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This Saturday’s South Bend Brewfest kicks off the 2013 slate of beer festivals!

Ordinary beer does not compute, so Tin Man Brewing in Evansville is now open for business. Look for their beers at Tin Man's taproom (1430 W. Franklin Street), on draft, and packaged in 16 ounce cans (note: cans will not be on shelves until early 2013).

Apologies for my brief absence from the blog while other aspects of life got in the way. I’ll try to make it up with a bit of news and some extended ponderings near the end. As if the tryptophan wasn’t enough to put you in coma already…….

The fall season in craft beer brings us a trio of specialty styles with Oktoberfests, Pumpkin ales, and a growing number of so-called “fresh hop” ales with that year’s harvest making a quick trek from the field directly to the brew kettle. Rather than following the traditional process of drying, processing, and packaging; these hops are often added whole upon arrival while they are still in their “wet” form.

In continuation of my first post about my Michigan beer trip, we continued our journey to a place that I've been wanting to hit since I heard about their opening in 2010:  Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids.

Congrats again to Bier, Mad Anthony, RAM, Sun King, Three Floyds, and Upland for bringing home medals from the Great American Beer Festival competition. Upland is celebrating their gold medal by releasing a limited number of the winning Sour Reserve Blend #2 at both the Bloomington Brew Pub and Indy Tasting Room this Saturday when they open for business (11am in Bloomington and noon in Indy). Each bottle is $25 with a limit of one per person.

Many of the larger beer festivals for the summer are now in the rearview mirror, but you can still seize some summer memories at the Wine & Beer New Orleans Style in Fort Wayne this Saturday, the WAMM (Wine, Art, Music, and Microbrew) Fest in Greenwood on the 18th, or Beers Across the Wabash in Lafayette on the 25th.

So after a bit of a rocky schedule last month, it’s time to revive this column and try out a new name. Here you’ll find a grab bag of news for craft beer (including homebrew) brewed in and distributed to Indiana, beer events, and the occasional oddity that I hope you’ll find interesting and/or amusing.

Hope you’ve been out enjoying the various activities of American Craft Beer Week. Most of our coverage has and will be focused on these events, but it’s time now for a few random distractions……

First off, Happy American Craft Beer Week everyone!

I hope you are out supporting our local craft breweries or at least getting out and drinking some of the many great craft beers there are available to us in Indiana.