#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.

HBG5 featuring World Class Beverages

You may have thought we'd given up on posting these - but no! To be honest, we still aren't 100% sure about some of the remaining beers. But we do have a few more details. Next up:


World Class Beverages


For as long as we've been having these parties, we've had cooperation and participation by our friends at World Class Beverages. This year is no different.

Hair of the Dog Adam
Adam is top fermented and cold conditioned to give it a rich and mellow smoothness. The unique garnet color is derived from specially roasted barley, and the intense hop profile is provided by the use of only the finest whole hop flowers. It is 8% alcohol by weight (10% by volume).

And..

Boulevard / Deschutes Collaboration #2 White IPA
Combining Boulevard’s expertise at making Belgian-style witbiers with Deschutes’ skill at brewing hop-forward ales, this beer puts a new spin on the idea of collaborative brewing. Working from a single recipe, brewmasters Steven Pauwels of Boulevard and Larry Sidor of Deschutes have produced two separate beers, more than 1,600 miles apart.

Color (EBC) 10 Bitterness (IBUs) 42 Original Gravity (Plato) 17 Terminal Gravity (Plato) 3.4 Alcohol (ABV) 7.4%

Please remember that this list is tentative and subject to change based on availability. We will keep you updated if anything changes.

About HBG5:
It will be held Saturday, August 27th, starting at 6pm. Sun King Brewing will again be hosting us at their brewery at 135 N. College Avenue, Indianapolis. Tickets are $30 (plus $1.99 for online fees) for regular tickets and $15 (plus $1.99 for online fees) for designated drivers. Tickets are available online only and limited to just 150 paying customers. Like beer festivals? Don't like crowds? This is your event. And yes, the tickets are on sale now.

If you didn't attend last year, you can see what you missed here. But if you did attend last year, you'll find it to be similar. We can't promise that Jason will be performing from Cats (or will have a mustache). But here is what we have so far (please note that all of this is subject to change).

Regular attendees will receive a commemorative tasting glass that can be used to sample various quality beers from our favorite Indiana breweries as well as a few other breweries. Additionally, you'll be able to select a few larger pours of your favorite beers. Designated drivers will have a selection of non-alcoholic beverages such as soda, pop, cola... whatever regional term you like. And bottled water, of course.

All attendees will get to enjoy food from Papa Roux.
PAPA ROUX will be proudly serving FRESH OFF THE GRILL all evening long! Prepare to be punched in the mouth with FLAVA as we handcraft your Po-Boys from 6PM-11PM. Offerings include FIRE-GRILLED SMOKED SAUSAGE PO-BOYS, ROASTED CHICKEN PO-BOYS, and VEGETARIAN GRILLED ONION & PROVOLONE CHEESE PO-BOYS.

All Po-Boys can be prepared with additional GRILLED ONION and PROVOLONE CHEESE, in addition to the SELF-SERVE SHUT'YO MOUTH SPICE BAR including a variety of hot sauces, Papa's own Vouxdoux seasoning, and Sriracha Rooster Sauce!

Don't miss the perfectly spicy CHEESY ETOUFFEE, the perfect soup for any beer.

And what's a party without gifts? And by gifts, I mean us giving stuff to you! That's right, prizes and giveaways and all sorts of stuff.

We're still filling in all the details, but if you've been to our events, you know it is a good time. And all tickets will be sold online. Tickets are not available at Sun King nor will they be available at the door. So don't miss out.

There are more details coming soon, but here's a reminder of the participating breweries/distributors to wet your whistle -

Barley Island Brewing Company - Barrel-Fermented Rust Belt Porter
Bee Creek Brewing Company - Alien Abduction Wheat
Bier Brewery - Farmgirl Saison and Calypso IPA
Broad Ripple Brewpub - Wobbly Bob OR Dual Citizenship
Brugge Brasserie - Superkitty Fantastico!
Cavalier Distributing
Crown Brewing Company - DerALEr
Flat12 Bierwerks - 12 Cycle IPA and Nunmoere Black
Lafayette Brewing Company
New Albanian Brewing Company - Naughty Girl (Struise Colab)
People's Brewing Company
RAM Brewery - Bjava Disorder Porter
The St. Louis Brewing Company aka Schlafly - Raspberry Coffee Stout
Sun King - House Lineup (Osiris, Bitter Druid, Cream, Wee Mac)
Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Company - Hoosier Beer Geek Double Brown
Upland Brewing Company - Rad Red and Mother's Milk
World Class Beverages - Hair of the Dog Adam and Boulevard / Deschutes Collaboration #2

We appreciate that you follow us for the latest and craziest in the Indiana craft beer world. And we hope you'll come out and celebrate with us our fifth and perhaps best year of better beer buffoonery.

GABF 2009 Road Trip: Boulevard Brewing Company

On September 19, 2009, Hoosier Beer Geek Rodney and I set out across the country ala Mike and Gina style. Our destination is the Super Bowl of American beer, Great American Beer Festival. In honor of our road trip and time in the Napa Valley of Beers, we'll be running a series of posts detailing our brewery tours and beer diaries along the way.

Rod and I set off with the destination for the day being Hays, Kansas. To make sure that we don't spend too much time in the car (and to break up the monotony) we contacted Boulevard Brewing company for a tour ahead of time. This was the perfect time as it gave us plenty of time to drive from Indiana and grab a quick lunch at the wonderful Westside Local restaurant in Kansas City.


The Boulevard Brewing Company tour is almost like going to Disney World with the high quality videos along the tour detailing the transition from the original brewhouse to the recently completed expansion that broke ground in 2005. The tour is not just about how beer is made but how Boulevard has grown and expanded while basing their principles on the same ideals that breweries in Germany and Europe have used to great success. Something that we found quite interesting is that they actually have a staff bar where employees can enjoy a few pints (within moderation). Unlike many breweries in the states, they are allowing their employees to drink for free and because of that they also encourage education on moderation and responsible drinking (which most breweries in USA do encourage). It was also noted that two taps are installed in each of the executive offices.


It's a quality operation that has been around since 1989 when founder John McDonald started with the Boulevard Pale Ale. This is a brewery that expanded and kept in mind the future when designing the new space. When they first opened they would have to brew 24/7 and now, thanks to the new expansion, they currently only have to brew four days a week to keep up with demand. For instance, when they first opened they would bottle 80 bottles a minute, and now they can easily bottle 500 bottles a minute.


We were quite interested in the fact that the brewery expansion was completed with sustainable, green practices in mind and was meant to use as little electricity as possible. Since John McDonald was originally a carpenter by trade, many touches around the new brewhouse have wooden aspects to reflect the rich German brewing heritage of Kansas City and also to pay tribute to those breweries in Germany. It's really a great tour that ends with about 25 minutes in the tasting room where you have the opportunity to sample their delectable brews.


In case you weren't already aware, Boulevard will be available in Indiana at the beginning of October. Here is a brief sampling of a few of the beers we tried at the tap room, some of which will soon be found locally.


Tank 7: This is the more hoppy successor to the popular Smokestack Series Saison. It carries a heavily spiced nose with lots of black pepper and lemon with a grassy hop aroma. The flavor is just as spicy as the nose, with matching black pepper, lemon, and grassy hops notes in addition to ginger and cinnamon. This is a very enjoyable hopped up variation on the traditional Saison.

Zon: Pronounced with a long-O, this is Boulevard's summer seasonal. It carries a light banana aroma and has a good balance of banana and lemon flavors with the background of a traditional Belgian Wit. A nice summer beer that's not too sweet.

Pilsner: Boulevard's Pilsner is not currently brewed year-round, as you might expect. While this is a bit sweeter than traditional German and Czech Pilsners, it still carries an all grain base.


Lunar Ale: The Lunar is an unfiltered, lighter brown that is brewed with Belgian style yeast. It's a very balanced beer that smells like caramel and candi sugar. The flavor ends up a nice American brown ale with a slight hop flavor on the finish.

Dry Stout: This is their lightest offering (also, on their website they say they will never brew a light beer) and was poured on nitrogen. It had a great roasted nose and tasted like you would expect Guinness to taste, except better. A perfect example of a dry Irish stout.

Bully Porter: This was a deep brown beer that had a big toasty nose. I was really impressed with how robust the porter was and how it didn't have the typical chocolate notes that a microbrew porter has. Our tour guide affectionately referred to it as the perfect accompaniment to a steak dinner.


It was a great tour and tasting experience that was made even better by the knowledge that Boulevard would soon be available in Indiana. I highly recommend that if you're passing through Kansas City that you stop by for a tour. Be sure to reserve in advance as they fill up quickly and only give tours Wednesday through Sunday. If you're looking to catch a glimpse of the bottling line in action be sure to take the Wednesday or Thursday tours since they only brew four days a week.

KOTBR #68 - Homebrew and Smokestacks

On a not so recent trip back to the St. Louis area I picked up the first four beers in the "Smokestack Series" from Boulevard Brewing. Boulevard is a Kansas City brewery whose beers aren't yet in Indiana; If you looked back to our November 14, 2008 Random Beer Roundup, you'd see that World Class Beverages had announced that we'll be seeing the Smokestack Series of beers in Indiana some time this year.

Well, as it turns out, that's on hold.

Mike,

Sadly, we are still waiting on Boulevard. It's not that uncommon in the craft business, especially in these days when most decent breweries are able to sell everything they make, that a brewery has the best intentions of being in new states but doesn't quite make it on any real tight schedule.

I'd love to get some Saison Brett for myself, but I might have to drive out to Missouri to get it!

Cheers!
Bob Mack
World Class Beverages

Or..

Still in discussion but maybe this summer.

Jim Schembre
World Class Beverages

More recently, our own Rod and Jess took a trip to St. Louis to celebrate Jess' birthday. While they were in town they visited Randall's Spirits and picked up a few Smokestack bottles of their own, including one of the newer beers in the series, the Imperial Stout.

Having acquired 5 of the 8 beers currently produced (missing only the Saison-Brett and the Bourbon Barrel Quad), we decided it was time to rid them finally and forever from the top of my kitchen cabinets, where they have been (improperly) stored since being acquired sometime after April of 2008. We headed to Rod and Jess' for a little homebrewing and a Knights of the Beer Roundtable.


I've never been in a trailer park, but the Double-Wide IPA makes me want to visit someday. This double IPA pours copper in color with a clear, nice light tan head. You catch a hoppy, piney aroma that is sticky sweet. It makes me think of a sugary, sticky, sweet fruit pie cooling next to a big pan of hot-dish (or at least that's what I assume they eat in trailer parks - I've lived in the midwest my whole life and haven't heard anyone refer to a casserole as hot-dish).

The taste is syrupy sweet, much like green fla-vor-ice and has a nice spicy kick to the back of the palate. There's notes of tropical fruit, juicy fruit gum and almost a hint of belgian candi sugar. When I drink this beer I am transported to a twister of taste and all I can think of is that Mabel still has my casserole dish. I give it 4.8 mugs and find myself craving more.

Rodney: 3.9 Mugs | Gina: 4.45 Mugs | Mike: 4.0 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.28 Mugs


I got a smokestack full of black beans so get back.

Boulevard's Imperial Stout ($11.99/22oz.) is quite a treat. This rendition of an Imperial Stout is not quite as heavy as you would expect. Still a bit warm on alcohol, this stout is very creamy. Coffee and baker's chocolate and prominent in the nose, as you would expect. The flavor, however, is not typical. Chocolate milk, cherries, honey and espresso make this a slightly fruity Imperial Stout. The slight tartness of the cherries, followed by sweet dark cherry juice and honey compliment the standard flavor profile. A bit of warm alcohol emerges at the swallow but not as much as the 11% ABV would lead you to believe.

This Imperial Stout is suitable for drinking right away, which is rare. A bit of age might improve the complexity and hide the alcohol, but I fear it might also subdue the cherry flavor. Definitely an enjoyable stout and a departure from the norm. 4.2 mugs.

Mike: 2.84 Mugs | Gina: 3.15 Mugs | Jess: 4.0 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.54 Mugs


Boulevard's Sixth Glass Quadruple ale gets its name from the Hans Christian Anderson's 'Ole the Tower-Keeper'. Ole is a hermit and lives in an old church tower. He spends his time reading and thinking about things, but seldom spends time with others. Three of his once-yearly visits with the narrator are recounted in the story. The second of these three visits is the inspiration for the Boulevard Quad.

On this visit to Ole, the tower-keeper, we learn about New Year's toasts and what happens as the number of drinks that a person has increases. At the first drink you are still capable of being a healthy, responsible person. At the second, you are growing more confident. The third drink and beyond, you are becoming more and more evil. As the story says, it's the devil that's in the sixth glass.

This 10.5% Belgian style quadruple Ale pours orangish-brown with a tan/yellow head. The nose starts as oranges with a bit of smoke but then gives way to a more banana aroma. The alcohol flavor that you might expect in such a high octane beer does not show itself. Overall, this beer is drinkable and balanced but if I'm going to be drinking a quad, I might choose something with a bit thicker mouthfeel. 2.95 mugs.

I suspect this is the kind of thing that would happen if you had glass upon glass of the Quadruple from Boulevard.

Mike: 3.0 Mugs | Gina: 2.95 Mugs | Jess: 2.5 Mugs | Rodney: 2.8 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.81 Mugs


The name of this beer, Long Strange Tripel, is a reference to both The Grateful Dead and Trip Hogue -- one of the original employees of Boulevard Brewing and a huge fan of the Dead -- so it only seems right to review this beer through copious references to Grateful Dead songs.

It Must Have Been The Roses, or maybe some spring flowers that we noticed in the nose of this beer. Very inviting, with a bit of Sugaree Belgian candi sugar. I decided to dive right in. With the Eyes of the World on me, or at least the room, I rolled the beer Around and Around my Tastebuds, trying to discern all the flavors. To be expected, I tasted banana with some Help On The Way from a little caramel, apple and pear in the mix. Thanks to a generous dose of carbonation, it was Just A Little Light and pleasantly smooth on the mouthfeel, a very nice change of pace from some heavier, sweeter tripels.

With this one beer tasted in the series, I unforuntately had to get Truckin' and left the other beers to my companions. To Boulevard, I'd say Don't Mess Up A Good Thing and Keep Your Day Job brewing this sucker. It's Easy To Love You, Long Strange Tripel. 4.3 mugs.

Mike: 4.9 Mugs | Rodney: 3.8 Mugs | Gina: 4.2 Mugs | Jess: 4.4 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.32 Mugs


If you ask your old buddy Wikipedia about Saison, He'll¹ tell you:

Saison (French, "season") is the name originally given to refreshing, low-alcohol pale ales brewed seasonally in farmhouses in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, to refresh farm workers during harvest season.

Well that's all well and good, but quite frankly I'm not a farm worker. In fact, I left the farm behind so many years ago that I hardly remember the sweet smell of the fresh manure on a late spring day. And it makes me sad².

Unlike most (ok, none) of our readers, I've never brewed beer in a Wallonian farmhouse. But if I was going to, I might try to make myself a fizzy lemonade-looking kind of thing; maybe a couple fingers of foamy head, and a light scent to take my mind away from all that manure. Maybe I'd even make that beer smell a little bit soapy... not soapy like Zest though. Maybe a floral perfume-like "grandma-ish", soapy sort of smell. Something that reminded me of summer and sunshine, minus the sweat and hard work. When I think of Grandma (anyone's grandma, for that matter³), that's what I think of: summer and sunshine.

So.. Boulevard Smokestack Saison. The grandma-inspired anti-manure beer of choice? I'm sure the folks at Boulevard wouldn't make that claim, and neither would I. While this is a fine beer - a light and tasty treat, in fact - I'm just not sure it's a style worthy of a limited special release. It's the sort of beer that's just sort of sitting there in front of you.

"Hmm.. a beer," you might say. "I suppose I'll drink it."

2.9 Mugs

Gina: 2.1 Mugs | Jess: 2.0 Mugs | Rodney: 3.1 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.52 Mugs

* * * * *

¹Wikipedia is an old man who spends most of his days obsessively changing the oil in his pickup truck.

²So very, very sad.

³This is a complete lie. Your grandma is effin' scary.