The Indiana Homebrewers Club

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2011-10-11T14:23:00.002-04:00

Tonight's homebrew club meeting marks the 4th Anniversary of our first meeting. Hard to believe that!

Tonight's meeting will be held at the Coney at 8pm.

Our next homebrew club competition will be set for the February 2012 meeting - the style is porter. Robust, imperial, Baltic ... doesn't matter. Brew a porter and share with the club in February!

First Club Competition A Success!

2011-08-10T09:25:00.003-04:00

The following is a summary of the evening, written by Bill D., who included the text below into an email to Geary's Brewing Co. in Portland, ME.

On Tuesday evening, August 09, Patrick Scanlon won the Geary's Pale Ale competition of the Indiana Pennsylvania Alesmiths (IPAs) homebrew club held at Ray Schamus's Pennsylvania Barbecue in Indiana, PA.

In April, 2011, Bill Dietrich, under the direction of president Nate McElroy, circulated copies of the recipe for the Geary's Pale Ale clone from "Clonebrews" ( T & M Szamatuiski, 1998, pg. 149). The objective was to have each member brew the same beer to see which came out best. Tom Montgomery of Montgomery Underground Winery, and our local homebrew supplier, made kits for both all-grain and extract brewers.

In all, there were thirteen brews to try plus a six pack of Geary's Pale Ale brought from the brewery on Bill's recent fishing trip to Maine.

The event was a success and all of the ales were very good. A first-time brewer and two brewers who had not brewed in a long time entered the competition. Twenty three beer enthusiasts tasted and voted for the best Geary's Pale Ale clone. The winner, Pat Scanlon, brewed an all-grain recipe on his home-built recirculating brew system. He was awarded a glass, some cozies and bottle opener from Geary's.

A good time was had by all.

August Club Meeting - Our First Intraclub Competition!

2011-08-03T22:12:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday, August 9, we will meet at PA BBQ (2045 S. 6th St.) at 8pm for the Indiana, Pennsylvania Alesmiths (IPAS) first ever intraclub homebrew competition.

In May, it was suggested by club member Bill D. that we should all brew the same recipe and have a big tasting to see how each of us approached brewing. Bill handed out a recipe for a rough clone of Geary's (both extract and all grain) and we decided to set August as D-Day (drinking day).

Not sure yet how many people took up the challenge, but probably at least 10 folks will be bringing their beer for tasting on Tuesday. Though we've been meeting at the Coney on a regular basis, club member Ray S. (owner of PA BBQ) offered to host this special event after the restaurant is closed for the evening. It promises to be an education!

January 2011 Club Meeting

2011-01-09T17:15:00.001-05:00

Our first 2011 club meeting will be Tuesday January 11 at 8pm at the Coney. Starting this month, we'll be getting back into more topical discussions at the start of the meeting before we start any homebrew tastings.

This month's discussion leader will be Dave Juart (topic TBA).

If you'd like to run a meeting/topic discussion, please contact Nate or Dave via email or at the meeting.

Let's have a great 2011!

Getting Back to Basics for 2011

2010-12-31T09:42:00.002-05:00

We'll be starting up our regular meetings again in a few weeks; the second Tuesday of each month, as usual.

The past several months have seen our meetings turn into more social gatherings with lots of homebrew tastings. They've been a lot of fun, for sure, but we've sort of devolved. Many members have suggested getting back to the original format of our meetings where we started each meeting with a topical discussion before we got to tasting.

Well, starting in 2011, we're going to do just that (thought let's not call it a resolution). Others have suggested also trying to enter more club members' beers into sanctioned competition, which we hope to do, too.

So if you've not been to a meeting for a while, or you'd like to join us for the first time, we'll see you on Tuesday January 11 at 8pm at the Coney.

Happy New Year!

Oct 2010 Club Meeting - Happy 3 Year Anniversary

2010-10-08T10:56:00.002-04:00

Hard to believe, but we've been meeting now for three years!

Please join us on Tues Oct 12 at 8pm at the Coney for our October club meeting. If you've got some brew to share, bring it!

September Homebrew Club Meeting

2010-09-07T21:26:00.003-04:00

Oops! It's been a while since this has been updated. My apologies! The club is still going strong, however. In April and May, we had meetings with 20 members, and July and August came close with numbers in the high teens. Great to see such a strong turn-out for the club!

This month, we have a slight change in our venue. One of our members, Ray, is also owner of PA BBQ - now the only BBQ restaurant in Indiana. The club will meet on Tuesday, Sept 14 at PA BBQ, starting after 7pm. This is a BYOB event, whether homebrew or a commercial example. Ray will provide a small buffet of ribs, pulled pork, and some other goodies, and asks only for a $5 payment to cover the cost of food. Thanks Ray!

Next month, we'll be back to the Coney as usual.

February/March Club Meetings

2010-03-03T20:22:00.002-05:00

Despite the bad weather and threat of more snow, we did have our normally scheduled February meeting at the Coney.

About a dozen folks showed up, and we tasted three homebrewed offerings.

We also decided that we will now be known officially as the Indiana Pennsylvania Alesmiths (IPAs), and Nate will register our club with the American Homebrewers Association.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, March 9 at 8pm at the Coney.

January 2010 Meeting

2010-01-24T17:08:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few months ... we'll try to do better in 2010.

The club met on Jan 12, 2010 at 8pm at the Coney with several members in attendance and several homebrewed examples.

A suggestion was brought forth by Bill Dietrich to name the club the Indiana Pennsylvania Alesters (IPAs), and that we should think about getting 'official' glasses for our tastings. In addition, several people suggested starting the process of becoming recognized by the AHA in the future.

Our next meeting will be on Tue Feb 9.

September Meeting

2009-09-03T15:16:00.001-04:00

Hope that you are getting back into the swing of a new school year - whether IUP's or the local elementary/high schools. For those who don't have to worry about such things anymore - hope you're enjoying some great early Fall weather and the Indiana Co Fair.

This is a reminder that our Sept club meeting will be Tue Sep 8 at The Coney, starting at 8pm. The topic for this month will be 'evaluating beer'. Many of us really enjoy our homebrew and other beer on a level that others don't quite get. But what does it take to judge a beer? How good are we at picking up subtle notes of ingredients and off flavors? If we smell or taste something - can we describe it accurately? At this meeting, let's talk about the process of evaluating beer - from appearance to aroma to taste. We can also discuss how beer judges score a beer within style guidelines, and perhaps we can think about some of our members submitting some beers to upcoming contests!

As usual, please bring some homebrew to share if you have any.

See you Tuesday. Enjoy the Labor Day weekend.

Update: 9/9/09 Great meeting last night - 16 people showed up, including three new folks. We got to try NINE homebrews and discuss beer evaluation. Hope to see you all next month!

August Homebrew Club Meeting

2009-08-11T08:48:00.003-04:00

Join us on Tuesday, August 11 at The Coney, 8pm for our monthly homebrew club meeting. We'll discuss the upcoming Steel City Big Pour festival in Pittsburgh, share some homebrews, and talk about various homebrew-related topics.

UPDATE: Aug 12 - Great meeting last night - four homebrews to try out. We were also informed that Steel City Big Pour is already sold out for both sessions. We'll have to plan earlier next year!!

July Meeting

2009-07-08T20:52:00.003-04:00

Join us on Tuesday July 14 at The Coney, 8pm for our July homebrewing club meeting. We'll welcome a new member, Mike, who plans to share his first homebrewed beer. The Coney also now has Leffe Brune on tap, which is a nice Belgian dark ale. If you have some beer to share, please bring it.

As for a discussion topic, let's talk about packaging: bottling, kegging, counter pressure bottle fillers, corking, etc.

Hope to see you next Tuesday!

May Homebrew Club Meeting

2009-05-10T20:38:00.003-04:00

Join us on Tuesday, May 12 at 8pm at The Coney for our monthly meeting. This month, Tom Lieb will be our guest and will show us how to build picnic cooler mash/lauter tuns and a hot liquor tank.

We'll also have some extra guests this month from the Brewpub and Brewery Operations class.

As usual, if you've got some homebrew to share, we welcome the chance to try it.

April Homebrew Club Meeting

2009-04-10T07:16:00.002-04:00

Join us on Tuesday, April 14 at 8pm at The Coney for our April homebrew club meeting. Our guests this month are three IUP undergraduate chemistry students who will be presenting a research project on water chemistry related to beer brewing. Come find out which beer we should be making based on the Indiana Borough water profile!

As usual, bring some homebrew to share.

March Club Meeting

2009-03-09T16:08:00.002-04:00

This month, our topic will be wheat beer - whether American, Belgian, or German. As usual, bring some homebrew along to try (doesn't have to be a wheat beer, of course).

We'll meet as usual at the Coney, on Tue Mar 10 at 8pm.

See you there!

Thanks to Jon (and a reminder)

2009-02-16T07:31:00.002-05:00

Last week's homebrew club meeting was a success, and we'd like to thank Jon for coming up from Philly and sharing some pics of Earth Bread + Brewery with us, along with two growlers of great beer (the Wee Heavy, Yo and the De Raine Pore).

As a reminder, there is still a space or two available for the van this Saturday for our South Side pub crawl. Tentative spots include East End (not on the South Side, I know), Piper's Pub, Fat Heads, Smokin' Joes, and The Sharp Edge (again, not on the South Side). More details will be forthcoming for those going on the trip, but we're probably going to be leaving on Saturday mid-afternoon from The Coney.

February Meeting

2009-02-09T22:48:00.001-05:00

This month's meeting will include a special presentation by club co-founder emeritus, Jon Defibaugh. Jon is coming in all the way from Philadelphia, where he works as assistant brewer extraordinnaire at Earth Bread + Brewery. He'll be showing us some pictures of the operations and sharing some growlers of their wares.

As usual, feel free to bring some homebrew to share!

The meeting starts at 8pm in the Dubliner (side bar) of The Coney.

January Meeting

2009-01-13T17:23:00.001-05:00

Hey, don't forget we have our January meeting tonight at the Coney at 8pm. Dave J. will be talking about extreme beers. Bring some homebrew to share or grab a pint of Marzoni's Avalanche, Penn St. Nikolaus Bock - or there is still some Anchor Xmas ale left over.

See you there!

Meeting Tonight

2008-11-11T13:26:00.002-05:00

Yes, that is right. We are having a meeting tonight at 8 PM at The Coney. Be there, and bring some homebrew if you'd like.

Cheers,

Dave

Oh, What A Night!

2008-10-14T22:36:00.003-04:00

Tonight, we celebrated our first year anniversary at as a homebrew club by hosting Bill Kroft of Marzoni's Brick Oven & Brewing and his good friend and homebrewer Mark Dellinger. We met at 7pm at the Coney for our monthly meeting, with 11 regular club members in attendance.

We started with introductions and a brief history of Marzoni's (and Bill's brewing history). Next, we sampled some homebrews from three of our members: Ray S. brought a Honey Porter, an extract recipe that had a pound of honey in five gallons; Pat S. brought a 'normal' IPA, then followed with an apricot extract infused IPA - both all-grain recipes; and Eli brought a year-old, very dry cider. All four contributions were delicious.

After those, we cracked open two of Mark's homebrews, which included a heavily hopped smoked porter (awesome Rauchbier) and the one that Nate has been waiting for ... a saison with tons of Brett! Both were very tasty, but the 2005 "bretted" saison was absolutely outstanding!

Last, but not least, we cracked open the four different beers that Bill brought along: the Belgian Witbier and Oktorberfest (seasonals) and the two year-round offerings, Stone Mason Stout and Avalanche IPA.

Finally, as a rare and special treat, Bill brought along a bomber full of his very special and not-available-to-the-public Eis-Barleywine. In short, he took 10 gallons of the five-year anniversary barleywine (around 11% abv), froze it, and extracted 4 gallons of liquid from that. The result was an intense and very HOT alcoholic barleywine concentrate that was phenomenal tonight ... and what will turn into what I can only imagine as Heavenly in a few years. Kudos, Bill!

In all, quite a successful meeting!

October Meeting - Our First Anniversary & Special Guest

2008-10-12T19:39:00.001-04:00

Join us this Tuesday, October 14 at 7 pm (note the time change) at the Coney for our 1st Anniversary homebrew club meeting. As a special treat, we'll have Bill Kroft, the brewer at Marzoni's Brick Oven & Brewing, join us with some growlers of his terrific beers.

As usual, feel free to bring some homebrew to share.

See you Tuesday!

August Meeting Tonight

2008-08-12T10:57:00.001-04:00

Tonight at 8pm, please join us at the Coney for our August meeting. We'll catch up on some brewing news, and enjoy a few homebrewed beers.

Meeting Tonight

2008-07-08T09:16:00.002-04:00

8:00 PM
The Coney
Pints/homebrew conversation/general BSery

See you there!!

-Dave

July Meeting

2008-07-01T08:10:00.002-04:00

Come to The Coney on July 8th and join us for our monthly meeting. This month's topic. . . .yet to be determined, but I can promise you there will be homebrewed beer there, and lots of general BSery.

Cheers,

Dave

Johnstown Brewing Closed

2008-06-24T09:54:00.002-04:00

The story can be found here.

State College Brewfest Details

2008-05-16T10:08:00.002-04:00

A few quick words on the 11th State College Microbrewers and Importers Exposition this year.

When: Saturday, August 16, 2008
Where: Penn Stater Conference Center, State College
Times: 12-4pm for regular session ($45); 7-10pm for Connoisseur session ($75)
Website: www.scbrewexpo.com

Please note that the website CONTAINS SOME ERRORS, in that there is still information from last year posted on some of the pages.

No information yet as to what is offered at the Connoisseur session.

Tickets go on sale June 15 at the Hotel State College.

More details will be provided as they come in.

May's Meeting: In a Word ... Tasty!

2008-05-14T14:25:00.003-04:00

Well, if you could not make the May Homebrewers club meeting last night, you missed out on some delicious offerings! We gathered in the Dubliner starting at 7pm, and many of us grabbed some dinner and a pint while waiting for the crowd to grow.

In all, we had 17 people last night including spouses. In no particular order: Bill D., Jon S., Jon D. & Autumn, Dave J. and Brandy, Justin & Jess, Dave F. and Laura, Pat, Jim R., Nate, Eli, Tom W., Tom van D., and Craig. And of course, our extremely efficient and friendly bartender, Caroline. A big thanks to her for the assist last night, and for the artwork and possible new logo for the club.

We started tasting at 7:45 and were finished up by 9:30 or so. Here is the list from last night:

Bill D.: all-grain Hefeweizen
Jim R.: all-grain amber lager
Jon S.: extract pumpkin ale
Muckney Brewing: extract ginger-sesame ale
Tom W.: extract pale ale
Craig: extract amber lager
Dave F.: partial mash porter
Jon D.: extract coffee stout
Nate: all-grain Belgian quadrupel
Eli: extract American strong ale
Pat: all-grain IPA
Erick (absent): extract IPA

In all, a very successful evening! Some of us are gathering at 2:30 this Saturday at the Coney to go to the Pints for Pets brewfest in Altoona. Tickets and places on the van are still available! Contact us if interested.

Anyone up for a Pint for a Pet??

2008-05-07T18:14:00.004-04:00

It's drawing near, Pints for Pets that is. If you're interested, contact Nate or myself for more information. Oh, the quick and dirty:

Saturday, May 17th
4 PM to 8 PM
Blair County Ball Park, Altoona, PA
$25/ticket in advance, $30 at the door

We're getting close to having a van full, so be sure to get in contact as soon as possible.

Also, Don't forget about our Grand Tasting event at 7 PM on May 13th at The Coney. Be sure to bring the significant other and some brew to share.

Cheers,

Dave

Speak of the Devil . . . .

2008-04-09T19:48:00.002-04:00

After having a conversation about Four Sons Brewery in Titusville last night, Lew sheds a little light on the subject.

The Skinny - Four Sons Brewpub will open under a new name on or around June 1st under the watchful eye of Voodoo head brewer Matt Allyn. Read about it here.

I smell a road trip.

Cheers,
Dave

April Meeting Notes

2008-04-09T10:08:00.002-04:00

Ten of us gathered at The Coney last night to share in this obsession we call homebrewing. After the usual chatter and pint-purchasing, we were treated to a Powerpoint presentation by Jim Resh of his all-grain setup which can only be described as a pilot brewery. It was great to see what ingenuity and a little elbow grease can create. A big thanks to Jim for sharing.

Following a brief round of questions on the presentation we moved on to the night's homebrew offerings. We had five offerings this month. Two were brough by Joe Trimarchi, his first and second batch by the way, one an Imperial Light Ale and the other a Red Ale, both extract batches. Dave and Justin at
Muckney Brewing offered up two partial mash brews, G-man's XLTPA and Rising Sun Ginger-Sesame Red Ale. Jon offered up a tasty treat in his Celebes Coffee Stout. Thanks to all for bringing brews to share.

Upcoming Events:

FEBTOBERFEST!! - in May. May 13th to be exact at 7:00 PM at The Coney. Bring a guest and a few homebrews to share. Check back for updates.
Pints for Pets - May 17th, 4 to 8 PM at Blair County Ball Park. Tickets are $30, plus yet-to-be-determined DD van fee. Please contact us if interested.

Again, thanks to Jim for the presentation and to those who brought beer.

Join or Die!!

2008-04-07T18:05:00.007-04:00

In the spirit of HBO's mini-series John Adams (not so much Samuel Adams), we would like to invite all those of legal drinking age to The Coney tomorrow evening, Tuesday, April 8th at 8 PM for IHC's monthly meeting. Following a brief program, we will have our usual homebrew tasting. If you would like to bring something to share, please do so.

Just a reminder that our May gathering will be Tuesday, May 13th at 7:00 PM for this year's incarnation of Febtoberfest. (Better late than never.) We hope you're brews for this special event are fermenting away. Please feel free to bring your significant other.

Hope to see you all tomorrow.

Cheers,
Dave

Notes from the March Meeting

2008-03-12T13:25:00.003-04:00

Last night we had another successful meeting of the Indiana Homebrewers Club at The Coney. Thanks to the article by Sam in the Gazette last month, we had six new members join us. A big welcome to: Denny, Deb, Bob, Pat, Joe, and Jeff. In total, 16 people were present last night.

After the normal pleasantries and securing of appetizers and pints, the meeting began with a bit of business.

Nate passed around a photocopy of an article from Brew Your Own magazine on the hop shortage, which included a handy chart for hop substitution.
The group decided that our big tasting of members' homebrews will be during the May meeting. We'll try to hold the Upstairs and perhaps start at 7pm on that Tuesday.
More information on the upcoming "Pints for Pets" beer festival was given: It will be Sat. May 17 from 4-8pm at the Blair Co. ballpark (Altoona), with 30 breweries represented. Ticket price is $30, with all proceeds going to the Central PA Humane Society. If there is enough interest, we will try to rent the Coney van for passage to and from the beer festival. For more information, please visit www.pintsforpets.com (you can see the brewer list there!)
Now that we've grown a bit, we may transition from this blog to an actual website so that we can archive meeting notes, include pages with brewing tips (like the hop substitution guide, recipes, etc.) and other information that we have more control of - rather than using Blogger for everything.

After "business", we had several homebrews to try, including a Guinness-like stout from Ray S. (brewed with some extra brown sugar and a bit of allspice), a pale ale from Tom W. (second homebrew batch), a clone of Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre from Bill D., Eli's steam beer (second homebrew) and his IPA, and Erick L.'s dry-hopped IPA (first homebrew, with a bit of assist from Nate).

After the homebrews, we also had a growler each of East End Best Bitter and East End Dubbel Trubbel (donated by Justin and Nate).

A big thanks to Caroline, our bartender for the evening, and the Coney for hosting us.

For those who could not join us this month, we hope to see you in April!

Beer/Wine Tasting - Jeannette

2008-03-02T10:41:00.002-05:00

Here's an email sent to the Homebrew Club about a local (sort of) event that some of us may be interested in attending ...

Hello, I read your article in the Gazette, and am planning on coming to the next meeting. In the mean time, I wanted to let your members know about an informal beer/wine tasting at a local homebrew shop. The location is Duncan True Value in Jeanette, which is a hardware/homebrew store. People bring their own creations and share them, with rather informal popular voting. They usually get around 100 people. The owner has been giving out door prizes and prizes to the highest vote getters. In recent years, the number of brewers has been falling
off in favor of vintners. I'd like to see that turn around.

The date is 8-Mar, starting at 6:30.

Hope to see some of you there.

-Tony Matous

Notes from the February Meeting

2008-02-20T20:16:00.004-05:00

Last night, the club met for its February meeting that has been postponed from last week due to the weather. The off-schedule might have discouraged a few from making it out, and so a few regular members were not in attendance.

However, we'd like to warmly welcome three new members: Jim, Sam, and Eric. It seems both the place mat ad and the Gazette article were effective recruitment ventures!

In total, we had 12 members in the Dubliner for the meeting. After everyone grabbed a pint and socialized for a bit, we began the program. Our program was given by Dave Juart, who shared his experience in using a small 2 gallon cooler to do counter top partial mashing. This extra step adds just a bit more time in the extract brewing schedule, but has the benefit of adding more control and complexity to the flavor and fermentables that one normally doesn't get with extract brewing.

Dave got several questions followed by lively discussion on the technique. Thanks, Dave!

Following the presentation, Nate made a few announcements regarding upcoming events:

Febtoberfest is currently booked at the Coney for Saturday, March 22. It was brought to my attention that several of us forgot that this is the Saturday on Easter weekend. The deposit was put down, but if that Saturday is a conflict for a large percentage of the membership, thereby preventing them from attending, then we may have to push the event back to the next available weekend. An email will be sent this week regarding.
We need to find out how many members are committed to attending, with and without their significant others; we'll try to keep the costs as low as possible, but that will depend on participation and which food items we select
Club name?? So far, all we have been given is the "Trubadours". Are there other nominations?
Pints For Pets - the first annual brew festival to be held at the Blair Co. ball park on May 17 from 4-8pm. $30 admission, with all monies going to the Central PA Humane Society. If interest is high, we'll see about organizing transportation.

After the official business, we got down to the tasting of three homebrews:

Excelsior Stout, courtesy of Jon Defibaugh, a sweetish milk stout with a very creamy body!
Batch XI, courtesy of Muckney Brewing (Dave Juart, Justin Tanaka), is a "kitchen sink", Stone 11th Anniversary-inspired ale - described as an extra dark IPA. Very hoppy!
Dark & Mysterious, courtesy of Muckney Brewing also, was a cinnamon porter and the first recipe written entirely by Mr. Tanaka. Quite a wallop of spice in that one!

After the tasting, as usual, several people stuck around for another round and some good discussion. In all, another successful meeting!

A Few Braved the Streets ...

2008-02-13T09:16:00.002-05:00

Thanks to those few who braved the elements and the roads last night to hold down a table at The Coney in case some members or new recruits showed up! We'll pick up again next Tuesday (2/19) with the same scheduled program.

February 12 Meeting Postponed: Inclement Weather

2008-02-12T13:24:00.000-05:00

Tonight's Indiana Homebrewers Club meeting is postponed until next Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 8pm due to the inclement weather.

By meeting time, there is a strong possibility of snow turning to freezing rain, making both driving and walking a bit dangerous.

An email was sent to the membership list, and the Coney will be informed in case anyone calls there to ask.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but the 'board' felt that attendance would probably be lower than normal, and that safety could be an issue in such conditions.

Gazette Article on Homebrew Club

2008-02-11T14:09:00.000-05:00

A big thanks to Sam Kusic from the Indiana Gazette for his article today on the club. For those who get the paper, check out today's page 4.

Probably the only drawback to the article is that there is no contact information for readers, other than to come to the Coney, but I think it was well written - it elevates beer and homebrewers without making us sound too snobby or like total drunks ;)

Article?

2008-02-10T10:09:00.000-05:00

Well, apologies for getting everyone all excited this week ... I'm sure by now you've opened the Gazette to find no homebrew club article, but rather a grown man with a KISS doll collection.

Presumably, the article will still run (Sam talked to the four of us last week), but we don't know if it'll be during the week, next Sunday, or next month now. The whole point was to get some interest up for our meeting on Tuesday and tie in with the ads last month. Keep your fingers crossed - we'll keep you posted!

February Meeting Announcement

2008-02-07T09:21:00.001-05:00

The next Homebrewers Club meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 8pm at the Coney. The program will include a brief instruction/discussion by Dave Juart on how to add more complexity and variety to extract brewing by using a counter-top partial mash step.

We'll have a small homebrew tasting, as usual, and some general discussion on a new club name and some updates on Febtoberfest.

~~Look for the homebrew club article in this Sunday's Indiana Gazette!~~

Hell With The Lid Off

2008-01-25T13:56:00.001-05:00

A phrase once used to describe Pittsburgh from the early steel-town days, this moniker is now used for an annual barleywine festival. From the East End Brewing newsletter ...

"HELL WITH THE LID OFF" RETURNS... The biggest and baddest barleywine festival the Eastern US has to offer is back - and it’s right here in Pittsburgh. Kelly’s Bar and Lounge with again be the site of the largest collection of Barleywines available under one roof (including East End Gratitude 2007... possibly some older vintages too). Two days, four hour sessions, with beer friendly food, barleywines old and new, domestic and imported, big and bigger, and small manageable samples make this one of my favorite events of the year. Tickets go on sale Growler Hours (at East End Brewing) and at Kelly’s next week - $35 in advance, $45 at the door. Feb 23: 4-8pm (sold out last year), Feb 24th: 2-6pm. If you need directions or other info, call Kelly’s at 412-363-6012.

If there is enough interest, perhaps we should see about getting a van up for this trip ... Tim at The Coney has expressed willingness to help our group coordinate events like trips to local festivals. There'd be an additional charge, of course, but it beats a DUI ticket after drinking barley wines (typically from 8-12+% ABV)!

Notes from the January Meeting

2008-01-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

Tonight was another successful meeting of the club! Just about 15 of us showed up tonight at the Coney, including one new member. Welcome Ray!

A reporter and photographer from the local paper (Indiana Gazette) showed up. WE got some pictures for a future article, and Sam, the reporter, stayed for most of the meeting.

We started by watching a DVD on all-grain brewing, brought by Bill. After the presentation, we sampled four different beers supplied by: Dave, Justin, Eli, and Tom.

Information will be upcoming for February's meeting and "Febtoberfest".

Gazette Notice for Tuesday

2008-01-05T17:13:00.000-05:00

In case anyone missed it, the next Indiana Homebrewers meeting was announced in Saturday's Indiana Gazette on the bottom left of page 4 (under the obits).

Happy New Year!

2008-01-03T16:19:00.001-05:00

Welcome to 2008!

Hopefully, your holiday season was enjoyable, relaxing, and safe. And hopefully, you've all made a Brew Beers Resolution for 2008! That's right - a Brew Beers Resolution; to brew more beer and to drink better (not more) beer in 2008. We all want to watch those waistlines and get healthier, but a nice homebrew now and again is part of a balanced and joyous lifestyle :)

We'll be sending out an email shortly about next week's meeting: Tuesday, Jan. 8 (the Second Tuesday) at The Coney.

I just got the new place mat today from New Century Impressions, and below is a picture of our club ad. It was printed on 20,000 place mats that you'll see in some of Indiana's fine establishments - including, of course, The Coney.

Look for it the next time you're out!

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-21T18:33:00.000-05:00

Hope the season finds you well, in good cheer and full of great beeriness!

Look forward to an announcement and agenda for the January meeting after New Year's.

An Officially Unofficial Meeting this month

2007-12-06T11:01:00.000-05:00

December 11th
The Coney
8:00 PM

There will not be a presentation this month, nor a tasting, due to the holiday, but please join us for a casual evening of homebrew-related information sharing and general BS-erie! Oh, and we'll probably have a pint while we're at it!

Any questions, please feel free to e-mail the club at indianabeerclub@gmail.com or check out the forum.

Cheers, and hope to see everyone on Tuesday!!

Dave

Turkey Day!!!

2007-11-22T21:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Hope today went well for y'all, and that those traveling had/have a safe trip this weekend. Its such a busy season coming up, that we're going to forego an "official meeting" in December, but still have an "unofficial gathering" at the Coney on the second Tuesday of December. Hope everyone can make it to coverse about homebrew and beer in general.

Cheers,

Dave

November Meeting Notes

2007-11-14T07:17:00.000-05:00

The Homebrewing Club met last night at The Coney in the upstairs hall at 8pm. Penn St. Nikolaus was freshly on tap and we started the evening with a round of beers. Due to other commitments, there were about five members missing who were present last month. There were no new members at this meeting.

After 15 minutes of socializing, we began the evening's program with a PowerPoint presentation by Bill Dietrich on the basics of extract brewing. Despite the experiences of the many people present, all of us walked away with some new things to think about. That's one of the nice things about brewing - just about every step can be done different ways, and there's a lot of room for personal preference (except, as Bill noted, sanitation ... all of us have to do that step!). It was a great talk. On behalf of the rest of the group, many thanks to Bill for his presentation. And, thanks to Erick Lauber for providing/setting up/running the laptop & digital projector on the Coney's screen.

After the talk, we had a few minutes of lively discussion about a few points of club business. The highlights were:

1. we suggested that the meetings be held the second Tuesday of every month (have to double check with The Coney). This allows us to have a set time every month that is easy to remember, regardless of date, and can be helpful when we advertise.

2. Because of the general hectic air of the holiday season, we will NOT have an official December meeting. There will be several people gathering, I'm sure, but we'll not have a formal presentation or tasting.

3. January's meeting will focus on another tasting and another presentation. Bill Dietrich has a DVD on all-grain brewing which he would like to show ... there are a few people interested in learning what it takes to move up to the next level of brewing.

4. We want to advertise and increase membership! We had a great turn out for the first meeting just by word of mouth and a few fliers. Let's up the ante. Talk to your friends & relatives, coworkers. Let's put some fliers at the local homebrew supply stores. We're going to look at radio ads and maybe an article/ad in the Gazette, too. Surely, there are more folks out there!

5.The first club 'goal' or competition, if you will, is going to be "Febtoberfest". The original framework for this comes from Dave Juart, and though it was modified a bit at the meeting, the premise remains the same: everybody brew something to be ready by February. We will then organize a special event (a weekend?) where everyone (and a guest?) will bring their brews to share. We can do some food pairings or have general appetizers, for example. We might ask a local brewer to come and 'judge' the entries and have a small prize for the winners, for example. We'll keep everyone posted, but in short we want to have a yearly event to call our own; one that promotes homebrewing and gets all club members involved.

After those few points of business, we got to the tastings:
1. Double Dub Bull Dubbel, an extract Belgian dubbel from Jon Defibaugh
2. Heavy Hefe, an extract pseudo-Weizenbock by Dave Juart
3. Not So Pale Ale, an all-grain dark pale ale (patent malt) from Bill Dietrich
4. Dry-Hopped Pale Ale, a dry-hopped extract from Jon Southard
5. Quad D's Deep Creek Porter 2007, extract from Dave Juart
6. Commonplace Coffee Porter, an all-grain porter flavored with Sumatran Mandheling coffee extract (from Commonplace) by Nate McElroy

Once the tastings were done, a few stuck around for a last round at the bar and to 'clean up' the remaining appetizers (Tuesday's is BOGO on the appetizers!).

All in all, another great meeting.

Meeting Reminder

2007-11-12T22:18:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder (and an invitation) that our second meeting will be Tuesday, November 13 at 8pm at The Coney (642 Philadelphia Street). Join us for conversation, homebrew tastings, and a talk on the basics of extract brewing by Bill Dietrich.

See you there!

First Meeting Goes Great!

2007-10-24T16:55:00.000-04:00

What a response!

I think I speak for the four organizers when I say we were very pleased with turnout. Last count had more than twenty people in attendance, all very enthusiastic about brewing. It was a great start, for sure.

Next meeting is November 13th, mark your calenders.

Inaugural Homebrew Club Meeting

2007-10-14T12:57:00.000-04:00

That's correct! We are going to have our inaugural meeting at The Coney on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 8pm. Come one, come all interested in homebrewing. Our flier will be posted at various locations in town, and we'll be spreading the word as much as possible.

At the moment, we're not sure how many people may show or what the interest/experience level will be, but there's only one way to find out!

P.S. - A huge thanks to Jon for creating the flier!!!

Homebrewers Club Forum Now Online

2007-10-10T09:17:00.000-04:00

That's right .. the Indiana Beer Club, which is really going to turn into more of a Homebrewers Club, now has a discussion forum for its members.

Join us at:
http://indianabeerclub.hyperboards.com/.

The inaugural meeting is coming soon! Details will be posted shortly.

It's That Time Again - Oktoberfest!

2007-09-20T20:14:00.000-04:00

Keep an eye out at our locals - time again for the Oktoberfest beers to start showing up. Those wonderful malty, subtle lagers that can showcase the talents of the brewer.

In our own backyard, I know that the Coney has just tapped Penn Oktoberfest ('cause I had the first pint of it!). They'll not be running Sam Adams' version this year, in favor of the Boston Lager. You'll find Victory's Festbier in bottles at Sudsy's, too, and many others should start popping up.

Prost!

That Voodoo That You Do

2007-09-14T12:10:00.000-04:00

A decent little article about Voodoo Brewery from the Post-Gazette.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07256/816952-34.stm

Dead Reckoning Coming to Town

2007-08-30T21:47:00.000-04:00

Tröegs Dead Reckoning Porter will be arriving at the Coney on Saturday, Sept. 1. ~~It'll be nice to have a porter on tap!~~ Oops, my mistake! It's coming, but it's in bottles.

Goodbye Mr. Jackson

2007-08-30T14:28:00.000-04:00

As reported in tons of other beer-related places, beer guru Michael Jackson, author of the first beer book I ever owned, passed away this morning. If ever there was someone for whom to raise a glass, it'd be Mr. Jackson.

The Move Toward A Homebrewing Club

2007-08-21T10:19:00.000-04:00

The summer has been difficult in terms of all getting together for an organized tasting, and as many may have noticed - we really haven't been sticking to the first Tuesday of each month.

The focus for the past several months has been on homebrewing, and we've brought a few more people into the fold. Jason & crew brewed their first batch (with supervision from Nate) of beer, a Franziskaner clone. Eli brewed his first batch in early Spring and is getting ready for another one. Jon finally did a batch last month (looking forward to tasting!). Nate is on his 5th of the year. And the latest member, Dave, is going hog wild with extract brewing. Since April, he has brewed at least 6 or 7 batches, and has gotten a couple more people interested.

That said, it may be time to think about organizing an actual homebrew club, one that is officially recognized. Of course, the rub is that I don't think any of us has actually been in an official homebrew club. We're putting some feelers out to see what's involved, pros and cons, etc. As we grow, we'll most likely need to get a lot more organized than we have been, but I know a certain local publican that would probably enjoy having us meet at his establishment :)

That said, keep in touch. We'll most likely keep the blog site running, even if we change the name of the 'club'.

July tidbits

2007-07-22T02:03:00.000-04:00

The Coney still has a couple of Troegs offerings .. get that Sunshine Pils while it lasts, since it will soon be replaced by Newcastle Brown Ale. The Penn Weizen has been pouring for a few weeks, and it's an extremely good batch this year for those of you who enjoy German Hefeweizen. Nice and yeasty!

Have you been to Rivertowne yet? If not, why???

Also, Scott's been keeping the taps open at East End, and a few weeks ago brought out the Smokestack Porter. Get a bottle while they last!

A few more people are interested in homebrewing! If this keeps up, we might have to start a real club!

Keep in touch.

Rivertowne Pour House

2007-06-17T22:33:00.001-04:00

For those who get to Monroeville or want an excuse to get to Monroeville, the Rivertowne Pour House is now open. With two great brewers (formerly of John Harvard's and Johnstown Brewery) working together to keep 14-18 taps flowing, there's good news pouring just an hour from Indiana.

Nice menu, great service. Check it out!

Action Alert!

2007-05-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

Via Lew Bryson:

Want to buy smaller quantities at distributors and larger quantities at take-out shops?

PA Senate Bill 674, which proposes allowing beer distributors to sell 12-packs, and taverns to sell up to 3 six-packs. Pathetically incremental, I know, but it's a start. Please e-mail your PA Senator (you can easily do it here) and ask them to vote for Senate Bill 674. This bill will not affect consumption (it lets you buy LESS beer), it will not allow supermarket sales, it will not affect underage drinking. It is a convenience for citizens, that's all.

Here is a Post-Gazette article on the bill as well as a link from which you can write your legislators.

Is Voodoo Open?

2007-04-22T19:53:00.000-04:00

If we're to read Lew Bryson's Seen Through A Glass" correctly, it looks as though Voodoo Brewery in Meadville is open?

Sounds like an IBC road trip is in order soon for Voodoo, Sprague Farms, and North Country Brewing.

Amici's Restaurant & Pizza

2007-04-22T19:48:00.000-04:00

Just a quick notice .. for those who've not been to Ebensburg lately, you should check out Amici's Restaurant. It's on the main drag in downtown, where the Valley Dairy used to be. A small but varied Italian themed menu, nice atmosphere (white linen tablecloths), and medium pricey for the area. What was most surprising for this place was the beer selection. Amici's has 14 taps and many bottles. On tap last Friday were (among others) Anchor Steam, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (it's much different than the bottled version), Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Brooklyn Atwerp Ale (a lighter Belgian ale), and a few other PA micros. On hand were also Stella Artois, Yuengling, Bud Light, and Guinness.

The April Gathering

2007-04-22T19:37:00.000-04:00

Yes, we're still active, despite few posts and comments on this blog!

This has been a busy month for most of us. Between the semester coming to a close at IUP and the onset of good weather (that means yard work and just getting outdoors!) it's been difficult to get people together for a weekday evening.

This month, just a few of us (Nate, Jon, Lacey, Karl, Eli, and newcomer Jason) met on Tuesday, April 17 for a small tasting. Jon and Lacey provided a 2005 and 2006 Stone Old Guardian, and Nate provided the 2007 for a nice little vertical tasting. Old Guardian is a very nice barley wine and it gets better with age. The 2005 was smooth and warming. Definitely one to buy and put to sleep for a few years in the cellar.

Jason brought a few Bells Oberon Ale and Nate provided a few Troegs Dream Weaver Wheat, so we sampled a few nice wheat beers. Nate also had a bomber of Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, which was alright but not a total crowd pleaser.

Eli treated us to his first batch of homebrew, and ESB which he coined an ESC (extra special corn). Admittedly, the beer had a few flaws (Eli criticized his own work most harshly, as most of us homebrewers do), but it looked great, had a thick, rich lacing head, and was well carbonated and free from infection. It turned out better than Nate's first homebrew years back, for sure. But that's the joy and frustration of learning a new hobby. We look forward to more from Eli!

May's meeting will be on the 1st or 2nd - not sure of the location or theme yet, but we'll send information soon.

The Coventry Inn Is Open

2007-04-12T22:36:00.000-04:00

Stopped up tonight to check out the Coventry Inn. Place was packed, which was good to see on opening night. The menu is small, but hopefully the food will be good.

As far as the beer ... there are five taps: Guinness, Bass, Newcastle, Augustiner (Pittsburgh Brewing), and Labatt. Bottle selection is all American macro, lights, and then Sam Adams and SNPA. No British bottled. Disappointing for a "British pub". The bar is nice, however, and I didn't feel like I was in Indiana. Smoky, though.

Coventry Inn To Open

2007-03-31T09:28:00.000-04:00

According to last night's Gazette, the Coventry Inn on North 6th Street will open its doors again on April 12. There will be limited but regular hours: Thu.-Sun. 4pm-11pm. Dinner reservations are highly recommended, but the bar area is always available.

I'm hoping that they'll have some interesting English beers!

How To Pronounce Some Beers

2007-03-20T20:55:00.000-04:00

Since we like to promote all types of good beer here at the IBC - which includes tasting as many as possible - I found an interesting link that has a brief pronunciation guide for some of the trickier Belgian styles/names.

Beers have little .wav files that allow you to hear the pronunciations in English, Flemish, and French.

Enjoy!

Ironwood Sightings

2007-03-13T22:12:00.000-04:00

Stopped at the Ironwood tonight. Be on the lookout for Weyerbacher Quad, DFH Panagaea, and some Yards selections.

Also, Hacker-Pschorr and a few Stoudts sixers are on 'clearance' (i.e. $1 off), so get that Fat Dog Stout while it lasts.

Coney's March Line-Up

2007-03-07T19:10:00.000-05:00

For those who frequent the Coney (or not), there are a few new selections on draught.

First, the Penn Brewery tap has been switched to the Maerzen - it must be Spring! The St. Nikolaus is gone for another year.

Two new taps replaced Sam Adams Cherry Wheat and the Moosehead. They are Magic Hat #9 (Magic Hat) and Troegs HopBack Amber Ale (Troegs Brewing). Both of these and the Penn are $4.50 for a 20 oz.

This month's bottle selection (in addition to left over DFH 60 Minute IPA & Shelter Pale Ale, and Troegs Nut Brown) are Church Brew Works Celestial Gold (Church Brew Works) and Bell's Amber Ale (Bell's Brewery), both for $3.75.

March Beer Club Meeting Notes

2007-03-06T23:21:00.000-05:00

Well, due to low RSVPs, we only had six people at tonight's meeting (hosted by Nate). It worked out well, however, and it was an enjoyable evening. Perhaps March is a busy time for many people, or perhaps Tuesday night is not good for some. Attendees were Nate, Eli, Jon, Lacey, Tom W., and Karl.

Jon & Lacey brought some excellent cheeses from the Cheese House? (shop?) on Rt 22, including an aged Provolone, a Dubliner, Gruyere, and an awesome Norwegian Goat Cheese.

The beer selection for the evening included nine beers:

*Weltenburger Asam Bock (Germany), a doppelbock [Tom W.]
Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza (MI), a biere de garde [Nate]
Victory V Twelve 2005 (PA), a Belgian strong ale [Jon & Lacey]
Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial (MI), a Belgian strong ale [Jon & Lacey]
Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout (VA), a stout [Eli]
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale (England), an English strong ale [Tom W.]
*Dogfish Head Shelter Pale Ale (DE), an American pale ale [Tom W.]
Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale (CA), an American strong ale [Nate]
Lindemans Cuvee Rene (Belgium), a gueuze lambic [Karl]

* denotes beer available in Indiana; remaining available in Pittsburgh.

No disappointments tonight - all the beers were spot on. The Jolly Pumpkin ales were a particular treat, as they closely resemble true Belgian ales though brewed in Michigan.

Thanks to everyone who brought beer!

Hopefully, more people will be able to make the April meeting.

Cheers,
The Indiana Beer Club

Confusion at The Coney

2007-03-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I don't know who dropped the ball here, but I have to say that the Coney beer sampling was not as advertised by someone.

I showed up at 9pm, only to be told the beer tasting wasn't going to be until 10 or 10:30 ... NOT the 9-11pm stated by the Vecenie email. Apparently, tonight was poker night in the VIP room, and they don't finish until 10 or so. Vecenie reps hadn't even shown up yet.

My apologies to all those who showed up around 9pm (like me), but that's the information we were given. Apparently The Coney beer tastings are aimed at the college crowd, since I can't see many of our members showing up at 10:30 on a Thursday night (and having to pay a cover, to boot) to try 3 or 4 beers.

Let's hope for better next time.

Coney Craft Beer Sampling?

2007-02-21T21:31:00.000-05:00

Just got the Vecenie beer news email - lo and behold, there's a Craft Beer Sampling scheduled at The Coney. Next Thursday, March 1, from 9-11pm. No details available on the Coney website yet.

I'll post more details as they come in. Hopefully, we will see some of you there.

UPDATE: At least two of the 3-4 beers will be Church Brew Works products. I was told the event is free and will be held Upstairs (in the nice bar).

We are still beer... er, here.

2007-02-20T14:45:00.000-05:00

Despite how it seems here, the Club did not fall apart after the Gazette article. I think we've all just been a tad busy.

Me, I'm getting ready to brew my first batch of homebrew tomorrow night, so I've been busy planning, stressing and thinking about good brewery names and logos. You know, the important stuff.

We had a pretty good response to the article and I think things are going to just keep picking up. As the weather warms and winter goes away for a little while, I think we'll have more things planned beyond our meetings.

Speaking of meetings, we've not yet decided on a beer style/theme or meeting place, so if anyone has any ideas, please speak up or drop us a comment.

Lets try this instead, the Gazette article in digital form.

2007-02-12T14:14:00.000-05:00

Here is the Indiana Gazette article that Nate posted on. Now, after some tweakery, it's readable. You'll have to click on it to get the big version, but you'll definitely be able to read it.

Good Gazette Article This Morning

2007-02-11T10:24:00.000-05:00

That was a nice article by Bill this morning in the leisure section. I wish there would have been more homebrewing than wine making ;) but hopefully the plug for this blog and the club will help us grow and raise awareness about craft beer.

If an electronic version of the article ever comes available, we'll post the link.

To those who found us by reading the Gazette article - Welcome!

Ironwood Grill's New Bar Is Open

2007-02-10T20:08:00.000-05:00

Visited the Ironwood tonight and checked out their new bar. Full report can be found here, if you're really interested.

I encourage everyone to check it out (the bar, not my review) and give your opinion in the comments below. I think it's good that local bars are taking up the challenge of providing a place for craft beer drinkers to enjoy a pint or two. Whether or not they'll garner a lot of business from our unique niche of customer base remains to be seen - as we tend to be a bit more savvy when it comes to beer purchasing.

The beer tastings at the Ironwood should start in April and run on the first Tuesdays of each month (what a happy coincidence for the club!). Perhaps we can assemble en masse for April's meeting and share our thoughts while sampling some new beers.

Beer Club coverage in the Post-Gazette.

2007-02-08T12:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, its not our Club, but any coverage on clubs devoted to the appreciation of good beer can't be a bad thing.

As they describe it, the new group is all about exposing people to different, good brews.
"We're not people who know everything," Mr. Sunderman says. "We're just common guys who like beer."

That sounds a tad familiar.

February Club Meeting Notes

2007-02-07T08:49:00.000-05:00

First of all, a big thanks to Jon and Lacey for hosting last night's meeting and for providing food and some good beers!

We almost tripled our 'membership' last night, with 11 people and we hope that our new guests will continue to join us. Welcome to TJ, Todd, Pete, Erick, Mark, Steve, and Carl and thanks for bringing a wide array of beers for us all to try.

Last night's lineup was quite varied, but considering the limited selection in town it would have been hard to stick to Belgian ales!

We sampled:
*Hoegaarden Witbier (Belgium), a Belgian white
*Victory Golden Monkey (PA), an abbey tripel
St. Feuillien Tripel (Belgium), an abbey tripel
Unibroue's Seigneuriale (Canada), a Belgian strong/dark
Southampton Biere de Garde (NY), a biere de garde
Lindemans Cuvee Rene (Belgium), a gueuze lambic
*Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (DE), an India pale ale
East End's The Ugly American (PA), an abbey tripel
*Stone Ruination IPA (CA), a double IPA
*Stone Arrogant Bastard (CA), an American strong ale
*Guinness Extra Stout (Canada), a dry stout
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere (MI), a saison

*denotes beers available in Indiana; majority of others found in Pittsburgh

To find out more about these styles and their characteristics, you can check out the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Guidelines. To find out how these beers are judged by the average beer lover, you can search for them at either RateBeer or Beer Advocate.

Many of our guests got to try some really good stuff that they probably hadn't had before. Many were surprised by the Cuvee Rene, as gueuze lambics aren't really well known around here. Some were surprised to find that they really enjoyed a heavily hopped beer, like the Stone beers and the DFH 60-Minute. Spread the word!

The only disappointment in the line up was the Southampton Biere de Garde. A couple of us felt that it was off, with a lot of DMS (dimethyl sulfide) and buttery notes. Those of us who keep notes on the beers we try didn't bother to record this one, since it would have been unfairly judged. Better luck next time.

In all, I think everyone enjoyed the evening. The company was varied by age, profession, and interests, but everyone seemed to appreciate the beer. Great side discussions on music, travel, and coffee, too! We hope to see everyone next month and we'll provide details in the coming weeks for theme and location of March's meeting.

Cheers!

Meeting tonight!

2007-02-06T09:54:00.000-05:00

The 2nd meeting of the Indiana Beer Club will be held tonight, at Jon's house.

We decided to have this meeting be an invite-only sort of thing, to sustain growth rather than explode, but more so because no one really knows about the club other than the people we have talked to ourselves. I think we're looking at around 10 or so folks.

The original theme for tonight was going to be Belgian Pale(ish) Ales, of any form, sort of steering clear of getting into quads. However I'm bringing a French style beer (Ok, its fairly close in relation...) on request, Nate's bringing an IPA-Tripel fusion, and based on what we have in town for other folks to pick up (I'm just assuming most folks didn't go out of their way to get beers) its going to be a tad more diverse. I did a quick survey yesterday at Ironwood, options include:

Bell's
Winter White

Celis
Grand Cru
White

Dogfish Head
Pangaea - Belgian golden - 750ml
Raison d'Etere - Belgian Strong Dark - 6pk

Weyerbacher
Merry Monks - Triple - 6pk

Victory
Golden Monkey - Triple - 6pk and 750ml

Uncle Sudsy's has pretty much same beers, with the notable addition of Bell's Hell Hath No Fury, available by the 6pk.

A range of pretty decent to excellent offerings all, so I'm not too worried. It will be a good time, for certain.

Speaking of events...

2007-02-03T08:46:00.000-05:00

Seems like we may have a good one for April 28, but until then, here's a quick look at what's coming up soon:

Pack your bags and get your traveling shoes, its the Northwestern PA Brewery Tour. Okay, its only one day, but its packed. Organized by the Brewerie. February 17th:

...a tour and sampling of 5 area micro breweries including: The Brewerie at Union Station, Erie Brewing Company, Sprague Farm and Brew Works in Venango, PA, North Country Brewing in Slippery Rock, PA and a sneak peak at Voodoo Brewing Company that will be opening soon in Meadville PA.

Did I just read sneak peak? Sounds fun!

That same weekend is Kelly's 'Hell with the Lid Off' Barleywine Festival. I believe its the third year for this event, and don't owrry you can do this and the bus tour, since this year its two days. Saturday and Sunday.

Picture a room, filled with 60 of your fellow GOOD BEER fans, fully stocked with a beer friendly buffet, and - if all goes as planned, a total of 35 barleywines (including verticals).

Yoiks!

Coney to Host a Beer Event!

2007-02-02T22:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, you heard me correctly. I spoke with Tim McQuaide tonight, and The Coney will be hosting a beer event with some regional distributors and hopefully some microbrewers on Saturday, April 28 (Upstairs). More details will be posted as they become available.

Also, Tim mentioned that he may get a van together to go to the Seven Springs BrewSki Festival the weekend of March 23-24.

February's microbrewed bottles at The Coney are: Victory Hop Devil and DFH Shelter Pale Ale. St. Nikolaus Bock is still the Penn Brewery draft selection.

Good or Bad?

2007-02-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

Today for the first time, a Sheetz in Altoona (the big one on 17th St.) will be allowed to sell beer to the public. The article can be found here. Will this be a good thing for promoting craft beer or not?

I guess it depends on their selection, first of all, then there's going to be the media attention (good/bad), and of course, the outraged handful of citizens in the minority whose 'rights' always seem to supercede the will of the majority. For example, these guys.

Another local beer club.

2007-02-01T09:06:00.000-05:00

Well, the club is based in Pittsburgh and meets at D's Six Packs and Dogs in Regent Square, but so what?

Take a look at the Pittsburgh Beer Society

They meet the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month at D's. There are no annual dues; membership is open and free! Cost for each meeting (for now) is $10 for (6) 4oz samples.

Check 'em out if you're local to them.

Site Updates

2007-01-31T08:35:00.000-05:00

I've taken the liberty of integrating the Google Calendar feature (its over there on the right) onto the website so folks can see whats coming up. It will always have our monthly meetings, plus local and regional good beer events. Please submit events, I'll be happy to add them.

If you have any other suggestions, let me know, in the comments or via email.

WQED's Dave & Dave Visit East End

2007-01-28T20:56:00.000-05:00

For those who watch WQED (public channel 13 from Pittsburgh), Dave & Dave's Excellent Adventure show will be airing on Tuesday, January 30 at 7:30pm - during the show they'll visit East End Brewing in Pittsburgh and talk with Scott.

Might be a good show to tape and watch on Wednesday when I'm making a batch of homebrew!

Homebrewing Article in the Gazette

2007-01-28T20:50:00.000-05:00

Keep your eyes open! Sometime soon (more details as they become available), the Indiana Gazette is having a Sunday Leisure section article on homebrewers and home winemakers in Indiana Co. We hope this will attract more people to the hobby in our area and raise awareness about good beer and wine.

Indiana Beer Club - Read This First

2007-01-28T20:42:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Indiana Beer Club!

Whether by personal invitation or from reading about us in the Indiana Gazette article, you have found our club blog - the place to get news and share thoughts about beer and the beer scene in western Pennsylvania.

The club was started in January 2007 by Jon, Lacey, Eli, and Nate. All of us have a passion for good beer, and we hope you do, too. The purpose of the club is to gather monthly as a social outlet (clubs should be fun, no?) but with a focus on craft beer in our homes and our communities. We are not a drinking club, per se, although we do enjoy drinking beer at the meetings - but rather, we hope to share our passion and collective knowledge about beer with those who are interested in learning more about this ubiquitous drink. If you are simply interested in drinking copious amounts of pale, fizzy lagers or finding a new place to get sloppy, then our club will most likely not meet your expectations.

Each meeting will strive to have a theme. As our group grows, we will probably have to switch from meeting in members' homes to meeting at local pubs. Starting out, each member brought a beer or two to share with everyone that he/she hoped hadn't been tried before in a particular style: Belgian ales, stouts, or IPAs, for example. As we expand, we'll most likely try to keep this type of theme, or sample several beers from a particular brewer. Depending upon the meeting place, we may or may not be able to bring our own beer - but rather coordinate with the publican to supply us with specific products.

Some members simply wish to try something new, whether a style or brand, and leave it at that. Some members keeps detailed notes on the beers they drink, in order to improve their knowledge and make recommendations to others. Whatever your preference, we can assist!

We encourage homebrewers to join our club. Several members have brewed or wish to learn, and it's usually more fun to have some help and conversation when brewing up a batch! We also like to share our homebrews with other members, and they really enjoy it.

When interest is high, we will try to facilitate organized trips to local beer festivals, such as the State College Microbrewers Festival and the Penn Brewery Festival. Our blog calendar will list several beer-related events in the region, and we hope that people will take advantage of them.

The rest? Well, for the time being there are no dues. When meeting, you'll be expected to BYOB - enough to share a small taste with everyone. Unless it's the theme for the evening, we discourage malt liquors and the macrobrewed lagers such as Bud, Miller, Coors, Yuengling, Molson, Labatt (well, you get the point) and their associated lite/light versions. If we meet at a pub, you're expected to pay your own way - for organized tastings, we'll try to get a list of attendees and figure out the lowest 'fee' for the meeting so that everyone gets their fair share.

Feel free to leave comments in the blog posts or to contact us at indianabeerclub@gmail.com.

We look forward to meeting you and sharing good beer and good conversation. Cheers!

Up And Running

2007-01-27T16:13:00.000-05:00

The Indiana Beer Club now has a blog!

If you found this site, it was probably because one of us told you about it.

Started by a few beer geeks in Indiana, PA, the club is a select, hand-picked group of men and women who enjoy craft beer. We get together once a month to share and taste beer from around the block and from around the world. Our ultimate goal is world, er, town domination over all things beer! We hope to have publicans coming to us for suggestions about their tap lists. We hope to have the distributors and bottle shops ask us to run tastings and spread our vast wealth of knowledge about and passion for beer.

We seek not to eradicate the pale fizzy American lager from our local college hangouts, but rather stick them in a small dark corner where they belong - in the shadow of real beers with character. We are malty educators and hops evangelists. We rue the shelf space taken up by 40's of malt liquor and seek to replace them with bombers of impy stouts and magnums of saison. We look forward to the day we can walk into our own brewpub downtown.

So - welcome to our blog. Please join us in the wonderful world of malt and hops, yeasts and spices. Spread the word.

Drink quality, not quantity.