Random Beer Roundup - The Spring Edition

Congratulations to Andrew Castner who is moving up from the assistant brewer position at Oaken Barrel to head brewer at RAM Brewery. We are excited for you and we can't wait to drink your beer!
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After the super fun weekend in Munster last week, I am looking forward to a relatively quiet one this week. Saturday we'll be pouring some Sun King beer at the Irving for the Homespun event. Hope to see you there too!

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We are gearing up for the Microbrewers Festival in July! Keep yourself up to date on the latest news and events via facebook and twitter.

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. Don't see your favorite craft beer establishment? Let them know you'd like to see them here!

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Tuesday, May 4th at 7pm at Zing: Sun King Brewers Dinner

Wednesday, May 5th at Rock Bottom - Downtown: Tapping - Cerveza Especiale

Friday, May 7th: Entries for Upcup are due

Tuesday, May 18th at Rock Bottom - Downtown: Brewers Dinner

Saturday, May 22nd at the Lake County Fairgrounds Industrial Building: Illiana Mayfest

Saturday, May 22nd - HBG Tailgate for Nothing 2

Saturday, June 5th at Keg Liquors in Clarksville: Fest of Ale (more info below)

Saturday, June 5th at Upland Brewery in Bloomington: Radfest

Sunday, July 11th - July 17th - Indiana Beer Week

Saturday, July 17th at Opti Park in Broad Ripple: Indiana Microbrewers Festival (VIP Tickets are available NOW, regular admission/DD on sale May 17th)

More news and events can be found on Indiana Beer

What's Brewing

From Greg at Lafayette Brewing Co. in Lafayette:

On tap at Lafayette Brewing 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; How Now Brown Ale and Star City Lager. We're also dispensing cask-conditioned Digby's Irish Stout from our hand pull. Look for our next seasonal, Maifest- a Munich-style dark lager, to be release in the coming week as a tap line becomes available.

On the food front, we are currently offering a special on Our Signature Steak that will run through the end of June. This Choice, center-cut sirloin steak served with Parmesan roasted potatoes and our bean & carrot medley is available for only $12.95! That's $5 off our regular price! Diners can also add a cracked black pepper crust and bleu cheese sauce for only $1. Great steak, great price. And of course, you can't go wrong when you pair it with a delicious Tippecanoe Common Ale or one of our other tasty beers!

From Jon at Power House brewing in Columbus:

Power House Brewing Co. will be tapping a firkin of our Jack The Bum Pale Ale. We have cask conditioned this beer with a stupid amount of Centennial hops. I think we are going to call this "Jack The Bum Vortex," in honor of the Miller Vortex bottle you mentioned*.

Next Friday, we will tap a Firkin of Diesel Oil Stout, cask conditioned with lactose and Simcoe hops. I'm calling it Holy Cow Stout!

We will soon be putting White River Brown Ale and Jack The Bum Pale Ale on tap. Later in May look for Working Wheat.

* I mentioned the ridiculous vortex bottle in my reminder email, glad to hear something good will come out of it!

From Jerry at Rock Bottom - Downtown, Indianapolis:

Currently I have:

Fire Chief Ale- American Red

Catcher in the Rye- Rye P.A., an actual new recipe for me! Not just an amalgamation of Hop Bomb!

Gummy Gummerson- an homage to Gumball Head!

Coming up:

Cerveza Especiale- Vienna Lager tapping WED. 5/5. There is going to be a gratis taco bar for this one!

Brewer's Dinner May 18

From Jeff at Barley Island in Noblesville, Broad Ripple:

Barley Island Restaurant & Brewhouse in Broad Ripple will begin serving a new brunch menu this Sunday, May 2nd, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. The brunch will be every Sunday. Naturally we have incorporated beer and/or wort (sugar from the brewing process) into several items. Omelettes, egg favorites, biscuits and beer sausage gravy, pancakes and French toast are the bulk of the menu. A kid's menu is also on tap.

cheers

From Charles at Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington:

On Saturday May 1st, Join us at Upland's Bloomington Tap Room for live music, a special menu featuring German-style dishes, and the tapping of our spring seasonal, Maibock!

Festivities start at 11am and don’t stop ’til 1am!

Kelly Hogan kicks off the live music at 3pm, followed by Zion Crossroads, The Better Bidness Bureau, Kayle Truman & the Slow Game, and Kickbush.

Entries for the UpCup Homebrew Competition are due Friday, May 7th. This is your chance at beer stardom, so don't forget! Visit uplandbeer.com for details.

At the Bar

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse in various locations:

Scotty's Brewhouse is taking part in the March of the Sombreros - Downtown Indianapolis on May 1st!
Scotty's Brewhouse West Lafayette is now serving Breckenridge Vanilla Porter!
Don't Forget Scotty's Brewhouse Daily Beer Specials:

Monday
$5 Import/Microbrew 24oz MUG CLUB Refills
$3 12oz Select Microbrew/Import Bottles
Enjoy a Beer w/$10 All You Can Eat Wings every Monday

Wednesday
$9 48oz Import/Microbrew Draught Pitchers

Thursday
$3.50 Pint Night – 16oz Import/Microbrew U-Calls

Sunday
$5 Import/Microbrew Draught 24oz MUG CLUB Refills

Carry Out

From Todd at Keg Liquors in Clarksville:

Events:

5th Annual Keg Liquors Fest of Ale, June 5th from 3 - 7 PM. 30+ Breweries, 3 Craft Beer Distributors, 4 Fine Wine Distributors, over 150 craft and import beers, wine, food, charity silent auction and beer raffle and more! http://www.kegliquors.com/fest_of_ale.html for more details

From Bill at Crown Liquors Downtown Indianapolis (Ohio and Delaware):

New this week at Crown Wine and Spirits- Ohio and Delaware - Downtown Indy

From Southern Tier Brewing:

oak aged unearthly Imperial India Pale Ale (limited supply)

back burner Imperial Barley Wine Style Ale

jah*va Imperial Coffee Stout

oat Imperial Oatmeal Stout (limited supply)

gemini Imperial Blended Ale

big red Imperial Red Ale

422 pale wheat ale

New Holland Envious, El Mole Ocho, and Imperial Hatter

Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout (limited supply)

Tyranena Scurvy IPA

Heavy Seas Letter of Marque Rye Porter

Left Hand Chainsaw Ale (Double Sawtooth) & JuJu Ginger Ale

Friday's tasting (3pm-7pm) will feature the Letter of Marque, Chainsaw, and Boulevard's Saison! Cheers!

From Big Red Liquors in Bloomington:

Upland Winter Bourbon Barrel Upland Maibock Sam Adams Longshot 6pks Sam Adams Summer Ale Boulevard Wheat 6pks and 16oz aluminum bottles Boulevard IPA and Pale 6pks Left Hand Chainsaw Victory St. Boisterous Hellerbock Clipper City Letter of Marque Rye Porter Crispin Saint Natural Cider

As always, come join us every Thursday from 6-8pm at our downtown Bloomington location for a FREE beer tasting!

From Eric at 21st Amendment in Broad Ripple:

We've got a few gems for you this week. At 3 of our locations, David's store at 71st and Keystone, Jan's store at 15021 Greyhound Pass and my store at 2201 East 62nd in Broadripple, we have a few bottles each of Sierra Nevada's 30th Fritz & Ken's Ale as well as a few bottles each of the ultra rare Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout. I had a bottle of each at last weekend's 3Floyds Dark Lord Day and trust me, they're fantastic.

If you have graduation parties to plan for, stop by Shane's store at 56th and Illinois to pick up a keg of Bell's Oberon and make it a party to remember.

As always, I'll be holding an informal, free beer tasting today at 5:00 at my store. Stop in and try something new.

Beer Dinners

From John at Zing (543 Indiana Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46202 - 317-636-7775)

Sun King and Zing are having a Beer Dinner on Tuesday, May 4 at 7 pm. 5 courses with 5 Sun King Beers for $30

Trip Opportunities

From Ron Smith:

Guided Beer Vacations to Belgium and Germany!

Now through the end of April is the timeframe where I need to get firm commitments from people. You can read about my Belgium Trip here (http://www.beermba.com/belgium-beer-vacations.php) and my Germany Trip here (http://www.beermba.com/germany-beer-vacations.php). There is also some general information here (http://www.beermba.com/beer-vacations.php). These are great trips designed to maximize the enjoyment of beer lovers that want to see these parts of the world without all the stress, planning, etc. While being primarily beer-focused, we also break it up and visit many of the usual tourist sites as well. Thus, even non-beer lovers will really enjoy them, but the true beer lover will be in heaven on these trips.

From the Distributors:

From Greg at Cavalier Distribution:

There are several new & exciting beers & out in the market from Cavalier!!

Left Hand Mountain Mix Pack is back by popular demand! The Mt. Mixer is a variety of all of Left Hand's core brews and perfect for any get together or just to have a variety on hand. Either way, make sure to grab a Mt. Mixer and enjoy a taste of Left Hand!!

Left Hand Chainsaw Ale 2010 Vintage has been released and out on select store shelves. Chainsaw is the double Sawtooth Ale, so it's a Double/Imperial ESB. It opens with toasted malt, toffee and fruit flavors, yet closes with a swirling effect of garden herbs, cardamom, dry port and black cherry. Full-bodied, 9.0% alcohol by volume. Chainsaw is only brewed every other year for a special one-time release, supplies are very limited so make sure to get some asap. Take note, it's completely new, awesome packaging and looks nothing like past vintages.

Mad River Double Dread Imperial Red Ale is available in limited quantities at select craft beer establishments in the state. Double Dread is a strong red ale with a strong hop profile balanced by a solid malt backbone. Pours a true ruby red of unexpected crystalline clarity. The Double Dread exhibits our devotion to a firm malt foundation. For those who choose to indulge their passions be forwarned that this refreshment ferments out at 8.6% ABV with an IBU of 95.1. Double Dread is always Mad River's most popular and best-selling seasonal release, so get some now while it's available.

Two Brothers Dog Days of Summer Dortmunder-style Lager is available for the summer! Dog Days has garnered several medals at the Indiana State Beer Competition and continues to be a perennial favorite when it's released each year. It's a full-flavored Lager with a sweet malt profile and dry hop finish. Very refreshing!

Tyranena Scurvy Extra IPA has been released for the first time ever in Indiana!! Scurvy was originally brewed for Tyranena's "Brewer's Gone Wild Series", and has now become their summer seasonal. It's an incredible IPA brewed with orange peel, resulting in a crisp, hoppy beer with a balanced citrus profile. The orange peel is not too bold and is woven perfectly in the taste profile. This beer is incredible and is the perfect summer beer for hopheads!!

From Krystle at World Class Beverages:

Look for Victory’s Sunrise Weissbier, an unfiltered, Bavarian style ale true to its origins with all ingredients except for the water having been imported from Germany. Features tangy, fruity flavors of its unique yeast. The imported German malts give the beer a great crisp, citric snap that makes it a superb summertime refresher! Malts: 2 row German barley and wheat malt
Hops: German and Czech whole flower
Yeast: Imported, of German origin ABV: 5.7%

Also, Brooklyn’s next lineup for their Brewmaster’s Reserve Series, the Buzz Bomb coming in May and their Sorachi Ace in 750 ml bottles.

News around the web:

Rita Kohn's upcoming book, True Brew, is available for pre-order from Amazon.com.