Brew Haven 2012

For my people in the Fort Wayne area and beyond, this is year number two for the Brew Haven Brewfest, and it looks bigger and better than last year. Looks like it will be a great time!

Brew Haven 2012 Ticket Release Party
Friday, June 1st • 6pm • Trion Tavern Ticket sales begin for Northeast Indiana premiere craft beer festival! Among several other rare, stellar and unique beers, we will be tapping 3 Floyds/De Struise Shark Pants (aka Live A Rich Life). And, beers from all 58 taps will be ONLY $3.50! There is no cover charge and, as with all special beer events at the Trion, it will be SMOKE FREE for the evening. More info can be found on the Special Events page at TrionTavern.com. (Ticket sales at the Trion are CASH ONLY.)
Online ticket sales for Brew Haven 2012 will also begin at 6pm on June 1st at BrownPaperTickets.com.


Brew Haven 2012
Saturday, August 4 • 2pm-6pm • Downtown New Haven, Indiana
Brew Haven 2012 is going to be even bigger and better than last year's event! We're adding lots more space for a second tent full of breweries. Check out our BeerFinder for an updated list of the breweries (with beers to be added) and an evolving interactive map of the festival to make it easy to find the beers you want to sample. We are currently expecting 40 breweries to be pouring draft beer at the fest and that number only continues to increase! Watch as the number of beers grows and is sure to exceed 200. Then, there's the Homebrew...our talented local club will be pouring 50 of their tasty concoctions and have invited their contemporaries from around the region to add theirs. All the details can be found at brewhaven.triontavern.com but make sure you're following Brew Haven on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.

Standard ticket ($35 in advance, $45 day of) includes:

• Unlimited samples
• Souvenir Tasting Glass
• Meal
• Water

VIP Package ($60) includes Standard ticket from above, plus:

• 1 hour early admission (with sampling beginning at 1pm instead of 2pm)
• Commemorative Brew Haven 2012 T-Shirt
• Brew Haven Glass-holding Lanyard with VIP Pass
• Access to special beers & pourings
• Limited number, these WILL sell out fast

Designated Driver ticket ($5) includes:

• Meal
• Unlimited Soft Drinks

21+ only
Smoke Free (with separate smoking tent)
Rain or Shine
CASH ONLY

No pets
No outside containers or beverages
No refunds

Co-hosted by Trion Tavern and MASH, Northeast Indiana Homebrewers, Brew Haven festivals benefit the improvement of downtown New Haven, Indiana.

Special Flat 12 Beers on tap at Fiddler's Hearth (South Bend, IN)

For you fellow Flat 12 fans, and soon-to-be fans, there will be some really great special beers from this Indianapolis brewery on tap next Wednesday (3/14/12) at Fiddler's Hearth in South Bend. Below is the list that will be available, one of which is a huge favorite of mine - Bleeding Heart IPA. I believe some or all of them are 1/6 barrels, so supplies are definitely limited... get there while you can!

Winter Cycle (Double IPA, 9.3%)
Big Black Dog (Stout, 6.8%)
Super Bravo 46 (American Pale Ale, 5.2%)
Bleeding Heart IPA (IPA w/ Blood Oranges, 6%) (This one may not be tapped until 6pm)
Walkabout Pale Ale (I'm guessing they will have this) (American Pale, 5.3%)

Battle of the Dopplebocks at The Pub (Granger, IN)

Just received word from "The Pub" in Granger, IN about an event happening on March 7th at 7pm titled, "Battle of the Dopplebocks."

BotD as I am calling it for brevity sake will feature two Dopplebocks; Bell's Consecrator (8%, 84/100 on BeerAdvocate) and Sun King Dominator (8.1%, ?/100 on BeerAdvocate).

I'm told this is the only keg of Consecrator that will be available in our area, and the keg of Dominator was specifically brought in from Sun King by The Pub for enjoyment at their establishment, making this a truly unique event.

There will be some sort of voting system by which people can pick from the two the one they enjoyed most; what they do with that information afterward I'm not aware.

This should be a lot of fun, so if you are able to attend, you should!

Michigan Brewery Tour (Sponsored by Fiddler's Hearth)

So here is the reason I've been so tight-lipped about my planned brewery/pub trip... My friends at Fiddler's Hearth are planning a Michigan Brewery Tour on April 7th! For $40, you will have the opportunity to hit Founders, Bell's, Hopcat, Arcadia and Dark Horse, all while not having to worry about driving! Along with safe transportation, the trip will also include a light breakfast at Fiddler's and pizza at Dark Horse!

Reserve your spot in person while you still can and ready your best drinkin' hat (responsibly, of course), April 7th is going to be a blast!

2nd Annual Blue Chip Brewfest Update (Michigan City, IN)

Just a quick update on the 2nd Annual Blue Chip Brewfest in Michigan City. I received word that VIP tickets are completely SOLD OUT, and general admission tickets are going quickly. If you didn't make it out last year, you missed a really great time, and is sure to be this year as well.

For more info, check out my post from a few weeks ago about this event.

When I come across a tap list, I will make sure to forward it along. Cheers!

New Belgium Beer Dinner at Club LaSalle (South Bend, IN)

New Belgium Beer Dinner Menu

I just received a bit of information from Ben Amster of Indiana Beer regarding a beer dinner on October 13th at Club LaSalle in South Bend featuring craft beer from New Belgium Brewery.

What was the reasoning behind choosing New Belgium specifically for this event? According to Ben, the choice was simple...

"Choosing NBB was an easy choice.  There are few breweries available in our area that are as versatile in their catalog as NBB when it comes to gastronomy.  From flawlessly crafted fruity Belgian ales, to west coast hop bomb IPAs, to unique sours, to dark roasted malts, and everything in between, New Belgium’s beers cover every corner of the taste spectrum, which makes them ideal for creating a beer dinner with some real depth."

As for selecting Club LaSalle as the location for this dinner, he had nothing but great things to say about them...

"Club LaSalle is always a top choice for dinners.  They put on more beer and wine pairings than any other restaurant in the region, and have a staff that has a one minded vision of making these events spectacular.  The chefs are extremely experienced and therefore easy to work with.  More importantly, their clientele always shows up in droves for these events, because they know that they will always get something special.  This will be I believe my 7^th beer dinner with LaSalle in the last 2 years, and I think I am more excited for it than any of the previous events."

So if you are looking to have a great time in downtown South Bend on October 13th, make sure to attend! Reservations can be made by calling 574.288.1155 or visitng the Club LaSalle website.

1st Annual "The Beer Is Good At Fiddler's Hearth" Craft Beer Party!

We invite you to raise a glass to the rambling and rambunctious craft beer community of South Bend and beyond! Come on down to Fiddler's Hearth on November 5th for the 1st Annual collaboration craft beer party between Fiddler's and The Beer Is Good!

This event features great specialty beers that you wouldn't normally see on tap in this area, vintage brews, and surprise tappings all day long. We have an amazing lineup of beer ready for the Craft Beer crowd to enjoy! Also included will be delicious food specials, free brewery schwag, and a chance to socialize with your fellow craft beer geek.

Just to wet your appetite for the great beer we will have, Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti (Imperial Stout, 9.5%) will be on tap for as long as it lasts, and it only gets better from there!

Check out the Facebook Event Page for further information and to RSVP!

Potawatomi Zoo Brew Beer List Update

Maybe you saw the lineup of beer at Zoo Brew that we posted a week or two ago. Just got word from Matt over at World Class Beverage that a few of his beers will be represented as well. Below is a list of breweries you can also expect to see...

Bell's
Dark Horse
Oaken Barrel
Boulevard
Bee Creek
Barley Island
3 Floyds (Alpha King / Pride & Joy)

At this point, this is purely academic, since the event is sold out.

Potowatomi Zoo Brew Beer List (South Bend, IN)

Received an email update on the Potowatomi Zoo Brew on 9/10 from Ben at Indiana Beer with an attached beer list that I can share with you all. This list is subject to change and may also include a few surprises...

Just a reminder, this event will certainly sell out, get your tickets while you can!

New Belgium
Hoptober
Fat Tire
Ranger IPA
Belgo IPA

New Holland
Beerhive Tripel
Dragon's Milk
Ichabod Pumpkin Ale
Imperial Hatter IPA

North Coast
Brother Thelonious Abbey Ale
Le Merle Saison
Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Pranqster Belgian Golden Ale

Sam Adams
Boston Lager
Cream Stout
Imperial Double Bock
Imperial Stout
Imperial Wee Heavy Scotch Ale
Imperial White Ale
Latitude 48 IPA
Oktoberfest
Oaked Ale
Maple Pecan Porter

Southern Tier
2xIPA
2010 Backburner Barleywine
Cubee #3 Oak Aged Barleywine
Farmer's Tan Imperial Pale Lager
Jahva Imperial Stout
Mokah Imperial Stout
Oat Imperial Stout
Unearthly Imperial IPA

Upland
Wheat Ale
Dragonfly IPA
Double Dragonfly IPA
Oktoberfest

Imports
Lefebvra Hopus
Bourgogne Des Flandres
Timerman's Kriek
Timmerman's Oude Gueuze

Brew Fest at Century Center (Oct. 22nd)

Just got a call from Ben over at Indiana Beer to let me know that tickets for "Brew Fest at Century Center" (previously referred to as "South Bend Brewfest") are on sale through the Morris Performing Arts Center. The event takes place on Oct 22nd, between 12-4, and tickets are $25.

Ben also mentioned that he will give me a list of breweries that will be represented there, which I will surely pass along to this site.

Citywide Beer Tasting (South Bend, IN)

If you are in the South Bend area tonight and want to drink some beer, stop by Citywide Liquors on Jefferson Ave from 5-8. Below is the information I received on this...

"Beer tasting ten different New Holland beers, five different New Holland spirits, Five beers from Figure Ei8ght from Valparaiso and the whole St. Bernardus line up. Free and open to the public!"

Beer Tasting Event at Citywide Liquors

I spoke with one of the guys that works at the Citywide Liquors downtown South Bend and was informed that there would be a beer tasting coming up, featuring Goose Island and some others.  Although the date is not set in stone, tentatively this is scheduled for 3/24. 

Look for more information to follow in the next week or two...

Michiana Beer Nuts Anniversary Party

Come one, come all to the Michiana Beer Nuts 2nd Anniversary Part at The Constant Spring in Goshen, IN on March 3rd.

Michiana Beer Nuts is run by a fellow blogger (only much more experienced and with a bigger following) by the name of Eric Strader.  Eric has been running Michiana Beer Nuts under the auspices of the Elkhart Truth for two years now, and for such a tremendous milestone, a special party is being thrown at The Constant Spring.  As you may know, I don't need a lot of arm-twisting to go a party, however hearing that Dark Horse Brewing Company will be on tap makes this all the more enticing.  From what I understand, the lineup from Dark Horse includes Crooked Tree (IPA, 6%), either Too Cream Stout (Milk Stout, 8%) or Tres Blueberry Stout (American Stout, 4.5%), and possibly some Scotty Karate (Scotch Ale, 9.75%).

Assuming I can get out of the house for a few hours, I will certainly be there.

Andy
andy@thebeerisgood.com