• Germany looks to US to broaden beer market.

    The Germans are coming, the Germans are coming!!!!

    With the raising European economic crisis German brewers are looking for methods to increase revenue streams. But German beer has long held it’s traditions or brewing:

    “One of the advantages of Bavarian beer is that it’s so old. It’s clean and natural,”

    However, Germans are now drinking less beer:

    Germans drank 122 liters of beer per person in 2002; in 2010 it was down to 107. Overall beer production sank from 10.8 billion liters in 2002 to 9.6 billion last year, according to the German Brewers’ Federation.

    But maybe the Germans are just tired of the same old thing:

    In America, “there is more beer diversity on the shelf than you will find in Munich or Prague or various other classic brewing centers,” said Julie Johnson, contributing editor at All About Beer magazine. “I don’t know if the German brewer is open to the kind of thing that we’re open to.”

    I hope Germany can find a way to hold onto its long help traditions while broadening the selection of beer.

    Source: The Washington Post

  • Good Beer Festival this Weekend

    The Good Beer Festival is this weekend in Salisbury, MD.  It should prove to be a great time with almost 30 craft breweries represented (see below for list).  Indy Beers will be enjoying the event on Saturday.  I can’t wait to sample all the beer that is going to be available.  We may have to break the article of the event into 2 parts of there is a lot of material to cover, but we’ll see.  If you’re looking to hook up with us, or would like to be featured in our event review, please tweet us @IndyBeers.  Hope to see you there!!!!

    16 Mile Brewery

    16 Mile Beer

    413 S. Bedford St.
    Georgetown, DE 19947-1849
    302-253-8816
    www.16milebrewery.com

    Blue Moon Brewing Co.

    Blue Moon Beer

    311 10th St.
    Golden, Colorado 80401
    800-642-6116
    www.bluemoonbrewingcompany.com

    Burley Oak

    Burley oak Beer

    10016 Old Ocean City Blvd.
    Berlin, MD 21811
    410-513-4647
    www.burleyoak.com

    Clipper City Brewing Co.

    Clipper City Beer

    4615 Hollins Ferry Road, Suite B
    Baltimore, MD 21227-4624
    410-247-7822
    www.hsbeer.com

    Crispin

    Crispin Cider

    405 Central Avenue SE
    Minneapolis, MN 55414
    612-331-3699
    www.crispincider.com

    Dogfish Head Beer

    Dogfish Head Beer

    320 Rehoboth Avenue
    Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
    302-226-2739
    www..dogfish.com

    Eastern Shore Brewing

    Eastern Shore Brewing Beer

    605 South Talbot St.
    St. Michaels, MD 21663
    410-745-8010
    www.easternshorebrewing.com

    Evolution Brewing Company

    Evolution Beer

    501 N. Bi-State Blvd.
    Delmar, DE 19940
    www.evolutioncraftbrewing.com

    Flying Dog Brewery

    Flying Dog Beer

    4607 Wedgewood Blvd
    Frederick, MD 21703-7120
    301-694-7899
    www.flyingdogales.com

    Fordham Brewing Company

    Fordham Beer

    1284 McD Drive
    Dover, DE 19901
    302-678-4810
    www.fordhambrewing.com

    Goose Island Beer Company

    Goose Island Beer

    1800 N. Clybourn Ave
    Chicago, IL 60614
    312-915-0071
    www.gooseisland.com

    Kona Brewing Company

    Kona Beer

    5300 Crain Hwy.
    Upper Malboro, MD 20772-3120
    301-627-1900

    Lagunitas Brewing Co.

    Lagunitas Beer

    1280 North Mcdowell Blvd.
    Petaluma, CA 94954
    707-769-4495
    www.lagunitas.com

    Leinenkugel Brewing Co.

    Leinenkugel Beer

    1515 N. 10th St.
    Milwaukee, WI 53205-2157
    414-931-6799
    www.leinie.com

    Magic Hat Brewing Co.

    Magic Hat Beer

    5 Bartlett Bay Road
    South Burlington, VT 05403-7727
    802-658-2739
    www.magichat.net

    Nectar

    Nectar Beer

    1400 Ramada Drive
    Paso Robles, CA 93446
    805-238-2556
    www.nectarales.com

    New Belgium Brewing Company

    New Belgium Beer

    500 Linden Street
    Fort Collins, CO
    970-221-0524
    www.newbelgium.com

    Old Dominion brewing Co.

    Old Dominion Beer

    1284 McD Drive
    Dover, DE 19901
    302-678-4810
    www.olddominion.com

    Ommegang Brewery

    Brewery Ommegang Beer

    656 County Hwy. 33
    Cooperstown, NY 13326
    607-544-1800
    www.ommegang.com

    Oskar Blues Brewery

    Oskar Blues Beer

    1800 Pike Road #B
    Longmont, CO 80501-6794
    303-776-1914
    www.oskarblues.com

    Samuel Adams Brewery

    Samueal Adams Beer

    30 Germania St.
    Boston, MA 02130-2315
    410-247-7822
    www.samadams.com

    Sierra Nevada

    Sierra Nevada Beer

    1075 East 20th St.
    Chico CA 95928
    530-893-3520
    www.sierranevada.com

    Sixpoint Craft Ales

    Sixpoint Craft Ales

    40 Van Dyke St.
    Brooklyn, NY 11231
    917-696-0438
    www.sixpoint.com

    Southern Tier Brewing

    Southern Tier Beer

    2072 Stoneman Circle
    Lakewood, NY 14750
    716-763-5479
    www.southerntierbrewing.com

    Stone Brewing

    Stone Brewing Beer

    1999 Citracado Parkway
    Escondido, CA 92029
    760-471-4999
    www.stonebrew.com

    Yards Brewing

    Yards Brewing Beer

    901 N. Delaware Ave.
    Philadelphia, PA 19123
    215-634-2600
    www.yardsbrewing.com

  • Miller may be bought by Anheuser-Busch

     

    Not that it is a big surprise to see consolidation in any market, but this one is very interesting.  #1 and #2 looking to combine forces.  This can’t be good for beer.  As if our choices weren’t limited enough, they are about to get more limited as Anheuser-Busch flexes it muscle to grab an even larger market share with a purchase of Miller.  It’s time like this that I like to encourage those around me to drink good craft beers by independent breweries.  We’ll have to see how this pans out, but I can’t imagine it will be anything but bad news for the little guy.

    “Analysts downplayed the speculation, saying such a deal would be contrary to recent guidance by AB InBev management.  The Budweiser brewer is “the right size” and is focused on so- called organic growth, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito said in an interview with Dutch newspaper De Tijd in July”

    Source: Bloomberg

  • Steve Jobs Inspired Us All

     

    Steve Jobs inspired us all.  It’s hard to look at the past 30 years of technological advancements and not see the influence he has had on world culture.  From helping bringing mass computing to the American education system, to showing average individuals how to point and click, and of course to bringing the “i” to everything we know today, Steve has been a pioneer, leading us to where no one else could.

    I was young, maybe 10, maybe 6th grade.  I was growing up in a household of computing (VAX 1300 BAUD dialup, compliments of Westinghouse), but Apple, they changed everything.  Those who went to school in the US in the early 1980’s are hard pressed not to remember the Apple IIe.  It seemed overnight the Apple IIe became ubiquitous with everyday computing.  Sure there were other systems available, and certainly those that made more headway into the American home (hello Commodore 64), but Apple touched the youth of the day in the place they called home on a daily basis, school.

    “Microsoft, IBM, HP who are they?”, might ask anyone going to school in the United States at that time, but Apple, we knew the name…we knew the logo.  And that was just the start.  Once Apple had seeped into the common consciousness during the infancy of the technology age, it was going to be hard to shake loose the early held ideologies.

    I remember the day my father brought home the Macintosh.  It had this thing attached to it with a button.  You moved it around and the pointer on the screen moved.  I was 13(ish) and I had just used a mouse for the first time.  The whole computer was self contained (which was odd at the time) with a roughly 9 inch monochrome screen (not fact checking, just going from memory).  I remember my father shortly thereafter buying a 20MB HDD that sat underneath at the same width and depth and about 2 inches high.  He said something like, “Who is ever going to need 20MB of HDD space?”

    Of course, that was well before the advent of MP3s.

    Today we think nothing of carrying all our music with us wherever we go.  While there were plenty of MP3 players on the market before any iPods, like those that Creative made (thanks for the interface), it was the simplicity of use and elegance in design that brought the iPods to the forefront of popular culture.  This was one of, if not the first, must have tech gadgets ever for the adult market.  Apple had been floundering for several years, and it was this inspiration from Steve Jobs that brought forth the Apple you know today.

    From the humble beginnings of the iPod came everything with the “i” moniker.  iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad, and all the third party products that followed.  Apple paved the way for selling digital music and video thanks to the “i” line of products.  Without the path Apple paved under Steve’s leadership, I doubt we would find ourselves in the media rich environment we do today.

    Tonight I raise a glass to a man who inspired us all to think in a manner that would have otherwise been unconventional and to dream of a tomorrow that will hold the key to a better technological future.

    –Scott

  • Review – Blue Point Brewing Company Toasted Lager

    Today Chris and I are reviewing Blue Point Brewing Company‘s Toasted Lager.  Like last time we are doubling up by doing the review while working on the website. In our ongoing review series we’ll be covering the following 5 items:

    • Appearance
    • Aroma
    • Mouthfeel
    • Flavor
    • Aftertaste

    Here is a quick guide for the beginner http://indybeers.com/beer-tasting-guide/.

    About Blue Point Brewing Company:

    Based out of Patchogue, NY they brew about 30,000 barrels annually, having just passed the 10 year mark in brewing.  They are happy to offer free tours and beer samples at the brewery, so if you find yourself in the middle of Long Island, NY, check them out.

    Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/BluePointBrewer

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BluePointBrewery

    Appearance

    Scott:  This time around I gave Chris the beer with the light head, and poured mine with more of a heavy hand.  While this caused for a good bit of head at first, it was almost gone about 2 minutes later.  The color is a nice copper tone, as you would expect from a lager.

    Chris: While this is only our second review this is not Scott’s second beer. He may get better at pouring beers with practice, but come on. Really, again? Enough messing around, this beer golden with hints of browns and yellows. The head on mine was thin with small light bubbles. It doesn’t strafe from your typical lager.

    Aroma

    Scott: The isn’t much of a nose on this one, but what you do get is full of malt.

    Chris: As I mentioned in the Stone Review, I’m recovering from a head cold. I’m at the tail end but my sense of smell is still really lacking. The aroma is weak and barely leans towards the sweetish side.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Wow, mouthfeel, can’t find it as I’m lost in flavor.  After a few more sips I’m getting a full head of bubbles that seem to explode as soon as they touch your tongue, but quickly dissipate.

    Chris: I’m still not sure how this is a category yet. Feels like beer.

    Flavor

    Scott:  With the bubbles gone I’m left with a nice classic lager flavor, if not slightly light.

    Chris:  This beer has a light flavor which is slightly sweet. Even though I mention its sweetness I can’t stress enough the that its flavor is light.

    Aftertaste

    Scott:  I definitely get the “toasted” part of this beer.  With the bubbles and initial flavor gone I’m left with a short lingering reminder of something that was cooked over an open fire.  Very pleasant.

    Chris: Like the flavor, the aftertaste is pleasant, light and somewhat short lasting.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott:  I’ll give this one a 3.5/5.  Not big on flavor, but there’s more than enough to go around.  It does, however, seem to be going down very easy.  At 5.5% these could sneak up on your quickly.  Fun stuff for sure.

    Chris: This is one of those beers that while I find difficult to describe it has unwritten qualities. It’s not overpowering in any aspect which makes it an easy beer to drink without thought. It has a nice flavor and aroma but neither bully you around the bar. I’m fairly certain that my fiance would love this which, for me is a plus. Score it a 3.5/5.

     

  • 2011 Fell’s Point Fun Festival

    On a cold and wet day Kelli and I headed to Fell’s Point for the 45th annual Fell’s Point Fun Festival.  The festival took place Saturday and Sunday Oct 1 & 2 from 11am-7pm, with us arriving on Sunday around 2pm.  While the street vendor section of the festival was partially crowded, the 98rock/Budweiser Beer Garden was nearly empty.  There were a total of 6 beer booths, with 3 of them shut down and not even serving beer.  The beer that was available was limited to Anheuser-Busch InBev brands.  There was Bud Light, Budweiser, Stella Artois, and Dominion Hop Mountain Pale Ale.

    I was curious how a craft beer like Dominion Hop Mountain Pale Ale of Old Dominion made it onto the taps of the Bud Light truck, so when I got home I did some quick research.  It turns out that Anheuser-Busch owns a stake in the company.  From the wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Dominion_Brewing_Company the following is stated:

    “Anheuser-Busch’s purchase stake gave them no control of either of the two breweries, nor any input or influence on brewery recipes, nor oversight of any day-to-day management — AB’s interest solely resides in the distribution side of the two breweries’ business using AB-favored distributors, entirely focused on competing with SABMillerCoors “craft brand” Blue Moon.”

    So there you have it, another ruse from big beer to make you think you’re getting an independent product when in fact you putting more money in their coffers.  Of course, with no other options (no outside beer allowed and all beer had to be purchased in the Beer Garden), I went with the Hop Mountain Pale Ale.  It was a heavy attempt an an IPA that I otherwise wouldn’t bother with outside of no other options.  I won’t do a full review, but I will give the beer a 3.5/5 stars.  It’s an OK craft beer, but tasted like the flavor was injected into the beer.

    To accompany the beer there was plenty of live music.  We arrived just in time to see The Niki Barr Band.  She did her best to entertain the 50 or so people in the Beer Garden.  It was tough, however, as the beer vendors were on the opposite side of the parking lot from the stage, and most seemed intent on staying closer to the beer than the stage.

    In between bands I found an odd sight of no lines for the spot-a-pots.  I think the cold and rain really spoiled the day and kept many of the festival goers away.

    Next up on stage was Can’t Hang.  They managed to get most of the crowd to come to the stage, and celebrated at the end by bringing as many people as they could on stage.

    After seeing The Niki Barr Band and Can’t Hang we left the Beer Garden to see the rest of the Festival.  There weren’t too many people left, or maybe there never were too many people to begin with, but there were plenty of vendors selling their goods.  We ended our Festival experience with a few orders of mussels from Bertha’s Mussels.

     

     

  • Review – Stone IPA

    Today Chris and I are reviewing Stone Brewing Co.’s India Pale Ale.  We’re doing some work on the site and figured we’d double dip with a review of a great beer.  In our ongoing review series we’ll be covering the following 5 items:

    • Appearance
    • Aroma
    • Mouthfeel
    • Flavor
    • Aftertaste

    Here is a quick guide for the beginner http://indybeers.com/beer-tasting-guide/.

    (Note written after my review) – For the record, I have finished my review and I’m waiting on Chris to do his.  He is on is second beer, but won’t come up for air on coding the site.  I may have to take drastic measures soon.

    About Stone Brewing Company:

    Based out of Scondido, CA they brewed about 115,000 barrels in 2010.  Stone has been brewing beers for about 15 years.  They are happy to offer tours, but they tend to get busy so make sure to call ahead if you plan to visit the brewery.

    Twitter: http://twitter.com/StoneBrewingCo

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StoneBrewingCo

    Appearance

    Scott: A nice classic golden beer with a slight tilt towards dark.  When I poured Chris’ beer I did it too fast and he got a nice size head.  For mine I poured more slowly and got a very easy to manage head on the beer.

    Chris: A cloudy, amber colored beer with a fair amount of head. I wasn’t opposed to how Scott poured the beer. While drinking the first beer I noticed the inside of the glass was coated with head based residue.

    Aroma

    Scott: You can definitely smell the hops, but it’s not overpowering like some beers.  There is almost a slight citrus smell at the end.

    Chris: I have a cold right now so my sniffer is on the fritz. The hops are there but don’t seem too strong.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Small bubbles, with a lingering feel on the left and right side of the tongue.  The the beer has a slightly heavy feel, like a light syrup thinness.  Overall, very pleasing palate.

    Chris: Seriously? This is category. It’s beer.

    Flavor

    Scott: Ah, the meat of the matter.  A very good IPA, although not my favorite.  The flavor is full, but not too heavy.  These will go down easy, but not too quick.  At 6.9% that is probably a good thing.

    Chris: Let me preface this section by saying that I’m not a huge fan of IPAs. I find most of them too hoppy with a strong tangy taste, almost bitter. All that said, Stone has done a pretty decent job by not knocking me off the stool. Something in my gut tells me, I really should review this when I don’t have a cold.

    Aftertaste

    Scott: There is an enjoyable hoppy aftertaste that seems to be lingering longer the more I drink.  Very pleasant, and makes me want to drink more.

    Chris: For an IPA it seems decent. I have a feeling my cold is masking the hoppiness.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott:  I would give this beer a 5/5 overall.  Out here on the East Coast it showed up as $10.99 for a 6 pack, so not an everyday beer, but one that should be enjoyed if you are given the opportunity.

    Chris: Score it 3.5/5 for me. My head is pretty loopy right now and not from this 6.9 ABV IPA. Based  on this experience, I would probably try it again.

  • 6th Annual Dogfish Head Dash 5K/10K

    The 6th Annual Dogfish Head Dash races started at 8am sharp with 1810 registered runners.  We arrived early to make sure we got good parking, which didn’t seem to be as big of an issue this year.  I finished the 10K in 58:09, while Kelli finished ahead of me in 56:18.  The post race party started at 9am to allow for many of the 10k runners to return.  There were lots of beers on tap, including the 60 minute IPA and the Punkin.  I heard a rumor that there were 90 kegs to cover the 1810 runners plus other paid guests.

    There were games to play, like the keg relay, but this year I didn’t see those events (I most have been too busy drinking my beer).  There was, however, live music provided by Reedo and the Front Porch Offering.  They are a band local to the DelMarVa Peninsula.  Intermittently between songs various awards and announcements were made, including the fact that the race raised $33,500 for the Delaware chapter of The Nature Conservancy — more than $100,000 to date from all the years of the Dogfish Head Dash.

    There was also a costume contest for the runner with the best use of recycled material as a costume.  The winner of that contest was won by a women who dressed in trash (pictured below) she had picked up from the side of the road.  Well done in the spirit of the race!!!!

    Tours of the brewery were overflowing with people all day as runners came and went from the brewery store.  Several items for sale in the store sold out, including a women’s running shirt that Kelli had her eyes on.  I was tempted to get a few things myself, but the line was long, and I needed another beer.

    Speaking of the beer, this is the one spot in the post race ceremonies that could use a little work.  This year, as in years past, the lines have been really long for the one beer truck on hand.  I know they don’t want people drinking too much, so maybe it’s a built in throttle, but it would be nice to have at least two beer trucks, if not three.  This way I could spend more time enjoying the event, rather than waiting in line.

    The overall winner of the men’s 5K was Greg Cauller of Wilmington, DE with a time of 17:29.

    The overall winner of the women’s 5K was  Elizabeth Butterly of  Milford, DE with a time of 20:25.

    The overall winner of the men’s 10K was Matt Flynn of Media, PA with a time of 34:28.

    The overall winner of the women’s 10K was Lisa Jalot of Wilmington, DE with a time of 42:54.

    Registration for the 2012 Dogfish Head dash will take place in April of 2012.

     

  • Crab Soup Contest at Ellicott Mills Brewing Company

    The crab soup contest at EMBC was once again a huge success this year. This year’s event was in an effort to raise money for the flood victims on Main Street in Historic Ellicott City, MD. Overall there were 9 entrants that were mostly either a standard Maryland crab soup or a cream of crab soup.  The Judges were given samples to taste in a predetermined order and then graded the soups on such items as appearance and taste.

    For the spectators, there was a raffle with proceeds going to the flood victims.  When the contest was done, everyone at the bar was allowed to sample as much as they wanted of the remaining soup.  I made sure to get a sample of all that was available while enjoying some of the great beers the brew on premises.  Kelli Habicht (top row, second from left in group shot) won the overall contest and the Guitar signed by the members of the band Drive By Truckers.  The big prize for the raffle was a box of beer and wine.

     

  • Mecca found.

    image

    Enjoying the 75 minute IPA available only at Dogfish restaurant.

    Edit: Switched to the Punkin…HEAVEN!