May 7 Andrew Lewis is opening the Brass Monkey Brewing Co with a ribbon cutting at 4pm, May 23rd. His brewpub in the Kokomo Sycamore Marketplace has a 15 gallon system that will start of with 8 regulars, White, Tripel, IPA, Stout, Pale, and Brown, along with two seasonals. The bar will have 27 taps. Formidable - on a small scale.

BadaBoomz downtown Indy will be closing for remodel on May 11th and re-opening as J.Gumbo's Down Home Cajun Cookin' on May 15th. The only menu item staying on the menu will be the smoked wings. The bar and beer selection will remain the same.

May 5 "Long-time LBC brewer Chris Johnson will be leaving his post effective May 9. It's been a great run with Chris, and we wish him all the best in his new pursuits. Upon his departure, LBC brewmaster/owner Greg Emig will be returning to his roots in the brewery while he gets LBC's latest hire up to speed with the brewing operations. Matt Williams will be relocating from eastern Missouri to begin his LBC training on May 19. "I'm excited about getting Matt up and running in the brewery. He definitely has the work ethic and beery frame of mind to succeed in this industry. This change-over also gives me the opportunity to pull the boots back on and kick around in the brewery again," commented Mr. Emig."
 

Label approval has gotten tougher and now the ATTB is looking at bottle caps. Well at least the bottle caps that say "Try Legal Weed". Doesn't matter if Mt. Shasta Brewing is in Weed, CA. It could "mislead consumers about the characteristics of the alcoholic beverage." Makes sense, really. article

What's on tap in New York City? Now there's Beermenus.

Absinthe isn't hallucinogenic. Absinthe is hallucinogenic. It's duck season. It's rabbit season. Not even Cecil knows. Let's ask Marilyn Manson.

Iron City is in bankruptcy reorganization but might not make it. They need to put in a new $2M kegging line and other capital improvements this summer to get $1M written off their water/sewer bill. On and on. long detailed article Thanks Neal

Some columnist in Tampa has a list of "The world's 10 most disgusting beers". Someone in Tampa drinks something other than the local Budweiser? article Spoiler, Number 10 is Coors Aspen Edge.

May 1 Three Floyds' Dark Lord Day 2008

April 30 Carpe cervisi.

The Granite City Food and Brewery in Fort Wayne has opened. Manager and Brewer Matt Burrous runs the whole show and says sales are very good on both the food and beer side.

Four regulars are on tap at all times; Northern Light Lager, Duke of Wellington IPA, Broad Axe Stout, and Brother Benedict Bock.

Their most popular beer, though, is called "Two-Pull", a 50/50 of the Northern Light Lager and Brother Benedict Bock. The result is very like a diacetyl-free fresh light brown ale.

The next seasonal will be Ostara's Spring Ale - very yellow, very citric aroma. Tart and cidery. Cargill Special Pale, Carafoam, Debittered Black Malt. Glacier and Vanguard hops. 4% ABV. Available May 13.

Indiana will get two more Granite Cities yet this year. The South Bend restaurant in the University Plaza is scheduled for a July 29th opening (Matt's busy right now helping that store) and one in Carmel in October.

Granite City is a public-stock company (GCFB) listed on the NASDAQ.

Upland awarded Stan Stephens a banner of the Upland Ard Ri 6-pack carrier art with Stan, Harley and Wolfie.

Mad Anthony's Dunkelweizen is very, very dunkel. A strong malty wheat base overrides the typical German yeast characteristics. The Black Lager is thinner and lighter in color - hit this one on the head.

The Anniversary Ale brewed for MA's 10th year is a big Cascadey Imperial IPA (they say IPA-ish but there's no "ish" about it. Plenty of pale malt gets to just tease your tongue before the bitterness clamps down.

The Michiana Extract & Grain Association (MEGA) has a new web site. So does Shoreline.

Upland is sponsoring a homebrew contest, the UpCup, where the winner will be brewed and entered into the GABF Pro-Am competition this October. Entries due by May 26th. Judging on May 31st as part of their 10-days of Upland 10th Anniversary.

Butler Winery is having a spring sale in Bloomington. Equipment, Yeast, Malt, Hops, 20% off. Kits, 15% off. Extracts, Glass, Kegging equipment, 10% off.

Back Road's Hop Monster is about gone. Wow. 100+ IBU of Columbus and Centennial hops and aged on oak chips. Chuck says he gets about 40 people each week for the Saturday tour and open shop. It's blueberry season again - at least the Blueberry Ale. The current batch has a predominate, distinct, fresh berry nose and taste.

Shoreline's Mug Club has taken a turn for the eclectic. It now costs $100 plus $35 annually for a bigger, hand-made glass mug. Sam's new mugs are from Somerville Glass of Milwaukee.

In other notes, The One Hit "One-Da" is Sam's answer to the Cascade crisis. It has 9 malts and 7 hops giving a darker, heavier, hoppier Pale Ale. Mark July 13th for Shoreline's annual summer beer festival with bands, fireworks, etc.

Organic beers, new to Indiana variety: Butte Creek from Chico, CA. Pale Ale, IPA, Porter, Pilsner.

Brew Dog Brewery has three versions of Paradox Imperial Stout, all aged in Scotch casks. #5 was in Glen Moray, #8 was in Bowmore, #9 was in Ardbeg.

Saw Dixie Blackened Voodoo in a liquor store for $11.99 a six-pack or $2.15/bottle. That's 12oz bottles. When did getting your hurricaned brewery back up and running last year cause a price shift like this?

Press release that doesn't need comment: New Belgium will introduce Fat Tire in cans this summer. It’s another of the growing number of crafts offering their products in cans. Advocates of canned craft beer argue that cans, besides being allowable in more spaces, also protect the beer from light and oxygen. Cans also represent a hedge against escalating freight hikes, as approximately 60% more cases of cans can be shipped for the same freight weight, thus rate versus cases of bottles. Fat sTire will be brewed and canned at New Belgium’s facility in Fort Collins, CO.

Whisky Magazine has listed their 2008 World Whiskies Awards. Best Single Malt: Yoichi 20yo. Yep, Suntory of Japan wins. Cue the blue face paint.

Throwback headline: "College Republicans Protesting Proposed Beer Tax" And the story: "Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, has proposed a tax on beer makers that would add almost $2 to the price of a six pack to help eliminate the state's budget deficit." article Bonus: ""No taxation on intoxication!"

April 22 Ivy Tech in Muncie is instituting a Zymurgy course. Hands-on. Instructor Jeff Johnson. Three 4-hour sessions. $219 tuition (includes $60 equipment). Enroll by April 25. more

How Much Is That Double In The Window? According to Price Of A Pint, lagers in Srbi Su Picke, Congo, averages 20¢ a pint. In Monaco a pint will cost over $15 on average.

Headline: "Climate change will threaten beer production" article

Oops. Tonya Cornett is from Marion, not Muncie (below). Thanks JeffreyT

April 21 The World Beer Cup results are out and there's some trophies heading for Indiana. full results

• Shoreline got a Silver for Beltaine Scottish Ale.
• Upland got a Silver for Upland Winter Warmer
• Three Floyds got a Bronze for Dreadnaught and a Gold for Behemoth.
• Muncie's Tonya Cornett won the World Beer Cup Champion Brewery - Small Brewpub as the brewmaster at Bend Brewing and gold medal for her Black Diamond Lager and Outback X Strong Ale. GBS interview

Congratulations to all.

Other gold medalists found on shelves in Indiana include: Bell's Porter, Pabst Special Export, Pyramid Crystal Wheat, Widmer Hefeweizen and Pale Ale, Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale, Blue Moon Honey Moon, Old Milwaukee Light, Tooheys Extra Dry, Miller Steel Reserve, Hoegaarden, Geuze Boon, Allagash Dubbel, Affligem Tripel, Unibroue La Fin du Monde, Left Hand Milk Stout, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Schneider Weisse Original, Sam Adams Irish Red, Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter, and Clipper City Winter Storm.

"Villagers depicted in a ($20,000,000) advertisement for Guinness whooping with joy as a pint appears in their remote Andean home had never heard of the brand, do not like it and would prefer a glass of lager." article - ad video

The Brewers Association has put up their Top 50 craft beer companies (by volume). Nope, no Indiana breweries are bigger than #50 Blue Point. Also a 27-page alphabetic list. The total count is

• 975 Brewpubs
• 377 Microbreweries
• 54 Regional Craft Breweries
• 23 Regional Non-Craft Breweries
• 20 Large Non-Craft Breweries.

Outside Magazine calls New Belgium Brewing the best place to work. press release

April 19 From the slightly unusual department... "Cavalier Distributing has begun to sell our "Mamma Mia Pizza Beer" the World's first culinary beer brewed with Basil, Oregano, Tomato & Garlic. The beer is an Unfiltered American Ale, light in color & body, 4.7% Alcohol by Volume. Sold in 16 ounce bottles and will be initially sold in individual bottles and 24 case packages. The beer is refreshing on it's own, better with food and makes a wonderful ingredient in many dishes. Makes an awesome Pizza Beer Bread & Pizza Crust! Our web site is www.pizzabeer.net"

April 15 Jerry Sutherlin's new Catcher in the Rye at Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy, is described as "an IPA w/ spicy rye finish". Actually it's a citric (but not grapefruit) American IPA with extensive and long lasting black peppery rye finish. His Alt is mahogany in color, thick head, plenty of effervescence, smooth, creamy. Has that malty aroma of the beer that made Düsseldorf famous. 6.6%.

The Coors tour in Golden is a classic stop but now it's a 20-minute self-guided audio tour but you'll still get the three 8-ounce beers. article

April 14 INDIANA'S NEWEST BREWERY TO OPEN IN MAY

Brass Monkey Brewing Company, Indiana’s newest brewery, will be celebrating their grand opening on Friday, May 23 - Saturday, May 24. 

Andrew Lewis, Owner and Brewmaster of the Brass Monkey Brewing Company has a passion for brewing that started as a home-brewer in 2005, later turning into a full blown obsession and finally…a brewery of his own.  Lewis decided to turn his enthusiasm for great beer into a business in the heart of Kokomo and has partnered with local business, the Sycamore Marketplace, to make his dream a reality. 

The Brass Monkey Brewing Company is located in Kokomo, Indiana’s historic downtown area, inside the Sycamore Marketplace at 115 East Sycamore Street. Lewis’ hand-crafted beers will be found on tap exclusively at the Sycamore Marketplace.

Lewis’ beers range from traditional American ales to much more inventive styles like his Green Tea Pale Ale (brewed with green tea and grapefruit), his award winning Silver Back Stout (a full bodied stout with hints of coffee and sweet caramel overtones), a Tenacious Apple Tripel  (classic Belgian tripel fermented on top of apples), and many more unique beers.

Visit www.brassmonkeybrewing.com  for further details on the Brass Monkey Brewing Company and their grand opening. (Kick-off festivities will include beer sampling, live-music, and food.)

April 12 Today's report is "what I learned from the magazines".

Ale Street News has a newly biggified website and many of the articles are available online such as the current plethera of articles about their recent trip to Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, and Belgium. Forums are there and just getting started. Register and put in a comment and you might win a Cruzin Cooler.

The Big Lebrewski, a 50-brewery fest at Ommegang in Cooperstown on Aug 1&2 is already sold out.

Jack Curtin has a good article about how consumers are taking to the price increases. But you can read it in black on white by picking up an issue at your favorite beer spot.

You've heard Sam Adams has passed on 20,000 pounds of hops to other breweries. Sierra Nevada has helped also by sending back 60,000 pounds to their distributors to be resold to smaller breweries.

There are now more than 500 bars with imported (British) cask ale here in the U.S.

Great Lakes Brewing News has lots of info also.

On the legal front from Rick Lyke's column: Mississippi's 5% law didn't come up for an extension to 17% ABV largely because of beer distributors' bribing lobbying efforts. Same for Alabama (6% max) and there's been a call for a boycott of A-B products who's distributor led the bribing lobbying.

Bud is now Canada's leading brand, having supplanted Labatt's Blue. Blue's in a decline as an old man's beer.

April 11 As talked about  on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno:
 
Pizza Beer Now Available in Indiana

Chef Tom & Mamma Mia! Have agreed to distribute their Pizza Beer through Cavalier Distribution in Indianapolis. The truck should be pulling up to the Sprecher Brewery where the first 150+ cases will be picked up & delivered to Indiana. This marks the third state that the beer is avaialble. The Seefurth's will continue offering their beer as a single 16 oz bottle which is working rather well in their current markets.....
 
What's next? Bratwurst Beer? While I applaud Tom's creativity and will hold judgement untill I get to sample this :ahem: delicacy, I can't help but think that the hop shortage is really starting to get ugly.
 
Cheers
 
Jeremy Schmidt

April 8 The Good Beer Show gets ink in the Pacific Brew News Blog on the occasion of their 150th show.

Indiana Beer gets ink at Nuvo, Indy's alternative paper. This week's issue has a 12-page pull-out in the middle "Brew-heads" with the full transcript of Rita Kohn's Craft Beer Roundtable of last month. Also a short beer history and a calendar of the summer's beer events. It's online (except the interesting ads). Oh, and the cover is Ted Miller looking like he's trying to unseat Clay Robinson as the sexiest brewer in Indianapolis.

Advertisers in the supplement include World Class Beverage, Indiana Microbrewers Festival, Brugge, Columbus Bar, Hops for Pops, Great Fermentations, Upland, Crown Liquors, Broad Ripple Brewpub, BadaBoomz, Hot Shotz, The Mousetrap, Fox and Hounds, Meridian Restaurant, and Bud Select. Thanks guys.

Here's an article about Alabama's prohibition of homebrew (yep, currently).

AB has created a new division named Michelob Brewing Company and has label approval for Michelob Brown, Red, Dunkel Weisse, and Bohemian Pilsner.

Miller has announced Blonde ale, Amber Ale, and Wheat Beer in the Lite line coming in September.

The Bass Museum in Burton-on-Trent (now owned by Coors) is set to close in June and 300 people marched through the street to protest. article

April 7 Sam Adams Recall: 12oz Sam Adams bottles from their Cincinnati brewery are being recalled if they have N35 OI on the base of the bottle (picture at right) due to the possibility of small pieces of glass in the beer. article

Barley Island's new Count Hopula Double IPA is an intense 8% beer with 84 IBU. Citric hops. Bready. A major effort.

A special one-off batch of yeast from Brewing Science has led to a number of beers in Indianapolis. The boys at Ram got this combination of 4 Belgian yeasts and first used it in Dromel Rode last year. Alcatraz kept it alive for a while with a brown ale and now it's back at the Ram in their new Wisecracker Wheat - a new style that might be called a HefeWit. Very hefe leaving a bit of slag at the bottom of the glass. Orange color. Fruit notes come through including orange, banana, phenols, clover and maybe even melon. A bit of a whiff of a grain silo is also noticeable. Highly recommended.

Another paragraph in the low-key continuous rant about pricing. One IndianaBeer reader called with a note that Shallos in Greenwood has Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout on the menu but was quite surprised to find his 12oz bottle was more expensive than his lunch. $14.99. He expected something between $4 and $6 but the beer menu at Shallos doesn't have prices.

Pabst goes retro? "Schlitz beer, once the world's top-selling beer brand, has gone back to its original formula." article - BA article

April 2 Monarch Beverage may move to Lawrence. article

Three Floyds gets ink in Chicago. article

Coming to Indiana: Brew Dog from Scotland: Physics Amber, Punk IPA, Hardcore IPA, Riptide Stout, Paradox Imperial Stout. O'Hara's 10th Anniversary Celebration Stout, Breckenridge Agave Wheat.

The UK raised beer by 4p (8¢) per pint and will raise it 2% above inflation for each of the next 4 years. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, is being barred from pubs all over Britain. article

Ruling: Grand Rapids barbershop chain must stop giving free beer with a haircut - at least until they get a liquor license. article

Bar in Atlanta has patron-poured taps at the table. But you can only pour yourself 180 ounces before a being checked and approved for more. article

A 73 year old guy and his 55 year old girlfriend are in trouble for selling "apple pie" at a Shriner's party. Recipe: Grain alcohol, apple cider, brown sugar. $20 a jar. article complete with moon-Shriner pun

There's a new Beer Judge Certification Program scoring method that came and went into effect on April 1st. Points are awarded for Volume, Envy, Recognition, Repetition, and Innovation.