Hoosier Beer Geek: A Beer Blog for Indiana, from Indianapolis

20 April 2009

Dear Hoosier Beer Geek: Scrumpy Edition

We recently received this question from a reader named Rut who is originally from Southampton, England but now lives in Indiana. And we don't have an answer for Rut. Maybe our intelligent and good-lookin' readership will have an answer. Feel free to leave a comment or email us directly at hoosierbeergeek at gmail dot com.

Stumbled across your excellent Hoosier Beer Geek site - a good read.

Do you know any bars in Indy/Indiana then sell draft scrumpy style hard cider? Or even sell it in bottles?

Recently made a trip to Broad Ripple Brewpub and the only bad thing was their lack of decent cider. As an ex-pat Englishman that is the closest I've seen to a English pub in America - for one thing they serve proper UK pints which makes a big difference to the authenticity of it. I hope to get back there soon.

Anyway if you do know any bars that sell 'real' cider then let me know
- if not, no probs...

Cheers for now

So if anybody has any tips, please do share! And if you every have any questions that we can not answer for you but instead turn into a new piece of material for our website, don't hesitate to drop us a line: hoosierbeergeek at gmail dot com

18 April 2009

KOTBR #70 - Founders Great Expectations

KOTBR #70 was a special occasion. Special in that we gathered up (perhaps) more beer than we've ever reviewed in one sitting before. Special because we were joined by Cari, the Kahn's Beer Queen. And special because we're all fans of Founders Brewing, the Michigan powerhouse of tasty brewed treats.

The question I put forth to my fellow Knights was this (in many many more words):

"Is Founder's KBS (formerly Kentucky Breakfast Stout) really Founders' best beer?"

What I was really getting at was the question of hype versus taste. Is KBS' reputation built on the fact that it's not an easily acquired beer? How often does an obsessed-over beer reward that obsession?

We're probably as guilty as anyone at overhyping how good a beer can be - so in this review we ask the question - Do these beers meet expectations? And we'll admit that might be a snobby question to ask.

Thomas Jefferson once wrote:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all beers are not created equal, that they are endowed by their Brewer with certain unalienable qualities, that among these are malt, hops and the possible infusion of coffee, chocolate, bourbon, and other flavors.

Yes, he wrote that. It was part of the Declaration of Beer Dependence that he wrote when he was part of Colonial Beer Geek. He later adapted the text for some statement that was sent to the King of England.

Jefferson was a polymath. And like many of his contemporaries, one of his interests was the production and consumption of beer. Don't believe me? Here's proof.

While little is known about what sort of beers were brewed at Monticello, I think it is a safe bet that none of them were like any of the Founders beers that we sampled.

Porter – Exceeds expectations: Sometimes, I find porters to be lacking. Often, the mouthfeel is too watery to fully carry the flavors. This is not the case. The fullness and creaminess of this porter easily carries the chocolate and coffee maltiness.

Backwoods Bastard – Exceeds expectations: Bourbon and stouts have always played well together. But Wee Heavy ales and bourbon may end up being BFF’s. The caramel and buttery components of bourbon and the roasted caramel malts of the Wee Heavy create a wonderful concoction that is best described as butterscotch candy in inebriating liquid form.

Double Trouble – Does not meet expectations: With a name like Double Trouble, you really expect to get the hop-shit slapped out of you. And based on the smell, I was preparing myself for a punch. While it had a sweet taste and a clean mouth, it was too light for a double IPA. The only trouble I found was in the enjoyable bit of spice left in the back of my throat.

Curmudgeon – Does not meet expectations: 9.3% ABV. Old Ale. The name. All reasons why I had high hopes for this beer. But, I found this to be a weak beer in comparison to the other Founders beers I have consumed. Not a bad beer by any means, but left me wanting more.

Breakfast Stout – Exceeds expectations: The mouthfeel of the Breakfast Stout was lighter than expected, but this coffee stout is very enjoyable with its big coffee flavor highlighted by hints of bitter chocolate. A mocha frappucino in beer form.

Imperial Stout – Exceeds expectations: The words chocolate and coffee and caramel and malty have been thrown around a lot when talking about stouts. This one exceeds them all. It is a big, sugary explosion of a stout. In short: fantastic!

Kentucky Breakfast Stout – Does not meet expectations: It’s funny to say that a beer I rated at 4.7 mugs was disappointing. I like bourbon. A lot. And I feel that the latest KBS is not as bourbon-infused as last year’s. It is still, however, extremely tasty.

PORTER - Exceeds Expectations: This porter is incredibly robust with huge chocolate flavor with hints of coffee, molasses, and toasted almonds. The kind of flavors you'd expect to find in an Imperial Stout but with the body and ABV of a Porter. I would gladly order this at any bar.

BACKWOODS BASTARD - Exceeds Expectations: When this was fresh, it fell a bit short. The flavors were all right but it had a lot of alcohol burn in the nose and the swallow. Now that it's six months old, the alcohol has mellowed and the bourbon flavor is even better. If you like bourbon you HAVE to try this. The nose of oak, vanilla, caramelized banana, and toasted coconut alone is enough to sell me on this.

DOUBLE TROUBLE - Does Not Meet Expectations: You know, I really liked this beer. They shouldn't call it a double IPA, though. Maybe an Extra IPA (that's a hot trend currently). Devil Dancer is a tough suit to follow, and even though it was dubbed a "triple" IPA, it did set a precedent for any "double" IPAs coming out of Founders. The lighter body on this was refreshing, and the grapefruit and lemon zest from the hops had a nice bitterness, but this was a really good IPA, not a double IPA.

CURMUDGEON - Does Not Meet Expectations: I had high expectations for this one. Founders is great at bold flavors and barleywines are a perfect match for this. For some reason, Old Curmudgeon came across fairly light in this department. Easily drinkable, tasty, but not the barleywine I wanted it to be. I did appreciate the coconut notes in the flavor, though.

BREAKFAST STOUT - Meets Expectations: This beer has a huge following and a tremendous amount of praise. It's hard to exceed that, but it certainly lives up to all the positive things that are said about it. The coffee flavors are balanced by a nice sweetness and there's even some chocolate and smoke in there. This is the stuff that sets the high standards for all of Founders' beers.

IMPERIAL STOUT - Does Not Meet Expectations: With how impressive the Breakfast Stout and Porter are, I had really high hopes for this one. Unfortunately it came across as a standard Imperial Stout. Cacao nibs, molasses, and lactose are in there, and it's well-balanced, but when you slap the "Imperial" brand on a Founders beer, I'm expecting something so strongly flavored that I'm going to have to sip it. If they called this Founders Stout I would probably be a lot happier with it.

KBS - Does Not Meet Expectations: But just for the 2009 batch. I don't know what they did to this, but it's much lighter than previous years. The whiskey flavor is incredibly faint with flavors of chocolate, caramel, and even raisins coming out more prominently. This is more chocolate than whiskey. And that's about as mean as I can be here because despite my disappointment in the 2009 batch, it's still a damn good beer and I'm glad I got some this year.

Overall - I think Founders is probably slightly over-hyped in the beer world, but then again, most good breweries are. Founders is easily one of the best breweries in the Midwest and we are incredibly lucky to be able to buy all of their stuff with relative ease (obviously with the exception of KBS). They are a world-class brewery and are doing exactly the kind of thing that makes American craft beer so great. I hope they continue along these lines for many years to come.

Porter - Did not meet. It was chocolate and cherry with a frothy, creamy head. I was expecting this to have a little less of the chocolate and coffee notes and to be more of a brown ale.

Backwoods Bastard - Extremely Exceeded Expectations. This was bourbon-barrel-aged beer at its finest with hints of cherry vanilla and vanilla sugar. It was mellow and easy to drink. I also appreciate the coconut notes on the finish.

Double Trouble - Exceeded Expectations. The nose is pure hoppy goodness. It's yellow and golden (quite light in color) with acetone, floral, and herbs. It's citrusy and piney all in one beer. It's not a true DIPA, but I enjoy it for being a bold IPA that could get me in a lot of trouble the next morning.

Curmudgeon - Met Expectations. It had a big malty taste with lots of barleywine flavor. It also has a hop flavor that enhances the beer and gives it a little something extra to set it apart. I enjoyed the lighter flavor and how it was less syrupy than other barleywines.

Breakfast Stout - Met Expectations. This was quite delicious and reminded me of the Peppy Grill in a bottle. It had hints of chocolate, tobacco, coffee, and cigarette smoke. The only letdown was the weak mouthfeel. It felt quite light on the tongue and didn't coat the glass. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for that diner experience and they don't want to come home smelling like smoke.

Imperial Stout - Exceeded Expectations. I had sampled this at Shallos on tap and wasn't really looking forward to the bottle version. I was pleasantly surprised when I was met with roasted malt, chocolate syrup, and coffee notes all in the first sip. It was followed with that creamy, sugary milky stout taste and had a great heavy mouthfeel. This is a very soothing beer that I would recommend picking up without hesitation.

KBS - Did Not Meet. Now while I wouldn't hesitate to have my fair share of this rare beverage, it wasn't quite as good as what I remembered. It was a chocolaty, woody experience that had too much hot alcohol burn. I wished that it had more of the whiskey barrel taste that I had grown to love with previous KBS years and this disappointed. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but it wasn't what I remembered. It was like waking up Christmas morning and finding out that there wasn't a Santa Claus but I still got presents. I do eagerly await next year's KBS - maybe they went back to the vanilla?

PORTER - Exceeds Expectations: One of my favorite examples of the style. It must be warmed to near cellar temp though because I always get a bit of a chalk flavor when this beer is too cold. Once it has warmed I get wonderful flavors of roasted coffee and chocolate with a silky smooth mouthfeel.

BACKWOODS BASTARD - Meets Expectations: I thought this beer was terrible when it first came out. The alcohol was very hot and the vanilla and bourbon flavors overtook everything, but put a little bit of age on this beer and it rounded itself out into a very nice beer. I get flavors of vanilla and pepper with a touch of oakiness and bourbon. I also get some sweet caramel coming in on the back of the palate.

DOUBLE TROUBLE - Meets Expectations: This is the clearest DIPA I've ever seen, but the flavor profile packs a big grapefruit punch with a a little bit of sticky pine as well. I would have liked more of a malt body on this beer, but there is a bit of malt that tries to compliment, but the hops are to powerful for it. I also don't think I would have more than one pint of this beer in a sitting.

CURMUDGEON - Neither Satisfied or Unsatisfied: Dark fruits and caramel render a flavor profile that is lacking of much of a "wow" factor. I am not offended by this beer, but I wouldn't seek it out either.

BREAKFAST STOUT - Exceeds Expectations: I just flat out love this beer, and am very happy that Indiana got what seems like a 1000% increase of it over last year. I get plenty of coffee, chocolate, and espresso in the flavor profile and a wonderful nose to match. The oatmeal in the grain bill also makes this have one of the most velvety smooth mouthfeels going down, but still has an thick and almost chewy mouthfeel.

IMPERIAL STOUT - Exceeds Expectations: I am always blown away with every bottle of this beer that I open, and I've been through at least six four-packs of this beer. I find it to be one of the best Russian Imperial stouts right out of the bottle. I hate that I have to age so many RIS's, but I don't have to with this beer. I love the blast of bitter hops upfront with an even stronger bitter roasted malt flavor that is filled with anise, smoke, dark fruit, and molasses. I also find this beer to have an amazing mouthfeel that coats the tongue and goes down very smoothly for a high ABV beer. Bless you Founders for making a RIS in a 12 oz. bottle!

KBS - Does Not Meet Expectations: I say that with a grain of salt. I was so looking forward to the 2009 KBS, but it didn't live up to how good previous versions were. They changed the recipe this year. The chocolate is very prominent in the flavor profile and takes away from the bourbon and vanilla flavors that I've loved so much in previous years. Having said that, I still really liked this beer. Had I never had any other year of this beer, I would have found it pretty amazing, but it was almost like an old friend wasn't there to greet me at the airport, but he sent a pretty good substitute instead.

Porter - Met expectations. Had one when Founders released it. Liked it then, and I like it now. Hint of berries and chocolate in the nose. Creamy mouthfeel, flavor full of chocolate and coffee and a touch of vanilla. An excellent representation of the Porter style, which is a style that I've grown to love over the last year.

Backwoods Bastard - Did not meet expectations. Bourbon nose, heavy bourbon flavor, watery mouthfeel. Bourbon is not my bag, yet I do enjoy many of the bourbon-barrel-aged beers that I've tried (e.g., BBC Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout). Still, I expected better from Founders with this beer. I prefer a hint of bourbon in the taste, not a full-on bourbon flavor like this beer had.

Double Trouble - Exceeded expectations. Very pale color for a DIPA. Looked like a lager. Pineapple nose, crisp and dry pineapple flavor. A nice, dry alternative to the malty sweet DIPAs offered by other brewers. You done good on this one, Founders.

Curmudgeon - Exceeded expectations. Old Ales and Barleywines don't trip my trigger, so I expected not to like this too much. Despite this, I appreciated what Founders is shooting for with this beer. Had a pleasant bready nose with a bit of bourbon in the back. Flavor followed suit, along with a touch of sweetness.

Breakfast Stout - Met expectations. Bought a four-pack when Founders released this year's batch, so I knew what I was getting into. This is a good coffee stout, but not my favorite (that honor belongs to Schlafly's Coffee Stout). What to say about it? Nose: coffee, coffee, coffee, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Taste: ultra-black coffee, along with a hint of sweetness and cream.

Imperial Stout - Exceeded expectations. Many Imperial Stouts are a little too heavy with the cherry profile in nose and flavor for my particular taste. This one was not in that category. Founders Imperial was tilted more toward the chocolate, vanilla, and cream realm. Some coffee character as well. On top of that, the mouthfeel on this beer was phenomenal.

KBS - Did not meet expectations. I expected this vaunted beer to completely blow away all of its Founders companions. It simply did not do that, primarily because I think it is too green at this point, as evidence by the alcohol burn it produced. Still, the bourbon, vanilla, coffee, and chocolate characteristics that you'd expect from a bourbon-barrel-aged stout were there in spades. An excellent bourbon-barrel-aged beer.

Porter - Met Expectations. A very nice porter. Probably would have rated this higher but just a little something odd was lingering in my mouth. Matt said "chalky" and I immediately knew that's what was hanging around.

Backwoods Bastard - Does Not Meet Expectations. I feel like I'm drinking bourbon. It burns. Bourbon, bourbon, bourbon. Either you like it or you don't. I don't.

Double Trouble - Exceeds Expectations. An absolutely amazing, crystal-clear DIPA. Had one bottle when this first came out, but it really GRABBED me this time. Surprisingly easy drinking, with a light body and great citrusy, grapefruity hopiness.

Curmudgeon - Does Not Meet Expectations. Actually, I'm not sure what my expectations were -- Old Ale is kind of an odd style. Very malty, but not dark and smokey like stout. Hopped, but not as much as barleywine. Lots of caramel sweetness and dark fruit with a touch of spice. I'd have it again, but I'm not running to the store.

Breakfast Stout - Exceeds Expectations. Creamy, chocolately, wonderful coating mouthfeel with huge coffee notes helping to provide some additional bitterness to balance out the malt. This is a great all-around stout.

Imperial Stout - Exceeds Expectations. Wow, I was not expecting to like this more than the Breakfast Stout. Very much exceeds expectations. Great chewy, slightly creamy mouthfeel with chocolate, coffee, and dark fruit notes. A relative bargain for the RIS style.

KBS - Does Not Meet Expectations. There is so much hype surrounding KBS that I'm not sure the beer could possibly live up to expectations. Compounding things, I think this is a little hot right now and needs to sit a while before it's really ready to drink. Still, it's an interesting, complex stout and one I'll look forward to trying again after some aging.

17 April 2009

Random Beer Roundup - Make a Weekend Of It Edition

Only one more week until Dark Lord Day. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but at Hoosier Beer Geek, we like to turn our beer drinking into weekend long events. So several of us will be heading to the region on Friday and staying through Sunday, drinking lots of beer along the way. There are plenty of great options too.

In Crown Point, there is a new option available for pre- or post-DLD drinking. June 13th of last year, Crown Brewing opened and they have been receiving favorable reviews during these first 10 months of operation. But nobody at Hoosier Beer Geek has been there yet. We're going to change that soon.

On Friday, April 24th, Hoosier Beer Geek will be roundtabling at Crown Brewing. And we'd like you to roundtable with us. It will be the first day of having their patio open for the summer, so it should be a fun time. All day they will be serving $3 beers. On tap right now:

"Crown Brown Ale" - This ale is malty and sweet on the palette and will prove to be one of our best yet!

"Celtic Pride" - Move over Guinness, this 12 malt Irish Stout is to die for.

"Exstacy of Gold" Blonde Ale ~ This "blonde" will surely meet the expectations of all beer loves. Smooth, crisp and hoppy.

"Smokestack Amber Ale" ~ This exceptionally balanced beer offers a perfect combination of malts and hops

Also, in the taproom, if you mention "Hoosier Beer Geek", you can order 10 cent wings and $5 off all pizzas. So hit exit 247 off of I-65, head west on US 231 for less than three miles, a left on East Street and in the words of John Madden, "Boom! You're there!". Crown Brewing is located at 211 S. East Street in downtown Crown Point. Look for the smokestack with the crown on top.

The food and beer specials are all day Friday, so come early to eat and drink. We will be roundtabling at 9pm central (local time)/10pm eastern and we want to hear what you think.

Here is your weekly Random Beer Roundup. Remember, if you have beer news that you want to share, drop us a line at hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.

Beer Events:
Dates and lineups subject to change

Friday, April 17 - Sunday, April 19 at Mad Anthony in Fort Wayne:
11th Anniversary Celebration

Friday, April 17, at Parti-Pak Liquors in Indianapolis:
Free Beer Tasting POSTPONED to April 24; see below

Friday, April 17, at Deano's Vino in Indianapolis:
Tapping of Dark Horse Brewing Co. Crooked Tree Double IPA

Saturday, April 18 in Jeffersonville:
2nd Annual Craft Beer Extravaganza; $75; (details under the News heading of RBR v.2009.04.10)

Saturday, April 18 at the Heorot in Muncie:
Stone Levitation kick-off party; (details under the News heading of RBR v.2009.04.10)

Monday, April 20, 5-7 p.m., at Kahn’s in Indianapolis:
Brooklyn Brewing Company tasting

Monday, April 20, 6pm, at Rock Bottom in downtown Indianapolis:
Fire Chief Ale tapping

Tuesday, April 21, 6:30pm, at Patrick's Kitchen and Drinks:
Spring Festival Beer and Wine Tasting: Five course buffet menu paired with five wines and five beers. $35 per person in advance, includes tax and tip, $45 at the door. Call 733-8755 for reservations and information.

Thursday, April 23, 6-8pm, at Big Red Liquors in downtown Bloomington:
Free Beer Tasting

Friday, April 24, 4:30-6:30pm, at Parti-Pak Liquors in Indianapolis:
Free Beer Tasting featuring Cavalier Distributing Beers: Founders, Stone Brewing Co., Two Brothers, Berghoff Artisan Series, & BB Burgerbrau

Friday, April 24, 9pm central/10pm eastern, at Crown Brewing in Crown Point:

FRIDAY DETOUR: Hoosier Beer Geek public roundtable; $3 beers all day; 10 cent wings, and $5 off pizzas all day when you mention "Hoosier Beer Geek"

Saturday, April 25 at Three Floyd’s Brewery in Munster:
Dark Lord Day

Sunday, April 26, 12:00pm at Great Fermentations in Indianapolis:
Spring All-Grain Class, $25 per person or bring a friend and pay only $20 each. Details and registration on website.

Sunday, April 26th, 6 p.m. at Zing! in Indianapolis:
Beer Tasting Dinner, $30 per person, Reservations required at (317)636-7775; (details here)

Wednesday, April 29, 6-7:30pm at Great Fermentations in Indianapolis:
Beginning Brewing Class, $15 per person or bring a friend and pay only $10 each. Details and registration on website.

Thursday, April 30, 6pm at Lafayette Brewing Company in Lafayette:
Firkin Thursday featuring a sneak preview firkin- Dry-Hopped Maifest

Saturday, May 2nd: National Homebrew Day

Monday, May 4th at Granite City in Indianapolis:
Blueberry Ale tapping

Tuesday, May 5th at Rock Bottom - Downtown in Indianapolis:
Cinco de Mayo Brewer's Dinner; Four course authentic Mexican dinner paired with four lagers; 317-681-8180 to reserve

Friday, May 8th at Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington:
Entries for the UpCup Competition are due.

Saturday, May 9th, 4pm, at Buffalo Wild Wings in downtown Indianapolis:
High Gravity Summer Kickoff, a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (details under the News heading of RBR v.2009.04.03)

Monday, May 11th - Sunday, May 17th: American Craft Beer Week:

Great Crescent Brewery in Aurora will be open everyday this week, noon-8pm (details under On Tap heading below)

Monday, May 11th at Old Town Ale House in Fishers:
Stone Levitation Celebration; no cover

Saturday, May 16th, noon-8pm at Great Crescent Brewery in Aurora:
Open House; (details under On Tap heading below)

Saturday, May 16th at Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington:
UpCup judging and ceremony.

Monday, June 22nd at Beer Sellar in Indianapolis:
Big Bell's Brewing tapping, a record breaking 30 different Bell's beers on tap at once.

News and Rumors:

Metromix interviews Cari Crowe from Kahn's Fine Wine in Indianapolis about Bacon Beer.

Alastair Hook of Meantime Brewing was awarded the 2008 Brewer of the Year award by the British Guild of Beer Writers.

Brewers Association Releases Top 50 Breweries List

NABC's Roger Baylor writes about Indiana's alcohol laws for LEO.

David Pierce joins NABC as Director of Brewing Operations.

Now on tap:
Price and availability are subject to change

From Dan at Great Crescent Brewery in Aurora:

The Great Crescent Brewery will be open Monday through Saturday from noon to 8pm for American Craft Beer Week - May 11-17. We will have our regular lineup - Blonde Ale, Mild Ale, Wit, Stout, Cherry Ale. In addition we plan to have IPA and Coconut Porter ready for our Open House on Saturday, 16 May. Please join us for the Open House - we will have complimentary food and available and drawings for small prizes.

From John at The Legend Irvington Cafe in Indianapolis:

New on tap at The Legend in Irvington in addition to Three Floyds Robert the Bruce and Bluegrass Brewing Bourbon Barrel Stout is Spaten Mai Bock (traditional German spring beer) and Breckenridge Brewery 471 IPA (double hopped IPA at 9.2% ABV).

Also, new in bottled beer is Founder's Porter and Left Hand Bock with Bell's Oberon back in stock as well as all the other micros and imports.

From Elizabeth at Old Town Ale House:

Here's what we're pouring this week:
Founder's Pale
Berghoff Lager
Upland Wheat
Magic Hat # 9
Bell's Two-hearted
Bell's Oberon
Founder's Porter
Left Hand Milk Stout
Two Brothers Domaine Dupage
Original Sin
Victory Prima Pils
Heavy Seas Holy Sheet
Founder's Cerise
Goose Island Matilda
Breckenridge 471 ESB
Victory Hop Wallop
Mojo Risin Double IPA
Left Hand Oak Imperial Stout
Dogfish Head Red & White
3 Floyd's Dread Naught

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse with various locations around Indiana:

Just wanted you to know that Scotty's Brewhouse is rolling out some new beers at all 5 locations! Check them out here.

From Mike at Granite City Brewery in Indianapolis:

Granite City is tapping a Blueberry Ale May 4. Also adding an American Wheat year-round at some point this Summer.

Now on the shelf:
Price and availability are subject to change

From Cari at Kahn's in Indianapolis:

omfg, I got so many goodies!

New this week/back in stock -
Schlafly Summertime Helles-Style Lager
Dieu de Ciel Solstice d'Hiver
Dieu de Ciel Rosee d'Hibiscus
Dieu de Ciel Route des Epices
Dieu de Ciel Corne Du Diable American IPA
Dieu de Ciel Derniere Volonte Abbey Ale
Nogne O Dark Horizon
Nogne O Toschi Double IPA - collaboration with Yoho Brewery in Japan
Mikkeller Jackie Brown - now in a new format
Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasal
Mikkeller Single Hop Cascade IPA
Mikkeller Single Hop Warrior IPA
Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss - now in a new format

Specials-
Bell's Oberon $8.99/pack ; $31.49/case
Best of Belgium Sampler - a six pack each of Leffe, Hoegaarden and Stella
for $19.99
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome 18 oz. $2.99
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus 22 oz. $5.99

New Belgium Presale -
Today through Saturday, Kahn's is offering a presale of all New Belgium products before they arrive on Monday. Payment is due at the time of reservation.
Fat Tire Amber Ale 12 pack cans $15.99 reg. price $17.99
Fat Tire Amber Ale 22 oz. bottles $2.99 reg. price $3.99
Mothership Wit 22 oz. bottles $2.99 reg. price $3.99
1554 Black Ale 22 oz. bottles $2.99 reg. price $3.99

From Greg at Cavalier Distributing in Indianapolis:

There are a couple exciting new beers hitting the market this and next week:

Stone Levitation Ale will officially start hitting store shelves next week!! That's right, the highly anticipated arrival of Stone's Levitation Ale is finally here. Levitation Ale is Stone's version of a session ale. An Amber Ale by stylistic definition, Levitation is truly a style unto its own. It is very complex and balanced with a wonderful fresh dry-hop aroma, wonderfully balanced taste and lingering, smooth finish. Levitation has the hop content to satisfy the cravings, but is perfectly balanced with malt sweetness, is incredibly complex and is very smooth and clean on the finish. With the release of other highly (over) hyped Amber Ales to the Indy market around this time, make a point to grab the GABF Gold Medal Levitation and compare it on TASTE & QUALITY to other new Amber Ales and judge for yourself. Levitate your senses!

Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss (Barley Wine style Weiss Beer/Wheat Wine) just arrived to Indiana in very limited quantities for the year. Only a very small amount of this rare, exquisite special release Wheat Wine from Two Brothers hits the state each year, so get it quickly while you can. This is yet another vintage of a much herralded 2 Bros creation and a must get. Make sure to grab a bottle for now and some for year(s) from now.

Two Brothers Dog Days of Summer just arrived and will start hitting stores and draft lines around the state in the next weeks as well. A Dortmunder style Lager, Dog Days of summer is a complex, flavorful Lager perfect for the long, hot days of summer. Dog Days is a highly decorated beer, having won best of show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds a couple of years ago. This year's supply is limited, so enjoy it early and as often as you can. Enjoy!

Keep an eye out for some amazing Stone brews on draft at Dark Lord Day next Saturday as well. I am just going to list them and you work on keeping your jaw off of the floor: Brandy Barrel Aged '06 Double Bastard, Bourbon Barrel Aged Arrogant Bastard, Red Wine Barrel Aged '08 Old Guardian, 10th Anniversary, '07& '08 Imperial Russian Stout, '07 Old Guardian, Vertical Epic 08-08-08, and Levitation Ale. The folks at 3 Floyds have put together an incredible line-up in addition to their own fantastic brews, enjoy!

From Big Red Liquors in Bloomington:

New at Big Red Liquors:

Leinenkugel Summer Shandy
Goose Island Summertime Kolsch
Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager
Berghoff Summe Solstice Wit
Michelob Wheat beer Sampler 12pk
Abita Strawberry Lager
Magic Hat Variety 12pk
Stone Imperial Stout
Founder's Cerise -Cherry Fermented Ale
Dark Horse Crooked Tree Double IPA
Guinness 250th Anniversary

From Mike at Crown Liquors in Carmel:

Crown has gotten the motherload of special orders....again! Can't wait to start tasting all these new brews!!!:)

Amager Batch One 12/500
Amager Hr. Frederiksen 12/500
Amager Sundby Stout 12/500
Baird Angry Boy Brown Ale 24/12
Baird Kurofone Porter 24/12
Cantillion Fou'foune Pure Apricot Lambic 6/750
Cantillon Rose' de Gambrinus 6/750
Cantillon Saint-Lamvinus 6/750
Dieu du Ciel! Equinoxe du Printemps 24/341
Dieu du Ciel Solstice d' Hiver 24/11.5
De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis (Russian Stout) 6/750
De Molen Storm and Averij 6/750
Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze 6/750
Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek 12/375
Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek 6/750
De Ranke Cuvee de Ranke 6/750
Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura 12/750
Nils Oscar Coffee Stout 20/330
Panil Barriquee 12/750
St. Somewhere Lectio Divina 12/750
St. Somewhere Saison Athene 12/750
Nogne-O Toshi Double IPA 12/500