NABC beer list for Brew Ha Ha (June 25).

Fear no beer? How about NABC's fest motto: "Go big ... or go bigger." We like Indianapolis to have choices in summertime, you know?

For Brew Ha Ha on the 25th, we're sending kegs of Jaxon (Barley Wine), Tunnel Vision (Royal Wallonian Ale), ThunderFoot (Cherried Imperial Stout) and Hoptimus (DIPA).

For details, get ye here.

Video coverage of Brew Ha-Ha earlier this summer.

Here's one that very nearly slipped past my (generally) drunken eyes. It's a link to an entertaining and informative ten-minute video shot during this year's Brew Ha-Ha in Indianapolis, and includes an appearance by Richard Atnip, who currently has been helping NABC with local sales around New Albany.

Ryan McCracken sent the video, and I'm assuming he shot it; if anyone knows differently, give me a yell.

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The Brew Ha-Ha 2010 benefiting the Phoenix Theatre was a little too much fun – kind of a miracle I even got a video made after sampling the finest beers Indiana has to offer. This video is a collection of local participating breweries and their fine wares.

Video link

NABC at the 2008 Indy Brew-Ha-Ha for Phoenix Theater.

Today I'm turning it over to my associate, John, for a report on the past Saturday's Brew-Ha-Ha in Indianapolis. Wish I could have gone this year ...

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By John Campbell

Jared, Tony, and I loaded up the Sweet Chrysler rental ride last Saturday and headed north for the annual Indy Brew-Ha-Ha. The Brew-Ha-Ha is an incredible block party and craft beer festival in the heart of Indy's Mass(achusetts) Avenue Arts District. It is also an annual fundraiser for the Phoenix Theater and a great excuse for us to hang out with our friends and fellow beer enthusiasts in Indianapolis.

We left early so we could stop for lunch at Oaken Barrel in Greenwood. As usual, the food was good, the beer was good, and the atmosphere was just what we needed to relax before the show. I had a Hommel Bier, something I'd never seen brewed there before. It was a refreshing change of pace from the standard American microbrew fare. Tony had the Snake Pit Porter and still swears our 15B is better than any other Porter in the world. Jared had the Superfly IPA, 100+ IBUs = happiness in a glass.

We arrived on time (really, we did), set up our brand new easy-up tent, tapped the kegs, hung some banners, and commenced drinking.

I grabbed my camera and headed out to annoy as many people as possible. It didn't take long. I was taking a few photos of our "A New World Is Possible" banner - one of Tony's many artistic endeavors - when I was stopped by a few of the festival volunteers (shown below at left) asking why I was taking pictures of the police cars and what my "These Machines Kill Fascists" shirt meant.

"Are you a political activist or something?" they asked in a most bothered way. After I explained that I was with the New Albanian Brewery and what the shirt means to us, they smiled, laughed, and we had a beer.

The gates opened, the crowd flooded in, and the rain began. We were happy to have a tent. Luckily, the shower was brief and kind of invigorating. The sun came out and the rest of the day was beautiful. The people at the festival were just the kind of crowd we like: educated, unbiased, craft beer supporters that truly appreciate what we do. Often is the case at festivals that we spend much of the day saying, "I'm sorry, we don't have any light beer. The booth over there has a great wheat beer. You'll love it. Next!"

Less than 10 minutes after I was detained for questionable camera activity, a wonderful lady (below) stopped her husband and said "Oh, look," pointing at our t-shirts for sale. It's like the Woody Guthrie thing." Ding! Ding! Ding! We had a winner! She truly earned the first free t-shirt of the day. It turned out that her husband (also shown below) plays in an acoustic band and would love to play at our brewery. "We'll play as left as you'll let us," he said. We'll be seeing them again.

Many of our friends were there: John Hill, owner of Broad Ripple Brew Pub (Indiana's first and oldest operating microbrewery), Jeff Eaton and his Barley Island gang, Veronica from Bell's Brewery, Mat Gerdenich (below) with his motley crew of Cavalier Distributing guys, Aaron from Stone Brewery, Christian from Two Brothers, and many, many others.

We took a pin of Flat Tyre that Jesse (our other brewer) and Jared had been aging in an oak J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale Calvados Cask for three months (below). I think they wanted to age it a little longer but, as Jared put it, "What the hell." We knew it would go fast, so we decided to wait until 4:30 to knock the bung out. As predicted: gone in 19 minutes. I had about 2 ounces and it was perfect. It had taken on enough of the barrel to show the apple brandy tartness and a hint of oak. Keep tabs on our upcoming festivals, and don't miss out; you never know what Jared has hiding in the cellar. We'll always try to bring something special.

Phoenix, our Kentucky Kommon, was the first keg to blow, followed by 15-B, Hoptimus and Elector. Fortunately, Jared brought an extra keg of Hoptimus so we ended the day on the right note.

All in all, the Indy Brew-Ha-Ha was a tremendous success. We can't wait to do it again next year. And, above all, we want to thank our ever-growing army of New Albanian loyalists. We do this for you!

Sweet Chrysler, comin' for to carry me home.

Phoenix Theatre’s Brew-Ha-Ha coming again on June 21.

Phoenix Theatre’s annual Brew-Ha-Ha festival is fast approaching. This year’s edition will be held in Indianapolis on Saturday, June 21.

I think NABC will be bringing more beer than in 2007, when we ran out in about an hour. Last year’s unexpectedly short event is described in this previous posting: Brew Ha Ha 2007 was unexpectedly short for NABC.

More links:
Brew-Ha-Ha page at My Space
Phoenix Theatre homepage

Brew Ha Ha 2007 was unexpectedly short for NABC.

In 2006, NABC’s Jesse Williams (pictured yesterday, above) loaded three 1/6 barrel (5.16 gallons) kegs and took them to the annual Brew-Ha-Ha beer festival in Indianapolis. It is billed as Indy’s oldest such fete, benefits the Phoenix Theater, and has been a fun gig over the years.

Last year, Jesse poured samples for almost three and a half hours last year (the fest runs for four hours), ran out of beer during the last hour, packed up the equipment and returned to New Albany.

Yesterday both Jared Williamson (above) and the author accompanied Jesse northward with the exact same quantity of NABC beer, which this year was Elsa Von Horizon, Hoptimus and Thunderfoot, which clock in at elevated abv’s of 8, 9 and 11, respectively.

By means of explanation, note that during summer fests, we tend to favor bringing “extreme” styles. This isn’t done to encourage drunken debauchery, but because other brewers tend to bring lighter beers appropriate for hot weather, and we favor expanded choice in this and all other similar situations. We also like to stand out from the crowd.

To reiterate, in 2006 our 15.5 gallons of beer lasted three and a half hours.

Yesterday, we were entirely depleted at 4:00 p.m., or just one hour after the gates “officially” opened. In truth, people were lining up at our tent at 2:30 p.m., so the tally should be roughly one and a half hours.

The small street that is devoted to Brew-Ha-Ha was solidly choked with humanity by the time our last keg popped, so we tore down and drove further north to enjoy relaxed pints and snacks, first at the Broad Ripple Brewing Company and then at Brugs Brasserie. The NABC brew crew was on the road for New Albany by the time Brew-Ha-Ha “officially” ended at 7:00 p.m.

Obviously, we didn’t bring enough beer. Was it because Jesse’s experience in 2006 was atypical, or because this year’s crowd was far larger? Our designated serving area was in a fine location, adjacent to the Massachusetts Avenue entrance, and the first beer station spotted by those entering from that side of the street. This might explain the early crush, which only became knottier as the middle of the fest path became blocked by lines waiting for beer elsewhere.

These thoughts are to be taken as observations, not criticisms, although I couldn’t help remembering NABC's experience at the inaugural Brew at the Zoo in Louisville a few years ago. In the end, far more tickets were sold than had been incorporated in the original plan, with the result that almost all food and beer was gone with two hours remaining in the event. Did yesterday’s cool temperatures attract an unplanned extra crowd?

One thing's a given: We’ll be back next year, ... and with extra beer.

For more photos, see Indiana Beer’s coverage.