28 June 2010

What Sunday Beer Sales Mean for Sunday Beer Drinking In Indiana


Starting July 4th, 2010, Senate Bill 75 finally goes effect and We The People of Indiana gain our Sunday beer independence. Here's what you need to know.

1. An Indiana microbrewery can sell its beer for carryout on Sundays only at the address at which the brewers permit is filed. This means that the brewing and the selling have to be done at the same address. Locations that fit this description and that will participate in Sunday sales include:

- Three Floyds (Munster)
- Shoreline (Michigan City)
- Crown (Crown Point)
- Figure Eight (Valparaiso)
- Mad Anthony (Fort Wayne)
- Brickworks (Hobart)
- People's (Lafayette)
- Lafayette Brewing Co. (Lafayette)
- Half Moon (Kokomo)
- Barley Island (Noblesville)
- Oaken Barrel (Greenwood)
- Ram Downtown (Indianapolis)
- Alcatraz (Indianapolis)
- Rock Bottom (both Indianapolis locations)
- Broad Ripple Brewpub (Indianapolis)
- Wilbur (by appointment only, Martinsville)
- Lil' Charlie's (Batesville)
- Upland (Bloomington)
- Bloomington Brewing Co. (Bloomington)
- Big Woods (Nashville)
- Powerhouse (Columbus)
- Great Crescent (Aurora)
- Turoni's Main Street (Evansville)
- New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse (New Albany)

2. Places where brewing does not take place are not eligible for carryout sales. Some places where you will not be able to purchase beer for carryout include:

- Ram Fishers
- Upland's College Ave. Tasting Room
- Barley Island Broad Ripple
- Mad Anthony's Warsaw and Auburn locations

3. Breweries are not required to sell beer on Sundays, so if a brewery does not hold regular hours on Sundays, it may or may not open on a regular basis for Sunday sales. The following breweries are not currently participating in Sunday sales.

- Sun King (Indianapolis), not open on Sundays
- Brugge (Indianapolis), not participating currently, will participate soon
- Back Road Brewery (LaPorte), not participating currently, will re-evaluate later
- New Albanian's Pizzeria & Pub (New Albany), not open on Sundays

4. Grocery stores, liquor stores, or other stores selling craft beer are not eligible for carryout Sunday sales.

5. You will still be able to purchase drinks at bars and restaurants on Sundays, just like you have in the past.

6. You are limited in the amount of beer you can purchase in a single transaction to two cases (or 576 ounces).

25 June 2010

Random Beer Roundup - The Second Round Edition



The summer festival season really gets into full swing this weekend starting with the Indy Wine and Beer Fest in Broad Ripple tonight, and Brew Ha-Ha on Saturday. The US also plays Ghana on Saturday in the next round of the World Cup. GO USA!

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! Work for an establishment that serves craft beer? We want to hear from you too!

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change


What's Brewing

From Jeff at Barley Island in Noblesville/Broad Ripple:
Both Barley Island locations are now serving a seasonal: Goldilocks Belgian Blond. This deep golden color Belgian ale can best be described as a "Mini Triple". It has a Pils malt and sugar sweetness character (7.0 % ABV), medium hop flavor (25 IBU's) and some spicy phenolics from our Belgian yeast strain. Credits to BrewMaster Mike Hess for the name - Goldilocks - due to the featured East Kent & Styrian Goldings hops - as well as the tap handle design!
From Greg at Lafayette Brewing Co. in Lafayette:
On tap this weekend at Lafayette Brewing: Ouiatenon Wit Bier; Prophet's Rock Pale Ale; East Side Bitter; Pipers' Pride Scottish Ale; Tippecanoe Common Ale; Black Angus Oatmeal Stout; Star City Lager; I Am An American IPA; and our latest specialty release, Golden Lady IPA.

From John at Half Moon Brewing Co. in Kokomo:
Half Moon is releasing a Summer Wheat Ale on Thurday 6/24.
This beer is a light and refreshing wheat beer for the hot months of summer that is sure to quench your thirst. It’s brewed with sweet orange peel and coriander to give it a fresh citrus flavor that is balanced with a soft spiciness. Crisp, clean, and delicately refreshing.

O.G.=1.046 ABV=5.25% IBU=13

P.S.- Also releasing an India Brown Ale on Thursday 7/1.

From Charles at Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington:

Friday, June 25: Join an Uplander at Moggers in Terre Haute on Friday evening for a guided tasting of Upland brews.


At the Bar

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse:
New to Scotty's Brewhouse West Lafayette: Goose Island Summertime Kolsch!

New to Scotty's Brewhouse Downtown Indianapolis: Founder's Cerise!

New to Scotty's Brewhouse 96th Street: Sun King XX Rye IPA!

New to Scotty's Lakehouse: Oaken Barrel Razz Wheat and Crown Brewing Special Forces IPA!

From Corrie at Goose the Market in Indianapolis:
Anybody can come to the Goose's cellar to GET a beer. Now we'd like to invite HBG readers to come to the Goose's cellar to DRINK a beer. Yup, the Goose is serving cold craft beers by the glass

An ever-changing menu of about 6 local, domestic, and worldly beers is part of the menu in the Goose's new Enoteca, a casual place to imbibe. Sit at the tables or the bar that owner Chris Eley built from the reclaimed lumber of a century-old barn and listen to the vinyl hum on a rehabbed turn table while sampling small plates like house-made charcuterie and farmstead cheeses. The glass and plate menus are always changing, but a few of the combinations we're craving right now include...hot toast layered with lardo and Upland's Nut Hugger...thinly sliced raw fish crudo with a tart grapefruit salad and Hitachino Red Rice...Piraat and a Batali (yup, bring your sandwich down for a brew), and Boulevard's The Sixth Glass with, um, seven glasses.

But not to worry, all of the retail brews are still available on the expanded shelves of the Goose's cellar. These hot days, we're awash with summer seasonals like...

A kolsch is a kolsch unless of course the kolsch is a kolsch like Harpoon's Summer Beer.
Someone sipping a Rogue Somer Orange Honey said it tastes the way summer beers should when they grow up.

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore. Dorothy has discovered Victory's Whirlwind Witbier. (Never ask a flying monkey to be your DD.)

He will not find the cheapest airline ticket, make toys for kids on the good list, or call Bob Newhart "step dad," but La Chouffe will satisfy any time of year.

Carry Out

From Big Red Liquors in Bloomington:
A few new items, and a few old ones making a comeback!

NEW!!

Newcastle Summer
Two Brother Hop Juice
Weihenstephaner World Cup pack with free glass!

Back in Action!
Anchor Small Beer
Unibroue Quelque Chose

From Bill at Crown Liquors:
New this week at Crown Wine and Spirits- Ohio and Delaware - Downtown Indy

Mikkeller Big Worst Barley Wine (+ an additional case of Beer Geek Brunch/Weasel)
BrewDog 5 A.M. Saint Red Ale
BrewDog Tokio Oak-Aged Stout, brewed with cranberries and jasmine (18.2% !!!)
Two Brothers Hop Juice Double India Pale Ale (fresh batch)
The Bruery Trade Winds Tripel
The Bruery Coton - 2nd Anniversary Old Ale (limited)

Friday's tasting (3pm-7pm) will feature beer from Left Hand, Two Brothers, and Brasserie d'Achouffe!

Tickets are available for Brew-Ha-Ha (June 26) and B.I.G. Microbrewer's Festival (July 17) here at the store (and other select Crown locations). Get 'em before they're all gone!
From Great Fermentations in Broad Ripple:
Calling All Volunteers

The Indiana State Fair Brewers Cup is looking for volunteers to help out both this coming weekend as well as during the competition. This Sunday, June 27th at 10:30AM we need folks to help check in entries at Sun King Brewery (135 North College, Indianapolis). Lunch will be provided with beer being offered once the work is complete. You are welcome to participate even if you have entries in the Cup but you will NOT be allowed to judge. During the competition, July 9-10, help is needed for stewarding. This is a great opportunity to see the inner workings of the competition as well as a close-up view of what it takes to be a judge. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided as well as entry to the awards ceremony. Please contact John Morrical at jmorrica@sbcglobal.net if you are interested in helping. Thanks!


From Todd at Keg Liquors in Clarksville:
Brewdog - Tokio (Scotland)

From Joe at Payless Liquors on 96th Street:
Good news for those of you seeking Brewdog's Tactical Nuclear Penguin... it is on its way to the states. The current hurdle? The government deciding how to tax the super-beer. Until it gets the all-clear we will have 5 am Saint available. Also available: Mikkeller Bad/Worst and Black Hole Stout. Big bad beers. Bad in a good way.

Well's Banana Bread Beer is making a comeback if you're looking for something different. Maybe mix it with a bottle of Fruli Strawberry beer for a sudsy shortcake substitute. (Yes, we have that too.) If we don't have something you want, just ask. I'd love to order your beer.

Also new to the store, St. Bernardus Tripel and Abt 12 (Belguin Dubbel.) Both are excellent beers. If you want to do it like the Belguins I suggest a bottle of each and mixing them half and half. Dubbel and Tripel together. I could make a joke about how that equals five, which is the number of smiles your mouth will make when you consume said concoction. However, I'll let you be the judge and leave the humor to the pros.

Looking forward to next week, expect to see both Founder's Devil Dancer Triple IPA as well as Stone's newest anniversary beer. On a bitter sweet note, if you're looking for other Founder's beers they may be difficult to come by for a few weeks (So stock up now!) due to the increasing popularity of the brewery they are having some difficulty keeping up with the increased demand.

From Josh at United Package Liquors in Broad Ripple:
Please join us Friday, June 25th from 7-10PM for Indy's wine & brew fest presented by Stella Artois in the station strip center across from Applebee's in Broad Ripple. Tickets are $25 at all United package liquors locations and $30 the day of the event. Enjoy good food, fine wine, craft and Import beer and live music from the Flying toasters. Draft highlights include- nitro North coast Old Rasputin, nitro Boulder Mojo IPA and fresh draft from Founders, Heavy Seas, Tyranena and many more.

From the Distributors

From Greg at Cavalier Distribution:
We have a bunch of new incredible beers and they almost all seemed to come in pairs:

We have a couple exciting new beers from Brew Dog along with some new packaging as well! Brew Dog 5 AM Saint is a very hoppy sessionable Amber Ale, a Scottish version of Levitation if you will. It will be available year around in 4pks moving forward. Tokio Oak-Aged Imperial Stout is an extremely rare special release, that will be allocated. Also, both Punk IPA & Hardcore Double IPA are now available in 4pks.

The Bruery Trade Winds Tripel & Coton Anniversary Ale are both being released this week in Indiana for the first time. Trade Winds Tripel is their summer seasonal, and is The Bruery's take on a Belgian Tripel style using rice in the mash instead of candi sugar & spiced with Thai Basil. Coton is an extremely rare 100% Bourbon Barrel-Aged Version of their 2nd Anniversary Ale weighing in at 14.5%!! It's extremely limited and allocated.

Clipper City Smoke on the Water & Summer Ale are both making their inaugural appearance in Indiana this week as well. Smoke on the Water is a Smoked Imperial Porter from Clipper City, and the newest release in their Mutiny Series of beers. The Summer Ale is a new addition to their Clipper Fleet line of beers, a sessionable crisp, light ale brewed with both 2-row barley & wheat malt.

Mendocino is releasing two new specialty 4pks this week, an Imperial IPA & Barley Wine!! Both of these are beers that they have brewed before and are now releasing for the first time ever in 4pks!!

There are extremely limited amounts of Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch, Beer Geek Breakfast, Black Hole & Big WorsT that have hit the state and are available in the top Mikkeller accounts in the state.

Sergeants American Amber is a new release from 3 Sergeants Brewing Co. and will be available starting this week.

Thirsty Dog released two new beers to the Indiana market this week as well,Whippet Wheat & Twisted Kilt Scotch Ale. Whippet Wheat is a German-style Hefe-Weizen style beer and is a limited summer release. Twisted Kilt is a Scottish-style Export Ale that will be a year around offering from Thirsty Dog.

2010 Two Brothers Hop Juice is already out in stores and bars across the state! Hop Juice is by far Two Brothers' most highly anticipated and regarded artisan beer!! Like always, it's very limited, so get it while you can.

News around the web:
Rita Kohn's upcoming book, True Brew, is available for pre-order from Amazon.com.
Here's an article I contributed to for the Indianapolis Star / Metromix about 10 beers to try if you are headed out to the Phoenix Theatre Brew Ha-Ha tomorrow.
A link to Ed Wenck's show on WIBC where he and I had a chat Thursday about the article mentioned above. (link in the audio section)

24 June 2010

Beer Diary #20 - Mike - Goose the Market's Enoteca

We've been fans and friends of the folks at Goose the Market for a while now - even being lucky enough to have them walk us through six courses of beer and cheese a while back. It was with great interest that we followed the developments that lead to their latest addition - the Enoteca.


What's the Entoeca? From their blog:
In Italy, the neighborhood enoteca is where wine is stored, bought, and consumed. In Indy, the Goose's new Enoteca is a casual place to drink wine.

Order a glass or quartino from the rotating menu of about a dozen wines or choose your own bottle from the cellar shelves. The cooler is stocked with a changing selection of six craft beers, and some small plates--perfect for sampling and sharing--will calm those hunger pangs between sips.
A casual place to drink wine, eh? Well we couldn't help but notice those beer options. So we stopped in.


After our host, Gabriele, walked us through our food options, we chose the Charcuterie plate ($12), which featured green krauts, mustard, culatello (ham), duck and pistachio terrine, and elk and blueberry salami.

Gabriele explained that with that much variety of food, our beer options were limited only by the six selections in the cooler. I chose Augustiner Bräu Maximator ($4) - a German Dopplebock I had never had before. Initial nips at the glass revealed a sweetness in nose, cinammon-like flavors without the spicy bite or heat, notes of toffee, maltiness, sweetness in finish, and a chewy mouthfeel.


Experiments with pairing follow.

Culatello (a lean and chewy sort of ham) + beer - This was the always promising combination of sweet + salty, very easy to like. The combination of krauts wrapped in the Culatello brought out an almost strawberry-like sweetness, which worked well with the raisiny sweetness of the dopplebock.

Elk and Blueberry Salami + beer - The light gaminess and spiciness in the elk was balanced out by the small bits of blueberry sweetness. These flavors worked well and carried over into the sweet maltiness in the beer. The elk featured the rich flavors you might find in deer sausage, but lighter, less gamy, and with a little more complexity of flavor.


Duck and Pistachio Terrine + beer - There's a flavorful, almost warming burst of spiciness lives right in the middle of the terrine, but the beer also brings out a peppery bite in the finish. The sweetness from the duck fat was met and then followed through with the beer.

The meal was an experience in richness of flavor, but also an experiment in texture and balance when experienced with beer. Augustiner Bräu Maximator is a richly flavored beer that stood up to the cornucopia of flavor spread across the board - not an easy task.


We look forward to the sort of food and beer events that are sure to follow in this new space at the Goose - keep your ears open as we hope to put an event together in the space in the near future.

Goose the Market's Enoteca is located in the basement of the current Goose the Market space, 2503 N. Delaware, Indianapolis.

Great Crescent and Aurora: a small town brewery renaissance

Before prohibition and refrigerated rail cars, it was common to find breweries in small towns providing the local townspeople with tasty, fresh beer.

Decades later, the craft beer movement has created opportunities for small towns to enjoy a beer that they can call their own. This is the case for Great Crescent Brewery in Aurora.


Aurora is a little town near Cincinnati. It is located on the Ohio River between two riverboat casinos. It has a beautiful historic downtown that you often find in these old river towns. Great Crescent is a business of love, not just of beer. The brewery is owned by husband and wife Dan and Lani Valas. They had met while working for the same company in San Francisco. When they had their son, they decided to move to the Midwest, which they felt was a better place to raise children.


When Gina and I first visited Great Crescent in May 2009, Dan still worked a full time job during the week and brewed on weekends. The brewery, located in a downtown storefront, was open on Saturdays for sampling and purchasing of carryout growlers and party pigs. Otherwise, their beer was available only in a few local establishments.


A year later, the brewery has moved from a small storefront that they leased to a former distillery warehouse building that they own. Dan is now dedicating all of his work time to just the brewery. The plan: to open a restaurant to go along with their brewery. They hope to be open later this summer.


They have also been receiving a lot of press. In the May 2010 issue of Cincinnati Magazine, their Coconut Porter was featured. The creation of the Coconut Porter was a must have for Lani, a native Hawai'ian.

I've never had Maui Brewing's Coconut Porter. But HBG's Rod and Jess have. And when I brought a growler of Great Crescent's Coconut Porter to a recent event, they said that while it wasn't exactly like Maui's, it was pretty darn close. And they asked for more, please. Certainly a good sign!


Going back to the "small town brewery" point that I brought up... While visiting last year, several locals stopped in for growler refills. I'm going to ask you to visualize what a craft beer fan looks like. Are you thinking of someone wearing a Dale Earnhardt Jr. t-shirt with grease and oil on his hands and under his nails from working all day at the auto repair center? I'm betting not.


But in Aurora, a small town with its own brewery, auto technician/stock car fan is one of the many faces of craft beer consumers. I didn't ask, but I'm sure that part of his love for Great Crescent beer comes from his love of his small town. Local breweries are front and center in craft beer's push to grow its consumer base. And it appears that Great Crescent is succeeding.

You'll be able to try beers from Great Crescent at this year's Indiana Microbrewers Festival.

23 June 2010

Beer Diary: Evansville

I live in Indianapolis. Evansville is not the easiest place to reach from here. Maybe it will be better after the I-69 extension is completed.

When I recently traveled to that southwestern corner of the state, I made sure to visit a couple of craft beer destinations. I reached out to Upland Brewing's Cari Crowe, who grew up around Evansville. She gave me a list of places to check out. I only had time for two stops. Other places mentioned for consideration, and for probable future visits, included The Deerhead, Fox & Hound, Old Chicago Pizza, Ri Ras, Bar Louis, and the Peephole. Here are my notes about the two stops I did make.


The only microbrewery in Evansville is Turoni's Main Street, which now has three locations. I made my way to their original location on a dark and stormy night, which is why my collection of photos is not that great. But I sampled their beers and took notes.
-Vinny's Light Lager: it's light but tasty. Plenty of German malts. Pilsner. hops are very light. Light gold color.

-Honey Blonde Ale: Middle of the road. Honey comes through. Has a bitter that I'm not enjoying much. Clear bronze color.

-Thunderbolt red ale:
Alt beer. Malts. Some bitterness along the side of the tongue. Dark amber color. Slightly chewy. Full mouth.

-Blue Eyed Moose IPA: A sweet butterscotch nose and flavor. I mentioned this to Nick the bartender, who promptly declared me crazy. Dark clear gold. Dry finish. Nice balance of hops.

-Ol' 23 Stout: Dark black with dark tan head. Lots of malt. Dark chocolate bittersweet.

-Uptown Rye Brown Ale: Dark clear brown. Chocolate rye malts. Cascade hops. Dry with rye and hop bite. Light on bittersweet.

As for the food, I ordered a Stromboli, which was frickin' HUGE, and chili cheese fries. The fries were skinny, the cheese was nacho-style, and the chili was like coney sauce.

Turoni's Main Street will be at the Indiana Microbrewers Festival on July 17th. If you can't make it to Evansville, then check them out when they bring Evansville to you.


The next day, I visited The Gerst Haus with a couple of friends with Evansville area ties. This German American restaurant is located in a former feed store in the downtown area. It is a wonderful bar and restaurant with the typical food that you would expect to find on a German American restaurant menu. I will point out that the deep fried oysters appetizer is a wonderfully salty starter.


You will also find a large collection of draft lines with typical German beers that you would typically find on a German American restaurant beer menu. What was atypical were the number of craft beers on tap.


On this particular day, they had Founder's Double Trouble on tap. And they served them in goblets (frosted goblets, unfortunately). And I ordered two. I ordered a double Double Trouble From what both Cari and bartender Nick told me, this place has the best craft beer lineup. And it was pretty spectacular. Though I never made it past the Double Troubles.

22 June 2010

Win Tickets to the 2010 Microbrewer's Festival

Grab your friends and a camera cause there is a photo contest going on at the Brewers of Indiana Guild Facebook page. One lucky winner will receive a pair of tickets to the 15th Annual Microbrewer's Festival held on July 17th in Opti Park/Indianapolis Art Center.

The Rules:

1. There must be at least one person and one logo from an Indiana brewery present in the photo.

2. Creativity and originality is key. Winners will be chosen by the Knights from HoosierBeerGeek.com

3. Photos must be posted to the Drink Indiana account on Facebook (www.facebook.com/drinkindiana) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/drinkindiana) by Midnight on Wednesday, July 14th. Late entries will not be accepted.

4. You must be 21+ to enter and be able to attend the 2010 Microbrewer's Festival on Saturday, July 17th in Indianapolis. Tickets are not redeemable for cash and are not transferable.

Winners will be announced on Thursday, July 15th at 4:00 and will receive a pair of General Admission tickets to the festival.

KOTBR #106: Taking Indianapolis by Force

In 2006,a crack commando blogging unit
was stuck drinking beer
that pretty much tasted like piss.

These men and women
promptly escaped
from a bland beer stockade
to the Indianapolis
craft beer underground.

Today, still wanted by macrobreweries,
they survive as soldiers of good taste.

If you can't find a good beer,
if no one else is serving beers with flavor,
and if you find their website,maybe you can follow...

The IPA-Team.



Indiana's craft brewing industry has been growing at a great rate, with 33 in operation right now and at least six more in Indianapolis alone planned for the next year or two. We haven't been able to make it to every brewery to roundtable their beer. But thankfully, they have been making their way to us.


We were happy to hear that Shallos Antique Bar on Indy's southside became the first bar (that we know of) in Indianapolis to have Crown Brewing's Special Forces IPA on tap and decided to make our way down for our first roundtable of this Crown Point-based brewery.


Jason: This is not my first experience with Crown Brewing. I've had an opportunity to drink their beers over the past year or more. I'm happy to say that brewmaster Steve Mazylewski has been doing some great things with Crown's beers and that the ownership and management team have been very enthusiastic about their brewery and the craft brewing community in general. They took the initiative to form the 1st annual Illiana Mayfest in Lake County this past May, a craft beer festival that exceeded everyone's expectations.

The Special Forces IPA is named in honor of a local Special Forces Army Ranger and is available on draft and in 22 ounce bombers. Special Forces pours with a cloudy amber color and has a hoppy nose with citrus notes. The hops cover the mouth and the back of the throat. Along with the hops is a strong malt backbone that doesn't overpower the hops, but isn't overpowered by the hops.

It is a great example of a by-the-book IPA, which I enjoy a lot. It isn't like many of the West Coast-style pale ales and IPA's and the popular DIPA's that we've all been enjoying, but that's okay. It holds it own against the other beers. I still find it to be a spectacular beer and am very happy that this special force has found their way into Indianapolis.


Mike:
My analysis:
Reddish copper color.
Very little lacing, malt malt malty.
More hoppy in finish than front.

Upon initial tasting, my first thought was "this is not a very hoppy IPA". Considering that an IPA should always be hoppy, I ordered a Bell's Two Hearted IPA (the first off the keg, actually) for comparison's sake.


What we ended up with was a study in what Double IPAs can do to a person's perception of what is hoppy. We've spent so much time drinking Double IPAs as of late that maybe we forgot what the milder, regular IPA taste like. The bitterness here - in both beers for that matter - wasn't nearly as prevalent as we might have expected. In fact, Rodney refused to believe that the comparison beer was Two Hearted. So we got another sample, and achieved the same results.

Regardless, Crown Special Forces IPA is a tasty beer that stood up well against Bell's Two Hearted - a beer that is perhaps one of the gold standards of the IPA style.

It just wasn't what I expected.


Matt: I am pretty excited that we now have access to another Indiana brewer in Indianapolis. I am an admitted hop head and I like big hop presence IPAs that have big floral noses on them and a hop flavor profile to match. This beer though is what I think the style originally started out to be instead of what most brewers have evolved their IPAs into (not a bad thing at all). This beer had very little lacing on the pour, and the nose had rather light scents of grapefruit and pine. The flavor profile has a great deal of malt going on with plenty of sweetness that almost overcomes the hop flavors at some points, but overall, there is a good malt/hop balance. I liked this beer, but I would just prefer a bigger hop bite on it. I might think differently about this one in the winter though.


Rod: Special Forces IPA is a balanced IPA. It has a lot of hop power, but it also has a lot of sweetness to balance things out. For this reason, despite the huge hop presence, the bitterness will not slap you in the face. I won't say it's a love it or hate it kind of beer, but a lot of hardcore IPA fans definitely have their preferences. I prefer balanced IPAs. From the start, the caramel in the nose greatly subdues the presence of pine and grassy hops. The mouthfeel of the beer is almost sticky, with tons of pine, grapefruit and orange coming through in the massive amount of hops. Plenty of caramel fills in around the bitter sensations to create a hefty, though not overpowering sweetness. A bit of an herbal sensation, maybe basil, also shows up in the background.

I like this beer, and I would definitely order this again.


Okay, the A-Team didn't have any chicks, except as occasional guest stars. So I made them Charlie's Angels. Smart, strong, sexy, stylish. Yes, real women enjoy craft beer.

Gina: I pity the fool that doesn't drink this beer. Jason promised that I could be B.A. Baracus, but I guess it is okay that I am a Charlie's Angel, but which one?

Jess: I taste cilantro.

Crown Special Forces IPA
Mike: 3.72 Mugs Jason: 4.0 Mugs Gina: 3.35 Mugs Matt: 3.60 Mugs Rodney: 3.90 Mugs Jess: 3.20 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.62 Mugs

18 June 2010

Random Beer Roundup - The Sylvia Plath Edition



Happy Friday everyone! It's halftime for the US and things need to get a whole lot better.

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! Work for an establishment that serves craft beer? We want to hear from you too!

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change



What's Brewing

From New Albanian Brewing Co in New Albany:

















From Charles at Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington:
Friday, June 18th: Start off the Meridian Kessler Home Tour with some Upland beer at theTwilight Tour. Your ticket includes dinner, live entertainment, and admission to a silent auction sponsored by Upland.

Saturday June 18th: Try food from local independent restaurants, and beer and wine from local breweries and wineries at the Taste of Bloomington! A portion of the proceeds from Taste of Bloomington will benefit the Hoosier Hills Food Bank and the Community Kitchen of Monroe County.


Saturday June 18th: Upland will be serving beer at the Indianapolis Museum of Art to help celebrate the opening of 100 Acres: Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park. Be among the first to explore the site-specific works of art, see the completed Visitors Pavilion designed by architect Marlon Blackwell, and experience the landscape journeys designed by landscape architect Ed Blake. And grab a beer while you're at it!


Mon., June 21: Tickets for Todd Snider Live, a part of the Hillbilly Haiku Americana Music Series, go on sale. The Hillbilly Haiku Americana Music Series consists of an annual outdoor concert hosted by Upland Brewing Co. to raise money for Sycamore Land Trust and celebrate music, community, the natural beauty of southern Indiana, and let's not forget, great beer! All proceeds from the concert's ticket, food, and beverage sales benefit SLT, and through them, southern Indiana's endangered landscape. This year's headliner is Todd Snider. For details and ticket info, check out the Todd Snider Live web page.


Tue, June 22: Help us tap in Double Dragonfly at Shallos on Tuesday night! If you haven't had an opportunity to try this Imperial IPA yet, or want to talk about with an Upland rep, this is a great time to do it.


Friday, June 25: Join an Uplander at Moggers in Terre Haute on Friday evening for a guided tasting of Upland brews.


At the Bar

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse:
Upland Nut Hugger now available at Scotty's Brewhouse Downtown Indy and Scotty's Brewhouse Muncie
BBC Quarrymen Pale Ale now available at Scotty's Lakehouse in Geist

Carry Out

From Patrick at Crown Liquors:
New this week at Crown Wine and Spirits- Ohio and Delaware - Downtown Indy

Two Brothers Dog Days of Summer
Brooklyn Summer
Dogfish Head Festina Peche


Friday's tasting (3pm-7pm) will feature beer from The Bruery, Avery, and Boulevard!

Don't forget to buy your tickets for Brew-Ha-Ha (June 26) and B.I.G. Microbrewers Festival (July 17) here at the store (and other select Crown locations) before they're all gone!
From Eric at 21st Amendment in Broad Ripple:
This week we've got two new beers that I'm excited about:
We were rewarded with a second case of the Harpoon (100 Barrel Series) Single Hop ESB. They gave this to us because we sold out of our first case so fast. This beer is a small batch, limited release, well balanced ESB that showcases the brand new Delta Hop. If nothing else it's worth tasting one for educational purposes.
Goose Island just released the Fleur in Indiana. The Fleur is a belgian pale ale that is finished with Hibiscus flowers. Out of all the Goose Island belgian beers this one is the most approachable. The hibiscus flower gives the beer a rose color and the subtle flavor of a strawberry tort in the mid palate. We'll be tasting the Fleur at our weekly beer tasting tonight at 5 PM. Stop by and tell me if you agree with my description!
From Josh at United Package Liquors in Broad Ripple:
Please join us Friday, June 25th from 7-10PM for Indy's wine & brew fest presented by Stella Artois in the station strip center across from Applebee's in Broad Ripple. Tickets are $25 at all United package liquors locations and $30 the day of the event. Enjoy good food, fine wine, craft and Import beer and live music from the Flying toasters. Draft highlights include- nitro North coast Old Rasputin, nitro Boulder Mojo IPA and fresh draft from Founders, Heavy Seas, Tyranena and many more.

News around the web:
Rita Kohn's upcoming book, True Brew, is available for pre-order from Amazon.com.

11 June 2010

Random Beer Roundup - The World Cup Edition



Happy Friday everyone!

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! Work for an establishment that serves craft beer? We want to hear from you too!

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change



What's Brewing

From Clayton at Sun King Brewing Co. in Indianapolis:
Sun King is very excited to announce that we have added a couple of new brewers! Last month Adrian Ball, former assistant brewer at Alcatraz, Rock Bottom and The Ram over the last many years, joined our team and has been putting his skills to work on the Brew Deck helping us increase production to help meet the growing demand for our beers. Dustin Boyer, who was an assistant brewer at the Rock Bottom Indianapolis and Denver, then Head Brewer at Rock Bottom Indianapolis circa 2005 before leaving to help start Spencer's Stadium Tavern, where he has been for the last 5 years, has also come aboard to help out in all aspects of our operations, from the brewhouse to streets.

In the next couple of weeks, Sun King will take delivery of our Reverse Osmosis System that we have been researching and planning for several months now. We currently painstakingly pre-boil and treat every ounce of water that goes into making our beer in order to get the desired water chemistry for each of our beers, so the RO system help us save time and energy while allowing for greater consistency in our brewing processes.

On July 1st, 2010 we will be celebrating our 1st Anniversary! Dave and I brewed our first batch, Johan the Barleywine, on July 1st last year and have been cellaring it ever since. We will be releasing Johan in conjunction with our 1st Anniversary Dinner to be held in the Brewery with food pairings from our friends at Chef JJ's Back Yard. Unfortunately for most of you reading this, the dinner sold out a month ago... but don't fret, we are in the process of planning an Indiana Beer Week Dinner at Back Yard in Broadripple that will feature not only Sun King and Chef JJ, but several Indiana Breweries and some of the top Chefs in the city! Keep your eyes on Hoosier Beer Geek for more info.

From Andrew at The Ram Brewery in Indianapolis and Fishers:
Three seasonals on at The RAM, Downtown and Fishers stores, that you have to come in and try. Double Deuce Altbier, Barefoot Belgian Wit, and Lazy Daze Amber Lager. Come in and have a pint while you are watching opening weekend of the World Cup!

From New Albanian Brewing Co in New Albany:
















From Cari and Charles at Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington:
Monday, June 14, 6:30 pm - Beer & Wine Dinner at Pizzology featuring Upland Brewing Co. and Italian wines from Crossroad Vintners

Reception at 6:30 pm, with crudites, Preservation Pilsner and Prosecco.

Dinner at 7:00 pm with four courses paired each with an Upland beer and Italian wine.

More details to come once the menu is finalized. All of the courses will be dishes you will not find on the regular Pizzology menu. Neal Brown and Co. will be putting together a great menu for us.

Cost is $60 plus tax and tip. Seats are limited to 35. Please contact (317) 844-2550 for reservations.

*****
Upland is making you earn your beer on Sunday, June 13th. We'll be serving beers at the Hoosierman Triathlon in Bloomington...the only catch is, you have to finish the triathlon first! Think you're up for it?

Grab one of the last few seats at the Pizzology Beer and Wine Dinner in Carmel on Monday June 14th. Each of the four courses will be paired with an Italian wine and an Upland beer. Call (317) 844-2550 to reserve your spot. Salute!

An Upland rep will be pouring samples of beer at the College Mall Big Red Liquors in Bloomington on Thurs. night. Come try new brews and get acquainted with old favorites!

Start off the Meridian Kessler Home Tour with some Upland beer at the Twilight Tour on Friday, June 18th. Your ticket includes dinner, live entertainment, and admission to a silent auction sponsored by Upland.

Taste of Bloomington is on Sat., June 18th, from 3-11pm. Try food from local independent restaurants, and beer and wine from local brewers and wineries! A portion of the proceeds from Taste of Bloomington will benefit the Hoosier Hills Food Bank and the Community Kitchen of Monroe County.

Upland will be serving beer at the Indianapolis Museum of Art to help celebrate the opening of 100 Acres: Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park. Be among the first to explore the site-specific works of art, see the completed Visitors Pavilion designed by architect Marlon Blackwell, and experience the landscape journeys designed by landscape architect Ed Blake. And grab a beer while you're at it!

At the Bar

Check our Where to Drink - World Cup post

From Dan at Fat Dan's Deli in Broad Ripple:
We currently serve on tap, Fat Dan's Gold Ale, Fat Dan's Red Ale, Old Style and Delirium Tremens. I just blew the Dogfish 90 Minute keg, but will be replacing it this week. Please feel free to check out our website, www.fatdansdeli.com to see our menu and location.

Carry Out

From Todd at Keg Liquors in Clarksville:
Here is the latest from Keg Liquors in Clarksville:
Schlafly - American IPA (Missouri)
Tyranena - La Femme Amère (Wisconsin)
Mikkeller - Draft Bear (Denmark)
Cotleigh - Barn Owl (England)
Boulevard - Zon (Missouri)
Boulevard - Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale (Missouri)
Dark Horse - Sapient Trip Ale (Michigan)
Three Floyds - Arctic Panzer Wolf (Indiana)
From Patrick at Crown Liquors:
3 Floyd's Arctic Panzer- (Imperial Double IPA) A massive IPA that will leave your palate it's hapless victim. 100 IBU 9%ABV. The Indianapolis area received a very little amount of this special brew. Either be a great beer shopper or very lucky in finding one.
Boulevard Tank 7- A new saison to the state named after the number 7 tank at Boulevard in which it's brewed.
Avery 17th Anniversary- A dry hopped black lager; Schwarzbier. Brewed with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, imported German hops, and German yeast.
Tyranena Brewers gone wild La Femme Amere- (Belgian Ale) Brewed with spicy belgian yeast and specialty caramel malts. Best described as the Bitter Woman IPA travels to Belgium.
All of these have received great press and can't wait to taste them!
As always we will host a beer tasting Friday from 3-7 on Friday night. Some of these will definitely be popped and hope to see you there!

From Eric at 21st Amendment in Broad Ripple:
This week brings plenty of new beers for my store. I have a small amount of Brooklyn Brewery's Sorachi Ace. This beer is a bottle fermented saison, showcasing a brand new Japanese hope strain from which the beer takes its name. We have plenty of the Upland Double Dragonfly Imperial IPA. Upland did a great job with this beer. It's got a great malt profile to balance out the huge amount of hops Upland used. Don't forget to stock up for the USA v. England match on Saturday. We are loaded with session ales that will be perfect for the mid afternoon kick-off.

For our tasting this week, Ryan Pierce from Cavalier is going to be making a guest appearance. Since Ryan will be here we're goingto go big, with 10+ beers.
Here's the tasting list for today at 5PM:
Founders Centennial
Berghoff Pale
Sea Dog Blue Paw
Clipper City Gold Ale
Clipper City Loose Cannon
Tyranena Rocky's Revenge
Thirsty Dog Old Leg Humper
Great Divide Hoss
Left Hand Good JuJu
Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard
Stone IPA
Southern Star Burried Hatchet
It'll be one of our better tastings. You should swing by on your way home from work!
From Joe at Payless Liquors on 96th Street:
Appearing presently at the Payless store on 96th street inclue such fun items as Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch, Three Floyds Blackheart, Black Albert, Vintage Left Hand limited release beers, Pissenlit Saison, Stone/Brewdog Bashah. We have a new Berlinerweiss (1808) and just in time for the weekend we will also have World Cup Weihenstephaner gift sets which include a collectable glass. We are getting the whole line of Shoreline Barrell-aged Beers back in stock. And finally we have recently upgraded our can selection. No word yet on when the chain will begin carrying Sun King.

News around the web:

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

Upcoming Event - THIS WEEKEND:

From Ben at Mad Anthony Serious Homebrewers (MASH):
Botanical Brew & Q in Fort Wayne

The Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory will be holding the annual Brew & Q on June 13th. Some changes to the program, the addition of some demonstrations and a live Best of Show judging will be great improvements to the event. Tickets are only $5 and include sample tickets. I'm not sure what breweries have committed at this point. I'm sure that MABC is involved, though. They're doing the barbecue.

Details:
http://www.botanicalconservatory.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70:botanical-brew-a-q&catid=10:events-a-exhibitions&Itemid=1

This is the first year that the homebrew competition will be sanctioned. Registration ends on May 21st. Judging is June 12th. We will have a strong BJCP judge roster. Entries are $8 for the first entry and $4 for each additional entry. The first entry includes admission to the Conservatory's Brew & Q event on June 13th when winners will be announced and the Best of Show judging will be done as part of the activities.

Judge Registration:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dG44WmxOVHRRX3FZRW1PNU5pVktpTVE6MQ

Where to Drink - The World Cup Edition

Being a fan of the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team is kind of a masochistic exercise. Fans from countries with long-established football traditions look upon you with a disdainful pity. They know that your team does not rate among the world's best, and they smile at the notion that America cannot seem to force its hegemony upon the world's game. What's more, your team is a Jekyll and Hyde project. On its best days, it can vanquish the world's best teams; on its worst, it can look like your nephew's under-10 traveling club team.

But we still love our team (I mean, what other team in the World Cup can claim a player named Herculez?). And America's interest in the game, especially in the USMNT's exploits, grows during every World Cup cycle. During the 2002 World Cup, only a handful of the most faithful fans were getting up at 3:00 a.m. to watch the Yanks' quarterfinal run in Japan/South Korea, and only one bar in town opened in the wee hours for viewing parties. Eight years later, the list of pubs opening early to show World Cup matches is substantially larger, and the number of fans who actually know the USMNT's players and where they play their professional soccer is exponentially larger.

So we continue Hoosier Beer Geek's soccer fan indoctrination project with a special edition of our "Where to Drink" series. Here's our list of where in Indianapolis you can enjoy good-quality beer along with your viewing of World Cup soccer--

Brugge Brasserie

This will be the KOTBR's home base for World Cup matches (though we can't promise that we'll be there for every USA game). For the Yanks' opening match against England on Saturday, our favorite former goalkeeper, Ted "Safe Hands" Miller, will have the big screen up in the downstairs dining room for family-friendly match viewing. Of course, the upstairs pub will also be open for those 21 and over. Belgian-style beer (including, we hope, the much coveted Pooka) + Belgian brasserie fare + World Cup games = Golazo-azo-azo-azo!

Broad Ripple Brewpub

Just down the Monon Trail from Brugge, Broad Ripple Brewpub publican (and Englishman) John Hill has a television in the bar that always seems to be tuned to the big game of most sporting events. We wouldn't be surprised if the BRBP were a great place to take in a match or two. Given John's English roots, we imagine that you might run into a some of his fellow expats enjoying a few pints and some bangers and mash.

Chatham Tap

For many USMNT fans, the Tap has become the place to head on match day. The reason is fairly clear: this Mass Ave establishment is unabashedly soccer-focused, often opening early in the morning to show league and international matches from around the world. We went to the Tap to watch the USA's disappointing loss to Brazil in last year's Confederations Cup final; the place was packed with passionate and knowledgeable fans. If you're going to the Tap, arrive well before kick-off; the bar will fill up quickly, especially for USA matches.

MacNiven's Restaurant & Bar

Amazing beer list. Televisions galore, often tuned to soccer. Tasty, Americanized Scottish fare. If the Chatham Tap is not your style because you're not down with hanging out with wall-to-wall crazies, head down Mass Ave to MacNiven's to catch your favorite team.

Union Jack Pub - Broad Ripple

Like the Chatham Tap, the Union Jack is a destination for those who like to get up on weekend mornings to watch their English Premier League team in action. They have a decent bottle and draft list and family-friendly seating. They also do a respectable Chicago deep-dish pizza. What more is there to say?

Radio Radio

You may be wondering what a rock club is doing on this list. There's a good reason: Radio Radio owner Tufty Clough hails from Liverpool and is a life-long football fan. The club was open for World Cup matches in 2006 and was an excellent venue to take in those games with its large-screen, hi-def televisions. The club holds a special place in my heart because it's where I first met Mike and Gina during one of the USA's 2006 World Cup matches. World Beer Cup medal winners Sun King are among the beers on tap. Doors open 30 minutes before kick-off for the first game of the day. Showing all 64 matches.

Red Lion Grog House

If you're in Fountain Square and not heading to Radio Radio for games, you might want to hit the Red Lion. We recently visited and were fairly impressed with what we saw. Upland and Sun King are on the tap list.

Scotty's Brewhouse

And then there's Scotty's, with its ubiquitous televisions, its massive and outstanding tap list, and its encyclopedia-sized food menu. While we can imagine that this is the one bar where you're most likely to run into soccer-haters, don't let that discourage you. We're big fans of Scotty's, if only because of the larger-than-life experience that each Scotty's location provides.

If you know of any other bars or restaurants, whether in Indy or elsewhere in Indiana, that are showing World Cup matches, please let us know in the comments.

08 June 2010

Getting to Know Your US National Team Through the Magic of Beer


The World Cup starts Friday, and if you're not excited, then I'll apologize in advance for the everything you'll see on this site in the next month. Many of us at Hoosier Beer Geek believe that there is nothing better than the World Cup, and we hope you agree.

If you're already into the World Cup, or just interested and looking to learn, we thought we'd help you along by offering up the Hoosier Beer Geek guide to your US National Team. Since this is HBG, we decided that the the best way to do that is to compare the players to the breweries in your Brewers of Indiana Guild.

Broad Ripple Brewpub/Tim Howard - Rock solid towers that lead by example. Respected by the entire community as one of the best at what he/they do.

Three Floyds/Oguchi Onyewu - Both are known on the biggest of stages. They regularly intimidate the competition, and are irreplaceable in the lineup.

Crown Brewing/Jay DeMerit - Both toil away in the shadow of a bigger player in a similar position (Three Floyds/Oguchi Onyewu), but have proven that hard work has its rewards.

Barley Island/Carlos Bocanegra - Long-time fixtures in their respective teams, they are dependable and versatile.

Sun King Brewing/Landon Donovan - Wildly productive on a local level, both have recently shown to be able to produce results on a larger stage.

Lafayette Brewing/Michael Bradley - Steady engines who lead through a solid understanding of the game.

Oaken Barrel/Maurice Edu - Both play in lesser-known yet underappreciated leagues (Greenwood/Scotland), loved by home fans due to clutch performances in big competitions.

Upland/Jose Torres - Both are steady, solid, and skillful, and known to dazzle with a surprise or two.

Mad Anthony/DaMarcus Beasley - Both hail from Fort Wayne. Oftentimes lost in the shuffle, but are consistent performers that have quite a resume. More decorated that most.

Brugge Brewing/Clint Dempsey - Oftentimes underappreciated by some local "experts" (I'm looking at you Beer Advocate/John Harkes), but wildly creative and a consistent producer of quality.

People's Brewing Company/Jozy Altidore - Newcomers who show the potential to be future stars.

New Albanian/Herculez Gomez - Both stars that hail from the south. They come on to score every time.