Random Beer Roundup - They're Doing it in Bloomington Now, Too! Edition

We are starting to swing into festival season here and this weekend is jam packed.  First, you'll see many of the Knights at Bloomington's First Annual Craft Beer Festival.  If you are around the Clarksville area, Todd is hosting their Annual Fest of Ale, and if you're in Indy, there are plenty of tastings and other events going on.

Sun King released their IPhone app this week (search Sun King Beer), there will be one coming for us Android users eventually, we hear.

Hope to see you soon!

Hoosier Beer Calendar

Events are subject to change

From the Breweries

From Bob at Flat12 Brewery in Indianapolis:

A few of the events Flat12 will be taking part in.

June 4
Bloomington Craft Beer Festival
Keg Liquors Fest of Ale, Clarksville
Sullivan Hardware (71st/Keystone) 57th Anniversary and Cook-off

June 7th
Tangerine Porter Tapping - Sonka Irish Pub (Terre Haute)

June 8th
Featured Brewery of the Month @ Barley Island, Flat12 Nunmoere Black IPA Tapping

June 11th
Tangerine Porter Tapping, Binkley's Kitchen and Bar

June 14th
Stone Creek Dining, Noblesville, Beer Dinner

June 17th
UPL Wine and Beer Fest

June 25th
Brew Ha Ha

From New Albanian Brewing Co. in New Albany:

Read more about this art and where it will be featured here and here.  Read more about what coming up this week at NABC here.

From Clay at Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis:

We've got some really fun, locally inspired beers coming out for you this summer starting with Popcorn Pilsner that is On Tap RIGHT NOW! It was made with 300 pounds of locally grown popcorn from the Riehle family farm in Sunman, IN. It took our entire staff over 12 hours to pop all that corn utilizing over a dozen popcorn poppers! The end result is a crisp pilsner beer with a slight hint of popcorn in the finish... It is truly unique, incredibly delicious and amazingly thirst quenching. Perfect for hot Indiana days. This past week we brewed a new seasonal beer, Norwegian Blue Pale Ale, crafted with locally harvested Spruce tips. Drawing inspiration from some time Dave and I spent with Joe Short (Short's Brewing in Michigan, makers of Spruce Pilsner), we decided that the unique character of these tree trimmings impart in a beer would be a great complement to our favorite style of beer, American Pale Ale. It's still in the fermenter so a release date hasn't been finalized, but if the experiments we did are any indication, we think you are really going to enjoy this beer!

Outside of the brewery, we have been fortunate enough to solidify some great community partnerships, two of which involve the cinematic arts. As of Friday, June 3rd Sun King will be available On Tap at the Indianapolis Museum of Art's weekly Summer Nights Film Series. Details can be found here: http://www.imamuseum.org/programs/films
Sun King has also just been named the Official Beer of the Indianapolis International Film Festival and will be available at all events and screenings related to the IIFF. So there will be a lot of opportunities to catch great movies around the city this summer while you enjoy some Fresh•Local•Beer.

Upcoming Events:

A Few Hops More Tapping
Thursday, June 9th 6:00-9:00 p.m.
IN the Tasting Room
Food from Mabel on the Move & Music from Woody Pines

Indieana Hadicraft Exchange
Saturday, June 11th 12:00-8:00 p.m.
Harrison Center for the Arts - 1505 N. Delaware St.
Local Artists, Local Music & Fresh•Local•Beer
http://www.indieanahandicraftexchange.com/

Indianapolis International Film Festival Launch Party
Thursday, June 16th 6:00-8:00 p.m.
IN the Tasting Room
Food by Scratch • Music from Twin Peaks

From Andrew at Ram Restaurant and Brewery in Indianapolis/Fishers:

Batch 1000 – Easy Rye-der
Our 1000th batch, the Imperial Rye Pilsner “Easy Rye-der”, has confirmed its ready for our big party on Saturday, June 18th at 3 p.m. Accompanying this momentous release at our Downtown Indy location will be a limited edition keg of Barrel-aged NUTorious Brown, Evan Williams whiskey samples, food infused with Big Horn beer, and live acoustic music. Come join us to celebrate 1000 great batches of Big Horn brew in Indy!

Barefoot Wit now on Tap
With the warm weather comes the urge to throw those shoes aside and sink your toes into the sand. In that spirit, we have created Barefoot Wit, a Belgian White Ale with a flavorful and refreshing appeal. The crisp tartness from the specially chosen Belgian yeast strain is complimented by spice additions of Orange Peel, Coriander, and Chamomile.

Now on Tap
Spring Fever – Light, blonde ale infused with Jasmine and Lemon Peel
Bill’s Bettor – Nutty malt with a light body and dry finish
Barefoot Wit – tart and refreshing with additions of Orange Peel, Coriander, and Chamomile

From Lauren at Thr3e Wise Men Brewing and Scotty's Brewhouse/Lakehouse:

Thr3e Wise Men will be at the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival
There will also be Thr3e Wise Men at the Taste of Tippecanoe

Downtown Indianapolis is now serving:
Sin Cider
Thr3e Wise Men Blackberry Wheat

Thr3e Wise Men is now serving:
Duke of Hazzard Rye IPA

At the Bars and Restaurants

From Corrie at Goose the Market in Indianapolis:

On the shelves in the Goose's cellar...

When Two Brothers says, "Askew!" we say, "Bless you." The latest of their Project Opus, Askew is a sour with three years on it already. It's rare and good(-sundheit).

Coney Island's Mermaid Pils is on the singles shelf making a *Splash.*

There are only Two Jokers in each deck, but the Goose's cellar is stocked with several more. No Fool-in'...we Jest(-er) wanted you to know.

From Patrick at Patrick’s Kitchen in Zionsville:

BooHoo....no Craft Festival for Patrick, we, will, however be selling lots of breakfast burritos at the Farmer's Market in Zionsville though.
On tap by the time this posts will be Upland Double Dragonfly (Thanks Cari), Sun King Fist Full O' Hops...(thanks Adrian), Crooked Tree Double IPA (thanks Jo Vickery), and Tank 7 from Boulevard Brewing (thanks Joshua)

Carry Out

From Ali at 21st Amendment Liquors in Broad Ripple:

Saturday June 4th from 2 - 4 pm Ryan from Cavalier Dist. will be sampling a couple summer brews, one from Breckenridge and one from Clipper City. He will also have a couple others to taste that are delicous year round. Please join us!

From Patrick at Crown Liquors in Downtown Indianapolis:

Tickets for the INDIANA MICROBREWERS FESTIVAL are now available at some CROWN LIQUORS locations! The festival is on Saturday, July 16th from 3-7PM. We are carrying the GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS, they are $40 and allow unlimited sampling for four hours!

(NOTE: We are NOT selling the VIP or DESIGNATED DRIVER tickets, Sorry! These can be purchased here.)

From the Distributors

From Greg at Cavalier Distributing:

NEW IN STOCK

Erdinger Champ - Hefe Weissbier designed to drink well out of the bottle & slightly more sessionable. New year around beer, 6pks.

The Bruery Tradewinds Tripel - Brewed w/Rice & Thai Basil! Summer release, very limited, 750 ML Bottles.

Two Brothers Askew Sour Ale - Over 3 years in the making & the most recent Opus Series release from the Bros!! Askew is a blend of old & young liquid, aged in French Oak. Extremely limited & allocated, 375 ML Cork & Caged Bottles.

UPCOMING CAVALIER EVENTS:

6/07 - Monthly Cavalier Craft Beer Tasting @ Birdy's; 6 - 8pm; $10

6/11 - Liquor Stockhouse 1st Anniversary Tasting, Mishawaka,

6/16 - Father's Day Tasting @ Chalet

6/24 - Wiseguys Tasting, Merrillville,

6/30 - Cavalier Craft Beer Tasting @ Chalet 3 in Elkhart; 4-6

Upcoming Events:

Are you ready to tap into the Indiana beer scene? Look no further than the Phoenix Theatre’s 16th annual Brew-Ha-Ha Saturday June 25, 2011. Brew-Ha-Ha is an annual Indianapolis event with more than 20 Indiana microbreweries, you’re sure to find one that tickles your taste buds just right. Go ahead – try to taste them all. Though we certainly do not encourage this, and no such prize exists for accomplishing the feat, you’re sure to have a great time chugging away. What goes good with a stellar brew? Why, food and live music of course! With unlimited tastes of over 50 beers on tap, an abundance of food and melodious tunes in the air, the Brew-Ha-Ha is sure to please. The event is held rain or shine! The fun begins at 3pm and goes until 7pm. Cost is $25 presale at www.phoenixtheatre.org or $30 the day of the event. For the courageous few who will attempt to sample all the delicious brews, $10 will cover your designated driver. Remember, cash only accepted the day of the event and you must be 21 or over to attend. Come toss a few back that were made right here in Indiana! And like we always say – FEAR NO BEER!

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Craft beer festival coming to New Haven this summer

June 1, 2011 – New Haven, Indiana – The Trion Tavern is proud to announce its 1st
Annual “Brew Haven” Summer Craft Beer Festival. On Saturday, August 6, 2011, northeast
Indiana’s newest craft beer festival will be held in downtown New Haven, Indiana. From
2pm to 6pm, attendees will have the opportunity to taste dozens of different beers. The
festival tent will be located on Main Street just east of Broadway along the north side of
Trion Tavern.

Numerous craft breweries will be on hand to pour samples of their beers. The growing list
of participants already includes: Upland Brewing Company (Bloomington, Indiana), Goose
Island Beer Company (Chicago, Illinois) and New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, Colorado)
and Five Star Distributing.

Advance tickets cost $25 and include: unlimited samples, a souvenir tasting glass, food
and water. Tickets can be purchased at Trion Tavern or through www.triontavern.com. A
limited number of tickets will be sold the day of the event for $30. Designated driver tickets
will also be available for $5. A portion of the proceeds will go to the New Haven Downtown
Improvement District. This will be a smoke-free event both under the tent and inside the
bar.

Trion Tavern is located at 503 Broadway in downtown New Haven, Indiana. “The Trion”
features the greatest selection of distinctive craft beers in the area with 58 different taps
and dozens of bottled beers. Many of the brews are regional, some of them rare, and all
are carefully chosen for their distinctiveness in order to provide the widest possible range
of styles for any palette. Owner and operator Greg Jacquay proudly provides a friendly,
authentic atmosphere with a unique, handcrafted bar as its centerpiece. Trion Tavern has a
full menu and a separate family room.

KOTBR #128 | Knights of the Beer Ramtable

When I learned that we would be sitting down with Andrew Castner of Ram Restaurant & Brewery for a roundtable of his beers, I was thrilled. After all, Andrew is pure class. The guy is passionate about what he does and is one of the coolest people in the Indy craft beer community, as we quickly learned almost three years ago when we roundtabled with him when he was the assistant brewer at Oaken Barrel. To call him a gentleman brewer would certainly be fitting. What's more, I think that some corporate brewpubs unjustifiably get a bad rap; therefore, I was looking forward to an experience at Ram that would prove the naysayers wrong. I'm happy to say that any beer geek would have been more than pleased by what we tried.

Being the gent that he is, Andrew rolled out the beer red carpet for us. We sampled a lot of Ram's beers (nine in all). Some of them are currently available, and some are not. Therefore, if you're interested in trying what we drank, ask your server or bartender whether the beer is currently on tap.

Here's the beer gauntlet that we ran with Andrew:

Spring Fever: A blonde ale brewed with lemon peel and jasmine flower. The lemon was there in full force, but I didn't pick up much of the jasmine. Refreshing. Nice lawnmower beer. 3.00 Mugs.

Old St. Mick's Irish Red: A Ram spring seasonal beer. Nutty and malty nose with a pear-like character floating in the aroma as well. Smooth and malty. A sessionable ale. 3.00 Mugs.

Big Horn Maibock: Ram's classic springtime bock. Brewed with Vienna and Munich malts. Grapes and pears in the nose. Soft and malty. I could drink this one all day. 3.85 Mugs.

Glacier Peak Pale Ale. An APA brewed with Cascade and Glacier hops plus Warrior for aroma. Peppery, citrusy, and with a pear-like character yet again (I must have had pears on the brain during this roundtable). Dry, hop-forward. Good stuff. 3.70 Mugs.

Mask IPA. Base beer for this one is Ram's Big Red IPA, which is one of Ram's house beers. Big pine and bubblegum nose. Dry, citrusy hop character. Amarillo and Centennial hops dominate. An excellent beer. Up there with the best American IPAs. 4.25 Mugs.

Anaheim IPA. Big Red IPA brewed with Anaheim chili peppers. The peppers dominate the nose and are also there in the flavor, though they don't overwhelm the beer like they do in other chili beers that I've tried. And amazingly, there's no heat, just the pleasing green chili flavor. An outstanding chili beer. 4.30 Mugs.

Batch 999: In Hops We Trust. Imperial IPA. Dry pineapples pineapples pineapples. 3.90 Mugs.

Java Porter. This is Ram's Total Disorder Porter brewed with B-Java coffee beans. The coffee nose on this beer is beautiful, backed with a sweet, roasty coffee flavor. A true coffee beer, in welcome contrast to too many other coffee beers that taste like burnt espresso. Loved it. 4.50 Mugs.

Black Widow. A one off stout infused with Hubbard & Cravens French roast coffee and vanilla beans. Siiiiiiiillllky smooth. Sweet coffee and vanilla flavors. I don't typically like flavored coffees, but this beer really shines. Again, a true coffee beer. Andrew really has the coffee beer thing down pat. 4.50 Mugs.








Spring Fever - Lemon peel, jasmine. Light up front, nose is outdoorsy but light, reminds me of saison - flowery, earthy, belched well. Perfect for spring. First commercial beer I've had that used Sirachi Ace hops that I liked. 3.25 Mugs.

Old St. Mick's Irish Red - Malty sweetness, but light. No faults, no particular strengths, a standard amber. Not a style I normally drink. 2.95 Mugs.

Big Horn Maibock - Big sweetness evident in the nose. Green apple, with a sweet wine-like character. The sweetness carries throughout, finishes with a warm sensation down the gullet. As the beer warms, a grainy sweetness comes through. 3.30 Mugs.

Glacier Peak - Extremely drinkable, light and hoppy. Just missing that extra oompf. Then again, I'm generally a malt guy myself. 2.75 Mugs.

Mask IPA - Big nose! (Big enough to deserve exclamation points). Great malt back, finishes chewy, Amrillee Amarillo Amarillaa. Even better as it warms. 4.00 Mugs.

Anaheim Chili IPA - The nose is outrageously peppery, enough so that blind you might not realize you're smelling beer. The beer is all like the lingering flavor of jalapeno, minus the heat. When warmer it gets milder, and even better as it goes. It's a chili beer - how do I score that? Would there be a better chili beer? I can't imagine one I'd like more. 4.00 Mugs.

Batch 999: In Hops We Trust - Grapefruit, dry and powdery finish, all hop, more malt for me please. 3.65 Mugs.

Java Porter - The nose on this one is like dipping your nose into a can of coffee. Iced black coffee throughout, perfectly balanced, hint of cream in the finish, yeahhh, put this on! 4.39 Mugs.

Black Widow - Coffee again, but this one seems "whiter" off the front, creamier, which echoes through in a big way. Sweeter. A little heavier in the cream than I'd prefer in my cup of coffee. 3.65 Mugs.








Spring Fever: My kids watch the Disney Channel. They’ve been advertising a movie called Lemonade Mouth. What the hell is a Lemonade Mouth? I mention it only because in reviewing my notes, I wrote “Lemon-Back-Mouth” and I thought I wrote Lemonade Mouth. Whatever. That movie for tweens has nothing on this blonde beer. Lemon and floral notes are abundant, yet balanced. 3.30 Mugs.

Old St. Mick’s Irish Red: Obviously, St. Mick is the patron saint of biscuity, caramelly beers. Why else would you name this beer in his honor? I want to see Andrew make an Irish-German hybrid beer and name it “My Kraut-Mick Friend”. 3.60 Mugs.

Big Horn Maibock: The spring season means Maibocks. Every season should have a beer style. Actually, I think every season does have a beer style. Anyway, this Maibock had an alcohol nose and a caramel flavor that you would find in a bourbon. May in Kentucky… 3.65 Mugs.

Glacier Peak Pale: If glaciers smelled this good, more people would do something to save them from climate change. Lots of hops in the nose. It has a bite to it too. 3.20 Mugs.

Mask IPA: The name references the movie starring Cher; the reality is that it is more like Frankenstein. A fantastic nose and flavor. Big hops, lots of citrus, I think HBG Matt said it made him think of Alpha King. Not a bad comparison. 4.30 Mugs.

Anaheim IPA: This is what I will compare all other pepper beers to. This is the new measuring stick for me. There is no heat but it has all the flavor and aroma. A beautiful combination. If this were a corn based beer, it would be like drinking nachos. 4.50 Mugs.

Batch 999, aka In Hops We Trust: Why I have “Go the fuck to sleep” written next to this, I can’t remember. Somebody must have said it. The Imperial IPA has a huge nose. I’m wondering how much it has been tamed since it was first tapped. 3.75 Mugs.

Total Disorder w/ B-Java Coffee: There is a difference between iced coffee and cold coffee. All too often, coffee beers taste like old, cold coffee. Andrew does it right. The porter and coffee combination is fantastic. 4.25 Mugs.

Black Widow: This stout received the same coffee treatment, except with Hubbard and Cravens French Roast. Vanilla beans were also added. Smooth mouthfeel. Vanilla was front and center. 3.70 Mugs.











Spring Fever - The nose on this is something!! Fresh floral and citrus scents, creamy mouthfeel, and a dry finish. Quite lovely. 2.99 Mugs.

Old St. Mick's Irish Red - This reminds me of a plate of dried fruit and nuts. The finish is drying like the Spring Fever. 2.98 Mugs.

Big Horn Maibock - Grape! Bubble Gum! The apply nose is similar to a cider. 3.00 Mugs.

Glacier Peak Pale - I could drink this ridiculously fast. Cascade, Summit, Glacier Hops with Warrior for bittering. Yes please. Thank you. 3.25 Mugs.

Mask IPA - This was entered as the Brew Bracket IPA from Ram, and the process Andrew went through to make it was pretty intense. This beer smelled fantastic and the bitter and citrus flavors melded beautifully. 4.30 Mugs.

Anaheim IPA - Like Jason said, this is the new benchmark for pepper beer. Most of the time when a beer has a striking nose, it can be disappointing when the flavor doesn't match. In this case, if the flavor matched the intense peppery nose, I still wouldn't be able to taste anything. The nose was HUGE, and had a sweet heat. I really thought this was going to be difficult to drink, but it was absolutely fantastic. All of the aroma, without any of the heat. 3.80 Mugs.

In Hops We Trust IPA - This is an awesome beer. Nose is super resiny and it tastes of fresh pineapple. Love, love, love this. 4.10 Mugs.

Java Porter - Now, we all know how I feel about coffee and beer. I want to drink this all of the time. 4.40 Mugs.

Black Widow - Coffee...and vanilla.... Is it possible to have a crush on a beer? This is an iced vanilla latte with booze. Heaven help me. 4.60 Mugs.







Spring Fever
Jim: 3.00 Mugs | Gina: 2.99 Mugs | Jason: 3.30 Mugs | Mike: 3.25 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.14 Mugs

Old St. Mick's Irish Red
Jim: 3.00 Mugs | Gina: 2.98 Mugs | Jason: 3.60 Mugs | Mike: 2.95 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.13 Mugs

Big Horn Maibock
Jim: 3.85 Mugs | Gina: 3.00 Mugs | Jason: 3.65 Mugs | Mike: 3.30 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.45 Mugs

Glacier Peak Pale Ale
Jim: 3.70 Mugs | Gina: 3.25 Mugs | Jason: 3.20 Mugs | Mike: 2.75 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.23 Mugs

Mask IPA
Jim: 4.25 Mugs | Gina: 4.30 Mugs | Jason: 4.30 Mugs | Mike: 4.00 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.21 Mugs

Anaheim IPA
Jim: 4.30 Mugs | Gina: 3.80 Mugs | Jason: 4.50 Mugs | Mike: 4.00 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.15 Mugs

Batch 999: In Hops We Trust IIPA
Jim: 3.90 Mugs | Gina: 4.10 Mugs | Jason: 3.75 Mugs | Mike: 3.65 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.85 Mugs

Java Porter
Jim: 4.50 Mugs | Gina: 4.40 Mugs | Jason: 4.25 Mugs | Mike: 4.39 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.39 Mugs

Black Widow Stout
Jim: 4.50 Mugs | Gina: 4.60 Mugs | Jason: 3.70 Mugs | Mike: 3.65 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.11 Mugs

Bloomington Craft Beer Fest Ticket Giveaway

This Saturday marks the first Bloomington Craft Beer Fest, an extension of the same idea behind Indiana Microbrewer's Fest and the Brewers of Indiana Guild Winterfest, but in Bloomington.

As is the case with Microbrewers and Winterfest, Hoosier Beer Geek will be helping in the organization of the event, and doing our best to make sure everyone has a great time.

Today we're giving away one (1) ticket for the event courtesy of the fine folks at Upland Brewing Company. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment answering the following question:

What's your favorite beer brewed in Indiana?

We'll chose a random comment on Friday (6/3/11) at noon, and the winner gets the tickets. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE US A METHOD TO CONTACT YOU - an email address or a twitter handle is perfect. You'll be responsible for checking back to see if you've won, and we can figure the rest out after that.

LEGAL STUFF
We reserve the right to not give you tickets if we think you're shady.
We reserve the right to change all the rules and not award the prize if we don't like how things go.
Don't be a pain in the ass.
By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of HoosierBeerGeek.com, which shall be final and binding with regard to all matters relating to the contest.
END OF LEGAL STUFF.