Random Beer Roundup - I'm Still Bicycle Commuting Occasionally and I Appreciate Your Patient Sharing of the Road Edition

Welcome to the Random Beer Roundup for Friday, November 21st. I've attempted to start a tradition of a completely random title for each edition, and an equally random introductory paragraph. If you'd like to see us cover a completely random topic (a shout out to a friend, a video clip from your television appearance, anger towards deer that attack cyclists), drop me a line. I'll work it in there.

Oh yeah, beer.

A later in the evening update from Elizabeth at The Old Town Ale House:

Hi there...Apple Buzz just blew & has been replaced by the Bourbon County Stout by Goose Island (man, is it good!). Hurry, won't last long!

Thanks,
Elizabeth

Updates from John at Big Red Liquors (Bloomington):

New arrivals:

Scaldis Special
Left Hand Snow Bound
Ridgeway Very bad Elf
Seriously bad Elf
Insanely Bad Elf
Criminally Bad Elf
Bells Christmas Ale (Scotch ale)
Mad River John Barley Corn
Meantime Coffee Porter
Mikkeller Big Worse
Mikkeller Black Stout

Hey you lucky Lafayettens (Lafayettians? Lafayetters?) - Look like John at The Black Sparrow (223 Main St. Lafayette, IN.) is taking care of you.

This Friday at The Black Sparrow we will be tapping a keg of Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout. It is a bourbon-barrel aged Imperial Stout that has previously only been available at Goose Island's brewpubs in Chicago. We have a very limited amount available to us, so it will go fast. Try it while you can, you don't want to miss this one. We will be having some other Goose Island small batch specialties in the coming months. The next one will be an Imperial IPA in February.
Cheers!

John Olakowski
The Black Sparrow

This just in from Mike at J. Gumbo's:

Recession Buster Specials

$5 Bowls
$2.50 U-Call-It Pints

Everyday Until December 31st

Closed Sundays

My advice? Enjoy it while it lasts.

Mike Sprinkle at Crown Liquors blesses us with his latest impressive list:

Three Floyds Broodoo
Struise Black Albert!!!!!
Mikkeller Santas Little Helper
Bells Christmas
Bells Hell Hath No Fury (back in stock)
John Barleycorn Barleywine
Dark Horse Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock
Sam Adams Chocolate Bock
Two Brothers Bonfire Dunkle Weiss
Two Brothers Ale to the Chief
Some other very special beers to be announced.

Cheers! Mike

We'd like to welcome Cari Crowe at Kahn's Fine Wine and Spirits to our HBG-WBR party. Here's what's going on over there:

Next Monday, November 24, Kahn's has it's free weekly beer tasting. This week we will feature Wabash Valley Brewing Co.

This week Kahn's is featuring Wabash Valley 6 packs for $6.99 and Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 12 oz. bottles for $2.99.

We are currently stocking the following recently releases:
- Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
- Samuel Adam's Chocolate Bock
- Three Floyd's Broo Doo Harvest Ale & Moloko Milk Stout
- Red Hook Winter Hook Ale
- Bell's Winter Ale
- Bell's Christmas Ale
- Avery Old Jubilation
- Brooklyn Winter Ale
- Anchor Steam Merry Christmas Ale
- Breckinridge Christmas Ale
- Goose Island Christmas Ale
- BRAND NEW & only at Kahn's: Jerome Argentinian Ales - Negra, Rubia, Nochebuena, and Roja

Kirk at Mr. G's has a tiny update:

New this week:

Stone Double Bastard
Clipper City Winter Storm
Breckenridge Christmas Ale

Kirk
Mr. G's

What's new at Cavalier Distributing? Looks like a lot. Here's an update from Mat:

A few cases of Struise Tsjeeses are being delivered to the Parti Pack tomorrow / Thursday (11/20/08). Along with a boat load of other crazy esoteric beers from Shelton Brothers including some new beer form Mikklers and Olfabrikken.

I would expect to see a lot of crazy esoteric beer going up to the north side on Friday to the usual places that sell the kind of high quality beer we distribute.

We have all our Winter line up now in stock! The Two Brothers North wind Imperial Stout arrived today (a few weeks ahead of schedule) and the Thirsty Dog 12 dogs of Christmas arrived yesterday. This it the first time around for the 12 Dogs!

Also the last cases of Founders of Breakfast Stout arrived today! We have had a 600% increase in the amount of Breakfast Stout come into Indiana this year! Be sure to raise a glass and toast the hard working / brewing people at Founders over the holidays. The Harvest Ale and Back Woods Bastard are outstanding this year as well.

The 2008 release Stone Double Bastard is all but gone from the warehouse!

Thomas Hardy's 40th Anniversay release is in stock an mighty tasty now! I can only dream of how it will taste in the years to come.

See our Holiday / Winter list below:

Berghoff Variety Pack
Boulder Beer Brewers Dozen (Mix Pack) - Boulder Beer Series
Breckenridge Sampler (variety pack)
Clipper City Sunken Sampler (Mix Pack)
Michigan Brewing Variety Pack
Sea Dog Motley Crew Variety Pack
Corsendonk Gift Set - Brown, Pale & 2 glasses
Corsendonk Christmas Ale Gift set with glass
Ridgeway Christmas Gift pack
Erdinger Hefe Gift sets
Weihenstephaner Gift Boxes
Berghoff Red Bock Winter Ale
Boulder Never Summer Ale
Boulder Obovoid Oak-Aged Oatmeal Stout
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Breckenridge Christmas Ale - 1 liters limited
Clipper City Winter Storm "Category 5" Ale
Clipper City Below Decks Barley Wine
Breakfast Stout Early Winter Seasonal
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Hebrew Jewbelation (12th Anniversary beer) 12%
Lakefront Holiday Spice
Left Hand Snow Bound
Mad River John Barleycorn Barley Wine - GABF Gold
Mendocino Imperial IPA Winter Ale
Shipyard Prelude Ale
Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs of Christmas *** New Beer ***
Two Brothers North Wind Imperial Stout (back in 6 packs!)
N'Ice Chouffe
BIG CHOUFFE - Magnums of La Chouffe
Corsendonk Christmas Ale
Santa's Butt - porter
Bad Elf - IPA
Warm Welcome - Nut Browned Ale
Reindeer's Revolt - Winter Warmer
Very Bad Elf - English Old AleIPA
Seriously Bad Elf - English Double Ale
Lump of Coal - Stout
Criminally Bad Elf - Barley Wine - 10.5% abv
Insanely Bad Elf - Dark Strong Ale - 12% abv

Mat Gerdenich
Cavalier Distributing

Rodney passes along this information from The Ram (downtown Indianapolis):

Our brewers seasonal specialty...celebrate the season with our festive winter offering, Nutcracker Porter. A smooth, chocolaty porter brewed with chocolate and caramel malts and infused with the essence of toasted hazelnuts. Decadent and delicious, Nutcracker is the perfect winter indulgence.

Here's Mike DeWeese's updated beer cellar list. All prices negotiable. Email Mike if you're interested:
We keep the beer flowing..

Some monks brew beer, some monks just like the bottles: Check out these photos of a Buddhist temple made of beer bottles. Probably a really nice place to be during an earthquake. Or a hailstorm. Or when the neighbor kids are throwing rocks.

And here's my choice for best reading article about beer this year: The New Yorker with a story about the rise of extreme beer - well, that's not exactly true.. it's more an article about Dogfish Head. A couple of my favorite bits:

Calagione had brewed fewer than ten batches before coming to Delaware, and he rarely used the same recipe twice. "I'd just grab herbs and spices and fruits from the kitchen and throw them in," he says. "I used to think, Oh, it's cool that every batch tastes different. It's like snowflakes!"

And..

While other brewers were dyeing their beer green for St. Patrick's Day, Calagione brewed his with blue-green algae. "It tasted like appetizing pond scum," he says. "The first sip, you were like, 'Wow, that tasted like pond scum. But you know what? I kind of want a second sip.'"

And lastly, here's some help in getting people to stare at you while you're at the bar: Behold! A link to a handy-dandy pronunciation guide for the beers and styles of Belgium. I'll have a gur-zur, thanks.