Indy Beer News – Holiday Beer Edition 2.0

Indy Beer News has recently released an encore Holiday Edition podcast showcasing several Indiana breweries. This year’s podcast took place at the Monarch Beverage facility (compliments of Bob Mack), and included Mark Cady of Bloomington Brewing Company, Fred Hillenbrand of Tin Man Brewing, Eilise Lane of Scarlet Lane BrewingAmy Haneline of the Indianapolis StarBenjamin Sutton of Indiana Brew Haus, and homebrewers Jenn Myers and Erik Howell of Beer Is My Passion. The lineup was a great selection of beers including: Tin Man Damascene Apricot Sour Ale, Broad Ripple Brewpub Wee Alec, Taxman Holiday Tax, Bloomington Brewing Company Persimmon Ale, 18th St. Hunter Cherry, Tin Man Cafe Leche Milk and Coffee Porter, Scarlet Lane Marley’s Ghost, Tin Man Csar Russian Imperial Stout, Mashcraft Ancho Annie, Bloomington Brewing Krampus Imperial Black IPA, and Southern Tier 2XMAS. This podcast will teach you how to predict the future with persimmons, utilize hippies in the brewing process, how to evade demon goat people, and that there are some really passionate people working in the Indy beer scene. Here’s the podcast:

Indybeernews.com_iTuneshttp://traffic.libsyn.com/indybeernews/holiday-season-beer-14.mp3

Anchorage Brewing Tasting at Sahm’s Place

Anchorage Beer Dinner at SahmsThis looks like an awesome tasting, although a little pricey. Anchorage has become one of my favorite breweries as of late. They make fantastic sours (one of my favorites was The Tide and It’s Takers) All the beers are rated exceptionally well on BeerAdvocate.com, and I’m sure the food will be outstanding as well. If you you can shell out $80 per ticket this would be a no brainer! Make sure to reserve quickly however, as I’m sure there are limited seats. You can reach Sahm’s Place at 317.202.1577 for a reservation.

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Indy Beer Talks – Opening a Craft Brewery :: Indy Beer News

IndyBeerNews_logoIf you’ve been homebrewing for a while, it’s likely that opening a brewery has been on the back of your brain. Unfortunately for most, this dream may probably feel unattainable. Don’t lose hope just yet 🙂 Indy Beer News is hosting a free event focusing on the logistics of opening up a craft brewery. Brewers Andrew Castner of MashCraft (currently under construction on Indy’s South side) and Ray Kamstra of Indiana City Brewing (which will be celebrating their 1 year anniversary in May of 2014) will be speaking along with Matt Stoops of Financial Center Federal Credit Union who has worked with helping craft breweries get financed. The panel speaks for an hour with a brief Q and A session at the end of the discussion. The event takes place on Tuesday April 8th at 7:30pm at the Tomlinson Tap Room.  My advice to you is to:

  • Show up early
  • Grab a beer (or two) at the bar
  • Find a seat early, as this event may fill up quickly
  • Bring a pen and paper
  • Relax, and absorb knowledge!

You can register for the event by clicking the link below.

Eventbrite Register Button

Indianapolis Welcomes Tow Yard Brewing

TowyardBrewingTow Yard Brewing opens it’s doors for the first time this weekend for their soft launch! Located near my favorite Colts tailgating spot, the brewery is housed in the old Chateau Thomas Winery Building at at 501 S. Madison Ave. Here’s a slideshow I created from their image posts on Twitter. Make sure and drop by to try their Emerald Circle IPA, Goldie Hops American Style Golden Ale, Hook Up Shandler, and Horse Power Double Pale Ale.

Indy Beer News – March 19th, 2014

IndyBeerNews_logoTime to catch up on some Indy Beer News podcasts! This week’s episode includes information on a 3 Floyds tap takeover happening at Broad Ripple Tavern at noon today featuring Live a Rich Life (a personal favorite of mine), Sun King releasing two packs of Lonesome Dove (Batch 777 Touched by and Angel), and a Barrel Age Replicale Tapping at Tomlinson Tap! Indy Beer News also had a chance to sit down with Sun King’s Clay Robinson for a 45 minute talk on Indy Beer Legislation, Distilleries, and craft beer’s entry into the State Fair for the first time since 1947.

Indy Beer News – March 19th, 2014

Indy Beer New 2014 Legislation Episode

New Albanian Gravity Head – Bullet Train To Blackout Town

Gravity Head 2014 - Promo

 

I love this brewery! Gravity Head 2014 kicked off this morning with an extra special breakfast. These guys don’t mess around. For the next month, New Albanian Brewing will be showcasing some of the best/unique high gravity beers available. If you haven’t been to this event before it is a blast. They basically horde kegs of delicious high gravity brews and then let the taps flow until every drop is gone. This year they have organized several brewery specific events, including today’s Schlafly “Style Unto Itself” collection of kegs. Click here for the full list of brews and events. Once all the kegs are dry, Session Head begins! As you can imagine, these beers are super strong. Please be responsible and have transportation for the event planned out. That said, these guys are innovators, and I’m really looking forward to visiting their event. Cheers!

 

ACB Films Presents Winterfest 2014

I’m sure many of you remember the 80+ breweries at this year’s Winterfest. You may remember the pretzel necklaces, the firkins, or the random bursts of cheering. What you may have forgotten was that there were video cameras seeded throughout the venue.Here is the epic video created by ACB Films, which documents all of your uninhibited shenanigans. The funny thing is I remember most of these people when we were pouring. Well documented! You can follow their YouTube channel here.

Winterfest Highlights!

Winterfest 2014 - Eric MeyerWhen’s the last time you remember holding your glass in the air and cheering with 5,000 other beer enthusiasts? Believe it or not, this post took me almost a week to create. There were so many people that worked their tail off to make Winterfest 2014 a success. A very special “Thank you” to the breweries that participated, the Brewers of Indiana Guild, Hoosier Beer Geek, and the 100+ volunteers that made this happen. The planning and execution of this beer festival were top notch. We had an awesome time pouring at Winterfest, and we also wanted to thank everyone that dropped by to say hello and sample our offerings.That said, this year’s Winterfest was HUGE. We loved the extra space that Champion Hall provided, however it was soon consumed by the 5,000 beer loving ticket holders. This was by far the largest beer tasting I’ve ever been to. Note to self: VIP tickets at Indiana beer tastings are becoming more and more validated 🙂 Eric Meyer has a fantastic photo album documenting the debauchery.  Either way, I wanted to take some time to share some of my favorite picks from this past weekend. Here it goes:

Upland+Logo_New+Horizontal+copyNL The Upland Sour Barrel Spin Game
Upland used a Twitter password to allow entry into this Wheel of Fortune! The wheel included Raspberry, Cherry, and Kiwi Lambic, and also the much coveted Sour Reserve 4.
Zwanzigz BrewingZwanzigZ Brewing Eisbock
This beer was fantastic! This style of beer is created by freezing bock beer and removing the ice. This method concentrates the flavor and abv. Great work and thanks for sharing!
Country Boy BrewingCountry Boy Brewing Chestnut Brown Ale
We were lucky enough to pour right next door to Country Boy Brewing. This beer really stood out for me. Very easy drinking and flavorful brown!
New Albanian BrewingNew Albanian Phoenix Kentucky Komon Ale
This beer was great! Kentucky Common beer has the unique history of being America’s first sour! Lactobacillus is used to create a twang sourness that complements the malt profile of this beer. New Albanian pulled this one of brilliantly.
Planetary Brewing Logo Planetary Fly Casual Brown Ale
This was my first Planetary beer, and I was pretty impressed. I’m a sucker for Brown Ales. I’m sure I’ll be enjoying more Planetary beers in the not so distant future.
Three-Floyds-Big-LogoThree Floyd’s War Mullet
I’m not sure how long this keg lasted, but my guess is it went quickly. War Mullet is, at the moment, a very rare Imperial IPA created by FFF.
Flat 12 Bierworks LogoReposado Du Flat Saison/Farmhouse Aged 6 months in Extra Anejo tequila barrels.
The evil geniuses at Flat 12 created a saison that they aged in anejo tequila barrels. Everyone was talking about it the first couple of hours at Winterfest. I did not get a chance to try it, but I thought it was worth a mention as it seemed very popular.
Power House BrewingPower House Barrel Aged Diesel Oil Stout
Diesel Oil Stout is a fantastic beer. Seeing a barrel aged version at Winterfest was a great comfort 🙂
Rhinegeist BreweryRhinegeist Uncle English Dark Mild
We’ve been drinking a lot of English Mild beer lately and this one stood out. Smooth, great malt profile, and highly sessionable.
bier breweryBier Brewery 1.21 Gigawatts Belgian Strong and Hator Dopplebock
Both these beers were served at Bier’s 3rd Anniversary Party this past year. I was glad to see they still had some left for Winterfest. Cheers if you had the opportunity to try these rare beers!
MONK_logoMONK Wookie Tears English Brown Ale
These guys were great neighbors to us, and you can bet I made sure to sample each one of their beers. Wookie Tears English Brown was one of those great beers!
Bloomington Hop JockeysBloomington Hop Jockeys Sour Collection
There is no doubt that the Hop Jockeys have skill when it comes to brewing, but sampling their sour beer has become something to look forward to at these events. Thanks for sharing Luke!

Winterfest 2014 Full Brewery List

WF14_logo-color-2y-322-31518th Street Brewery
450 North Brewing Company
Against The Grain Brewery
Alltech’s Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company
Arcadia Ales
Back Road Brewery
Bare Hands Brewery
Barley Island Brewing Company
Bell’s Brewery Inc.
Bier Brewery
Big Dawg Brewhaus
Black Acre Brewing Company
Black Swan Brewpub
Bloomington Brewing Company
Broad Ripple Brew Pub
Brugge Brasserie
Bulldog Brewing Company
Carson’s Brewery
Chapman’s Brewing Company
Country Boy Brewing Co.
Crown Brewing
Cutters Brewing Company
Danny Boy Beer Works
Daredevil Brewing Company
Dark Horse Brewery
DESTIHL Brewery
Evil Czech Brewery
Falls City Brewing Co.
Figure Eight Brewing
Finch’s Beer Company
Flat 12 Bierwerks
Fountain Square Brewery
Goose Island Beer Company
Great Crescent Brewery
Half Moon Restaurant & Brewery
Hawcreek Brewing Company
Iechyd Da Brewing Company
Indiana City Brewing Company
Lafayette Brewing Co
Lakefront Brewery Inc.
Mad Anthony Brewing Company Inc
New Albanian Brewing Company
New Day Craft Mead & Cider
New Holland Brewing Company
Norris English Pub llc
O’Fallon Brewery
Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
Oskar Blues
Outliers Brewing Company
People’s Brewing Company
Planetary Brewing Company
Power House Brewing Company
Quaff ON! Brewing Company
RAM Restaurant & Brewery
Revolution Brewing
Rhinegeist Brewery
Rivertown Brewing Company
Rock Bottom–College Park
Salt Creek Brewery
Schlafly Beer
Shoreline Brewery
Summit Brewing Company
Sun King Brewing Company
The Bluegrass Brewing Company
The Rivertown Brewing Company
Thr3e Wise Men
Three Floyds Brewing Company
Three Pints Brewing
Tin Man Brewing Company
Triton Brewing Company
Turoni’s Main Street Brewery
Tyranena Brewing Company
Union Brewing Company
Upland Brewing Company
Urban Chestnut Brewing Company
Virtue Cider
ZwanzigZ Brewing…

And of course, Beer Is My Passion will be there as well from 3-5. Cheers!

BIMP Pouring At Winterfest 2014!

Winterfest TicketsBeer Is My Passion will be participating at this year’s Brewers of Indiana Guild Winterfest (now officially sold out) at the Indiana State Fair on February 1st! What will we be doing you ask? Pouring delicious homebrew of course 🙂 We will be sharing the stage with MONK, The Ohio Valley Homebrewers Association, and The Bloomington Hop Jockeys. Expect great beer from your favorite local/national breweries, but make it a point to drop by and say hi  to your brewers next door! This year we’ll be sharing a Belgian Witbier with tangerine zest, chamomile flowers, and coriander; an English IPA (Sleepy Sailor if you’ve seen our recipe on our blog); a mulled cider (served hot for you firkin lovers wanting to warm up from the cold); and a jalapeno cider we got some cred from in the Indy Star this year. Stay tuned, as I’ll be updating my blog with a full list of brewers attending Winterfest sometime tomorrow.