Hop Farming in SW Ohio?

Cool Kickstarter for the SW Ohio brewing community. Osborn Brewing is a homebrew supply store in Monroe. Brent Osborn is teaming up with a local farmer to produce locally grown hops. They are hoping to have funding in place now and have hops available as soon as 2014.

Lots of great folks involved in this project. Really cool options at the upper end of the donation scale, such as working with Jeff Fortney (who brewed for local breweries Rivertown and the now-defunct Wooden Shoe), Jeffrey McElfresh of the newly opened Yellow Springs Brewery, or Gordon Strong, who holds just about every award possible for homebrew judging and literally wrote the style guidelines.

1,952 Craft Breweries in the US (and counting)

Thanks to Jay Brookstone for this interesting bit of news. Apparently we are tipping near the 2000 brewery mark in the US (and this can't possibly count the three new breweries planning to open in the Greater Miami Valley this year).

Cool piece of artwork illustrates this fact:

Posters are available at Printfactry.com, where you can also zoom in on the image to see your favorite brew.

Yuengling in Ohio

My latest Dayton City Paper article ran today, covering the Yuengling in Ohio phenomenon. I'll be honest, when my editor and I first discussed the piece, I was dreading it. I was headed to Three Floyds and FOBAB that weekend and thought, jeez, if we should be excited about any beer coming to Ohio, it should be Three Floyds--monster craft brewer that tops most trades and best lists, not Yuengling, a pale lager with a cult following.

But in covering the story, I grew to appreciate the beer. Not everyone loves the Three Floyds giants, but most folks can get behind Yuengling. It's not the most complex beer in the world, but I don't think it's trying to be. It's price-point takes aim at the Budmillercoors of the world, not of the craft brew set (it's about a $5-6 sixer). More than anything, it's likely to act as a gateway beer, turning folks onto flavor who would normally drink pale yellow macrobrews.

And there are some really cool stories associated with the beer. The brewery's history is interesting, given how far back it dates (seriously, Andrew Jackson was president and several of the midwestern states weren't even part of the union yet!). But what got it for me was how much people who drank Yuengling had a connection with the beer. I wish I could have printed everything that Matt, Benjamin, and Sarah had to say about the beer. It's true that it was like coming home for them.

And that I do understand. In college, at Ohio U, The Union always served Schlitz at insanely low prices. I think bottles were under a buck ($.90?), and we were poor, so we drank a lot of Schlitz. I have a lot of fond memories associated with that brand, even though I know it doesn't stack up to Three Floyds, etc. I'll tend to chose a craft beer almost every time, but if an old college friend showed up with a case of Schlitz, I'd be perfectly happy to help him or her work through it.

Send Beer

Beer2buds is an awesome concept too long in the making. The site lets you buy beers for your friends, even when you are 200+ miles away. Here's how it works:

1) Add your friend's contact info and some money via PayPal.
2) You friend gets an email or text with a redemption code.
3) Your friend goes to the website, picks a bar, and gets a voucher (print of via iPhone) to take to their local bar.
4) The bartender at the local pub redeems the voucher for a beer or cash.

I posted a link to the site, you know, in case anyone wanted to try it out by buying me a cold one.

Note: So apparently it isn't working here in Dayton yet, but there's a spot where you can suggest bars to add to the program. Feel free to send some notes to our local better beer bars.

Prepping for brew day

Stopped by BrewTensils this morning to prep for my DCP homebrew feature and to pick up ingredients for tomorrow's brew session. Good talk with Darren Link, BrewTensil's manager, about the community aspect of brewing, and with Mike Schwartz, Belmont/BrewTensils owner about upcoming events. Also met several all-grain brewers at the Belmont brewout. Good group.

Trying a few new things tomorrow. Going for an all-grain RyePA. We'll see how gummy malted rye really is. I picked up some rice hulls--hopefully that will help. This will only be my second IPA, despite over a decade of brewing (the first was a Victory HopDevil clone and my first partial grain).

At Jim Witmer's advice, I also picked up 5.2 mash stabilizer--buffering salts so that I don't have to muck with pH levels. Heard that I'll see better efficiency rates. That's great, but I'm happy just to not have to worry about the pH level.

Finally, trying dry yeast for the first time since my first brew. Built up a starter using Goya Malta - the hop and malt based soda. We'll see how it goes. More notes tomorrow.

Great Lakes Brewing News Beer Maps

While I was exploring the Brewing News calendar site, I also stumbled upon the regional beer maps. There's a map of all the brewpubs/breweries, broken down by state. I've seen and used the Michigan version put out by the Michigan Brewers Guild, but didn't realize that there were similar maps for other states. Adding this link to the resources section of the page, also.

Technorati Tags:beer maps, Brewing News, Great Lakes Brewing News, beer, craft beer, brewing, homebrew

Brewing News Regional Calendars

I'm dismayed that I didn't discover the calendar feature of Brewing News earlier. I read the Great Lakes email updates regularly, so I generally have a good sense of the key beer events in the area, but didn't realize that Brewing News also aggregated the events into an online calendar. I've added the link to the resources section of this page. The link takes you to the Great Lakes region, but be sure to check out the other regional calendars, which are accessible at the same location.

Technorati Tags:Brewing News, Great Lakes Brewing News, events calendar, beer, craft beer, brewing, homebrew

GABF Winners from MI, IL, IN, and OH

Congrats to the medal winners at the Great American Beer Festival. Of the four states that are the focus of this blog, Michigan led the pack with 9 medal, Illinois came in second with 7 medals, Indiana in third with 3, and Ohio with a paltry single medal. Ohio, you gotta step up your game!

REGIONAL MEDAL WINNERS BY CATEGORY

Category 7 Specialty Beer, 21 Entries
Bronze: Drunken Angel, Rock Bottom Brewery - Chicago, Chicago, IL

Category 10 Session Beer, 27 Entries
Bronze: Bam Biere, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, MI

Category 12 Experimental Beer, 32 Entries
Silver: Bloody Beer, Shorts Brewing Co., Bellaire, MI

Category 15 American-Belgo-Style Ale, 51 Entries
Silver : The Crow and The Sparrow, Rock Bottom Brewery - Chicago, IL

Category 16 American-Style Sour Ale, 32 Entries
Bronze: Diamond Kings ‘09, Brugge Brasserie, Indianapolis, IN

Category 17 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer, 33 Entries
Silver: Red Woody, Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL

Category 18 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer, 110 Entries
Gold: Cereal Killer Barleywine, Arcadia Brewing Co., Battle Creek, MI

Category 22 Smoked Beer, 43 Entries
Silver: Up In Smoke, Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon, North Olmsted, OH

Category 25 Bohemian Style Pilsener, 39 Entries
Bronze: Bell’s Lager Beer, Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Galesburg, MI

Category 37 Bock, 40 Entries
Bronze: Fornicator, Piece Brewery, Chicago, IL

Category 44 English-Style India Pale Ale, 40 Entries
Silver: IPA, Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL

Category 57 American Style Brown Ale, 43 Entries
Gold: Dirty Helen Brown Ale, Barley Island Brewing Co., Noblesville, IN

Category 59 German-Style Sour Ale, 13 Entries
Bronze: Bad Kitty, Brugge Brasserie, Indianapolis, IN

Category 60 South German Style Hefeweizen, 66 Entries
Gold: Top Heavy Hefeweizen, Piece Brewery, Chicago, IL

Category 63 French- and Belgian Style Saison, 56 Entries
Bronze: Saison Du Bastone, Bastone Brewery, Royal Oak, MI

Category 64 Belgian and French-Style Ale, 41 Entries
Silver: Demolition, Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL

Category 65 Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale, 29 Entries
Silver: Red Rock, Big Rock Chop House & Brewery, Birmingham, MI

Category 69 Robust Porter, 57 Entries
Bronze: Pirate’s Porter, Sullivan’s Black Forest Brew Haus & Grill,
Frankenmuth, MI

Category 73 Sweet Stout, 27 Entries
Silver: Cream Stout, Redwood Brewing Co., Flint, MI

Category 77 Old Ale or Strong Ale, 29 Entries
Bronze: 4th Dementia Old Ale, Kuhnhenn Brewing Co., Warren, MI

Technorati Tags: Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Great American Beer Festival, GABF, GABF winners, GABF medals, beer, craft beer, brewing, homebrew

Events: Ohio Fall Craft Beer Calendar

Five local events for beer aficionados in the Dayton/Cincinnati area:

September 19 -- Beer Judge Certification Program Training Class
Held at Belmont Party Supply. For more info, contact Bat Bateman at batman@erinet.com or 845-0572.

September 19-20 -- Zinzinnati Oktoberfest
What better way to celebrate Oktoberfest than to head to Ohio's largest Oktoberfest? Modeled after the festival in Munich in a Midwestern city known for its German heritage. For the rationale for why Oktoberfest is in September, check out this write-up I did a couple of years ago.

September 26-27 -- Dayton Art Institute Oktoberfest and Homebrew Competition
A week later, head 50 miles north to Dayton's largest Oktoberfest. Benefit the Art Institute and is always a good time. This year, they've added a homebrew contest.

October 24 -- Miami Valley Beer Fest
Miami Valley Beer Fest is a non-profit, charitable, craft beer event to benefit the Resident Home Association (RHA). RHA is working in conjunction with Belmont Party Supply, a leader in the Dayton craft beer scene for 25 years, to bring you an educational and safe day of fun, food, and most importantly craft beer.

Miami Valley Beer Fest will be held indoors at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in the Roundhouse from 2pm - 6pm on October 24th, 2009. There will be a limited amount of tickets available at participating bars and restaurants, as well as Belmont Party Supply. (from the MV Beer Fest website)

November 7-14 -- Arrogant Bastard National Competition Week
Help prove that Boston's Bistro & Pub is the most arrogant pub in the world. Boston's has held the title for the last two years and is trying for three-peat. Dave's looking to move as much Arrogant Bastard as possible, so look for some insane deals that week.

Technorati Tags:beer, brewing, craft beer, homebrew, Oktoberfest, Zinzinnati, Dayton Art Institute, DAI, Beer Judge Certification Program, BJCP, Belmont Party Supply, Arrogant Bastard, Boston's Bistro & Pub, Miami Valley Beer Fest

Beer and Baseball

A Wall Street Journal article right up my alley, combining beer and baseball. The article compares beer prices at stadiums to the record of the teams. Kind of a weak comparison, since it doesn't take into account cost of living or, more importantly, the kind of beer served. Still, worth a read for the dig on the Nationals (ignoring the comment about Fenway because all Sox fans know it is more about the experience of being on that historic park).

Technorati Tags: baseball, Wall Street Journal, Red Sox, Nationals, stadium beer prices, beer, craft beer, brewing, homebrew

Canned Beer Festival

Received the update below from JustBeerNews.com. Before we get into the meat of the update, a few noteworthy items:

- The Canned Beer Fest is being put on by Buckbean Brewing, out of Reno, NV. The have two beers they market: Original Orange Blossom Ale and Black Noddy Lager. Their marketing team offered samples to bloggers a while back, so I got to try both. The Orange Blossom Ale was a little too sweet, in a teenage bubblegum way, but I really liked the Black Noddy. Marks for a refreshing Black Lager, which most American brewers don't tackle, and for putting it in a can.

- NONE of the beers in this festival are available in Ohio. I haven't seen any canned craft beers out here and I don't understand why not. Have you seen Ohio? If the Midwest doesn't scream canned beer, what does?

- Be sure to check out JustBeerNews.com, a clearinghouse for beer-related events and press releases. I get too many of them to publish them here, although I will republish ones that I find interesting from time to time.

Reno, NV (August 2009)—Buckbean Brewing Company, Nevada’s largest production microbrewery, will bring to Reno this October the first ever CANFEST – Reno International Canned Beer Festival, the first international beer judging and tasting for canned beer, to take place at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Oct. 23, 2009.

Buckbean, a company that packages their beers in environmentally-friendly 16 ounce aluminum cans, hopes to shed light on the various breweries across the US that distribute their brews in cans and crush the many myths regarding beer in cans. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Nature Conservancy and the Great Basin Bird Observatory.

The competition will commence and finish in the Grand Sierra Theater October 23, from 6:30 p.m. -10:30 p.m. Judging will take place prior to the public tasting. Celebrities from the beer world will judge the beers individually, based on categories still to be decided. Beer seminars, beer and food pairings and a forum of brewers that can beer are planned.

Along with Buckbean Brewing Company, Big Sky Brewing Company, Oskar Blues, Ukiah Brewing Company, Maui Brewing Company, Surly Brewing Company, New Belgium Brewing Company, Uncommon Brewers, and Rochester Mills Brewing Company are a few that have confirmed they will attend the event.

Ticket prices are $35 per person and room packages will be available for attendees. For more information, please contact Constance Aguilar from Abbi Public Relations at constance@abbipr.com or by calling 775.323.2977.

Technorati Tags: beer, canned beer, beer in a can, homebrew, JustBeerNews.com, Buckbean Brewing

Resurrection of KevBrews

A day before the two-year anniversary of my last post, I have decided to resume posting. During the hiatus, I landed a new job and my wife and I had our third child (and first daughter). But I haven't given up my love of beer, just lost the time to write about it. Now that things are settling in, it's time to start writing again.

Some quick notes of local or personal interest:

- The 11th annual Dayton Alefest took place in Carillon Park last weekend. I have attended for the last 6 years (since we moved back to Ohio) and this was BY FAR the best weather--dry, sunny, and in the mid-70s. Attendance continues to grow each year. This year there were more draft beers than I recall in the past, most which were conveniently clustered in one area. Some whispers about Cavalier's lack of participation, which meant no Dogfish Head (no Randall) or Stone. That was disappointing, but I still imbibed a lot of interesting beers including Bell's Third Coast Old Ale and Goose Island Night Stalker, both on tap.

- Speaking of Bell's, the family and I took our annual summer vacation to western Michigan, this time to Ludington. We stopped at Bell's Eccentric Cafe for lunch, where I tried their Wild One, a delicious sour ale. Most of the family turned up their noses at it, but I thought it was incredibly third quenching and paired well with my burger.

- While in Ludington, we hit Jamesport Brewing. I was disappointed that they were out of their IPA, but thier dry stout made up for it. And, the burger was one of the best I've had in a long, long time. The group consensus was the beer was B+ good, but the food was a solid A.

- Finally had a chance to brew again (it had been nearly as long ago that I brewed as when I last posted). I was shooting for a twist on a British bitter. A session beer (only 3.6% ABV), but using late addition Centennial hops rather than a traditional British hop. The brew was an experiment to see if I could brew outside, with the boys (age 5 and 3) and keep them entertained while still producing a solid brew. Call it Daddy multi-tasking. I put it into the keg today and was impressed thus far. Will let it carbonate naturally, they chill and serve next week.

- Joined the Passport club at The Pub last night. Only 52 beers left to try before I get $4 pints for life. Last night, the cask was BrewDog Paradox Smokehead, with a really nice Scotch peatiness. Body was a bit thin, but the smokiness made up for it.

That's all for today. I'm shooting for updates at least weekly, although I have a backlog of items to notes this month.

Technorati Tags: AleFest, Bell's, Eccentric Cafe, Wild One, Third Coast Ale, Goose Island, Night Stalker, Cavalier, Ludington, Jamesport Brewing, The Pub, Passport club, BrewDog, Paradox, Smokehead, brewing, homebrewing, beer

Notes: West Coast Beer Trade

Readers of Hedonist Beer Jive may have noted that I successfully negotiated my second beer swap--this time with Jay in San Fran (my first beer swap was with Ben and Matt over at SevenPack.net). Several weeks ago, Jay posted a plea for Midwest beers. I was happy to oblige, especially because there were several West Coast ales I was hankering for.

I sent Jay an assorted of Three Floyd's, Bell's, Founders, Great Lakes, and a Dogfish Head (not exactly Midwest, but I guess he can't get DFH out there). In return, I got a gift bag of the beers in the pic below:

Firestone Walker "10"

Lost Coast Indica India Pale Ale

Lost Coast Great White

Deschutes Black Butte Porter

Deschutes Inversion IPA

Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA

Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (barleywine)

I'm very excited about all of these beers--especially the "10." FW once shipped to Ohio--long enough for me to develop a taste for their brews (I'm partial to their porter), but they stopped distributing right around the time "10" was announced. I was crestfallen. Not so anymore.

Look for reviews of the above beers to follow, although the "10" and the Doggie Claws may take some time (the DC might take a long time--all reports on BeerAdvocate note that it takes a while to reach its prime). And don't forget to check out Jay's blog to see his impressions of the Midwest favorites.

Technorati Tags: beer, brewing, craft beer, beer trade, Hedonist Beer Jive, Three Floyd's, Dreadnaught, Alpha King, Bell's, HopSlam, Porter, Founders, Red's Rye, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Blackout Stout, Dogfish Head, Au Courant, Firestone Walker, "10", Lost Coast, Indica Pale Ale, Great White, Deschutes, Black Butte Porter, Inversion IPA, Bear Republic, Racer 5 IPA, Hair of the Dog, Doggie Claws, midwest beers, great lakes, California, west coast

Notes: Pub joke

In preparation for St. Paddy's Day, here is one of my favorite pub jokes:

One Saturday, an Irishman walks into a pub in New York, orders three pints of Guinness, and takes a seat at a booth in the back. He sips from one beer, then another, and another, until all three are gone. The barkeep watches but says nothing.

The next Saturday, the same Irishman comes into the bar, orders three pints, and starts sipping away at the beers. This time, the barkeep feels compelled to say something.

"You know, the beers would taste better if you ordered and drank them one at a time."

The Irishman looks at the barkeep, then back at the beers, and starts to explain:

"It looks odd, but it's a family tradition. See, I live here in New York, my brother lives in Sydney, and my other brother lives in London. Every Saturday, we each go to a pub and have a beer for each other. It helps us keep in touch."

Satisfied with the explanation, the barkeep goes back to the bar. And each Saturday, for weeks and months on end, the Irishman heads to the pub, where there are three pints waiting for him.

One Saturday about six months later, the Irishman comes into the pub, but instead of taking the three pints, he explains that he'll only be needing two pints that day.

"Sorry to hear about your brother," the barkeep says.

"Huh? Oh, my brother," the Irishman explains. "No, they're both fine. See, I've just quit drinking."

Technorati Tags: beer, brewing, pub culture, humor, St. Patrick's Day, St. Paddy's Day, Guinness

Notes: Beer Blogging Friday

Stan over at Appellation Beer has proposed a beer blogging day--a monthly event that would take place on the first Friday of the month. The first event will take place on March 2, and the theme will be "Not Your Father's Irish Stout." Beer bloggers the world over (myself included) will pick a stout to try and comment on. The only rules are that the big three stouts--Guinness, Beamish, and Murphy's are verboten. All other stouts are fair game. Here's an except from Stan's blog:

All the best ideas end up with beer.

Food bloggers have their own cooking day once a month. Wine bloggers have Wine Blogging Wedesday.

It seems that beer bloggers around the world should have something similar. So let’s start one, an event that will occur on the first Friday of every month. It doesn’t have to have a name (yet) or a logo (like wine), just participants who want to have a little fun and don’t mind learning a little along the way.

Appellation Beer will host the first tasting March 2 (giving us time to get out the word), and the theme will be “Not your father’s Irish stout.”

There aren’t many rules. Simply pour yourself a stout (or stouts) and post on the topic March 2, looking ahead to St. Patrick’s Day or not and writing about any stout that isn’t Guinness, Murphy’s or Beamish (the Irish old guard - good beers but we’re writing about others). Should you worry about style? About getting the opinion of friends, about writing an official tasting note, about food? About the history of the beer or how its made? All optional.

I'll stick to my great lakes region theme and try something local. Lots of great options to choose from. Perhaps Bell's Expedition Stout? Or maybe Great Lakes Blackout Stout, which should be available by then.

Technorati Tags: brewing, beer, craft beer, blogging, stout, Irish stout, Guinness, Beamish, Murphy's, Appellation Beer, Stan Hieronymus, St. Patrick's Day, Beer Blogging Friday

Notes: North Carolina Beers

I've heard of great things happening in North Carolina, where, thanks to the efforts of the folks associated with Pop The Cap, NC brewers are finally able to brew big beers. Thanks to Ben and crew over at SevenPack.net for hooking me up with some North Carolina brews that I can't get on this far North. I'll be publishing my review of each of the beers individually (I've actually already consumed them all--it's just taken me a while to get the reviews posted. Good thing I take extensive notes!). Below is the full list:

• Big Boss IPA (Edenton Brewing Company) review
  
• Oatmeal Porter (Highland Brewing Company) review
• Cottonwood Endo India Pale Ale (Carolina Beer & Beverage, LLC) review
• Nut Brown Ale (Carolina Brewing Company) review
• Porter (The Duck-Rabbit Brewery) [note: no individual review on this beer; infected bottle]
  
• Wee-Heavy Scotch Style Ale (The Duck-Rabbit Brewery) review
• Tasgall Ale (Highland Brewing Company) review

Technorati Tags: beer, brewing, craft beer, North Carolina, SevenPack.net, Big Boss IPA, Edenton Brewing Company, Oatmeal Porter, Highland Brewing Company, Cottonwood Endo India Pale Ale, Carolina Beer & Beverage, Nut Brown Ale, Carolina Brewing Company, Porter, The Duck-Rabbit Brewery, Wee-Heavy Scotch Style Ale, Tasgall Ale, regional beers

Notes: Beer Laws By State

I was dismayed recently when reminded that here in Ohio, we can't buy beers that exceed 12% ABV (which explains why I can't find DFH 120 min IPA anywhere). Curious, I did a little research into beer laws in other states and found an excellent Wikipedia article that lists the laws by state. The table is still a work in progress, but it gives a decent overview. It also links to a site with a comprehensive list of state alcoholic beverage and/or liquor control agencies.

In addition, I stumbled upon the list of beers approved for sale within the last six to nine months for the state of Ohio. I believe the list is published several times a year. It's interesting to scan through and I wonder if there's a comprehensive list of beers approved for sale here. It would make a great start to a wish list!

Finally, in a slightly related note, it looks like Indiana auctions off all of the confiscated liquor at the end of the year. The complete list is quite impressive. I wonder if other states do the same.

Technorati Tags: beer, brewing, craft beer, liquor laws, beer laws, beer sales, ABV, ABW, alcohol by volume, alcohol by weight, liquor sales, Wikipedia, state alcoholic beverage agencies, state laws, liquor control, liquor control agencies, Ohio, Indiana, auction

Notes: Hoppy Christmas, Indeed!

Hope everyone had a great, ale-soaked Christmas!

I was the recipient of several great beer gifts this year. What a wonderful surprise Christmas morning to see that my wife, er, uh, Santa filled my stocking with Bell's HopSlam! Meanwhile, Mark, my soon-to-be brother-in-law, hooked me up with a subscription to the new Beer Advocate magazine, our friends Amanda and Benjamin gave me a bottle of North Coast's Brother Thelonious, and my in-laws presented me a bottle of Unibroue's Trader Joe's 2006 Vintage Ale.

The days off work gave me plenty of excuses to sample craft beer, too. The staple this year was the Santa's Private Reserve from Rogue, although I also had occasion to try the Redhook Late Harvest Ale. Christmas morning meant popping open a bottle of the Founders Breakfast Stout, which actually may be the perfect breakfast beer. I finally had an opportunity to sit down with some of the North Carolina brews that Ben from SevenPack.net hooked me up with (look for a full report, with reviews, coming very soon). And to end it all, I topped the four-day weekend off with a 2005 Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale barleywine last night.


UPDATE: I saw my brother and sister-in-law last night (we missed Christmas with the fam because our youngest is sick) and they gave me more beer-related presents. Eric apparently is in good with a distributor, because he got a heck of a deal. Gifts from them include a "Draft Beer Not People" T-shirt, a frosted UConn pilsner glass (Eric is getting his masters there), a variety twelve-pack of Thomas Hooker beers (includes Blonde, APA, Octoberfest, and Irish Red), a bottle of Unibroue 15, a bottle of Chimay Blue, a bottle of McChouffe, a bottle of Allagash Tripel, and a bottle of Jacobsen Dark Lager. And, they saved me a couple of additional bottles of HopSlam, which the family consumed on Christmas. A Hoppy Christmas!

Technorati Tags: beer, brewing, craft beer, Christmas, gifts, Bell's, HopSlam, BeerAdvocate, Unibroue, Trader Joe's, North Coast Brewing, Brother Thelonious, Rogue, Santa's Private Reserve, SevenPack.net, North Carolina brewers, Redhook, Late Harvest Ale, Founders, Breakfast Stout, Brooklyn Brewery, Monster Ale, seasonals, winter warmer, barleywine, stout, Belgian ales, beer gifts, "Draft beer not people", Thomas Hooker, Unibroue, Unibroue 15, Chimay, Chimay Blue, Chimay Bleu, McChouffe, Allagash, Allagash Tripel, Jacobsen Dark Lager, UConn

Notes: Local Beer Groups

Furthering the goal of exploring Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois breweries and brew-related events, I've added a few links to the page. Below are links to the relevant brewer's guilds (as registered with the Brewers Association). These links are great references, listing the names and locations of all member breweries within the state. Note that Ohio doesn't seem to have a guild.

I've included more informal beer guides. Again, not all states have them, and some states are better organized than others. But these sites can be good references for opinions or news that you can't get on the guild sites.

Brewer's Guilds

• Brewers Association (National)
• Illinois Craft Brewers Guild
• Brewers of Indiana Guild (BIG)
• Michigan Brewers Guild
• (Ohio does not appear to have a brewer's guild)

Beer Guides

• Indiana
• Michigan
• Ohio
• (There appears to be no beer guide for Illinois)

BeerAdvocate's BeerFly and RateBeer are also indispensable resources for locating good regional beer.

Technorati Tags: beer, craft_brew, guilds, associations, beer_guides, Brewers_Association, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, BeerAdvocate, BeerFly, RateBeer, beer, craft brew, brewing, homebrewing

Notes: Warning

An unpleasant surprise in my basement this weekend. While organizing the portion of the basement where I store my homebrew equipment, I opened a case of wheat beer that I had brewed this summer. The batch was relegated to the basement because it was flawed. While not so bad that I need to dump it, it's not great. I keep it around and have a beer from the case every once and a while, hoping it will get better with age. Unfortunately, when I opened the box, I discovered tiny shards of glass--one of the bottles had exploded! I'll be drinking the rest of these REALLY soon so that I don't end up with shrapnel all over the basement. Bummer.

And to Matt, who helped me brew this batch and may have a few bottles left over, take caution. You have been warned.

Technorati Tags: beer, brewing, craft beer, homebrewing, overcarbonation