (gelatin) and Smarties (cochineal - made from crushed beetles).

Here's The Webtender's Top 100 requested drinks. #1? Jello shots.

The rock slide on I-70 in Glenwood Canyon over Thanksgiving made about 25,000 cars per day take a 200-mile detour but the slide itself didn't hurt anyone or hit any cars. Why not? The road was already closed. A semi-load of Bud was in an accident earlier in the day and spilled 76,000 bottles of beer. article

Esquire magazine has named the St. Pauli Girl as the hottest product mascot, beating out Swiss Miss, Aunt Jemima, Wendy, and Mrs. Butterworth.

Canada

4,200 twelve-packs of Moosehead disappeared from a truck heading for Toronto in August. These were on route to Mexico so if anyone serves you a Mices Cabeza the RCMP would like to hear about it. The Spanish writing on the bottles should make it tough to fence in Canada. article They were found by the RCMP later that month.

England/Scotland

The Sun reports the Ball Inn in South Yorkshire was saved from a charry death when a beer line melted and sprayed John Smith's Extra Smooth, dousing the flames.

10 Downing Street was once the site of the Axe Brewery owned by the Abbey of Abingdon. That was back in the 1500s.

Here's an article that explains the bubbles in your nitro-pour Guinness actually do go down the sides of the glass. With video,. "By analyzing several liters of the liquid brew." at Stanford and the University of Edinburgh.

Customers at the Litten Tree pub chain in England were being charged about £1.75 for a pint of cask conditioned Courage Best and 99p for a pint of the Litten Tree Ale. Both beers come from the same cask in back through side-by-side handpulls.

Moorhouse's Black Cat mild won CAMRA's Champion Beer of Britain in 2000 and it nearly bankrupted the brewery. Houses that stocked Moorhouse's popular Pride of Pendle bitter switched to the mild after the win. Unfortunately mild is less popular overall so total sales for the brewery went down almost in half.

In England, Foster's Super Chilled lager is designed to be served at 30°F.

A bottle of 50 year old Macallan was sold at auction in Glasgow for $9212. The contents were distilled in 1928, bottled in 1983, and numbered 071 out of 500. Included a leatherbound wooden presentation case and a letter of authenticity.

Brit brewer Charles Wells is bottling a beer called Banana Bread Beer.

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.

The worlds smallest brewery is said to be the 9-gallon 25 sq ft Bragdy Gwynant brewery that serves the neighboring Tynllidart Arms. Actually, it is in what was the pub's original loo. 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.

What did Bruichladdich do when 10,000 bottles of their 20-year old Islay single malt Scotch whisky came out of its red wine casks a bright pink? The named it Flirtation "to attract women and gay men". article

Wychwood's latest seasonal is Dog's Bollocks - it's a 5.2 ABV that is "Golden Retriever-coloured". Reportedly a hoppy beer with Stygian hops and some wheat in the mash. We won't be seeing it in the States.

Canterbury Cathedral now sells Shepherd Neame beer to raise money for upkeep on the building. They cite the monkish tradition of brewing that goes back to the middle ages. article

Europe and the Mid-East

In Poland, Polmos Zielona Gora has been called to task for attaching an English language course on DVD to it's bottles of Vodka. Seems there's a law prohibiting association of alcohol with culture in advertising. (During the Superbowl, that isn't the law, just how it works).

Andreas Benz won the election for mayor in Ballendorf, Germany, but a new election was been mandated because he bought beer that day for 21 of the town's 660 residents. article

The soccer World Cup in Germany has actually signed with Anheuser-Busch for $47m to be the exclusive beer supplier. They also made a similar food deal with (wait for it) McDonald's. Needless to say, there's a bunch of unhappy Germans.

April: Norway has ordered higher beer prices after a price war had beer being sold in some places for less than the national tax imposed on the beer - about $1 per 11 ounces! A bunch of unhappy Norwegians are now hoarding beer.

A 2-week brewers strike in Norway ended in May. It doesn't look like the US supply of Norwegian beers will not be interrupted. Oh, there aren't any beers imported from Norway except Aass which isn't distributed in Indiana anyway. Never mind.

France is the world's biggest malt exporter, having sent out more than 1 million tons last year. 15% went to Belgium, 11% to Germany. Then send malt everywhere including 10,000 tons to Cuba and the Ivory Coast.

A major Czech company, Drinks Union, has launched a 16% ABV marijuana flavored vodka made from hemp seeds. Just thought you might want to know.

Marijan Camber, 61, of Bosnia has imbibed 400,000 bottles of beer. He normally drinks about 10 liters a day.

Bottle-conditioned NA? Heineken recalled a bunch of Buckler near-beer because a manufacturing problem failed to remove all the yeast from some bottles. These few could ferment in the bottle, cause a cloudy appearance, and you really don't want alcohol in an NA product.

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".

Bulgaria has doubled beer exports since last year. Huh, you ask? OK, Bulgaria's main beer brands are Astika Lux Premium, Kamenitza Svetlo, and Zagorka Gold and Special. Now you know.

In Oslo, Norway, two boys, 14 and 15, took a supermarket up on its offer to pay a reward for finding out-of-date beer on the shelves. They spotted 280 cans of Carlsberg past the sell-by date and got about $1,030 for their enterprise.

"Menohop", a popular natural herb pill in Belgium and the Netherlands, is said to ease menopause problems and help prevent uterine cancer. "Women would need to drink 3 liters of highly hopped beer per day to have the same beneficiary effects". Not available in the US. The downside is that possibly 50% of the Poperings hops region crop will go to Menohop production rather than to beer. article

"Lithuanian border guards have discovered a three-kilometre-long hose that was being used to smuggle vodka from Belarus." article

Africa

"Buy four bunches of bananas for 2,000 Ugandan shillings (60 pence), leave them to ripen for seven days and then smoke them over an open fire. Mix in some grass and squeeze out the juice. Add some sorghum to the juice, dilute with water and leave to ferment for four days. Sieve, and sell the 20 litres to neighbours for 5,000 shillings. Use the money to pay for food, school fees, and more bananas." article

Asia

Things must be going well in Iraq. From the Distinguished Brands newsletter: "Batilka, Russia's biggest beer exporter, plans to enter markets in Brazil, Cuba, India and Iraq next year. Owned jointly by Scottish & Newcastle and Carlsberg, Batilka currently sells in 35 countries."

Australia

The Iron Clad Hotel in Marble Bar, Australia closed after an 111-year run. The 300-person town in the hot, hot outback is now without a proper pub within 120 miles. The temporary manager of the hotel quit when the mercury hit 113°F in January.

80,000 bottles of Castlemaine beer were burned (well, boiled) in April in a truck fire in New South Wales, Australia.

Take a 21 year old Aussie wanker, a pail of beer, a hose, and a pump powered by an electric drill. What could possibly go wrong? Well a 3" rip in the stomach and a gut full of beer for starters. article "Australian Medical Association public health chairwoman Rosanna Capolingua said she was horrified that people would pump a liquid into themselves."

Oktoberfest

Munich's Oktoberfest has been the scene of what the Police are calling (in German) Boob Bandits. "The gang single out drunken festival guests, and while one of the women flashes her assets, the other girl together with a male accomplice relieves drunken onlookers of their wallets. Police have now warned male visitors to beware of women flashing their breasts at the festival - which organizers have admitted is the raunchiest ever."

The price of a liter of beer has risen to €7.10 ($8.65) from its 30-year stable price of $7.90. Yike. 

There's also a plastic-coated translation pocket guide being sold for €3 specifically for beer drinkers. It includes words such as "bsuffa" (drunk), "biesln" (to urinate), "schbeim" (to vomit).

Enough beer to fill 6 olympic-sized swimming pools, 500,000 roast chickens, 400,000 sausages, 25 tons of fish. What is the consumption at Oktoberfest during it's 10-day run, Alex?

The lost and found as included 4,000 objects this year, Hundreds of mobile phones,  glasses, wedding rings, underwear, a glass eye, a set of false teeth, a wheelchair, and a sheaf of top secret government papers.

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Trends

Czechvar hit the shelves in Indiana as did Smithwick's on tap.

Lagavulin and Oban Single Malt Scotch have just about disappeared from liquor stores. We copped a supply in January and hope you did too. There's some small supplies coming in now (at year's end) but the price has gone from $50 to over $70. That's economics in action.

There are now 7 Dick's BBQ locations combining a chopping board and good beer. 3 more are on the drawing board. (The BW3 in downtown Indy is still the best one in the country.)

Little King's Cream Ale is back in Indiana.

Did you know the President of the Brewery Collectibles Club of America is a Hoosier? Or that they've changed their name from the Beer Can Collectors of America?

Late on the afternoon of May 6th, all Marsh stores in Indiana got a delivery of Budweiser that was canned that morning. This is part of an AB freshness promotion and isn't scheduled to be repeated in Indiana.

The Brewing Industry International Awards winners we can get in Indiana include Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted, Liefmans Frambozen, Bosteels Deus, Black Sheep Riggwelter Strong Ale, Tennent's Lager, and Grolsch.

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

IUPUI will have a 3-credit course starting in January - TCEM299 Intro To Microbrewing. Instructor: Julie Grelle.Meets on Thursday evenings Jan 13 through May 5, 2005. Each week a different brewer will appear as special lecturer.

Kahn's web site now has a search function that will, once the database is filled in, let you know availability and price of all their beer and wine offerings. Search by name, style, keyword (hoppy, malty, raspberry, etc).

The Broad Ripple Brewpub and Indy's downtown BW3 are now wi-fi hotspots.

U.S./Canada

2005 seems to be the end of the low-carb craze. Even though ultra-light beers are still around, their market share has peaked.

Sam Adam's Chocolate Bock was released on Valentines day as a limited edition of 50,000 bottles. At $20 it's still on store shelves.

Rogue is making rum. Dogfish Head is distilling. So is Arcadia.

If you're traveling and want to find the nearest brewpub, get the PalmBrew Guide or PdaBrewGuide at PalmBrew. It also has a glossary and style guide. $19.95.

The Rock Bottom chain has opened their 100th restaurant. - in St. Cloud, MN. They plan on opening 100 more in the next 4 years - including 10 more brewpubs (bringing that total to 44).

Pete Slosberg of Pete's Wicked Ale is now into a startup chocolate company, Cocoa Pete's Chocolate Adventures. Hopes to go national. Cost $750,000 to start the company. Had $100,000 sales last year with 7 employees - that's called losing money fast.

The Coors/Molson merger looks to be in trouble. Fund managers who own large blocks of Molson shares don't like the idea. Molson is trying to allow owners of options (mainly the current management) to have a vote but this plan looks doomed. Shenanigans like this have made fund managers look twice - such as the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance who hold 25%+ of the shares.

Have you noticed Jack Daniels has lowered Black from 86 proof to 80? 15 years ago it was lowered to 86 from 90 and sometime recently bottles of 80 proof hit the market according to Modern Drunkard magazine.

If you Google wine, you'll notice advertisers on the right side of the page. If you Google beer there's no advertisers. We're told Google has a policy about beer but not wine or liquor. Hmmm.

The ATTTB (ex-ATF) folks announced yesterday a higher tax on malternatives starting in 2006. Under these new guidelines beer (malt liquor drink) must have 51% of its alcohol from brewing rather than from distilling. Bah. Not nearly good enough if you ask us. Should be 90% at least. But since some of these Smirnoff Ice-like products now get 90% of their alcohol from vodka, it's a start. short AP article ATTTB press release

Bass is going to be hitting the states in pub draught (nitro) cans. press release

AB's "B to the E" or B^E is a 6.6% beer with caffeine, ginseng and guarana extract and natural flavor. It will be sold in 10oz cans in either 4- or 6-packs at about $10/pack. The target market is Red Bull drinkers who want alcohol added rather than light beer drinkers who want sports drink taste. There's a fruity nature that seems to be strawberry.

England/Scotland

Derby, population 250,000, has, by count, 121 brands of real ale on tap at it's 76 pubs. Only 6 of those pubs have no real ale. The Flowerpot has 19 hand pulls, two others have 14. Marston's Pedigree is available in 45 pubs, Draught Bass in 27. Average price for Pedigree is £2.10 ($3.70) for 20oz. Cheapest is £1.09 ($1.92) for Wyre Piddle ales at the Babington Arms.

Coors unveiled a 2% ABV version of Carling in December. Thankfully this was in England, not over here where we appreciate serious beer. "Coors said the new beer, dubbed C2, is aimed at drinkers who want to limit their alcohol consumption, but prefer beer rather than soft drinks."

The World

Folks from the Field Museum have found an pre-Incan brewery about 250 miles south of Cuzco in Peru. Pots, fire-pits, seeds, jars, indicate they made a spiced chicha from grain and fruit in 10 to 15 gallon batches. article

According to American Brewer, untaxed moonshine may account for half of the world's alcohol consumption. "In some countries, moonshine outsells commercially produced alcohol by a 4:1 ration". In Russia it's called samogon and it accounts for 13.2 liters of the per capita annual alcohol consuption of 16 liters. They also say toxic moonshine is quite rare.

Asahi planned to bottle in plastic. Their version had a silicon oxide coating on the inside to shield against UV. Cool. Perfect for golf courses and beaches. But they canceled the idea because of waste disposal objections.

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.

Price wars in Japan have 11.8oz cans down to 91¢ for low-malt beers. Sapporo even has one made from peas. article

Who's the biggest brewing company? China. More than 7 billion gallons in 2004.

Technology

Headline: Hi-fi Failure Helps to Brighten Beer. Using a Philips technology developed to burn holes in cassettes, a Dutch company, Fluxxion is making ultra-fine filters to remove yeast residues at low pressures. article

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US Brewery News

Bells started brewing 2-Hearted year round.

Yards Brewing in Philadelphia has General Washington Tavern Porter and Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale - beers based on recipes from the 1700s. Here's Washington's recipe (provenance is sketchy). "Take a large siffer full of bran hops to your taste-boil these 3 hours. Then strain our 30 gall[o]n into a cooler put in 3 gall[o]n molasses while the beer is scalding hot or rather draw the molasses into the cooler. Strain the beer on it while boiling hot, let this stand till it is little more than blood warm. Then put in a quart of ye[a]st if the weather is very cold cover it over with a blank[et] let it work in the cask-Leave the bung open till it is almost done working-Bottle it that day week it was brewed."

Eske's brewery in Taos New Mexico is turning 12 years old this summer. We stopped in at Steve Eskeback's original little brewery along the Rio Grande at Embudo Station and now we're feeling very old. They report he still makes the best green chili beer on the planet.

Ex-Hoosier Dave Chichura of Mountain Sun brewery in Boulder has 19 of his beers on tap all the time. 19! Stuff like Tsunami Strong Ale and Hogback Doppelbock. They recently were awarded Best Microbrewery by Boulder Weekly and Best Brewpub by Denver's Westword magazine.

Randy Thiel, brewmaster at Ommegan in Cooperstown, was made a Knight of the Brewer's Guild in Brussels. He's the first American inducted into the Chevalerie du Fourquet des Brasseurs.

Pittsburgh Brewing Co has paid its $900,000 water bill so Iron City beer will keep flowing. They still dispute a $2.4M sewer bill since most of the water goes out in bottles, not down the drain. article

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Gizmos

Kevin Doerr of the Tippecanoe Homebrew Circle made a very tidy counterflow wort chiller from a coil of copper tubing encased in a garden hose. Water goes in one end, hot wort in the other. Complete with flow control and thermometer. Less than $50 in parts and an evening with a soldering iron.

Dogfish Head has invented the "organoleptic hop transducer" - a way for bars to dry-hop beer as it comes out of the tap. It is huge, won't help light beers, costs $88, "the hop resins that end up in the beer are reported to have a gritty feel in the mouth that can give drinkers the impression that their tooth enamel is being dissolved", and units have been sold to at least a half-dozen notable beer bars around the country.

Andy and Chad Baker of Indoor Signs in Bloomington, have won the Indiana Small Business Administration's Young Entrepreneurs Award. Their new product is called the Drink Tower. It's an 84 ounce, 32 inch high dispenser designed to be served instead of pitchers. It sits on the table and customers can refill their own glasses, just like a pitcher. The difference is a spigot, a lid, and the coolness of having a tower of beer on the table. Careful, it's way bigger inside than a yard of beer. Also available in 168oz drunk tower size. Order yours today for the pool. Logoed versions and quantity discounts also available.

Brewer's Art in Ft. Wayne has a new bottle cleaner - the Turbo Scrubber. It's like a chamois on a stick that attaches to an electric drill and cleans the inside of carboys at 1700 RPM. Dry and reuse - pretty sturdy. About $35 with replacement cloths at $15 for a pack of 2.

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Numbers

The biggest "specialty" brewers are:

So who's really the big guns on Americans' lips?

These 10 account for 75% of the total import market.

Note the big decline in Malternative advertising bucks. 

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Our Favorite Tastings

Aberdeen Scottish Ale - 80/- ale. Dark ruby color and malty character. Our pick for a beer with almost any meal.

Alcatraz: Omar's bold porter was brewed with Adrian Ball. It has Munich, black, chocolate, and aromatic malts (920 lbs for 12 bbl). Hops are Goldings, Crystal, and Liberty. Really drinkable.

IPL (India Pale Lager). The mahogany color matches the trim on the bar and is topped by a nice head. Simcoe and Cascade hops give it a grapefruity bitter aroma that is matched in the taste. This is the beer that homebrewer Sean Tucker helped make back in early February.

Maibock - More golden than traditional copper color. 1076 OG gives it lots of alcohol. Mt. Hood hops are also a bit unusual for a bock. This is the beer Aaron McMurchy helped Omar produce.

Hoosier Honey Malt Liquor just hit the tap line. 900lb of barley, 100 lb of corn, and a touch of honey. Willamette hops, a 2 hour boil and 2 months of fermentation. 6.8% ABV. Tastes like a slightly alcoholic Light. Omar always seems to produce a dangerous beer when there's an English Teacher's convention in town.

Back Road's Aviator Dopplebock (available again in bottles). It's 9.1%ABV. Big and thick. Dark, dark brown. Lots of malts and hops including Tetenang.

Bloomington Brewing Vision Weiss. Yell, cloudy, small (for a weiss) head. Made with Weihenstephaner yeast. The wheat character comes through strong with no German cloviness. Very quenching.

Java Porter is creamy, dark black. Coffee isn't predominant but seems to bring out the dark malts very well. Floyd has used Sumatra Blue Ling Tong coffee from a local roaster in the mash. Very tasty. A+, especially on the hand pull.

Whiskey Stout. It's been aging since February in a 55 gallon Beam barrel. 6.6% ABV. Opaque black with a long-lasting thin white head coming from the minimal CO₂ blanket pressure. Smooth and balanced with subdued oak and whiskey notes. Vanilla and caramel come through also. Balanced with 12.5 lobs of East Kent Goldings.

Broad Ripple Brewpub's Maibock went great guns. Bright dark iron red. Malty, clean, and well aged.

Pumpkin Ale on tap. Not a pumpkin pie beer which means allspice and cinnamon. It's a restrained pumpkin-added ale that satisfies.

On the handpull is a Best Bitter that Kevin hit heavily with Cascades hops. Bready and yeasty with lots of grapefruit that seems to loose it's powerful bitterness shock halfway through the first glass. A solid beer that will find lots of fans among hopheads.

Duneland Brewing's signature Mount Baldy Old Ale. It's dark brown with a caramelly head. Winey with pine notes. Massively malty.

Lafayette Brewing Company Big Boris Barleywine. 10%ABV. Sneaky. Not big alcoholic and not big raw raisiny as some younger barley wines. Smooth.

Copper Top Rauch Beer - Copper to exactly match their bar top. Nice gray head. A nice smoke aroma but the smoke really hits the roof of the mouth then dies away when a balanced malt flavor sets in. Excellent stuff.

Imperial Stout. The pre-release taste I had was so very black with a pure brown, long lasting head. Thick on the side of the glass. Nice mouthfeel. Subdued malts and very balanced. Minimal roasty grain without darker notes. 1092 OG. 8.7% ABV. 55 IBU from Fuggles and Chinook hops.

Imperial IPA. Medium copper with little head. 9% ABV and 60+ IBU. Very little hop aroma but the first hit on the tongue brings white knuckles. It grows on you fast but sip it slowly. Take a bathroom break. Then come back for another first sip and delightfully shudder all over again. Chinook, Cascade, Willamette hops and dry hopped with Chinook. Not grapefruity.

Summer Wheat - unveiled in June. Fresh grassy notes abound. Drool. Hop bitterness is subdued but balanced. It's being received very well - maybe Todd will make it a regular, please, please. Or think about bottles, please, please.

Main Street Brewery Chocolate Rye - a solid drying porter with a hint of bittersweet chocolate. Not much rye at first but comes on more after warming. Filling without being sweet.

Buchan's Scotch - an 80/ (shilling) Scotch Ale. It's brown copper, smooth, properly malty and warmingly sweet. Don't know if it goes with Pizza but that probably doesn't matter.

Wit - Cloudy, dark yellow. Spicey but not clovey or coriander like many wits. Quenching. Lots of taste and lots of carbonation. Tasty belch.

Transit of Venus Sunrise Ale - an American IPA with plenty of Centennial hops. 6.1% ABV.

New Albanian Brewing's Beak's Best is a hazy copper ESB dry hopped with Goldings. Long-lasting bitter finish.

Cone Smoker seasonal - some German beechwood-smoked malts. Target and East Kent Golding hops. London ale yeast. Some smoke in the nose and first taste. More intriguing flavors follow 

Oaken Barrel Tripel. It uses Belgian pilsner malt and candy sugar with Westmalle yeast, Maris Otter malt, and East Kent Goldings hops. Nice and thick and quite drinkable, belying its 9.4%.

Uber Weizen - A good name for an Imperial Wheat. It's quite strong of wheat with light clove/banana notes. Almost chewy body.

Alabaster White has made it to the permanent menu. It's a Belgian Wit. Not overblown, indeed, as they say, quite gulpable. Tartish orangish with a bit of spice. Clear yellow-gold.

Old #10 Barley Wine on tap and quite nice. Medium deep brown with dark fruit notes from Maris Otter and nicely hoppy aroma from East Kent Goldings.

The Ram's seasonal in February was Marley's Stout. Thick, black with a brown lacey head. Burnt toasty notes with a thick mouthfeel. Really a tart taste. Roast, chocolate, kiln coffee, and crystal malts are balanced by almost 40 IBU. It was on Nitro for St. Paddy's day so Guinness drinkers would feel at home. BUT it was a very serious beer on CO₂ the way it should be.

The seasonal Maibock mellowed to drop most of the sharp edges but is still assertive in both intensity and alcohol.

Rock Bottom: Chai Porter. Sub-Ø IPA.

Schwarz Hacker Black Lager on tap is very black and very opaque. 6 weeks of lagering have given it the ability to impress you with its smooth character. Light carbonation helps this as it seems much smoother than a sample from the fermentation tank just a couple of days ago. At 5.4% it seems like a session beer but is really quite filling.

Tim Marshall solved the Fire Chief Red problem (he ran out before the Fire Chiefs came to town) by brewing a clone of Rockies' Single Track Ale which just won a bronze at the World Beer Cup in the English-style Pale Ale category. Basically an Amber with a hint of Rye to dry it out. Smooth, delicious, crisp. 5.2% ABV. Quite possibly the best beer in town in late April.

Terre Haute Brewing has added an extra pound of chocolate to their Amber recipe (for a total of 24 pounds per 20 bbl brew). This beer has less edges than their CV lager or CVar pilsner. Very smooth.

Three Floyds Alpha King. It's a deep copper and just as hoppy as before but seems to have some of the harder edges shaved off. Still has the big finish and terrific burp factor.

"I tried the Upland Wheat beer at the Main Menu in New Albany, IN recently. I thought I was going to cry it was so good." - Beth Dufour

Upland's cask-conditioned Dragonfly IPA at Chalkies is opaque dark orange with plenty of dry-hops - but not the enamel-scrapping kind. The malt comes through and it has strong flavor. Worth trying.

WarBird's T-6 Red Ale is a nice, lightish, almost delicate Red Ale with
Saaz hops and good conditioning and carbonation.

British Ale/IPA

Dale's Pale Ale - This is one highly voluptuous, voluminously hopped mutha of a pale ale. A big British IPA. Pretty darned good stuff. 6.5% ABV.

Flying Dog Snake Dog - A bright orange IPA with a nice white head. Not killer hoppy but not bland either. Uses Maris Otter malt, Golding hops. Dry hopped with Chinook. This combination leaves it confused whether it's an English or American IPA. We think it works.

Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Style Ale - Malty sweet porterish with chocolate and raspberry notes. Nice. How long until Stone complains about the name?

Ringwood Old Thumper - small condensed head and deep copper color. Served cool enough to let it mature a bit in the glass while the long-lasting head protects the liquid. Great, bready, English Bitter.

American Ale/IPA

Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA - Hoppier than it's 62 IBU suggests. 5.7% ABV. Made with fresh "wet" hops. Brilliant. A non-grapefruity American IPA.

Dark Horse Brewing's Crooked Tree IPA won best of show at the World Beer Expo. It's a very hoppy, hazey, copper/orange beer with lots of Cascade grapefruit. They hope to distribute the IPA in Indiana later.

Stone's Arrogant Bastard aged in an Oak Cask (Oak Bastard) - Ruddy red. Light tan head. Sharp as usual but less sweet without masking by the hops. Mellower. Marv sagely says "More adult-like".

Porter

Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier Ale - From Marshal, MI and not available in Indiana. Boy is this a black beer. A super schwarz. Really a porter. Toasty and tasty. Quite strong on the tongue and thick like the bottom of a caboose coffee pot. 8% ABV. Amateur-looking label but a beer worth seeking out.

Stone Smoked Porter - Yummm. Deep brown porter with typical chocolate/coffee and adds some smokiness balanced with sweetness. Classic.

Stouts

Bell's Java Stout - Could sit and smell this all day. Strong black coffee. This is a 2003 bottle and it has aged very well. Smooth. 9.9% ABV.

Founders Limited Edition Imperial Stout - Black thickness but not really viscous. Small dark brown head. Intense toasty. Fairly smooth for style and not overly exciting.

New Holland "The Poet" stout - Creamy lacing tan head. Pretty rich stuff with a roast coffee overtone.

Sam Smith's Oatmeal Stout - light in body with a surprisingly intense roasted malt aroma and taste. Sweet and bitter are well balanced and both present.

English Barley Wine / Strong Ales

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 at the Taste of the Midwest. Best of Show at Chicago Barrel Aged Festival.

George Gale's Millennium Brew - Brewed in 1997 for release in 1999. The 10% ABV and heavy hopping have kept this beer for 5 more years. (I'd picked up about 6 of these on a closeout table a couple of years ago). Just right for drinking with prunes and acidic sourness tames but not mushed into just one flavor. Remember it being more complex but harsh before. It's about time to drink and enjoy these.

JW Lees Harvest Ale from a Port cask at BW3 is clear brown with a pure raisin, plum, grape nose. Upon tasting, the malt comes through then the sherry/wine returns in force. When air returns to your mouth, so does the port and plum notes. It seems that, at 2 years of aging, the cask itself has given its all to this beer.

Scottish

Old Chub Scottish Ale - Big, big malty sweet. Dark brown amber, Too sweet for the style but has plenty of balancing edgy roasty notes. 8% ABV.

Orkney Skullsplitter. From the islands north of Scotland. Creamy, malty, with a fruity aroma and taste. Well balanced. 8.5% ABV comes through.

Saison

Fantome Saison at RichO's - 8%. An imperial Saison. Wonderfully thick. Malty Golden colored. All the Siason qualities and more. An instant favorite. Contemplative. Sipped it for quite a while.

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.

Belgian Ales

Abbey Val Dieu Blond. 6% Belgian golden ale. Rocky head with plenty of carbonation. Subtle, salvating, sweet grass aroma perfectly matched by the taste. Mild bitter overtone and a long finish.

Allagash Dubbel - mahagony color. Light aroma. Dark malt, sweet taste. Worth maturing for a year. Available in 12 and 22 oz bottles. 7% ABV.

Avery Salvation - A middle of the style Belgian golden ale with plenty of candy sugar notes. At 9%, it's way more drinkable than it should be for your safety. Excellent.

Chouffe N'ice at Chalkies. It's a dull walnut color that looks grainy like my wife's iced tea at home. If there's any nose, it's of fresh snow. Still and thick. The taste is smooth, clean, understated, and well balanced with some spicey hops. Goes down like water - especially for a 10%ABV beer.

Duchese De Bourgogne - fine, fine, Flemish red ale. Sour and complex. Dark brown. Rich. A desert island beer.

Brasserie Fantôme dÉté is a summer seasonal that is magnificently complex, sweet and sour, with a sour apple cider finish. Light, almost fluffy mouthfeel. Tongue puckering if you can leave the beer there long enough. These guys know the art of brewing.

Bruegel (Amber) from Van Steenberge - Cider yellow. Bit white head. Big balanced, sour, malt, citrus. Good stuff. Reminiscent of Chimay Blue.

St. Bernardus ABT Abbey Ale has joined the Belgian lineup. Deep cordovan. Malty sweet, properly thick and rich. A real sipping beer with lots of fruits that warms nicely. 10% ABV.

St Feuillien Tripel - bottle conditioned. Effervescent that matches the yellow champagne color. Belgian yeast is dominant which gives a nice horse blanket taste.

Belgian Wit

Pax Witte - Proper blue yellow. Stone white creamy head. Mild to style and very clean. Yum.

Unibroue Blanche De Chambly - Belgian white ale with a low, 5%, ABV. Tasty, middle of the road. Coriander comes through, robust effervescence. This should be listed as one of the style paradigms.

Lambics

Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze 2000. Blend of 1, 2, and 3yo lambics. These are other breweries lambics although the Drie Fonteinen house is now brewing their own. Good carbonation. Very sour, very drying, very cidery.

Lagers

Two Brothers Dog Days Dortmunder Style Lager - Bright lemon yellow with a way big foaming head (think ice cream soda head). Beneath that lies a clean all-malt lager worthy of our grandfathers. Noble hops. Recommended for anyone who likes lagers and laments the state of today's mass-market beers.

Rogue Imperial Pilsner - Light, clear, BMC-looking beer but in reality a thick floral beer with pure German bitter. One of the major ingredients Rogues adds is bitter.

Sprecher Oktoberfest. Light oaky copper. Right smack in the middle of the Oktoberfest style.

Strong Bock

1995 Sam Adams Triple Bock at the Heorot in Muncie. Still strong with plum and raisin. Thick stuff. Will age 8 more years no doubt. Who were we to know at the time that it was a bargain? At about 4 servings per bottle, it still is at the Heorot. The aftertaste lasted right through a Kölsch and a later pizza.

Allagash Four - a "quad" with four malts, four sugars, four hops, fermented four times. Cloudy brown-red. Fruity, berry aroma. Some apple/pear on tongue. Plenty of carbonation under the cork. 10% ABV.

Avery Reverend quadrupel bock. Bright brown. Virtually headless - and at 10% ABV will leave you legless if you try an entire 22oz bottle. Spicy hoppiness. Good evening beer for a roaring fire or a ball game on TV.

Samischlaus on tap at the Heorot. Mellow raisin wine spicy tingling. Dark red.

Spaten Optimator on tap at BW3 is in absolutely prime condition. Enough to bring tears to the eyes and salivation to the gums.

Fruit Beers

Unibroue Quelque Chose. Very little carbonation. Strong dark cherry taste. Some cinnamony, nutmeggy, clovey notes. NOT a lambic. Cherries are steeped in the beer "for months".The neck booklet suggests drinking it on the rocks or mulling it.

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.

Specialty

Alpha Khan Mongolian Pale Ale - very solid but not 3 Floyds hoppy. Instead a spicy background includes cinnamon, pine, pepper, and plenty of balanced caramel. 7/5% ABV

Dogfish Head Midas Touch - Brewed with barley, grapes, and honey. Lots going on and everyone seems to get something different from this beer. spicey, earthy, tree sap, sweet, gum, alcohol, grapes. Polarizing beer. 9% ABV.

Gose Original Leipziger - Bottle fermented. Made with 60% wheat with additions of coriander, salt, and lactic acid. 4.6% ABV. Grainy / seedy taste. Interesting spices in background. And, yes, it is salty. Leaves salt on the lips. Thirstymaking. Besides this 16.9oz bottle, we've also seen a genie-bottle shaped 500ml bottle.

North Coast Wintertime Ale - orange with an ivory head. A hearty ale with plenty of toasty malt and even some pepper.

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Special Reports

2/11 Indiana	We don't really do editorials but can't help express our outrage over two Indiana developments. 1) In Muncie, a new Chuck E. Cheese got a 2-way (beer and wine) license. They say "There is a segment of customers who like to have a glass of wine with their meal, but it's not the focus of our business." IndyBeer editorial: That's just wrong. They're justifying selling beer at kid's birthday parties. That in itself isn't necessarily wrong but they are implying their clientele are wine drinkers - and that's just duplicitous. 2) An IPD cop had an accident and a BAC of .017. He got a 10 day suspension. If it was you or me, it would have been a 1-year license suspension, a bunch of fines and court costs, and addiction classes.
5/28 Washington, DC	The Supreme Court is again looking at interstate shipments of alcohol. The case they have in front of them concerns wine and Michigan but affects Beer Of The Month clubs and Indiana as well. So what's going on? First, the problem. It's the Constitution. Specifically the 21st Amendment - Section 2. "The transportation or importation into any state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited." When alcohol was again allowed in the U.S. they allowed individual states to remain dry.  This also gave broad powers to the states to keep specific beverages such as those over 6% ABV, or over 3.2% ABV, out of their territory. But the 21st Amendment conflicts with Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3. "The Congress shall have Power To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;" What's the question? Michigan allows in-state wineries to ship direct to consumers but out-of-state wineries can't. It seems to be allowed by the 21st Amendment but prohibited by the commerce clause. Interestingly, the first time this hit the Supreme Court was in the case of Indianapolis Brewing v. Michigan Liquor Control Commission back in 1939. This is the seminal case but there have been 12 similar cases before the Supreme Court since. Oh, by the way, the Michigan non-importation law was found constitutional so don't expect anything to change in this most recent run-up since it's basically the same question this time around. 20 states disallow direct interstate shipments including Indiana. In fact, the 1998 Indiana anti-mail-order law was overturned in the District Court back in 1999 and we may well find it back in force sometime after this latest Supreme Court case is decided. The other 19 states are Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland and Tennessee.  Problems in the past have also included  A bet between Jeb Bush (FL) and Gray Davis (CA) over Super Bowl XXXVII. Tampa Bay beat the Raiders and Davis owed Bush a bottle of Groth 1999 Reserve Cabernet but he couldn't ship it. Beer Across America was fined $25,000 for shipping beer to Utah. On appeal, those charges were dismissed in 1997 but were reinstated in 1999. Another analysis with extensive footnotes,
6/1 Indiana