A "Big Three" Beer Dinner to remember at Binkley's.

I've been to more than a few beer dinners, and yet the Binkley's "Indiana Beer Week" multi-course fest on Wednesday stands out in recent memory for quality, eagerness to please and very low price point for the quality of the fare.

It was a damned fine show, with Indiana foodstuffs, three of the state's best breweries, and enthusiastic staff. Well done, guys. See more photos here.

Cavalier says: "Look what just came back from New Albanian for the Friday Night event at Chef JJ's."

Make It Local: Craft Beer and Food at Chef JJ's Back Yard in Indianapolis, on Friday, July 16.

Indiana Beer Week tasting at Keg Liquors this Thursday, July 15.

(From Todd Antz at Keg Liquors)

Indiana Beer Week Tasting this Thursday from 5 - 8 PM

Here is all the information about this week's tasting:

Join us on July 15th from 5 - 8 PM as we celebrate Indiana Beer Week with a beer tasting of microbrews from across the state. Here is the lineup:

# Barley Island Dirty Helen
# Barley Island Flat Top Wheat
# Mishawaka Seven Mules Kickass Ale
# Mishawaka Four Horsemen
# Oaken Barrel Razzwheat
# Oaken Barrel Indiana Amber
# Upland Double Dragonfly IPA
# Upland Bad Elmer's Porter
# We'll also have two different brews donated by our friends at the New Albanian Brewing Company as well.

This tasting is free and open to the public (21 and older) so invite your friends!

"Drink Indiana"? I believe I did, thank you.

Indiana Beer Week made the Indy Star today, and the article was reprinted in the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Last call for Hoosier beer week

Mark Zelner and his wife, Kit, crowded with 150 others around the bar at the Rock Bottom Brewery. They were awaiting a taste of a rare Indiana brew: brewmaster Liz Laughlin's Kölsch beer, which won top prize at last year's State Fair Brewers Cup.

Last night's first-ever, pre-fest beer dinner at Opti Park was a kick, with a dozen rare Indiana microbrews on tap and a feast of dishes prepared with Indiana meats and vegetables. So was the following "reception" of sorts at Chumley's, where wholesalers World Class and Cavalier unveiled one treat after another (Bell's Batch 6000 and a bourbon-barrel aged Porter from Founders among them).

Today's annual Microbrewers festival will take place on a much hotter day than last year's. I might just have to drink some water, since I forgot to hydrate on Friday night.

And kept forgetting ...

Indiana Beer Week: A half dozen Indiana-brewed guest beers and 10 house beers on tap at the Public House now.

After a grievously slow business period in late June, suddenly we caught fire last week, and on Monday afternoon (yesterday) there were something like eight empty taps staring back at me.

On most weeks, Monday's the main beer ordering day, so the depletions dovetailed quite nicely with efforts to have a half-dozen Indiana beers on tap during Indiana Beer Week. Here is what the foraging yielded:

Alpha King and Pride & Joy (Three Floyds; Munster)
Brugge Brasserie Tripel de Ripple (Brugge; Indianapolis/Terre Haute)
Upland Maibock and Wheat (Upland; Bloomington)
Shoreline Brewery SumCen Double IPA (Shoreline; Michigan City)

And, of course, there are ten New Albanian Brewing Company currently on tap: Bob's Old 15-B, Community Dark, Croupier, Elector, Farmhouse Saison, Flat Tyre, Hoptimus, Mt. Lee, Phoenix, and St. Radegund.

The Indiana Microbrewers Festival is this Saturday, July 19, and don't forget that there'll be a Rick and Jeff Tours motorcoach to it.

Draft Hoosier brews for Indiana Beer Week -- just not the ones I was expecting.

Don't forget: Rick and Jeff Tours motorcoach to the Indiana Brewers Festival this coming Saturday.

NABC/Rich O’s themed guest beer weeks are continuing throughout July. Today we were supposed to have unveiled four rare drafts from our brethren to the north, but it would appear that some things just aren't meant to be, so forget all about what I told you earlier.

However, don't forget the occasion. A new event, Indiana Beer Week, had been organized by the Brewers of Indiana Guild to celebrate the period (July 10-19) between the Indiana State Fair homebrew and professional Brewers Cup Competition (July 11 & 12) judging and the annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival (July 19). Accordingly, a brewery "swap" schedule was arranged and The New Albanian Brewing Company planned to put our assigned beers on tap today.

Unfortunately, the unexpected began occurring. First, owing to a miscommunication (my fault), I learned that there wasn't going to be a guest beer from Lafayette Brewing Company. Second, announced beers from Three Floyds and Brugge Brasserie fell through. Nothing could be done about it, so we've improvised, and the fallback plan is this:

We managed to get Shoreline Brewery SumCen Double IPA from Michigan City, so there's one.

We always have Alpha King and Upland Wheat on tap; that makes three.

Brugge sent Tripel instead of Black -- four.

On Monday I'll forage and buy a couple of Indiana microbrews to flesh out the lineup -- Wabash Valley (Terre Haute) and Barley Island (Noblesville) sound like reasonable candidates, and one from each takes us up to a half dozen.

You'll have to come back tomorrow to see what I decided to buy, and then give me until Tuesday to get all of it in order.

Damn. This turned out to be harder than I thought.

VIP Brewmaster's Dinner in Indianapolis on July 18.

The forthcoming Indiana Beer Week keeps getting better.

On the night before the guild's 13th annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival, a VIP Brewmaster's Dinner will be held, with a 7-course dinner pepared by Chef Greg Hardesty and Indiana microbrews to match. Proceeds to benefit the Red Cross for Indiana Flood Relief.

Here is the scoop.

VIP Brewmaster's Dinner
Friday, July 18
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
OptiPark, 820 East 66th St., Indianapolis
$75 per person
Tickets at Broad Ripple Brewpub and Brugge Brasserie

Week of July 14, 2008: Draft Hoosier Brews for Indiana Beer Week.

NABC/Rich O’s themed guest beer weeks are coming throughout July.

Week of July 14, 2008
Draft Hoosier Brews for Indiana Beer Week

A new event, Indiana Beer Week, has been organized by the Brewers of Indiana Guild to celebrate the period (July 10-19) between the Indiana State Fair homebrew and professional Brewers Cup Competition (July 11 & 12) judging and the annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival (July 19).

Beginning on July 14, The New Albanian Brewing Company will have a quartet of Hoosier brews on tap to celebrate Indiana Beer Week. The following beers are confirmed, and there may be room for a couple of others, too.

Brugge Brasserie “The Black” (Terre Haute/Indianapolis)

Lafayette Brewing Company Eighty-Five IPA (Lafayette)

Shoreline Brewery SumCen Double IPA (Michigan City)

Three Floyds Alpha Naught (Munster)

NABC/Rich O’s themed guest beer weeks are coming in July.

Much time has been spent recently beating the drum about NABC's house beers, but of course we're still serving great beers from America and abroad. Rather than hoard everything for the periodic festivals, I've decided that it might be more fun to throw a few kegs on the board during July (and August, but I haven't gotten there yet) and see what happens.

Here's the overview. The specifics will follow over the next couple of days.

Week of July 7, 2008
Victory Brewing Company Drafts (Finally) Invade Indiana
Hop Devil, Prima Pils and Golden Monkey on tap, and Victory Flight Night on Tuesday, July 8.

Week of July 14, 2008
Draft Hoosier Brews for Indiana Beer Week
A new event, Indiana Beer Week, has been organized by the Brewers of Indiana Guild. NABC will have a quartet of rare Hoosier brews on tap.

Week of July 21, 2008
Carobs, Chestnuts, Chinotto & Chamomile: Italian Microbrewed Specialties
Four newly available Italian microbrewed specialties, none seen before on draft in metropolitan Louisville.

Week of July 28, 2008
Dogfish Head Off-Kilter Sixers
Selected sixth barrels of rare Dogfish Head specialties.

Stay tuned ... details are following.