IndianaBeer

RIP Bee Creek

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Ostrander) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:16:00 +0000

Rumors were afloat at the Winterfest that Bee Creek has closed. Sadly this is true. Julie has posted on their web site:

It is with great sadness that the Bee Creek Brewery announces the decision to close its doors. As a small, independent brewer faced with the increasing cost of grain and packaging, we found it impossible to produce and sustain a quality of beer that had become a benchmark of excellence.

Mark, Frank, Julie and the entire Bee Creek family wish to thank our distributor, our customers, and all of our establishments for their unwavering support during five fantastic years of operation. To all those devoted friends and family that have been a constant strength we bid you a very special "THANK YOU". You have been our pillar in the uncertain times……the fun times……the great times. We know that you will be there to encourage us in all future endeavors.

We'll miss this enterprising family and wish we could have followed their adventure through to happier times.

Winterfest? Outstanding.

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Compton) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:05:00 +0000

Cheers to the Brewers of Indiana Guild for putting on another terrific Winterfest. Some pics while I round up the brain cells that escaped termination…….

We’re faced with the enviable dilemma of so many beers, so little human capacity (how the hell did I not make it back to Triton?) but here are some of my standouts:

New Albanian Solidarity Baltic Porter (my favorite of the event)

Bell’s Hopslam (sure, you’ve probably had it, but on draft?)

Crown Special Special Forces

Victory Ranch S Double IPA

People’s Brewing Notorious B.I.P.

Tim Palmer’s Oatmeal Stout at the FBI table

MONK homebrew club barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout

On a personal note, I want to recognize the Ohio Valley Homebrewers Association, Bloomington Hop Jockeys, Midwestern Order of Ninkasi (MONK), and the Foam Blowers of Indiana (FBI) for representing the homebrewing community on short notice. If you’ve started homebrewing, or are intrigued by the process of making all the great beer you tasted, check out the nice folks at your local club (you can find a list on our Links page). Shameless plug alert for those in the Indy area – the next FBI meeting is Wednesday at Triton Brewing at 7pm covering Belgian Strong Ales. If I happened to pour you a beer at the FBI table, thanks for stopping by. If you tried the Porter, thanks for depleting my homebrew supply – hope you enjoyed!

Cheers, Nathan

One more Winterfest post

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Ostrander) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:59:00 +0000

A full house at the Winterfest. Some shouting, some dancing, a lot of BMC drinkers getting down on stouts and porters, a lot of folks who appreciate stouts and porters getting introduced to sours, imperial wits, and barrel aged beers.

The host Brewers of Indiana Guild have a nice slideshow up already.

John Mills told us the equipment at the old Firkin / Little Cheers brewpub in downtown Evansville has been sold. Don't know the next use of this 9-bbl system.

He also told us about a new brewery in the planning for Evansville - Tin Man Brewing will be a production brewery that will do cans. Owner: Nick Davidson, Brewer: Sean O'Rear. Planning to be in business by July.

Here's professional photographer Kris Arnold getting an artsy shot of the festival glasses. And here's my artsy shot of same. Click to biggify. the pics.

Winterfest 2012 is a great memory

noreply@blogger.com (GregK) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:55:00 +0000

Craft Beer, good friends, a good time. Sixty-seven breweries provided hundreds of offerings for a Winterfest that saw the new, the familiar, and many unique brews.

Consider that half of those are breweries (or meadery, wink) in Indiana and then consider how many have opened within the past five years, and even in the past year! The choices for craft beer in SuperBowl city are amazing and were certainly 'super-amazing' with special tappings at Winterfest 2012.

No way it is possible to mention them all or that it was possible to taste them all but there was great beer. There was plenty of barrel aged beer. GABF award-winning Sun King alone served up a delicious Buffalo Slumber barrel aged Belgian Triple as well as a coffee infused, barrel aged Scotch Ale, plus Buffalo Fest Oktoberfest that had rested 9 months in the barrel.

Unusual offerings included Lafayette Brewing Company's Java Stout with locally roasted beans in a randall.
Fittinly that was one of my first beers.

There were many veterans at Winterfest with John Hill of the Broad Ripple Brew Pub proudly viewing the crowd and reminiscing about beer in Indiana back in 1967!

We will have more to post about Winterfest -- with this post kicking us off.

But from Brugge's lovely single hop Desiderata to lambics from Upland to Monk Juice from the RAM, suffice it to say no one could have gone thirsty!

Flat12 - Winterfest List!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kathleen Slauzis) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:25:00 +0000

Thank you Flat12 for sending us a list of beers!! :-D

Look below and go visit there booth --

FLAT 12 Bierwerks -

21 beers. No scheduled tappings. "Just tapping what we feel like drinking next in no particular order".

Half Cycle
Lacto-Matic
Cherry Milk Stout
Cranber
Moustache Ride
Moustache Rides Again
BA Nunmoere Black
Coconut Porter
1/2 Cycle Reserve
Grandpa's Glazed Ham
Barrel Jack
Walkabout Pale Ale
Apple Bottom Blonde
Fruitcake IPA
BBD68 (Big Black Dog)
Winter Cycle
Winter Cyclo (Belgian Double IPA)
Super Bravo 46
Passion Fruit Walkabout
Chateua Du Dorman (Blackberry Porter)
Kiwi^2 (Kiwi Kiwi Hefe)

more Winterfest Update

noreply@blogger.com (GregK) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:33:00 +0000

Upland's Line up

Wheat
Dragonfly IPA
Bad Elmer's Porter
DoubleDragon IPA
Schwartz beer

Special tappings:
3:00-4:00 Lambics
5:00 Teddy Bear Kisses, RIS with chocolate
6:00 Bourbon Barrel Winter Warmer
6:30 Assorted Lambics, likely to include Gilgamesh Flanders Red and Sour Reserve Gueuze

Winterfest Update

noreply@blogger.com (GregK) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:15:00 +0000

From Skip at Fountain Square Brewing:
Winterfest line up will include:

Pale Ale
American Amber
English Porter
+
for the VIP session: Chocolate Stout

at 4:00
Add the Pilsner to replace the Choc. Stout
Add the Oatmeal Stout

at 6:00 replace the above 2 with
Batch 13 IPA (some people wait for this one)
Winter Warmer

Bloomington quick note

noreply@blogger.com (GregK) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:47:00 +0000

Alley Bar (210 W. Kirkwood, Bloomington) continues the series of mini-keg tappings on Friday at 4:15 this Friday (1/27) with Widmer Falconer IPA from the Widmer winter rotator series. The Falconer name is in honor of a brewing legend and has Sorachi Ace, Simco, and Citra hops to give it citrus and lemon notes and weighs in at 7%. These are usually empty between 6 and 10 PM. No food, just a small European bar atmosphere with beer and wine.

Indy Airport and Beer

noreply@blogger.com (GregK) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:39:00 +0000

So you arrive in Indy and you are staying near the airport, or you live West. Two newer brewpubs offer super choices (or SuperBowl choices)!

Black Swan, Plainfield, this week had TEN of their beers on tap. I gravitate toward the Scottish Ale or the Cream Stout, but I've tried all within the last week and enjoyed every sampler. From an "Amber Wheat" with great hop character and IPA loaded with American Hops, to a Tafel ('table' in German) beer which is sort of a light pils, the beers pair with delicious food. If you can handle a 10% barleywein the Roggenwein is a strong beer with a nice slight bite from the Rye ("Roggen" = rye)[in half pints] Guest beers are also on tap and in bottles

I've enjoyed the schnitzel, the ruben, the Italian beef, and the Pretzel ham sandwich

Black Swan, 2067 EAST Hadley Road, Plainfield (tip: put East in your GPS or it might give you a long tour)

3 pints has 3 of their own brews with less usual offerings. Their Izzi's IPA is an English (not American)IPA with lighter hop notes and well balanced. Yoshi's Nectar is a California Common ("steam beer") with malt but a nice slight bite to it. They rotate so I had a Blonde Wheat, American Wheat. By 1/27 they will put a Scottish on tap.

Known for Pulled Pork and local food.

3 pints Brewery, 5020 Camberidge Way, Plainfield (2 blocks from Black Swan)

Great to have good beer near the airport. Some people park and fly... some people sample beer and fly....

Free - Introduction to Brewing Class - January 26

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy Modesitt) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:02:00 +0000

On Saturday, January 28th, from 3p.m.-6p.m., Hops & Harvest (Fort Wayne) (http://www.hopsandharvest.com/) will have a FREE class on Introduction to Brewing at their store located at 4616 East Dupont Road, Suite O. Please RSVP: email to info@hopsandharvest.com or call their store at 260-918-3035. If you are thinking about making your own beer, here is your chance to check it out for FREE.

Winterfest! -- prequel

noreply@blogger.com (Kathleen Slauzis) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:54:00 +0000

It's in three days -- The Brewers of Indiana Winterfest at the State Fair. Regulars of the B.I.G's festivals usually are used to having a lineup of breweries and brews available, unfortunately, this year there seems to be a delay in finding out information about Winterfest - HOWEVER..

We do have at least one line up from Indiana's Champion Cup Brewery and Brew Bracket II:Stout Winner --

The Bier Brewery

Will be at Winterfest with the following:

Winterfest Lineup!
Here is our Winterfest Lineup. These are not in any particular order, we will be pouring 4 biers at a time until we run out.

Pumpkin Ale
Chocolate Mint Stout
Belgian Dubbel
Belgian Trippelle
Belgian Dark Strong
Belgian Golden Strong
Coffee Porter
PDG Pale
DFG IPA
Fuggit Stout - Poured at the Brew Bracket Table

Some of the best from Bier Brewery!

- And if you find out more info, or if we do.. We'll let you know!

UPDATE--

Found from Flat12 Bierwerks:

Walkabout Pale Ale – A single hop pale featuring an Australian hop (Galaxy). ABV: 5.3% IBU: 40

Lacto-Milk Stout – Malty and rich with the nice roasty finish of coffee. ABV: 5.0% IBU: 28.6

Half Cycle IPA – A single IPA hopped like a double with an over-the-top hop character of spice, citrus and pine. ABV: 6.0% IBU 104.1

Also: Barrel-aged specialties and Fruit beers

I heard a possible beer is their Blackberry Porter... (wink wink)

UPDATE PART DUEX:

From Sun King's Blog --

House Beers

Sunlight Cream Ale, Wee Mac Scottish Ale, Bitter Druid ESB, Osiris Pale Ale

Firkin Tent

Cream Dream IV – ABV: 10% IBU: 100+
An assertively hopped American IPA.

Special Tappings

VIP – Timmie: Russian Imperial Stout
4:30 – El Gallo Negro: Black IPA
5:00 – Buffalo Slumber: Barrel Aged Belgian Triple
5:30 – T-Bone Express: Barrel Aged Coffee Infused Wee Muckle (Scotch Ale)
6:00 – Sour Princess: Our Belgian Triple (Golden Princess) fermented with wild yeast
6:30 – Mole Muckle: Wee Muckle infused with chocolate and cinnamon
7:00 – Buffalo Fest: Oktoberfest aged for 9 months in a Buffalo Trace Barrel
7:30 – Jungle Room Imperial IPA

See you Saturday -

Kathleen

Dribs and drams - Jan 25

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Ostrander) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:26:00 +0000

Easley Winery in Indy is making champagne. Who new? It's not on their web site. That must be why.

Upland is looking for a new assistant brewer.

Steelhead (OR brewery) had their lawyer yell at Freetail (TX brewery) for using the name Hopasaurus Rex. Freetail replies quite well. No hugs for Steelhead. For example, Freetail isn't calling their beer HR, evidently just their Randall (maybe - now it's a secret). "Normally I would tell you what this process is, but I really don't feel like it anymore since your first introduction to me wasn't very nice." Plus bonus reference to the Flying Spaghetti Monster. article

Ben Franklin never said "Beer is proof God loves us". Nope. But he evidently did have 200+ Synonyms for “Drunk”.

Eh? A drug trial of some powdered Chinese raisin tree that gets drunk mice to stand up? article

Fountain Square Brewing Grand Opening

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Compton) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:37:00 +0000

Thanks to the modern miracle of babysitting, I emerged from under my rock Saturday to check out the very popular grand opening of Fountain Square Brewing in Indianapolis. The theme for the evening was a Winter Luau complete with plastic leis, a pig roast, and hula dancers. Both the taproom and brewery side were open for patrons to wander through and get a nice view of the operation.

The taproom had very little available seating for the grand opening, which was appropriate given the size of the crowd. The crowd went from healthy at the beginning of the night to pretty much claustrophobic a few hours later. The support and enthusiasm of the craft beer scene continues to prove this is an exciting time to be a drinker (or brewer) in our community.

We did not partake of the pig, but turned our attention to the beer offerings:

Wandering Eye PA (seasonal) – Crisp American IPA with moderate bitterness and an assertive hop flavor punch of pineapple and orange peel. Very enjoyable beer – hope to see this stay in regular rotation.

Count Nibula Chocolate Stout (seasonal) – Strong cocoa presence in the aroma gives way to a creamy lactose sweetness with just a compliment of chocolate character on the tongue. The aftertaste gives the sensation of cocoa powder in your mouth – and I mean this in a good way.

Hop for Teacher (core lineup) – American Pale Ale with a firm upfront bitterness (listed at 45 IBU) followed by hop flavor that is American citrus combined with earthy qualities. The balance seemed tilted a bit towards bitterness and I would have liked some more hop flavor here. But the Wandering Eye may have wrecked my palette.

I had also tried an Oatmeal Stout from a friend’s growler last month that was excellent. Didn’t see it on the menu Saturday but maybe we’ll see that pop up again soon. If you couldn’t make it Saturday pay them a visit during their regular hours (1301 Barth Ave. Indy 46203):

Thurs/Fri: 4-9 pm

Saturday: 2-9 pm

Sunday: 12-6 pm

Cheers, Nathan

Upland Gilgamesh Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Compton) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:02:00 +0000

Gilgamesh, the latest sour brewing adventure from Upland, will be available soon. Beginning at noon on January 25th, you can reserve up to four 25.4 ounce bottles at http://gilgamesh.eventbrite.com for $25 a bottle plus tax. The bottles will be available for pickup at the Bloomington Pub or Indy Tasting Room from February 1st – 22nd.

A description of the beer from Upland: Continuing our adventure into the realm of sour ale brewing, we designed a recipe to create an Upland version of a traditional Flanders Red. Melding flaked maize into a turbid mash and adding Belgian candi sugar during a long kettle boil, we prepared this ale for epic proportions. We then incorporated wild yeasts and other acetic and lactic acid producing microorganisms for a year-long oak fermentation in bourbon barrels which had previously been utilized to age beer. The journey was worth the hardships.

We were fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of this epic project. Gilgamesh won Gold in the Wild Beer category and was runner-up for Best of Show at Chicago’s Festival of Barrel Aged Beers in November so we certainly looked forward to the opportunity. Special thanks to Andrew Korty for contributing to the following write-up and keeping my opinions in check.

After pouring the beer we were confronted with an intense fruit aroma (cherries), some acidic tartness, oak character, and a hint of bourbon. The flavor revealed a bigger oak character on the palette, big cherry character, and hints of apples, figs, and spicy phenols. The flavors were balanced by a moderate acidic sourness – very complimentary and not overpowering. Carbonation was definitely high for the style but this may have served to make the body seem lighter and mask the alcohol (which was extremely smooth at 10.5% ABV).

One note on the bourbon character – I’m not a big fan of bourbon barrel aged beers that end up tasting like you’re pretty much drinking bourbon. Gilgamesh was aged in barrels that were previously used for other beer that likely stripped away a lot of the bourbon character. This allows the bourbon to add complexity without overpowering the other flavors. And the sour character was kept to a refreshing, and again not overpowering level. This fit my tastes but may be somewhat of a disappointment to drinkers who enjoy very sour beers and were expecting more.

Some aficionados will probably be inclined to cellar this beer for several years. We felt the beer was very drinkable and quite enjoyable now. Additional aging may coax a bit more of the sour character out if that’s what you’re looking for. Overall, a very unique and enjoyable offering that would be welcome at any special occasion. I tip my cap to Upland for pushing the envelope again on what craft brewing can do in our humble state.

Cheers, Nathan

Note: We paired Gilgamesh with a Maytag Blue Cheese that accentuated the spicy phenols more than we preferred. A sweeter cheese like Gruyere might be a better option. (I totally ripped this part off from Andrew)

Indiana Beer News – January 19

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Compton) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:38:00 +0000

Three Floyds has posted their 2012 State of the Brewery Address highlighting their production exceeding 20,000 barrels in 2011. They have contracted more hops to keep production of Zombie Dust moving forward. Supplies will be limited so keep your eyes open.

Stan Stephens, owner of the Heorot in Muncie, and his brewing cohort Bob Cox were invited to participate in Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp. During the two-day camp, they created a nice sessionable Red Ale dubbed Red-oric that clocks in at 9+ percent ABV. Want to try it? Head over to the Heorot at 8 pm on February 11th and join the festivities.

Goose Island fans may be disappointed to learn that Big John, Demolition, Fleur, King Henry, and Nightstalker will not be brewed in 2012. But various forms of Bourbon County Stout will carry on the Extreme Ales tradition.

Mark your calendars: Keg Liquors Fest of Ale 2012 will be held on June 2nd from 3-7 pm. We’ll have more details as they become available.

In case you haven’t heard, both VIP and General Admission tickets for Winterfest are sold out online. You can still try to find General Admission tickets at Crown Liquors and Central Indiana breweries……or nobly volunteer to be a designated driver.

On the subject, we have it on good authority that homebrew clubs will be able to serve beer at Winterfest! There had been some debate on how to interpret the Indiana law forbidding the sale of homebrew in the context of festivals. But we’re back baby!

Cheers, Nathan

Dribs and drams - Jan 18

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Ostrander) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:50:00 +0000

Fountain Square Brewing is finally having a Grand Opening. Sat, Jan 21 - 7-11pm. They'll have a roasted pig for a winter luau.

We get mail:

Just thought I'd drop the FYI.
Homebrewing class is newly offered at University of Southern Indiana.  The class instructor will be OVHA's own secretary, Chris Norrick.

http://www.usi.edu/extserv/personal/artsleisure.asp

It is course # ALP424.

Thank you,
John Mills

Ram Restaurant & Brewery - Fishers - January 18

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy Modesitt) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:34:00 +0000

On a recent stop at the Ram Restaurant & Brewery located in Fishers, IN (http://www.theram.com/), they had their usual beer offering plus two seasonals: Aries American Wheat with an ABV of 5.5% and 27 IBUs and the Deep Mystic IPA with an ABV of 6.4% and 80 IBUs. I was given the following beer descriptions from Dan Bennett, General Leader. Dan went above and beyond rolling out the red carpet when I stated that I am a blogger with this website. We discussed craft beer and the beers at this location. He then presented me with the beer descriptions for the above-mentioned beers. The Aries American Wheat "begins with wheat flavor and the resulting creamy mouthfeel which is quickly followed by lemon citrus hop character and a crisp, dry finish". The Deep Mystic IPA description reads as follows "This Black IPA begins with chocolate and roast malt character that coincides with the citrus dry-hop flavor from large doses of Cascade and Columbus hop varieties". These are both tasty beers and after tasting both beers and writing my beer notes for both beers, my personal favorite is the Deep Mystic IPA hands down. The aromas and flavors of this beer came together very, very well and very worthy of trying if it is still available. I was surprised that I liked the IPA more than the Wheat beer as I am not a "hophead" by any means and I very much enjoy drinking Wheat beers. If you are in the Fishers area, this Ram location is worth stopping at to see what is new on tap. Oh yes, their food is worth trying too! Cheers!

Brewfest Fort Wayne - January 18

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy Modesitt) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:47:00 +0000

Mark your calendar for this year's Brewfest Fort Wayne on Saturday, March 10th, from 2p.m.-6p.m. at the Masonic Temple in downtown Fort Wayne. Numerous breweries will be in attendance pouring their beers for sampling. There will also be a silent auction for your chance to win some nice prizes. The event's website is http://www.brewfestfortwayne.com/ for ticket purchasing and more information about this event.

Indiana Beer News - January 16

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Ostrander) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:28:00 +0000

Headline: Statehouse Leaders Say Sunday Sales Law Dead This Session “I have been told by several of the leadership that it‘s not something they‘re going to consider this year, any alcohol related legislation,” Boots says.

Bourbon Street comes to Indy. As for the Super Bowl, an article says it's OK to walk around downtown with a beer in your hand. "Kilroy's general manager Chris Burton said customers will be able to leave the downtown bar with a beer if they want." article

People's Brewing gets ink in the Journal Courier (or whatever JCOnline stands for).

This blog report starts off "Canned haggis isn't the only aluminum-packaged Scottish export guaranteed to raise eyebrows at a dinner party." Scotch in a can. Gotta be premier stuff, especially if you really want 12 ounces (33ml?) at a sitting. They say it's coming to the States.

Indiana Beer News – January 12

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Compton) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:11:00 +0000

A few additional things to pass along as we head towards the weekend (don’t forget the Flat 12 first anniversary celebration Saturday)………

Sun King is putting up the “Local Underground” tent for Super Bowl Week. It will be open from Jan. 26th to Feb. 5th and will be temperature controlled with beer, food, television, and some live music. Check out the live music schedule here ==>

Fountain Square Brewery kicks off the countdown to Winterfest with their Grand Opening Winter Luau on Jan. 21st from 7-11 pm. Fighting the winter blues with a Pig Roast, Hula, Limbo, and Best (Least?) Dressed Contest.

The New Albanian has posted their 2012 seasonal beer release schedule for bombers and draft. Look for several special brews to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

Founders Brewing fans mark your calendars for a trip to Grand Rapids - word on the blogosphere is that KBS Day will be held on March 10th.

And finally, something you’re all dying to know – Coors Light outsold Budweiser in 2011 to claim the No. 2 spot in US beer sales! But never fear InBev fans, Bud Light is still the king of this castle. The top three were followed by Miller Lite at No. 4 and Natural Light at No. 5. So….Natty Light…really???????

Cheers, Nathan

Upcoming Beer Events / Super Bowl Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Compton) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:38:00 +0000

Need a good beer event to fight the winter (or whatever you call this) blues? Sure you do – so here are a few suggestions for the upcoming week:

Jan. 12th: Readers in northern Indiana may want to make a run across the border to Kalamazoo for a rare firkin tapping of Bell’s legendary Hopslam. Great way to kick off the upcoming activities of Kalamazoo Beer Week if you’re able to spend more time in the area.

Jan. 14th: Saturday brings the first anniversary celebration for Flat 12 Bierwerks in Indianapolis. The party runs from 12-6 and will include the tapping of Winter Cycle Double IPA which is described as Half Cycle's pissed off viking cousin. Sounds promising. The staff also plans to offer a variety of specialty and barrel-aged beers in the tasting room on Thursday and Friday.

Jan. 15th: For southeastern Indiana, Sunday brings The New Albanian’s Old Lightning Rod Day from 10-6. The event commemorates the birthday of Benjamin Franklin featuring a special menu and the release of a throwback strong ale from Colonial American times. In addition to this, New Albanian has announced the first 36 beers for Gravity Head 2012. Let the madness ensue.

Looking ahead a few weeks, be aware that VIP tickets for Winterfest are sold out. Better get your general admission tickets while they last – this event will sell out!

Finally – and this is very cool – Bob Mack from World Class Beer is working on a “Drink Local” campaign for Super Bowl week. Along with sponsoring shuttle buses that will run between downtown and craft beer hot spots Mass Ave. and Fountain Square, there will be a Twitter hashtag to help get the word out. So Twitter users, remember to use the hashtag #IndianaBeer that week to get out the word about local craft beer and where attendees can find it! Or we can all just bow down to the propaganda blitz that will be delivered by ~~The Man~~ a certain light lager. It’s your choice.

Cheers, Nathan

When in Michigan - January 9

noreply@blogger.com (Cindy Modesitt) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:21:00 +0000

I know this is a website geared towards Indiana beers. With that being said, if you find yourself in or near Grand Rapids or want to get away for the day it will be well worth your time to check out http://www.sicilianosmkt.com/ and also http://graydonscrossing.com/. Siciliano's Market is a craft beer store with not only a vast selection of Michigan beers, but also beers from around the world. They also have a walk-in cooler and they also sell Sakes, Meads and Wines. For homebrewers, they have a homebrew store as well. The staff knows their beers and will take the time to tell you what is new on the shelves as well as suggesting beers you might find interesting. Speaking of shelves, they have 40 shelves of beers and the walk-in cooler has miscellaneous imports, gluten beers and non-alcoholic beers. The beers can be purchased in singles or six packs. You decide. Hats off to Katie who showed me around the store pointing this beer out and that beer out to me to give me an idea as to what this store is all about.

I also checked out Graydon's Crossing for food and beer. The management rolled out the red carpet and I enjoyed excellent service and the staff knows their beers as well. Samantha aka Sam was the server and made some recommendations as to what beers to try. Every Thursday they tap a new cask beer at 5p.m. On the last Tuesday of every month, they have a beer and food pairing event. The beer menu changes about every two weeks as well. They have beers from Frankenmuth Brewery, New Holland, Shorts, Great Lakes, Stone, Saugatuck, Dragonmead, Lagunitas, Mt. Pleasant, Rogue, Arcada, Dark Horse, Left Hand to name a "few" and many, many more. Also, check out the food menu as well!

New Year's Eve Indiana Beer Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Wilk) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:58:00 +0000

I explored some of the Indiana beer scene on New Year's Eve with some friends and hosted the Inaugural Beer Me Wilk! Beer and Wine Event. Sponsored exclusively by Beer Me Wilk! (Which is kind of a joke because that's me and sponsorship merely means I bought all of the supplies)

My handy guide for the evening was provided by CraftBeer.com. If you ever have any question as to the proper food to serve with your craft beer, this guide is your best place to start. I thought my plan was a simple one. I picked out three cheeses I wanted to serve, the dish I wanted to make, and the dessert I wanted to eat. From there pair the beer and wine.

The first course of the evening was a Wisconsin butterkase paired with Hoosier Honey Wheat from Bee Creek Brewery in Brazil, Indiana and Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon. The cheese is a very mild, soft cheese that is amazingly smooth. It paired perfectly with the Hoosier Honey Wheat. Made with Martinsville honey, the sweetness is very prevalent when drinking this brew and only on the tail end of the swallow do you know that it is a wheat beer. Although wheat beers tend to be perfect summertime treats, this honey infused version seemed to fit New Year's Eve wonderfully as a first pour of the night. This was by far the best paired beer and cheese of the evening.

Second course was cheddar cheese paired with Alpha King from Three Floyd's in Munster, Indiana and Bogle Zinfandel. The pairing here was an utter disaster. Unbeknownst to me, the cheddar was very sharp. Where was that on the packaging? As a pale ale, Alpha King should have matched well with a mild cheddar. Oops! No complaints about the beer however. I've had several Alpha Kings before and with this pale ale you get a hop explosion with every sip. There is nothing pale about this beer either as it is a rich amber color and the citrus content behind the hops makes this a great beer for any occasion.

Course three was Gruyere paired with Snake Pit Porter from Oaken Barrel Brewing Company in Greenwood, Indiana and Yalumba viognier. Gruyere is a very potent, nutty cheese and would have paired very well with a nutty porter. The taste combination here was what I would describe as merely ok. Snake Pit is not a bad beer, it just didn't go with the cheese. This porter is very sweet and certainly has the coffee and chocolate notes that you find in Baltic porters and imperial stouts. I would recommend grabbing the beer but leaving the cheese in the fridge.

Our main dish featured two pork tenderloins. The one on the left was marinaded in beer, the one on the right in wine. Although the recipe originally calls for venison, it went perfectly with pork tenderloin. The brown ale used was Crown Brown from Crown Brewing in Crown Point, Indiana and the wine is Kendall Jackson chardonnay. For the chardonnay recipe go here. What can I say about Crown Brown? I love it. It is certainly my favorite out of my hometown brewery. The roasted malts of Crown Brown are not over-powering and the smoothness of the mouthfeel make it so easy to drink. It's lighter on the alcohol than some of the other darker beers but I certainly appreciate it because I like drinking more than two at a time. The growler didn't make it passed the night because I went to it after all the tastings were done.

Not pictured: Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout from Barley Island Brewing Company in Noblesville, Indiana and Chateau St. Michelle Riesling paired with cream puffs and chocolate truffles.

The reason this picture doesn't exist is because no one was interested in dessert. Bellies full of beer, wine, cheese, and pork were not ready to accommodate dessert and the midnight champagne toast. But do not fret! Of course I had some Brass Knuckles! Oatmeal stout being one of my favorites I could not pass up the opportunity and decided to have a bottle. It was good. It would be rare for me to be disappointed by an oatmeal stout. The usual suspects of coffee and chocolate were very noticeable and the roasted malts made the beer thick enough to eat. Yes, there is some exaggeration there, but the smooth, thick brew is a perfect dessert companion.

If you want reviews of the wine, buy them and drink them. I don't drink wine so I have no idea how they went. I only have one bottle left so I'm guessing they were good. As far as suggestions for the beers, buy them all. Not only do they taste good, you would be supporting Indiana brewing.

Overall a very successful event and very much looking forward to the second annual on 12/31/12. Thanks for reading and drink craft beer!

Bob's Interview with Nuvo

noreply@blogger.com (Kathleen Slauzis) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:24:00 +0000

In case you didn't get to read this week's Nuvo. IndianaBeer's own Bob Ostrander was interviewed!

IndianaBeer.com - Bob Ostrander Interview

Sharing is Caring: Introducing Friends to Craft Beer

noreply@blogger.com (Kathleen Slauzis) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:20:00 +0000

Those of us who love beer are always talking about the taste, smell and the passion we have over a well-made delicious brew. The many beer blogs and website are all about educating the masses about new brewery openings, tapping parties, tastes of different styles of beer, and more. However, how do we educate those who don't read our blogs, who don't go to our websites, who are not already lovers of craft beer?

We all know there are the stubborn beer drinkers, sticking to the same kind time and time again. There are the anti-beer drinkers, who think all beer tastes disgusting and wouldn't want to have anything to do with it. Then there are the curious beer drinkers, who aren't sure what they like, if they'd like anything at all. How do we educate and share the amazingness of craft beer to our friends?

Yesterday I was able to take my friend, who thankfully is the curious beer drinker type, to Bier Brewery's taproom. This was her first time in any taproom and she has only been into drinking beer for a little over a year. I call her - my beer padawan. I've introduced her to the holiday beers from Schlafly -- their Pumpkin Ale and Christmas Ale. I have brought her growlers of Thr3e Wisemen's Mount Crumpet Christmas Ale and their Hubbard and Craven's Porter, but yesterday was a big step in her beer education.

I know I've mentioned time and time again the awesomeness that is Bier Brewery, but as a starter place for someone learning more about their beer tastes, it is a perfect place to start. These are why:

You can always go down the line with what is on tap. Bier Brewery wants you to try all they have available. Also up on the taproom board is ABV, IBU, SRM information of all the styles and cards are available on the bar detailing the spices, hops and brew styles.
The environment is casual and you can usually catch Corbin or Darren in the front room and actually talk to someone who brewed the beer.
The location is convenient. It is not downtown. It is easy to get to.
The line always has a variety of styles.

For example this week is :

Sessie
Special K Kolsch
Weizengoot
Belgian Red
Belgian Dark Strong
John's Porter
Winter Porter
PDG Pale
Calpyso IPA

From start to finish I was able to walk my friend through each style. She already knew that she liked hefeweizen style beer so the Weizengoot was sold, but she ended up liking the majority of the line-up and understanding the hoppy bitter taste towards the end. Not only did I educate her, but in return my friend already mentioned how her boyfriend would like Sessie. The beer pay it forward chart has begun!

I posted the question out to our friends on twitter and received two suggestions so far as to how to educate our friends on craft beer. One way was to make dinner and do food and beer pairing parties and another was not giving them an option for anything else.

So I'll post the question again here.. How do you educate your friends on craft beer? Business is growing and more beer is brewing, but the support is still needed for these breweries to grow. When was the last time you took a friend to a taproom? Brought a growler to a party? Did a 6 pack mix up?

If you need some help, some other great taprooms to visit are at Sun King and Flat 12. They offer you samples without cost. So there is no excuse for anyone to not visit!

Let's get our friends in 2012 to drink more craft beer.

Cheers!
- Kathleen