Random Beer Roundup - I heart craft beer edition

Between winter warming and high gravity beer fun, you may have forgotten that Valentine's Day is upon us. Like, tomorrow, Saturday, February 14th. Hoosier Beer Geek doesn't want you to get in trouble. Hoosier Beer Geek doesn't want you to end up in the dog house, because unless your dog is REALLY spoiled, I bet they don't have an internet connection in that dog house. And then how would you read Hoosier Beer Geek and its award winning¹ Random Beer Roundup.

For those of you who don't have the chance to land in the dog house this weekend, Hoosier Beer Geek has one question: Will you be our valentine?

Here's our Valentine's gift for you: a free t-shirt. Actually, there is only one shirt. So either you all have to share or we do another contest.

Okay, we'll do another contest. It ends Sunday, February 22nd and more details can be found here.

Alright funny valentines of mine, it is time for the weekly Random Beer Roundup. Remember, if you have any beer news you want to share, drop us a line at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com. On with the show...

Beer Events:
From Patrick at Patrick's Kitchen in Zionsville:

INDIANA BREWS! BEER TASTING
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 at 6:30 PM
$35 in advance, includes tax and gratuity
$45 at the door

APPETIZERS
BEER CHEESE SOUP WITH HOMEMADE PRETZELS
Brugge White Ale
Brugge Brewery, Indianapolis
HOPPY SAUSAGES
Four Horseman Irish Red Ale
Mishawaka Brewery
PORK WINGS IN
BEER-B-Q SAUCE
Gangster Pale Ale
Wabash Valley Brewery, Terre Haute

ENTREES

JERK CHICKEN
Barfly India Pale Ale
Barley Island Brewery, Noblesville
STOUT POT ROAST
Snake Pit Porter
Oaken Barrel Brewery, Greenwood

GARLIC MASHED POTATOES
SWEET-N-SOUR SLAW


DESSERT
MOCHA SUNDAE
Rich fudge brownie with dried cranberries, topped with coffee ice cream
and fudge sauce
Robert the Bruce
Three Floyds Brewery, Munster

From Cari at Kahn's in Indianapolis:

Beer Tasting Monday, February 16, 5-7 p.m.: American Craft Brews from World Class Beverages

From Rob at Big Red Liquors in Bloomington:

Don't forget about our free beer tasting every Thursday from 6-8pm at our big downtown store!

From Jerry at Rock Bottom in Downtown Indianapolis:

Next Tapping: Fire chief, Feb. 19, 2009

On Saturday, February 14th, the Fickle Peach in Muncie will be having a Valentine's Day beer dinner. See the poster to the right for more information. Purchase your tickets online soon. Seating is limited.

From Matt and Elizabeth at the Old Town Ale House in Fishers:

Monday, Feb 23rd at 7 p.m.
"Lambics, Meads & Barleywine"
$10 per person includes beer & appetizers.
All beer will be available for purchase at great prices!
Old Town Ale House...841-0800

We've also got a great Valentine's Day planned...just for Beer Lovers. We suggest reservations!

From Greg at Cavalier Distributing in Indianapolis:

Free Beer Tasting this Friday the 13th @ Parti Pak Liquors (2633 E. Stop 11 Rd.) just east on Stop 11 from Madison Ave. on the South side of Indy!! The tasting will run from 5 - 7pm and will feature several beers from Cavalier Distributing's portfolio.

You will be able to sample beers from Boulder Beer Co., Breckenridge Brewery, Founders Brewing Co., Shmaltz Brewing Co., and Stone Brewing Co.

There will be some everyday stuff from each brewery along with a couple of special releases as well!! We hope to see you there!

From the Mad Anthony Brewing Company in Ft. Wayne:

Join us at any one of our four locations for a romantic night of music and dining. Each location will feature candlelight tables, live music, and great food and drink specials. We will be serving up our Chocolate Lover's Cream Stout made with copius amounts of dark chocolate. Seating will be on a first come first serve basis with live entertainment beginning at 7PM.

From Mike at Crown Liquors with locations around Indianapolis:

We wanted to do a special tasting for one the owners daughters, 4yr old Caroline Symmes, that has been going through cancer treatment. Ryan Pierce of Cavalier Distributing has offered up his vertical of Stones Vertical Epic Ale(minus the '02)and lots of other brews. The point, to get more people to come up and taste some great brews and if the mood strikes you, to give a donation to Rileys Children Hospital. In addition to the Vertical Epic, we will be pouring alot of other brews from Cavalier. Here are a few... Southern Star Pine belt Pale Founder's Porter Founder's Double Trouble ---Other founders??? Stone Old Guardian ---Other Stone's??? Mikkeller Its Alive Mikkeller Monks Brew Aventinus Weihenstephaner Hefe I also talked with Bobby and we will be bringing some special brews from our own stashes, I have heard ramblings of Darkness, Lost Abbey, Russian River and loads of other goodies. We will also be having a drawing for prizes, give aways and beer. So please join us for a great cause and come tastes some worldclass brews! We will be doing this next Fri at Crown Liquors #15 in Fishers, Feb 20th at 5pm.

And mark your calendar for a Beer Geek Breakfast (or Beer Geek BreakFest) at Brugge Brasserie in Indianapolis on Saturday, March 14th. More details to come.

And look for something big...huge...dare we say, behemoth at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Downtown Indianapolis on Thursday, February 19th. More details to come on this as well.

News and Rumors:
From Patrick at Patrick's Kitchen in Zionsville:

We have hired Adrian Ball as our Executive Chef. He was with Brugge as well as Cafe Patachou and currently works as the Assistant Brewer at Rock Bottom as well.

From Scott at Upland Brewing in Bloomington:

Upland Brewing Co. hosts world-renowned artist Norton Wisdom in Bloomington to perform beside The Willie Waldman Project at The Players Pub on March 7th. Wisdom has a unique style of painting where he paints during a live music performance. He will paint several different pieces during a show but none of them stick around too long. Wisdom paints directly on a piece of illuminated fiberglass or even window glass. When he is finished with the painting, a picture is taken and then he wipes it clean to start a new one.

The Willie Waldman Project is a collaboration of world famous musicians. Willie Waldman, a ground-breaking avant jazz trumpeter, has performed with the likes of Banyan, Phil Lesh’s Tellstar, Sublime, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac. Joining him will be the drummer from Moe., Vinnie Amico, along with other accomplished musicians.

Upland even has a beer named after Wisdom: Infinite Wisdom Tripel is a Belgian Tripel created by Lahti and Head Brewer Caleb Staton. Last year was the first release of Infinite Wisdom Tripel, and due to its popularity, the beer was brewed again and will be available for the first time on March 7th at the Players Pub to honor Wisdom and Waldman’s performances. The label for the beer is one of Wisdom’s paintings depicting a devil – highly appropriate because the brew tops out at about 10% ABV. Tickets for the show can be purchased at The Players Pub in Bloomington for only $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

From Knight of the Beer Roundtable Jim:

This segment about beer being a "recession-resistant" product aired on NPR on Tuesday.

Now on tap:
Price and availability are subject to change

From Andrew at the Oaken Barrel in Greenwood:

For everyone's information, we are having our Small-batch Series starting on Monday, February 22nd. This series will include small batches of Kolsch, German Alt, Java Stout, and Oak-aged Porter among other possibilities. We will rotate beers approximately once a week. Also, we have an Irish Red coming on as our next seasonal. Hope all is well.

From Jerry at Rock Bottom in Downtown Indianapolis:

The Hop Bomb Nitro IPA is quite a hit!
These beers are in addition to our normal lineup:
Seasonal Wheat: Hefeweizen-German Wheat ale.
Banana aroma with spice and citrus flavors.
Hops: Mt. Hood
Malts: Canadian Pale, Winter Wheat
ABV. 5.3%
O.G. 12°

Hoosier Ma Stout: Imperial Stout
Big, rich and roasty strong ale.
Hops: Golding
Malts: English Pale, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, Rolled Oats
ABV. 9.7%
O.G. 22.4°

Trouble: Golden Belgian Strong Ale
Rich and full mouthfeelwith wonderful fruit and spice character.
Hops: Golding
Malts: English Pale, Munich
ABV. 8.7%
O.G. 20°

Hop Bomb: American I.P.A.
Grassy bitterness and wonderful floral and ruby grapefruit aroma.
Served Nitro style!
Hops: Simcoe, Crystal
Malts: English Pale, Munich, Crystal
ABV. 7.25%
O.G. 15.8°

From John at Half Moon Brewery in Kokomo:

The Kokomonster (Strong Ale) is on tap as of Thursday, Feb. 12th.

From Knight Chris, a note about Adobo Grill in Indianapolis:

Adobo Grill, the upscale Mexican restaurant on Washington St. in downtown, obviously specializes in margaritas and their beer selection is pretty predictable (Corona, Negro Modelo and Dos Equis among other domestics). Fortunately, they do save a tap or two for local and regional craft beers -- right now, they've got Upland Winter Warmer on tap.

In addition, we at Hoosier Beer Geek are always on the look-out for a good chelada and Adobo doesn't disappoint. They serve a specialty beer cocktail called Una Michelada, a mixture of sangrita (a spicy tomato juice mixture), lime juice and your beer of choice.

Starting next week, former J. Gumbo's regulars might recognize a friendly face behind the bar at Adobo.

Now on the shelf:
Price and availability are subject to change

From Mat at Cavalier Distributing in Indianapolis:

CRAFT BEER IN A CAN!

That is right. You can now enjoy craft beer in a can in Indiana! Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale from Texas arrived at our warehouse this week and is making its way to better beer places. I know what will be in my cooler this year for the Indy 500!

Here are the details:
Style: American Pale Ale (APA)
Packaging: 6 four packs of 16 ounce cans
ABV: 6.3%, IBU: 45
Malt: Rahr special pale, Simpsons 30-37, Crisp 45
Hops: Sorachi Ace, Galena, CTZ, Palisades
Yeast: California Ale

Description: A deep copper colored ale with a substantial malt backbone accented with British crystal malts with aggressive hop bitterness and substantial American hop flavor and aroma. The yeast profile is neutral.

Also, we received more Founders Double Trouble four packs this week and we have plenty of Double Trouble kegs available. Founders also sent us their last pallet of Founders Imperial Stout so go out and get some Founders beer!

The 2009 release of Clipper City Holy Sheet 9% Belgian Abbey Ale is also now available while supplies last.

From Cari at Kahn's in Indianapolis:

New/Back In At Kahn's This Week:
- Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale, Craft Beer In A Can!
- Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock
- Abita Bock
- Dogfish Head Red & White
- Spaten Dunkel
- Mishawaka Seven Mules Kick Ass Barleywine
- Founders Imperial Stout !!!!! (Probably one of my favorite beers so far this year)
- Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Sales:
15% off beer sale at Kahn's.
Through through Feb. 17th: All imported 6 pack beer. From anyone, all types and styles!
From Feb. 18th-24th: All domestic 6 pack beer

From Rob at Big Red Liquors in Bloomington:

New at Big Red Liquors this week:

Sam Adams Blackberry Wit
Boulder Mojo Risin Double IPA
Harpoon Celtic
Clipper City Holy Sheet
Magic Hat Number 9 & Lucky Kat
Atwater Vanilla Java Porter
Anchor Steam Bock

We also have a Big Belgian Beer Sale happening this month -get 10% off any 6 packages of great Belgian brews.

¹As voted on by dogs who live in the homes of the Knights of the Beer Roundtable. Though to be fair, they are a pretty easy group to bribe. In three words: who wants bacon?