#HBGWeek | Hoosier Beer Geek's Favorite Things at Shoefly Public House - Wednesday, July 16

In the run-up to the Indiana Microbrewers Festival, we're celebrating HBG's Hoosier Beer Week. And we now have more details about one of the events for #HBGWeek.

When: Wednesday, July 16, 6:30pm

Where: Shoefly Public House, 122 East 22nd Street, 317.283.5007

What: Hoosier Beer Geek's Favorite Things - Come enjoy our hand-picked lineup of beers that would make the Von Trapp family envious.


Featured Beers | $4 for 4 oz. and $6 for 8 oz.:

Brasserie Cantillon's Iris Lambic (5% ABV)

Iris is a completely original beer which, contrary to the brewery's other beers, is not brewed with 35% wheat. Iris, which is made only with malt of the pale ale type (giving a more amber colour to the beer), conserves the typical flavor of the spontaneous fermentation, the complex aromas, and the vinous taste.

The hopping is different too. Lambic is usually made with 100% dried hops. But for Iris we use 50% dried hops and 50% fresh hops. The latter cause a superb acidity, and the former, due to their tannins, conserve the beer while preserving all its qualities.

After two years in the barrel, Iris undergoes a second fresh hopping two weeks before bottling. A linen bag filled with hops is soaked in the beer for two weeks. This technique, called "cold hopping," gives the beer a more intense flavor and makes the smell and the taste more bitter.

Bell's Brewery's Black Note Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout (11.5% ABV)

One of the most sought-after stouts in Bell's history, Black Note Stout blends the complex aromatics of Expedition Stout with the velvety smooth texture of Double Cream Stout and ages the combination in freshly retired oak bourbon barrels for months. The resulting harmony of flavors captures the finest features of all three components: malty notes of dark chocolate, espresso and dried fruits, all buoyed by the warmth and fragrance of the bourbon barrel. Aimed squarely at stout and bourbon aficionados, Black Note makes a grand statement about the art of the dark.


Featured Beers | $2 for 4 oz. and $4 for 8 oz.:

Boulevard Brewing Company's Ginger-Lemon Radler (4.05% ABV)

A zesty, refreshing take on the classic "cyclist," sessionable and full of character.

Founders Brewing Company's Rübæus (5.7% ABV)

Not another boring summer wheat beer or lemonade shandy—Rübæus is Founders’ way to celebrate the season’s warmest months. Optimizing the flavor of fresh raspberries added at multiple stages during fermentation, this stunning berry red masterpiece is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. No question about it, with a hefty malt bill and 5.7% ABV, this beer is 100% Founders.

Local Option Bierwerker's Kentucky Common (6.5% ABV)

Kentucky Common is a modern interpretation of an ale style native to pre-prohibition Louisville. Historically the beer was dark in color, creamy, and tart as a result of the introduction of lactobacillus bacteria by sour mashing. Local Option Bierkwerker took up the task of brewing this once familiar style – electing to use specialty grains rather than a large percentage of corn – yielding an adventurous taste profile befitting both conventional and courageous palates.

Three Floyds Brewing Company's Dreadnaught IPA (9.5% ABV)

An Imperial India Pale Ale with an intense citrus hop aroma, a huge malt body and a crisp finish.






We hope you'll join us! In the meantime, spread the word, and use #HBGWeek on social media. An overview of the #HBGWeek calendar is here.

Indiana Lagers You Should Be Drinking

I've been saying for a while now that too many craft beer lovers ignore lagers. Yet I can understand why this is. Just about all of us started our beer-drinking lives with an American adjunct lager like Budweiser. When we graduated to craft beer, we did so because we were seeking more flavor. And over time, our palates craved more and more intensity.

I was once this kind of craft beer drinker. But now, I'm in the same camp as Jeff Alworth of Beervana when he says that some of us craft beer drinkers have unnecessarily confined ourselves to a love of radical beer styles when we should try to appreciate the simpler styles.

We're into freedom of choice in this country. I can't force you to like certain beers, nor would I even try. We all have different palates after all. However, I can encourage you break out of the rut into which you may have fallen. I can encourage you to give lagers another chance.

Like ales, lagers vary in flavor profile, from malt-forward Bocks to hop-forward Pilsners to smoky Rauchbiers. My favorite style is the Vienna or Amber Lager, which is a copper-colored beer with a prevalent caramel malt base and a crisp hop finish. This style is exemplified by Great Lakes Brewing's Eliot Ness Amber Lager (which unfortunately isn't available in central Indiana). I'm also partial to the straw-colored Bohemian Pilsner with its spicy hop notes and clean malt finish. Among the better American-brewed Bohemian Pilsners is Oskar Blues' Mama's Little Yella Pils.

Luckily for us Hoosiers, Indiana breweries are producing some excellent lagers. Here are a few that we think are worth seeking out:

Fountain Square Workingman's Pilsner - The 2012 Hoosier Beer Geek Beer of the Year.
Outliers Blau Machen Pilsner - One of the flagship beers from Ted Miller's new brewing venture.
People's Pilsner - A Hoosier Beer Geek favorite.
Sun King Oktoberfest - When Märzen season arrives, put this in your bier stein.
Three Floyds Gorch Fock - This seasonal Helles rolls out during the summer.
Thr3e Wise Men Hot for Teacher Ms. Doppelbock - Silver Medal Winner, 2014 World Beer Cup, Category 41: German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock

HBG Pre-Winterfest Pint Night: Thursday, January 30, 6:30pm, Mass Ave Pub

So we're a little late with the notice. And we apologize. It's just that we've been busy helping the Brewers of Indiana Guild with Winterfest planning, and we've been trying to line up some special beers for our resumption of our monthly Pint Night this month.

As our warm-up for Winterfest, we're featuring two heavy hitters in the DIPA class as the main event. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Bell's Hopslam Ale, the Maniac from Michigan, versus Three Floyds Permanent Funeral, the Rascal from the Region. You'll be able to catch this bout on Thursday, January 30 at 6:30pm at the Mass Ave Pub. A 9 oz. pour of both beers will together cost you $10. Or you can go with a single 9 oz. pour of Hopslam for $6 or a single 9 oz. pour of Permanent Funeral for $4. And if you get pours of both beers, you'll have the option of filling out a judging card on which you'll get to vote for your favorite in this head-to-head match-up.

So join us next Thursday night at the Mass Ave Pub as we get prepped for Winterfest.

Great American Beer Festival | 2013 Indiana Medal Winners

The 2013 Great American Beer Festival concluded this past weekend. And once again, Indiana breweries took home medals. More specifically, Sun King, Three Floyds, and RAM collectively won four medals for the Hoosier State:

Category: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
Winner: Gold Medal, Sun King for Afternoon Delight Barrel-Aged Dopplebock

Category: Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Stout
Winner: Gold Medal, Three Floyds for Blot Out The Sun Imperial Stout

Category: Field Beer or Pumpkin Beer
Winner: Silver Medal, RAM Restaurant and Brewery - Indianapolis for Anaheim IPA

Category: Imperial IPA
Winner: Silver Medal, Three Floyds for Permanent Funeral









We at Hoosier Beer Geek offer our congratulations to Sun King, Three Floyds, and RAM!

Commentary/Conversation | Revisiting Indiana's Barrel Limit Law

Jim:

It might be time to revisit a topic we've discussed before: Indiana's barrel limit law. As things stand right now, Indiana breweries are limited to making no more than 30,000 barrels per year for in-state sales if they want to do things like distribute their beers directly to bars and other retailers, have a restaurant on-site, and sell beer on-site (see Indiana Code section 7.1-3-2-2). The barrel limit used to be 20,000 until a lobbying effort spearheaded by Three Floyds and Sun King was successful in getting the barrel limit raised to the current limit of 30,000.

An August article in the Times of Northwest Indiana noted that Three Floyds is on pace to produce 25,000 barrels this year and will surpass 30,000 barrels in the near future. I'm not sure what Sun King's current barrel production is for 2012, but it can't be far behind Three Floyds'. Given that these two breweries will probably be bumping up against the limit again soon, I suppose the question is this: Why do we still have the barrel limit? What practical purpose does it serve? What parties have a stake in seeing it remain? I suppose one fortunate thing is that the barrel limit doesn't apply to out-of-state sales. But given that most Indiana breweries have Indiana consumers as their target market, why should Indiana breweries have their hands tied in this fashion? (I know that these may seem like facile questions to some, but they're worth asking for readers who might be unaware of the barrel limit.)

Jake:

Why do we still have the barrel limit?
I honestly can't think of a good reason to limit production. With greater production comes greater tax revenue for the state, more jobs to run expanded production, and the potential for re-use of industrial/commercial property that may otherwise be vacant.

What practical purpose does it serve?
I suppose the limit could make it a more equal playing field for new breweries and established breweries within the state. But again, I do not see the upside.

What parties have a stake in seeing it remain?
I see where the limit could benefit distributors that have sister companies in other states and could help a brewery by getting their beer out of state to stay under the 30k limit. That said, for new breweries that want to self-distribute and grow unfettered, I can see where they may consider moving over the border to a surrounding state.

I suppose one fortunate thing is that the barrel limit doesn't apply to out-of-state sales. But given that most Indiana breweries have Indiana consumers as their target market, why should Indiana breweries have their hands tied in this fashion?
One of the things that I enjoy most about Three Floyds is being able to go to the Brewpub. The limit threatens to close that part because they will continue to pump more and more beer through the pub. I also enjoy seeing the Sun King trucks around the streets of Indy on their morning delivery routes. I know that Dave, Clay, and their team have a focus on continued growth within Indiana and I see no reason to handcuff them. The only negative to larger growth that could be argued would be the environmental impact from using more caustic to clean more tanks. However, I see this as a minor detraction from the tax revenue, jobs, and other benefits the brewing industry brings.


Jason:

From what I have heard, a lot of out-of-state breweries are envious of Indiana breweries because they can sell on site, operate restaurants, and self distribute. I think it makes Indiana fertile grounds for new breweries. But as we have seen, breweries are pushing the limits and their success is now a hindrance. For the successful, it raises the question: What do I do now? Three Floyds could move some or all of its operations to Illinois with relative ease. Or Michigan. Or Wisconsin. Sun King could, instead of continuing expansion in Indiana, open a second brewery elsewhere. That is lost jobs and lost taxes, and most importantly, lost pride. Indiana has great momentum in the craft beer industry. Let's not hinder the momentum for puritanical reasons.

Rod:

If I had to guess, the law was originally put in place to separate the business of a brewpub and a production brewery. In some ways, it would even protect the idea of a neighborhood brewery. But that's entirely speculation, as there is obviously a very real history to the law that would require a lot of investigation to uncover. The law itself doesn't translate properly to our modern society. Breweries are bigger, there are more people, and the three-tier system provides a mechanism to bring the world's beers to Indiana. Whatever original purpose the law held, it only serves to hinder progress today. Much as the barrel limits were increased recently, they will likely need to be increased again.

It hurts the business, the state, and the consumer for the limits to prohibit self-distribution or restaurant operation, and there is no logical reason I can figure out for them to remain in place. I am very curious to hear what the counter-argument is to raising the limit. I hope it is not the sensationalist nonsense about underage drinking and drunk driving that I frequently see spewed in public forums.

Wish to offer your opinion? Leave a comment below or on our Facebook page.

Dark Lord Day 2012 Recap

Heading up to Munster for our fifth Dark Lord day, there weren't the list of questions that normally float around the event. Or maybe those questions did still exist, but we've learned to just go with it.

The previous large Three Floyds event - their 15th anniversary party - wasn't without its problems; on the inside things went smoothly, but there were some folks who didn't make their way through the gates until much later than they had expected. But despite what some folks might believe, the 3F staff does pay attention, and they do work hard at making their events as good as possible.

With that in mind I expected a nearly flawless event, and Three Floyds delivered.


The HBG crew arrived later than normal this year - with the addition of per-ordained time slots, there's really not much reason to get there too early (though one gentleman set up shop at 3am). Although we were deep in the line, we knew what to expect, and things moved pretty quickly once the doors were opened. I was also well on my way at that point, thanks to our cooler bag and the help of the folks near us in line.

Sometimes you pose in a scarf.

In previous years we did our best to cover all aspects of the event. This year we enjoyed ourselves, setting up camp on a northeast corner picnic table with a group of folks who closely associate with STLHops - good folks to spend a day drinking with. My phone died very early into the event, so photographic coverage ceased. In any case, it won't be long until you can find multiple "line videos" on youtube, as we were passed by folks videoing the event nearly every 10 minutes.

Towards the end of our day our table was crowded by the Group C line, with folks trying to buy our beer, or trade line tickets for bottles, and things got a bit uncomfortable - our cue to go watch High on Fire. We took in a few songs, and headed back to our parking lot and a park bench to talk over the day. A good day, as expected.

Line beer two, I think. Line highlights included Firestone Walker's Sucaba.

Overall I thought the event was great. Lines were ridiculous as always, but I thought moving the picnic tables out of the middle and cycling the guest taps more frequently by offering less at a time were big improvements. It was also nice that they had 12+ 3 Floyds beers on at the other stations, instead of just the 4 standards.

""That's got 12.5% alcohol? That's a hell of a pizza!"
Cleanup efforts began much earlier this year, as roving groups of folks picked up empty bottles while many were still in line.

I was expecting the worst on Saturday and was surprised by how well it went. Lines are lines, so be it, but they were a helluvalot better organized than last year. No chairs and no big coolers meant more room for everybody. I liked how they handled guest taps too. At the end, they put Firestone Walker Sucaba on tap. Damn good shit. If they had put a lot more on tap at once, then all the good stuff would have been gone early. The amount of 3F beer was great too. They could use portalets in the carryout purchase line and around the industrial park for pre-entry waiting. But otherwise, I have nothing bad to say other than I didn't win. But that's just $50 I didn't have to spend.


It was very cold standing in line, but as the day went on things got more reasonable. These folks lowered the tent to get out of the wind.

As a dld virgin, I loved it. I don't have anything to compare it to, obviously, but things seemed to run pretty smoothly. My only suggestions would be more trash cans lining the entry route - makes people more likely to actually throw their trash away; adding some water stations around the place; some portalets outside on the entry route; and adding a little more seating. But that said, not having those things didn't cause any real problems. The beer selection was great, though between what I brought and what people were sharing, I actually only bought 3 beers.

From the Pages of the Indianapolis Star: Beer Label Art

The following is the unedited version of an article ran in the Indianapolis Star on March 15th.

With names like Hoptimus, Moloko, and Osiris, craft beers from New Albanian, Three Floyds, and Sun King leave a memorable impression on the minds of drinkers. But along with their names might come another impression, that of their container art.

Prior to labeling, breweries relied on glassware with embossed lettering to advertise their wares. The process of placing a paper label on the bottle became common practice in the mid-19th century, with Guinness adopting the process as early as the 1840s.

“The first aspect (of a beer label) is to establish some kind of identity,” said leading British beer writer Jeff Evans. “A brewery needs to put its thumbprint on a bottle so that customers can easily see where the beer comes from and can quickly identify beers from breweries they like.” Label art allows a brewery to establish an identity to customers, in addition to suggesting if the bottle’s contents are traditional or adventurous. “The concept of quality is tied in closely with the image,” said Evans. “How much more appealing does a beer with a classy label look than one with a cheap cartoon?”

At New Albanian Brewing Company, those labels are created by graphic designer Anthony Beard, 31, who began his career with the brewery behind the kitchen doors. "I was working here a year before anyone knew I could draw," said Beard. Although Beard has a background in creative arts - he earned a film production degree from Webster University - he never expected to draw for a living. "I just drew as a hobby," he said.

With a constant stream of new projects coming from the brewhouse, Beard finds plenty of work to keep himself busy. "We do a lot of different beer with a lot of different influences," he said. "There's also a lot of festivals, tap handles, promo items, and that kind of stuff." Among his favorite work was the label for the recently released Bonfire of the Valkyries Smoked Black Lager, “because i like Norse mythology and (the art) played into my interests.”

Beard is given complete control over his design choices, and said that although his employers might not always get the idea behind his work at first glance, they've never vetoed his ideas. "The brewery was started by people that are passionate about what they do, and they understand art on that level," he said.

Jim Zimmer, 36, has worked as a graphic designer with Munster's Three Floyds Brewing Company for four years, finding the position through a friendship with the brewery's sales manager. Zimmer's background in studio arts came from Depauw University, and in addition to his work for Floyds, he works full time at a Chicago ad agency. "I don't get to do super creative stuff," he said. "Being an artist by trade, I like to get out there and do some wild stuff whenever I can."

Three Floyds provides that opportunity. In addition to work on bottle art, Zimmer is largely responsible for all promotional materials from the brewery - everything from playing cards, hockey jerseys, and the highly sought “golden tickets” for the company's annual Dark Lord Day beer release.

"I love doing the stuff for Dark Lord Day because it's a big event," he said. The ticket for the 2011 event featured the the prominent use of skulls and the sort of kill-markings familiar to military aircraft. "I got a text from (brewery president) Nick Floyd that said 'We want the theme to be space marines'," said Zimmer.

It was Zimmer’s first label for Three Floyds - a brightly colored piece combining imagery from the film “A Clockwork Orange” with elements of the brewery's logo - that he might be most proud of. "I always show the Moloko label when i show my portfolio," he said.

If there’s a brewery whose packaging echos the techniques used on the glassware of the 1800s, perhaps it’s the embossed cans at Indianapolis’ Sun King Brewery. Can designs are provided by Indianapolis based-artist Shane Brown, 33, who got his start painting murals while attending Muncie Central High School, eventually studying at Columbus College of Art and Design. After leaving college he found work as a traveling artist for a nationally-distributed brewery, painting murals in bars throughout the country.

When burnout set in, Brown returned to Indiana, working as a server and chalk artist for the now-defunct Alcatraz Brewing Company. There he often crossed paths with Rock Bottom brewer Clay Robinson, who eventually went on to help found Sun King Brewery. When Robinson needed art for his startup brewery, he turned to Brown.

“We had a few beers and came up with the concept for the Sun King logo,” said Brown. “I started searching on the internet for ideas based on Aztec features, with hard angles, sharp type - things that we set in stone. Clay had these ideas based on the Mayan calendar, with the four seasons.” In finding a natural correlation between the four seasons and the four ingredients in beer - water, malt, hops, and yeast - a brewery logo was born.

Riding the crest of what has become a nationwide canned beer revolution has provided Brown’s work a larger audience than he’d ever imagined. Features such as Men’s Health’s list of best canned beers brought Brown’s imagery to magazine pages across the country. “I thought ‘Ok, this is big time’,” said Brown. “I had never worked in can art, and I was told that I couldn't do a lot of things to start with,” he said, “but now that we're established I've got more free reign. With the technology now I can go a lot further with it.”

Dark Lord Day 2012: Details are Up

In FYI News, Three Floyds Brewery has just released details for Dark Lord Day 2012.

To save you a click, here's the latest:

2012 Darklord Day Tips

Darklord Day 2012 will be on Saturday, April 28th. If you are planning on attending, we have a few suggestions (and some firm rules).

A ticket will be required for entry to Darklord Day. Please do not make travel plans until you have a ticket. Ticket sales will be announced soon.

Once again, the Munster Police Department will enforce traffic flow and loitering (again, no RVs will be allowed in the industrial Park).

Darklord Day is a 21 and over event.

Pets will not be permitted.

Coolers, furniture, tents, grills etc… will not be permitted. If you want to bring a couple beers to trade or sample, that’s great within reason.

Parking is not provided by the brewery. Please carpool and designate a driver.

Darklord day is cash only. ATMs will be available on site.

Please respect our town and neighbors. We want to continue to hold a safe and fun event in the years to come and we can only do it with your help.

Please follow us on our blog, Facebook or Twitter for the latest info as we release it.

Unsung Heroes of Indiana Craft Beer - Pale Ales & IPAs

On January 28, the Brewers of Indiana Guild will stage the fourth annual Winterfest, which will of course feature offerings from Indiana's craft breweries. In honor of Winterfest, we've decided to focus most of our posts this month on Indiana beers.

As part of this focus, we thought it would be a good idea to shine the spotlight on Indiana beers that are overlooked or underrated--the unsung heroes of Indiana craft beer, if you will.

Admittedly, our methods in picking these beers were not scientific. Indeed, some of the beers that we'll talk about have won awards, so calling these beers "unsung heroes" might be a bit of a stretch. Moreover, our list is going to focus on only one beer from each Indiana brewery we discuss, and we may have omitted breweries who brew beers worthy of unsung hero status. So leave us a comment noting any beer that you think should have been included in the list.

In our second installment of this series, we reveal our picks from Indiana's pale ales and IPAs.

Broad Ripple Brewpub Lawnmower Pale Ale. Some craft beer aficionados tend to overlook English-style beers because of their mellow flavor profile. But sometimes, an in-your-face hop bomb simply doesn't suit the occasion. Brewed by the granddaddy of Indiana craft breweries, Broad Ripple Brewpub's Lawnmower Pale Ale is an easy-drinking brew that is admittedly tailor-made for those new to drinking craft beer. But if you're looking something sessionable, flavorful, and subtly citrusy, you cannot go wrong with this beer. Perfect for the pub's patio in the July and August heat.

Flat12 Bierwerks Walkabout Pale Ale. This beer originated at the Indiana Microbrewers Festival last summer as part of the ReplicAle program. Under this program, all participating breweries brewed a single-hop pale ale according to the same recipe, but each brewery chose a different hop. For its ReplicAle, Flat12 chose Galaxy hops, a high-alpha hop from Australia--hence, the name "Walkabout." Walkabout was so well-liked that Flat12 decided to brew it again after Winterfest. You'll undoubtedly be seeing more of it around town. We'll have a more detailed write-up on Walkabout soon because we recently reviewed it at a roundtable. For now, know that the citrus and passion fruit notes of this sessionable beer will leave you craving more. We wouldn't be surprised if this beer becomes a local favorite.

Three Floyds Pride & Joy. You may be wondering why a Three Floyds beer is on a list of underrated beers. Doesn't the brewery get enough attention already? Mike recently enjoyed a Pride & Joy on draft at the Tomlinson Tap Room. He explains why we've included this beer as an unsung hero of Indiana craft beer--

While Three Floyds certainly needs no hype, Pride and Joy seems to be an often overlooked selection from their stellar lineup. It's probably no surprise that if you stick your nose in the general vicinity of the beer, a pungent hop aroma jumps out at you. Despite being a "mild ale", the beer has all the big and bold characteristics you'd expect from Three Floyds, but like Gumballhead or Zombie Dust, it rewards the drinking sip after sip, providing full flavor without ever overwhelming the palate.

Pride and Joy slots in between Alpha King and Gumballhead on the IBU scale, and if you're a fan of Floyds in general, the beer won't let you down. I've heard that the bottled version isn't as great - probably due to traffic/freshness if anything - but on tap it's a beer with very few competitors. If Pride and Joy were the only Floyds beer you knew, it would still be worthy of the throne. It's odd to think that the recipe may be 14 years old, and yet the beer is still unique and sort of aggressively yet agreeably great.

While it's hard to call any Floyds beer underrated, Pride and Joy is surely often-forgotten, despite the fact that it's as good or better than many other breweries' flagship beers.

Mad Anthony IPA. When you think of IPAs from Indiana, Mad Anthony is probably not the first beer that comes to mind. Yet we like this beer quite a bit. We tend to think of Mad Anthony IPA as a "workhorse" IPA--steady, dependable, never disappointing. Indeed, it's probably one of the most well-balanced IPAs produced in the state; it toes the line between malty sweetness and citrusy, bitter hoppiness quite nicely. Take it from us: you should not turn your nose up at this beer.

Oaken Barrel Superfly IPA. A 100+ IBU explosion of citrus and pine hop character supported by a toasty and sweet malt backing. What's not to like about this beer? Along with the brewery's Snake Pit Porter (which also could easily be classified as an unsung craft beer hero), Superfly is our go-to beer when we visit Oaken Barrel. If you dig this beer as much as we do, make sure you get a growler before you leave the pub. We've never reviewed Superfly, but that's going to have to change soon.

Rock Bottom College Park Simcoe IPA. Unfortunately, chain brewpubs sometimes get a bad rap. People automatically assume that if it's corporate, it's not worth having. Definitely not so with Rock Bottom. Among the other beers she brews, Rock Bottom College Park's brewmaster Liz Laughlin has a gem with her Simcoe IPA. Yes, we realize that Simcoe IPA is an award-winning beer, so maybe we're cheating by calling it an "unsung hero." And yes, we realize that the beer is a seasonal beer, so its availability is limited and you probably can't get it right now. But we wanted to emphasize that just because it's corporate doesn't necessarily mean that it's not worth having. In other words, you should order this beer when it's on.

Here's what we had to say when we reviewed Simcoe IPA back in 2010:

Mike: A sweet nose with just a hint of candy grapefruit elements gives way to a middle that's lightly woody, piney, and perfectly balanced. The beer finishes chewy and bitter, but with a subtleness that begs for repeated drinking.

Rod: The first thing that jumps out in this IPA, as with most IPAs, is the strong hop bitterness. Strong bitterness, yet moderate for the style. Caramel and sugary sweetness round off the edges of the hops and a soft carbonation level gives it a creamy mouthfeel. Grapefruit and lemon zest are the most prominent, and probably most expected bitter flavors in this beer. Pine and juniper hints give it a pleasantly spicy compliment.

Gina: One whiff of this IPA and I was in heaven. The super strong nose of pine and grapefruit gave way to a sweet, chewy mouthfeel reminiscent of a Double IPA. This beer was big but the flavors playfully remained balanced. There is a line at which hop flavor goes from complex and flavorful to harsh and bitter and this beer seems to walk right up to that line without crossing it. By the time I finished my sip, I was already looking forward to the next.

Previously: Unsung Heroes of Indiana Craft Beer - Lagers

The 2011 Knights of the Beer Roundtable Beer of the Year - Three Floyds Zombie Dust

Every December since 2008, we have looked back at all the beers reviewed during our roundtables over the past year so we can pick our favorites. In some cases, not all the Knights attended a roundtable. So admittedly, our ranking method is far from scientific.

This year's field was made up of 37 competitors from seven states and four countries. The vast majority of the candidates were from Indiana - this is Hoosier Beer Geek, after all - but we feel confident that the beers receiving votes this year are as good as any beers you'll find anywhere.

Because our method isn't scientific, it's possible that we may have decided that we like a beer more or less since the roundtable in which we reviewed the beer happened. In any case, looking back, we've decided that the beers listed below left us with the fondest of memories.

And our fondest memory of them all?

Three Floyds Zombie Dust


We reviewed the beer that began its life as Cenotaph when we visited Twenty Tap during its opening week for a roundtable. Most of us had tried Zombie Dust before the Twenty Tap roundtable, so we knew what we were in for. Not surprisingly, the beer won near-unanimous acclaim from us:

"This single-hop (Citra) pale ale has the classic attributes of a Three Floyds pale ale: aggressive pineapple, mango, and grapefruit notes. It's also backed with a nice, somewhat caramel-like maltiness. . . . [I]f Zombie Dust tastes like this when I have it in the future, it will officially become my favorite Three Floyds beer. The best of the bunch."

"The orange-pineapple nose was bright and very enticing. The similar flavor gives a sweet, sticky kiss on the lips rather than a punch in the mouth, but don’t tell Floyds that. They have a punch-in-the-mouth image to uphold. Not only would I order this without question, I would go out of my way to find it."

This is the first year that we picked a Three Floyds beer as our beer of the year, but it was only a matter of time before that occurred. Perhaps it's appropriate that Three Floyds won beer of the year honors from us on the year of their 15th anniversary. Our congratulations go out to the Three Floyds crew!

And now for an explanation of our ranking system...

We ranked our top five beers with the option of listing beers under "honorable mention." We awarded 3 points to a first place vote, 2 points for a second, 1 for a third, 0.5 for a fourth, 0.25 for a fifth, and 0.1 for an honorable mention.

As you'll see, Three Floyds is well-represented in the rankings; the brewery also won second place for Three Kings Pale Ale, a beer it brewed in collaboration with Sun King. And in addition to local brewery Sun King, locals Brugge, Flat 12, Ram, and Upland are represented in our rankings.

Here are the votes from each Knight of the Beer Roundtable:

Jason

I had a lot of great beers this year. Some of them were consumed but not reviewed, which is a shame. Beers like Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Rare, which I often crave. Or beers like Brugge Diamond Kings of Heaven (the world is coming to an end folks when I start enjoying sours).

But there was only one reviewed beer that I could remember off of the top of my head without looking at a list. And I find myself craving it. My number 1 beer of the year is Ram's Anaheim IPA.

2. Pizza Port Carlsbad Barrel Aged Barleywine
3. Three Floyds/Sun King Three Kings Pale Ale
4. Pizza Port Carlsbad Barrel Aged Night Rider Imperial Stout
5. Founders Nemesis 2010

Honorable mention: Upland Bourbon Barrel Ard Ri, Paulaner Salvator, Flat 12 Pogue's Run Porter, Three Floyds Zombie Dust.

Jim

1. Three Floyds Zombie Dust
2. Trinity Old Growth Flemish-Inspired Wild Sour
3. Three Floyds/Dogfish Head Poppaskull
4. The Alchemist Heady Topper
5. Three Floyds/Sun King Three Kings Pale Ale

Mike

1. Three Floyds/Sun King Three Kings
2. Three Floyds Zombie Dust
3. Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon 3.edition
4. Pizza Port Carlsbad Night Rider Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
5. Three Floyds/Dogfish Head Poppaskull

Honorable mention: Brugge Black (still), Ram Anaheim Chili IPA

Gina

1. Three Floyds Zombie Dust
2. Three Floyds/Sun King Three Kings
3. The Alchemist Heady Topper
4. Ram Black Widow Stout
5. Trinity Old Growth

Rod

1. Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon 3.edition
2. Trinity Old Growth
3. The Alchemist Heady Topper
4. Three Floyds Zombie Dust
5. Three Floyds/Mikkeller/Surly/De Struise Baller Imperial Stout

Honorable mention:

6. Trinity Double Rainbow Saison
7. Three Floyds/Sun King Three Kings

Matt

1. Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon 3.edition
2. Three Floyds/Sun King Three Kings
3. Three Floyds Zombie Dust
4. Trinity Old Growth
5. Ram B-Java Disorder Porter

Chris

1. Three Floyds Zombie Dust
2. Three Floyds/Sun King Three Kings
3. Trinity Old Growth
4. Flat 12 Pogue's Run Porter
5. Ram Black Widow Stout

I'll do an honorable mention for Flat 12 Tangerine Porter, which I thought was amazing but we didn't review this year.

The Master List of 2011 Rankings. Here's our list of all beers that received votes, ranked in order of points received.

1. Three Floyds Zombie Dust
2. Three Floyds/Sun King Three Kings Pale Ale
3. Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon 3.edition
4. Trinity Old Growth Flemish-Inspired Wild Sour
5. Ram Anaheim IPA
6. The Alchemist Heady Topper
7. Pizza Port Carlsbad Barrel Aged Barleywine
8. Three Floyds/Dogfish Head Poppaskull
9. Pizza Port Carlsbad Night Rider Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
10. Ram Black Widow Stout
11. Flat 12 Pogue’s Run Porter
14. (tie) Founders Nemesis 2010, Ram B-Java Disorder Porter, Three Floyds/Mikkeller/Surly/De Struise Baller Imperial Stout
19. (tie) Brugge Black (2011), Flat 12 Tangerine Porter (not reviewed), Paulaner Salvator Doppelbock, Trinity Double Rainbow Saison, Upland Bourbon Barrel Ard Ri.

Past winners of the Knights of the Beer Roundtable Beer of the Year Award:

2010: Brugge Brasserie's Spider
2009: Broad Ripple Brewpub's Monon Porter (on cask)
2008: Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper (2007)

KOTBR #137: Superbeer

The idea of a superbeer™¹ - a beer composed of the combined flavors of two or more highly regarded individual beers - is perhaps a new idea in craft beer. Yes, there have been collaborations before, but (as far as I can recall) there has never been an effort for two or more breweries to take their best-known and limited release beers and combine them to create something entirely new.

Three Floyds' 15th Anniversary Beer, Baller Stout, changes that. Brewers from Surly (Darkness), Mikkeller (Beer Geek Brunch), and Struise (Black Albert) brewed their recipes at Floyds, and then combined their beer with Dark Lord to create a new and unprecedented Russian-style imperial stout.

While idea of combining elements from the best of one thing to create something entirely different is new to beer, it's not new to Rock and Roll. Wikipedia provides a long list of supergroups - some more super than others². Is Baller Stout the Traveling Wilburys, or Chickenfoot? We sat down with the beer to find out.


While touring as a member of Nirvana, Dave Grohl brought along a guitar, writing songs that were never shared with his bandmates. After the death of Kurt Cobain, Grohl took these songs to a studio outside of Seattle, playing every instrument, and completing an album's worth of material in just 5 days. He released the album via tape to friends with the title "Foo Fighters".

Eventually the music industry took notice, and Grohl decided to put together a band. Although the band started with former Sunny Day Real Estate members Nate Mendel (bass) and William Goldsmith (drums), and former Germs/Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear, eventually the band swallowed up the Alanis Morissette touring band's Taylor Hawkins and No Use For A Name's Chris Shiflett. Considering their collective history, it would be fair to call Foo Fighters a supergroup.

But no one thinks of Foo Fighters as a supergroup - I think it's fair to say that most people think of Foo Fighters as Dave Grohl's band after Nirvana. And while most folks are at least OK with what the Foo Fighters do, it's hard to forget how good Nirvana were, and remember Dave Grohl as their monstrous drummer. That's no slight to the other members of the Foo Fighters - it's just that the legacy of Nirvana overshadows anything that comes after it.

At this point, you're probably wondering if you're still reading about beer.

Baller Stout is a fine beer, one that anyone would be happy to drink and praise if it had come from any random brewery. But knowing the beer's history - Dark Lord, Darkness, Black Albert, and Beer Geek Brunch - there's a legacy to compete with. Dark Lord by itself is the Nirvana element here, the be all/end all Russian Imperial Stout, and while the other beers certainly add something to the mix, wasn't Nirvana really fucking great?

4.2 Mugs


Whenever a supergroup is formed, it usually creates both excitement and fear. The optimistic typically bring to mind the hope for the creative energy of the different members to create something new and exciting, or simply fuse their abilities together into a hybrid sound. On the other hand, pessimistic fans fear an uninspired turd of greedy musicians struggling for ways to make more money. When 3 Floyds announced their XV Anniversary Baller Stout, much of the beer world was playing the role of the optimist. I know I was.

Back in 1995, members of Pantera, Crowbar, Corrosion of Conformity and Eyehategod collaborated on an album that had much of the same weight associated with it. Each musician and their respective band had a proven track record of releasing many classic albums that helped define their respective genres. The resulting inaugural album by the supergroup simply named Down was perhaps unlike anything many of their fans had ever heard. A fusion of their individual styles of thrash, sludge and doom was invigorated with a dominant blues overtone. The album was very clearly the work of the individuals involved, but the end result was something more than the simple sum of their parts. While the fans of each of the bands might not say they enjoyed the work of Down more than the work of the bands on their own, it was hard not to respect the great sound that was created.

3 Floyds, Surly, Mikkeller and Struise walked in to the XV Anniversary Baller Stout in a similar manner. Each brewer has more than proven themselves in the craft beer world and are consistently breaking new ground and redefining expectations. So what would they create, when their powers combined in Voltron-esque fashion? Not wanting to pull any punches, each brewer laid down their most sought-after recipes and got to work in the 3 Floyds brewery.

The result actually does taste like a blend of the beers involved. Aromas of bourbon arise first, followed by molasses, chocolate, vanilla and malted milk balls. As a beer, it almost drinks like a milkshake. Dominant vanilla, cocoa, bourbon, bittersweet chocolate and molasses are wrapped in a creamy mouthfeel with a finish of black cherry. This beer is quite simply a very enjoyable imperial stout. It maintains a balance of being drinkable without being so decadent or cloyingly sweet that you can continue to drink and enjoy it all the way through the glass and probably want another one at the end.

Baller Stout is, in fact, much like the supergroup Down. While each brewery creates their own Imperial Stout, it is not a style that is brewed regularly. Something altogether unique was created by blending everyone's talents, and while it may not be better than the pieces individually, it is a great beer that deserves respect and easily stands on its own in a vast sea of craft beer. Perhaps more importantly, mirroring Down's first album NOLA, it's something that can be enjoyed from beginning to end and leave you ready for more.

3.9 mugs


The Hindu Love Gods came together in early in 1984 with three members from R.E.M: Bill Berry, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills. The vocals started out with Bryan Cook from Oh-OK. This wasn't so much supergroup at this point, but just a few months later The Hindu Love Gods showed up in studio with Warren Zevon on vocals. This "supergroup" wasn't very creative since they mostly just did covers of old blues songs or of other songs that the bands had played before. Their most popular song was Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" or the cover of Prince's "Raspberry Beret." This was more of a band that was put together for friends having a good time while getting drunk on the road. The members of the band just liked getting together, getting drunk, and playing music they wanted to play together. The whole was never as good as the individual parts that went into the band, but they never cared since they were just having a good time together. Their camaraderie was significantly more important than what the creative force behind the group would have ever been. They were not reinventing the wheel, but rather having a good time with their friends. The four parts of Baller are exactly the same way. The brewers have come together to do as they wish, and have done it for the camaraderie. This is a product of four friends doing as they wish and finding a good excuse to throw one hell of a party. The final product isn't as good as the individual contributors, but that wasn't ever their purpose.

3.0 Mugs

VH1’s Behind the Music: Band Aid

Jim Forbes, Behind the Music’s narrator: November 1984. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof is watching BBC News when he sees a report on the devastating famine in Ethiopia. Hit by the urge to help those affected by the famine, Geldof contacts fellow Irishman Midge Ure, lead singer for Ultravox, with an idea: assemble a supergroup to record a song, the proceeds from which will go to the famine victims. The group would be called “Band Aid.”

After hearing Geldof’s pitch, Ure was game. Therefore, the two quickly penned the song. A few weeks later, Geldof sat down with some of the artists who were to be key members of the group: Simon LeBon of Duran Duran; Boy George of Culture Club; Phil Collins of Genesis; George Michael of Wham!; Bono of U2; Sting; and Rob Halford of Judas Priest. The purpose of the meeting: to discuss the song, which was tentatively titled, "Do They Know It's Christmas."

Cameras were rolling the day of the meeting, which took place at Sarm West Studio in London. This is what was captured on film...

Geldof: So gents, thanks for coming. Midge and I are really excited about this endeavor. We think we're going to do a lot of good for the victims of the famine. So if you don't mind having a seat, I'll go through the lyrics of the song and maybe some of the arrangement--

Rob Halford: Hold on a moment. What's this about a song?

Geldof: Didn't Midge tell you, Rob? We wrote a song.

Halford: He told me nothing of the sort. He just said he wanted to talk about contributing to the famine relief effort in Ethiopia. So what do you propose to do? Fly down to Africa to sing a song to bloody cheer them up? I thought we were going to make plans to travel to Addis Ababa to actually do some work—load up the trucks with grain and milk and water and all that, drive to the villages, actually hand out the food. You know, have actual contact with the people we’re helping.

Geldof: Well, no. [Laughs uncomfortably]. Don’t be daft, Rob. We thought it would be much better to just record a song and make lots of money with it so we could just send the money down there. If we went down there, we’d only scare those poor people, what with our huge shoulder pads and weird hairdos. Who needs to load trucks anyway? I have some eyebrows to shave off.

Phil Collins: I bloody well don’t want to load any trucks.

Boy George: It would be bad for my nails. Not to mention my makeup.

Sting: I can’t possibly go down to Africa. I’ll be sequestered in my flat with Trudy for the rest of the month trying to break the world’s tantric sex endurance record.

Bono: I won’t be available for a trip either. I’m going to be working on U2’s next song about Martin Luther King, Jr. It’s called “Pride (In the Name of Love) II: James Earl Ray Was A Fucker.”

Simon LeBon: That’s bloody catchy!

Bono: Yeah, I know, right? Johnny Rotten helped me come up with that.

Geldof: So anyway, the song’s called “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Midge and I are thinking that Paul Young is going to sing the opening of the song, which goes—

Halford: Wait. Who is “they”?

Geldof: They?

Halford: Yeah. You said the title of the song is “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Who’s “they”?

Geldof: Oh. “They” are the people of Africa.

Halford: Well that’s bloody stupid.

Geldof: Why’s it stupid? I don’t understand—

Halford: Muslims, you wanker! Most Africans don’t know it’s Christmastime because they’re bloody Muslims. They don’t give a bloody whit about Christmas.

George Michael [in a Cockney accent, conveyed in a deep baritone]: Oi, wha’ are you on abou’ anyway, Halford?

Halford: What—where the bloody hell did that come from?

George Michael: You’ve no’ ‘eard me real voice, ‘ave ya?

Halford: Uh, no. You just about made me brown me bloody trousers, mate! If I’d known you had those pipes, I’d have signed you on to Priest long ago, man! Do me a favor, George, eh?—try singing this for me: breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law.

George Michael [continuing in his real, Cockney-accented baritone voice]: BREAKIN’ THE LAW, BREAKIN’ THE LAW!

Halford [grinning]: Wicked! That’s bloody perfect, man!

Geldof: Look, gentlemen, let’s just focus on discussing the song, alright? Time is of the essence here because we have to get the song released by Christmas. Okay? So the opening of the song goes like this: “It’s Christmastime/there’s no need to be afraid/At Christmastime/we let in light and we banish shade.” What do you think?

LeBon: That’s great.

Sting: Brilliant. Ethereal.

Boy George: Very nice. I love it. People will really like—

Collins: I want to sing the opening.

Geldof: Phil, we thought we’d have you just play the drums for the song. Paul Young has already offered to sing the opening.

Collins: Well I don’t want to play drums. I want to sing the opening.

Geldof: Look Phil, I appreciate your offer, but we—

Collins: DON’T BLOODY TALK DOWN TO ME THE WAY THAT WANKER PETER GABRIEL USED TO. ALL HE WANTED ME TO DO WAS TO SIT BEHIND THOSE BOLLOCKING DRUMS AND LET HIM BE THE ONE TO WEAR THOSE DRESSES AND MAKEUP AND FOX MASKS AND MERMAID COSTUMES AND—

Halford: Bloody hell, I’m liking this aggression! Phil, you’re the dog’s bollocks, mate! Dave Holland’s been talking about leaving the band. Want to come play drums for us?

Collins [brandishing a drumstick at Halford]: I’ll bloody brain you—

Geldof: Gentlemen!!! Can we just get back to the business at hand? Look Phil—drums are very important in this song. We’re starting the song off with this nice African rhythm, and you’re just the guy we need to hold down the beat.

Collins: Right. Sorry.

Geldof: Okay. So Boy, you come in next with this lyric: “And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy!/Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime!”

Boy George: Oh! It’s so gorgeous!

Geldof: Glad you like it. And then Phil, you build up on drums here and then George, you come in with this: “But say a prayer, pray for the other ones, at Christmastime.” And make sure you use your fake singing voice, okay? We don’t want you frightening anyone.

George Michael [continuing in his real, booming voice]: Bu’ tha’s only like a bloody line-and-a-half.

Geldof: But you and Simon are going to overlap here because he’s going to come in with “it’s hard, but when you’re having fun/There’s a world outside your window.”

George Michael: Okay, tha’s fine. Bu’ is there like a public loo nearby where I can go and hang out after I sing tha’ line? I have a feeling I’m going to have to, um, release some energy after I finish singing the line.

Geldof: Uh…alright. Yeah, I think the loo’s just outside the studio.

George Michael [grinning]: Right, mate.

Geldof [giving George Michael a puzzled look]: Right…so then Sting, you’re going to come in to do a little harmony with Simon here with this: “And it’s a world of dreaded fear/Where the only water flowing is a bitter sting of tears.” And then Bono, you join in here too with, “And the Christmas bells that ring there/are the clanging chimes of doom.”

Halford: [Laughing]. Oh, that is fucking wicked!

Geldof: What on earth do you mean by that?

Halford: Well that’s just so dark and evil!

It’s brilliant, man! “Clanging chimes of doom”! [Laughing]. Can you work in a reference to the Grim Reaper or something?

Geldof: That really wasn’t our intent with the lyric—

Bono: Uh Bob, just thinking out loud here. I have an idea.

Geldof: Okay. What is it?

Bono: Right after I sing that thing about the clanging chimes of doom, I’m going to half-yell and half-sing, “WELL TONIGHT THANK GOD IT’S THEM INSTEAD OF YOU!”

LeBon: Don’t you think that’s a bit mean-spirited?

Sting: Yeah, that’s right bloody mean.

Geldof: I’m not sure that I follow you, Bono.

Bono: I think it’ll be brilliant. I’m really good at yell-singing.

Collins [raising his hand]: Bob? Bob? Can I sing Bono’s yell-singing thing? Please? Please please?

Geldof: Just shut it a moment, Phil, will you?

Halford: [Laughing]. You really are a daft lot, aren’t you? Bono’s line isn’t meant to be mean. It’s a sarcastic line! It’s irony! Well, either that or he’s gone completely mental.

Geldof: I hope it’s the former. Anyway, Bono, I’ll think about your…interesting proposal. Okay? So let’s look at the next lyric. Here, we’re going to have everyone singing—well, everyone except you, Phil—this lyric: “And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmastime”—

Halford: Hold on a bloody fucking minute. Are you bloody joking?

Geldof: Oh, good God. What is it now Rob?

Halford: Of course there’s not going to be any bloody snow in Africa this Christmas! It’s AFRICA—you know, the continent that has large swaths of land located on the Equator for fuck’s sake. Of course you’re not going to have any bleeding snow! Not unless you’re talking about Mount Kilimanjaro. Then you might bloody well have snow—

Geldof: THAT’S IT! Rob, you’re either going to shut up or you’re going to leave!

Halford: Leave? That sounds like a brilliant idea! I need a fucking beer anyway. By the way, George, I’m serious about the offer. Your massive pipes added to Priest would take the band to a whole new level. So when you’re done messing about in the loo, ring me up, eh?

3.85 Mugs.



Three Floyds/Mikkeller/de Struise/Surly 15th Anniversary Baller Stout
Mike: 4.2 Mugs | Matt: 3.0 Mugs | Gina: 3.0 Mugs | Jim: 3.85 Mugs | Rod: 3.9 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.59 Mugs

* * * * *

¹Let it be known that Hoosier Beer Geek used this term first

²Duck Sauce featuring Armand Van Helden and A-Track?

Seasonal Beer Overload

This time of year is the best for seasonal beers hitting the store shelves. It is my favorite time of the year for many reasons and great seasonal beer is just another thing to look forward to this season. The problem is that they are beers I want to stock up on, but they separate me and my money in an accelerated fashion.  I would say that November and December are my most expensive beer spending months of the year.  Too much awesome beer hits the shelves this time of the year.

Here are some of the beers I always look forward to each year:

Three Floyd's Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter - I love porter and this combines the wonder hop profile that is Three Floyds calling card with a delicious porter base. They do an outstanding job with dark beer and I would love to see a dark beer from them in six pack year round format (i.e. Hells Black Intelligencer).  This beer just hit town last week and will move pretty quickly.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - It isn't the holiday season unless I've bought  a six pack of this tasty seasonal IPA.  It just hit Indy a few weeks ago and for the price is an outstanding six pack for the season.

Deschutes - The Abyss Imperial Stout - I traded for a bottle of this beer several years ago and now it is the only beer I buy an entire case of bombers per year.  You can buy it online if you are fast enough, but trading for it is much easier.  It is not available to purchase in Indiana.

The Bruery's Four Calling Birds - I've enjoy this series based on the 12 Day of Christmas.  I usually buy two and drink one now and save one for the vertical.  This just hit Indy as well.

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - I don't think there is a better bourbon barrel aged beer out there for the money.  This is usually easy to find but last year it was tough to find, and I hope it will stick around a bit this year.  The coffee bourbon county stout should be out soon as well.  This should hopefully hit town in the next few weeks.

Boston Beer Company's (Sam Adams) - Old Fezziwig Winter Warmer - It only comes in the holiday sampler pack, but I buy the 12 pack just for this beer. It isn't really a winter warmer to me, but however you want to categorize it the beer is delicious.  This is out around town right now.

Bell's Expedition Stout - This was the first beer I ever put in my beer cellar.  I don't like this beer fresh, but getting a new sixer of it each year when it comes out is a tradition.  Expedition turns into one of the finest imperial stouts available after a year of age on it.  This is one of the best beers you can buy without any type of shit show associated with trying to find some of it.  Last years batch is still out on the shelves right now and this years batch will be along soon.

Wild Card -

Goose Island King Henry Barleywine - I had this at the festival of barrel aged beers a few weeks ago and thought it was outstanding. Goose Island is having a black Friday event to begin selling the beer, but I hope we see some distribution to Indy.

What seasonal beers do you look forward to drinking?

Cheers!
Matt

Three Floyds 15th Anniversary Party

Love them or hate them, you can't argue that Three Floyds doesn't do things exactly how they want. Saturday's 15th Anniversary party wasn't just a party and beer release; it was a triumph of conviction.



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Of course, there was beer: Baller Stout --

"This massive stout [that's the] combined effort of Three Floyds, Surly, Struise and Mikkeller. Literally, we brewed Darklord, Darkness, Black Albert, and Beer Geek Brunch with our friends at our brewery then blended them. This is a celebration of not only our fifteen years, but also the international craft brewing industry and those of you that support it."

along with additional bottles of one-offs and leftovers.








In addition, the parking lot was covered with a tent and became a sort of beer geek's bier garden paradise, with full selections from the collaboration-participating breweries, in addition to selections from Floyds' friends Port Brewing.

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There were bands, food, lines (there are always lines), but in general the crowd seemed like a happy one, with beer geeks from all over sharing in the wealth that had descended upon the brewery once again.




To say that one beer was the star of the show would be ludicrous - everything was great (including the ridiculous sandwich above). While some beer did eventually run out - have you ever been to a beer event with endless selection? - the smiles on the faces of those around sent a clear message - this was another great event.


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Our congratulations to the entire Three Floyds crew, who deserve every bit of success they've had. It's inspirational to see folks who did it their own way win. Here's to the next 15 years and the continued reign of Three Floyds.