Random Beer Round - The Beer Geek's Edge Edition

Welcome to Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start to summer. And what Memorial Day Weekend would be complete without the Indianapolis 500?

Anyone who may have stumbled across Hoosier Beer Geek because they are heading to the race, you need to remember these things: wear plenty of sunscreen, don't bring glass bottles to the race because you can't bring them in, and Indiana laws prohibit carry out sales on Sunday, so stock up on Saturday!

Remember, if you have anything you want to share with HBG for the checkered flag winning RBR, drop us an email at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com. Ladies and gentlemen, start your Random Beer Roundup!

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Saturday, May 23, 1p-3p at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis:
Beer tasting, Sam Adams

Monday, May 25, 5-7p at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis:
Beer tasting, Great craft beers for the weekend cookouts and parties

Thursday, May 28th, 6-8pm, at Big Red Liquors in downtown Bloomington:
Free Beer Tasting

Wednesday, June 3rd:
A beer event to be announced soon. Stay tuned to our Twitters for details!

Wedensday, June 3rd, 5-7pm at Mad Anthony's in Ft. Wayne:
Summer Daze wheat tapping w/ complimentary food

Saturday, June 6th, 3-7pm at Keg Liquors in Clarksville:
4th Annual Keg Liquors Fest of Ale, 30 + breweries, 3 craft beer distributors, 2 wine distributors and over 100 different craft and import beers to sample. http://www.kegliquors.com/festofale.htm for more details.

Saturday, June 13th, 5-10pm at Upland Brewing in Bloomington:
Radfest beer festival, $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Tickets are now being sold online here. See details under "What's Brewing" below.

Friday, June 19th and Saturday, June 20th at Crown Brewing in Crown Point:
Summerfest: Live Music, food, bean bag tourney, bounce/jump houses and "some of the best beer money can buy."

Monday, June 22nd at Beer Sellar in Indianapolis:
Big Bell's Brewing tapping, a record breaking 30 different Bell's beers on tap at once.

Saturday, June 27th on Mass Ave in Indianapolis:
Indy Brew Ha-Ha

Friday, July 17th at Optimist Park in Indianapolis:
Brewers of Indiana Guild VIP Dinner

Saturday, July 18th at Optimist Park in Indianaplis:
14th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival

Saturday, August 22nd:
A beer event to be announced soon. Stay tuned!

Saturday, September 12th, from 7-10pm at the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend:
Zoo Brew, beer tasting event, tickets on sale August 1, $30 in advance; more info here.

What's Brewing
Price and availability are subject to change

From Blaine at Mad Anthony Brewing in Elkhart:

Stop by the newest Mad Anthony location in Elkhart IN and check out their newly opened Beer Garden. This is a great spot to enjoy a hand crafted beer while enjoying great atmosphere, sunshine, and great food.

From Adam at Crown Brewing in Crown Point:

The "Cap and Trade that Works" Special = Bring in and refill your Growlers through Memorial Day for only $8 - New Growlers only $12.

On tap:
"Special Force (IPA) - Hopped 7 times this deep gold brew has intense bitterness and a full body flavor.

"Crown Brown Ale" - This ale is malty and sweet on the palette and will prove to be one of our best yet!

"Celtic Pride" - Move over Guinness, this 12 malt Irish Stout is to die for.

"Smokestack Amber Ale" ~ This exceptionally balanced beer offers a perfect combination of malts and hops.

From Scott at Upland Brewing in Bloomington:

An update on Rad Fest: Upland Brewing Co. is hosting their very own beer festival to honor the release of our new everyday brew – Rad Red Amber Ale.

The event is on Saturday June 13th from 5-10 pm. We’ll have over 40 different craft brews – all from more than a dozen Indiana breweries. 50% of the proceeds will go to benefit the Brewers of Indiana Guild.

Not only will people be allowed to sample all these local beers, but 7 different Indiana bands will be performing as well!

Upland Rad Fest Tickets are now being sold online HERE.

Update on attending breweries:
Alcatraz, Barley Island, Bloomington Brewing Co., Brugge, Mad Anthony, Shoreline, Sun King, Upland

From Jerry at Rock Bottom Brewery in downtown Indianapolis:

Seasonal Wheat

Hefeweizen
South German Wheat Ale.
Banana aroma, citrus and clove flavors
Hops: Mt. Hood Malts: Canadian Pale, Winter Wheat
ABV. 5.3% O.G. 12°

Hoosier Ma Stout
Milk Stout
sweet and creamy. Udderly delicious!
Hops: Golding Malts: English Pale, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, Rolled Oats
ABV. 4.6% O.G. 13.8°

Maibock
Sweet and bready malt flavor with a spicy hop finish. It’s Lagericious!
Hops: German Noble Malts: English Pale, Munich malts
ABV. 7.6% O.G. 16.6°

Naughty Pappy
Strong Scotch Ale
aged 1 year in a 20 year old Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrel.
Hops: Willamette Malts: English Pale, Crystal, Chocolate
ABV. 9.5% O.G. 20.2°

Schwarzhacker
German Black Lager
Roasty and smooth.
Hops: Mt. Hood Malts: Pilsner, Munich, Carafa
ABV. 5.4% O.G. 12.7°

Cezanne
Saison
Belgian Farmhouse Ale with a tart, refreshing taste and fruity aroma.
Hops: Golding Malts: English Pale, Summer Wheat, Munich
ABV. 6.2% O.G. 14°

From Tom at Mishawaka Brewing Company in Mishawaka:

Mishawaka Brewing Company has brewed another batch of Loopy Lupilin Imperial IPA with an IBU of 110+ using five different hop varieties. It will be available in kegs in early June and will be bottled in bombers as soon as we can satisfy the TTB with the label. We have now submitted for the 5th time.

From Greg at Lafayette Brewing Co. in Lafayette:

Look for an upcoming version of World Class Beverages' Indiana Craft Beer Sampler to include Lafayette Brewing's Tippecanoe Common Ale. LBC recently dedicated a bottling run to provide WCB with product for their next run of the sampler.

Currently on tap at LBC: Prophet's Rock Pale Ale, East Side Bitter, Pipers' Pride Scottish Ale, Tippecanoe Common Ale, Black Angus Oatmeal Stout, Eighty-Five and Maifest. We're also serving cask-conditioned versions of our Weeping Hog IPA and Digby's Irish Stout.

At the Bar
Price and availability are subject to change

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

We tapped a keg of Shmaltz Brewing "Sword Swallower" A Steel Hop Lager, and it's almost gone....drat!

Stone Brewing Levitation Ale went on tap May 20th.

Founders Double Trouble Dbl IPA is going fast.

Carry Out
Price and availability are subject to change

From Todd at Kegs Liquors in Clarksville:

Update:
# Great Divide Belgica IPA
# He’Brew Rejewvenator
# Corsendonk Gift Sets - Contains a 750ml of Corsendonk Abbey Ale, and a 750ml of Corsendonk Brown Ale, and two Corsendonk glasses.
# Scaldis Refermentee
# De Dolle Dulle Teve - The Mad Bitch is back!
# Brooklyn Local 2
# Fischer Amber
# Harpoon Leviathan Double IPA
# Samuel Smith Organic Strawberry Ale
# Rogue Brewers Ale

From Kirk at Mr. G's Liquors in Noblesville:

New this week

Two Brothers Variety Pack 12nr $18.99
Great Divide Belgica 6nr $11.99

From Cari at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis:

New/Back In This Week:
Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale
Samuel Adams Imperial Wit
Samuel Adams Imperial Stout
Samuel Adams Double Bock
Abita Strawberry Harvest
Harpoon Leviathan Double IPA
Rogue Chipotle Ale
St. Petere's Sorghum Ale
Three Floyds Black Heart English-Style IPA
Victory Helios Belgian-Style Farmhouse Ale
Victory Whirlwind Wit
Victory Hop Wallop
BFM Trosseau #3
Coopers Vintage Strong Ale

From Greg at Cavalier Distributing in Indianapolis:

Mendocino Summer White Ale and Blue Heron Pale Ale are new beers to the Indiana market hitting store shelves this week. Mendocino Summer White is a Belgian style White Ale brewed with spices, very flavorful, clean and perfect for the summer. The Blue Heron is a wonderfully balanced Pale Ale with a nice hop profile and clean finish.

Chang Beer from Thailand is making it's way out to stores and restaurants starting this week. Chang is Thailand's #1 Beer and is a crisp, flavorful beer perfect for Thai food or on its own.

Craft Beer in a Can for the 500!! Make sure to pick up some Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale if you feel like drinking some hops during the race!! You can find it at your local retailers that support craft beer. It's a great Pale Ale and the only hoppy craft beer in a can available in Indiana! It comes in 4pk 16oz cans.

News, Reviews, and Gossip

You may have noticed that we collaborated with STL Hops and Madison Beer Review to create 36 hour guides for visiting St. Louis, Madison WI, and Indianapolis. Well, Noah at Draft Magazine and Beer Mapping noticed our work and was inspired to do one of his own: 36 Hours in Chicago. Who else can we get to do 36 hour guides?

A quick reminder, we are still looking for volunteers for the Indiana Microbrewers Festival on July 18th. Details here. We have forty-four volunteers so far; we have room for more.

Be sure to check out The Potable Curmudgeon for grumblings about the Ohio River Valley Folk Festival.

From Mat at Cavalier Distributing in Indianapolis:

Check out the video of the Keynote address of the Craft Brewers Conference (Go out all the way out to the right and click on the 2009 keynote).

The link above is a bit long (about 40 minutes) but completely worth watching! The 1st 4 min. of the key note is the I am a Craft Brewer clip.

I still consider myself very lucky to witness this keynote address as it happened for the 1st time. The speech truly sums up what craft is or should be all about and is a must view for all serious about craft beer.