Nearly 60 Craft breweries from all over Indiana will pour samples; many with their regular beers but many with very special beer! Here are just a few we would put on our list to check out!
First we have to give a big shout out to the "Locals:"
Bloomington Brewing always brings the regulars and some of their special beers this year include a bourbon barrel pale, vanilla Belgian dark strong beer, and rhubarb (think local!) IPA
Function Brewing has TWENTY SEVEN beers on their list; to include Mayan chocolate stout, orange IPA, Sour cherry, Chai brown, experimental yeast beers, a cascade single-hop, a brand new bitter, more + look for a cask of Hefe with pineapple and toasted Coconut. Brewer Steve says he is ahead this year but will have very fresh and tasty beer!
The Tap Beer Company has already announced plans to bring a Beatbox Samurai and an American Brett Ale along with others.
Upland not only brings their regulars and Oak Aged Belgian Quad, Oak Aged TBK, a Coffee Blond, Coffee brown and more!
And let's include Salt Creek located about 20 minutes down the road who brought a powerful double IPA last year.
Finally, Quaff On has a restaurant and brew pub locally and has really been delivering delicious beers. They will have their regulars plus a strawberry blonde
Then let's mention some of the newer brewers that are in this year:
Big Lug from Nora has a very nice session brown that let's us drink more beer.
Brew Link from Plainfield may be bringing their Belgian Wit (we hope).
Deer Creek has opened in Noblesville as a sister to long-running Barley Island and features a few different variations we want to try.
Hoosier Brewing has been around nearly two years and is moving to Franklin. We love their Indiana focus and ingredients! they've added a pina colada stout to their mix
Metazoa of Indy loves animals (donates a %) but loves been more. They opened in 2015 and will bring a honey weiss, dark mild, cream ale, their dubbel, an Irish red, a (wait for this name...) FrangIPAna Midwest IPA, and an American Red
Saint Joseph has been around awhile now with a very seasoned brewer and anything they bring will be a delight while their Belgian Blonde or Black Lager will be a particular delight.
Schnitz of Seymour has a session hefe that brings flavor with low %.
Of course, we often also gravitate to Zwanzigz of Columbus because it might not be complete without a ghost chili pepper stout but they will offer a Rauchbier we've tried that is truly made the traditional way!
AND Daredevil is ALSO pouring Rauchbier (5.2% ABV) but for the VIP session -- inspired by the Bamberg style that uses a Märzen base recipe with the traditional smoked malts sourced from Germany.
Union Brewing Company's "Are You A Cop?" - well, no it is actually a Porter but gets good ratings! They also will bring a Belgian Strong Ale and a Raspberry Jelly Donut Porter! along with others.
Two Yard has a LOOONG list including tapping a Black Japanese Malt Liquor at 4PM. They also offer a double pale (7.7%), Imperial Oatmeal stout (8%), and Imperial Red (11%!) plus more
Look for the Cask Section at the South End of the Building on 'high ground' where we'll find such beers as Triton's Belgian Blonde Ale with hibiscus and chamomile while Tin Man Brewing offers a Prickly Pear Alloy Firkin! Must be a trend because Two Yard (Indy) will have a cask of Belgian blonde with hibiscus & chamomile. Triton brings a pin of O'rye Galaxy w/cara oranges (hey, that's what THEY wrote).
Oh, and Broad Ripple Brewpub announced they willl have a Barrel Aged Red Bird Mild!
And, yes, Wabash returns with BaconFace Brown ALd (named after a dog.... I've just GOT to get that dog story!!)
Here was our highlights from 2015 CLICK HERE TO READwhich points out some excellent beers we tried!
And here is a look back at a piece written here two years ago that will likely whet your palate for some good brews this year! CLICK HERE TO READ