For the second year in a row, we start Indiana Beer Week with news of a brewery closing. According to their facebook page, Wilbur Brewing will cease operations at the end of August. 
The Brew Pub Ltd. restaurant located at 3703 North Main Street, Mishawaka will be closing at the end of business on December 3, 2008...This morning we were made aware that Mishawaka's equipment and materials are up for sale, preceded by the following very short statement:
It should be noted for those who are not familiar with our structure that The Brew Pub Ltd is a corporation separate from The Mishawaka Brewing Company and The Pub (located at 408 W. Cleveland, Mishawaka at the corner of Grape & Cleveland).
The Mishawaka Brewing Company has continued to grow and in 2006 we opened a production brewery in Elkhart, IN. We will be consolidating the two brewing operations at our Elkhart location. Distribution will continue unchanged.
We have sold our brewery and have malted barley to clear out.There's more here.
The atmosphere is fantastic, the staff are super-friendly and very knowledgeable, the beer list is out of this world, and the food is pretty damn good, too. If you haven't been there yet, I say this is THE essential new restaurant/bar in the 317 to check out. I can promise that many more reviews from the KOTBR will come to you from Deano's.His "more reviews to come from Deano's" statement was certainly accurate - we eventually roundtabled at Deano's another seven times, making it the location we've visited most when reviewing a beer.
My wife is from the greater Ft. Wayne area and I first heard of Warbird Brewing from the Ft. Wayne newspaper. What really caught my attention was the company founder's desire to serve his beers in cans. And his reasoning was sound: it did a better job of keeping beer than bottles. You didn't hear about many craft breweries doing that.
It sounds kinda funny to hear Dave (seen above) say that he brews beers that his wife would like. But don't think of Warbird as a chick beer brand. He's not brewing Zima or wine coolers. But he's not brewing the super hopped, super malted, super complicated beers either. He's doing traditional ales. And he's doing a great job at it. More about the specific beers later.
Warbird is unlike most Indiana breweries, in that they have no restaurant, bar, or gift shop as part of their operations. They are a brewery in the strictest since of the word. Located near the Ft. Wayne airport in an industrial park, it is all about work when he is on site.
The brewmaster at Warbird recently left, leaving Dave with those duties. Though Chris Tallman (seen above) has been brought on recently, and I suspect that after a while, he will have the brewmaster title.
Marketing-wise, everything revolves around planes. Dave is a former military pilot and until recently would fly antique aircraft in air shows. He sold his plane, but his love for the old birds carries on as every beer is named for a plane. Military stencil fonts are found on their labels, packaging, and kegs.
Currently, there are four beers available in bottles. But they currently brew five styles. We were lucky enough to taste four of the five, and we started with the "Shanty Irish" Irish Ale. It is only available at JK O’Donnell’s Irish Ale House in Ft. Wayne, but it will be bottled and released for St. Patrick's Day next year. It is a very nice Irish red with sweet notes of molasses, brown sugar, and caramel, but with a little bit of hops. A great beer and my favorite of the four we tasted.
I should also point out that a variety of this Irish Ale is now on tap at the Rathskeller in Indianapolis as the "Rathskeller Red". Warbird is the new brewery for the house beer and first went on tap on October 16th, so be sure to check it out. We were informed that this new deal made the Rathskeller their number 1 outlet.
We also had the T-6 red ale, the Warhawk pale ale (above), and the Mustang golden ale (below).
All four are quality beers that everybody in our group enjoyed. Which brings us back to the "beers my wife would drink" statement. Four knights made it up: Kelly, Mike, Gina, and myself. I brought along my father-in-law and brother-in-law. Both have been trying to expand their beer pallet. But neither are big into big hoppy beers.
So I say again, everybody in our group really enjoyed all of the beers, geeks and novices. These are beers that are easy to enjoy and easy to convince others to enjoy. While the Mustang is not a lager or a pilsner, you should serve these to Bud and Miller drinkers and watch them light up as they discover what real beer tastes like.
Know someone who isn't big into the big hops of Hopslam, Hoptimus, or any other double, triple, quadruple, or any other numbered IPA? Start them on a Warhawk. They brewed this beer in the traditional sense. It has bite, but it doesn't leave bite wounds.
Speaking for myself, I'd say that all four beers would receive at least a 3 mug rating with the Shanty Irish getting at least 4. And while it is readily available in Indianapolis and most of Indiana, it is probably one of the most under appreciated breweries in the state. Which is a shame. I would recommend that everybody should try and take flight with Warbird.
Dear Beer Geeks,HBG wishes to pass along a "best of luck" to Matt and Elizabeth, and to wish them success in whatever comes next.
It is with heavy hearts that we write to let you know that we're closing for business this coming Sunday. We thank you for your support and loads of good times over the past year. From now through Sunday, we will be selling all remaining beer at rock-bottom prices ($2 per any bottle). Stop in and say good-bye.
Thanks Again,
Matt & Elizabeth Morse
