KOTBR #89 - Revenge of the Delayed Liveblogging - Halloween Edition

Our first go-around with delayed liveblogging was an delayed overnight success - meaning we haven't yet experienced its success, but we're sure it's going to take off any overnight now.

But rather than rest on our yet-to-be-acquired laurels, we've decided to do it again. This time, we've thrown another complication into the works - this time, it's Halloween. So grab your wife, husband, children, pets, elderly, withered and poor, servant or free, gentile or Jew... grab them, lock the doors, sit around the fire, and prepare for a bone-chilling delayed liveblogging experience of spooktactular proportions.

The beer we're drinking tonight was acquired on our trip to Michigan. We didn't know much about Arbor Brewing Company when we started this roundtable, and I think you'll see that we didn't know much about them after it was over, either.

We were joined by long-time reader/KOTBR friend John, who has the misfortune of also being Rodney's coworker. Here we go.


Mike typing Arbor Brewing Company Strawberry Blonde

Rodney: This beer is $2.19, you got it from Siciliano's, and Arbor Brewing Company is from Ypsilanti, which is like a Viking city.
Jess: I don't get a lot of strawberry.
Gina: I smell some. I get the strawberry when you breathe out, like on the exhale.

Everyone stares at the screen to see if I'm actually liveblogging.

Rod: Alright, liveblogging.
John: I could drink a lot of this.
Rod: I could do a kegstand of this.
John: I rate all my beer in kegstands - like I could kegstand this for 30-40 seconds.
Rod: I get strawberries and banana in this. I get a kinda... a strawberry juice.
John: It's a fruity something.
Jess: I like that there's such a price difference between these beers. (The beers all have pricetags on their caps, which is just the way the liquor store does business.)
Rod: I get fresh strawberries, like real strawberries. Of all the strawberry beers I've had, this is the most accurate.
John: It's got some stuff floating in it.
Rod: It's probably bottle conditioned.

We're listening to Halloween sound effects, and the current sound is something like someone driving a spike into a ground. Someone decides that the sound is someone playing table tennis. Or badminton. With moon gravity.

A discussion of Rob Zombie movies happens. We're talking about Halloween and John says, "I don't really like those Michael Myers movies - I saw The Love Guru and it wasn't very good."

Rod: Are we mug rating Strawberry Blonde?

YES.

Jess: I give it 2.4.
Rod: I give it a 3.2 because I think that for a strawberry blonde it's an accurate beer. It's very accurate of the title.
Gina; I give it 3.6, I like it and I think it's really good.
Rod: I think if you like fruit beer...
Jess: See, I like fruit beer, but I got too much feet.
FEET?
I think the beer is a little watery, but it is what is is. 2.74
John: I'm similar to Gina, I'd give it a 3.5. I thought it was good, though I'm a fan of sweeter beers anyway.

Jess gets a fresh pour of the beer, and realizes her sample was somehow tainted.

Jess: Nevermind, give me a 3.2.
Rod: Yeah, give me a copy of Rodney.
John: I think this is better if you get the chunks.

Arbor Brewing Strawberry Blonde
Rodney: 3.2 mugs | Jess: 3.2 mugs | Gina: 3.6 mugs | Mike: 2.74 mugs | Guest Judge John: 3.5 mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.24 Mugs


Gina typing Arbor Brasserie Blonde Sparkling Ale

Rod: What's a sparkling ale anyway?
John: It is the Miller High Life of this beer.
Rod: This is chunky. Who's shaking these bottles.
Rod: It's fruity.
Jess: I get pineapple juice and then something weird in the flavor at the end of it.
Rod: Almost all I get out of this is pineapple juice. Maybe apple. It's not that sparkling.
John: Maybe it means how the chunks catch the light. It's almost got a kind of sour thing going on.
Jess: It's almost like when pineapple goes a little bad. Kind of fizzy.
Mike: That's going to be the next wave of craft beer, to see how bad you can make it. Like "Lost Abbey made their beer so wrong this year. They used like a turnip and some ants."
Rod: Maybe they can come up with something that would send ants crawling out of the bottle when it gets opened.
John: Like a rocket widget.
Rod: I like how we've abandoned talking about the beer.
Jess: Arbor Brewing started in 1987.
Mike: Tasting this with pumpkin seeds reminds me of how a public restroom air freshener smells.
Jess: I would say 2.4. Rancid pineapple juice gets a lower score.
John: It's hitting my love for sour beer.
Mike: Uh, It's wrong and I know it's wrong, but I'd drink it again. 3.
Gina: I give it 2.5 Mugs.
John: I give it 3, it reminds me of sour beers which I enjoy.
Rod: I give it 2.45. I might have ranked it higher if it advertised itself as some type of pineapple beer.

Arbor Brewing Brasserie Blonde Sparkling Ale
Mike: 3.00 Mugs | Jess: 2.4 Mugs | Rodney: 2.45 Mugs | Gina: 2.5 Mugs | John: 3.00 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.67 Mugs


Rodney typing Arbor Brewing Bliss Hefeweizen

Mike: That doesn't smell like a hefe to me.
Jess: I don't get bananas.
Mike: ..maybe a little bit.
John: It smells like a hefeweizen to me, more citrusy than bananay.
Jess: I get cloves.
Mike: When I think of Bliss I think of watery green beans. Which is what this tastes like.
Rod: I think it smells like bananas, tastes a bit like lemons and limes.
Jess: I thought you said womens.
Mike: It's like the most boring craft beer ever.
Rod: Man Mike, that's damning.
John: Whatever, he bought it.
Mike: I mean, what do you say about it?
John: It smelled like a wheat beer but then it didn't taste like much of anything.
Jess: I give this one a 2.2, Arbor brewing is not impressing me.
Mike: Yeah, it's not like it's bad it's just why bother?
Gina: Seeing that they are in Michigan, I wonder if we got old stuff?
John: Why can't they put born-on dates on these? Why couldn't you go to their brewpub and bring some back?
Mike: Mug score for that beer was 2.
John: Yeah me too.
Gina: Copiers.
Rod: Man when you type copiers you think of the machine. I'm going to give it a 2.6.

Arbor Brewing Bliss Hefeweizen
Jess: 2.2 Mugs | Mike: 2.00 Mugs | John: 2.00 Mugs | Gina: 2.00 Mugs | Rodney: 2.6 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.16 Mugs


Gina typing Arbor Brewing Co. Old Number 22 Alt Beer

*insert sound effects about crossing the bridge*
Mike: I feel this guy just stands there telling people not to cross the bridge.
John: It's like the guy on 38th street.
Mike: I know it's like you have your windows up so you can't hear him.
Rod: I think this glass is more than one ounce.
Mike: You just should worry about crossing the bridge.

*conversation about the battery dying on the laptop*

Mike: I think we need to figure out what number 22 is.
John: Maybe he was a baseball player.

*more discussion about the Halloween sound effects*

Mike: Uh, the beer. I get coffee.
Rod: I get a little bit of the rubbery flavor I get out of dark beers.
Mike: I get black coffee, like bitter coffee.

*insert discussion about eating cereal instead of crackers*

John: But, yeah, the rubbery taste. I'm getting it.
Rod: Coffee and some of the flavors I get out of a brown ale. Like an American brown ale.
Mike: It reminds me of that beer...
Rod: Dark Horse?
Mike: Yeah, like that beer Dark Horse does (Dark Horse Black Bier - the one with the donkey on the label). But not as good.
Gina: I don't really have anything to say about it.
John: Yeah, I don't have a lot to say, but I haven't had the Dark Horse beer.
Rod: Mike has skulls on his shoes, they are his Halloween shoes that he only wears once a year.
John: You could drink beer out of it (Mike's shoe) and then it would be really chunky.
Rod: If anything this beer should be commended for its lack of chunks.
Mike: If I'm going to drink a chunky beer then I want it to be a dark beer, kinda like chili.
Rod: I give it a 3, run of the mill.
Mike: I give it a 2.87.
Gina: 2.3
Jess: I give it a 2.0.
John: I'll go 2.5.

Arbor Brewing Company Old Number 22 Alt Beer
John: 2.5 Mugs | Rodney: 3.0 Mugs | Gina: 2.3 Mugs | Mike: 2.87 Mugs | Jess: 2.0 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.53 Mugs


Gina typing Arbor Brewing Company Red Snapper Amber Ale

Rod: I'm looking forward to these next two beers. I think they are going to be better.
John: It's got a hop smell, no?
Jess: It smells like yeast.
Mike: I think it's a little bit...Tootsie Rolls.
Rod: It tastes like a good homebrew Amber. It depends on you if you consider that an insult.
Mike: I think it has a pretty nice balance.
Jess: I think it's kinda homebrew-y.
Rod: I'm getting caramel, brown sugar.
John: Mike is making too many tasting sounds.
Mike: I'm just trying to get inspiration.
Rod: Man! In a bank! With a sack of gourds! Go!
John: I don't think this is improv, Rod.

John is following twitter on his phone while this is all happening.

John: I don't get this twitter..."What's your favorite sex position? The Bourne Ultimatum."

Rod: So mug scores. I'm going to go 3.2.
Jess: 2.8
Gina: 2.2
Mike: 3.13
John: 3

Arbor Brewing Company Red Snapper Amber Ale
Rod: 3.2 Mugs | Jess: 2.8 Mugs | Gina: 2.2 Mugs | Mike: 3.13 Mugs | John: 3.0 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.86 Mugs


Gina typing Arbor Brewing Co. Sacred Cow IPA

Rod: Sacred Cow is a good name, but not necessarily for an IPA.
Mike: When I think of IPA, I don't always think of India.
Group: OOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhh. India Pale Ale, IPA, Sacred Cow.
Rod: It's kinda creamy. Kind of an herbal hoppiness. Grapefruit juice.
Mike: It's kinda chewy.
Mike: So is that more IPA or Pale Ale? I think this is the best one we've had.
John: I'm not a hoppy person, but I like this.
Jess: I think it's more Pale Ale.

Mike: 3
Jess: 3.2
Rod: 3.1
John: 2.5 cause I'm not a hops fan.
Gina: 2.9

Arbor Brewing Company Sacred Cow IPA
Mike: 3.0 Mugs | Jess: 3.2 Mugs | Rodney: 3.1 Mugs | John: 2.5 Mugs | Gina: 2.9 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.94 Mugs

Greetings From Michigan, A Great Beer State: Stop #4 - Founder's Brewing Company

This past week Gina and I took a couple days off to visit family in Michigan. Of course no vacation is ever complete without enjoying a beer or two, so we also visited a few of Michigan's finer craft beer establishments.



Our final stop on our one-day whirlwind Michigan beer tour found us in Grand Rapids, home of Founder's Brewing Company. After we deposited our bags in our hotel, we took a scenic one mile walk across the grand river and a found ourselves a seat at the Founders Tap Room.


The tap room is a huge, airy, space; A long barn-like building featuring an east side composed of windowed garage-type doors, which I'm sure are opened during good weather, expansive wooden floors, and what must be at least thirty tables. A pool table or two and a makeshift stage filled out the space. Of course I can't forget the bar - a gigantic curvy monster that took up most of the west wall. It was there we sat down for dinner, and a pint or three.


Founders Hand of Doom - A 10% Imperial IPA might not seem like the best way to easy yourself into a night of drinking, but keep in mind we had already visited Dark Horse, Arcadia, and Bells that day. Knowing that the car was safe back at the hotel meant that we had very little to worry about.

Hand of Doom is a super coconut IPA - at least that's what my notes say. Sweet, syrupy, thick and hoppy, with hints of coconut throughout - nose, front and finish. The creamy mouthfeel reminded me of something that it took me a little while to put my finger on. And then it hit me - Hand of Doom drinks like Apocalypse Cow. If there weren't so many other beers to try I certainly would have had another. And another.

I wonder if there was any lactose in there..


Founders Newago County Cherry - Imagine Cerise aged on oak. And there you are.


Founders Honey Wheat - 5.5% ABV, cloudy, with that regular gold wheat beer color. The nose is sweet and fruity, with an agreeable sweetness that goes through the whole beer. My notes say "Upland Wheat + heft in body + honey". Very tasty.


Founders Super Gold - Another 5.5% ABV beer, Gina's notes say "an easy to drink beer that tastes watery, and yet peppery". Super Gold is a pale lager, and was probably the least interesting beer of the night.


Founders Holé Molé - We split a 4oz a sample of this one, and actually we didn't finish it. This was by far the spiciest beer I've ever had. A stout with habenero pepper, it was pretty much like sipping on hot sauce. I appreciate the experimentation and the experience, but I can't imagine having a whole pint.


While this concludes this batch of Michigan coverage at HBG, it's worth noting that we left Founder's shortly after a band of hippies (one of which may have been Founders brewer Jeremy Kosmicki) took over the music stage (that's not really why we left - I love you, hippies!), and headed over to Grand Rapid's Hop Cat, where we had a fantastic experience. On our way over toward Detroit we stopped in at Jolly Pumpkin Ann Arbor, where we sampled a few beers that definitely stand out. In Warren we visited Kuhnhenn during their Octoberfest celebration, and rounded out the night with a stop at Dragonmead, where the extensive beer menu blew us away. We'd highly recommend all of these breweries and bars, and look forward to our next trip, where we'll dig in a little deeper.

Random Beer Roundup - The OOH Spooky Edition

Heya. So how's everyone doing? Sorry I missed you last week. I had a funeral to attend. The good news was that even in small town Illinois, I was able to find Boulevard Wheat on tap and hang out with my brother and step-sister. I don't get to see them enough.

So Halloween is this weekend. Anybody dressing up? Doing something fun? Giving out good Halloween candy? I love the kids' expression in the neighborhood when they roll up and get a full size candy bar. And I can sit in my driveway and drink beer. How bad could that be?

Anyone going to check out the Pirates v. Ninjas bout over at Ellenberger Park? Stop by the ticket booth and say hi if you do!

If there is something coming up that is not listed, we would love to hear about it. News, reviews, info, etc., to share for our next Random Beer Roundup can be submitted to hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.)

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Friday, October 30th at Chef JJ's Backyard: Sun King/Hell Night Beer Dinner. More details below.

Friday, October 30th at the Crown Liquors in Carmel: A Goose Island Reserve tasting. More information here.

Friday, October 30th at Vine and Table in Carmel: Beer Tasting. More details below.

Saturday, October 31st at Oaken Barrel in Greenwood: Pumpkwan Tapping

Saturday, November 7th at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 1

Tuesday, November 10th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner (featuring HBG's very own Rod/Jess' beer (Harvest Mild) as brewed by Jerry and Rodney) - Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180 (menu below)

Thursday, November 12th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Blitzen Ale Winter-White Tapping - 6 pm to 6:30 pm

Thursday, November 12th at Chef JJ's Backyard: Sun King Harvest Brewer's Dinner - 6:30 pm (more below)

Saturday, November 14th at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 2

Saturday, November 21st at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 3

Coming soon: Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing, a publicly advertised yet still somehow secret no freeloaders BYO everything craft beer tailgate for any old folks who consider themselves a fan of sharing great beer and good food. There's only one way to get more details - Send an email to knights@hoosierbeergeek.com.


What's Brewing

From Clayton at Sun King Brewing:

10/30 - Hell Night at Back Yard. Spicy Hot Food Fresh off The Big Green Egg paired with Sun King Beers: Sunlight Cream Ale, Chile Cream Ale, Osiris Pale Ale and El Gallo Negro - Black IPA. This will be a great night of mouth melting food paired with beers to 3 beers to accentuate the spice and one to cool it down. $35 per person, reservations required. www.chefjjs.com for details and reservations.

11/12 - Harvest Brewer's Dinner, 6:30 p.m. at Chef JJ's Back Yard in Broadripple. Exclusive event featuring six Sun King beers. The beers will be paired with six small plate courses prepared special for the evening. The food will represent October’s harvest from local farmers around Indiana. Back Yard is the only place to experience this perfect night of farm to table food and fresh, locally hand-crafted beer. Check out www.chefjjs.com for details and reservations.

From Crown Brewing in Crown Point:

We are planning for the official start of the club to be on December 1st, 2009. The first official event will be held that Friday, December 4th, 2009. At the first event, the brewery will provide a keg of Bock (the only one left) for the members that Friday night. During the party, you will receive your membership card, club t-shirt and beer. Please have your applications submitted as soon as possible to make sure you receive your t-shirt that night!

Benefits of the Club:

1. A 22 oz. glass of beer for 1 penny more than a pint(16oz.) every time you are at the brewery. What a deal!!

2. Exclusive T-Shirt

3. Tapping Parties (be the first to try new beers!!)

4. Exclusive deals on the 22nd of every month.

5. More events to be determined.

From Andrew at Oaken Barrel:

Releasing this year' version of our 2009 Indiana Brewer's Cup Best in Show Pumpkin Ale on Saturday from 12 - 3, and it is fantastic.

From Greg at Lafayette Brewing Co in Lafayette:

LBC says, "HELLO INDIANAPOLIS!" Indy-area fans of LBC should have begun to see bottles of our Tippecanoe Common Ale and our Black Angus Oatmeal Stout on the shelves of Crown Liquors around town. We dropped off our first 40 case delivery to the Carmel store recently, so we'll available in short order, if not already. A big thanks goes out to Crown's beer buyer, Mike Sprinkle, for making this possible.

ON TAP @ LBC THIS WEEKEND: Ouiatenon Wit Bier, Prophet's Rock Pale Ale, East Side Bitter, Pipers' Pride Scottish Ale, Tippecanoe Common Ale, Eighty-Five, Black Angus Oatmeal Stout and Rejuvenator Blonde Doppelbock. We're also serving Weeping Hog IPA from our hand pull.

From Charles at Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington:

Upcoming beers: November 9th: Teddy Bear Kisses - A Russian Imperial Stout available only at the Upland Tap Room.

From Jerry at Rock Bottom Downtown:

Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner
Tuesday, November 10, from 6:30 pm to 9 pm

Come join us for our Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner. Jerry and Victor have once again put their artistic minds together and have created a delectable feast celebrating the autumn season. We will be offering four courses each paired with an accommodating beer.

The Menu Includes:

Sweet Potato Amaretto Crepes, Fall Harvest Soup, Stuffed Lamb Chops, and a Maple Pumpkin Cannoli.

Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180

Carry Out

From Patrick at Crown Liquors:

Crown Liquors is very excited to welcome some beers we've never received and others we are pleased to have. These beers include:

Lafayette Brewing Co. Black Angus Oatmeal Stout and Tippecanoe Common Ale in 6 pack bottles. We will be selling them for $9.99 6pk, 15%off for a case.

New Holland Charkoota Rye & Dragon's Milk 22 oz.
Mad Hatter in 6 pks.

Southern Tier
IPA in 6 pks.
Phin & Matt's Extrordinary Ale in 6 pks.
Pack of Pales in 12 pks.

Southern Tier High Gravity 22 oz.
Unearthly
Hoppe EPA
Iniquity
Creme Brulee Stout
Oat Stout

The Bruery Two Turtle Doves
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout & Hibernation Ale
Dubisson Scaldis Prestige de Nuits 750
Hebrew the new Jewbelation

From Matt at Vine and Table in Carmel:

Friday, October 30th, we will be having our "End of Oktober"-fest beer tasting. These will be all American Oktoberfests (Bell's Oktoberfest, Brooklyn Oktoberfest, Schlafly Oktoberfest, and Samuel Adam's Oktoberfest). These items will be discounted and available for sampling in our store. Also, if you buy two or more six-packs of any of the beers we are sampling, you will receive a free Weihenstephan tall pilsner glass.

On Tap

From Dustin at Spencer's Stadium Tavern:

On Draft:
OLD STYLE
Rogue Dead Guy
Sun King JAVA MAC
Harpoon IPA
Dirty Helen Brown Ale
Gum Ball Head
Sun King Pale Ale
Two Hearted

You can now follow us on Twitter. Find out the Drink Specials for the day, Lunch Specials, What band is playing this weekend.

Follow us here:
http://twitter.com/spencerstavern

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse:

Sam Adams Winter Lager is now available at Scotty's Brewhouse!

From Nick at Deano's Vino in Fountain Square:

I'm going to have some new beers from Sun King on draft this weekend: the Black IPA, Harvest Ale, and Cream Ale. Plus we are having a Halloween party on Saturday, w/ DJ's spinning from 9 to 2.

From Sam at BW3's (Downtown Indianapolis):

Things are still changing at Buffalo Wild Wings. Here is what is on now and what is coming soon:

Three Floyds Broodoo, Gumballhead, and Robert the Bruce

Bells Two Hearted and Expedition Stout

Dogfish Head 90 Minute and Punkin' Ale (Punkin will be in Friday afternoon)

Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA
Founders Reds Rye

Stone Arrogant Bastard

Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale

Barley Island Dirty Helen

Upland's Bad Elmer's Porter

Going away soon will be Bells Expedtion Stout, which will be replaced by Bells Double Cream Stout. Also, Three Floyds Dreadnaught will be replacing Broodoo when it runs out.

Distribution News

From Krystal at World Class Beverages:

Victory is doing a GREAT job with their marketing efforts, especially in their Youtube videos. Here is one I’d like to share from World Class Beverages, “(Re) Introducing Helios – a craft beer from Victory Brewing Company.” Victory - Helios

News around the Internets

The New York Times with a discussion of stout.

Greetings From Michigan, A Great Beer State: Stop #3 - Bell's Brewing Company

No proper beer trip to Michigan would be complete without a stop at Bell's Eccentric Cafe. On our way in the door, I noticed that I had a message on my phone, and just as soon as we walked in the door, we were right back out on our way to the Bell's production facility (Thanks Bob and Marty!). Their facility is normally not open for public tours, so this was an extra special treat for us.

Driving up to the building, you get the sense that Mr. Bell is not fooling around. The building is a massive steel structure tucked between a couple buildings and a couple fields just a few miles out of town. This location works well for them because that means they have some more room to grow in the future. And that is a good thing for all of us.

We've got a lot of photos, so I'll mostly let them speak for themselves.

The control board in the photo, while functional, is not generally used in production. The brewer runs the operation from a computer room.

We don't know exactly what's in here, but we hear it might be sour! I for one am super excited about that prospect.

There are a lot of green updates to this location, including solar lights, motion detector lights, and a grass rooftop. The barrels on the left are supported by an overhead grid. This allows for easy access for the workers as well as the hoses and other brewing equipment.

This machine washes, sanitizes, and fills the kegs.

This shelf holds beer from previous batches they've brewed (no 9000 yet, we asked) so if they run into any issues, they can check it out. They take quality control seriously here!

The bottling line fills and packages Expedition Stout.

This was my favorite stop on the tour - the lab.

Bell's Eccentric Cafe is located about 5 miles from the brewery. It's a giant room with beautiful details in wood and brick. You can order beer at the bar and food at the small window to the right of the bar. Notice the 76 Ale sign hanging on the wall? It comes from the old Terre Haute Brewing Company.

Mike had the Rye Stout, which is something brand new to bottles. The flavor in front was a deep roasted malt with coffee flavors, also kind of like toasty bread. The rye comes through in the middle, and the beer finishes with a full coffee flavor again.

I had the Golden Funk, a 6.5% ABV Sour Ale. The board said it had peppercorn, galangal, and cardamom. I've never heard of galangal before, but wikipedia says it's a root that is used in some Asian dishes. The beer is floral and sour with a funky medicinal flavor. Mike said that the nose reminded him of ketchup flavored potato chips, but I mostly just got a lot of floral notes. It's very interesting and I hope this is just the beginning of their sour offerings.

Random Beer Roundup - Where's Gina Edition

Gina is out of town right now, so you're stuck with me. Normally you'd get some sort of intro here - a story, a life lesson, something - but I'll just leave you with this: I may ride a bike to work, I might eat a decent amount of vegan foods, and I consider myself pretty open minded. But I hate hippies.

(Gina will be back next week, and as always - if there is something coming up that is not listed, we would love to hear about it. News, reviews, info, etc., to share for our next Random Beer Roundup can be submitted to hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.)

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Saturday, October 24th from 1-6 p.m. at the Horizon Convention Center in Muncie: Muncie Brewfest (Full details below)

Saturday, October 24th at Spencer's Stadium Tavern: The Alzheimer's Association of Indiana and Spencer's 3rd Annual Halloween Party. Costume contest, Auction, 50/50, and more. All proceeds go Directly to the Alzheimer's Association. Live Music with Fair & Square.

Wednesday, October 28th at Zing: 5 Course Hoosier Beer Dinner featuring native Indiana food paired with Hoosier Craft Beers. $30/person. Reservations are limited. call 317-638-7775 for more information or to make reservations.

Thursday, October 29th at Keg Liquors, Clarksville: BBC Beer Tasting, 5 - 8 PM.

Friday, October 30th at Chef JJ's Backyard: Sun King/Hell Night Beer Dinner. More details below.

Friday, October 30th at the Crown Liquors in Carmel: A Goose Island Reserve tasting. More information here.

Saturday, November 7th at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 1

Monday, November 9th at Upland in Bloomington: Winter Warmer Release

Tuesday, November 10th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner (featuring HBG's very own Rod/Jess' beer as brewed by Jerry and Rodney) - Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180 (menu below)

Thursday, November 12th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Blitzen Ale Winter-White Tapping - 6 pm to 6:30 pm

Saturday, November 14th at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 2

Saturday, November 21st at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 3

Coming soon: Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing, a publicly advertised yet still somehow secret no freeloaders BYO everything craft beer tailgate for any old folks who consider themselves a fan of sharing great beer and good food. There's only one way to get more details - Send an email to knights@hoosierbeergeek.com.

First, this.

Muncie Brewfest Fans!

Here is the list of participating brewers and pubs. We'll have just a couple of minor changes, but they should all be additions.

Hope to see you on the 24th!

Brewers:
1. Founders
2. Stone
3. Three Sergeants
4. Magic Hat
5. Three Floyds
6. Brooklyn
7. Boulevard
8. BBC
9. Left Hand
10. Goose Island
11. Bells
12. Magic Hat
13. Schlafly
14. Sun King
15. Barley Island
16. Hoppin’ Frog
17. Dogfish Head
WC: Wyders, Harpoon, Dark Horse, Atwater, Abita, Southampton, Saranac, Oaken Barrel
MB: Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams, New Belgium
CAV: TBD

Pub Tables:
A. MadHatter
B. Savage’s
C. Scotties Brewhouse
D. Blue Bottle

As an aside, certain Muncie-ites are now calling Muncie "Indiana's Craft Beer Capital" based on the fact that they seem to be buying more Founders, Bells, and Three Floyd's in Muncie than anywhere else in the state. Fair enough, numbers are hard to argue with.

But we'd argue that to be "Indiana's Craft Beer Capital", Muncie might first work on having at least one craft beer brewery. All those numbers prove is that you're a bunch of drunks.

In any case, a little good natured ribbing is a good thing. We wish the folks behind the Muncie Brewfest the best of luck with their event.

What's Brewing

From Clayton at Sun King Brewing:

Hell Night at Back Yard. Spicy Hot Food Fresh off The Big Green Egg paired with Sun King Beers: Sunlight Cream Ale, Chile Cream Ale, Osiris Pale Ale and El Gallo Negro - Black IPA. This will be a great night of mouth melting food paired with beers to 3 beers to accentuate the spice and one to cool it down. $35 per person, reservations required. www.chefjjs.com for details and reservations

From Kwang at Oaken Barrel:

We are offering everyone's favorite appetizer, Elephant Garlic Bread every
Wednesday. It is served with Marinara and Cheese Sauce and it's available all day for only $6.95. Also, we pair the Garlic Bread with 23 Oz. beer of your choice for only $9.95. What a bargain!

From Jerry at Rock Bottom Downtown:

Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner
Tuesday, November 10, from 6:30 pm to 9 pm

Come join us for our Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner. Jerry and Victor have once again put their artistic minds together and have created a delectable feast celebrating the autumn season. We will be offering four courses each paired with an accommodating beer.

The Menu Includes:

Sweet Potato Amaretto Crepes, Fall Harvest Soup, Stuffed Lamb Chops, and a Maple Pumpkin Cannoli.

Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180

Carry Out

From Todd at Keg Liquors:

New Products:
- Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
- Bells Rye Stout
- Bells Java Stout
- Bells Best Brown 6 packs and 5 liter cans
- Bells Double Cream Stout
- Avery New World Porter
- Three Floyds Broodoo
- Left Hand Warrior IPA
- Left Hand Milk Stout

Events:
October 29th - BBC Beer Tasting at Keg Liquors from 5 - 8 PM.
Join us as our friends from BBC Shelbyville Road stop in for the next in line of our "locals only" beer tastings. Brewers Jerry and Sam will be in with a great lineup of their beers, and an appearance by a Randall that we will use as a surprise infuser of one of their beers. Here is the lineup:

- Rye 75
- Professor Gesser's Mind Numbing Ale
- Luna de Miel Raspberry Mead
- Heine Brothers Coffee Stout

and a couple of surprise beers as well.

On Tap

From Dustin at Spencer's Stadium Tavern:

On Draft:
OLD STYLE
Rogue Dead Guy
Sun King JAVA MAC
Harpoon IPA
Dirty Helen Brown Ale
Gum Ball Head
Sun King Pale Ale
Two Hearted

You can now follow us on Twitter. Find out the Drink Specials for the day, Lunch Specials, What band is playing this weekend.

Follow us here:
http://twitter.com/spencerstavern

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse:

Sun King is now available at Scotty's Brewhouse in Indy, Muncie and West Lafayette!

From Sam at BW3's (Downtown Indianapolis):

Things are looking good tap selection wise at the store.

Founders Reds Rye
Stone Arrogant Bastard
Bells Two Hearted
Bells Expedition Stout
Upland Bad Elmers Porter
Three Floyds Gumballhead
Three Floyds Robert the Bruce
Three Floyds Broodoo
Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale (just a little bit left)
Dogfish Head 90 Minute
New Belgium Fat Tire
Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA
Barley Island Dirty Helen

From Greg at Cavalier Distributing:

We have a ton of new and incredibly exciting beers & news:

Cavalier Distributing is extremely proud to announce that we are bringing New Albanian Brewing Company Beers north across the Hoosier state! To start with, NABC is releasing limited amounts of Elector Imperial Red, Beak's Best American Bitter & Bob's Old 15-B Porter in draft only. You will be able to find NABC Beer on draft in select bars across the state starting this weekend. We are officially launching NABC in Muncie this weekend at the Muncie Beer Fest, Fickle Peach & Heorot!!
www.newalbanian.com/index.html

Left Hand Warrior IPA

New this year for Warrior is that the fresh hops are picked right in Colorado – both in the western slopes and in Left Hand's hop farm at the brewery. Cascades, Chinooks and Centennials are the freshies. They bitter with Magnum and dry-hop with Warrior. The final ABV will be 6.6% ABV with IBU’s cutting at 60. In addition to the recipe changes the Warrior has a new label this year as well. Get this while you can, because supplies are even more limited than in previous years and are going fast!!

Breckenridge Lucky U IPA has finally arrived in Indiana after much speculation & anticipation. Lucky U is brewed with 7 different hop varietals creating a wonderful hop profile. In true Breck form, this beer has a strong malt backbone to balance it out, creating a very smooth, balanced beer. Lucky U is the perfect everyday IPA and a great complement to it's big brother, 471 Double IPA.

Two Brothers Heavy Handed Fresh Hop IPA features different hops in each batch. If you want to track the hop varietals in your bottle of Heavy Handed, look the lot number up at: http://www.twobrosbrew.com/

Make a point to grab some Heavy Handed and enjoy that fresh, resiny wet-hopped taste.

The Lion Brewery in Pennsylvania is making it's way to the Hoosier state with a couple lines of award-winning beers. The Brewery produces both Stegmaier & Lions Head Beers, and several styles are now available in the state. You will start seeing both Stegmaier & Lions Head Beers hitting stores and bars in the next couple of weeks. In addition to being great beer, all of the Lion Brewing Beers are offered at a great price. Make a point to try some soon.

The Midwest Muncie Breer Fest is this Saturday at the Horizon Convention Center in Downtown Muncie from 1 - 6pm. We will be launching NABC Elector Imperial Red at the event in addition to pouring several other phenomenal beers!!

Lastly..

HBG reader Josh found this while out in Fountain Square:


Anyone know anything?

Greetings From Michigan, A Great Beer State: Stop #2 - Arcadia Brewing Company

This past week Gina and I took a couple days off to visit family in Michigan. Of course no vacation is ever complete without enjoying a beer or two, so we also visited a few of Michigan's finer craft beer establishments.



Our second stop along the way was a random detour - we knew that we were headed to Bells in Kalamazoo, and we also knew that we had a hotel reservation in Grand Rapids. The question then became "how much can we (responsibly) fit in before we get to Founders?"

The Michigan beer map showed on slight detour on the way west along Interstate 94 - Arcadia Brewing Company. Knowing very little about the brewery (apart from recognizing a few of their beers from somewhere along the way) added a little mystery to the detour.


If you want to get the attention of the staff at a brewpub, just pull out a camera. As soon as I did, I was met with a greeting of "no photography, please". I turned around and said "oh, OK" and was met with a smile and a "just kidding" from Arcadia brewer Kevin Becraft.

As I sauntered off to the restroom Gina struck up a conversation with Kevin. When we had walked in the bar I noticed a large group of Marines taking a tour of the brewery, which is located in a warehouse space just behind a bank of windows on the wall across from the bar and restaurant. When I returned to the bar I asked Kevin about the tour.


"You want to jump in?" he asked. We quickly jumped on the back of the tour group and learned about the process of brewing and bottling Arcadia's award winning English style beers. For example, Arcadia uses open fermentation in the brewing process (something we hadn't seen in practice before), and bottles on a bottling line produced in the 1950s.

Unfortunately we were on a schedule, so we couldn't spend more time with Kevin and his co-brewer Josh Davies. They were kind enough to answer some of our questions and also make some suggestions on where else to visit while in Michigan.


Brewers Kevin and Josh
And of course - we had a couple beers.

Arcadia Golden Harvest Ale - Recommended by Kevin. My first thought was "this reminds me of Broad Ripple Brewpub". This is a bold English pale, with a nice malt balance bringing up the back. The use of fresh hops is evident in the snappy hop bite in the finish. I wish we could have stayed for more.

Gina had Arcadia's ESB, but her notes are unclear - being on vacation meant that she was easily distracted.


Next up, a stop at Bells. And another stop at Bells. And a return to our original stop at Bells.

KOTBR #88: The Charlie Davies Roundtable

As you may have noticed, several of the Knights of the Beer Roundtable at Hoosier Beer Geek are soccer fans. And even though the United States Men's National Team had their ticket to World Cup 2010 punched on October 10th with their defeat of Honduras, the US v. Costa Rica match last Wednesday seemed as good a reason as any to get together, open some beers, and watch the match, even though the results didn't impact the US much.

But then the day before the match, forward Charlie Davies was involved in a horrific car accident, making the match an emotional one for team members and fans. So in Charlie's honor, we dedicate Roundtable #88 to him and offer 9 word reviews in honor of USMNT's #9. Get well soon, Charlie.


Three Floyd's Black Sun
Jim - 3.565 mugs: Sweet floral nose. Dry metallic finish. A deceptive beer.
Mike - 3.75 mugs: Hoppy front. Light on tongue. Lingers bitter. Balance everywhere.
Rod - 3.6 mugs: Dry cocoa stout but why do I get strawberries?
Gina - 3.8 mugs: Malty, dark fruit, dry, hoppy, weird stout, usual 3Floyds.
Jason - 3.89 mugs: This complex hoppy stout has a touch of Unibroue.
KOTBR Score: 3.72 mugs


New Glarus Raspberry Tart
Jim - 5.0 mugs: Raspberry jello nose. Tart, luscious berry flavor. Simply perfect.
Mike - 5.0 mugs: Here's proof - sometimes a beer can't be any better.
Rod - 4.5 mugs: Fresh raspberry jam, lemon tartness, my favorite New Glarus.
Gina - 5.0 mugs: OMG, this makes me so happy. Love, love, love.
Jason - 3.69 mugs: Is this very berry really beer? Sweet enjoyable tartness.
KOTBR Score: 4.63 mugs


Rodenbach Flemish Sour Ale
Jim - 3.5 mugs: Smells like nail polish. Oaky sour flavor. Fairly decent.
Mike - 3.62 mugs: Sour middle, sour finish, but overall a little watery.
Rod - 3.7 mugs: Cranberry, cherry, apples, pears, and a lot of water.
Gina - 3.95 mugs: Sweet fruit nose, lightly tart taste. Grape, oak, raisins.
Jason - 3.29 mugs: Less of old, more of new, favorite sour yet.
KOTBR Score: 3.61 mugs


Fantome Pissenlit
Jim - 2.75 mugs: Dandelion saison. Rubbery smell and taste. Not my thing.
Mike - 3.45 mugs: I liked the dance this did on my tongue.
Rod - 3.7 mugs: Funky starchy sweet nose, tastes like dandelions and saison.
Gina - 3.3 mugs: Poo nose at first. Flavors are sweet, sour, natural.
Jason - 2.39 mugs: Like Burt Reynolds, smells like dandelions in sour piss.
KOTBR Score: 3.11 mugs