Indiana Beer love

Honest response to the squabble above.

Indiana Brewers Guild seeks judges for these events? Where is the sign up sheet?

 

Check the BJCP competition schedule on http://www.bjcp.org/.

It is not up yet. Look 2 months before. Contact info will be there.

First timers might be asked to steward tables, which is a good way to see how a competition works.

 

Not sure if anyone had a chance to try Byway's Bean White (white stout) released during their Anniversary Party this past weekend, but that stuff is damn good.

 

I might be interested in doing that. Thanks!

 

I thought Bare Hands had one of the best beers at Winterfest. I went back for it 4 times. It was a NE style IPA.

 

I did not go to Winterfest, but a buddy of mine got a growler of that beer and brought it to my house that night for a bottle share. I agree that it was fantastic and was much closer to a NE IPA than that Indiana City beer.

 

I didn't know Bare Hands had a NE IPA. Do you remember what it was called? I work 5 minutes from there and would like to try it.

 

Drain the Swamp

 

That's the one! Hilariously, someone typo'd the menu and it said "Dain the Swamp"

 

You thought that Hunter and Jade were mediocre? Definitely disagree with both of those, but of course palates vary and YMMV.

IMO, 18th Street is at their best, by far, with big hoppy IPAs and DIPAs -- Under Crown, Villain, Overlord's Revenge, Cone Crusher, Rise of the Angels, Sinister, Deal with the Devil are all worth going out of your way to get. Of course, those might not make it out into broader distro, which might be why you're getting the Steel Hands and Oh So Pretty (don't buy this one) type stuff down in Indy.

Another problem might be freshness -- unfortunately, 18th Street doesn't date anything so if you haven't been a fan, you might have had beer that is way past it's prime.

 

Also, I'll add my voice to those talking about Four Fathers in Valpo -- they've had far more hits than misses since opening up IMO, and have hit more than a few totally out of the park (all three Linea sours, BA Wheelhouse, The Gadget, Demon Core, and a few others). Absolutely worth checking out if you haven't yet.

 

What role does the distributors and merchants play in the high price of Indiana beer? Why can I drive to Munster and get $10 six packs and $8 bombers and then go to my local store and pay 50% more. That seems like a very high markup. I would assume that breweries sell to most outlets at a discount because of the volume. Distributors and merchants should have a built in profit margin. Please keep in mind that I am not in the business and I have no idea how the industry works.

 

Stores would not be charging if it was not selling. If store X can charge $15 for Gumball head, why shouldn't they? And if you or I don't like it as a customer, we can go to the brewery where its cheaper and in greater quantities. I won't name my stores, but one that I use is my store to get something cheaper and the other charges more but has stuff sitting on the shelf longer. I can play the game too.

 

Not sure where you are in Indiana, I pay $11 at my local grocery store for FFF.

What I don't understand is how it costs more to buy 18th Street direct at the brewery than at Binny's.

 

I think you've probably hit the nail on the head, which I why I reached out to 18th St after I bought a murky, chunky Jade. You know what they said? Nothing, zero and zilch. I believe I have reached out to maybe 3-5 breweries ever for varying reasons and they are the only ones to never reply. I sent them a private message and then followed up on it. If you don't date your stuff, don't respond to private communication and price yourself 25-50% above your competition, then at some point you are going to start seeing backlash.

 

The initial buzz on 18th Street was huge. It seemed like every month there was a reason to line up there. After they moved to Hammond, they have just kind of released the same things over and over. No reason to line up for Jade or Candi Crushable. Their In the Shadows series at $18 a 4 pack is too rich for my blood. The funny thing is their current tap list in Hammond has a lot of FFF. How long before its not just growing pains, but a bigger problem altogether?

 

Four Fathers first batch of Radio Action DIPA (before it was bottled) honestly tasted like something that came out of a Hill Farmstead growler. Was pretty amazing.... 2015 BA Wheelhouse was superior to KBS and rivaled BCBCS IMO. 2016's wasn't as good was still tasty.

 

I'm intrigued by what people are saying about Four Fathers. Their website says a couple shops in Indy get distribution. May try to find some.