Random Beer Roundup - March Madness edition

After one day, how are your brackets holding up? Are you still in the hunt? Will you win that office pool? If you do, will you be buying the next round?

To be honest, I'm only mildly interested in the NCAA tournament. Despite being a life-long Hoosier, basketball is not my favorite sport. It isn't even in my top five favorite sports (in order: football, baseball, hockey, curling, soccer). For the first time in years, I didn't fill out a bracket (of course, neither did Jess, but not for the same reason!).

I may not be suffering from March Madness, but I am experiencing Spring Fever. And today is the first day of Spring! So if you can't use basketball watching as your excuse to enjoy a good craft beer, then raise a toast for the beginning of a new season!

Here is your weekly Random Beer Roundup. Remember, if you have beer news or basketball views that you want to share, drop us a line at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.

Beer Events:
Dates and lineups subject to change

Friday, March 20, 5pm, at Crown Liquors in Carmel:
Kentucky Breakfast Stout tasting

Saturday, March 21, 1-3 p.m., at Kahn’s in Indianapolis:
Upland Brewery @ the Beer Desk

Saturday, March 21 at Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington:
American Homebrewers Association (AHA) Rally.

Monday, March 23, 5-7 p.m., at Kahn’s in Indianapolis:
Mad River & Southern Star Breweries @ the Tasting Bar

Wednesday, March 25, at Old Town Ale House in Fishers:
Kentucky Breakfast Stout "Kill the Keg" Night. Tickets go on sale at 3pm, $5 for a 5 oz. glass, one per customer. Keg tapped at 8 p.m. Five Founder's beers will be on tap that night.

Thursday, March 26, 6-8pm, at Big Red Liquors in Bloomington:
FREE beer tasting every Thursday 6-8pm at the "Big Store" at 418 North College in Bloomington.

Friday, March 27, 4-10pm at the Clifton Center in Louisville, KY:
Louisville Brewfest. More details at The Potable Curmudgeon.

Saturday, March 28, 1-3 p.m., at Kahn’s in Indianapolis:
Barley Island Brewing @ the Beer Desk

Wednesday, April 8, 6-8 p.m., at Kahn’s in Indianapolis:
Meet Greg Hall, Head Brewmaster from Goose Island, $15. Taste all of the Goose Island beers, including the Reserve lines and some special brews, paired gourmet cheeses, and receive some Goose Island swag. For tickets: email Cari Crowe at beerqueen@kahnsfinewines.com, call the store at (317) 251-9463, or come by the store. Kahnoisseurs Klub members get 20% off the ticket price.

Saturday, April 25 at Three Floyd’s Brewery in Munster:
Dark Lord Day

Sunday, April 26, 12:00pm at Great Fermentations in Indianapolis:
Spring All-Grain Class, $25 per person or bring a friend and pay only $20 each. Details and registration on website.

Wednesday, April 29, 6-7:30pm at Great Fermentations in Indianapolis:
Beginning Brewing Class, $15 per person or bring a friend and pay only $10 each. Details and registration on website.

Saturday, May 2nd: National Homebrew Day

News and Rumors:
Dark Lord Day tickets are sold out.

Jennette from the Indy Star pointed us towards to a two part story about coming-soon brewery Sun King. There is also a video where owner Clay Robinson receives his 15-barrel brewing system. Check it out here and here.

New Albanian Brewing Company’s Roger A. Baylor writes a column for the Louisville Eccentric Observer.

Bloomington's Hearld-Times newspaper has a new beer website, including a blog by Rod Spaw.

From the Mad Anthony e-newsletter:

Mad Anthony Brewing Co. has secured two taps in the Parkview Field Stadium. Look for us down the first base line and enjoy a Mad Brew while attending a Tin Caps Game. Join us before and after the game as well.

Now on tap:
Price and availability are subject to change

From Elizabeth at Old Town Ale House in Fishers:

New on Tap this weekend: Two Brothers Cane & Ebel, Left Hand Milk Stout, Stone Pale Ale
Coming Next Week: Left Hand Oaked Imperial Stout
New In Bottles: Mikkellar Beer Geek Brunch, Avery's Ale to the Chief

From Patrick at Patrick's Kitchen and Drinks in Zionsville:

We currently have Brugge White on tap as well as Two Bros. Northwind Imperial Stout, pushed with a Nitro blend, so it's creamy on top. Gaffel Kolsch is fairly constant for us, and now.........the news..........BLOOMINGTON BREWING COMPANY BEER IS RETURNING TO PATRICK'S !!!!!

Floyd Rosenbaum has been sold out of beers each time we tried to get new kegs, so this Wednesday the 25th, I will be road-tripping with a keg of Ruby Bloom, their Amber, a keg of Nitro Stout (not to be missed), and Floyd is letting us have one keg only of "Brewer's Pale", which as I understand it is the fabulous IPA that Floyd brews once a year. That is one keg and one keg only kids....we will have a limit of two pints per patron in order to keep it for a while.

Floyd made a movie and put it on YouTube....it is eartheatsfloydrosenbaum. Very cool and really ought to be sent out in a link or something.....thanks for the help and I hope we get you in for a beer on us.

From Dean at Deano’s Vino in Indianapolis:

At Deanos we have Two Hearted, Smithwicks, Murphy Irish Stout.

From Dustin at Spencer’s Stadium Tavern in Indianapolis:

Draft List: Old Style, Pilsner Urquell, Bell's Two Hearted, BBC Bourbon Barrel Stout, Brugge White, Left Hand Sawtooth

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

From Cari at Kahn's in Indianapolis:

Specials (effective Tuesday, March 24):
Samuel Smith Winter Warmer 18 oz. $2.99
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus 22 oz. $5.99
Brooklyn Lager 6-pk $5.99
Upland Winter Warmer 6-pk $10.49
Breckenridge Christmas 6-pk $5.99
aChouffe Brasserie Select Beers 750 ml $6.99

From Greg at Cavalier Distributing in Indianapolis:

Just a reminder, Founders KBS hit shelves this week and is out there now for you to snatch up. Much of the KBS going out to stores is pre-sold, but there will be some available in the right places. There is not much to go around this year and there have been some complaints about this. There is something everyone can do to get more KBS in next year....DRINK MORE FOUNDERS. If the Hoosier state increases the amount of Founders we consume throughout the year, we will get more KBS; it's that simple. Regardless, get yourself some and enjoy...

Lakefront Cherry Lager is freshly brewed and right off the truck this week. This wonderfully balanced fruit beer makes an appearance every year around this time. Made with fresh Door County Cherries, this beer is crisp and complex with a nice fruity, tart finish. Enjoy!!

From Mat at Cavalier Distributing in Indianapolis:

The info below was taken from the Distinguished Brands news letter: People are really missing out it they do not give O'Hara's a try. We have plenty of cases and kegs of the everyday Stout available. We are down to the very last few cases of the Celebration Stout,so get them while you can. While they are at it they should try the Curim Wheat and O'Hara's Red as well.

IRELAND – On March 17th, The Irish Times printed a “Value for Money Stout” article that reviewed and ranked 5 Irish Stouts. Out of the five stouts ranked - which included Beamish, Guinness, Murphy’s, and Mark’s and Spencer - O’Hara’s Leann Folláin, Carlow Brewing Company’s newest product, was the only one that received 5 out of 5 stars. This new stout is similar to their Celebration Stout and currently is only available in Ireland. Another interesting note to point out is that Mark’s and Spencer Irish Stout, which received 3 stars, is also brewed by Carlow Brewing.

From Mike at Crown Liquors (various locations around Indianapolis):

Hello from Crown Liquors!! A few new, great brews have made it into our chain and like always....more to come! These are a few of our recent additions.

Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti
Founders KBS(available, but allocated)
Upland Ard Ri Red Ale and a few Lambics left
Three Floyds Brian Boru and fresh Dreadnaught
Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale
Sam Adams Imp. Stout and Imp. White
Great Divide Mix 12 pack
and remember March 30th is Oberon release!!!

From Big Red Liquors (various locations around Bloomington):

New at Big Red Liquors this week:
Coniston Bluebird Bitter
Founder's Kentucky Bourbon Breakfast Stout (in very limited quantities!)
Boulder Sweaty Betty Blonde Wheat Ale
Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale

Homebrewing:
Price and availability are subject to change

From Anita at Great Fermentations in Indianapolis:

Great Fermentations would like to extend a warm welcome to brewers to join us for Big Brew. Darren will be firing up our system to brew 20 gallons of the Mild that day. Bring your brew pots and burners and brew either of the Big Brew Recipes. And of course, bring beer to toast National Homebrew Day at 1 PM.

Here are this year’s recipes. They are already available for sale on our website in the extract and all-grain versions:

Saison Du Mont – in honor of Dave Levonian

Saison Du Mont is a Belgian-style Saison developed by a truly special home brewer, Dave Levonian. Dave was a long time member of QUAFF, a homebrew club in San Diego. Unfortunately, Dave lost a short battle with cancer in February of last year at the age of 39. Though Dave had a short life, he has left an indelible mark on the home brewing community in southern California.

Dave was well known for his flavorful Saison Ales. We are fortunate to have this recipe directly from his brewing records. Dave always emphasized two points about Saisons: be sure to use enough Vienna Malt so the beer has a nice orange hue and make sure that all spices are added conservatively, as they should not be identifiable in the flavor profile. One should know it is a spiced beer, but never be able to actually identify a specific spice. Please brew this beer and enjoy it with friends and family, because that is what Dave would have done. Enjoy!

SS Minnow Mild Ale—Dark Mild

The second Big Brew recipe for 2009 started out as a homebrew recipe, then it was scaled up and brewed at a craft brewery and won the brewery’s first medal at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), and now it’s a homebrew recipe again! Most of the Dry Dock Brewing Co. recipes (including this one) began as homebrew recipes. Because of the strong home brewing roots of the brewery, Dry Dock publishes all of their recipes in 5 gallon proportions so home brewers can try to make them if they want.

From Caleb at Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington:

Upland Brewing Company UpCup

What:
AHA/BJCP Sanctioned Homebrew Competition
One entry per homebrewer, $5 entry fee, two bottles required
Best of Show Winner receives UpCup, recipe will be brewed on the Upland Brewhouse and entered into the 2009 GABF Pro-Am Competition

When:
Entries due by Friday, May 8th
Competition Judging starts 10:00 am on May 16th, lunch provided for judges
Awards Ceremony at 5:00 pm May 16th, dinner buffet provided for all who attend
Music and Festivities begin at 6:30 pm

Additional Info:
The Upland Brewing Company UpCup Competition is being hosted once again in the aims of replicating the best of the best of Midwestern homebrews. The 2008 UpCup was a huge success, last years UpCup Champ Kenneth Smith's Bad Penny Imperial IPA will be tapped during the awards ceremony.

Rules/Instructions:
One entry per homebrewer, requirement of 2 bottles for the entered beer
Entries must be mailed or delivered to the following address ARRIVING BEFORE MAY 8th, 2008:

Upland Brewing Co. UpCup
350 W. 11th St.
Bloomington, IN 47404

Along with the entries THE FOLLOWING MUST BE INCLUDED:
BJCP entry form, found at http://www.bjcp.org/SCP_EntryRecipe.pdf.

- Entrant need only fill out Brewer Information and Entry Information, Ingredients and Procedures section not necessary
- EACH bottle must have a filled out Bottle ID form attached, preferably by rubber band
- Bottle ID form can be found at www.bjcp.org
- $5 check made out to Upland Brewing Co. for the entry fee. Entry fees will be redistributed to all attending BJCP certified judges who will be evaluating for the day, and transportation and lodging for the winning homebrewer.

Any questions can be directed to Caleb Staton, Competition Organizer at caleb@uplandbeer.com.

Awards will be given based on number of entries, with the Best of Show receiving the UpCup.