Random Beer Roundup | Chewbacca Defense Edition

It's a bit of a slow news day around here. In fact, things just aren't making sense. Nonetheless, we'll try to put things in some semblance of order for you with this week's edition of the HBG Random Beer Roundup.

We're Better Than You. From John at The Black Sparrow in Lafayette:

The Black Sparrow is participating in the "Most Arrogant Bar in America" contest from Stone Brewing. All this week, we will be tracking sales of Stone's Arrogant Bastard products. In order to promote the consumption of these fine beers, we've knocked down the price.

* Oaked Arrogant Bastard on draft: $4.50 for a pint.

* Pint glass deal: $6.50 you keep the glass (Arrogant Bastard commemorative pint glass, while supplies last), $4.00 refills for the pint glass deal.

* Double Bastard 22oz bottles: $7.75 (If you haven't had this yet, you need to. A HUGE rendition of an American Strong Ale).

In addition

* Founders Breakfast Stout on tap for a very limited time!

* Founders Harvest Ale (fresh-hop IPA) in bottles with Backwoods Bastard and Old Curmudgeon coming after that for our Founders rotating bottles.

As always, a great lineup of constantly rotating drafts with "no crap on tap."
Cheers!

Goose on the Loose. Our pals at Goose the Market update us on their offerings:

The Goose has stocked the following brews:

Brooklyn Winter Ale
Delirium Noel
Oaken Barrel Epiphany
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome
Clipper City Winter Storm
Clipper City Below Decks Barley Wine
Two Brothers Bohnfire Dunkel Weiss
Stone Double Bastard
Left Hand Snow Bound
Boulder Beer Co. Looking Glass Never Summer
Breckenridge Hibernation Ale
Founder's Old Curmudgeon
Founder's Backwoods Bastard
Three Floyd's BrooDoo
Browning's Bourbon Barrel Russian Imperial Stout
Bell's Third Coast Old Ale
Bell's Christmas Ale
Bell's Winter White
Bell's Expedition Stout

We will be picking up quite a few more winter seasonal beers throughout the coming months, so stay tuned. Thanks.

Little Plates & Big Beers. From John at ZING Restaurant:

Just a short note to keep you updated as we have added a few beers. We now have Three Floyds Alpha King on tap. In bottles, we have Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Three Floyds Gumballhead, and Victory Prima Pils.

Irvington's Hair-of-the-Dog Remedy. From our very own Kelly:

My favorite hangover-remedying breakfast joint, the Steer-In, just got their beer/wine license. And their selection is actually pretty good--Samuel Smith, Three Floyds, Barley Island, and some other microbrews.

Fuel for Yellow Snow. Great news from Indiana Beer:

The Brewers of Indiana Guild has completed a contract with the State Fair Commission for the first annual WinterFest. January 24th 2009. 3:00 – 7:00 pm. Champions Pavilion @ Indiana State Fairgrounds. $15 advance/ $20 day of event. Limited tickets available (not on sale yet). Receive 10 tokens, 4 oz glass, beers from Indiana breweries and select distributors, live music. Purchase additional 5 token lots for $5 at event. More details on the BIG site later.

Bob also notes--

And next year World Class Beverages will be bringing in limited, very limited, amounts of beer from breweries we don't usually see around here. They've made agreements with the Boulevard (Smokestack Series), Rubicon, 21st Amendment, Moylan's Oskar Blues, and Ska.

And finally--

Great Crescent Brewery in Aurora will open its doors to the public on November 15th. The first offerings from Dan Valas's 3bbl system will be a Blonde Ale, an English Mild, and a Stout. He will quickly add a Witbier and a Cherry Ale to the lineup. Packaging will be in mini-kegs, growlers, and 5-gallon kegs. A few limited releases, such as the Cherry Ale, will be distributed in 750ml bottles. The Aurora brewery doesn't have a proper tasting room yet but they will offer samples and sell beer on-site to the public. They will also self-distribute to southeast Indiana stores and pubs.

The Governor Called in with a Last Minute Reprieve, So You Ain't Gonna Fry. Goose Island's flagship location, originally slated to close, will now stay open. Huzzah!

Stellaweiser. Anheuser-Busch's shareholders have approved InBev's takeover bid:

In July, Anheuser-Busch attempted to block a hostile takeover by InBev, claiming "illegal" and "deceptive" conduct by the firm.

A takeover was agreed after InBev later raised its offer.

More than two-thirds of shareholders approved the new deal, including billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

The new company, to be named Anheuser-Busch InBev, will be not only the world's largest beer company but also one of the top five consumer goods groups in the world.

This Month in Cosmo: 101 Ways to Get Rid of Your Beer Gut. Women's Health Magazine has some suggestions for ladies who are attempting to maintain a girlish figure. Not much quality on that list.

Maybe You Shouldn't Bother, Goliath. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer pits the macros' new craft lines against those of the micros in a blind taste test. The result is predictable:

All of the tasters agreed they would welcome good craft-style beers from the large brewers. But after seeing the results of this blind tasting, no one was running out the door to buy any six-packs.

What Would Meredith Vieira drink? The Today Show offers this basic seasonal beer guide. Something tells me that Matt Lauer is a Blue Moon drinker.