Folks, even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight. You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winters night. And here's your beer news.Just a reminder - If there's not enough news for you here, you can always check out bear news instead.
Liquor Stores/Better Beer Retailers
From John at Big Red Liquors, Bloomington:
New this week
From Courtney at the Hop Shop (3855 E. 96th Street, Indianapolis) comes a nice list of seasonals:
Here is a list of the Oktoberfest Beers that we have in now. More to come soon.
This just in from Gabe at Goose the Market (2503 N. Delaware St, Indianapolis):
The Goose has a gaggle of new beers in stock including some great Octoberfest selections.
Some other great new additions include:
Kirk at Mr. G's Liquor (2209 E. Connor, Noblesville) stops by:
New to our shelves:
Restaraunt/Brewery/Brewpub
In not exactly beer news (though they have plenty of great beer), Mike DeWeese at J. Gumbo's drops a line:
Live Crawfish Boil, Saturday Sept. 13th
$15 single serving, $20 all you care to eat
8 PM until they're gone
Price includes Abita Tasting, Cajun Sausage, Corn and Taters
Reservations recommended but not required
Crawfish races at 7:30pm
317-522-2666
Bell's Brewery is on the cutting edge in terms of customer contact and sent out a message on Twitter this morning saying:
Look for our first ever Christmas Ale after Halloween!
Word on the street is that their Christmas Ale will be a Scotch Ale.
Super Random
The latest Mikkeller newsletter (no. 8), Mikkel makes mention of three beers I believe we haven't seen here yet - It's Alight!, Not Just Another Wit, and Simcoe Single Hop IPA. Beernews.org reports that the 2008 releases of Santa’s Little Helper - (our #4 ranked current beer -reviewed KOTBR #46), Not Just Another Wit, and From To (not to be confused with Mikkeller To From - reviewed KOTBR #53) are on there way to the states. If we hear anything about them hitting Indiana shelves, we'll let you know.
Out of St. Louis and the Post-Dispatch comes news that our friends at Schlafly know when to seize an opportunity:
The buyout has rocked St. Louis. Managers of bars around town say they have been peppered with questions from drinkers about which "American" beers are still available.Fresh Hopping Done Here - The Denver Post with an article about the Great Divide Brewing Co's use of fresh hopping. "It's one of the things we can do in the brewing world that is timely," said Brian Dunn, owner and founder of Great Divide. "It's a unique thing, and our brewers get to stretch their creative muscle."
"We have this unique situation with A-B in St. Louis," Kopman told dozens of bar managers, grocers and restaurateurs at a beer panel at Bottleworks last month. "It probably doesn't go beyond 50 miles. But people are saying, 'I want to drink something else.'"
The folks at Schlafly smell an opportunity: The company's accelerated expansion plans are aimed at capitalizing on the turmoil and angst caused by InBev's ascension.
And when you see this on shelves, let us know - Chicagoist Beer of the Week is Three Floyds Moloko Milk Stout - a beer we should be seeing very limited quantities of in the Indianapolis area. "Moloko isn't your typical Three Floyds hop bomb. Actually, it's the complete opposite. Moloko is far and away the sweetest beer Three Floyds brews." Sounds tasty.
If you're wondering, Moloko is in World Class' Beer Finder,but is showing none available as of Wednesday afternoon. According to World Class' Bob Mack:"The central and lower parts of the state of Indiana do not have it yet, but we are expecting a shipment from Three Floyds late this week. After that, we can start shipping to retailers so you'll probably start seeing it next week (Sept. 12th and beyond)." Hey, that's today!
Lastly, you may remember Chris from our "GABF on the cheap" post a while back. Or maybe you met him at our anniversary party. In any case, he's still got two spots open for the GABF trip - so if you're interested, check out the old post and drop him a line. Further details:
Hey, it's Chris from beer meetup. I learned that you have posting days on Friday, and was wondering if you would post an update for my GABF trip. I have to spots left for the trip. Interested beer geeks could either do the whole package for $395 per person, or just the airfare for $159 RT. The flights are nonstop each way. We leave on Thursday morning Oct 9, and return Sunday night Oct 12.* * * * *
Interested in having your events, taps, or new beer inventory listed on Hoosier Beer Geek? It won't cost you anything. Want to complain about the abuse of REO Speedwagon lyrics? Fair enough. Drop us a line at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.
I usually have a few Oktoberfests this time of year but I'm generally not crazy about the style. I just looked up a bunch of Oktoberfests from this post on BA and none of them score over a 4.0. Then I went to the grand Oktoberfest/Marzen list and there isn't a single beer with a sizable number of reviews (over 25) that scores over a 4.
ReplyDeleteMy bold call: this is a case of a style that nobody actually likes that much except that you're supposed to this time of year. Either that or there's some utopian version of Oktoberfest that the masses seem to think everybody sucks at reproducing.
Sorry, we're just not that into you.
it might be interesting to test that theory... let's load up the calendar next month.
ReplyDeleteI had the Left Hand Oktoberfest last night. 'Twas pretty good. Probably the best Oktoberfest I've ever had.
ReplyDeleteI second the motion for an Oktoberfest face-off.
So I am in love with Lakefront Brewery's Pumpkin Ale. It's distributed by Cavalier but I can't find out where they deliver to. Any ideas??
ReplyDeleteI agree Jim, that Left Hand was pretty decent. I guess my point is that I've never had an Oktoberfest that made me sit up in my seat and say "Wow." Are there any other styles where there isn't that one (or more) version that really exemplifies the style?
ReplyDeleteI think it is a time of year type thing for me. I personally really enjoy Paulaner and Ayinger Marzen, but I really only make sure I have them when I've raked the leaves and it is about 50 outside with that crisp fall air, but outside of that I don't really like them.
ReplyDeletelooks like someone's posting as their wife...
ReplyDeleteUmmm.....yeah. That Claire comment was me. We use the same laptop when we're around the TV and apparently she was still signed in. Didn't even notice until just now.
ReplyDeleteDamn new blogs -- I never had to check who was signed on in the past!