Random Beer Roundup - The I'm Ready to Tailgate Edition

This time of year always flies by. It seems like the month between Halloween and Thanksgiving goes by so fast. It's going to be Christmas before we know it and I hope Santa brings me beer. Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? The Roundup will still go on as usual next Friday.

I am ready for a tailgate. How about you? I can't wait to celebrate nothing! Hope to see you this weekend!

If there is something coming up that is not listed, we would love to hear about it. News, reviews, info, etc., to share for our next Random Beer Roundup can be submitted to hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.)

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Tuesday, November 17th - Sunday, November 22nd at New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse: Official Grand Opening celebration

Friday, November 20th at Radio Radio in Fountain Square: Tonic Ball to benefit Second Helpings.

Saturday, November 21st at Lafayette Brewing Co. in Lafayette: Alpha Acid Test (more below)

Saturday, November 21st: Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing, a publicly advertised yet still somehow secret no freeloaders BYO everything craft beer tailgate for any folks who consider themselves a fan of sharing great beer and good food. There's only one way to get more details - Send an email to knights@hoosierbeergeek.com.

Sunday, November 22nd at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in Muncie: Indiana Public Radio’s 3^rd annual All Beers Considered beer & cheese tasting (more below)

Thursday, November 26th: Enjoy a brew for Thanksgiving!

December 3rd from 5 to 8 PM at Keg Liquors in Clarksville: 5th Annual Holiday Insanity Beer Tasting


What's Brewing

From John at Half Moon Brewing Co. in Kokomo:

Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery now has a full service bar to compliment the 10 house brews. On the horizon is Oatmeal Stout and the Kokomonster. Look for these new seasonal beers to be released in the next 2-4 weeks.

Join us on Sundays for the NFL. We have all games every Sunday on 16 large screen plasma and lcd tv's.

From Greg at Lafayette Brewing Co in Lafayette:

alpha acid test
Saturday, November 21
2 pm to 5 pm, Tickets $20

Can you pass the Alpha Acid Test? We brewed a 60 IBU ale with one hop addition at 60 minutes in the kettle. After fermentation and maturation, we're going to rack this beer into 10 kegs and firkins and dry hop each individual vessel with a different hop variety (technically, 1 control beer and 9 different hop varieties). In an open tasting format, we'll sample the resulting brews to discern the subtleties of each individual hop variety. Sort of an IPA Extravaganza utilizing some familiar and some not-so-familiar hop varieties. Also included in the price of admission: commemorative tasting glass, raffles of LBC merchandise and munchies from our pizza kitchen. Don't miss this unique tasting experience! A limited number of tickets are on sale now.

On tap at Lafayette Brewing Co. this weekend:

Ouiatenon Wit Bier; Prophet's Rock Pale Ale; East Side Bitter; Pipers' Pride Scottish Ale; Tippecanoe Common Ale; Eighty-Five and Black Angus Oatmeal Stout.

From the handpull, we'll be dispensing Weeping Hog IPA. We'll also be releasing our Alpha Acid Test control beer, Alpha 60, on Saturday.

Don't miss our Alpha Acid Test set for Saturday, 11/21, from 2 - 5 pm! A limited number of tickets remain. Get yours today!

From Jerry at the Rock Bottom Brewery - Downtown in Indianapolis:

Here’s what I have on my specialty taps, along with Hefeweizen for the seasonal wheat and Hoosier Ma is an Oatmeal Stout.

Pumpkin Smasher Ale - Spicy, earthy and chewy ale. It’s like pumpkin pie in a glass…with booze!
ABV 5.3%
IBU 28

Harvest Mild - A very light yet complex English Brown ale with slight sweet and chocolate flavors and an earthy hop character.
ABV 3.6%
IBU 15

Buffalo Gold - A very refreshing and crisp Blonde Ale with a beautiful golden color.

ABV 5.7%
IBU 35

Blitzen Ale - ‘Tis the season! A Belgian Wit beefed up for the season with honey malt for depth and all the traditional spices.
ABV 6.4%
IBU 20

From Andrew at Oaken Barrel in Greenwood:

OBBC update. Our award-winning Pumpkin Ale supply is dwindling, so come on in for one last pint, and we are releasing our American Nut Brown Ale today 11/20. The nutty character is paired well with a compliment of Simcoe hops for flavor. Very tasty fall beer!

Tickets are now available for Harvest Fest on Monday, December 7th. We will be celebrating a late Thanksgiving with great food and a bonus keg of Apple Buzz. The tickets will be limited to 60. With Apple Buzz involved, the tickets will go fast!

At the Bar

From Nick at Deano's Vino in Fountain Square:

I have Cream Ale, Pale Ale, and the last keg of Black IPA from Sun King on draft this weekend.

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse in Various Locations:

Magic Hat Winter Howl draught is now available at the 96th Street Scotty’s Brewhouse!

Scotty’s Brewhouse Muncie now carries Sun King Saison de Taffy on draught!

Carry Out

From Todd at Keg Liquors in Clarksville:

Here is the latest from Keg Liquors in Clarksville:

Boulder - Never Summer Ale (Colorado)
Boulder - Killer Penguin Barleywine (Colorado)
Breckenridge - Christmas Ale (Colorado)
Bluegrass Brewing Company - Rye 75 (Kentucky)
Bluegrass Brewing Company - Heine Brothers Coffee Stout (Kentucky)
Two Brothers - Heavier Handed IPA (Illinois)
Almar Orchards - JK's Solstice Cider (Michigan)
Thirsty Dog - 12 Dogs of Christmas (Ohio)
Magic Hat - Winter Howl (Vermont)
aChouffe - N'Ice Chouffe (Belgium)
Blaugies - La Moneuse Special Winter (Belgium)
De Ranke - Père Noël (Belgium)
Delirium - Noel (Belgium)
Fantome - De Noel (Belgium)
Kerkom - Winterkoninkske (Belgium)
La Rulles - Cuvée Meilleurs Veoux (Belgium)
Scaldis - Noel (Belgium)
St Feuillien - Cuvée de Noël (Belgium)
Mikkeller - Santa's Little Helper (Denmark)
Mikkeller - To/From (Denmark)
Gales - Christmas Ale (Vintage 2001) (England)
Baladin - Noel du Baladin (Italy)
Olfabrikken - Jule Ale (Denmark)
Weltenburger - Kloster Winter-Traum (Germany)
Innstadt - d´Innstaade Wintersud (Germany)
Ridgeway - Reindeer's Revolt (England)
Jolly Pumpkin - Noel de Calabaza (Michigan)

Event:
5th Annual Holiday Insanity Beer Tasting at Keg Liquors

December 3rd from 5 – 8 PM

Another of our great traditions, we conclude the year’s beer tasting schedule with a bang. Featuring Holiday and Seasonal beers from around the world. Last year's tasting included over 21 different beers to sample. More details will be forthcoming as this one shapes up.

From Josh at United Package Liquors at County Line and Meridian:

New items in stock

Brewdog/Stone Bashah- Black Belgian style DIPA
Stone Double bastard
Clipper City Heavy Seas Yule tide Belgian style Tripel
Great Divide Oak aged Yeti Imperial stout
Bell's Two Hearted 5-liter cans
Bell's Christmas ale Goose Island Christmas ale

From Sam at BW3's (Downtown Indianapolis):

I cannot believe that it is Thanksgiving time already. What better way to kick off the Holidays than with a giant beer from Unibroue. La Terrible will be on draft once DFH Punkin runs out. Should be Friday or early next week. Updates should be found on World Class' Twitter feed. Rest of the tap selection is as follows:

Founders Reds Rye (Will be something new next week)

Stone Arrogant Bastard

Bells Double Cream Stout

Bells Two Hearted

Three Floyds Robert the Bruce

Three Floyds Gumballhead

Dogfish Head 90 Minute

Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA

Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

Sierra Nevada Anniversary

Upland Bad Elmers Porter

From Big Red Liquors in Bloomington:

Magic Hat Winter Lager
Sierra Nevada Estate
3 Floyd's Broo Doo
Breckenridge 471 Extra ESB
Breckenridge 471 Mighty Brown
Breckenridge 471 Porter
New Belgium 2 Below
Blue Moon Full Moon
New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin
Bells Christmas Ale

As always, we have a free beer tasting every Thursday from 6-8pm at our downtown Bloomington location.

Distribution News

From Bob Mack at World Class Beverages:

Hopping Frog Fresh Frog Raw Hop IPA will be coming to Indiana, but only 15 cases will be coming. We’re the only distributor outside of northeast Ohio (Hoppin Frog is in Akron) to get any. It just got bottled this week and we happened to be picking up an order this week, so we won the draw on Fresh Frog, which is made with Centennial hops flown in from the west coast just for this beer.

I got so excited about Centennial hops that I completely forgot that Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged BORIS the Crusher is coming on the same shipment that has the Fresh Hop beer! There will be about 60 cases of it (I think), so there should be enough to get around!

Both beers are on Beer Spy now and we’ll update the sales history as we sell them.

From Greg at Cavalier Distribution:

2009 Stone Double Bastard is finally in Indiana!! Yes, 22oz Bottles, 3 Liter Bottles & a very limited amount of draft arrived mid-week and has started making its way out to good Stone accounts across the state! As always, this vintage is extremely limited, so make sure to snag some while it's available.

Two Brother Brewing Company's Heavier Handed Imperial Wet-Hopped IPA is making its debut this week. Heavier Handed is a brand new addition to Two Brother's Artisan Series of beers, and is an imperial version of Heavy Handed IPA. It weighs in at 9+% abv, 85+ IBUs & is aged in French Oak Foudres. We received a very limited amount of cases & kegs for Indiana, so this beer will only be available for a short time.

Clipper City's Yule Tide Ale is the newest addition to the Heavy Seas Mutiny Series of beers by Clipper City. Yule Tide is a belgian-style Tripel weighing in at 10% making it a perfect imperial winter warmer! As with all of the Mutiny Series if beers, the Yule Tide is sure to please and a must try.

Corsendonk Gift Packs are in stock for the year. One gift pack features Corsendonk Abbey Pale & Brown Ale 750 MLs w/a glass and the other is a Christmas Gift Pack featuring Corsendonk Christmas & glassware.

Broughton Brewery Gift Packs are in stock featuring Broughton's wonderful line of Scottish Ales. This is the first time for these Gift Packs and there is a very limited number of them, so make a point to try one if you can find it!

Hey Ohio State fans....Buckeye Beer is in Indiana!! Oh yes, this retro brew from Ohio is finally available in Indiana after much anticipation. It is available in 12pks and will be hitting shelves starting this week....just in time for the stretch run of the college football season.

Several Cavalier tastings featuring the "Wine For Dummies" wine collection and select craft beers are coming up in the next week. Tastings are scheduled at the following locations & times:

Payless LQ 96th & College----Friday 11/20----4:30 - 6:30 pm

Payless LQ 86th & Ditch----Tuesday 11/24----5 - 7 pm
Payless LQ Carmel Dr.----Wednesday 11/25----5 - 7 pm

Other News

Indiana Public Radio’s 3^rd annual All Beers Considered beer & cheese tasting

Here are the basics:
November 22^nd, 2-5pm
Cornerstone Center for the Arts, (Downtown Muncie)
Admission is $17, $15 for IPR members
Reservations are due by Wednesday Nov 18

To rsvp, email iprmembers@bsu.edu or call 800.646.1812
All proceeds benefit Indiana Public Radio

Beers for the tasting:

Nogne O Brewery Barley Wine Batch 100
Brewdog Punk IPA
Unibroue Trois Pistoles
Tilburg Dutch Brown Ale
Castelain Blonde Biere de Garde
Bells Christmas Ale
Founders Old Curmudgean Ale
Upland Winter Warmer
Two Brothers Brewing Moaten Flemish Red Ale

********
http://www.jconline.com/article/20091115/BUSINESS/911150335

Scenes from a Tapping: Alcatraz Cherry Stout

Where: Alcatraz Brewing Company (Circle Centre Mall, 49 W. Maryland St. Suite 104, Indianapolis, IN)

Who: Alcatraz head brewer Omar Castrellón, and assistant brewer Skip DuVall


What: Alcatraz Cherry Stout - A milk stout aged on 250lbs of cherries

When: Tapped 11/17/09, until supplies last

Why: You'd expect anything aged on 250lbs of cherry to be overpowering, but in this case you get all the normal full and tasty flavors of a milk stout with a sweet and subtle cherry finish.


Also worth noting: Alcatraz's 1 & 3/4 Belgian has been on tap for a while and may have benefited from the age - it's makes for a sweet and smooth easy drinking pint.

Beer Diary #17 - Mike (with a little help from Gina) - Saturday Ramble

Here at HBG we consider it our duty to bring you the latest and greatest in beer news and notes, and that's why this past Saturday we set our eyes south, on a mission to investigate Nashville, Indiana's newest beer hotspot, Big Woods Brewing Company.

But along the way we visited some other friends: Oaken Barrel, Bloomington Brewing Company, and Upland. Remember, we did this for you.

Oaken Barrel, Greenwood, IN - We've been here before. A lot of times, actually. Since we live on the southside, it's almost our home brewery. We're pretty happy with that.


Oaken Barrel Gnaw Bone Pale Ale - For the past two weeks I've had a craving for a beer flavor that I couldn't put my finger on, but I suspected I'd be able to fill that need at Oaken Barrel.

The flavor I was looking for? The sweet malty note that comes from a well-balance pale ale. More bready than fruity, OB's Gnaw Bone still finishes bitter like a pale should. Great mouthfeel on this beer as well, which is a trademark of Oaken Barrel's beer.


Oaken Barrel Surprise Series Cherry Porter - When brewers Mark and Andrew aren't out winning Brewery of the Year awards, they are brewing some beers. Some of them are regulars and some are like this Cherry Porter, a surprise. This nose on this beer is like chocolate covered cherries. If you were blindfolded you may think there is a jar a maraschino cherries under your nose. The medium mouthfeel has a nice malty finish. The cherry flavor lingers long after you've finished the sip.

If you don't get south very often, Oaken Barrel's beer is worth the drive.


Big Woods Brewing Company, Nashville, IN - The scene: Seating for 40ish, rustic Brown County cabin, log furniture, wood floors, feels clubhousey and comfortable. Wood ceilings, a nice stop after a hard mountain bike ride (or shopping for arsty/crafsty trinkets). The building is basically a two car garage (the kitchen) with a restaurant built on front (but much nicer than that sounds. A lot nicer). The place is hidden in an alley, kinda. Be sure to check out the directions on their site first.


The problem: They've run out of beer. Victims of their own success, they only thing they have to offer is some unfinished wheat samples. We tried them, but reviewing an unfinished beer isn't something we're in the business of doing.


The chili was nice, though. The beer is back on now, according to my sources. They're working on a backup plan should this ever happen again.


Lennies/Bloomington Brewing Company, Bloomington - As we're not a Hoosier State natives, we haven't spent all that much time in Bloomington. As a result, this was our first stop and Lennies/Bloomington Brewing Company. After our GPS attempted to get us to drive down an IU campus walking path, we figured out the correct way to find the brewery/restaurant.


Bloomington Brewing Co. Stout - Campfire marshmallow is the first thing that came to mind. Nose is smokey meat, front is ashy campfire, a sweet liquid camping trip, a different approach than most, more smoke than chocolate or coffee, burping up burnt plastic, I didn't finish the pint.


Perhaps it was just me - I know they're better than this - they've got a wall full of medals to prove it. We should have tried something else but we were driving, and had another stop to make.

Upland Brewing Co., Bloomington, IN - It took us forever to finally make a trip to Bloomington to visit Upland, and now I feel a craving for the fine vegetarian food about once a month. I'm not a vegetarian - the food is just that good.


Upland's Imperial Stout (Teddy Bear Kisses) is a fitting intro to colder months. A nose of syrupy dark chocolate and then a deep, sweet, rich, full-bodied chocolate flavor dominates the palate. Finishes bitter and chewy (a little bit hoppy, really), rich and creamy.

I was thinking "Dark Lord" when I passed the glass to Gina to get her thoughts, and she immediately said "Dark Lord". Not quite as deep or sweet as Indiana's most famous beer, and finishes a bit drier, and a little more sessionable - if any 11.5% ABV beer is sessionable.

Indeed, I thought the front of the beer was very reminiscent of Dark Lord. It bit the front of the tongue with flavors of dark fruit and alcohol heat. The finish was deceptively mellow considering the amount of alcohol.

Good news - if you're in Indy, Teddy Bear Kisses is coming very soon to the new Upland Tap Room. It won't be cheap, but I think you'll find it worth the price.

Alpha Acid Test Ticket Winner: Erin

Using the magic of random number generators, Jim drew the lucky number 9 comment as the winner of two tickets to Lafayette Brewing Company's Alpha Acid Test. The ninth comment in that thread belongs to Erin.

Erin, send us an email at knights@hoosierbeergeek.com so we can get your address for mailing.

For the rest of you who left comments, thanks! And play again!

Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing (TFN)

For the last month or so we've tried to subtly beat you over the head with the words "Tailgate for Nothing" in an effort to see what kind of interest we can generate in smaller, low key, word of mouth events.

Now that we're a week out, I feel confident that we've kept things low key enough. So here's the email we've been sending and the details of what we're doing.

All nine HBG Knights of the Beer Roundtable are fans of the act of tailgating. It occurred to us that tailgating usually revolves around sporting events - but why should it have to? Getting together with friends, eating hearty and/or unhealthy foods, drinking beer, and just hanging out - these are ideas we can all get behind.

Our first AleGate/Tailgate for Nothing (a NO FREELOADERS event) is exactly that - a tailgate for nothing. It's an opportunity for people to wheel out their rare beer, beer they never have an excuse to drink, or just big ABV beers, and to share it with like-minded individuals who are sure to appreciate what they are drinking. The crowd we are hoping for is a mixture of folks from homebrewers clubs, our regular HBG event attendees, industry folks, that sort of thing - but there's really no telling who'll show up.

TFN will be done in a traditional tailgate manner - bring your own everything (tailgate, beer, food, trash bags, chairs, bbq grills, games, whatever), cook and eat in a parking lot (pots of chili, brats and hamburgers, and stuff like that), and in the end, clean up after yourself. The main idea is sharing food and drink, hanging out, and having a good time.

The first Alegate/TFN will be happening in the parking lot of Sun King Brewery, 135 N. College Ave. Indianapolis, on Saturday, November 21st at 11AM. If you don't have beer to bring, Sun King's tasting room will be open from 1PM until 4PM. If you plan on showing up at 11AM, make sure you bring something to drink to hold you over.

AGAIN, THIS IS A "NO FREELOADERS" EVENT. Bring something to eat/drink and be prepared to share. Bring as many friends as you want, but we ask that you keep in mind what we're about and the sort of company we like to keep. If you're receiving this email there's a pretty good chance you know what we're about.

If you don't have a giant special beer, that's not a problem. Just make sure you bring something tasty. THIS ISN'T A RARE BEER CONTEST. It's just a good time.

Also this won't cost you anything to attend. We might pass around a hat or something if we see a need to buy anything for next time. Whatever.

ANY QUESTIONS? Let me know. Planning to attend? You don't need to RSVP, but we'd love to hear from you. Which would be kinda like RSVPing but whatever.

I think that's it.

Mike (and Jason and Jim and Matt and Gina and Jess and Rod and Chris and Matt)
HBG/KOTBR

* * * * *

Hello Everyone,

This is just a final reminder about Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing. A few items I wanted to throw in, some of them more obvious than others...

Tasting Glasses - If you have any tasting glasses from former beer events, bring them along. There should be a lot of beer to share, and the smaller glasses are the best way to go about sharing.

Chairs - There won't be seating unless you bring some.

Friends - BRING FRIENDS. Hopefully you'll be making some, but it never hurts to have a posse.

We'll do our best to be social butterflies, but this is just gonna be a bunch of people hanging out. We're thinking maybe we'll bring nametags to make things easier. We encourage you to be nosy, it's the best way to make friends. Well, that and drinking.

See you Saturday?

Mike
HBG

If all this sounds fun to you, but you've been lazy and didn't send an email, we're not going to hold that against you. Instead we'll just ask that you leave a comment on the site to give us a heads up that you're coming. If you're coming, you gotta cook something or bring some food, or else we're just a bunch of hungry drunks in a parking lot. So as an added bonus, you could tell us what you're cooking.

That'd be rad.