Random Beer Roundup - Early Edition

It's been a little crazy this week so I thought I'd put this together a day early...

Bars/Breweries/Brewpubs/Restaurants:

Andrew at the Brass Monkey Brewing Company in historic downtown Kokomo drops us a line:

Flagship beers we always try to have on:

White Flag Belgian Wit

See No Evil American IPA

Green Tea Pale Ale

Tenacious Apple Tripel

Silver Back Stout

Double Down Brown

Rotating High Gravity Beers (we always try to have at least one of these on):

Speak No Evil Belgian IPA (on now)

Hear No Evil Imperial IPA (on now)

Ill Intent Imperial Stout

Belligerent Barleywine (Coming late fall)

Upcoming seasonals:

October-Horseman's Reserve Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Nov&Dec-Congregation Holiday Ale

One & Done line (One beer, one batch, one chance)

Current-Double Hopped Double Down

Upcoming-Swampwater Dunkleweizen, Blue Lou Blueberry Ale, Conspirator Belgian Blonde, 9th Wonder Dry Hopped Porter

Since batch sizes are only 10 gallons the selection can vary greatly from day to day. In addition We also have 20 other craft beers on tap that are constantly rotating.

Mike at J. Gumbo's checks in:

Here's our latest:

Draft:

Leffe Blonde

Dogfish Head 60 Min. IPA is finally back

Bottles:

Stone Vertical Epic '08

Stone Russian Imperial Stout '08

Stone Double Bastard '07

Stone Old Guardian '04

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot '00 & '03

Dogfish Head Worldwide Stout '02 (this is the one that is 23.4% ABV)

Our crawfish boil this Sat. has been canceled due to the hurricane. We'll send out an announcement for the next one. It depends on the status of our farmer on the bayou.

Thanks, Mike

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Homebrew/Beer Travel/BJCP/Hammerdancing:

Uber-Beer Geek Ron Smith with a list of things to know:

There are still seats remaining for next week’s start of the Thursday night Beer MBA class series (Sept 11, 18 & 25, 6:30 - 9:30), but I need to hear from you very soon. Please let me know asap if you will be attending (see all details below).

Also, let me know if you are interested in any of the following:

--- INDY OKTOBERFEST – No need to let me know about this one, but just as a reminder, this weekend is the last weekend for the annual Indy Oktoberfest. It has been moved to the state fairgrounds this year and is bigger and better than ever. It is open from 4:00 – Midnight on both Friday and Saturday. There is a lot of great German food, music, dancing, and of course, Beer! There is also a full carnival with rides and traditional fair food, there is a rock and roll music tent, and more. I have a booth there, so stop by to say hello. More details are at www.IndyOktoberfest.com.

--- HOMEBREWING – If you brew or are interested in starting, let me know and consider joining the club I’ve been active in for almost 20 years, the Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI). Visit www.FoamBlowers.com for an application, links to our Yahoo Group site and more info about the club and our meetings. We just nailed down our calendar for the upcoming year (Sept to Aug) and our meetings are starting very soon.

--- BJCP STUDY GROUP (Beer Judge Certification Program) – This study group is much more intense, technical and serious than the Beer MBA classes and is designed for people wanting to become beer judges. This will mark the 4th year for this study group. The dates are not set, but it will probably start in late January 09 (and run through Feb, with the Exam in early March). I’m doing something a little different this year. Instead of 11 weeknight sessions, it will be conducted in 3 or 4 long Saturday sessions. This will give people from outside the Indianapolis area, as well as people that can’t meet on weeknights, a good opportunity to receive this education. If you are interested in this, I can send you an outline to start studying, plus you should strongly consider taking the Beer MBA classes as well. They would be a great way to get started.

--- BELGIUM BEER TRIP – I’m coordinating a trip next summer (09) to Belgium to visit many of the famous cities and breweries. This will also include a side trip to Germany to visit Cologne (Kolsch) and Dusseldorf (Altbier). The likely dates are in the range of July 16 – 29 or so. There will be a group of us from Indiana going. It will be a well coordinated beer-focused trip, but there will also be plenty of time to see the sights, and do your own thing. If you are interested, let me know.

That’s all for now. Please sign up for the Beer MBA classes today. They start next week and with all the people I spoke to at the Oktoberfest, they could fill up quickly.

Thanks,

Ron Smith
- National Ranked BJCP Beer Judge
- Certified Beer Server
- National Award Winning Homebrewer
- Beer and Brewing Educator
- RonSmith@MarketWiseSolutions.com
- Ph: 317-873-6976, ext 1

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Elsewhere in beer in Indianapolis and beyond:

Upland's Lambics are now available for reservation - I've heard nothing but good things about last year's run of lambic. This year they've added a bunch of new flavors - cherry, peach, and kiwi - which join a repeat of last year's varieties - strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, and blueberry. $15 per bottle.

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Interested in having your events, taps, or new beer inventory listed on Hoosier Beer Geek? It won't cost you anything. Drop us a line at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.