Craft Beer Explosion at Martin's Super Markets

If you're like me, you occasionally find yourself at the grocery store to pick up the milk, eggs and fabric softener. In my experience, the only thing that can make this task less mundane is to toss in a beer run!

This is where Martin's Super Market has excelled over the last couple of years, especially in the stores on South Bend Ave. and Heritage Square (Although Eric at Michiana Beer Nuts has praised the Goshen store as well). Before the craft beer explosion, there were only a few places in South Bend with a good selection and while those stores are still great, it's nice to have yet another option.

The tastes of this area have evolved with regard to beer, and some of the Martin's stores that were once known for their vast selection of Bud/Miller/Coors have evolved as well to now include quite a variety of craft breweries.

The man responsible for this, who shall remain anonymous to protect his identity from obsessive beer geeks with speed dial, has worked hard to convince his company that people really will pay $10 for a single bottle of beer. He likes beer, and although he's not necessarily as into it as some of us, he makes sure to follow the area beer scene to keep his shelves stocked with great beer.

It has paid off...

In the past two years alone, the space dedicated to beer at the South Bend Ave store has over doubled, with even less space dedicated to the fizzy yellow stuff. You'll find most of the favorites here now from the likes of 3 Floyds, Bell's, Founders, Great Lakes, Stone, Goose Island, and many more. Along with the regular and seasonal lineups from these breweries, as of about a year ago, they are now one of the key spots for specialty releases as well, bottles that were typically much more difficult to find.

So when your husband/wife/life partner complains that you are spending way too much on beer, take a tip from me and hide it in the grocery budget!

South Bend Craft Beer Week

For those of you that don't currently follow us on Facebook, I posted a note last week stating that most cities with a serious craft beer scene have a yearly "Craft Beer Week," and followed that up by asking, "So why not South Bend?" The response was huge!

These craft beer weeks tend to involve a wide array of events at all types of establishments in the area, such as Beer/Food pairings, Tap takeovers, special tappings, etc. Due to the response, I decided to move forward with planning the 1st Annual South Bend Craft Beer Week and have teamed up with South Bend Foodies to help take this to the next level.

So other than the fact that I'm shooting for late May or early June, there aren't any specific details at this time. I wanted to get the word out as soon as possible however so that a "buzz" could be generated, and the week could be thoroughly planned.

A dedicated website has been reserved for this, which I will unvail as soon as possible. Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions, questions, etc., feel free to send me an email (andy@thebeerisgood.com), hit me up on Facebook, or contact South Bend Foodies (southbendfoodies@gmail.com).

Founders Brewing Co. finds new approach to releasing KBS

On a yearly interval, Founders Brewing company releases one of the top beers in the country, Kentucky Breakfast Stout, a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout. Currently ranked #9 by users of the popular craft beer site, BeerAdvocate.com, this beer has become very difficult to find over the last few years. In previous years the brewery would hold an official release day on which fanatics would gather their mules (beer slang for people brought along to facilitate the purchases of excess quantities), and stand outside the building as early as midnight, just to receive 12-24 bottles each when they opened at 10 or 11. Last year, the craziness came to a head when the turnout was so overwhelming that Founders cut in half the stated allotment of one case per person, and even then, hundreds left empty-handed.

Fast-forward to this year with the most recent installment of their Backstage Series, Bolt Cutter. To avoid long lines and chaos, they chose to sell tickets to buy bottles, with proceeds benefiting local charities. Each person that bought a ticket was able to pick up two bottles on a specified day, over a 5 day period. No lines, no mules, no insanity. Tickets didn't even sell out for a couple of weeks, giving all of those interested a chance to grab one. Their approach worked so well that it is now being carried over to the KBS release, with a limited amount getting distributed throughout the brewery's footprint.

For some, the camaraderie of standing in the cold for hours and sharing beers with complete strangers is part of the experience. For the rest of us with grown-up responsibilities that love this beer and would like to purchase more than a few bottles at their local store, the change is welcomed.

So after my long-winded description of the event surrounding one of my favorite beers, here is the release information directly from Founders...

Historic Drewry's Beer Reborn

This is the type of news that develops acute, localized tension in the already tight skinny jeans of Hipsters; retro beer!

If you are from the South Bend area you may remember, or have at least heard of, Drewry's Brewing Company. At one time, they had a fairly large brewery and campus just off of Portage road, a couple blocks North of Angela Blvd. Indiana Beer Blog did a nice writeup on the history of this brewery that you should read if you have time.

Come to find out, a company based in Chicago has bought the rights to Drewry and is looking to revive the brand, (notice I said company, not brewery) with 3 beers. From what I gather, they are currently in the stages of looking for a brewery to contract with and will be available in select markets. In fact, if you are going to the South Bend Brewfest tomorrow (1/12/13), you will be able to taste one of these beers.

While I'm intrigued that someone is trying to breath life into a piece of beer history, I'm certainly left wondering what the motivation is behind this. Is it simply a company looking to cash in on a niche and the booming craft beer industry? Are they passionate about beer? As long as the beer is good, it probably doesn't matter, but I'm looking forward to trying it for myself.

Bell's Hopslam to hopslam your mouth soon!

Just got word from my guy in the biz that deliveries of the oh-so-delicious and hoppy nectar from Bell's, known as Hopslam, will be hitting stores in South Bend on Friday 1/11/12. 

I did a review of this beer a couple of years ago, and I'm sure it still holds up. It's a huge explosion of hop juice in your mouth, which gives way to sweet honey and a dash of bitterness. During a time when Stouts and Porters are prevalent, this is a great beer to break up the darkness.

There will be a cask and keg of this at Fiddler's Hearth on January 17th at 5pm, along with 6 other hoppy Bell's brews. I had a few glasses from the cask last year, and it really is tough to beat. It ran out within about 2 hours.

Bell's Black Note released in 4-packs.

I haven't posted in a while (more on that later), but this was too good to resist. The famed "Black Note" Barrel-Aged Stout from Bell's, formally only available in 750ml bottles at the General Store (aside from random kegs popping up from time to time), with releases kept to word-of-mouth only, is now available in 4-packs currently at the general store. An unknown amount will also be distributed somewhere around their footprint, but that information has also yet to be released.

It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend you pick one up.