NUVO previews the Bloomington Craft Beer Fest.

BIG's 6th Bloomington Craft Beer Festival is tomorrow (April 9). It's grown into a worthy reflection of the Bloomington "craft" beer scene, which I briefly surveyed recently: About an excellent brewery crawl in Bloomington, Indiana (March 30, 2016).

It's hard to top the Woolery Mill as a unique venue.

A guide to Bloomington Craft Beer Festival 2016; Make the most of your #BtownBfest experience, by Cavan McGinsie (NUVO)

 ... Speaking of liquid love, the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival is your way to show a little love to the Hoosier brewing community. #BtownBfest is a singular celebration of Indiana's craft breweries and for that reason this will be the second year in a row that they serve exclusively Indiana beers. This means all of the proceeds of the event stay in the hands of Indiana-owned businesses. So, you can feel good about yourself while you're drinking your new favorite beers.

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NABC’s beers for the 5th Annual Bloomington Craft Beer Festival (April 11).

Tomorrow's festival in Bloomington features 53 (all-Indiana) breweries, mead, wine and the following lineup from NABC.

Pins:
Ancient Rage with Styrian Golding dry hops
Action APA with Mosaic dry hops
Hoptimus-a-Rita with Citra and Mosaic dry hops and bitter orange peel

Sixth Barrels:
Oaktimus
Thunderfoot
Barrel-Aged Bonfire of the Valkyries (Bonfire 2013 aged in a River City Winery Colonel’s Legacy [a big red wine aged in a bourbon barrel] barrel)
Hacksaw Jim Dunkel

50 Liters:
Houndmouth
Black and Blue Grass

More information here: NABC’s beers for the 5th Annual Bloomington Craft Beer Festival

Get thee to Bloomington this Saturday, and avoid Thunder Over Fischerville.

This Saturday is the 4th annual Bloomington Craft Beer Fest. NABC's lineup for the fest, and our events preceding it during Bloomington Craft Beer Week, can be found at the web site:

NABC in Bloomington, April 11 & 12, for Craft Beer Week and the Craft Beer Fest

The fact that Kentucky Derby Festival organizers pushed this year's opening Thunder Over Louisville fireworks show back a week to accommodate Easter weekend poses a problem: What to do? Go to Bloomington for the BIG festival this Saturday, or stay in town for Thunder?

Silly question, actually; it's time now for my annual disclaimer.

I get no kick from juleps, and mere horse pimps don’t thrill me at all, but I get a kick out of being a contrarian Grinch each year during Derby Festival.

The orgasmic fireworks display this Saturday known to me as Flatulence Over Louisville always provides grist for this cynic’s willful disobedience, providing an excellent pretext to skip town for somewhere quiet and civilized by comparison … a place where good beer and victuals are readily available to wash away the bad taste of our yearly glorification of pure, old-fashioned American garishness.

In 2013, the Brewers of Indiana Guild's annual meeting was the pretext to enjoy Indianapolis during Blunder. This year, it's Bloomington, the BIG fest, and some exploration. Even better: In 2014, the guild's meeting takes place on Derby Day itself ... and northward I will go.

Let me know when the smoke clears, okay? I really detest this crap.

Indiana craft beer focus coming to Bloomington during the second week of April.

The 2014 Bloomington Craft Beer Festival is Saturday, April 14. Information is here.

The fest is preceded by Bloomington Craft Beer Week, as described here.

Louisvillians will note that in 2014, with Thunder Over Louisville moved forward a week, the best possible way to avoid the scrum on the banks of the Ohio is to make the short drive to Bloomington, take in the fest, and perhaps spend time exploring one of Indiana's greatest smaller cities.

BBC & NABC Tap Annihilation at The Tap in Bloomington.

We're getting together on Friday with our friends from Bloomington Brewing to feature beers at The Tap, then hitting the 3rd Annual Bloomington Craft Beer Festival on Saturday. For the scoop and links: Bloomington Brewing Company & New Albanian Tap Annihilation at The Tap in Bloomington.

This year's Bloomington Craft Beer Festival is on Saturday, April 13. Tickets are on sale now.

The Brewers of Indiana Guild notes that its 2013 Winterfest sold out quickly this year, and so sales already have started for the third edition of the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival, coming on a new date in 2013: Saturday, April 13.

For more information, and to purchase tickets on line, click here.

The historic Woolery Mill again will provide a beautiful and uniquely Hoosier setting for the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival on April 13. Beer just seems to taste better in the presence of limestone ... Music will be provided by the Secret B-Sides, from Asheville, North Carolina, and 220 Breakers, a Bloomington band. Indiana brewers will be joined by a select group of out-of-state breweries. Doors open to VIPs at 3 p.m., with general admission at 4 p.m.

Following are links to coverage of the 2011 and 2012 gigs.


2011:

Yesterday's inaugural Bloomington Craft Beer Festival.

2012:

Just move it inside.

Second Bloomington Craft Beer Festival coming on Saturday, June 9.

The second Bloomington Craft Beer Festival takes place on Saturday, June 9 at the Woolery Mill in Bloomington. Last year's first-ever event was fun, but lightly attended. The Brewers of Indiana Guild hopes that we do better with the festival in 2012, and happily, there's no conflict with Fest of Ale this year.

Ben Minton, Richard Atnip and the Publican (that's me) will be working the NABC booth, and here's what we're bringing: Black & Blue Grass, Naughty Girl 2012, Oaktimus, Yakima Rye IPA and assorted time-release growlers (to be determined).

For ticket information, visit the BIG site. A recap of 2011 was published here at the blog: Yesterday's inaugural Bloomington Craft Beer Festival.

Someone get me an envoy and a pitcher of craft beer.

Yesterday I offered this brief assessment of the first annual Bloomington Craft Beer Festival on Saturday, June 4: Yesterday's inaugural Bloomington Craft Beer Festival.

On the same day as the Bloomington gig, Keg Liquors in Clarksville held its sixth annual Fest of Ale. Owner Todd Antz provides this report:

We came up with some great numbers for the Fest of Ale. We brought in over 1,000 people and raised $7,225 for the Crusade for Children. Thanks to everyone who came out and helped make this the best one ever!

The question: Are these two locations, Bloomington and Clarksville, sufficiently far removed from each other that there were no ill effects from celebrating craft beer twice on the same day, at the same time?

Now, I'm not interested in exploring who had which date first, or which charity is the more deserving. Rather, I'll cut directly to the chase and note that in the perfect world, the two festivals would be held at different times.

Upland Brewing Company subordinated its Rad Fest into the Bloomington Craft Beer Festival, with hopeful results that vindicate the notion of placing a Brewers of Indiana Guild satellite event there. In spite of Big Red Liquors, Bloomington deserves the placement.

Meanwhile, Todd has done such a good job of establishing Fest of Ale as a metro Louisville tradition that it might easily be transformed into the Brewers of Indiana satellite fest intended to titillate the emerging Louisville market and to introduce it to the burgeoning world of Indiana-brewed beer.

But the fests simply cannot take place on the same day. Brewery personnel cannot always be organized into split squads; logistical choices must be made, and not all these choices are good for the consumer.

Can't one of them take place in the spring or early summer, and the other in the fall? I believe the reconciliation talks need to begin right away so that we can have an effective, balanced calendar in 2012.

Yesterday's inaugural Bloomington Craft Beer Festival.

The First Annual Bloomington Craft Beer Festival took place yesterday (June 4, 2011). It was an outdoor event on a blisteringly hot day, and yet still drew somewhere close to 1,000 paid admissions, which I think was very good for a first-time event.

Most Indiana brewers were in attendance, and the ironic aspect of the day to me was that even though the Brewers of Indiana Guild might have hoped for a larger turnout, it proved to be a rare chance to interact with fest goers in a way that isn't possible when 5,000 people want beer, now.

NABC's reps in attendance were me, Richard and Ben, and we actually had the chance to converse, answer questions and educate. It's a tightrope when it comes to meeting consumer demand and doing so with requisite artistry; money's a factor, and so is face time. There is no firm verdict, just a constant process of compromise.

The Woolery Mill venue on the south side is ideal, in my estimation. Lots of space, scenic and accessible. I'd hate to see this location lost. There already seems to be some discussion of moving next year's event back, perhaps into May, which would be another spin of the wheel in the sense of (possibly) avoiding high temperatures, while risking the chance of monsoons like we suffered through in 2011.

But it would have the very positive effect of separating the dates of Bloomington Craft Beer Festival and Keg Liquors' Fest of Ale in Clarksville, which is committed to its June slot owing to the annual Crusade for Children in Louisville.

Thanks to everyone who turned out yesterday, both attendees and volunteers. A few tweaks, and we have another BIG winner on our hands.

Fetch your calendars for NABC's forthcoming week in beer.

Here comes another weekend packed with craft beer events. I'll try to use this space each week to preview the busiest summer schedule in NABC's history. Are you ready?

THURSDAY, JUNE 2

In Huntingburg:
Dubois County Bombers vs. Nashville Outlaws
It's summer collegiate-level baseball, and NABC is on tap at League Stadium in Huntingburg as the Bombers begin the Prospect League season. Look for Beak's Best, Community Dark and Tafel Bier at the Craft Beer Bullpen down the third base line. From New Albany, it's about an hour's drive down scenic I-64 to Dubois County.

FRIDAY, JUNE 3

In New Albany:
Schad Bash: Rock for Rauch 2011
The law office of Schad & Schad is right across the parking lot from Bank Street Brewhouse, and we're happy to join the fun at the first annual Schad Bash, which begins at 8:00 p.m. Music will be provided by the Louisville Crashers, and Rosa L. Stumblebus will be on hand for the pouring of NABC drafts. The beneficiary is Rauch, Inc., for 63 years providing opportunities for the physically and mentally handicapped in Southern Indiana.

In Lawrenceburg, Indiana:
First Friday "Party in the Street"
Our brewing friends from Great Crescent (Aurora) and Powerhouse (Columbus) will be vending Indiana-brewed craft beer, including some of NABC's -- Dan from GCB brokered the deal, and we're thanking him for thinking about us.

SATURDAY, JUNE 4

In Clarksville, Indiana:
6th Annual Keg Liquors Fest of Ale
Keg Liquors owner Todd Antz didn't waste time complaining when he learned that the BIG fest in Bloomington was to be held on the same day as his own gathering. He just went out and assembled the best Fest of Ale lineup ever, including this year's newest innovation: The House of Hops. Rock on, Todd, and read this news item from Daniel Suddeath in the News and Tribune: Hey you, beer me! Fest of Ales set for Saturday.

In Bloomington, Indiana:
First Annual Bloomington Craft Beer Fest
Formerly Rad Fest at Upland Brewing, this event has morphed into an officially sanctioned Brewers of Indiana Guild fest, and more than 30 of Indiana's 40-ish breweries are expected to attend, including the newest of the bunch. Purely exhaustive information can be found here, and tickets are on sale now.

In New Albany, Indiana (also on Sunday):
Fifth Annual Art on the Parish Green
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, located just around the corner from my house, is the oldest Episcopalian congregation in Indiana, dating back approximately 175 years. For Art on the Parish Green, the church's lovely historic grounds are given over to a multitude of arts and crafts, with live music, food and NABC beer. It takes place on Saturday and Sunday, and you can let them know you're coming at the Art on the Parish Green Facebook site.

SUNDAY, JUNE 5

In (outside of) Greenville, Indiana:
Capriole Spring Open House
It's the semi-annual open house at Capriole Farms, makers of the sublime goat cheese, without which my household would cease to function in a culinary sense. I'll be there, packing NABC beers for pairing with goat cheeses, and using the cheat sheet that Chef Matt and I devised last week. My advice is to get there early, because folks come from miles around for this one.

In Huntingburg:
Dubois County Bombers vs. Danville Dans

In New Albany:
Fifth Annual Art on the Parish Green

Am I forgetting anything? Let me know.