Published: November 28, 2007 11:24 pm         

Mark Bennett: Terre Haute: A whole new world of beer

TERRE HAUTE — A drink named “Wabash Cannonball” sounds like something you’d better consume sitting down.

But, fear not. The Wabash Cannonball Porter and its four sibling beers are designed to gently give fans of traditional brews — Budweiser, Miller and Coors — a chance to see there’s “a whole new world out there you may not be aware of.”

Ironically, that worldly experience will emanate from Terre Haute.

By now, most local folks realize an Indianapolis-based group is brewing a line of Belgian beers, called Brugge, in the building formerly known as the Terre Haute Brewing Co. at Ninth and Poplar streets. But those beer makers — now called the Vigo Brewing Group — are also creating five new craft brews for the new Wabash Valley Malt Beverage Co. label.

Imagine the word “Wabash” emblazoned on a beer bottle on a supermarket shelf.

That’s expected to become a reality in January, said Bob Mack of World Class Beverages, the Indiana distributor that owns the Wabash Valley Malt Beverage Co. label. They’ll offer Wabash Limestone Lager, Wabash Cannonball Porter, Wabash Gangster Pale Ale, Wabash Harvest Amber Ale and Wabash Hazy Days Wheat Ale.

Yes, the Gangster Pale Ale appears to feature John Dillinger, though a hat covers his eyes.

If anyone is too offended to sip that, they can always opt for the Cannonball Porter, graced with a picture of the beloved Wabash Cannonball locomotive. Of course, no Indiana State University basketball game would be complete without the Sycamore band playing “The Wabash Cannonball.”

Whether it’s a Gangster, a Cannonball or a Hazy Days, drinking a Wabash Valley won’t be a bitter experience.

Compared to the more sophisticated Brugge Belgians, the new Wabash Valley beers will be “a little bit toned down, lighter on the body with flavors that wouldn’t offend” consumers who’ve not ventured beyond the big three, said Micah Weichert, the head brewer for the Vigo Brewing Group.

Weichert, along with Brugge mastermind Ted Miller, crafted the recipes for the five Wabash Valley beers. In fact, they’re still fine-tuning the ingredient mixtures.

“We’re just trying to satisfy a different palate than the people I’ve been brewing for in the past couple years,” Weichert said Wednesday.

They’re making the Wabash Valley beers while also brewing and fine-tuning the Brugge Belgians. The brands are separately owned. Once the local plant bottles the Wabash Valley beers, they’ll be trucked to World Class Beverages in Indianapolis and then distributed around the state. The Vigo Brewing Group also has a deal with World Class Beverages to distribute the Brugge Belgian beers.

But they are two very different projects.

The Wabash Valley drinks are “entry level” craft beers. You may be saying, “What? I should go for an ‘entry level’ beer?”

Simmer down. Most Hoosiers haven’t been exposed to craft beers, or those created by brewers that produce less than 2 million barrels a year. To give that criteria some perspective, Indiana’s 23 craft breweries produce less than 30,000 barrels of beer annually. And, less than 1 percent of all beer consumed in Indiana comes from its home-state craft brewers. That’s well below the national average, where craft beers account for 5 percent of the total market, Mack said.

“Indiana, and the Midwest in general, tends to trend behind the rest of the nation,” Mack said.

“Per capita, they’re brewing a lot more beer in other states,” he added.

The craft brew market, though, has potential to grow here, said Blaine Stuckey, in his third year as president of the Brewers Guild of Indiana. Along with the two new beer lines from Terre Haute’s brewery, new breweries are opening in Kokomo, Columbus and northern Indiana.

“It’s a fact that we’re still in our infancy,” Stuckey said. “To open up a brew pub in Indiana is hard work, and somebody has to have a lot of passion to do it. It’s not a get-rich-quick thing.”

There are several tasty, small craft brews in Indiana, including Three Floyds in Munster, Barley Island Brewing in Noblesville, Upland Brewery in Bloomington and Oaken Barrel Brewing Co. in Greenwood. All offer the adventurous consumer the chance to step out of the domestic Bud/Miller/Coors box. Barley Island, for example, sells a unique Black Magic Java Stout, flavored by a coffee sold at a coffeehouse across the street.

“People are doing really interesting things,” said Mack, a 43-year-old certified beer judge from Indianapolis.

Beer isn’t the only form of dining experimentation in vogue now. Mack noted the prevalence of Panera Bread bakery shops, featuring a bagel-based menu and gourmet coffees. “Five or 10 years ago, those would’ve been Burger Kings or McDonald’s,” he said.

Still, drinking a Wabash Valley won’t be a culture shock. “The Wabash Valley products are going to be transitional beers,” Mack said. The “extreme beers,” as he described them, are another step up the tasting ladder, packing stronger alcohol content and more bitterness from added hops. Going from a Miller Lite to an extreme beer would be “like the blast of cold air when you open the door on a winter morning,” Mack said.

A Wabash Cannonball will be a smoother ride into greater sophistication.

Just as Miller is energized by the expected debut of bottled Brugge in January, Mack is excited about the possibilities awaiting the Wabash Valley beers. The fact that it carries the name of this region and is being produced in a plant with roots dating back to 1837 is significant, Mack said. The plant at 401-403 S. Ninth St. was revived by Mike Rowe in 2000, along with the city’s landmark drink, Champagne Velvet. Rowe ended production of CV last year there, but it could return in a microbrewery someday.

In the meantime, Mack hopes Wabash Valley’s beverages add to the city’s long brewing history.

“We look at Terre Haute being the beer mecca of Indiana, just as it used to be,” Mack said.

“The feeling there is just palpable. You can feel it,” he added. “When you talk to people on the street, there’s an emotional connection.”

That’s a refreshing thing to hear.

Mark Bennett can be reached at mark.bennett@tribstar.com or (812) 231-4377.