opinion

Bangert: A long line forms for Purdue’s new beer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The reviews are in after last week’s Ross-Ade Stadium debut of Boiler Gold American Golden Ale, Purdue University’s first signature beer.

Here’s the upshot in a single fan’s story.

First the beer, made by People’s Brewing Co. in Lafayette, was introduced in cans and on draft on a night when beer sales went stadium-wide for the first time at Ross-Ade.

“I’m not a craft beer guy, per se, but coming from Broad Ripple, I have experienced many,” said David Gayler, who came from Indianapolis Friday night to see Purdue’s 44-21 win over Ohio. “I thought it tastes good and reminded me of Sun King Cream Ale. I would definitely drink it again.”

Next, Gayler’s take on getting his hands on that first taste of Purdue beer – a wait that started 20 minutes before game time.

“We missed the opening kickoff due to large, slow-moving lines,” Gayler said. “At one point, I overheard a worker say, ‘We didn’t expect this many people.’”

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Levy Restaurants, which runs the concessions at Ross-Ade, declined to release specific sales figures. But Brian Zink, a Purdue spokesman, said Levy reported that Boiler Gold was the most popular of the packaged beer sold at the stadium that night – until it sold out of the 150 cases of 16-ounce cans delivered by People’s and priced at $9 a pop. Some stadium concession stands were sold out before the game started, Zink said.

Chris Johnson, owner of People’s, said reinforcements are coming for the Homecoming game Sept. 23 against Michigan.

“From all I could tell Friday night, we could have sold a lot more if we’d brought more,” Johnson said. “Everybody seems to want it. … That’s a good problem to have.”

Purdue and People’s introduced Boiler Gold in time for a Sept. 1 pep session in Indianapolis, but it wasn’t for sale until Friday’s game and in the 1869 Tap Room on the ground floor of the Purdue Memorial Union a few days before that. (Of the 430 beer sales in the last week at the 1869 Tap Room, about 250 of the draft pints were Boiler Gold, outselling all the other available beers combined, Zink said.)

The beer was pitched as a collaboration of Purdue’s food science prowess and the work by the university to help Indiana’s craft brewing industry by developing lines of hops suitable to grow in the Midwest. What Purdue makes in licensing fees from People’s will pour into research on campus.

But Boiler Gold, in its brilliant gold labeling, already shows signs of a prized piece of Purdue marketing.

“I have some people who just want one that they aren’t even going to open. I tell them I’d recommend that they drink it and save the can,” Johnson said. “We’re getting calls from fans coming to Homecoming (asking), ‘Can we fly with six-packs of this?’ The answer is, it’s not going to be available for you to take home, yet.”

That’s because People’s went with a rollout calculated to supply Purdue’s home football games first and store shelves later.

Johnson said he made enough in the first 40-barrel batch – which takes four weeks to brew – to cover Purdue’s first two home games. Johnson said the aim was to keep the majority – 200 cases, or 4,800 cans – reserved for the Homecoming game.

The allotment of cans sold out at the Ohio game. One of 10 kegs remained in the south end zone patio area at Ross-Ade, Johnson said.

The debut of Purdue’s licensed beer was just one of the novelties at a game that had an announced crowd of 45,633, which included roughly 13,000 ticket sales in the week leading up to the game.

It was head coach Jeff Brohm’s first home game, coming off a surprisingly close loss to Louisville in a game that rallied what’s been a dormant fan base. It was a rare Friday night game, played under Ross-Ade’s new, permanent lights. And it was the first game with beer sales expanded beyond the Ross-Ade’s suites and south end zone area.

Johnson said an 80-barrel batch is in the works now, with another one planned to start next week, which should produce enough Boiler Gold to stock Ross-Ade and start putting six-packs into Lafayette-area liquor stores by the start of November.

Beyond the grade inflation you’d expect out of alumni excitement for a Purdue beer, Boiler Gold fared well at Untappd, a social media site for craft brew fans. That is, at least when compared to beers brewed and labeled with the blessings of seven other universities across the country. (See the list and ratings below.)

Ryan Ledman, a Purdue grad living in West Lafayette, said he considers himself a craft brew fan. He said he ran into problems with lines, too. He missed a chunk of the third quarter after waiting in a line he said was 25 to 30 minutes long to get a second Boiler Gold.

“It’s a good beer, one a lot of people will like,” Ledman said. “It’s got a little hoppiness to it, but not too much that’s it’s too bitter – though I like a little bitterness and hops (that) a lot of people don’t. … I’ll probably have it in my fridge at all times.”

He’ll just have to wait until November for that to happen.

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Rating the College Beers

Boiler Gold, Purdue’s new signature beer brewed by People’s Brewing Co., joined a handful of other beers tied to a college brand. Here’s how they stack up, based on ratings compiled at Untappd.com, a social networking app that allows users to rate beers. (Ratings were as of Sept. 13.)

1. Boiler Gold

Brewery: People’s Brewing Co., Lafayette, Indiana

School: Purdue University

Introduced: September 2017

Style: American Golden Ale

Description: Boiler Gold is a session beer brewed with hops grown in Tippecanoe County. “Light, easy drinking, but full flavor,” said Chris Johnson, People’s owner. “We wanted it to be an approachable beer for a broad audience.”

Rating (out of five): 3.79

2. Pistol Pete’s 1888 Ale

Brewery: Bosque Brewing Co., Albuquerque, New Mexico

School: New Mexico State

Introduced: August 2017

Style: Blonde ale

Description: “When the call came in for us to consider brewing an NMSU licensed beer, we geeked out,” Gabe Jensen, managing director of Bosque Brewing said in a university release. Jensen said Bosque went for a balanced approach: “With a brilliant pale straw-color, this blonde ale has a light malt sweetness and just enough late addition hops to add flavor and aromatic nuance.”

Rating (out of five): 3.76

3. Griz Montana Lager

Brewery: Big Sky Brewing Co., Missoula, Montana

School: University of Montana

Introduced: August 2017, available through spring 2018

Style: Bohemian-style pilsner

Description: Bjorn Nabozney, co-founder of Big Sky Brewing, described the beer in a university release as “crisp and refreshing, which works well with a variety of foods or backyard barbecues.”

Rating (out of five): 3.56

4. Old Aggie Superior Lager

Brewery: New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colorado

School: Colorado State University

Introduced: July 2017

Style: Lager

Description: The beer comes from the same brewer of Fat Tire Ale. Cody Reif, a New Belgium brewer, called Old Aggie “a light-bodied, all-malt lager with hints of citrus and lemon.”

Rating (out of five): 3.55

5. Green Wave

Brewery: NOLA Brewing Co., New Orleans

School: Tulane University

Introduced: September 2017

Style: Wheat

Description: “Green Wave beer is a filtered version of the more common Heffeweizen, a dry, wheat beer with a little hop bitterness that features unique banana and clove with no fruit added,” according to an account in The Times-Picayune newspaper.

Rating (out of five): 3.51

6. Ragin’ Cajuns

Brewery: Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, Louisiana

School: University of Louisiana-Lafayette

Introduced: September 2015

Style: Kolsch

Description: Karlos Knott, Bayou Teche Brewing president, described the German-style kolsch as “highly carbonated with a crisp, clear taste.” Knott told the Acadiana Advocate that Ragin’ Cajun quickly became the brewery’s top-selling beer shortly after it was introduced.

Rating (out of five): 3.46

7. Bayou Bengal Lager

Brewery: Tin Roof Brewing Co., Baton Rouge, Louisiana

School: Louisiana State University

Introduced: August 2016

Style: Lager

Description: “A solid, clean, crisp beer great for the persistent heat of Louisiana. (Yes, even in the fall),” according to the Beer Street Journal blog.

Rating (out of five): 3.38

8. Lobo Red

Brewery: Kelly’s Brew Pub, Albuquerque, New Mexico

School: University of New Mexico

Introduced: August 2017

Style: Red ale

Description: “Distinctively New Mexican, Lobo Red features hints of sweet caramel balanced with mellow hoppiness and a ‘breezy high desert aroma,’” says the University of New Mexico athletic department.

Rating (out of five): N/A

Reach J&C columnist Dave Bangert at 765-420-5258 or at dbangert@gannett.com.