Well the latest experiment was just crap, now wasn't it? Why mess with perfection? New RBR didn't go well. We will rename it RBR II and never speak of this debacle again.Welcome to Random Beer Roundup Classic, the tastiest weekly source for beer events, news, and updates.
This week is American Craft Beer week and there are plenty of things going on. The calendar below outlines what we know about, including a charitable big beer event, a beer dinner, brewery open houses galore, several Stone Levitation events, and several regular free beer tastings. If you aren't drinking this week, well there is no hope for you!
Also, quick reminder, we are looking for volunteers for the Indiana Microbrewers Festival on July 18th. Details here.
Remember, if you have anything you want to share with RBR Classic, drop us an email at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com. On with the show!
Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change
Friday, May 8th at Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington:
Entries for the UpCup Competition are due.
Saturday, May 9th, 4pm, at Buffalo Wild Wings in downtown Indianapolis:
This is gonna be my biggest undertaking yet. I am shooting for 12-14 beers above 9% abv all on tap. I can guarantee people will find stuff on draft that they would otherwise not find. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This is going to be a big event with some big beers. Here is the working list. Please do not take this as a definitive list, meaning more are going to be added as we get closer.
Dogfish Head Red & White 10% ABV
Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron 12% ABV
Dogfish Head 90 Minute 9% ABV
Piraat Ale 10.5% ABV
Gulden Draak 10.5% ABV
Three Floyds Rabbid Rabbit 9% ABV
Three Floyds Behemoth Blonde 12.5% ABV
Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA 9.5% ABV
Brooklyn Black Chocolate STout 10.6% ABV
Bell's Hopslam 10% ABV
Bell's Expedition Stout 10.5% ABV
Goose Island Night Stalker 11.5% ABV
Founders Imperial Stout 10.5% ABV
Founders Double Trouble 9.4% ABV
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 9.6% ABV
2008 Stone Imperial Russian Stout 10.5% ABV
All are above 9% ABV and will all be on draft at once. They will be served in 5 ounceish pours and cost $5 each with a dollar from each beer going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Also, a beer that I have yet to determine will have all sale proceeds donated directly to CF. This means a $5 pour=a $5 donation. A silent auction is going to be setup as well with all proceeds going to CF.
Come kick off your summer right with some huge beers for a good cause at Buffalo Wild Wings Downtown.
Monday, May 11th - Sunday, May 17th: American Craft Beer Week
Monday, May 11th - Sunday, May 17th, noon-8pm at Great Crescent Brewery in Aurora:
Open all week. Regular beer lineup - Blonde Ale, Mild Ale, Wit, Stout, Cherry Ale.Monday, May 11th, 7p at Old Town Ale House in Fishers:
Stone Levitation Celebration; no cover
Monday, May 11, 5p-7p at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis:
Beer tasting, Stone Brewing Company with Aaron from Stone
Monday, May 11th, 6pm at Rock Bottom Downtown in Indianapolis:
Brewmaster's toast
Tuesday, May 12th at Spencer's Stadium Tavern in Indianapolis:
Sun King Brewing and Chef J.J. will be hosting a BEER DINNER in honor of American Craft Beer Week! Check it out at http://www.chefjjs.com/events/.
Tuesday, May 12th, 7p at Columbus Bar/Power House Brewing Company in Columbus:
Stone Levitation Celebration
Tuesday, May 12th, 7p at Major's Sports Cafe in Carmel:
Hops Fest: Stone Pale Ale, Stone IPA, Stone Levitation Ale, Stone Arrogant Bastard, Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Stone Ruination IPA, Bell's IPA, Dogfish Head 60 & 90 Minute IPA's, 3 Floyds Gumballhead, 3 Floyds Alpha King & Victory Hop Wallop; $10; appetizers will be provided.
Wednesday, May 13th, 6p-9p in Downtown Indianapolis:
To celebrate American Craft Beer Week, and make it worthwhile to the great beer drinkers of Indy, all 3 downtown Indy breweries (Alcatraz, Ram and Rock Bottom) will be hosting open houses on Wednesday May 13th from 6-9 pm. So, come downtown and park in one spot to meet the brewers, taste a myriad of interesting beer, check out the breweries, and you just might learn something!Wednesday, May 13th, 7p at Shallo's in Indianapolis:
Stone Levitation Celebration
Wednesday, May 13th, 7p at Constant Spring in Goshen:
Stone Levitation Celebration
Thursday, May 14th at Power House Brewing Co.'s Columbus Bar in Columbus:
Franziskaner Promotion with t-shirt and glassware giveaways
Thursday, May 14th, 6-8pm, at Big Red Liquors in downtown Bloomington:
Free Beer Tasting
Thursday, May 14th, 6:30-8:30pm:
Master of Beer Appreciation course. Three Thursday evening courses for $120. Visit www.BeerMBA.com for details.
Saturday, May 16th, noon-8pm at Great Crescent Brewery in Aurora:
Open House - in addition to the regular beer lineup, IPA and Coconut Porter; complimentary food and drawings for small prizes.
Saturday, May 16th at Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington:
UpCup judging and ceremony.
Saturday, May 16, 1p-3p at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis:
Beer tasting, Magic Hat
More Fun After American Craft Beer Week
Monday, May 18, 5p-7p at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis:
Beer tasting, Clipper City Brewing
Saturday, May 23, 1p-3p at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis:
Beer tasting, Sam Adams
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.
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.
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!
What's Brewing
Price and availability are subject to change
From Jerry at Rock Bottom Downtown in Indianapolis:
American Craft Beer Week featured beers:From Scott at Upland Brewing in Bloomington:
Bourbon barrel aged series:
Starting with a English Barleywine aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel, transitioning to Naughty Pappy- a Strong Scotch Ale aged in a 20 year old Buffalo Trace barrel, then on to Naughty Wood- the same Scotch Ale aged in a Woodford Reserve barrel.
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 Scot
Strong Scotch Ale-
very malty sweet garnet coloured strong ale.
Hops: Willamette
Malts: English Pale, Crystal, Chocolate
ABV. 9.3% 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°
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°
Caleb brewed an Imperial Stout this week that should be ready to go sometime in the winter months. It’s the highest gravity beer Upland has ever brewed so watch out!From Jon at Power House Brewing Co.'s Columbus Bar in Columbus:
Valley Weizen – our Spring seasonal - is being kegged and bottled this week. It will be available in our tap room by the end of the week on draught. It should reach shelves in the next 2-3 weeks.
We will be tapping our Workingan Wheat soon.
Also on May 16th we will be serving great beer at the Crump Theater in downtown Columbus, Indiana, just two blocks from Power House Brewing Co.'s Columbus Bar. Larry Mc Donald will be playing at the Crump, he was featured on the recent John Melleoncamp documentry.
We will be having The Columbus Bar's 70th anniversery in June so watch for details. Most of you know Power House Brewing Co. was formed in 2005 and in 2006 we purchased the old Columbus Bar in downtown Columbus, Indiana. The bar was opened in 1939 and is most likely Indiana's oldest continually operating bar, opening just 6 years after the repeal of prohibition. This is year 70 for The Columbus Bar and we are proud to carry on it's traditions.
At the Bar
Price and availability are subject to change
From Elizabeth at Old Town Ale House is Fishers:
Here's what's on draft this week:From Elizabeth at The Wellington Pub in Indianapolis:
Founder’s Pale Ale - 4
Oaken Barrel Razz Wheat - 4
Upland Wheat - 4
Magic Hat #9 - 5
Bell’s Two Hearted - 5
Bell’s Oberon - 5
Three Floyds Robert the Bruce - 5
Left Hand Milk Stout - 5
Two Brothers Domaine Dupage - 5
Original Sin - 5
Victory Prima Pils - 5
Heavy Seas Holy Sheet - 6
Founder’s Cerise - 6
Brugge Black - 6
Hebrew R.I.P.A - 6
Goose Island Matilda* - 7
Breckenridge 471 ESB* - 7
Victory Hop Wallop* - 7
Mojo Risin Double IPA* - 8
Left Hand Oak Imperial Stout* - 8
*not available as part of "pint night" specials on Tuesdays & Wednesdays!
look for a keg of Founders Imperial Stout to go on this weekend! Yum!
Carry Out
Price and availability are subject to change
From Big Red Liquors in Bloomington:
There have been lots of new items hitting our shelves as well as reappearances from familiar spring and summer beers.From Todd at Keg Liquors in Clarksville:
Two Brothers Dog Days Dortmunder Style Lager
Two Brothers Ebel's Weiss
Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss
Upland Maibock
Goose Island Summertime (Kolsch)
Magic Hat Wacko (described as a "summer" beer the color of beet juice)
Stone Levitation Ale (their session beer, lower in alcohol but still packing that Stone hop)
Great Divide Saison
Great Divide Dunkel Weisse
Harpoon Summer (another great Kolsch)
Clipper City Red Sky at Night (Saison)
BB Burgerbrau Pils & Dark
Schneider Hoppen Weisse
And, of course, as you all know New Belgium brewery has arrived in Indiana in three varieties -Mothership Wit, 1554 Black Ale, and the famous Fat Tire Amber Ale.
New Arrivals:From Cari at Kahn's Fine Wines in Indianapolis:
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon Chien Grand Cru Trousseau No 3
BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon Chien Grand Cru Trousseau No 5
Berghoff Solstice Wit
Boulder Sweaty Betty Blonde
Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale
Sergeants American Ale
Castelain St. Amand French Country Ale
Left Hand Oaked Imperial Stout
Sam Adams Summer Sampler 12 packs
Stevens Point Special Lager
Cantillon Fou Foune
Cantillon Saint Lamvinus
Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Stout
Great Divide Saison
Great Divide Dunkel Weiss
Nogne O Toshi Double IPA
Stone Levitation Ale
New/Back in this Week:
Upland Maibock
Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager
*Brooklyn Local 2
*Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree DIPA
*very very limited amount, please call or email me (beerqueen@kahnsfinewines.com) directly if you would like some
What's Homebrewing
Price and availability are subject to change
From Anita at Great Fermentations in Indianapolis:
New Zealand Pacific Jade is a great bittering hop at 12.9% with a bold, fresh citrus character. Newport is a high alpha hop as well at 10%. Released in 2002 this hop was first tested extensively at Rogue Brewery in Oregon. It is suited well for ales, stouts and barleywines.
News, Reviews, and Gossip
From Cari at Kahn's Fine Wines:
Old Man Winter aka Charlie from Brugge stopped into say hello last week. Welcome back, Charlie!The Hop Shop on 96th Street is closing (or may be already closed). This is a big bummer for many of us. Courtney did a great job introducing many to craft beer. His store was a good friend to Hoosier Beer Geek. Everybody at HBG wishes him the best of luck in the future.
NABC's Roger Baylor writes about Fat Tire's arrival in Indiana in his Mug Shots column for LEO.
Cavalier Distributing will be pouring Boulder Brewing Company's Flashback Anniversary Ale at the 14th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival on July 18th:
An India Brown Ale, Flashback is single-hopped with five separate additions of Cascade hops. Citrusy with a prominent hop aroma, Flashback finishes clean, crisp and dry, with dark roasted flavors from the biscuit and chocolate malts perfectly complimenting the bountiful Cascades. Highly hopped like an IPA but dark and roasty like a Brown, Flashback is a very sophisticated and unique brew.New York Times had a piece on Yankee Stadium's lack of beer selection.
Wall Street Journal has a blog posting about Larry Bell suing his Michigan distributor.
Schmaltz Brewing has a new monthly e-newsletter.
From Michael Bell at Founder's (via Mat at Cavalier Distributing):
In the “Cherry Capital of the World” it’s no wonder that Founders Brewing Company produces a popular craft beer that highlights this sweet and juicy Michigan fruit. Cerise Cherry Ale, the warm weather seasonal, was released April 1 and is available through August.From Chris at Left Hand (via Mat at Cavalier Distributing):
“We are excited about this beer, it supports our local agriculture and blends so well with the cherries,” says Alec Mull, Founders’ Director of Operations. “Cherries and beer are a marriage made in heaven, or in our case, here at Founders.”
As much as 53 gallons of Michigan cherries are used in every batch, masterfully crafted by Founders’ Brewmaster Jeremy Kosmicki. The Michigan cherries are harvested throughout West Michigan in communities such as Benton Harbor, Coloma, Grand Rapids and, of course, Traverse City.
“Cherries are added during five separate stages of the Cerise fermentation process,” says Kosmicki. “This creates a refreshingly tantalizing beer with intensive flavors, balanced somewhere between tart and sweet.”
More than 9,300 cases of Cerise will be sold this year in Michigan and nearly a dozen other states throughout the Midwest and along the East Coast.”
Cerise – which is defined as a “deep, vivid purplish red” color – is one of the most popular taproom beers at Founders. New to the line-up, it replaces the former fruit beer –Rubeaus.
Left Hand Brewing has always believed in doing the right thing, whether it’s giving back to the local community or trying to reduce its carbon footprint. Over the course of the past few months the crew at the Longmont-based brewery has been hard at work at several projects – check out all the goodness below.
We’ve gone solar!:
Wanting to be more environmentally conscious, Left Hand Brewing has entered into a long-term partnership with Simple Solar, a Boulder-based full service solar electric provider. The brewery recently installed an array of photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of the original brewery building. “Being able to harness the power of the all-mighty Colorado sunshine and convert it into electricity to help us brew beer,” said Eric Wallace, President and Co-Founder of Left Hand Brewing, “is not only the right thing to do, but it’ll also allow us to talk & educate our customers about solar energy.” The brewery hopes that over 20% of its electrical needs will be met by the solar panels.
12 packs:
Left Hand Brewing has decided to remove all cardboard partitions from its 12 pack carriers, effectively immediately. The brewery currently has three different 12 packs – Sawtooth Ale, the Mountain Mixer variety pack, and the newly introduced Milk Stout 12 pack. “Being able to reduce our cardboard consumption just makes sense,” says Joe Schiraldi, VP of Brewing Operations for Left Hand.
MS150 Bike Team:
For the second year in a row, Left Hand Brewing is fielding a bike team to ride the MS150, a charity ride benefiting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The 150 mile ride happens this year on June 27-28, and winds through the front country from Westminster to Fort Collins and back. This year the team has exploded to over 60 team members, with 4 Left Handers making the ride this year (Michal Seligson, Chris Lennert, Eric Wallace and Jeff Cohen). To date, the team has raised close to $20,000, with hopes of hitting their $30,000 goal by the time of the ride. This past weekend they raised over $3,200 at their annual fundraiser held at the brewery in Longmont. To find out more, and how you contribute, contact Left Hand’s team captain Mick @ michal@lefthandbrewing.com.
Defense of the Industry Award:
Left Hand Brewing President & Co-Founder, Eric Wallace, won one of three Brewers Association 2009 Achievement Awards given out at the opening session of the Brewers Association annual Craft Brewers Conference held in Boston, MA last month. The F.X. Matt Defense of the Industry Award was awarded to Eric for leading the charge to successfully preserve beer drinker choice and selection in helping defeat damaging legislation in Colorado. The B.A. stated that “Eric’s recent efforts with the Colorado grocery bill were instrumental in keeping the historic relationship between the independent retailer and the craft brewer intact.”
Help Wanted
From Ted at Brugge Brasserie in Indianapolis:
Brugge is looking for a few good people to help us grow.
Scratch that.
Brugge is looking for a few exceptional people to help us grow.
We mean dynamite people.
We're talking knock your socks off "I can't believe this person is standing in front of me" people.
Servers/Kitchen/Host
Email us
Mail@BruggeBrasserie.com
Do not come to Brugge. Well, you can come to Brugge and buy stuff, but don't come looking for work. Send an email. That is the only way. If you come to Brugge we will ask you why you can't follow directions. Then we will hire somebody else. We'll ask you to come to Brugge after we think you really want to work here. We judge that solely based upon your cover letter/email. Go ahead and attach your resume or any other information you think we might find useful.
We work very hard. We also play very hard. But we work hard first because that's the way life is. The exceptional people will not ask to be first out. In fact, they always want to stay. The exceptional people will ask questions relevant to their job. Not ask questions relevant to other people’s lives. We despise gossip. We like food and we like beer and we like the experience of food and beer together. We like turning other people on to that experience and that is the number 1 reason we opened Brugge. The second reason is so we can feed our kids. Successful candidates will come to know and love these children. Free beer is third. We love it when people leave Brugge thinking "That was the best food/drink experience I've had in a long time and MAN was that service great!" We can't get them to do that if we don't all take it upon ourselves to be exceptional. We are really nice people and we show that by being really nice to our guests. Even the ones that we sometimes think are out of bounds. We think we have a pretty good thing going. We'd like to keep it moving forward and we need your help.
The ideal candidate has a PhD in beer, is a 4-star chef, is as pleasant as Mr. Rogers, has never had any addiction except that nagging perfection thing, loves to do doubles, has a real knack for workplace psychology and is a clean freak. Ideal candidate also has worked on a mussel farm, is a skilled potato peeler and speaks several languages.
We look forward to your emails.
Sam just updated on Beer Advocate that the pours will be 6.5 oz pours. Cheers.
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