A brief report on this week's Brewers of Indiana Guild meeting.

On Wednesday, there was a board meeting of the Brewers of Indiana Guild, and I accompanied NABC's Blake Montgomery to Indianapolis for the occasion. He went out and did sales guy stuff, and I spent the afternoon at Sun King with the other directors.

Not all the topics we discuss can be public knowledge, but broad themes are fair game. As with any organization, we have our internal housekeeping tasks to perform. These days, much activity has to do with the explosion of commercial brewing in Indiana. The number of working breweries in Indiana has more than doubled during the past three years.

Among other tasks, the Guild hopes to improve communications with all craft brewers in the state, improve promotion of the segment, continue to successfully lobby the legislature, commence a mentoring program and have every brewery in attendance at our two biggest yearly fests. Toward these ends, we're organizing committees. I'm on the membership committee, and this makes me quite happy.

I'm also glad that as we move forward into the emerging era of Indiana brewing multiplication, one of my pet ideas is gaining traction. We're not there yet, but the day draws nearer.

I wrote about it earlier this year.

Now that Indiana is a state fairly blessed with brewers, should non-Indiana beers still be a component of these three yearly Guild fests?

Of course … under conditions and circumstances channeled by the guild itself, which to my way of thinking, means orienting guest beers according to their own state guild structures, and not by their Indiana wholesalers.

My solution has the merit of gently nudging Indiana wholesalers sponsoring an Indiana guild-administered festival to better support those Indiana brewers already on their sales rosters. It also provides a compelling reason for other state Guilds to become better organized, and to refine their message.

Just picture it: Instead of a wholesaler tent at the BIG Microbrewers Festival, with craft beers from America jumbled together, there could be separate tents for guilds from Kentucky, Michigan and other states.

Louisville Area Skeptics coming to the Public House on August 22.

I am delighted to announce that NABC's Grant Line location (pub & pizzeria) will be hosting the inaugural gathering of the Louisville Area Skeptics:

The Louisville Area Skeptics meet-up is an opportunity for people from Louisville, KY, and the surrounding areas to share their skeptical worldview. Scientific skeptics value critical thinking skills and promote the scientific method.

Here is more detailed information about the meet-up, which of course will feature pizza and beer in addition to healthy skepticism.

Welcome to the first monthly "Skeptics in the Pub" of the new Louisville Area Skeptics! Our first meetup will feature a presentation by David Ludden, Ph.D., on the topic of "The Psychology of Belief". Dr. Ludden is an associate professor of psychology at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky, where he teaches courses in cognitive, physiological and evolutionary psychology. One of his research interests is in the evolutionary basis of religious belief, and he has published on this topic in magazines such Skeptic, Skeptical Inquirer and Free Inquiry.

We'll meet just over the river in New Albany at our friendly neighborhood brew house, Rich O's Public House, in their private Prost! party room. For anyone new to Rich O's, it features excellent food, such as pizza, pasta, calzones and sandwiches, as well as a huge selection of imported and craft beers.

We will spend time getting to know each other and making plans for the future of our new organization, then we'll let the skeptical goodness begin!
Thanks so much for your interest in this group! See you on the 22nd. Please RSVP!

You can RSVP at the Facebook link above.

Unfortunately, I cannot attend this first gathering, as it is the same day as the Kentuckiana Celtic Fest on New Albany’s waterfront, where NABC will be pouring Progressive Pints and listening to Celtic tunes. But thereafter, expect me to be a regular.