"Craft Brewers Are Running Out Of Names," clever or otherwise.

Evidently Leg Spreader was NOT already taken

A few years back, when NABC decided to brew a Helles-style lager full time, we did what we imagined was due diligence and searched the Internet to see if Bat Out of Helles already was taken. We didn't see anything, so stuck with it.

Last year, we received a very nice e-mail from a brewery elsewhere, informing us that it produces a beer by the same name -- well, almost the same name: Bat Outta Helles. While hitherto this had not been worth nothing, canning was about to begin ... and so could we chat about terms of shared usage, i.e., our continued in-house, draft-only use of the name outside of the other brewery's distribution area, etc?

Frankly, Bat Out of Helles wasn't my favored name, anyway, so I wrote back and said we had no problem whatever changing to mere Helles, a style descriptor beyond restrictive copyright, much like ... steam beer?

Never mind.

Craft Brewers Are Running Out Of Names, And Into Legal Spats, by Alastair Bland (NPR)

Columbia? Taken. Mississippi? Taken. Sacramento? El Niño? Marlin? Grizzly? Sorry, they're all taken.

Virtually every large city, notable landscape feature, creature and weather pattern of North America — as well as myriad other words, concepts and images — has been snapped up and trademarked as the name of either a brewery or a beer. For newcomers to the increasingly crowded industry of more than 3,000 breweries, finding names for beers, or even themselves, is increasingly hard to do without risking a legal fight.

Elysian and Sub Pop: "Corporate Beer Still Sucks."

Yes, it's old news, but just the other day, the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) tweeted the photo of Loser, and I'm reminded of how corporate beer losing makes me happy.

Corporate Beer Still Sucks All Year Long

At LouisvilleBeer.com: Pint/CounterPint 5:1 ... Collaborations.

Pint/CounterPint 5:1 has been posted: "Are collaborations between breweries valuable apart from their usefulness in marketing to RateBeer.com?"


I say yes, Adam says no ... well, sort of.

Pint/CounterPint V – Are collaborations between breweries valuable?

Pint/CounterPint was created when Adam Watson (Against the Grain Brewery) wrote a loving response to the first Baylor on Beer article, Know your Enemy, written by Roger Baylor (New Albanian Brewing Company). At first we laughed whole-heartedly and admired the conviction and stance of both parties, and then we thought, “Hey, wait a minute… remember that old 60 Minutes segment called Point/Counterpoint?”

Wed., July 11: Flat12 and NABC merriment at the Tomlinson Tap Room in Indy.

Flat 12 Bierwerks (Indianapolis) and my New Albanian Brewing Company (New Albany) enjoy each other's proximity, and so on Wednesday night (July 11) we're getting back together for Indiana Craft Beer Week to showcase our recent collaboration,Die Saur von Satan, and perform a dual tap takeover at Tomlinson Tap. The beers will be pouring from 6:00 p.m.

Flat12 beers to be poured include Kiwi Kiwi Hefeweizen, Merkuh (An ‘Merican beer!), El Diablo Blanco Roble, Van Pogue Reserve, Barrel-aged 12 Penny Scottish Ale, Nitro Moustache Ride Red and Hello My Name is Amber.

NABC's lineup: Knobentinus, Haggis Laddie, Yakima, Naughty Girl and Elector.

It's a split squad for NABC: David and Josh Hill will be at Tomlinson Tap Room, while the Publican (moi) and Richard are at Sinking Ship.

At HBG: "Flat12 / New Albanian Collaboration - Black Berliner Weiss."

Gina has a comprehensive report at Hoosier Beer Geek. The collaboration in question, called Die Saur Von Satan, will be in Indianapolis for a couple of select appearances prior to the annual guild fest. Stay tuned.

Flat12 / New Albanian Collaboration - Black Berliner Weiss

Invitations to tag along for brew days don't come our way too often, so when we got an email asking if we wanted to join Flat 12 and New Albanian for a collaboration brew, we excitedly agreed.  I wasn't the only one in the group who wanted to attend, but scheduling foiled many yet again, so I went solo.  

When temperatures are hot, brew days start early.  When you live two hours from the brewery, your day starts even earlier.  I left the house at six in the morning and made a quick stop for coffee and doughnuts, cause people like it when you bring them doughnuts, and headed south to New Albanian Brewery's Grant Line location ...

Meet the brewers: Post-collaboration Flat12 celebration at the Public House on Thursday, June 28.

The actual brew date for the Flat12 Bierwerks collaboration with NABC is Thursday, June 28. However, rumor has it that the closely guarded process already may have begun. The finished product will be a Black Berliner Weisse.

After the brew day is done, you can meet the Flat12 and NABC brewers at the Public House. The usual lineup of NABC beers will be on tap as always, joined for the occasion by a mini-takeover of a half-dozen choices from Flat12:

Bourbon Barrel-aged Big Black Dog 68 Rye Stout
Moustache Ride Red
Kiwi Kiwi Hefeweizen
Summer Cycle IPA
Karousel Kolsch
F12 Amber

Whole Foods visiting BSB for Naughty Girl brew day.

Previously we told you that Naughty Girl is coming back.

NABC's 2011 collaboration with De Struise and Louisville Beer Store will be brewed a second time, with a twist: Angela Rees, the beer buyer for Louisville's Whole Foods Market (and a former "Here's to Beer" student of mine), will be bringing a crew of her staff to Bank Street Brewhouse to help NABC on Naughty Girl brew day.

We forecast a Naughty Girl 2012 release circa May 23, and invite readers to stay tuned.

A naughty surprise.

After much discussion, we've made a bit of a change in the bomber release rotation.

April: Black & Blue Grass will be released as scheduled in a week or two.

May: We're pushing Le Diable back (to where isn't entirely clear), and instead are planning on a big Bank Street batch of Naughty Naughty Girl India Blonde Ale in May, with bottles and kegs to follow.

Naughty Girl is NABC's collaboration with De Struise and Louisville Beer Store, and according to unscientific polling informally conducted since the first bomber crop went out in 2011, it is the most requested "to come back."

Well, it will be coming back. Stay tuned for more information.

Against The Grain/Mikkeller announce a collaboration.

Good stuff from Against the Grain.

12/19/2011

Against The Grain Brewery, located in Louisville KY, and Danish brewer Mikkeller will collaborate on a experimental beer, emphasizing the brewers' love of brewing innovative and unique beers.

Against The Grain (AtG), founded in Oct. 2011, is Louisville's newest brewery and maintains a diverse array of beers covering all of the major categories of beer flavor while generating an endless stream of innovative new brews. In short, everything is "specialty". AtG's brewers (formerly of Bluegrass Brewing) have a notable history with Mikkeller. Brewers Jerry Gnagy and Sam Cruz have sent a number of brands to the Mikkeller Bar during 2009-2010.

Mikkeller, known as the 'Gypsy Brewer' from Copenhagen Denmark, is noted for creating challenging beers that test the boundaries of beer and where quality always comes before quantity. In other words, uncompromising beer.

The Mikkeller brand, producing over one hundred different styles of beer, has grown into one of the most sought after in the world.
“Mikkeller has been very pleased to collaborate with brewers Sam Cruz and Jerry Gnagy during the time they were working for Bluegrass Brewing.

This cooperation builds on mutual respect, friendship and interest in beers of the highest possible quality.”

The collaboration brew... 'A Bloody Show' will be available in the first quarter of 2012. Stay tuned.

In addition to the release of the AtG/ Mikkeller collaboration brew, AtG will also contract brew a 'draft only' version Mikkeller's Invasion IPA for distribution in the U.S. Mikkeller Invasion will also be available in the first quarter of 2012.

(6) NABC Collaborations.

Collaborations

When brewers from different breweries get together, good things happen. When brewers and pub owners, coffee roasters and chocolatiers get together, more good things happen.

Le Douche Mentale
New Albanian/The Livery collaboration 2009
Imperial Belgian IPA, with different portions aged different ways.
70 IBU
8.5% ABV

C1
New Albanian/O’Fallon/Schlafly collaboration 2009/10
Oak Aged Dry Hopped Smoked Rye Pale Ale
45 IBU
5.8% ABV

C2
New Albanian/O’Fallon/Schlafly collaboration 2010
Smoked Belgian Dark Strong; Port and Cabernet barrel-aged, infused with figs.
30 IBU
10.7% ABV

C3
New Albanian/O’Fallon/Schlafly collaboration 2010
Dry Hopped American Mild
22 IBU
4% ABV

Pirate Pale Ale
New Albanian/Charlestown Pizza Company collaboration 2011
American Pale Ale, formulated and brewed with our friends at CPC.
45 IBU
5.5% ABV

B’Urban Trotter
New Albanian/De Struise/Louisville Beer Store collaboration 2011
Imperial India Pale Ale … If the Kentucky Derby is the greatest two minutes in sports, then B’Urban Trotter is the finest few moments of sipping, because what better place for a brewer/ostrich rancher from Flanders to seek inspiration than Louisville’s annual Run for the Roses? With collaborative assistance from NABC and Louisville Beer Store, De Struise’s Urbain Coutteau created this “Derbied” Double India Pale Ale to be dry-hopped and bourbon/oak aged, with a phantom suggestion of mint for the home stretch.
208 IBU
9.2% ABV

Naughty Girl
New Albanian/De Struise/Louisville Beer Store collaboration 2011
Belgian India Blonde Ale … It all began as a Belgo-American ménage a trois, but then the brewers arrived and transformed the trans-oceanic affair into a beer love pentangle. The collaborative minds at Louisville Beer Store, De Struise Brouwers and New Albanian Brewing Company offer this, a willfully disobedient India Blonde Ale with a hop on her shoulder. She’s naturally naughty -- by nurture.
69 IBU
6% ABV
Limited one-time bottling

Steamboat Common (also listed in the Heritage Series)
New Albanian/Great Crescent collaboration 2011
NABC’s Jared Williamson and Dan Valas of the Great Crescent brewery in Aurora formulated this throwback in honor of festivities commemorating the 200th anniversary of the first steamboat journey up and back the Ohio River. It included smoked malt, sorghum and molasses.
7.5% ABV
33.2 IBU

Dirty Squirrel Zwarte Ale is being brewed today.

There was an article in the arts section of the New York Times last Sunday about the mid-19th century habit of composers dedicating their newly published works to each other, rather than their erstwhile funding patrons --- the patronage system having largely become obsolete by that time.

In like fashion, and in a vaguely collaborative sense, Dirty Squirrel Zwarte Ale is NABC's homage to Against the Grain's Knotty Squirrel, which was a tribute to NABC/Struise/LBS's Naughty Girl.

What happens next is anyone's guess, maybe Dotty Swirl, but please, let the circle be unbroken. By the way, "zwarte" is "black" in Flemish.

Dirty Squirrel Zwarte Ale

Malts: Rahr Pale, Simpson Dark Crystal, Castle Aromatic, Weyermann Carafa I, Weyermann CaraFoam, Simpson Black

Hops: Challenger - Mash; Galena - Boil; Centennial - Middle; Cascade - Whirlpool; Centennial - Whirlpool; Palisade - Dry hops

Yeast: T58

69 IBU
17.8 Degree Plato
7.3 % ABV
Color 32.4 SRM

Here's the Steamboat Common formulation.

On Saturday (October 15), I'll be in Madison, Indiana at the Soup, Stew, Chili and Brew, where NABC will unveil "Steamboat Common," brewed collaboratively with our fellow Hoosier brewers at Great Crescent (Aurora) and Main Street (Evansville). For more information and links, check here:

Whole lotta steamboats goin' on, this weekend and next.

Ben Minton provides the Steamboat Common formulation, as originally planned by Jared Williamson and Dan Valas.

89% Rahr 2-Row Malt
6% Crisp Brown Malt
4% Weyermann Rauchmalt
1% Sorghum (6 Lbs added near end of boil)

Hops:
2 additions of US Goldings, Total: 6.6lbs

Stats:
O.G. 1.068
F.G. 1.012
ABV: 7.5%
IBUs: 33.2

Local De Struise collaborations go on tap tonight at the Louisville Beer Store.

Tyler Trotter at the Louisville Beer Store says it all at Facebook. Let's just say that there's no shortage of hops in any of these fine beers.

De Struise (KY Derby) collaborations **Release Party**

We will be releasing three of the collaboration beers that Urbain Coutteau (De Struise Brouwers Brewmaster) brewed while he was in town visiting for the KY Derby. At 5 p.m. we will have the following beers on tap:

*Three Floyds/Struise Shark Pants (Double Belgian IPA)
*NABC/Struise/LBS Naughty Girl (Blonde IPA)
*NABC/Struise/LBS B'Urban Trotter (Double IPA with Bourbon & Mint)

***We will also have 22oz. bottles of Naughty Girl for sale***

Come say thank you and goodbye to Jared Williamson (NABC Brewmaster) on his last night in town before he moves to St. Louis to brew for Schlafly.

Naughty Girl and B'Urban Trotter pour dates draw ever nearer.

NABC brewmaster Jared Williamson has released on-premise pour dates for draft Naughty Girl and B'Urban Trotter, NABC's collaboration brews with De Struise and Louisville Beer Store/Holy Grale.

NABC Bank Street Brewhouse: Thursday, June 23 at opening.
NABC Pizzeria & Public House: Friday, June 24 at opening.

Supplies are very limited, so there'll be a few necessary restrictions: No growlers, no pitchers, and 10-ounce pours only for B'Urban Trotter.

We believe a release event at Louisville Beer Store is being planned for next week, and when details come through the pipeline, they'll be posted.

Just the facts: Collaboration specs: B’Urban Trotter DIPA and Naughty Girl India Blonde Ale.

Bottling Naughty Girl at Bank Street Brewhouse on Thursday, June 16.

NABC & CPC Pirate Pale Ale: Arrrrguably Delicious!

CPC/NABC Pirate Pale Ale debuts tonight at Charlestown Pizza Company.

The basic facts, courtesy of Charlestown Pizza Company's page on Facebook:

Hey y'all ---- Kiel Haymon, Tajana Johann, & Jared Williamson brewed the world's tastiest APA at the New Albanian Brewing Company and we'll be tapping a keg of this beer Tuesday night at the CPC .... CPC/NABC Pirate Pale Ale.

Jared duly provides the specs for this, NABC's first collaboration with a local dining establishment. We hope to be doing more of them.

Malts: Rahr 2 row, Castle Biscuit, Weyermann CaraFoam

Hops: Chinook (mash); Columbus, Chinook, Centennial, Cascade (kettle); Centennial and Cascade (dry hopping)

Yeast: Chico Ale

O.G.: 13.12 degrees Plato

SRM: 6.4 degrees lovibond

ABV: 5.5%

IBU: 45

Select group of Office Hours attendees samples B'Urban Trotter.

Top photo by Rick, bottom one by the Publican.

Last night, NABC's Jared Williamson treated attendees at the final Office Hours of the season to a sample of B'Urban Trotter. It is a powerful Double/Imperial India Pale Ale with a depth of fresh hop aroma seldom experienced hereabouts. Jared informs us that release time is near. Stay tuned.

Jared "Collaboration" Williamson is interviewed at Hoosier Beer Geek.

Over at the Hoosier Beer Geek blog, there's a fine recap of our recent collaboration brews in the form of an interview with Jared Williamson, NABC brewmaster.

Struise In Indiana

Two Indiana breweries were recently visited by De Struise Brouwers' Urbain Coutteau. HBG readers may know of Mr. Coutteau from our January 2008 interview, or perhaps by his reputation as part of the brewery that was named RateBeer.com's 2008 best brewery in the world.

Urbain's visit wasn't just a vacation (though he did attend the Kentucky Derby) - his brewery visits lead to collaboration. Both Three Floyds and New Albanian played host, and it's safe to assume that we can expect fantastic beers as a result.

We contacted New Albanian's Jared Williamson to get more details about the New Albanian/Struise efforts.

Naughty Girl label, as submitted to the Feds for approval.

Collaboration specs: B’Urban Trotter DIPA and Naughty Girl India Blonde Ale.