Hoosier Beer Geek

RB Brewer's Dinner - Fall '09

2009-11-24T09:00:00.001-05:00

In case you weren't already aware, the Fall 2009 Rock Bottom brewer's dinner included the Harvest Mild that I brewed at Rock Bottom with the assistance of head brewer Jerry Sutherlin. The dinner itself featured squash in 3 of its 4 courses, which while delicious, limits the pairing possibilities. Here's a rundown of how they managed to pair 4 fairly different beers with one family of vegetables.

First Course: Sweet Potato Amaretto Crepes paired with Pumpkin Ale

Why it worked: The pumpkin ale at the downtown Rock Bottom is a hybrid of squash flavors and pumpkin pie spice. This year, Jerry added oats to the pumpkin ale to help increase the body and they came through thanks to the sweet, yet bready crepes and created a more dry finish in the beer. The pumpkin in the beer became even sweeter when matched with the similar sweet potato.

Second Course: Fall Harvest Soup paired with Harvest Mild

Why it worked: The dark mild ale features a lot of roasted flavors such as chocolate and coffee, as well as a fair amount of malty sweetness. The soup was created with a variety of root vegetables and had a prominent dose of black pepper, which was drawn out by the beer. The sweet, malty body of the beer drew special attention to the sweetness of the squash in the dish.

Third Course: Stuffed Lamb Chops paired with Vienna Lager

Why it worked: Vienna lager is the Swiss army knife of pairing beers. Sweet caramel malts and a light hopped character help this beer work in most situations. With the lamb, the slightly heavy body on the beer helped bulk up the tender lamb and the sweetness in the meat drew out caramel and brown sugar in the beer. The cherry glaze matched the sweet malts excellently.

Fourth Course: Maple Pumpkin Cannoli paired with Blitzen Winter White Ale

Why it worked: This course featured the most complex beer of the night, which was coincidentally my favorite. Orange, lemon, coriander, honey citrus hops and a hint of anise were all notable components in the beer that created a sweet, almost tropical pumpkin experience. The higher alcohol and much heavier body of the beer was a nice match for the rich, fried exterior of the cannoli.

Pairing lessons: Higher gravity beers are needed to stand up to richer dishes; malty beers are good at accentuating sweetness; if a beer contains a special ingredient, such as pumpkin, it will easily pair with similar ingredients.

Hoosier Beer Geek Classics: KOTBR #62 - A Very Special Hoosier Beer Geek Thanksgiving Roundtable

2009-11-23T13:30:00.001-05:00

I'm sure I don't need to tell you that Thanksgiving is this week, and if you're like us then your thoughts have already turned to what to drink. Last year we threw together a little HBG/KOTBR Thanksgiving, with beer to match. The results of that event are below..

A while back Matt R. (I think) made a suggestion that we might want to try doing a Thanksgiving beer pairing, complete with courses and beers to match each. We all agreed that that sounded like a good idea, and we laid out a menu of traditional Thanksgiving foods - carrot ginger soup, turkey, sweet potato pie, sweet potato casserole, cranberry relish, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole, corn casserole, rolls, pumpkin pie..

One thing I learned from the Turtle/Rabbit/Squirrel beer paring was to not overdo it - but a full cast of Knights (short Jim - who is a Jewish Vegetarian Lawyer (and those people are weird)) meant that if anything, there would be more than enough beer.

Because coordinating a write-up between a cast of nine is usually a trainwreck, I laid down one rule: No one leaves until we're gotten everything written up. While doling out responsibilities, the question was asked: "Are we reviewing the parings? The beer? The spirit of Thanksgiving?" "Yes, Rod, we're reviewing the spirit of Thanksgiving." What follows is out of order in more ways than one. And so..

The Spirit of Thanksgiving

Once every year, the ghost of Jesus rises from the dead to feast on the souls of the living. Every year we survive this atrocity, we celebrate our safety for another year through the holiday of Thanksgiving.

Back to Mike: When we decided to do a Thanksgiving pairing, I immediately turned to Garrett Oliver's The Brewmaster's Table for turkey pairings, and came across two full paragraphs expounding upon the virtues of Biere de Garde and Thanksgiving foods. A sample:

The French have yet to discover this food match, so let me be the one to tell you - biere de garde is brilliant with turkey. And not just with turkey - it is also brilliant with the turnips, the stuffing, the cranberry sauce, the potatoes, the whole darned thing.

That's a fairly convincing argument, right?

Schlafly Biere de Garde

We probably served this beer a little too cold to start. The bottle specifically says cellar temperature ("51-55 degrees F") and we served it straight out of the fridge. Later samples definitely showed a bit more fruitiness. Not that that necessarily would have helped with the Thanksgiving meal pairings.

As for specific pairings, I thought the beer went particularly well with the green bean casserole. It was more of a contrasting pairing as opposed to a complimentary pairing. The fruitiness was interesting counterpoint to a dish full of green beans and mushrooms, though the caramelized onions linked up perfectly with the caramel malt flavors in the beer.

Mike: 3.5
Gina: 3.5
Rod: 3.47
Jess: 2.8
Chris: 3.3
Matt R: 3.8
Matt E: 3.0
Kelly: 2.0
Jason: 2.5

Schlafly Biere de Garde Average: 3.09 Mugs

Troegenator Doublebock - Troegs Craft Brewery

The nose starts out with a bit of a raisin sourness with chocolate and caramel toffee notes. It has a nice dark caramel color that resembles caramel ice cream topping. Taking a sip of this 8.2% ABV brew is a bit misleading as it warms the palate and tends to meander through the malt sweetness. As it warms to room temperature you tend to taste the lightly toasted caramel malt and it balances out. For being a fairly boozy brew, this has a great balance to misrepresent the ABV.

In regard to our Thanksgiving pairings, this worked really well with the sweet potato pie. It brought out the maple syrup notes and complimented the toasted pecans on the top. There is a great pairing with the oyster stuffing with bits of salty mushrooms and the malty sweetness of the beer. Overall, this works quite well with the majority of dishes for the Thanksgiving meal.

Matt R: 4.0
Chris: 3.1
Rod: 4.1
Jess: 4.2
Matt E: 3.75
Jason: 3.66
Kelly: 3.8
Gina: 3.3
Mike: 3.5

Troegenator Doublebock Average: 3.71 Mugs

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

This is supposed to be a brown? We picked up a black liquorish nose, with hints of vanilla, smokeless tobacco, bourbony alcohol, soy sauce, molasses, and almond extract. A deep black/purple/marron-maroon color filled the glass and left no lacing. This is an all out beer, with little in the way of subtlety. Black liquorish, sassafras, molasses, some cough medicine I had and hated as a kid (someone else said Dimetapp, bourbon, and toasted wood all came to play.

We all agreed that this beer would be interesting with some age on it, but would it be good?

Mike: 3.0
Gina: 2.1
Matt. E: 2.175
Matt R: 2.0
Jason: 2.5
Jess: 3.1
Chris: 3.1
Kelly: 1.7
Rod: 3.8 (Who also noted: "You guys are jerks. If this was aged, (my score) would be even higher)

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron Average: 2.60 Mugs

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Jason brought out this beer and it wasn't really paired with anything, but just went along nicely in between dinner and dessert. Is that a new meal time? Rouge's take on the brown ale adds some nutty complexity with the traditional brown ale base. The mouthfeel is a little lacking in carbonation, but it still cleared the way for pumpkin pie quite nicely. This is beer is neither offensive or something to really write home about, but it is of good quality and worth your time.

Jason: 3.5
Matt R: 2.5
Matt E: 3.6
Kelly: 2.5
Gina: 2.3
Jess: 3.75
Rodney: 3.2
Mike: 2.0
Chris: 2.6

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar Average: 2.88 Mugs

Sorachi IPA

For lack of a Left Hand Juju Ginger, we paired the carrot ginger soup with Chris' homebrew Sorachi IPA. Named after the Sorachi Ace hops, this IPA carried a very refreshing lemon flavor. Citrus and pine filled out the background but this IPA was noticeably lighter than others, while maintaining a very prominent bitterness. When paired with the ginger and black pepper flavors of the soup, a very floral character emerged and created a chamomile and heather flavor profile which blended nicely with the soup. The finish was a bit overpowering, as the hops quickly cleansed the palette of creamy squash and carrot. I think the lesson that we learned here is a citrus pale ale with a bit of a floral character would be a good pairing for ginger spiced squash or carrots.

Ps. Thanks to the folks at Goose the Market for their great brining instructional video and for all their help with the bird. Even I managed to make an tasty and tender turkey, which is no small feat.

Scenes from a Coddog Release Party: HBG's Tailgate for Nothing

2009-11-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

Where: Sun King Brewery, Downtown Indianapolis, Back Parking Lot

Who: The Hoosier Beer Geek Knight of the Beer Roundtable, along with HBG readers and friends

What: HBG's Tailgate for Nothing - an excuse to share great food and beer. Food selections included Coddog (a Sea Dog IPA breaded footlong hotdog shaped Cod portion), a collection of chilis, walking tacos, red beans and rice, vegetarian chickpea ragout, cherry koolaid pickles, chocolate chip cookies, vegetarian meatloaf, white castles, and passover brisket. Beer selections included Three Floyds Dark Lord, Russian River Pliny the Elder, an assortment of Schlafly Barleywines (06 and 08), Schlitz, Samichlaus, Rod's/Rock Bottom's Harvest Mild, Sun King Chocolate Stout, Cigar City (something), 2009 Deschutes Abyss, and a 20 year old can of Kentucky Derby Collector's Edition Little Kings.

When: This past Saturday, 11/21/09

Why: We really wanted to share rare beer with the public, and start a tradition of food and beer sharing tailgate events at breweries around the state.

Also worth noting: We hope to do this quarterly, and look forward to seeing you next time.

KOTBR #91 - A Second Helping of BCS

2009-11-22T08:00:00.002-05:00

Lately, the Knights of the Beer Roundtable have been very busy. We have a fairly long "to-do list" that we've slowly been whittling away at (Mike never lets us forget about the list). But just when we've crossed several things off of the list, more beer events pop up, so the list gets longer again. It's a never-ending process, but one that we're happily stuck in.

In keeping with this theme, we found ourselves occupied with a beer event every night last week. Because we all have lives outside of the beer world, not all of us could attend every event. Therefore, we decided to spread out the responsibility. On Wednesday, Gina, Matt E., and I hit MacNiven's (339 Massachusetts Ave., Indy, (317) 632-7268) for a special tapping of Goose Island's 2009 Bourbon County Stout (13% ABV). Even though we reviewed the 2008 BCS back in June, we felt that it was too good to pass up the opportunity to get a fresh pour of the 2009 vintage ($10.00 a snifter at MacNiven's).

First, a little history, courtesy of the Goose Island folks in attendance at the tapping--

Goose Island brewmaster Greg Hall came up with the recipe for BCS and brewed the first batch at Goose Island's Clybourne Avenue brewpub back in 1992. Originally, the beer was aged in Jim Beam barrels, but the brewery has been using 12- to 14-year-aged bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distilleries since 2006. This year's BCS was brewed in honor of the 1000th batch brewed at the brewery's Clybourne Avenue location.

I find some bourbon-barrel-aged stouts to be too heavy with the bourbon notes. To my palate, these sorts of beers taste like an imperial stout spiked with a shot or two of bourbon, so the bourbon barrel aging ends up overwhelming the beer rather than enhancing it. The 2009 BCS, however, has a noticeable yet nicely subdued bourbon character and is quite smooth for a bourbon-barrel-aged stout. Indeed, the alcohol is hidden well in a beer that ought to be pretty hot. Moreover, the nose and flavor contain a sumptuous mix of vanilla, chocolate, and cherries. The cherry and vanilla notes are front and center, blending together in a wonderful sweetness that lingers on the tongue. This beer is exemplary and merits the rare perfect mug rating. Get down to MacNiven's while the keg lasts (if it hasn't already blown). 5.00 Mugs.

Goose Island has really outdone themselves with this year's release of Bourbon County Stout. From the new packaging to the remarkably drinkable beer, the BCS really exceeded my expectations. The nose is of chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon. The flavor is like a liquored up and velvety chocolate truffle. 4.25 Mugs.

As of press time, Matt was too busy working on his latest H.P. Lovecraft-ish novel to get his review completed. Fortunately, we do have his mug score: 4.30 Mugs.

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (2009)
Jim: 5.00 Mugs | Gina: 4.25 Mugs | Matt E.: 4.30 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.52 Mugs

Sun King Harvest Brewers at Chef JJ's Backyard

2009-11-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is our second time at the Back Yard for a Sun King beer dinner. We were in the company of both familiar and unfamiliar faces and it is great to see the interest arising from both craft beer lovers and beginners alike. These dinners are always great because the pairings are always very thoughtful. They always seem to find creative ways to enhance the best parts of the food and beer.

Appetizer: Sunlight Cream Ale with a chipotle infused olive oil.

Why it worked: The crisp malt flavor in the Cream Ale helped balance the spiciness in the olive oil.

"Fucking Delicious" - Clay Robinson, Sun King Brewery

First Course: Sun King Tulip Wit served along side pears stuffed with goat cheese, and wrapped with peppered bacon served over spring mix and balsamic vinegar

Why it worked: There's a peppery element in the spring mix and the smokiness (from smoking on the egg) that pairs nicely with the finish of the beer. The savory, maple syrupy bacon and pear sweetness matches the sweetness in the beer, and the dry finish of the beer prepares the palate for the next bite.

Each of these elements taken alone may have been too much, but there was something really special about the way everything worked together. A wonderful way to start the evening.

This beer is made with poplar syrup from Hickory Works in Trafalger.

"I don't even drink beer and I like this beer." - Dave Colt, Sun King Brewery

Second Course: Sun King Harvest Ale served with Harvest Ale creamy risotto, shiitake mushrooms topped with Parmesan cheese and grilled prawns

Why it worked: The earthiness of the of the mushroom along with the light smoke flavor that came through in the prawn lent itself well to the rich earthy hop finish in the harvest ale.

"I hate this beer." - Clay Robinson, Sun King Brewery

Third Course: Sun King Osiris Pale Ale paired with big green egg grilled quail, with pear, hazelnut, and prosciutto stuffing

Why it worked: This pairing reminded me of a Christmas dinner. The sweet stuffing with the peppery quail worked well with the citrus and spice from the hops in the beer.

"What is this corn and potato mishmash" - Clay Robinson, Sun King Brewery
"I have no time for this dilly-dally - I have drinking to do." Dave Colt, Sun King Brewery

Fourth Course: Sun King Java Mac served with espresso bbq sauce basted baby back ribs, served with roasted celery root, acorn squash, potatoes and carrots, garnished with cinnamon

Why it worked: Having taken my first few bites before chasing the food with beer, I didn't get much coffee out of the sauce on the ribs - more so a nice sweetness from the sauce and the fat on the meat. The first drink of the Java Mac revealed the coffee elements in the ribs. Once revealed, there is a nice, roasted and nutty flavor in the Java Mac.

The celery root, squash, potatoes and carrots were a nice accompaniment, and in this case the beer worked well to cleanse the rich flavors of the vegetables, preparing the palate for the next tasty bite of the ribs.

"Your cookie is bigger than mine" - Clay Robinson, Sun King Brewery

Dessert Course: Sun King Black IPA along side a brownie spiced with cinammon and topped with a Black IPA ganache

Why it worked: The brownie has elements of a rasiny sweetness, with element of cinnamon, and almost a pumpkin bread-like flavor. In this case the beer didn't refresh the palate - instead the brownie brought out sweeter elements in the black IPA that you might not normally expect.

* All quotes are totally made up. Kinda.

Random Beer Roundup - The I'm Ready to Tailgate Edition

2009-11-19T17:25:00.016-05:00

This time of year always flies by. It seems like the month between Halloween and Thanksgiving goes by so fast. It's going to be Christmas before we know it and I hope Santa brings me beer. Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? The Roundup will still go on as usual next Friday.

I am ready for a tailgate. How about you? I can't wait to celebrate nothing! Hope to see you this weekend!

If there is something coming up that is not listed, we would love to hear about it. News, reviews, info, etc., to share for our next Random Beer Roundup can be submitted to hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.)

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Tuesday, November 17th - Sunday, November 22nd at New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse: Official Grand Opening celebration

Friday, November 20th at Radio Radio in Fountain Square: Tonic Ball to benefit Second Helpings.

Saturday, November 21st at Lafayette Brewing Co. in Lafayette: Alpha Acid Test (more below)

Saturday, November 21st: Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing, a publicly advertised yet still somehow secret no freeloaders BYO everything craft beer tailgate for any folks who consider themselves a fan of sharing great beer and good food. There's only one way to get more details - Send an email to knights@hoosierbeergeek.com.

Sunday, November 22nd at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in Muncie: Indiana Public Radio’s 3^rd annual All Beers Considered beer & cheese tasting (more below)

Thursday, November 26th: Enjoy a brew for Thanksgiving!

December 3rd from 5 to 8 PM at Keg Liquors in Clarksville: 5th Annual Holiday Insanity Beer Tasting

What's Brewing

From John at Half Moon Brewing Co. in Kokomo:

Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery now has a full service bar to compliment the 10 house brews. On the horizon is Oatmeal Stout and the Kokomonster. Look for these new seasonal beers to be released in the next 2-4 weeks.

Join us on Sundays for the NFL. We have all games every Sunday on 16 large screen plasma and lcd tv's.

From Greg at Lafayette Brewing Co in Lafayette:

alpha acid test
Saturday, November 21
2 pm to 5 pm, Tickets $20

Can you pass the Alpha Acid Test? We brewed a 60 IBU ale with one hop addition at 60 minutes in the kettle. After fermentation and maturation, we're going to rack this beer into 10 kegs and firkins and dry hop each individual vessel with a different hop variety (technically, 1 control beer and 9 different hop varieties). In an open tasting format, we'll sample the resulting brews to discern the subtleties of each individual hop variety. Sort of an IPA Extravaganza utilizing some familiar and some not-so-familiar hop varieties. Also included in the price of admission: commemorative tasting glass, raffles of LBC merchandise and munchies from our pizza kitchen. Don't miss this unique tasting experience! A limited number of tickets are on sale now.

On tap at Lafayette Brewing Co. this weekend:

Ouiatenon Wit Bier; Prophet's Rock Pale Ale; East Side Bitter; Pipers' Pride Scottish Ale; Tippecanoe Common Ale; Eighty-Five and Black Angus Oatmeal Stout.

From the handpull, we'll be dispensing Weeping Hog IPA. We'll also be releasing our Alpha Acid Test control beer, Alpha 60, on Saturday.

Don't miss our Alpha Acid Test set for Saturday, 11/21, from 2 - 5 pm! A limited number of tickets remain. Get yours today!

From Jerry at the Rock Bottom Brewery - Downtown in Indianapolis:

Here’s what I have on my specialty taps, along with Hefeweizen for the seasonal wheat and Hoosier Ma is an Oatmeal Stout.

Pumpkin Smasher Ale - Spicy, earthy and chewy ale. It’s like pumpkin pie in a glass…with booze!
ABV 5.3%
IBU 28

Harvest Mild - A very light yet complex English Brown ale with slight sweet and chocolate flavors and an earthy hop character.
ABV 3.6%
IBU 15

Buffalo Gold - A very refreshing and crisp Blonde Ale with a beautiful golden color.

ABV 5.7%
IBU 35

Blitzen Ale - ‘Tis the season! A Belgian Wit beefed up for the season with honey malt for depth and all the traditional spices.
ABV 6.4%
IBU 20

From Andrew at Oaken Barrel in Greenwood:

OBBC update. Our award-winning Pumpkin Ale supply is dwindling, so come on in for one last pint, and we are releasing our American Nut Brown Ale today 11/20. The nutty character is paired well with a compliment of Simcoe hops for flavor. Very tasty fall beer!

Tickets are now available for Harvest Fest on Monday, December 7th. We will be celebrating a late Thanksgiving with great food and a bonus keg of Apple Buzz. The tickets will be limited to 60. With Apple Buzz involved, the tickets will go fast!

At the Bar

From Nick at Deano's Vino in Fountain Square:

I have Cream Ale, Pale Ale, and the last keg of Black IPA from Sun King on draft this weekend.

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse in Various Locations:

Magic Hat Winter Howl draught is now available at the 96th Street Scotty’s Brewhouse!

Scotty’s Brewhouse Muncie now carries Sun King Saison de Taffy on draught!

Carry Out

From Todd at Keg Liquors in Clarksville:

Here is the latest from Keg Liquors in Clarksville:

Boulder - Never Summer Ale (Colorado)
Boulder - Killer Penguin Barleywine (Colorado)
Breckenridge - Christmas Ale (Colorado)
Bluegrass Brewing Company - Rye 75 (Kentucky)
Bluegrass Brewing Company - Heine Brothers Coffee Stout (Kentucky)
Two Brothers - Heavier Handed IPA (Illinois)
Almar Orchards - JK's Solstice Cider (Michigan)
Thirsty Dog - 12 Dogs of Christmas (Ohio)
Magic Hat - Winter Howl (Vermont)
aChouffe - N'Ice Chouffe (Belgium)
Blaugies - La Moneuse Special Winter (Belgium)
De Ranke - Père Noël (Belgium)
Delirium - Noel (Belgium)
Fantome - De Noel (Belgium)
Kerkom - Winterkoninkske (Belgium)
La Rulles - Cuvée Meilleurs Veoux (Belgium)
Scaldis - Noel (Belgium)
St Feuillien - Cuvée de Noël (Belgium)
Mikkeller - Santa's Little Helper (Denmark)
Mikkeller - To/From (Denmark)
Gales - Christmas Ale (Vintage 2001) (England)
Baladin - Noel du Baladin (Italy)
Olfabrikken - Jule Ale (Denmark)
Weltenburger - Kloster Winter-Traum (Germany)
Innstadt - d´Innstaade Wintersud (Germany)
Ridgeway - Reindeer's Revolt (England)
Jolly Pumpkin - Noel de Calabaza (Michigan)

Event:
5th Annual Holiday Insanity Beer Tasting at Keg Liquors

December 3rd from 5 – 8 PM

Another of our great traditions, we conclude the year’s beer tasting schedule with a bang. Featuring Holiday and Seasonal beers from around the world. Last year's tasting included over 21 different beers to sample. More details will be forthcoming as this one shapes up.

From Josh at United Package Liquors at County Line and Meridian:

New items in stock

Brewdog/Stone Bashah- Black Belgian style DIPA
Stone Double bastard
Clipper City Heavy Seas Yule tide Belgian style Tripel
Great Divide Oak aged Yeti Imperial stout
Bell's Two Hearted 5-liter cans
Bell's Christmas ale Goose Island Christmas ale

From Sam at BW3's (Downtown Indianapolis):

I cannot believe that it is Thanksgiving time already. What better way to kick off the Holidays than with a giant beer from Unibroue. La Terrible will be on draft once DFH Punkin runs out. Should be Friday or early next week. Updates should be found on World Class' Twitter feed. Rest of the tap selection is as follows:

Founders Reds Rye (Will be something new next week)

Stone Arrogant Bastard

Bells Double Cream Stout

Bells Two Hearted

Three Floyds Robert the Bruce

Three Floyds Gumballhead

Dogfish Head 90 Minute

Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA

Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter

Sierra Nevada Anniversary

Upland Bad Elmers Porter

From Big Red Liquors in Bloomington:

Magic Hat Winter Lager
Sierra Nevada Estate
3 Floyd's Broo Doo
Breckenridge 471 Extra ESB
Breckenridge 471 Mighty Brown
Breckenridge 471 Porter
New Belgium 2 Below
Blue Moon Full Moon
New Holland Ichabod Pumpkin
Bells Christmas Ale

As always, we have a free beer tasting every Thursday from 6-8pm at our downtown Bloomington location.

Distribution News

From Bob Mack at World Class Beverages:

Hopping Frog Fresh Frog Raw Hop IPA will be coming to Indiana, but only 15 cases will be coming. We’re the only distributor outside of northeast Ohio (Hoppin Frog is in Akron) to get any. It just got bottled this week and we happened to be picking up an order this week, so we won the draw on Fresh Frog, which is made with Centennial hops flown in from the west coast just for this beer.

I got so excited about Centennial hops that I completely forgot that Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged BORIS the Crusher is coming on the same shipment that has the Fresh Hop beer! There will be about 60 cases of it (I think), so there should be enough to get around!

Both beers are on Beer Spy now and we’ll update the sales history as we sell them.

From Greg at Cavalier Distribution:

2009 Stone Double Bastard is finally in Indiana!! Yes, 22oz Bottles, 3 Liter Bottles & a very limited amount of draft arrived mid-week and has started making its way out to good Stone accounts across the state! As always, this vintage is extremely limited, so make sure to snag some while it's available.

Two Brother Brewing Company's Heavier Handed Imperial Wet-Hopped IPA is making its debut this week. Heavier Handed is a brand new addition to Two Brother's Artisan Series of beers, and is an imperial version of Heavy Handed IPA. It weighs in at 9+% abv, 85+ IBUs & is aged in French Oak Foudres. We received a very limited amount of cases & kegs for Indiana, so this beer will only be available for a short time.

Clipper City's Yule Tide Ale is the newest addition to the Heavy Seas Mutiny Series of beers by Clipper City. Yule Tide is a belgian-style Tripel weighing in at 10% making it a perfect imperial winter warmer! As with all of the Mutiny Series if beers, the Yule Tide is sure to please and a must try.

Corsendonk Gift Packs are in stock for the year. One gift pack features Corsendonk Abbey Pale & Brown Ale 750 MLs w/a glass and the other is a Christmas Gift Pack featuring Corsendonk Christmas & glassware.

Broughton Brewery Gift Packs are in stock featuring Broughton's wonderful line of Scottish Ales. This is the first time for these Gift Packs and there is a very limited number of them, so make a point to try one if you can find it!

Hey Ohio State fans....Buckeye Beer is in Indiana!! Oh yes, this retro brew from Ohio is finally available in Indiana after much anticipation. It is available in 12pks and will be hitting shelves starting this week....just in time for the stretch run of the college football season.

Several Cavalier tastings featuring the "Wine For Dummies" wine collection and select craft beers are coming up in the next week. Tastings are scheduled at the following locations & times:

Payless LQ 96th & College----Friday 11/20----4:30 - 6:30 pm

Payless LQ 86th & Ditch----Tuesday 11/24----5 - 7 pm
Payless LQ Carmel Dr.----Wednesday 11/25----5 - 7 pm

Other News

Indiana Public Radio’s 3^rd annual All Beers Considered beer & cheese tasting

Here are the basics:
November 22^nd, 2-5pm
Cornerstone Center for the Arts, (Downtown Muncie)
Admission is $17, $15 for IPR members
Reservations are due by Wednesday Nov 18

To rsvp, email iprmembers@bsu.edu or call 800.646.1812
All proceeds benefit Indiana Public Radio

Beers for the tasting:

Nogne O Brewery Barley Wine Batch 100
Brewdog Punk IPA
Unibroue Trois Pistoles
Tilburg Dutch Brown Ale
Castelain Blonde Biere de Garde
Bells Christmas Ale
Founders Old Curmudgean Ale
Upland Winter Warmer
Two Brothers Brewing Moaten Flemish Red Ale

********
http://www.jconline.com/article/20091115/BUSINESS/911150335

Scenes from a Tapping: Alcatraz Cherry Stout

2009-11-19T12:19:00.004-05:00

Where: Alcatraz Brewing Company (Circle Centre Mall, 49 W. Maryland St. Suite 104, Indianapolis, IN)

Who: Alcatraz head brewer Omar Castrellón, and assistant brewer Skip DuVall

What: Alcatraz Cherry Stout - A milk stout aged on 250lbs of cherries

When: Tapped 11/17/09, until supplies last

Why: You'd expect anything aged on 250lbs of cherry to be overpowering, but in this case you get all the normal full and tasty flavors of a milk stout with a sweet and subtle cherry finish.

Also worth noting: Alcatraz's 1 & 3/4 Belgian has been on tap for a while and may have benefited from the age - it's makes for a sweet and smooth easy drinking pint.

Beer Diary #17 - Mike (with a little help from Gina) - Saturday Ramble

2009-11-18T14:00:00.002-05:00

Here at HBG we consider it our duty to bring you the latest and greatest in beer news and notes, and that's why this past Saturday we set our eyes south, on a mission to investigate Nashville, Indiana's newest beer hotspot, Big Woods Brewing Company.

But along the way we visited some other friends: Oaken Barrel, Bloomington Brewing Company, and Upland. Remember, we did this for you.

Oaken Barrel, Greenwood, IN - We've been here before. A lot of times, actually. Since we live on the southside, it's almost our home brewery. We're pretty happy with that.

Oaken Barrel Gnaw Bone Pale Ale - For the past two weeks I've had a craving for a beer flavor that I couldn't put my finger on, but I suspected I'd be able to fill that need at Oaken Barrel.

The flavor I was looking for? The sweet malty note that comes from a well-balance pale ale. More bready than fruity, OB's Gnaw Bone still finishes bitter like a pale should. Great mouthfeel on this beer as well, which is a trademark of Oaken Barrel's beer.

Oaken Barrel Surprise Series Cherry Porter - When brewers Mark and Andrew aren't out winning Brewery of the Year awards, they are brewing some beers. Some of them are regulars and some are like this Cherry Porter, a surprise. This nose on this beer is like chocolate covered cherries. If you were blindfolded you may think there is a jar a maraschino cherries under your nose. The medium mouthfeel has a nice malty finish. The cherry flavor lingers long after you've finished the sip.

If you don't get south very often, Oaken Barrel's beer is worth the drive.

Big Woods Brewing Company, Nashville, IN - The scene: Seating for 40ish, rustic Brown County cabin, log furniture, wood floors, feels clubhousey and comfortable. Wood ceilings, a nice stop after a hard mountain bike ride (or shopping for arsty/crafsty trinkets). The building is basically a two car garage (the kitchen) with a restaurant built on front (but much nicer than that sounds. A lot nicer). The place is hidden in an alley, kinda. Be sure to check out the directions on their site first.

The problem: They've run out of beer. Victims of their own success, they only thing they have to offer is some unfinished wheat samples. We tried them, but reviewing an unfinished beer isn't something we're in the business of doing.

The chili was nice, though. The beer is back on now, according to my sources. They're working on a backup plan should this ever happen again.

Lennies/Bloomington Brewing Company, Bloomington - As we're not a Hoosier State natives, we haven't spent all that much time in Bloomington. As a result, this was our first stop and Lennies/Bloomington Brewing Company. After our GPS attempted to get us to drive down an IU campus walking path, we figured out the correct way to find the brewery/restaurant.

Bloomington Brewing Co. Stout - Campfire marshmallow is the first thing that came to mind. Nose is smokey meat, front is ashy campfire, a sweet liquid camping trip, a different approach than most, more smoke than chocolate or coffee, burping up burnt plastic, I didn't finish the pint.

Perhaps it was just me - I know they're better than this - they've got a wall full of medals to prove it. We should have tried something else but we were driving, and had another stop to make.

Upland Brewing Co., Bloomington, IN - It took us forever to finally make a trip to Bloomington to visit Upland, and now I feel a craving for the fine vegetarian food about once a month. I'm not a vegetarian - the food is just that good.

Upland's Imperial Stout (Teddy Bear Kisses) is a fitting intro to colder months. A nose of syrupy dark chocolate and then a deep, sweet, rich, full-bodied chocolate flavor dominates the palate. Finishes bitter and chewy (a little bit hoppy, really), rich and creamy.

I was thinking "Dark Lord" when I passed the glass to Gina to get her thoughts, and she immediately said "Dark Lord". Not quite as deep or sweet as Indiana's most famous beer, and finishes a bit drier, and a little more sessionable - if any 11.5% ABV beer is sessionable.

Indeed, I thought the front of the beer was very reminiscent of Dark Lord. It bit the front of the tongue with flavors of dark fruit and alcohol heat. The finish was deceptively mellow considering the amount of alcohol.

Good news - if you're in Indy, Teddy Bear Kisses is coming very soon to the new Upland Tap Room. It won't be cheap, but I think you'll find it worth the price.

Alpha Acid Test Ticket Winner: Erin

2009-11-16T16:47:00.003-05:00

Using the magic of random number generators, Jim drew the lucky number 9 comment as the winner of two tickets to Lafayette Brewing Company's Alpha Acid Test. The ninth comment in that thread belongs to Erin.

Erin, send us an email at knights@hoosierbeergeek.com so we can get your address for mailing.

For the rest of you who left comments, thanks! And play again!

Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing (TFN)

2009-11-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

For the last month or so we've tried to subtly beat you over the head with the words "Tailgate for Nothing" in an effort to see what kind of interest we can generate in smaller, low key, word of mouth events.

Now that we're a week out, I feel confident that we've kept things low key enough. So here's the email we've been sending and the details of what we're doing.

All nine HBG Knights of the Beer Roundtable are fans of the act of tailgating. It occurred to us that tailgating usually revolves around sporting events - but why should it have to? Getting together with friends, eating hearty and/or unhealthy foods, drinking beer, and just hanging out - these are ideas we can all get behind.

Our first AleGate/Tailgate for Nothing (a NO FREELOADERS event) is exactly that - a tailgate for nothing. It's an opportunity for people to wheel out their rare beer, beer they never have an excuse to drink, or just big ABV beers, and to share it with like-minded individuals who are sure to appreciate what they are drinking. The crowd we are hoping for is a mixture of folks from homebrewers clubs, our regular HBG event attendees, industry folks, that sort of thing - but there's really no telling who'll show up.

TFN will be done in a traditional tailgate manner - bring your own everything (tailgate, beer, food, trash bags, chairs, bbq grills, games, whatever), cook and eat in a parking lot (pots of chili, brats and hamburgers, and stuff like that), and in the end, clean up after yourself. The main idea is sharing food and drink, hanging out, and having a good time.

The first Alegate/TFN will be happening in the parking lot of Sun King Brewery, 135 N. College Ave. Indianapolis, on Saturday, November 21st at 11AM. If you don't have beer to bring, Sun King's tasting room will be open from 1PM until 4PM. If you plan on showing up at 11AM, make sure you bring something to drink to hold you over.

AGAIN, THIS IS A "NO FREELOADERS" EVENT. Bring something to eat/drink and be prepared to share. Bring as many friends as you want, but we ask that you keep in mind what we're about and the sort of company we like to keep. If you're receiving this email there's a pretty good chance you know what we're about.

If you don't have a giant special beer, that's not a problem. Just make sure you bring something tasty. THIS ISN'T A RARE BEER CONTEST. It's just a good time.

Also this won't cost you anything to attend. We might pass around a hat or something if we see a need to buy anything for next time. Whatever.

ANY QUESTIONS? Let me know. Planning to attend? You don't need to RSVP, but we'd love to hear from you. Which would be kinda like RSVPing but whatever.

I think that's it.

Mike (and Jason and Jim and Matt and Gina and Jess and Rod and Chris and Matt)
HBG/KOTBR

* * * * *

Hello Everyone,

This is just a final reminder about Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing. A few items I wanted to throw in, some of them more obvious than others...

Tasting Glasses - If you have any tasting glasses from former beer events, bring them along. There should be a lot of beer to share, and the smaller glasses are the best way to go about sharing.

Chairs - There won't be seating unless you bring some.

Friends - BRING FRIENDS. Hopefully you'll be making some, but it never hurts to have a posse.

We'll do our best to be social butterflies, but this is just gonna be a bunch of people hanging out. We're thinking maybe we'll bring nametags to make things easier. We encourage you to be nosy, it's the best way to make friends. Well, that and drinking.

See you Saturday?

Mike
HBG

If all this sounds fun to you, but you've been lazy and didn't send an email, we're not going to hold that against you. Instead we'll just ask that you leave a comment on the site to give us a heads up that you're coming. If you're coming, you gotta cook something or bring some food, or else we're just a bunch of hungry drunks in a parking lot. So as an added bonus, you could tell us what you're cooking.

That'd be rad.

What keeps you coming back for craft beer?

2009-11-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

It may sound like a strange question, but what keeps you coming back for more craft beer?

I am thinking of this because of several members of my circle of friends and family. I've got multiple friends/family members that say things like "I'm a bud man myself," or "I only like Miller." I couldn't care less what beer they like because I am not going to proselytize my craft beer onto them if they don't won't to drink it. What is it about craft beer that makes many craft beer enthusiasts so eager to try everything under the sun and not stay loyal to their favorite brand?

Don't get me wrong I am very loyal to several brewers including Founders, Three Floyd's, and Bell's brewing, but I would cut a drifter in a second to try a beer from the far corners of America (or Indiana for that matter) that I've never tried before. They will get more of my beer dollars over the course of a year, but they are not getting the lion's share because I like trying as many new beers as possible. So, what is it about loyal macro drinkers that make them only drink a certain brand and won't deviate from that? I've yet to meet a craft beer drinker that says something like "No, I'm a Founders man" if I try and offer them a different beer. I've seen this in 100% of the craft beer people I've met in my travels. There are also other factors that tend to link beer people together. Many enjoy the slow food movement, many have beards (Rod!), many are willing to travel great distances just to sample a beer, and most have taken a vacation with the specific idea to drink a regions beer while they are there. I've also discovered another thing during all of the beer festivals, homebrewers meet-ups, HBG meet-ups, and at breweries and brewpubs, and that is that beer people almost always equal good people. I've met some assholes at beer fests, but not many, but then again most people are having a good time getting a little sauce in them.

When I go to my favorite beer stores to buy beer I am usually looking for something new, something barrel aged, or something I can just try one bottle of. Craft brewers have obviously capitalized on this because there is always something new coming out each week (just look at the random beer roundup on Fridays). The death of the regular six pack is coming as well. Look how many beers come in only bombers or 4-packs now. I also wonder if our tastes have changed significantly over our beer drinking careers. I couldn't drink DIPA's when I first started drinking craft beer, and now I can't find a DIPA bitter enough. Is this the reason craft beer is always changing and experimenting with new beer? Does the brewer have to work hard to keep the public interested in their brand by constantly launching a new product? A quick glace over at the beer rating websites would say yes, but those website are full of beer geeks looking for the next "it" beer. Even if the beer tasted like horse piss if you put it in a bourbon barrel for 8 months, add some brett to the mix, and then have a team of horses actually piss in the beer and only make 30 cases of it I am sure it would get a A- or a 95 on the beer websites.

I am not trying to bash macro beer drinkers here I am just trying to understand the psyche of certain beer drinkers over other beer drinkers.

What did your personal beer progression look like? We all didn't start out wanting to try every beer would get our hands on, so when and how did this shift happen for the majority of craft beer enthusiasts?

Thoughts?

Random Beer Roundup - The Busy Edition

2009-11-13T11:02:00.001-05:00

It's been a super-busy, but fun week! This city has really stepped up their beer events lately and I am looking forward to doing more of them through Sunday. I hope you've had a good week as well, and that you've found some good beer to drink along the way.

Don't forget to enter to win tickets for the Alpha Acid event at Lafayette Brewing Co. on November 21st. We wish we could be there!

If there is something coming up that is not listed, we would love to hear about it. News, reviews, info, etc., to share for our next Random Beer Roundup can be submitted to hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.)

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Tuesday, November 17th - Sunday, November 22nd at New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse: Official Grand Opening celebration

Tuesday, November 17th from 6 - 8 pm at Alcatraz in Indianapolis: tapping - Cherry Stout, a milk stout with over 250lbs of cherries.

Thursday, November 19th at Casler's Kitchen in Fishers: Sun King Brewers Dinner (more below)

Friday, November 20th at Radio Radio in Fountain Square: Tonic Ball to benefit Second Helpings.

Saturday, November 21st at Lafayette Brewing Co. in Lafayette: Alpha Acid Test (more below)

Saturday, November 21st: Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing, a publicly advertised yet still somehow secret no freeloaders BYO everything craft beer tailgate for any folks who consider themselves a fan of sharing great beer and good food. There's only one way to get more details - Send an email to knights@hoosierbeergeek.com.

Sunday, November 22nd at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in Muncie: Indiana Public Radio’s 3^rd annual All Beers Considered beer & cheese tasting (more below)

December 3rd from 5 to 8 PM at Keg Liquors in Clarksville: 5th Annual Holiday Insanity Beer Tasting

What's Brewing

From Clayton at Sun King Brewing:

Thursday, November 19th - 7:00 p.m. @ Casler's Kitchen - Brewer's Dinner: 4 Courses prepared by Casler's Chef, Craig Baker, prepared with and paired with Sun King Beer. Contact Casler's Kitchen for details.

From Greg at Lafayette Brewing Co in Lafayette:

alpha acid test
Saturday, November 21
2 pm to 5 pm, Tickets $20

Can you pass the Alpha Acid Test? We brewed a 60 IBU ale with one hop addition at 60 minutes in the kettle. After fermentation and maturation, we're going to rack this beer into 10 kegs and firkins and dry hop each individual vessel with a different hop variety (technically, 1 control beer and 9 different hop varieties). In an open tasting format, we'll sample the resulting brews to discern the subtleties of each individual hop variety. Sort of an IPA Extravaganza utilizing some familiar and some not-so-familiar hop varieties. Also included in the price of admission: commemorative tasting glass, raffles of LBC merchandise and munchies from our pizza kitchen. Don't miss this unique tasting experience! A limited number of tickets are on sale now.

On tap at Lafayette Brewing this weekend:

Ouiatenon Wit Bier; Prophet's Rock Pale Ale; East Side Bitter; Pipers' Pride Scottish Ale; Tippecanoe Common Ale; Eighty-Five; and Black Angus Oatmeal Stout. We are also pouring Weeping Hog IPA from the handpull.

Live entertainment on LBC's 2nd floor:

Saturday, November 14: Lubriphonic w/ Bailout Revival 9 pm; $5 cover

Don't forget to get your tickets for the Alpha Acid Test (Nov. 21). They're going fast!

From Charles at Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington:

Upland will be donating beer for the reception following the release of the movie Coal Country (http://www.coalcountrythemovie.com/). The movie is being shown at the Buskirk Chumley Theater in Bloomington, and the reception is being held next door at the Farm. We are also donating beer to Tonic Ball (a fundraising event for Second Helpings, http://www.secondhelpings.org/events-and-calendar/28) on Nov. 20.

At the Bar

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse in Various Locations:

Scotty's Brewhouse Downtown Indy is now pouring Goose Island Matilda!
Coming soon to Scotty's Brewhouse North Side - Magic Hat Winter Howl!

Carry Out

From Todd at Keg Liquors in Clarksville:

Great Divide - Oak Aged Yeti (Colorado)
Shipyard - Prelude (Maine)
De Ranke - Père Noël (Belgium
Left Hand - Fade to Black (Colorado)
Stone/Brewdog - Bashah (Scotland)
Bell's - Winter White (Michigan)

Event:
5th Annual Holiday Insanity Beer Tasting at Keg Liquors

December 3rd from 5 – 8 PM

Another of our great traditions, we conclude the year’s beer tasting schedule with a bang. Featuring Holiday and Seasonal beers from around the world. Last year's tasting included over 21 different beers to sample. More details will be forthcoming as this one shapes up.

From Josh at United Package Liquors at County Line and Meridian:

Founders Backwoods Bastard & Breakfast Stout
Sierra Nevada Celebration, Harvest ale & Estate Harvest Ale
Boulder Obovoid Oak aged Oatmeal Stout & Never Summer Winter Warmer
Three Floyds Broodoo (almost gone) & Alpha Klaus
Clipper City Winter Storm
Bell's Winter White, Java Stout & Best Brown
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Hair of the Dog Adam & Fred (limited quantities)
Sam Smith Winter Welcome & Yorkshire stingo
Hebrew Jewbelation 13 Bar Mitzva

From Sam at BW3's (Downtown Indianapolis):

Few new beers this week. Unfortunately Dreadnaught has already come and gone. Here is our tap list as of now:

Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter
Founders Reds Rye
Stone Arrogant Bastard
Bells Double Cream Stout
Bells Two Hearted
Three Floyds Gumballhead
Three Floyds Robert the Bruce
Dogfish Head 90 Minute
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale
Barley Island Dirty Helen
Upland Bad Elmer's Porter
Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA

Some good beers to be had before the Colts vs Patriots game on Sunday.

Distribution News

From Bob Mack at World Class Beverages:

World Class Beer Spy is now listing the Monarch craft brands including Sierra, Upland, Magic Hat, Pyramid, New Belgium and Sam Adams.

From Greg at Cavalier Distribution:

Berghoff Winter Ale is in stock and is a brand new style this year! It's a dark, strong ale with strong chocolate & caramel notes. It's a departure from past Berghoff Winter Ales and a much stronger, heartier ale for the cold winter months.

Boulder Beer Looking Glass 2009 Killer Penguin Barley Wine, Obovoid Oak-Aged Oatmeal Stout & Never Summer Ale are all available in limited quantities. The Killer Penguin & Obovoid are very limited, so make sure to grab some while they're available.

A very limited run of Great Divide Oak-Aged Yeti Imperial Stout has hit the state. There is a very limited number of cases and when it's gone, it's gone for the year. Get it now while it's here!

JK's Solstice Organic Hard Cider is making its debut in Indiana. The everyday JK's Scrumpy Cider has fast become a hit across the state, and the Solstice is quickly doing the same. This is a limited seasonal release that only comes out once a year, and a must try for any fan of JK's or hard cider in general.

Lakefront Holiday Spice is in stock for the year! There is much, much less of this than in years past, so it won't be around long. Holiday Spice is a hearty, bold spiced winter warmer, perfect for cold winter nights.

Left Hand Fade to Black is a brand new winter seasonal from Left Hand. The Snowbound Ale is no more, and the Fade to Black has officially taken its place. Each year the style will change, and this year's is a Foreign Export Stout. We received a limited, one-time run of this, so grab it while it's available. The packaging is incredible and reflects Left Hand's new direction in labels.

Stone Brewing Co. & Brew Dog have collaborated to create a masterpiece one-time, special release beer. Stone / Brew Dog Bashah is a Black Belgian Style Double IPA and a wonderful marriage between these two extreme breweries. Aside from Stone 13th Anniversary, it's the hoppiest beer Stone has ever brewed! We received a very limited quantity, so do your best to find some at retailers who support Stone & Brew Dog throughout the year! Make sure to pick up and try some Brew Dog beers as well if you haven't already, they are incredible....Stone doesn't collaborate with just anyone!!

Abbaye de St. Martin is renowned for making incredible Belgian ales. We have 3 everyday styles available, a Tripel, Brune & Blonde Ale. All three come in 4pks and are must trys!! There is also a very, very limited number of St. Martin Cuvee de Noel cases lingering around for the holidays at select locations as well.

Be patient all lovers of North Coast, Cavalier will be bringing North Coast Beers to a large part of the state here very soon. The timeline is not yet established, but stay tuned for more details...

Other News

Indiana Public Radio’s 3^rd annual All Beers Considered beer & cheese tasting

Here are the basics:
November 22^nd, 2-5pm
Cornerstone Center for the Arts, (Downtown Muncie)
Admission is $17, $15 for IPR members
Reservations are due by Wednesday Nov 18

To rsvp, email iprmembers@bsu.edu or call 800.646.1812
All proceeds benefit Indiana Public Radio

********

http://visitindy.com/indianapolis/web/jsp/podcast/podcast.jsp?channel=9295145&episode=14230095

Craft Beer Indoctrination 101 (i.e., What to Push on Your Relatives This Holiday Season)

2009-11-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a topic that we've discussed before: What sort of craft beer should a beer geek spring on his or her hapless relatives over the holiday season? I'm not necessarily talking about a brew that would match well with the food on the table, though that would be a nice benefit. Rather, I'm talking about a good gateway beer for those relatives and friends at your family's holiday gatherings who may be beer drinkers, but who aren't necessarily turned on to the craft beer world.

I'm taking a cue from Mike's experience a few years ago and choosing the workhorse of craft beer: the brown ale. I appreciate this style because it's flavorful, yet not in-your-face, and accessible, yet not pedestrian. In my experience, it's also a style that tends not to intimidate craft beer novices, and it's a hearty pick for the cold-weather months.

Here are my five brown ale picks, in no particular order:

Barley Island Dirty Helen Brown Ale. Going local is always a good thing. Besides, this is a GABF gold medal winner, so passing it up is not an option.

Sun King Wee Mac Scottish Ale. Wee Mac is already a hit with local beer drinkers despite being available for only four months now. Here's hoping that the Sun King tasting room is open on the day before Thanksgiving (hint hint, Clay and Dave...).

Bluegrass Brewing Company Nut Brown Ale. I've never been disappointed by this beer. A solid offering, every time.

Bell's Best Brown Ale. The last time I had a Best Brown on draft, it bowled me over. It was so amazingly flavorful, toting more chocolate notes than your standard American Brown. This is one that you may want to keep in store as you up the "difficulty level" with the craft beer newbies in attendance at your holiday gathering.

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale. The gold standard of English Browns. Sweet, bready, and nutty, it's mellow enough to be palatable yet complex enough to be intriguing.

What are your suggestions? What specific beers or beer styles would you serve?

LBC is better than LSD

2009-11-11T22:34:00.009-05:00

On Saturday, November 21, from 2 pm to 5 pm, Lafayette Brewing Company will be conducting a Timothy Leary-esque experiment called the Alpha Acid Test. They have brewed a 60 IBU ale that received one hop addition at 60 minutes in the kettle. They put it into 10 kegs and firkins, leaving one beer as is and dry hopping the other nine with nine different hop varieties.

Are you tripping yet?

So you'll get the chance to explore the psychedelic differences between the hop varieties. You can enjoy this unique event, complete with a commemorative tasting glass, LBC raffles, and munchies, for the low, low price of $20.

Need a miracle? Or two?

You don't need to stand outside a parking lot trying to trade a grilled cheese for a ticket. We want to hook you up! It's time for a giveaway!

We have two tickets to LBC's Alpha Acid Test. Like most of our previous giveaways, we will randomly select a commenter to this post. All you need to do by noon on Monday, November 16th is leave your first name and last initial and answer this question:

If you were to live in one Indiana city or neighborhood, based solely on proximity to breweries, craft beer bars, and/or beer stores, what city or neighborhood would that be?

Again, you need to comment by 12pm EST, Monday, November 16th. We will announce the winner shortly after and will make arrangements to get the tickets to you.

Keep on reading Hoosier Beer Geek, where we ask you to turn on, tune in, and drink craft beer.

KOTBR #90: Medal Winners

2009-11-11T09:00:00.006-05:00

For KOTBR #90, Six Knights met in Broad Ripple to get a taste of Indiana's three Great American Beer Festival medal winners. We soon realized that when you mention medals, all sorts of people show up. As is the case whenever we get a majority of the Knights together, you'll find that we have five vastly different stories on the night's events.

It is not very often that you would find me in Broad Ripple at 2am on a Tuesday. But an inability to sleep and a desire to consume a burrito as big as my head pushed me to go for a walk in the Indianapolis neighborhood that never sleeps.

Parking was unusually sparse. And I ended up having to walk farther than normal. It is for that reason that I passed Brugge Brasserie. I was surprised to see someone sitting alone at one of the patio tables, since the gastropub was closed for the evening.

Normally, I would have kept walking, figuring that it was none of my business. But something caught my attention. I was entranced. Like Francisco de Orellana, I was drawn in.

The glimmer that I caught was the moonlight reflecting off of gold dangling from the neck of a tall fellow. But not just any gold. Olympic gold. As in the 14 gold medals won by U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps. Surprised that he had them on.

He was in the middle of devouring eight giant burritos when I decided to say something.

“Hi Michael. My name is Jason. I’m a big fan.”

He mumbled something through the mouthful of beans and tortilla.

“Listen, I couldn’t help but notice that you had your Olympic medals on. Do you normally roam about at 2am with your medals on?”

He swallowed hard, clearing his mouth of burrito. “I just got out of the Snoop Dogg concert. I needed some bling to wear. The bitches love bling.”

“Ah, I see. And all those burritos. That’s a lot of food. I’m assuming you need the calories for training.”

“No,” he said, “I’m on break from training right now. I was just REALLY hungry after the concert.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Don’t tell my mom, though. She grounded me after she saw those bong photos. If she knew I had a case of munchies after the Snoop Dogg concert, well, I don’t know what she would do. She might take my Wii away from me.”

“Gotcha. No problem. It’s not like I write for a blog or anything.” Then I noticed that he had an couple of empty beer bottles and a tulip glass. “So what are you drinking there?”

“Oh, well, this was a bottle of Barley Island Dirty Helen Brown Ale. I tried going to the new Barley Island near the Vogue, but they weren’t open for another couple of days. So I grabbed a bottle out of my cooler in the car.”

“So, you’re a fan?” I asked.

“Oh hell yeah, you don’t have to be a gold medal winner like me to know that Dirty Helen Brown Ale is a winner of a beer.”

“You know that they won a gold medal at GABF this year?”

“No, I didn’t!” he said excitedly, spitting beans at me while he talked. “Maybe they could hire me as a spokesperson! You know that Kellogg's dropped me as an endorser after that unfortunate incident”

“Yeah, I heard.”

“Anyway, I like it. It’s a good beer for everybody. Malty for the malt heads. But hoppy enough for hop heads like me. Did you know that hops and marijuana come from the same family?”

“I think I’ve heard that before, Michael.”

“I, also, had a glass of Bad Kitty from Brugge,” he said, motioning to the dark and dormant brewery and restaurant.

“Really? Were they open after the concert?”

“No,” he said, “but some guy I met at the concert gave me the key to this place. Told me to help myself to anything I like.”

“Wait, you got a key to Brugge? Damn, I’ve been writing nothing but good things about that place and can’t even get the owner to return my calls. Who gave you the key?”

“I don’t know. Couldn’t really see him in all the haze of the club. I thought that concert was suppose to be smoke-free. Anyway, I went in and poured myself a glass. And you know, I’m not normally a fan of sour beers. I usually poo-poo them. But for some reason, this one tasted good to me. It reminded me of a Belgian white but with a strong squeeze of lemon. So it was easy to drink but had enough sourness to grab my attention but not so much that it made me gag.”

“That’s funny,” I said, “I would have said something similar. I see you have an empty bottle of Brugge Black. What did you think?”

“Well, it wasn’t Black! I don’t know what it was. It was sour, but not in the lemony way of Bad Kitty. It was darker in color though. Had a deeper flavor profile, too. There was some writing on the bottle cap.”

I found it on the ground. In marker was written “DK ‘09”.

“I know what this is,” I told Michael. “This is Diamond Kings. You know, you grabbed the two beers that Brugge won bronze medals for this year?”

“No shit? What are the odds of that?” he asked.

“I’m not sure Michael. If I told anybody this story, they would swear I was making it up. A gold medal Olympian drinking the three medal winning beers from Indiana and I was the only person to notice.”

“But you won’t tell anybody, will you? You know, ‘cuz if my mom found out what I was doing tonight…”

“Don’t worry, Michael,” I assured him. “I’ll never tell another living soul.”

The thoughts of Hope Solo, U.S. Women's National Team Goalkeeper and Olympic Gold Medalist...

Barley Island Dirty Helen - Now this is what I'm talking about. A gold medal winner just like me. They should have called it Dirty Hope. That would make it better. It's not over the top like me, but it is very drinkable with flavors of slightly bitter coffee, caramel, and malt. I could see myself drinking several after one of my matches, where I am the best goalkeeper ever.

Brugge Brasserie Bad Kitty - Did I mention that I am awesome at goalkeeping? I hear Ted was a goalkeeper. I'm even better than him I bet. Speaking of Ted, Bad Kitty is one good beer. This would be a nice introduction to sour beers to those who haven't had one before.

Brugge Brasserie Diamond Kings of Heaven - Now I understand that this beer took home a bronze medal. If I were judging, there's no doubt in my mind I would have made it win gold. I think this beer is just great. Almost as great as me. The nose is strikingly sour and so is the flavor.

After Hope Solo had settled in with us for our roundtable, we were surprised to see Judas Priest’s Rob Halford walk through the door and approach us. He told us that he had recently become Hoosier Beer Geek fan and decided to come out to join us for the roundtable. This, of course, left us with our jaws on the floor. Our resident metal-head Rod was momentarily left speechless. We all exchanged puzzled looks until we realized that Mr. Halford must have misunderstood us when we put out a call for guest reviewers for a “medal-themed” review. But even though Mr. Halford didn’t really fit in with our theme, we weren’t about to chase him away.

Mr. Halford was gracious enough to leave his tasting notes with me. This is what he wrote about Indiana’s three GABF medal-winning beers—

Barley Island Dirty Helen Brown Ale. I’ve been drinking brown ales since my younger days in Walsall, and Dirty Helen Brown Ale measured up to some of the best beers of the West Midlands. This dark brown ale had a nose redolent of bread, flowers, and metal (that’s right—metal). It was heavier in hop character than the brown ales I’ve enjoyed in across the pond, but in my opinion, heavy is good. The flavor was a pleasant combination of caramel, chocolate, and malty sweetness. There’s no question that Barley Island is delivering the goods with this beer. I predict that it will become the rage in craft beer circles. 3.75 Mugs.

Brugge Brasserie Bad Kitty Leipziger Gose. Brugge Brasserie’s Bad Kitty Leipziger Gose is much different from the beers I’m used to drinking. It poured with a hazy yellow color and smelled of sour apples and must. I wasn’t quite sure if I really wanted to drink it after that smell, but I was ready to put my palate through the grinder. Hence, I sipped and sipped and sipped again. Bad Kitty’s flavor was lemony, spicy, and acidic in a chaotic yet beautiful way. If you think you’re going to hate this beer, you’ve got another thing comin'. 4.00 Mugs.

Brugge Brasserie Diamond Kings of Heaven ’09. I’ve been told that the brewer at Brugge Brasserie puts out Diamond Kings of Heaven in a very limited quantity every year. Moreover, I’ve heard that those who are able to get their hands on this beer guard their bottles very closely, and those who aren’t able to get their hands on it think about breaking the law just to taste some. After drinking some, I could see why. This reddish brown Belgian-style sour ale had an oaky and acidic nose. The flavor was a rapid fire trio of white wine, sour, and oak notes. We were united in our appreciation of Diamond Kings of Heaven ‘09. Indeed, Brugge Brasserie could truly take on the world with this beer. 4.50 Mugs.

Broad Ripple is one of the few neighborhoods in Indianapolis where anything can happen, so I suppose it shouldn't have been a surprise that Rob Halford wasn't our only "Metal Winner" guest of the evening. As we sampled Barley Island's selection I noticed a few other celebrities sitting around a table: NUVO's Rita Kohn, Indiana Beer's Bob Ostrander, and music legends Glenn Danzig (Misfits, Samhain, Danzig) and Glen Benton (Deicide, Vital Remains).

We don't like to miss unique beer reviewing opportunities, so we asked the two Glen(n)s to join us for a beer or three.

"You'd be surprised at how many songs I've written in direct tribute to beer," said Benton. "I'd say I share a spiritual link with beer. And with Lucifer, of course. Take for example a song like 'Lunatic of God's Creation.' When I say, 'Servants of death, enchanter of pain. From the land of no return, you'll kill again, smear the blood on naked corpse, Manson', what I'm really trying to say is, 'Life can really be tough, but hang in there! Go for a pint!'"

Danzig chimes in. "Check this out, I'm writing a song about Dirty Helen, here it goes." He starts to sing. "Woooaahahh Dirrrrty Helllllen. She's a deep mahogany devil."

All of us at the table are impressed. Benton: "It's like, no one's even going to know that song is about beer, they're going to think it's about this chick, probably like a hot chick in a leather bra and maybe later she'll make out with you and then you can go do evil together."

"Yeah, it's evil and romantic sorta. What I try to do with my music is charm the ladies - show them my romantic side - but also to let them know that when you're with Danzig, things are gonna be evil. Like maybe we'll kiss and stuff, but we're also gonna talk about skulls."

"So what do you two think of the beer?"

"I get a hint of a bunch of things, but there's nothing that really grabs me," says Danzig.

"I dig the mouthfeel. Really creamy... this is just a nice balanced mild sort of beer," said Benton.

3.5 Mugs

Barley Island was just the beginning of our night, though. Having enjoyed their insight, we invited the Glen(n)s to join us at our second stop of the night, Brugge Brasserie.

"You know, walking over here, I felt a true presence of evil," said Benton.

"I've done shows in castles in Denmark, ripped a chicken in half in a video... but this Broad Ripple Avenue? I think this stands up to any of that," said Danzig.

We settle into our seats and order a round of Brugge's Bad Kitty. Benton and Danzig dig in.

"Check this out, I'm writing a song about Bad Kitty, here it goes." He starts to sing. "Woooaahahh Baaaaaad Kiiiiity. She's a deep apricotish devil."

"What's an apricotish devil?" asks Benton.

"You know, it's like an apricot. But maybe it looks like an inverted cross."

"Oh man... that reminds me, check this out." Benton picks a butter knife up off the table and carves an inverted cross into his forehead.

"How many times have you done that now?" asks Danzig.

"Like a hundred," Benton replies "I'm trying to do it six hundred and sixty six times, and then I'm gonna probably be the devil. I think. I think that's how it works. I read it on the internet."

Danzig pulls out his iPhone. "What's that address?"

"So what do you guys think of the beer?" I ask.

"I already said it's a deep apricoty devil," says Danzig.

"Yeah, it's an apricoty devil, duh," says Benton.

4.4 Mugs

We order food and finish our beers, and decide that it's time to try out our final beer of the night, Diamond Kings of Heaven. Danzig is nowhere to be found.

"How long has Glenn been gone?" I ask.

"Oh, he's in the bathroom," says Benton. "He takes a flashlight in there and turns off the light and then flashes the flashlight up from under his face and sings into the mirror. It's totally f*cking evil."

"Can you go get him?" I ask.

"You just gotta knock on the door six times. He thinks it's Satan answering."

* * * * *

"Wait, is this... wait.. we gotta make a call," says Danzig when he returns to the table.

He pulls out the iPhone again.

"Kim, you doing anything?" he asks.

"We gotta wait for Kim," he says. "He'll be here in a minute."

* * * * *

Ten minutes pass and we begin to get antsy, but we look up to suddenly see a man in white facepaint standing next to our table.

"Woah... I didn't see you even walk in!" says Benton.

"I didn't walk, I flew in the window," says our guest.

"Guys, meet King Diamond," says Danzig.

"I heard they named a beer after me," says Diamond.

"Well... um.. yeah, yeah they did," I reply.

* * * * *

"Check this out, I'm writing a song about King Diamond, here it goes," says Benton. "Woooaahahh King Diamond. She's a deep apricotish devil."

"Dude, that's awesome," says Danzig.

"Yeah, that's great," says King Diamond. "What's apricotish?"

* * * * *

"What do you think of the beer?" I ask.

"The nose on this thing is huge," says Diamond. "It's practically jumping out of the glass - like my nose is two inches away from the glass and I can already pick up how funky and sour it's going to be."

"Yeah, it's a really full sour flavor too. It's just rich and oaky, a little vanilla," says Benton.

"Yeah, oak," says Danzig.

"So is this evil?" I ask.

"Well, for a beer named after me... King Diamond's Heaven... yeah, it's evil. How can it not be?" says Diamond.

"Actually, it's Diamond Kings of Heaven," I say.

"Whatever," says Diamond.

4.75 Mugs

Ted Miller here, multiple GABF medal winner. I was going to get my smoke on with Snoop Dogg but instead these Hoosier Beer Geeks begged me to go drink beer with them. I mean WTF guys. Do you really think I can just drop whatever I'm doing to go drink with you? Well, maybe with you Jason. You keep me warm at night.

First up, Barley Island. I like the place Jeff. Lots of taps, nice finishing touches. Now get out of my neighborhood. HA. Kidding, you know we're glad to have you in Broad Ripple. Anyway, Dirty Helen. I've had this beer a million times, can't believe you guys made me review this. What can I say, this is a straight up American brown ale. It's got that lightly nutty, creamy sweetness with hints of chocolate in it. I'd tell you guys what hops are in it but you probably can't even taste them. What a bunch of drunks. Anyway you've got your caramel, your cocoa, your brown sugar and it all just comes together into this really well rounded brown ale. No wonder you got a gold for this Jeff, now if only these morons could understand what good beer is all about. I'll give it a 3.8 because while it's good, it's not a Belgian beer. And I am totally balls out crazy for Belgian beers.

Can we go to my bar yet, guys? I want to drink for free. Okay, first you're going to try Bad Kitty. I know you get all kinds of retarded for sour beers, so you'll probably like this too. Like you even know what you're drinking. It's a Leipziger Gose. Don't even pretend like you know what that is. I'm not even wasting my time with you. It's sour and it's German. Shut up and drink it. I started drinking this style years ago at the Gosenschenke Ohne Bedenken but you probably don't even know where that is. Anyway, this is sort of like the White but it has some wild fermentation funk to it, a bit of apricot and lemon comes out of the yeast. It's not in your face like a Berliner Weisse, the tartness sneaks up on you in the back. I like this, but it's not Belgian, so I'll say 3.6 mugs. I like to think of this as a starter beer for people who don't like sours. Like you Jason, what is wrong with you? I'm serious...

Ok, I guess as long as you turds are forcing me to drink with you, I'll get out something I actually want to drink. Yeah, this is the Diamond Kings from this year. Yeah, I won a bronze for it this year. I have a bunch of it tucked away but mainly so I can tease beer dorks like you with it. No, you're not getting any more than this. Deal with it. You're all so needy. I might as well tell you what you should get out of this since you're not going to be able to figure it out. This is subtle and complex, sort of like a good wine. You should smell cranberries, plums, apples, pears, and chardonnay grapes in there. No that's not acetone, don't be stupid. You're going to get a kick in the teeth out of this one, just bam sour right there. It's nice and dry, tart but not puckering. You taste the lime and apple in there? Yeah that's the easy stuff. Roll it around a bit and I bet you start to feel the dryness from the oak, maybe a bit of pine and juniper. Even rosemary. It's there. Just wait for it. This is the champagne of beer. F*ck Miller High Life. This is what I've been telling you about. 4.4 mugs right here.

Now get out of my bar, I want to go home.

Barley Island Dirty Helen Brown Ale
Jim: 3.75 Mugs | Mike: 3.5 Mugs | Jason: 4.0 Mugs | Gina: 3.75 Mugs | Rodney: 3.8 Mugs | Chris: 3.2 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.66 Mugs

Brugge Bad Kitty
Mike: 4.4 Mugs | Rod: 3.6 Mugs | Chris: 4.2 Mugs | Jim: 4.0 Mugs | Gina: 4.0 Mugs | Jason: 3.3 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.91 Mugs

Brugge Diamond Kings of Heaven 2009
Chris: 4.5 Mugs | Jason: 3.5 Mugs | Mike: 4.75 Mugs | Rod: 4.4 Mugs | Jim: 4.5 Mugs | Gina: 4.5 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 4.35 Mugs

UPDATE - Upland Tasting Room now open!

2009-11-09T21:45:00.009-05:00

Back in September we reported that Upland was opening a tasting room in Broad Ripple. We're now happy to report that the tasting room at 49th and College has officially opened as of 2:00 pm on Monday, November 9th.

Super-cool growler fillers.

Hours:

Monday - Thursday from 2 - 10 pm,
Friday - Saturday 12 - 10 pm., and
Sunday 12 - 8 pm

On Tap: Preservation Pilsner, Wheat, Helios Pale Ale,
Dragonfly IPA, Rad Red Amber Ale, and Rauchbier.

Right now, pints can only be purchased on Sundays and Mondays but growlers are available everyday except Sunday. Growlers are $12 new or $8 for a refill.

You won't find their newest release, Teddy Bear Kisses, in the tasting room just yet, but the Russian Imperial Stout will be there soon. We'll keep you posted.

Random Beer Roundup - The Christmas Creep Edition

2009-11-06T08:00:00.003-05:00

Good Day!

I cannot wait for this weekend to get started. Mike and I are headed over to the St. Louis area for the weekend to help my parents get moved in to their new house. While that's fun and all, Schlafly is pretty close and I hear they put something good on tap recently. Hopefully we'll get to check out a couple other places that we've been meaning to, but we'll see. What will you be drinking?

If you'll be spending your time in Indy this weekend, you can cheer on Knight Jess as she runs her first half marathon! GO JESS! Good Luck and have fun!

If there is something coming up that is not listed, we would love to hear about it. News, reviews, info, etc., to share for our next Random Beer Roundup can be submitted to hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.)

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Friday, November 6th from 4:30-6:30 at Crown Liquors in Carmel: beer tasting (more info below)

Saturday, November 7th at Ron Smith's home: Teach a friend to Homebrew day.

Tuesday, November 10th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner (featuring HBG's very own Rod/Jess' beer (Harvest Mild) as brewed by Jerry and Rodney) - Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180 (menu below)

Tuesday, November 10th at Big Woods Brewery in Nashville: official opening

Thursday, November 12th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Blitzen Ale Winter-White Tapping - 6 pm to 6:30 pm

Thursday, November 12th at Chef JJ's Backyard: Sun King Harvest Brewer's Dinner - 6:30 pm (more below)

Tuesday, November 17th - Sunday, November 22nd at New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse: Official Grand Opening celebration

Thursday, November 19th at Casler's Kitchen in Fishers: Sun King Brewers Dinner (more below)

Saturday, November 21st at Lafayette Brewing Co. in Lafayette: Alpha Acid Test (more below)

Saturday, November 21st: Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing, a publicly advertised yet still somehow secret no freeloaders BYO everything craft beer tailgate for any old folks who consider themselves a fan of sharing great beer and good food. There's only one way to get more details - Send an email to knights@hoosierbeergeek.com.

What's Brewing

From Clayton at Sun King Brewing:

Thursday, November 12th - 6:30 p.m. @ Chef JJ's Back Yard - Harvest Brewer's Dinner: 6 courses of harvest inspired, locally grown deliciousness, each paired with a different Sun King Beer. $35 per person, reservations required. www.chefjjs.com

Thursday, November 19th - 7:00 p.m. @ Casler's Kitchen - Brewer's Dinner: 4 Courses prepared by Casler's Chef, Craig Baker, prepared with and paired with Sun King Beer. Contact Casler's Kitchen for details

We have a lot of great beers for the transition to fall! Home Grown Harvest Ale is a rich, smooth amber ale that was brewed with barley, wheat, oats and rye. It was hopped with several pounds of locally grown Noble hops from an urban farmer at Basic Roots Community Foods on the East side of Indy.

We also have El Gallo Negro, which is our Black I.P.A. available in the tasting room and at MacNiven's, Deano's and Binkley's. It is a big, roasty, hoppy, delicious beer.

Java Mac is making a return to our taps after a few weeks of absence. We have once again infused Kauai coffee from local roaster B-Java into our Wee Mac Scottish Ale to create a roasty, smooth, nutty, delicious coffee brown ale. Java Mac will be available in our Tasting Room and on draft at The Aristocrat Pub at 52nd and College.

Tulip Wit has just been released, which is an unfiltered Belgian Wit produced with a syrup made by Hickory Works in Brown County from our state tree. It has a great floral aroma and was fermented with a special Belgian yeast strain that lend an array of fruity characteristics to the beer.

This week we brewed a Chocolate Stout that will hopefully be ready around Thanksgiving. It is our first stout and we will keep you updated as to it's progress, but it is sure to be a rich, full bodied, delicious beer that is just right for a cold winter night. We plan to barrel age 50 gallons of Chocolate Stout in a Buffalo Trace barrel with tart cherries for release sometime next year...

From Greg at Lafayette Brewing Co in Lafayette:

alpha acid test
Saturday, November 21
2 pm to 5 pm, Tickets $20

Can you pass the Alpha Acid Test? We brewed a 60 IBU ale with one hop addition at 60 minutes in the kettle. After fermentation and maturation, we're going to rack this beer into 10 kegs and firkins and dry hop each individual vessel with a different hop variety (technically, 1 control beer and 9 different hop varieties). In an open tasting format, we'll sample the resulting brews to discern the subtlties of each individual hop variety. Sort of an IPA Extravaganza utilizing some familiar and some not-so-familiar hop varieties. Also included in the price of admission: commemorative tasting glass, raffles of LBC merchandise and munchies from our pizza kitchen. Don't miss this unique tasting experience! A limited number of tickets are on sale now.

From Charles at Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington:

Upcoming beers: November 9th: Teddy Bear Kisses - A Russian Imperial Stout available only at the Upland Tap Room.

From Jerry at Rock Bottom Downtown:

Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner
Tuesday, November 10, from 6:30 pm to 9 pm

Come join us for our Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner. Jerry and Victor have once again put their artistic minds together and have created a delectable feast celebrating the autumn season. We will be offering four courses each paired with an accommodating beer.

The Menu Includes:

Sweet Potato Amaretto Crepes, Fall Harvest Soup, Stuffed Lamb Chops, and a Maple Pumpkin Cannoli.

Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180

Carry Out

From Kirk at Mr. G's Liquor in Noblesville:

JK Scrumpy Solstice Cider 22 oz $7.19
Founders Backwoods Bastard 4pk $12.99
Clipper City Winter Storm 6pk $10.99
Hebrew Bar Mitzvah 22oz $5.99
Great Divide Hibernation Ale 6pk $11.99
Mendocino Winter Ale Imperial IPA 6pk $8.99

From Todd at Keg Liquors in Clarksville:

- Breckenridge Lucky U IPA
- Founders Backwoods Bastard
- Great Divide Hibernation Ale
- Mendocino Winter Imperial IPA
- Corsendonk Christmas
- Affligem Noel
- Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire
- Christmas in Belgium Gift set
- Stegmaier Holiday Warmer
- Mahr's Christmas Bock
- Tripel Karmeliet Gift Set (4 bottles and a glass)
- Brunehaut St. Martin Cuvee de Noel
- Samuel Smith Winter Warmer
- Lindemans Gift Set (Framboise, Pomme and a glass)
- Bell's Christmas Ale

Event:
5th Annual Holiday Insanity Beer Tasting at Keg Liquors

December 3rd from 5 – 8 PM

Another of our great traditions, we conclude the year’s beer tasting schedule with a bang. Featuring Holiday and Seasonal beers from around the world. Last year's tasting included over 21 different beers to sample. More details will be forthcoming as this one shapes up.

From Matt at Vine and Table in Carmel:

This Friday (11/6), I will be putting out our November beer specials, which will include Breckenridge Autumn Ale, Goose Island Harvest Ale, Abita Fallfest, and Saranac Pumpkin Ale. Also we just got in some new products that are exciting, including: He'Brew Jewbelation (13th Anniv. Bar Mitzvah) and He'Brew Rejewvenator (Year of the Date).

From Patrick at Crown Liquors in Carmel:

Definitely a beer tasting worth attending.
Crown liquors in Carmel is offering a beer tasting Friday, November 6th, from 4:30-6:30 including some great beers and some surprises.

These include:

Stone Imperial Russian Stout Vintage release
Founders Breakfast Stout
Great Divide Hibernation Breakenridge Lucky U ipa
Hebrew Jewbelation
Two brothers Heavy handed ipa
Avec Le Bon Voeux
Scaldis Noel Premium

Also, there will be beers from Sprinkle and Pierces private beer stash available for tasting...Come and enjoy these featured beverages and check our new beers and hear about others on the way in weeks to come!

On Tap

From Dustin at Spencer's Stadium Tavern:

On Tap:
Old Style Rogue Dead Guy Harpoon IPA Dirty Helen
Sun King Java Mac, Pale Ale, Harvest Ale New Albany 15-b Porter

From John at The Legend in Irvington:

Just put on tap:
Sun King Home Grown Harvest Ale

From Sam at BW3's (Downtown Indianapolis):

Gone is Three Floyds Broodoo. In its place we have 1/6 bbl of Three Floyds Dreadnaught that was kegged on October 19. Pretty fresh stuff.

Bells Expedition Stout is nearing the end of the keg and is to be replaced by Double Cream Stout.

Stone Arrogant Bastard

Founders Reds Rye

Bells Two Hearted

Three Floyds Robert the Bruce and Gumballhead

Upland's Bad Elmer's Porter

Dogfish Head 90 Minute and Punkin Ale

Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale (to be replaced by Celebration)

Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA

Barley Island Dirty Helen

Distribution News

From Krystal at World Class Beverages:

Brewers FX Matt, Ommegang, and Dogfish Head receive prominent mention in INSIGHTS Express article, “Beer Advocates” ; Chain Retailers Showcasing Craft¹, in their frequent use of samplings, cross-merchandising displays, and specials to showcase and promote the craft market.

Christmas beers are starting to roll in… here are a few that are expected to be out in stores mid-end November:

Anchor Christmas, Atwater Winter, Bell’s Winter White, Boulevard Nutcracker, Brooklyn Winter Ale, Rogue Santa’s Reserve, Matt’s Brewing 12 Beers of Winter, and Three Floyd’s Alpha Klaus. Look for these seasonals in stores near you. If you’re not sure what retailer might carry these near you, find out for yourself on our website’s (www.worldclassbeverages.com) Beer Spy and find your nearest retailer. CHEERS!

(Insight, B. M.: Vol 11, No 104(2009, November 3). Insight Express. Retrieved November 4, 2009, from http://www.beerinsights.com).

From Greg at Cavalier Distribution:

2009 Founders Backwoods Bastard is on the loose!! "Expect lovely, warm smells of single malt scotch, oaky bourbon barrles, smoke, sweet caramel and roasted malts, a bit or earthy spice and a scintilla of dark cherries. It's a kick-back sipper made to excite the palate." Usually we only get a few cases for the state, and although it is still very limited this year, we were able to spread the Founders love much more than in previous years. Make a point to grab some to drink now and some to cellar for awhile. Get is soon, because it'll be gone before you know it.

He'Brew 13th Jewbilation...the Bar Mitzvah, is officially released. Yes, He'Brew has officially come of age with this beer. Brewed with 13 hops, 13 malts and weighing in at 13% abv, this monster is the ideal warmer as the days get shorter and colder. This year's Jewbilation is a masterpiece of balance although it's big & bold. As always, this beer is very limited.

From Lion Brewing Company comes two brand new beer lines to Indiana. Lions Head & Stegmaier beers from Pennsylvania have both made names for themselves as very solid beers for affordable prices. Several styles of both Stegmaier & Lions Head Beers are hitting the Indiana market now, so look out for these new beers and give them a try.

We have a ton of incredible Winter/Holiday Seasonal Beers & Special Releases in stock that should be out in your favorite craft beer locations soon. There's a bunch, so here's the list:

The Bruery 2 Turtle Doves--Brand new this year and limited!!
Clipper City Winter Storm
Founders Breakfast Stout
Great Divide Hibernation
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza
Stegmaier Holiday Warmer--Brand new this year!!
Mendocino Winter Imperial IPA
HeBrew 13th Jewbilation--13 Hops, 13 Malts, 13% ABV...Bar Mitzvah!!
Shipyard Prelude Ale
Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs of Xmas
Affligem Noel
Blaugies La Moneuse Winter--Very Limited
De Rank Pere Noel--Very Limited
Scaldis Noel--Very Limited
Scaldis Noel Premium--Very Limited
Scaldis Prestige de Nuits--EXTREMELY Limited--Prestige aged in Burgundy casks!!
Dupont Les Bons Voeux--Extremely Limited
Serafijn Xmas Angel--Limited
Slaapmutske Xmas Nightcap--Limited
Struise Tsjeese--Limited
Mikkeller To/From--Very Limited
Mikkeller From/To--Very Limited
Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper '08--Extremely Limited
Olfabrikken Jule Ale--Limited
Olfabrikken Jule Kloster Ale--Limited
Mahr's Xmas Bock--Limited

We also have some incredible Gift Packs in stock as well:

Corsendonk Gift Packs
Tripel Karmeliet Gift Packs
Kwak Gift Packs
Christoffel Gift Packs
Xmas in Belgium Gift Pack
Schnieder Gift Packs
Weihenstephaner Gift Packs

Congratulations to Jeff Eaton and the entire Barley Island family on their new place in Broad Ripple. In addition to featuring several wonderful Barley Island brews, the pub is also pouring Left Hand Milk Stout, Mad River John Barleycorn Barley Wine (GABF Gold Medal Winning Vintage), New Albanian Brew Co. Elector Imperial Red Ale & Two Brothers Cane & Ebel Hopped-up Red Rye Ale.

Other News

Indiana Public Radio’s 3^rd annual All Beers Considered beer & cheese tasting

Here are the basics:
November 22^nd, 2-5pm
Cornerstone Center for the Arts, (Downtown Muncie)
Admission is $17, $15 for IPR members
Reservations are due by Wednesday Nov 18

To rsvp, email iprmembers@bsu.edu or call 800.646.1812
All proceeds benefit Indiana Public Radio

Good Times at Barley Island Broad Ripple

2009-11-04T09:00:00.001-05:00

As anyone who frequents Broad Ripple knows, Barley Island has been working on the space at the corner of College and Broad Ripple Avenue for a little while now. Last evening we got a sneak preview of the space.

For those who've visited Barley Island's original location in Noblesville, the Broad Ripple space is a much more polished BI. A deep blue room with dark wood trim and paneling, a nicely laid out and long bar, BI bottle artwork displayed on canvases on the walls, and a brick fireplace in the middle of it all immediately make this one of Broad Ripple Avenue's more dressed up locations.

The menu consists of standard but well thought out pub fare - appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, and wraps, with enough vegetarian options to appease those who don't eat meat. The beer menu starts with Barley Island's regulars - Sheet Metal Blonde, Flat Top Wheat Ale, Blind Tiger Pale Ale, BarFly IPA, Dirty Helen Brown Ale, and Brass Knuckles Oatmeal Stout - but with potential for 24 total taps, you can be sure that more Indiana beer is coming.

The space will be non-smoking, and with five televisions laid out throughout the room, will make for a great place to catch a game. The bar area is nicely laid out, with a pint-holding wooden rail around the floor, perfect for those who chose to stand around and have a conversation.

We can't help but be excited by the possibilities, and what Barley Island can add to the Broad Ripple craft beer scene. "Hopefully, with Brugge and Broad Ripple Brewpub on one end, and Barley Island on this end, we can get some of the other bars on the street to put more of a focus on craft beer. Sure, a few of them have it already, but we'd really love to see more focus" said World Class Beverage's Matt Clapesattle.

We couldn't agree more - in a perfect world, Barley Island can serve as an anchor to a whole community of bars serving craft beer, with a vast array of different breweries and styles on tap. It has to start somewhere.

Barley Island Broad Ripple opens to the public at 11AM this Thursday, November 5th.

KOTBR #89 - Revenge of the Delayed Liveblogging - Halloween Edition

2009-10-31T21:12:00.011-04:00

Our first go-around with delayed liveblogging was an delayed overnight success - meaning we haven't yet experienced its success, but we're sure it's going to take off any overnight now.

But rather than rest on our yet-to-be-acquired laurels, we've decided to do it again. This time, we've thrown another complication into the works - this time, it's Halloween. So grab your wife, husband, children, pets, elderly, withered and poor, servant or free, gentile or Jew... grab them, lock the doors, sit around the fire, and prepare for a bone-chilling delayed liveblogging experience of spooktactular proportions.

The beer we're drinking tonight was acquired on our trip to Michigan. We didn't know much about Arbor Brewing Company when we started this roundtable, and I think you'll see that we didn't know much about them after it was over, either.

We were joined by long-time reader/KOTBR friend John, who has the misfortune of also being Rodney's coworker. Here we go.

Mike typing Arbor Brewing Company Strawberry Blonde

Rodney: This beer is $2.19, you got it from Siciliano's, and Arbor Brewing Company is from Ypsilanti, which is like a Viking city.
Jess: I don't get a lot of strawberry.
Gina: I smell some. I get the strawberry when you breathe out, like on the exhale.

Everyone stares at the screen to see if I'm actually liveblogging.

Rod: Alright, liveblogging.
John: I could drink a lot of this.
Rod: I could do a kegstand of this.
John: I rate all my beer in kegstands - like I could kegstand this for 30-40 seconds.
Rod: I get strawberries and banana in this. I get a kinda... a strawberry juice.
John: It's a fruity something.
Jess: I like that there's such a price difference between these beers. (The beers all have pricetags on their caps, which is just the way the liquor store does business.)
Rod: I get fresh strawberries, like real strawberries. Of all the strawberry beers I've had, this is the most accurate.
John: It's got some stuff floating in it.
Rod: It's probably bottle conditioned.

We're listening to Halloween sound effects, and the current sound is something like someone driving a spike into a ground. Someone decides that the sound is someone playing table tennis. Or badminton. With moon gravity.

A discussion of Rob Zombie movies happens. We're talking about Halloween and John says, "I don't really like those Michael Myers movies - I saw The Love Guru and it wasn't very good."

Rod: Are we mug rating Strawberry Blonde?

YES.

Jess: I give it 2.4.
Rod: I give it a 3.2 because I think that for a strawberry blonde it's an accurate beer. It's very accurate of the title.
Gina; I give it 3.6, I like it and I think it's really good.
Rod: I think if you like fruit beer...
Jess: See, I like fruit beer, but I got too much feet.
FEET?
I think the beer is a little watery, but it is what is is. 2.74
John: I'm similar to Gina, I'd give it a 3.5. I thought it was good, though I'm a fan of sweeter beers anyway.

Jess gets a fresh pour of the beer, and realizes her sample was somehow tainted.

Jess: Nevermind, give me a 3.2.
Rod: Yeah, give me a copy of Rodney.
John: I think this is better if you get the chunks.

Arbor Brewing Strawberry Blonde
Rodney: 3.2 mugs | Jess: 3.2 mugs | Gina: 3.6 mugs | Mike: 2.74 mugs | Guest Judge John: 3.5 mugs
KOTBR Score: 3.24 Mugs

Gina typing Arbor Brasserie Blonde Sparkling Ale

Rod: What's a sparkling ale anyway?
John: It is the Miller High Life of this beer.
Rod: This is chunky. Who's shaking these bottles.
Rod: It's fruity.
Jess: I get pineapple juice and then something weird in the flavor at the end of it.
Rod: Almost all I get out of this is pineapple juice. Maybe apple. It's not that sparkling.
John: Maybe it means how the chunks catch the light. It's almost got a kind of sour thing going on.
Jess: It's almost like when pineapple goes a little bad. Kind of fizzy.
Mike: That's going to be the next wave of craft beer, to see how bad you can make it. Like "Lost Abbey made their beer so wrong this year. They used like a turnip and some ants."
Rod: Maybe they can come up with something that would send ants crawling out of the bottle when it gets opened.
John: Like a rocket widget.
Rod: I like how we've abandoned talking about the beer.
Jess: Arbor Brewing started in 1987.
Mike: Tasting this with pumpkin seeds reminds me of how a public restroom air freshener smells.
Jess: I would say 2.4. Rancid pineapple juice gets a lower score.
John: It's hitting my love for sour beer.
Mike: Uh, It's wrong and I know it's wrong, but I'd drink it again. 3.
Gina: I give it 2.5 Mugs.
John: I give it 3, it reminds me of sour beers which I enjoy.
Rod: I give it 2.45. I might have ranked it higher if it advertised itself as some type of pineapple beer.

Arbor Brewing Brasserie Blonde Sparkling Ale
Mike: 3.00 Mugs | Jess: 2.4 Mugs | Rodney: 2.45 Mugs | Gina: 2.5 Mugs | John: 3.00 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.67 Mugs

Rodney typing Arbor Brewing Bliss Hefeweizen

Mike: That doesn't smell like a hefe to me.
Jess: I don't get bananas.
Mike: ..maybe a little bit.
John: It smells like a hefeweizen to me, more citrusy than bananay.
Jess: I get cloves.
Mike: When I think of Bliss I think of watery green beans. Which is what this tastes like.
Rod: I think it smells like bananas, tastes a bit like lemons and limes.
Jess: I thought you said womens.
Mike: It's like the most boring craft beer ever.
Rod: Man Mike, that's damning.
John: Whatever, he bought it.
Mike: I mean, what do you say about it?
John: It smelled like a wheat beer but then it didn't taste like much of anything.
Jess: I give this one a 2.2, Arbor brewing is not impressing me.
Mike: Yeah, it's not like it's bad it's just why bother?
Gina: Seeing that they are in Michigan, I wonder if we got old stuff?
John: Why can't they put born-on dates on these? Why couldn't you go to their brewpub and bring some back?
Mike: Mug score for that beer was 2.
John: Yeah me too.
Gina: Copiers.
Rod: Man when you type copiers you think of the machine. I'm going to give it a 2.6.

Arbor Brewing Bliss Hefeweizen
Jess: 2.2 Mugs | Mike: 2.00 Mugs | John: 2.00 Mugs | Gina: 2.00 Mugs | Rodney: 2.6 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.16 Mugs

Gina typing Arbor Brewing Co. Old Number 22 Alt Beer

*insert sound effects about crossing the bridge*
Mike: I feel this guy just stands there telling people not to cross the bridge.
John: It's like the guy on 38th street.
Mike: I know it's like you have your windows up so you can't hear him.
Rod: I think this glass is more than one ounce.
Mike: You just should worry about crossing the bridge.

*conversation about the battery dying on the laptop*

Mike: I think we need to figure out what number 22 is.
John: Maybe he was a baseball player.

*more discussion about the Halloween sound effects*

Mike: Uh, the beer. I get coffee.
Rod: I get a little bit of the rubbery flavor I get out of dark beers.
Mike: I get black coffee, like bitter coffee.

*insert discussion about eating cereal instead of crackers*

John: But, yeah, the rubbery taste. I'm getting it.
Rod: Coffee and some of the flavors I get out of a brown ale. Like an American brown ale.
Mike: It reminds me of that beer...
Rod: Dark Horse?
Mike: Yeah, like that beer Dark Horse does (Dark Horse Black Bier - the one with the donkey on the label). But not as good.
Gina: I don't really have anything to say about it.
John: Yeah, I don't have a lot to say, but I haven't had the Dark Horse beer.
Rod: Mike has skulls on his shoes, they are his Halloween shoes that he only wears once a year.
John: You could drink beer out of it (Mike's shoe) and then it would be really chunky.
Rod: If anything this beer should be commended for its lack of chunks.
Mike: If I'm going to drink a chunky beer then I want it to be a dark beer, kinda like chili.
Rod: I give it a 3, run of the mill.
Mike: I give it a 2.87.
Gina: 2.3
Jess: I give it a 2.0.
John: I'll go 2.5.

Arbor Brewing Company Old Number 22 Alt Beer
John: 2.5 Mugs | Rodney: 3.0 Mugs | Gina: 2.3 Mugs | Mike: 2.87 Mugs | Jess: 2.0 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.53 Mugs

Gina typing Arbor Brewing Company Red Snapper Amber Ale

Rod: I'm looking forward to these next two beers. I think they are going to be better.
John: It's got a hop smell, no?
Jess: It smells like yeast.
Mike: I think it's a little bit...Tootsie Rolls.
Rod: It tastes like a good homebrew Amber. It depends on you if you consider that an insult.
Mike: I think it has a pretty nice balance.
Jess: I think it's kinda homebrew-y.
Rod: I'm getting caramel, brown sugar.
John: Mike is making too many tasting sounds.
Mike: I'm just trying to get inspiration.
Rod: Man! In a bank! With a sack of gourds! Go!
John: I don't think this is improv, Rod.

John is following twitter on his phone while this is all happening.

John: I don't get this twitter..."What's your favorite sex position? The Bourne Ultimatum."

Rod: So mug scores. I'm going to go 3.2.
Jess: 2.8
Gina: 2.2
Mike: 3.13
John: 3

Arbor Brewing Company Red Snapper Amber Ale
Rod: 3.2 Mugs | Jess: 2.8 Mugs | Gina: 2.2 Mugs | Mike: 3.13 Mugs | John: 3.0 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.86 Mugs

Gina typing Arbor Brewing Co. Sacred Cow IPA

Rod: Sacred Cow is a good name, but not necessarily for an IPA.
Mike: When I think of IPA, I don't always think of India.
Group: OOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhh. India Pale Ale, IPA, Sacred Cow.
Rod: It's kinda creamy. Kind of an herbal hoppiness. Grapefruit juice.
Mike: It's kinda chewy.
Mike: So is that more IPA or Pale Ale? I think this is the best one we've had.
John: I'm not a hoppy person, but I like this.
Jess: I think it's more Pale Ale.

Mike: 3
Jess: 3.2
Rod: 3.1
John: 2.5 cause I'm not a hops fan.
Gina: 2.9

Arbor Brewing Company Sacred Cow IPA
Mike: 3.0 Mugs | Jess: 3.2 Mugs | Rodney: 3.1 Mugs | John: 2.5 Mugs | Gina: 2.9 Mugs
KOTBR Score: 2.94 Mugs

Greetings From Michigan, A Great Beer State: Stop #4 - Founder's Brewing Company

2009-10-30T18:28:00.009-04:00

This past week Gina and I took a couple days off to visit family in Michigan. Of course no vacation is ever complete without enjoying a beer or two, so we also visited a few of Michigan's finer craft beer establishments.

Our final stop on our one-day whirlwind Michigan beer tour found us in Grand Rapids, home of Founder's Brewing Company. After we deposited our bags in our hotel, we took a scenic one mile walk across the grand river and a found ourselves a seat at the Founders Tap Room.

The tap room is a huge, airy, space; A long barn-like building featuring an east side composed of windowed garage-type doors, which I'm sure are opened during good weather, expansive wooden floors, and what must be at least thirty tables. A pool table or two and a makeshift stage filled out the space. Of course I can't forget the bar - a gigantic curvy monster that took up most of the west wall. It was there we sat down for dinner, and a pint or three.

Founders Hand of Doom - A 10% Imperial IPA might not seem like the best way to easy yourself into a night of drinking, but keep in mind we had already visited Dark Horse, Arcadia, and Bells that day. Knowing that the car was safe back at the hotel meant that we had very little to worry about.

Hand of Doom is a super coconut IPA - at least that's what my notes say. Sweet, syrupy, thick and hoppy, with hints of coconut throughout - nose, front and finish. The creamy mouthfeel reminded me of something that it took me a little while to put my finger on. And then it hit me - Hand of Doom drinks like Apocalypse Cow. If there weren't so many other beers to try I certainly would have had another. And another.

I wonder if there was any lactose in there..

Founders Newago County Cherry - Imagine Cerise aged on oak. And there you are.

Founders Honey Wheat - 5.5% ABV, cloudy, with that regular gold wheat beer color. The nose is sweet and fruity, with an agreeable sweetness that goes through the whole beer. My notes say "Upland Wheat + heft in body + honey". Very tasty.

Founders Super Gold - Another 5.5% ABV beer, Gina's notes say "an easy to drink beer that tastes watery, and yet peppery". Super Gold is a pale lager, and was probably the least interesting beer of the night.

Founders Holé Molé - We split a 4oz a sample of this one, and actually we didn't finish it. This was by far the spiciest beer I've ever had. A stout with habenero pepper, it was pretty much like sipping on hot sauce. I appreciate the experimentation and the experience, but I can't imagine having a whole pint.

While this concludes this batch of Michigan coverage at HBG, it's worth noting that we left Founder's shortly after a band of hippies (one of which may have been Founders brewer Jeremy Kosmicki) took over the music stage (that's not really why we left - I love you, hippies!), and headed over to Grand Rapid's Hop Cat, where we had a fantastic experience. On our way over toward Detroit we stopped in at Jolly Pumpkin Ann Arbor, where we sampled a few beers that definitely stand out. In Warren we visited Kuhnhenn during their Octoberfest celebration, and rounded out the night with a stop at Dragonmead, where the extensive beer menu blew us away. We'd highly recommend all of these breweries and bars, and look forward to our next trip, where we'll dig in a little deeper.

Random Beer Roundup - The OOH Spooky Edition

2009-10-30T09:00:00.004-04:00

Heya. So how's everyone doing? Sorry I missed you last week. I had a funeral to attend. The good news was that even in small town Illinois, I was able to find Boulevard Wheat on tap and hang out with my brother and step-sister. I don't get to see them enough.

So Halloween is this weekend. Anybody dressing up? Doing something fun? Giving out good Halloween candy? I love the kids' expression in the neighborhood when they roll up and get a full size candy bar. And I can sit in my driveway and drink beer. How bad could that be?

Anyone going to check out the Pirates v. Ninjas bout over at Ellenberger Park? Stop by the ticket booth and say hi if you do!

If there is something coming up that is not listed, we would love to hear about it. News, reviews, info, etc., to share for our next Random Beer Roundup can be submitted to hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.)

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Friday, October 30th at Chef JJ's Backyard: Sun King/Hell Night Beer Dinner. More details below.

Friday, October 30th at the Crown Liquors in Carmel: A Goose Island Reserve tasting. More information here.

Friday, October 30th at Vine and Table in Carmel: Beer Tasting. More details below.

Saturday, October 31st at Oaken Barrel in Greenwood: Pumpkwan Tapping

Saturday, November 7th at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 1

Tuesday, November 10th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner (featuring HBG's very own Rod/Jess' beer (Harvest Mild) as brewed by Jerry and Rodney) - Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180 (menu below)

Thursday, November 12th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Blitzen Ale Winter-White Tapping - 6 pm to 6:30 pm

Thursday, November 12th at Chef JJ's Backyard: Sun King Harvest Brewer's Dinner - 6:30 pm (more below)

Saturday, November 14th at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 2

Saturday, November 21st at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 3

Coming soon: Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing, a publicly advertised yet still somehow secret no freeloaders BYO everything craft beer tailgate for any old folks who consider themselves a fan of sharing great beer and good food. There's only one way to get more details - Send an email to knights@hoosierbeergeek.com.

What's Brewing

From Clayton at Sun King Brewing:

10/30 - Hell Night at Back Yard. Spicy Hot Food Fresh off The Big Green Egg paired with Sun King Beers: Sunlight Cream Ale, Chile Cream Ale, Osiris Pale Ale and El Gallo Negro - Black IPA. This will be a great night of mouth melting food paired with beers to 3 beers to accentuate the spice and one to cool it down. $35 per person, reservations required. www.chefjjs.com for details and reservations.

11/12 - Harvest Brewer's Dinner, 6:30 p.m. at Chef JJ's Back Yard in Broadripple. Exclusive event featuring six Sun King beers. The beers will be paired with six small plate courses prepared special for the evening. The food will represent October’s harvest from local farmers around Indiana. Back Yard is the only place to experience this perfect night of farm to table food and fresh, locally hand-crafted beer. Check out www.chefjjs.com for details and reservations.

From Crown Brewing in Crown Point:

We are planning for the official start of the club to be on December 1st, 2009. The first official event will be held that Friday, December 4th, 2009. At the first event, the brewery will provide a keg of Bock (the only one left) for the members that Friday night. During the party, you will receive your membership card, club t-shirt and beer. Please have your applications submitted as soon as possible to make sure you receive your t-shirt that night!

Benefits of the Club:
1. A 22 oz. glass of beer for 1 penny more than a pint(16oz.) every time you are at the brewery. What a deal!!

2. Exclusive T-Shirt

3. Tapping Parties (be the first to try new beers!!)

4. Exclusive deals on the 22nd of every month.

5. More events to be determined.

From Andrew at Oaken Barrel:

Releasing this year' version of our 2009 Indiana Brewer's Cup Best in Show Pumpkin Ale on Saturday from 12 - 3, and it is fantastic.

From Greg at Lafayette Brewing Co in Lafayette:

LBC says, "HELLO INDIANAPOLIS!" Indy-area fans of LBC should have begun to see bottles of our Tippecanoe Common Ale and our Black Angus Oatmeal Stout on the shelves of Crown Liquors around town. We dropped off our first 40 case delivery to the Carmel store recently, so we'll available in short order, if not already. A big thanks goes out to Crown's beer buyer, Mike Sprinkle, for making this possible.

ON TAP @ LBC THIS WEEKEND: Ouiatenon Wit Bier, Prophet's Rock Pale Ale, East Side Bitter, Pipers' Pride Scottish Ale, Tippecanoe Common Ale, Eighty-Five, Black Angus Oatmeal Stout and Rejuvenator Blonde Doppelbock. We're also serving Weeping Hog IPA from our hand pull.

From Charles at Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington:

Upcoming beers: November 9th: Teddy Bear Kisses - A Russian Imperial Stout available only at the Upland Tap Room.

From Jerry at Rock Bottom Downtown:

Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner
Tuesday, November 10, from 6:30 pm to 9 pm

Come join us for our Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner. Jerry and Victor have once again put their artistic minds together and have created a delectable feast celebrating the autumn season. We will be offering four courses each paired with an accommodating beer.

The Menu Includes:

Sweet Potato Amaretto Crepes, Fall Harvest Soup, Stuffed Lamb Chops, and a Maple Pumpkin Cannoli.

Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180

Carry Out

From Patrick at Crown Liquors:

Crown Liquors is very excited to welcome some beers we've never received and others we are pleased to have. These beers include:

Lafayette Brewing Co. Black Angus Oatmeal Stout and Tippecanoe Common Ale in 6 pack bottles. We will be selling them for $9.99 6pk, 15%off for a case.

New Holland Charkoota Rye & Dragon's Milk 22 oz.
Mad Hatter in 6 pks.

Southern Tier
IPA in 6 pks.
Phin & Matt's Extrordinary Ale in 6 pks.
Pack of Pales in 12 pks.

Southern Tier High Gravity 22 oz.
Unearthly
Hoppe EPA
Iniquity
Creme Brulee Stout
Oat Stout

The Bruery Two Turtle Doves
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout & Hibernation Ale
Dubisson Scaldis Prestige de Nuits 750
Hebrew the new Jewbelation

From Matt at Vine and Table in Carmel:

Friday, October 30th, we will be having our "End of Oktober"-fest beer tasting. These will be all American Oktoberfests (Bell's Oktoberfest, Brooklyn Oktoberfest, Schlafly Oktoberfest, and Samuel Adam's Oktoberfest). These items will be discounted and available for sampling in our store. Also, if you buy two or more six-packs of any of the beers we are sampling, you will receive a free Weihenstephan tall pilsner glass.

On Tap

From Dustin at Spencer's Stadium Tavern:

On Draft:
OLD STYLE
Rogue Dead Guy
Sun King JAVA MAC
Harpoon IPA
Dirty Helen Brown Ale
Gum Ball Head
Sun King Pale Ale
Two Hearted

You can now follow us on Twitter. Find out the Drink Specials for the day, Lunch Specials, What band is playing this weekend.

Follow us here:
http://twitter.com/spencerstavern

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse:

Sam Adams Winter Lager is now available at Scotty's Brewhouse!

From Nick at Deano's Vino in Fountain Square:

I'm going to have some new beers from Sun King on draft this weekend: the Black IPA, Harvest Ale, and Cream Ale. Plus we are having a Halloween party on Saturday, w/ DJ's spinning from 9 to 2.

From Sam at BW3's (Downtown Indianapolis):

Things are still changing at Buffalo Wild Wings. Here is what is on now and what is coming soon:

Three Floyds Broodoo, Gumballhead, and Robert the Bruce

Bells Two Hearted and Expedition Stout

Dogfish Head 90 Minute and Punkin' Ale (Punkin will be in Friday afternoon)

Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA
Founders Reds Rye

Stone Arrogant Bastard

Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale

Barley Island Dirty Helen

Upland's Bad Elmer's Porter

Going away soon will be Bells Expedtion Stout, which will be replaced by Bells Double Cream Stout. Also, Three Floyds Dreadnaught will be replacing Broodoo when it runs out.

Distribution News

From Krystal at World Class Beverages:

Victory is doing a GREAT job with their marketing efforts, especially in their Youtube videos. Here is one I’d like to share from World Class Beverages, “(Re) Introducing Helios – a craft beer from Victory Brewing Company.” Victory - Helios

News around the Internets

The New York Times with a discussion of stout.

Greetings From Michigan, A Great Beer State: Stop #3 - Bell's Brewing Company

2009-10-28T21:30:00.008-04:00

No proper beer trip to Michigan would be complete without a stop at Bell's Eccentric Cafe. On our way in the door, I noticed that I had a message on my phone, and just as soon as we walked in the door, we were right back out on our way to the Bell's production facility (Thanks Bob and Marty!). Their facility is normally not open for public tours, so this was an extra special treat for us.

Driving up to the building, you get the sense that Mr. Bell is not fooling around. The building is a massive steel structure tucked between a couple buildings and a couple fields just a few miles out of town. This location works well for them because that means they have some more room to grow in the future. And that is a good thing for all of us.

We've got a lot of photos, so I'll mostly let them speak for themselves.

The control board in the photo, while functional, is not generally used in production. The brewer runs the operation from a computer room.

We don't know exactly what's in here, but we hear it might be sour! I for one am super excited about that prospect.

There are a lot of green updates to this location, including solar lights, motion detector lights, and a grass rooftop. The barrels on the left are supported by an overhead grid. This allows for easy access for the workers as well as the hoses and other brewing equipment.

This machine washes, sanitizes, and fills the kegs.

This shelf holds beer from previous batches they've brewed (no 9000 yet, we asked) so if they run into any issues, they can check it out. They take quality control seriously here!

The bottling line fills and packages Expedition Stout.

This was my favorite stop on the tour - the lab.

Bell's Eccentric Cafe is located about 5 miles from the brewery. It's a giant room with beautiful details in wood and brick. You can order beer at the bar and food at the small window to the right of the bar. Notice the 76 Ale sign hanging on the wall? It comes from the old Terre Haute Brewing Company.

Mike had the Rye Stout, which is something brand new to bottles. The flavor in front was a deep roasted malt with coffee flavors, also kind of like toasty bread. The rye comes through in the middle, and the beer finishes with a full coffee flavor again.

I had the Golden Funk, a 6.5% ABV Sour Ale. The board said it had peppercorn, galangal, and cardamom. I've never heard of galangal before, but wikipedia says it's a root that is used in some Asian dishes. The beer is floral and sour with a funky medicinal flavor. Mike said that the nose reminded him of ketchup flavored potato chips, but I mostly just got a lot of floral notes. It's very interesting and I hope this is just the beginning of their sour offerings.

Random Beer Roundup - Where's Gina Edition

2009-10-23T08:00:00.007-04:00

Gina is out of town right now, so you're stuck with me. Normally you'd get some sort of intro here - a story, a life lesson, something - but I'll just leave you with this: I may ride a bike to work, I might eat a decent amount of vegan foods, and I consider myself pretty open minded. But I hate hippies.

(Gina will be back next week, and as always - if there is something coming up that is not listed, we would love to hear about it. News, reviews, info, etc., to share for our next Random Beer Roundup can be submitted to hoosierbeergeek@gmail.com.)

Hoosier Beer Calendar
Events are subject to change

Saturday, October 24th from 1-6 p.m. at the Horizon Convention Center in Muncie: Muncie Brewfest (Full details below)

Saturday, October 24th at Spencer's Stadium Tavern: The Alzheimer's Association of Indiana and Spencer's 3rd Annual Halloween Party. Costume contest, Auction, 50/50, and more. All proceeds go Directly to the Alzheimer's Association. Live Music with Fair & Square.

Wednesday, October 28th at Zing: 5 Course Hoosier Beer Dinner featuring native Indiana food paired with Hoosier Craft Beers. $30/person. Reservations are limited. call 317-638-7775 for more information or to make reservations.

Thursday, October 29th at Keg Liquors, Clarksville: BBC Beer Tasting, 5 - 8 PM.

Friday, October 30th at Chef JJ's Backyard: Sun King/Hell Night Beer Dinner. More details below.

Friday, October 30th at the Crown Liquors in Carmel: A Goose Island Reserve tasting. More information here.

Saturday, November 7th at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 1

Monday, November 9th at Upland in Bloomington: Winter Warmer Release

Tuesday, November 10th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner (featuring HBG's very own Rod/Jess' beer as brewed by Jerry and Rodney) - Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180 (menu below)

Thursday, November 12th at Rock Bottom Downtown Indy: Blitzen Ale Winter-White Tapping - 6 pm to 6:30 pm

Saturday, November 14th at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 2

Saturday, November 21st at Payless Liquors at 96th & I-69: Beer MBA class 3

Coming soon: Hoosier Beer Geek's Tailgate for Nothing, a publicly advertised yet still somehow secret no freeloaders BYO everything craft beer tailgate for any old folks who consider themselves a fan of sharing great beer and good food. There's only one way to get more details - Send an email to knights@hoosierbeergeek.com.

First, this.

Muncie Brewfest Fans!

Here is the list of participating brewers and pubs. We'll have just a couple of minor changes, but they should all be additions.

Hope to see you on the 24th!

Brewers:
1. Founders
2. Stone
3. Three Sergeants
4. Magic Hat
5. Three Floyds
6. Brooklyn
7. Boulevard
8. BBC
9. Left Hand
10. Goose Island
11. Bells
12. Magic Hat
13. Schlafly
14. Sun King
15. Barley Island
16. Hoppin’ Frog
17. Dogfish Head
WC: Wyders, Harpoon, Dark Horse, Atwater, Abita, Southampton, Saranac, Oaken Barrel
MB: Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams, New Belgium
CAV: TBD

Pub Tables:
A. MadHatter
B. Savage’s
C. Scotties Brewhouse
D. Blue Bottle

As an aside, certain Muncie-ites are now calling Muncie "Indiana's Craft Beer Capital" based on the fact that they seem to be buying more Founders, Bells, and Three Floyd's in Muncie than anywhere else in the state. Fair enough, numbers are hard to argue with.

But we'd argue that to be "Indiana's Craft Beer Capital", Muncie might first work on having at least one craft beer brewery. All those numbers prove is that you're a bunch of drunks.

In any case, a little good natured ribbing is a good thing. We wish the folks behind the Muncie Brewfest the best of luck with their event.

What's Brewing

From Clayton at Sun King Brewing:

Hell Night at Back Yard. Spicy Hot Food Fresh off The Big Green Egg paired with Sun King Beers: Sunlight Cream Ale, Chile Cream Ale, Osiris Pale Ale and El Gallo Negro - Black IPA. This will be a great night of mouth melting food paired with beers to 3 beers to accentuate the spice and one to cool it down. $35 per person, reservations required. www.chefjjs.com for details and reservations

From Kwang at Oaken Barrel:

We are offering everyone's favorite appetizer, Elephant Garlic Bread every
Wednesday. It is served with Marinara and Cheese Sauce and it's available all day for only $6.95. Also, we pair the Garlic Bread with 23 Oz. beer of your choice for only $9.95. What a bargain!

From Jerry at Rock Bottom Downtown:

Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner
Tuesday, November 10, from 6:30 pm to 9 pm

Come join us for our Fall Harvest Brewer's Dinner. Jerry and Victor have once again put their artistic minds together and have created a delectable feast celebrating the autumn season. We will be offering four courses each paired with an accommodating beer.

The Menu Includes:

Sweet Potato Amaretto Crepes, Fall Harvest Soup, Stuffed Lamb Chops, and a Maple Pumpkin Cannoli.

Tickets are $35 per person. Call For reservations as space is limited - (317) 681-8180

Carry Out

From Todd at Keg Liquors:

New Products:
- Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
- Bells Rye Stout
- Bells Java Stout
- Bells Best Brown 6 packs and 5 liter cans
- Bells Double Cream Stout
- Avery New World Porter
- Three Floyds Broodoo
- Left Hand Warrior IPA
- Left Hand Milk Stout

Events:
October 29th - BBC Beer Tasting at Keg Liquors from 5 - 8 PM.
Join us as our friends from BBC Shelbyville Road stop in for the next in line of our "locals only" beer tastings. Brewers Jerry and Sam will be in with a great lineup of their beers, and an appearance by a Randall that we will use as a surprise infuser of one of their beers. Here is the lineup:

- Rye 75
- Professor Gesser's Mind Numbing Ale
- Luna de Miel Raspberry Mead
- Heine Brothers Coffee Stout

and a couple of surprise beers as well.

On Tap

From Dustin at Spencer's Stadium Tavern:

On Draft:
OLD STYLE
Rogue Dead Guy
Sun King JAVA MAC
Harpoon IPA
Dirty Helen Brown Ale
Gum Ball Head
Sun King Pale Ale
Two Hearted

You can now follow us on Twitter. Find out the Drink Specials for the day, Lunch Specials, What band is playing this weekend.

Follow us here:
http://twitter.com/spencerstavern

From Lauren at Scotty's Brewhouse:

Sun King is now available at Scotty's Brewhouse in Indy, Muncie and West Lafayette!

From Sam at BW3's (Downtown Indianapolis):

Things are looking good tap selection wise at the store.

Founders Reds Rye
Stone Arrogant Bastard
Bells Two Hearted
Bells Expedition Stout
Upland Bad Elmers Porter
Three Floyds Gumballhead
Three Floyds Robert the Bruce
Three Floyds Broodoo
Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale (just a little bit left)
Dogfish Head 90 Minute
New Belgium Fat Tire
Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA
Barley Island Dirty Helen

From Greg at Cavalier Distributing:

We have a ton of new and incredibly exciting beers & news:

Cavalier Distributing is extremely proud to announce that we are bringing New Albanian Brewing Company Beers north across the Hoosier state! To start with, NABC is releasing limited amounts of Elector Imperial Red, Beak's Best American Bitter & Bob's Old 15-B Porter in draft only. You will be able to find NABC Beer on draft in select bars across the state starting this weekend. We are officially launching NABC in Muncie this weekend at the Muncie Beer Fest, Fickle Peach & Heorot!!
www.newalbanian.com/index.html

Left Hand Warrior IPA

New this year for Warrior is that the fresh hops are picked right in Colorado – both in the western slopes and in Left Hand's hop farm at the brewery. Cascades, Chinooks and Centennials are the freshies. They bitter with Magnum and dry-hop with Warrior. The final ABV will be 6.6% ABV with IBU’s cutting at 60. In addition to the recipe changes the Warrior has a new label this year as well. Get this while you can, because supplies are even more limited than in previous years and are going fast!!

Breckenridge Lucky U IPA has finally arrived in Indiana after much speculation & anticipation. Lucky U is brewed with 7 different hop varietals creating a wonderful hop profile. In true Breck form, this beer has a strong malt backbone to balance it out, creating a very smooth, balanced beer. Lucky U is the perfect everyday IPA and a great complement to it's big brother, 471 Double IPA.

Two Brothers Heavy Handed Fresh Hop IPA features different hops in each batch. If you want to track the hop varietals in your bottle of Heavy Handed, look the lot number up at: http://www.twobrosbrew.com/

Make a point to grab some Heavy Handed and enjoy that fresh, resiny wet-hopped taste.

The Lion Brewery in Pennsylvania is making it's way to the Hoosier state with a couple lines of award-winning beers. The Brewery produces both Stegmaier & Lions Head Beers, and several styles are now available in the state. You will start seeing both Stegmaier & Lions Head Beers hitting stores and bars in the next couple of weeks. In addition to being great beer, all of the Lion Brewing Beers are offered at a great price. Make a point to try some soon.

The Midwest Muncie Breer Fest is this Saturday at the Horizon Convention Center in Downtown Muncie from 1 - 6pm. We will be launching NABC Elector Imperial Red at the event in addition to pouring several other phenomenal beers!!

Lastly..

HBG reader Josh found this while out in Fountain Square:

Anyone know anything?

Greetings From Michigan, A Great Beer State: Stop #2 - Arcadia Brewing Company

2009-10-22T20:18:00.010-04:00

This past week Gina and I took a couple days off to visit family in Michigan. Of course no vacation is ever complete without enjoying a beer or two, so we also visited a few of Michigan's finer craft beer establishments.

Our second stop along the way was a random detour - we knew that we were headed to Bells in Kalamazoo, and we also knew that we had a hotel reservation in Grand Rapids. The question then became "how much can we (responsibly) fit in before we get to Founders?"

The Michigan beer map showed on slight detour on the way west along Interstate 94 - Arcadia Brewing Company. Knowing very little about the brewery (apart from recognizing a few of their beers from somewhere along the way) added a little mystery to the detour.

If you want to get the attention of the staff at a brewpub, just pull out a camera. As soon as I did, I was met with a greeting of "no photography, please". I turned around and said "oh, OK" and was met with a smile and a "just kidding" from Arcadia brewer Kevin Becraft.

As I sauntered off to the restroom Gina struck up a conversation with Kevin. When we had walked in the bar I noticed a large group of Marines taking a tour of the brewery, which is located in a warehouse space just behind a bank of windows on the wall across from the bar and restaurant. When I returned to the bar I asked Kevin about the tour.

"You want to jump in?" he asked. We quickly jumped on the back of the tour group and learned about the process of brewing and bottling Arcadia's award winning English style beers. For example, Arcadia uses open fermentation in the brewing process (something we hadn't seen in practice before), and bottles on a bottling line produced in the 1950s.

Unfortunately we were on a schedule, so we couldn't spend more time with Kevin and his co-brewer Josh Davies. They were kind enough to answer some of our questions and also make some suggestions on where else to visit while in Michigan.

Brewers Kevin and Josh
And of course - we had a couple beers.

Arcadia Golden Harvest Ale - Recommended by Kevin. My first thought was "this reminds me of Broad Ripple Brewpub". This is a bold English pale, with a nice malt balance bringing up the back. The use of fresh hops is evident in the snappy hop bite in the finish. I wish we could have stayed for more.

Gina had Arcadia's ESB, but her notes are unclear - being on vacation meant that she was easily distracted.

Next up, a stop at Bells. And another stop at Bells. And a return to our original stop at Bells.

KOTBR #88: The Charlie Davies Roundtable

2009-10-22T14:30:00.004-04:00

As you may have noticed, several of the Knights of the Beer Roundtable at Hoosier Beer Geek are soccer fans. And even though the United States Men's National Team had their ticket to World Cup 2010 punched on October 10th with their defeat of Honduras, the US v. Costa Rica match last Wednesday seemed as good a reason as any to get together, open some beers, and watch the match, even though the results didn't impact the US much.

But then the day before the match, forward Charlie Davies was involved in a horrific car accident, making the match an emotional one for team members and fans. So in Charlie's honor, we dedicate Roundtable #88 to him and offer 9 word reviews in honor of USMNT's #9. Get well soon, Charlie.

Three Floyd's Black Sun
Jim - 3.565 mugs: Sweet floral nose. Dry metallic finish. A deceptive beer.
Mike - 3.75 mugs: Hoppy front. Light on tongue. Lingers bitter. Balance everywhere.
Rod - 3.6 mugs: Dry cocoa stout but why do I get strawberries?
Gina - 3.8 mugs: Malty, dark fruit, dry, hoppy, weird stout, usual 3Floyds.
Jason - 3.89 mugs: This complex hoppy stout has a touch of Unibroue.
KOTBR Score: 3.72 mugs

New Glarus Raspberry Tart
Jim - 5.0 mugs: Raspberry jello nose. Tart, luscious berry flavor. Simply perfect.
Mike - 5.0 mugs: Here's proof - sometimes a beer can't be any better.
Rod - 4.5 mugs: Fresh raspberry jam, lemon tartness, my favorite New Glarus.
Gina - 5.0 mugs: OMG, this makes me so happy. Love, love, love.
Jason - 3.69 mugs: Is this very berry really beer? Sweet enjoyable tartness.
KOTBR Score: 4.63 mugs

Rodenbach Flemish Sour Ale
Jim - 3.5 mugs: Smells like nail polish. Oaky sour flavor. Fairly decent.
Mike - 3.62 mugs: Sour middle, sour finish, but overall a little watery.
Rod - 3.7 mugs: Cranberry, cherry, apples, pears, and a lot of water.
Gina - 3.95 mugs: Sweet fruit nose, lightly tart taste. Grape, oak, raisins.
Jason - 3.29 mugs: Less of old, more of new, favorite sour yet.
KOTBR Score: 3.61 mugs

Fantome Pissenlit
Jim - 2.75 mugs: Dandelion saison. Rubbery smell and taste. Not my thing.
Mike - 3.45 mugs: I liked the dance this did on my tongue.
Rod - 3.7 mugs: Funky starchy sweet nose, tastes like dandelions and saison.
Gina - 3.3 mugs: Poo nose at first. Flavors are sweet, sour, natural.
Jason - 2.39 mugs: Like Burt Reynolds, smells like dandelions in sour piss.
KOTBR Score: 3.11 mugs