Just as it is said by my good beer buddy over at his old blog, I am killing off this site. The goal of this site was always to provide beer news et al with a focus on home brewing and the Indianapolis area. Turns out that puts some heavy restrictions on the kinds of things you can talk about. Which bring me to the new site!
Get your butt over to the new site DrinkingClass.org right now and check out the awesomeness and take heart in knowing that all the old posts from here now live over there.
And while I’m stealing titles from Jim here’s this :
Anyway, that website again is drinkingclass.org. Follow us there, follow us on teh Twitterz (@drinkyclass), and if you really want to keep up to date, Like our Facebook page where, if opportunities present themselves, we may offer contests and whatnot.
On a side note. I really have no idea what to do with this domain and am thinking I’ll point it to DrinkingClass.org. I’m keeping the BrewIndy identity for my posts over there and my tweets but if someone has an awesome idea they want to pitch to me for this domain then I am all ears!
I was running over to my favorite brewers supply store, Great Fermentations, this afternoon when I noticed something intriguing. There was a sign in the window a few doors down that read “Bier Brewery Now Open”. Awesome!
I stopped in and tried several of their beers including an Oatmeal Stout, Porter, Brown, and a Pale Ale. All of which were awesome but one stood out. The Oatmeal Stout! It is amazingly delicious. One word comes to mind… Smooth! The coffee, chocolate and roasted malt shines through. Basically every thing you would expect plus that extra bit of awesomeness that makes this oatmeal stout one of the best I’ve had. Not a full review on purpose but I will say it’s sweeter rather than dryer and not too bitter but certainly balanced. They’ve only got a few of these kegs and you owe it to yourself to go get some tomorrow or this weekend before they run out.
The folks there were equally awesome, even though I couldn’t talk them into a free shirt Ben and Darren answered all my questions and filled me in on how they expect to be out of the 7 beers on tap by the end of the weekend. However, they have a bunch of other styles lined up and ready to go on tap.
Bier Brewery is officially open Wednesday before Thanksgiving from 3 to 7 pm. Until then enjoy this picture of Darren and Ben as well as the growler of Oatmeal Stout that I scored!
Anyone that has followed Sam Calagione’s YouTube channel has been chomping at the bit for this show to come out. Those who haven’t, let me fill you in. Brew Masters is a TV show on Discovery Channel that stars and is narrated by Sam. The entire point is to follow him around as he researches new beer recipes and ingredients. The possibilities are endless and it’s really exciting for anyone even mildly interested in drinking beer.
The first episode, entitled “Bitches Brew”, follows Sam as he comes up with an idea for a beer of the same name to coincide with the 40th anniversary release of Miles Davis’ album of the same name. It follows, in a chronological time line, his meeting with Sony into pitching his ideas with his team, and finally making and packaging the beer. Did I mention the timeline involved in this episode? They want Bitches Brew ready and out to the public in about 9 weeks which puts a big strain on the team.
Half way into the show they break it up and give us a little perspective of what it’s like on the bottling line. I hope for their sake this isn’t what it’s like everyday because a piece from their line comes up missing and they have to inspect each bottle twice before deciding they need to quarantine off those cases of beer and continue bottling. To make matters worse the beer it is stuck in is a 90 Minute, arguably one of their best beers.
My favorite part of the episode is the little tidbits of information that Sam drops throughout the episode. He covered so many basic aspects of brewing that I can’t imagine there will be much more basic stuff to go over in the next episode. Which is exciting to see what knowledge bombs he’s going to drop on us in the coming episodes.
Bottom line: I’m extremely happy to see this show on television. I really hope it reaches out to some new people getting into brewing and I certainly see it providing entertainment for those that like to brew and drink beer. Maybe I can even refer my family to this show when they ask me why I like to brew my own beer. I’ll certainly be coming back to this. I can’t wait to see what Sam and Dogfish Head have in store for us!
As we move into the start of the regular season everyone here at BrewIndy.com would like to wish the Indianapolis Colts good luck and some good vibes. We know you guys will all do your best and we’re extremely proud to have you as a part of our city and a part of our lives. Here’s to another winning season! Go Colts!
The City Market at downtown Indy has had it’s fair share of trouble but I hope this news get’s new customers to there excited. It is situated across the street from the same place people go to court, register for a gun permit, and get a marriage license (or divorce), the Indy City Hall. I never understood why it was a place people would want to stay away from. Seriously though, I used to attend IUPUI and spent many of my lunches there hanging out and eating some good food. There are all sorts of people there peddling their wares, giving haircuts, and selling fresh grown produce. Heck, one year I even bought my wife localy made chocolates for Christmas there. I can remember being in middle school and we took a field trip there. I guess you could say the City Market holds a special place in my heart.
So I’m excited to hear that the City Market bar has gotten a liquor license. Currently they are going with the name Tomlinson Tap Room which yet again reminds me of school due to a teacher of the same name. However, it get’s it’s name from Tomlinson Hall, the city’s first real convention center which stood at the City Market site. It burned down about 50 years ago in 1958. The goal of this bar is to appeal to those of us that like to spend $5 on an awesome glass of beer and as such they have teamed up with the Brewers of Indiana Guild. They have members that control some 32 breweries in the state and the tap room hopes to feature beers from around 15 of the central Indiana ones. More proof that it is an exciting time for craft beer in Indiana!
Now for the bad news. Due to construction and projects they aren’t expected to open until sometime in 2011. Currently their hours are going to be Wednesday through Friday noon to 8 p.m. and noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays. However, I’m sure if business starts booming and the tap room is full past that time they’ll adjust their schedules.
Although colder doesn’t always equal better in the world of craft and micro brews you’ve got to admit this is still pretty ingenious. You’d think this thing would be super simple to make right? But you’d be wrong. Apparently this guy tried several different variations before he figured out the trick was to use bottles filled with sand and freeze the tray in layers. Anyhow, enough jibber jabber. Read his instructions here via cockeyed.com and check out the pictures and the video below.
This Emperial IPA from Stone is so called because they travled all the way to England to get the scoop on what it really means to be an IPA. As such you’ll notice a completely different hop character than what you are used to with an American IPA. They also use malt from England that came to them in giant ton bags. But don’t take my word for it, let them tell you themselves…
Enough fancy schmancy embedded video. Let’s get on with the review.
A: This beer is definitely not clear. It’s a muddy orangish color with a nice white head on it that stayed throughout. Nice lacing comes with it.
S: There are hops present but not nearly what you’d think you’d smell with an IPA that is 100 IBU’s. Actually it’s absolutely not at all what you would expect from this beer. If anything I pick up a little malty sweetness over a hint of earthy hops. It’s quite pleasant.
T: Up front there is an awesome malty goodness to this beer that lingers to the point of asking yourself if there are any hops at all. Then it hits you. A bit of dryness starts to creep in and you can taste the hops. Your mouth gets more and more bitter until you find yourself taking another drink. All I can say is this is amazing. I spent some time in England and although I had some really tasty beers over there I don’t remember having one as good as hits. I welcome any of you Brits to send me an IPA you think can beat this one out The more I hold on to this beer the less I get of the malt and the bitter hops shine through. This one feels very complex if not for any other reason but that I’m just not used to the hops in here. You owe it to yourself to pick this one up, it won’t last long.
If you’re looking for something to do this Saturday from 4 to 10 pm then look no farther than Easly Winery’s Taste of Downtown featuring wine tasting, live music, and a classic car show!
Mad Anthony is a brewery out of our very own Fort Wayne Indiana. One can only assume that Mad Anthony got their name from the General the town of Fort Wayne is named after, Anthony Wayne. Their IPA caught my attention recently when I wanted some awesome hops but didn’t want to go to my normal Alpha King or Two Hearted. Since this was several bucks cheaper I decided I had a winner.
It wasn’t until later on that night I realized I really had a winner. From the minute I smelled the sweet stickiness of this beer and the citrus hops that complement it’s golden color I knew for sure this beer would be awesome. I’m not sure how Mad Anthony has escaped me for the past few years considering they’ve been around since 1999. Perhaps they just started bottling. I’m glad it’s here now though.
The taste you’re going to get on this is something of a hop blast to the back of the throat. Hop lovers will like Mad Anthony’s IPA but even some of you Hop Heads will be broken by this beast. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. Still, if you can get your hands on this, and you should be able to, you should give it a try. I found mine at my local “we sell a few microbrews but don’t get any special stuff in week-to-week” liquor store.
Great Fermentations is my personal favorite store for getting beer and wine making supplies. They’ve recently mailed me some of their newest, uhm, newsletters!
They have several classes coming up including a Beginning Brewing class. From their website:
Learn the basics of brewing with extract and specialty grains in this live demonstration. We’ll show you the tips and tricks to make your brewing easier and more successful. This is your chance to learn from our mistakes! Class meets one time for about 1.5 hours. Reservations are required two days before the class. Class fee is $15 or attend with a friend and pay $10 each.
This would be a great class for anyone interested in brewing their own beer to get involved with. Look for it on April 21st and May 12. Only one of those dates is needed.
They also have an All-Grain Brewing class for those of you who are more advanced. Again, from their website:
We’ll show you the tips and tricks to make the transition from extract to all-grain easier and more successful. This is your chance to learn from our mistakes! Class meets one time for a minimum of 2 hours. Reservations are required two days before the class. Class fee is $25.
You can look for that one on April 25th. Expect it to fill up fast so go to their site now and get signed up!
Ben and Darren answered all my questions and filled me in on how they expect to be out of the 7 beers on tap by the end of the weekend. However, they have a bunch of other styles lined up and ready to go on tap.
