The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth (RECAP)

The beer really is good at Fiddler's Hearth... very good.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last couple of months, you've heard that Jeremy, Sean and I have been working on the premier craft beer event of the summer. This "2nd showing," as the tap menu says, was intended to bring together not only some of the most difficult to find and highest rated beers available, but also several specialty beers from our great local breweries.

Based on the success of the last "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" event in November, people knew that this wasn't a typical tap takeover, evident by the 20 or 30 people standing outside before the pub opened, waiting to get a good seat and their first round. The tap list had been posted a few days prior, but the only specific scheduling details people knew were that KBS would be tapped at 11am and Black Note at 6pm. We know.. it was a bit manipulative to space these beers in such a way that may entice people to stay many hours between tappings, but I didn't see anyone complaining.

My big-ass glass of KBS

I was honored with the task of writing the tapping schedule for all 33 beers that were planned for the event. My strategy was this - 17 beers on tap right at 11 am (15 regular, 2 cask), giving people 4 hours to "responsibly" sample as many of them as they wanted. At each hour starting at 3pm, 2-3 taps were pulled based on what I thought would be the least popular, and the same amount of new beers were added.

Trying to stay somewhat sober during the first 4 hours, I did a lot of people watching, a lot of welcoming, and making sure everyone was having a great time. The atmosphere in the room evolved greatly over the first few hours, starting with many keeping to themselves and talking softly, to a good roar of discussions, laughter and interaction with complete strangers. To me, this is what craft beer is all about - lubricating the social friction of everyday life, and bonding over the most basic of necessities (yes, necessity), beer... really damn good beer.

Some of the highlights for those who weren't able to make it included a tweaked version of ThaI.P.A from Bare Hands in a cask, two one-off beers from Four Horsemen, a first-ever cask of Greenbush 1825 with Michigan Raspberries, a tasting-room only keg of Haggard Jo from Flat 12, very rare keg of Tiger Jelly from 3 Floyds, and of course, KBS and Black Note. The rest of the beers can be found here, but they were all chosen for their quality and popularity.

Founders KBS was the first to kick, around 2pm, and I was asked by the owner of Fiddler's to announce it's demise. This was unfortunate timing, as the last couple of beers I had went down a little too quickly, thus ensuring my filter completely coming off, and the f-bomb getting dropped for all to enjoy. The next announcement was much more family friendly, informing everyone that the special Four Horsemen beer, American Wheat, had also sold out, Greenbush PhD had been added, and a few other beers had been rotated in. The crowd cheered with excitement after mentioning that PhD is a malt liquor!

Huge glass of Black Note

The most popular beers yesterday, the ones that sold out, include KBS, Four Horsemen American Wheat and Porter, 3 Floyds Jinx Proof, Flat 12 Haggard Jo, Bare Hands ThaIPA cask, and many more not far behind that. You people were thirsty! Much to my surprise though, Bell's Black Note was still available on Sunday! This made for enjoying a glass in a much less crowded pub so much more enjoyable, and every sip was fantastic!

In addition to the great beer and food available all day, there was surprise entertainment on the back patio! While ducking out for a bit of fresh air, I encountered a group of gentlemen rocking out to the musical stylings of Natalie Merchant on a cell phone. To say they were just singing along would be an embarrassingly inadequate. These crooners hit every high note masterfully, and followed up this performance with a flawless rendition of Will Smith's "Big Willy Style." Brava!

Often times events don't live up to the hype, but I think this is an exception. The food lineup was as incredible as the tap list, everyone seemed to have a great time, there was plenty of schwag, brewery reps and distribution reps came to talk beer, and lots of staff on hand to get beer out quickly. Big thanks to my friends Jeremy and Sean, and the entire staff of Fiddler's for their work with getting this together. Also many thanks to the breweries that participated in this event with incredible specialty beers, without which this would not have been possible - Four Horsemen, Bare Hands, Flat 12, Greenbush, 3 Floyds and Bell's, you all demonstrated why the Midwest is the best region for beer! This event was another huge success, the pub was busy the entire time, and unlike a typical day at a restaurant, there were no slow times.

So what did you think of the beers? Any favorites? Any surprises? Maybe even some that you didn't like? I'd love to hear your opinion so that we can make next time even better! Thanks for coming, we hope you had a great time, Cheers!

"The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" Food Menu

So we have released the epic tap list for The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth craft beer party, now it's time to release the epic food list. The legend of Chef Tony at Fiddler's Hearth continues with his next creations, which in my opinion, rival what will be on tap. If you don't leave Saturday night stuffed, buzzed and happy... well then you did it wrong.

SMOKED SHRIMP SPRING ROLLS (spicy chimichurri)
CHEDDAR & JALAPENO PUB PRETZELS
ROASTED GARLIC BEER CHEESE SOUP (homemade beer bread bowl)
FRIED SOFT SHELL CRAB SANDWICH (open face, remoulade, spicy local micro greens)
SMOKED BUFFALO FROG LEGS
CLASSIC POUTINE (house cut chips, homemade cheese curds, lamb gravy)
OLD WORLD BUTTERSCOTCH & CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON
BANANA BREAD FRITTER (salty rum caramel sauce) 

Special Flat 12 Beer on tap at Fiddler's Hearth

As you may have noticed, we've been waiting to find out what the special beer from Flat 12 would be for "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" craft beer party on June 30th, to go along with their tasty Cuttlefish Cuvee and Mustache Ride. We all know what they are capable of, so the anticipation was like being a kid at Christmas and waiting to open the big present...

Have you heard of Joe Brahma, Flat 12's delicious coffee brown ale? It was on tap at the "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" party last November. People loved it, and I enjoyed it so much that despite knowing that it would be on tap at the party, I still picked up a growler of it at the brewery for myself. AV, my brother in beer, even wrote a review of it on this site, giving it an A.

So when we asked if they could provide something fun for our next party, they kindly obliged. This time however, they decided to up the ante by sending Fiddler's a keg of Haggard Jo. This whale of a beer is their tasty Joe Brahma, aged for 11 months in whiskey barrels. Here's the kicker - Haggard Jo has never been served outside of the brewery. That's right, google it - you won't find much, and there aren't any ratings on Beer Advocate, Untappd, or Rate Beer. Those attending the party get to be among a select group of individuals to experience this beer, and the first to rate it if they so choose. Since we just found out about this beer last night, I'm not sure what time it will be tapped yet. Get it while you can though, it will go quick!

If you've not experienced any beers from Flat 12, you're definitely missing out. Every single beer I've had from them has been interesting, well crafted and flavorful. Walkabout Pale, using the very trendy Galaxy hops, was the first beer I've had from them, and it hooked me right away. This pale ale hits you in the mouth with grapefruit, passion fruit and pineapple, while not being shy with the bitterness.

After Walkabout, I made sure to try every other Flat 12 beer I encountered, such as Half Cycle, Tangerine Porter, Joe Brahma, Big Black Dog, Winter Cycle, the famed Bleeding Heart IPA, and the list goes on. Their habit of coloring outside of the lines when it comes to brewing really shows through in the beers and their pursuit of having fun while doing so makes them one of the most exciting breweries around.

The Brewery and Tap room is located in downtown Indianapolis. Trust me, this place is worth a special trip. Location/Tap List/Hours

The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth Tap List

As someone pointed out to me earlier, this event is the pinnacle of Craft Beer events in the Michiana area this summer, and once you get a look at the list, it's hard to disagree. With the exception of KBS and Black Note, we do not have specific times listed for tapping these beers. Feel free to follow me on twitter (@thebeerisgood) or facebook (facebook.com/thebeerisgood), as I plan to keep people updated when beers are put on and taken off.

Where: Fiddler's Hearth (Main Street, South Bend)
When: June 30th, 11am-Midnight
Misc: Special food menu available for the day, and free schwag to be handed out all day..

And here is the list...

Founders - KBS (11am)
Bell's - Black Note (6pm)
Stone - Verical Epic 11.11.11
Stone - Double Bastard
Four Horsemen - Porter
Four Horsemen - Citra American Wheat
New Belgium - Tart Lychee
Founders - Backwoods Bastard
Founders - Curmudgeon
Founders - Imperial Stout
3 Floyds - Tiger Jelly
3 Floyds - Ham on Rye
3 Floyds - Behemoth
3 Floyds - Al-Dabeyoun
3 Floyds - Blackheart
Bell's - Expedition Stout
Two Brothers - 2011 Bare Tree
Flat 12 - Mustache Ride
Flat 12 - Cuttlefish Cuvee
Possibly one more fancy-ass beer from Flat 12, still trying to work that out.
Greenbush - Rage
Greenbush - Doomslayer
Greenbush - 1825 Steeped w/ MI Raspberries
Greenbush - Cabra Perdida
Southern Tier - Oak Aged Back Burner
He'Brew - Barrel-Aged Funky Jewbelation
He'Brew - Jewbelation Fifteen
New Holland - Night Tripper
Upland Teddy Bear Kisses
Boulevard - Collaboration #2 (w/ Deschutes)
Bare Hands - ThaIPA
Bare Hands - ThaIPA (Cask)

The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth (Update)

Ever since the announcement here two months ago that we are doing another "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" craft beer party this summer, we've been working pretty hard at getting all of the pieces put in place. I just wanted to provide everyone with a reminder, and a few updates...

Where: Fiddler's Hearth (Main Street, South Bend)
When: June 30th, 11am-11pm
Price: No ticket required to get in, pay for only what you order

We are working on a really unique and special tap list for the day, consisting of constantly rotating taps. In addition to the Founders KBS that was originally announced, we will have the FIRST EVER sale of Bare Hands beer outside of the brewery, with a firkin of ThaiP.A! This is one of their most popular beers, and the first firkin of it ever made.

Alongside the great beers from Bare Hands will be two special Four Horsemen beers (Porter & American Wheat), personally crafted by your favorite (I hope) South Bend beer blogger - me! The Porter is an intensely roasty beer with hints of chocolate and coffee, smoothed out with caramel and rich mahogany. On a lighter side is a citrusy and hoppy American Wheat brewed exclusively with the immensely popular Citra hops. Both the Porter and American Wheat are great examples of fun beers coming from my experience with Four Horsemen. Stephen, Sam, Ben and John have been so great to work with and I'm learning so much about the craft beer business!

So when I originally sat down with Sean and Jeremy of Fiddler's Hearth, we all agreed that we wanted this event to be even BIGGER and BETTER than the already successful party back in November. So in addition to the ultra-limited Founders KBS and the specialty beers from Bare Hands, Four Horsemen, etc., we needed one more beer to really put this event over the top...

So without further ado, we would like to announce that an extremely rare keg of Black Note from Bell's will be on tap at some point during the day! If you haven't had the opportunity to try this highly sought after beer yet, you will not want to miss it!

So this is just a taste of what's to come, and the very long final tap list will include specialty beers from such favorites as 3 Floyds, Greenbush, Founders, etc. This party is exactly four weeks away, so look for updates and more info as we get closer!

"The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" Craft Beer Party

It's official... Based on the raging success of the previous "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" craft beer party, we've decided to hold it twice per year, with the next one being held on June 30th starting at 11am!

This event is all about bringing craft beer drinkers together to drink rare and specialty beer from our favorite local and regional breweries. As of now, we've got beer from 3 Floyds, Founders, Bell's, Greenbush, FHBC, Bare Hands and many more slated to be on tap throughout the day. Along with the great beer, there will be a special food menu and brewery schwag handed out all day.

Oh, I almost forgot...

The only area keg of Founders KBS will be on tap at some point during the day! One of my (and many others) favorite beers, available only once per year and we are saving it for this event.

Keep an eye out for more details to come... We hope to see you there!

The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth... RECAP!

For those that didn't make it, this post is somewhere between a "nana nana boo boo" and "Dude, you totally missed out!"

After months of planning, beer "tasting" and advertising, everything came together perfectly on November 5th for the first annual "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" craft beer party. We have been spreading the word on this for quite a while now. Craft beer has been exploding more and more by the month, but would people actually show up to a dedicated craft beer party?

I figured I'd be drinking alone for at least 30 minutes after Fiddler's 11am opening, but fortunately TheBeerIsGood.com supporters Corey, his wife, and Shawn were there right away. Nobody expected the mayhem that would ensue as we patiently waited for the great staff of Fiddler's to put a few last minute touches on the restaurant before we received our first beers.

What to go with? The list of things I wanted to try was huge! I really wanted the Four Horseman Porter that Jeremy and I helped brew back in September... but while Jeremy cleaned out the lines for the casks, I started with a very delicious Flat 12 Joe Brahma Coffee Brown Ale. It was so good that I would have it at least once more that day.

Fellow TheBeerIsGood.com contributor, AV, and his wife, strolled in shortly after opening and by 11:30, the entire Pub was full of people drinking great beer and ordering from a very impressive food list. Sean, the pub owner, manned the bar while an awesome crew of servers raced around the restaurant taking orders.

With people standing 2-deep at the bar, and every table full at 12:30, this was a great turnout so far, but it was still early... was this just a lunch hour rush?

After getting a chance to talk to Matt from World Class Bev, Ben and Stephen of Four Horsemen, Michele of SouthBendFoodies.com, among other craft beer supporters, it was time to take a break and head home for a bit, watch some football and prepare for round two.

Nearly asleep on my couch from the high gravity beer I was drinking earlier, I received a txt from a friend who was still there. It was 3pm, the place was STILL packed, and WNDU was there to cover the event! Although WNDU decided to change the name of the event to "Total Tap Takeover" and totally disregarded the fact that this was a joint event between TheBeerIsGood.com and Fiddler's, at least it was more free advertising.

Around 6pm, it was schwag'oclock. We had cases of brewery pint glasses, mountainous stacks of stickers, tshirts galore... It was like Christmas, only better, and I was Bad Santa. Everyone there that was a known regular got something right away, and that was only a slight dent in our stash. From there, I went around with handfuls of stuff, spreading the love to each table. A very special thanks to Sun King, Flat 12, Ben Amster of Indiana Beer, Matt Johnson of World Class and KC Mars of Cavalier for providing TONS of schwag to hand out to all the great craft beer fans that showed up. My personal favorite hand-out of the night were the Southern Tier glasses from Ben Amster. Everyone wanted one, and we tried to hook-up as many people as we could. Next year we'll start handing out schwag much sooner so that the early crowd get some as well...

This event was so much more successful than I could have imagined. The pub was packed all day and some staff that were scheduled to get off at 5 where still working at 9:30 when I left. People were eating, drinking, being merry and certainly enjoying the event! Thanks so much to Sean & Jeremy at Fiddler's Hearth for letting me have a hand in this party, and being such amazing hosts. Also thanks to my close friend AV, who contributes really great stuff to this site and shares this killer hobby with me. Shout-out to all of my friends that came down to support this event, you all are awesome and the best friends a guy could ask for.

I'm already thinking of ways to do it even bigger next year... we'll see you then!

---

For those that didn't make it to the event, below is the list of beers that were on tap at one point or another during the day...

Bell's Batch 10,000
Brewdog Punk IPA
Dark Horse Scotty Karate
Dogfish Head My Antonia
Dogfish Head/Three Floyds Popaskull
Flat 12 Joe Brahma
Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale
Founders Nemesis (2010)
Four Horseman Vanilla Porter (Cask)
Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti
Great Lakes Market Street Wheat
Hair of the Dog Fred
Harpoon Leviathan
Hitachino Nest White Ale
Leifmans Oud Bruin
New Albanian Yakima Rye
New Belgium Clutch
New Belgium Kick
New Holland Ichabod (Cask)
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (2008)
Southern Tier Backburner (2009)
Southern Tier Creme Brulee
Stone 15th Anniversary
Sun King Osiris
Three Floyds Moloko
Three Floyds Thick White Freeks

Last call on The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth

One final reminder for the first annual "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" Craft Beer party tomorrow (11/5) at Fiddler's Hearth on Main Street in South Bend from 11am-Midnight. We hope you can stop by and tip back a glass with us while celebrating the craft beer movement! Below is some pertinent information regarding the event....

• No tickets / cover. Come in anytime between 11am-Midnight, order/pay for whatever is on tap at the time.

• There is roughly 2 dozen different beers on throughout the day, and taps will be changed out periodically. Here is the opening lineup of beers available at 11am.

• The taps will consist of beers you wouldn't normally find in this area such as Sun King and Dogfish Head, vintage beers that have been undisturbed for years, and special beers that no other restaurant in the area was able to get.
   
• The ND v. Wake Forest game will be on multiple TVs, and the sound will be piped in through the pub speaker system.

• There will be a very tasty selection of food specials, which you can find here.

• Free brewery schwag will be handed out throughout the day on a random basis, while supplies last.

The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth Beer Update

Another quick update on "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" this coming Saturday (11am-12am) at Fiddler's Hearth on Main Street in South Bend... Below is the opening lineup of beers to get the party started!

Four Horsemen Surprise Beer (Cask) (?,?%)
New Holland Ichabod (Cask) (Pumpkin Ale, 5.5%)
Dogfish My Antonia (Imperial Pilsner, 7.5%)
Brewdog Punk (American IPA, 6%)
Brouwerij Liefmans Oud Bruin (Flanders Oud Bruin, 5%)
'08 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (American Barleywine, 9.6%)
Stone 15th Anniversary (American Black Ale, 10.8%)
Sun King Osiris (American Pale, 5.6%)

And many, many more....

The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth Update

After over two months of planning, we are finally only one week away from the first annual The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth event! If this is the first time you've heard of this, we'd like to invite you out to Fiddler's Hearth on Main Street in South Bend to enjoy a huge list of really great craft beer that you wouldn't normally find around South Bend, or anywhere for that matter. We've already let the cat out of the bag with Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout, 2010 Founders Nemesis Barleywine, and a special beer we brewed with Four Horsemen, but there are also a ton of others that we haven't mentioned (although if you look at the food specials, I bet you can pick out a 4th...)!

As for the real reason I'm posting an update... The Food Is Good! I received an email last night from Sean at Fiddler's regarding the food specials and now I'm almost as excited about that as I am about the beer! Their Chef did a great job of making sure there is something for everyone, and crafting food that would not only pair well with the incredible beer lineup, but also soak up some of that high gravity brew that you will be enjoying.

Prices haven't been made official, but from what I'm hearing, it sounds like everything is going to be very reasonable. So without further ado...

1. Beef short rib stew in a bread bowl 

2. Lamb “lollypops” with spicy chimichurri sauce

3. Mussels steamed with 2009 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine

4. Portabella fries with spicy sour cream sauce

5. Irish flatbread topped with rasher bacon, apple, caramelized onion and warm brie sauce

6. Montecristo sandwich

7. Soft pretzel necklace

8. Apple fritter with homemade caramel sauce

Quick Update on "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth"

I don't know about you, but we are getting pretty excited for the 1st Annual "The Beer Is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" Craft Beer Party on November 5th. In addition to the great beer that Fiddler's is saving/ordering for this event, and beer brewed specially for this event by two different Indiana breweries, there will be great chances to interact with fellow beer geeks, grab some brewery schwag and food specials. We hope to see you there!

If you would like to RSVP (not required, and there is no cover to get in) you can check out the following links....

Facebook Event Page

Beer Advocate Event Page

Cheers!
Andy

Collaboration Brew with Four Horsemen Brewing Co.

And by collaboration I mean, Stephen and Ben from FHBC allowed Jeremy from Fiddler's Hearth and I to choose what to brew out of two style options, as well as perform most of the manual labor under Stephen's very thorough and detailed tutelage. Some of you know what I do for a living, and it has absolutely nothing to do with manual labor, but with that said, pouring malt into the liquor and stirring is probably the most fun I've had in a long time. Of course they didn't just invite us down to brew with them for any old reason, they did so because we plan to release this special, high gravity beer for all to try at "The Beer is Good at Fiddler's Hearth" event on November 5th.   

Think you have FHBC figured out? Think again...

While the liquor was heating up, Stephen, Ben, Jeremy and I all had a great opportunity to talk about their beer and where they fit into the regional craft beer scene. I think we all know what they aren't. FHBC isn't about huge, in-you-face hop explosions or motor-oil thick stouts aged in barrels that Merlin originally used to store potions. They are being different by not being extreme; brewing beers that are easy to drink and won't knock you on your ass after one or two. Don't like a particular beer they have on tap? Try again in a couple of weeks, because they are diligently tweaking the recipes to get them just the way they want them.

Amid the brewing, talking shop and watching ESPN, they also brought out some very special beers to sample from other breweries. I won't give away the styles or breweries we "researched" in case they want to keep what they are working on a surprise, but Jeremy and I had a lot of fun. Stephen's knowledge of the style, its history, how it's brewed and why was more in depth than I could have imagined.

When it comes to the beer geeks, well they aren't easy to please... I know because I'm a card carrying member of this club. If the session beers that FHBC is crafting now aren't your thing, look for their higher gravity brew they will be tinkering with soon. Overall, their goal is to perfect the styles they consider to be their flagship products, before going off on wild tangents.

I originally intended this piece to be about the special FHBC brew that Jeremy and I came to help out with, but it quickly turned into our entire experience with these guys. If you haven't stopped out to the tasting room, I highly recommend it. They are passionate and knowledgeable about beer, they have a vision for how they fit into the beer scene, and are extremely welcoming. Jeremy and I agreed, hanging out with these guys was one of the coolest experiences we've had during our journey through the craft beer world.

Make sure to stop by Fiddler's Hearth on November 5th to taste this latest creation, it's certain to not disappoint.

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!