Chilly Water Brewing adds to the Indy Near-Downtown beer scene this Summer and other Indiana Beer News Mar.18

The Fletcher Place neighborhood in Indianapolis is getting a new brewery-brewpub in early-Summer at Virginia Avenue and McCarty Street. Chilly Water Brewing is being opened by veteran pro-brewer Skip DuVall with 8 taps of fresh local beer and a music themed atmosphere. I recently caught up with Skip to learn about the venture.

Skip has always liked music and the name of this brewery comes from a Wide Spread Panic Southern Rock band song of the same name "Chilly Water" (1987). Lyrics include: "As long as there's water, Chilly well water' Gimme some of that cool, cool water." Skip hopes to have some graphic art representing music on the walls and feature some small-venue local live music at times. Chilly Water has bicycle parking and plans to add more, encouraging patrons to ride or walk. The location is a 10 minute walk from central downtown and just a few minutes walk from nearby

Fountain Square. While there is no off-street parking, Chilly Water can be reached off I-70W using the Fletcher Avenue exit. This is in the heart of the historic Fletcher Place neighborhood. For a Fletcher Place walking tour and more information CLICK HERE

Chilly Water Brewing plans to have 8 taps to start and will feature an American Pale and a German Lager while rotating beers, all made on site to start. The brewpub will serve light food like paninis and hummus with a simple menu. The Asian fusion restaurant ROOK (corrected, earlier post misspelled) is next door and they may find a way to partner. The design will allow the brewing operation to be visible through glass and will have efficient seating for about 50 inside as well as outside space for another 30+ patrons. For those interested in the technical side, Skip will be using a 7 BBL system with extra fermentation capacity. Skip DuVall is a former brewer from Alcatraz brewing which is now gone and moved from there to nearby Fountain Square Brewery. Skip is so conscious of recycling he does not plan to sell bottled water -- so no recycled plastic. The construction will take a couple of additional months so Skip will only say "early Summer" but I look for a late-May to early June possible opening.

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Evil Czech Brewing is now Evil Czech of Mishawaka, IN, as previewed in our Fall story about them Read about Evil Czech HERE
They have opened a brewery and brew pub on the site of the former Mishawaka Brewing, but make no mistake says General Manager of Brewing Operations Shawn Erickson, the building looks totally different! While the community has respect for the legacy of a brewery (one of Indiana's earliest brew pubs) at 3703 N. Main St. in Mishawaka, the building was completely gutted, a new gastro-pub was built and entirely new brewing system that is four times larger than their Culver, IN site was opened.

While the Culver operation will remain open as a brew pub the former system may be used as a pilot but all beer will be brewed in Mishawaka. The family that owns Evil Czech already owns Corn Dance restaurant in the city where Evil Czech beer is served. The brewing operation started in 2012 and expanded to taps throughout portions of Indiana during 2013. Brewing capacity increase clearly allows further expansion of such beers as BobbleHead, Evil Czich, John the One Eye, Stalin's Dark Side, and many more. Stalin's Dark Side was released again this month and is a bold and toasty Russian Imperial Stout at 10% alcohol. The Bobblehead wheat is a flagship beer. The family group grows many of their own hops and raises bison for meat in the restaurant. Owner George Pesek is originally from the former Czechoslovakia and is a trained and noted chef.

The new restaurant had a soft opening this past week and is open 5-10PM during March with the bar open later. Evil Czech offers Mug Club memberships online; check out their Facebook site for details.

RAM Restaurant & Brewery will tap a Schwarzbeer they've named "Arnold SCHWARZenegger" using Pilsener and Munich malts with a touch of roast barley character, this German style beer is dark in color while being lighter bodied and smooth. Tapping is 6:00 PM, Thursday, March 20, at the Indy downtown location, 140 South Illinois St.

Sun King releases Lonesome Dove, a bourbon barrel aged Tripel at 10% alcohol on March 20, in the Tap Room, 135 N. College, Indy. Patrons are limited two 2-packs per person and it is $17.50 each 2-pack. beer profile click here

Get the Bloomington Beer Festival and Bloomington Craft Beer Week on your calendar. The BCBW festivities will begin at local pubs and restaurants Friday, April 4, with special tappings continuing through Friday, April 11. The festival is Saturday, April 12, in the Woolery Mill 2200 Tapp Road 4-7PM for $35 with early bird available one hour earlier. Hotel rooms at group rates are available at the Fourwinds Resort with shuttles to and from the event. Tix online HERE or at Big Red Liquors stores. A 4-way collaboration between: Upland Brewing, Bloomington Brewing Company, Quaff On! Brewing and Function Brewing produced a Black American Wheat to be available at this fest.

Tickets for the Upland Third Annual Sour + Wild + Funk Fest are available online at Eventbrite here The festival to be held at the historic Indianapolis City Market will be Saturday, May 17, 2-6 PM. A VIP Sour lecture and private tasting will be held from 12:30-1:30pm. VIP tickets can be purchased for $75, and will include VIP lecture, lanyard, commemorative T-shirt, swag bag and access to the VIP lounge.


Of course Dark Lord Day on April 26 is sold out but a few tickets can often be had from those who do not attend.

Reminding you that March 27th is the night Girls Pint Out and the Mentoring Women's Network hold a social/happy (hoppy) hour at Triton Brewery Tap Room, 5764 Wheeler Road, Indianapolis, IN 46216 . Triton's Pink Ribbon Saison will be on tap, and there will be a behind-the-scenes tour of the brewery. Mentoring Women's Network is, "an organization for professional women. Our mission is a community of empowered women supporting one another personally and professionally through mentoring relationships and our vision is the largest and most effective mentoring organization for women in the nation." (mentoringwomensnetwork.com)

Indiana Beer News; Beer at the Indiana State Fair, and more.... Feb. 22, 14

Will beer finally be sold at the Indiana State Fair? Indiana Senate Bill 0339 passed out of committee to the Full House this past week allowing sale of alcoholic beverages during the State Fair. Alcohol is sold on State Fair grounds during the remainder of the year. Brewers of Indiana Guild Executive Director Lee Smith says Indiana is one of just a few states not allowing the sale of beer and wine. The BIG focus is on alerting Hoosiers to the beer made here in Indiana. While currently brewery awards are displayed during the State Fair there is no way for attendees to try the beer. Craft Beer lovers may want to encourage their State legislators.

On Saturday, Feb. 22nd Flat12 Bierwerks opened the Taproom at 9 am for the 10 am Olympic Hockey bronze match. With Indianapolis natives, cousins Rachel and Emma Bowling in attendance the two middle schoolers that both tried out for and qualified for the US Olympic Luge Development team could cheer on the U.S team. On Sunday the 23rd Flat 12 opens 7am for the final Olympic hockey match for the gold. Flat 12 releases their spring seasonal Nunmoere Black, on Sunday, March 2nd . The beer is an homage to the movie Spinal Tap so there are many plans for that day at the brewery. details here

Thursday, March 13th is the Naptown Brown Tapping Party at Sun King from 7pm to 10pm. The Naptown Roller Girls will be onsite as well as A Squared Djs, food truck, and pints will be available for $5 each.

Upland Brewing Company recently announced tickets for the third annual Sour + Wild + Funk Fest will be on sale at on Eventbrite on March 10. This year's festival will take place Saturday, May 17th from 2pm-6pm at the historic Indianapolis City Market, preceded by a VIP Sour lecture and private tasting from 12:30-1:30pm. VIP tickets can be purchased for $75, and will include VIP lecture, lanyard, commemorative T-shirt, swag bag and access to the VIP lounge including food and private bathrooms. General Admission tickets are $45 and include light snacks, with the City Market's artisans open to sell heavier fare throughout the festival. An Upland Secret Barrel Society members-only party will follow from 7pm-9pm.

Bloomington Brewing announced a single hop IPA using only Simcoe providing light pine and citrus notes. Ole Floyd’s Belgian Dark Strong Ale is also a seasonal at 8%, a Winter Warmer.

Upland's Midwest Sour Wild Funk Fest

Upland Brewing organized the second annual Sour Wild Funk Fest, the Midwest’s premier wild ale festival, on Saturday, May 11, at Developer Town in the Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis. Approximately twenty breweries were represented including many Hoosier breweries, brewers from Ohio, from Illinois, from Michigan and some national powerhouses like New Belgium and Sam Adams. This years attenance was reported to be up substantially from last year but the crowd never felt like a 'throng.' Here's our take from the two of us who attended:


from Jake: .....

When I first heard about Upland’s Sour Beer Fest last year, I had already been interested in sours for about a year, and been enjoying being able to get a hold of some good sours from around the country and occasionally the world. I loved last year’s festival. With such a small number of tickets compared to the microbrewers festival in Opti park the lines are much shorter and you get to try more beer!

This year I was lucky enough to snag a pair of VIP tickets, which apparently sold out in minutes. I enjoyed the VIP lecture style presentation from Caleb Staton, Upland’s Head Brewer. The presentation consisted of an overview sour brewing process, but the most interesting part in my opinion was Upland’s specific techniques. It is impressive how much trouble Upland goes through to create their spectacular sours. The list includes a vigorous cleaning each of their 141 barrels, a modified mash tun (capable of a turbid mash typical for Flemish style sours), as well as a 24 Hectoliter Foudre. The fruited lambics only use real fruit, no extracts, and none of their sours are artificially sweetened like the occasional Belgian brewery. Caleb is nobly focused on the exceptionally high quality of their sour program. The VIP portion ended with a sampling of Sour Reserve Batch #2, Raspberry Lambic (2011), and Cherry Lambic (2010).

The festival began and those of us in the VIP walked right in, while all the general admission ticket holders had to submit to getting the horrible re-entry stamp of a brown mustache. Anyway, on to the beers. As expected all of the Upland Sours were spectacular, including Sour Reserve Batch #1, and Batch #3, and a few Fruit Lambics I was able to try. Sun King’s All Brett Wee Mac was particularly tasty with some great characteristics from the different strains of brett used. Next up for me was Black Acre, a young brewery that had a tasty Raisin Sour, while their other option may have been lacking a little bit of complexity. Flat 12’s offerings were strong as always, and it was great seeing some of the other classic Indiana breweries, Barley Island, Mad Anthony embracing the sour tradition/trend. Some people may believe there are new trends in craft beer, which we’ll talk about later this week, but this beer fest shows me that there is still a growing audience for the complex traditional Belgian sour beers and the new American sours that are pushing the limits of what beer can be. I loved this festival again this year, and hope to see you at it next year.

Crowd shot and Mad Anthony description


Black Acre and Flat 12 descriptions




from Greg.....


This is likely the true craft beer lovers' fest. Brewers and staff alike commented that this is one of their favorite events because attendees like to chat about beers, spend time at each table, and sip rather than slam. The attendance proved there are plenty of beer lovers who appreciate tart beer.

Perhaps the most interesting samplings were from Destihl brewery of Normal and Champaign, Illinois. Their 5,000 square foot beer cellar contains over 300 oak barrels, both California wine barrels and bourbon barrels. In addition, they have imported French foudres, large oak casks for storage. They follow a traditional Belgian sour aging process of exposing the fermented beer in casks and barrels to the open air to pick up wild yeast. the Destihl four-and-a-half year old framboise was complex and impressively light at the same time. Their Saint Dekerra plain lambic had been barrel aging nearly two years and delivered a nice vanilla and wonderful sour notes. While Destihl brews or has brewed over 60 beers since opening in 2007, and have a wide variety of beer styles, clearly their focus on barrel aging is providing truly interesting and tasty results.

New Belgium Brewery has a fondness for this festival and provided a "Peach Felix Love" ale on tap that was aged first in the barrels used for their LaFolie and then in peach whiskey barrels. As one participant noted this provided the wonderful type of tartness that gives you a tug at the back and side of the tongue while delivering great flavor. This was one of those beers you could never get elsewhere unless you travel to New Belgium in Colorado and know the brewers.

I was particularly pleased that the beer I had agreed to help pour, Bloomington Brewing Company Cranberry Saison, was so well accepted and so many people made it to the end table of the fest specifically asking for this ale brewed with French Saison yeast and finished with fresh and concentrated cranberries! This was a delightful sample from the saison I've much appreciated before gaining very nice fruit flavor! Several noted beer judges came by because they had heard this one-off beer, not even available at the brew pub, was so good.

Steve of Crown Brewing (Home of the Crown Beer fest this next weekend from 2-6 on Sat., May 18) of Crown Point, IN, poured a Cherry Dunkel Weizen Bock, that gave a nice hint of cherry in the unusual setting of a dunkel weizen. This blending of cherry, banana esters, and spice was quite a nice delight!

SunKing's Stupid Sexy Flanders (did you see that episode of the Simpson's?) was a very nice base oud bruin with wild yeast, brettanomyces, and lacto!

Thirsty Dog from Dayton poured Cerasus Dog Flanders Red that was very smooth and a grest treat. As hard as I tried to recall the exact brewing process which on Saturday I recounted to others, alas, my notes started to fade - but I enjoyed this brew!

Another very interesting beer was Jon's Triton Pink Ribbon Saison, obviously a saison but with pink and white peppercorns delivering a nice but not overpowering spice.

If you wanted a beer lighter in alcohol, Bell's Oarsman is a very refreshing and full-of-flavor tart sessionable beer at 4% abv.

Thanks to Global Beer Network importers for serving Petrus pale, Petrus Oud Bruin, and Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour. These Belgian beers (in bottles) give fest attendees a barometer for what these styles taste like when brewed in Belgium.

And thanks to Avery for shipping in bottles of Odio Equum which is brewed with red raspberries and aged in cabernet sauvignon barrels. Another beer I would not have wanted to miss!

Upland did not have much Dantillion, but a lucky few got a taste just as Starlight distributors from Southern Indiana also broke out a bottle of Cantillion from Brussels -- but alas I was not in the right spot to taste and report which Cantillion.

The list could go on and on but we tried to show some restraint. Truly this is an event for those of us who appreciate tart and tasty ales!

Cheers, from Jake and GregKitz

Pics with Katie (and Mark in the background) from Destihl,
Mark from BBC, and Andrew from Upland

Summer Beer Festival Guide

Interested in attending a beer festival in the next four months? We’ve assembled a list of options to help you determine the best use of your beer sampling dollar. If you can’t decide on the best option, why not try them all? Then send me your autograph.

 

2nd Annual Sour + Wild + Funk Fest

Saturday, May 11th 1-5pm

Developer Town

5255 Winthrop Ave, Indianapolis, IN

Tickets: VIP $60 (sold out), General Admission $45, Designated Driver $20

Featuring more than 50 styles of sour and wild ales, the second annual Sour + Wild + Funk Fest promises to be another unique celebration of this emerging trend in craft beer. The beers served as this event are paired with foods designed to accentuate their unique flavors. VIP tickets are sold out, but general admission were still available at the time of this posting. To get a better feel for the event, check out IndianaBeer guest writer Andrew Korty’s review.

  

American Beer Classic

Saturday, May 11th Session I 12-4pm (11am VIP admission), Session II 6-10pm (5pm VIP admission)

Soldier Field

1410 S. Museum Campus Drive, Chicago, IL

Tickets: VIP $110 (Session I sold out), General Admission $55 (Session I sold out), Designated Driver $30

The inaugural American Beer Classic is a major regional event that showcases hundreds of diverse brewers for beer lovers on the grass of Chicago’s Soldier Field. The event covers two separate sessions over the course of Saturday, May 11th and includes live music and educational sessions. VIP tickets include complementary tours of the Visitor’s Locker Rooms, the Skyline Suites, and the Colonnades. Attendees will also have the opportunity to vote in the People’s Choice competition to determine the favorite beer of the festival. Note: General Admission tickets increase to $60 after May 6th.

Crown Beer Fest

Saturday, May 18th 2-6pm (1pm VIP admission)

Lake County Fairgrounds

889 S. Court St, Crown Point, IN

Tickets: VIP $59 (sold out), General Admission $35, Designated Driver $5

Formerly known as Illiana Mayfest, this NW Indiana festival is expanding this year to offer over 120 different beers from 30 different breweries. Enjoy the day at the Lake Country Fairgrounds with a brewery list featuring Crown Brewing, Cutters Brewing, Flat 12 Bierwerks, Fountain Square Brewing Co, People's Brewing Co, Bier Brewery, Brickstone, B. Nektar, Destihl, Four Horsemen, Icheya Da Brewing, and more! VIP tickets are sold out, so get your General Admission passes while you still can.

Beoir Go Leoir (Gaelic for lots of beer)

Saturday, May 18th 2-6pm (1pm VIP admission)

JK O’Donnell’s Irish Ale House

Wayne Street between Harrison & Calhoun in downtown Fort Wayne, IN

Tickets: VIP $65, General Admission $40

JK O’Donnell’s Irish Ale House is proud to present their first beer festival! Featured breweries include Sierra Nevada, Flat 12, Sun King, Breckenridge, Left Hand, Lexington Brew Co., New Albanian, Stone, Bell's, Brooklyn, Boulevard, Schlafly, New Holland, New Belgium, Sam Adams, Barley Island, Upland, Dark Horse, People's, Mendocino Brewing Co, Ace Cider, as well as assorted Belgian Beers. Food will be available in JK O’Donnell’s and from local food trucks Bravas & Affine. The VIP package includes one hour early admission, t-shirt, and appetizers. Note: All ticket prices increase $10 on the day of event.

History on Tap

Friday, May 31st 6:30-10:30pm (6pm VIP admission)

Conner Prairie

13400 Allisonville Road, Fishers, IN

Tickets: VIP $35 (sold out), General Admission $25, Designated Driver $10

Set around Conner Prairie, History on Tap features 10 central Indiana breweries, along with New Day Meadery. There is a panel discussion on Brewer Innovation along with a brewing demonstration from Tuxedo Park Brewers. Imagine an adult version of Conner Prairie at night. Great beers, great chances to talk to the brewers, and learn more about craft beer. For a limited time, you can get 20% off with the discount code “HORIZONFRIEND”. VIP tickets are already sold out, but you can still get Early Bird General Admission tickets until May 20th. Tickets increase $10 after that date.

Keg Liquors Fest of Ale

Saturday, June 1st 3-7pm

St. Anthony’s of Padua

320 North Sherwood Ave, Clarksville, IN

Tickets: $25 (Designated Drivers free)

The 8th Annual Keg Liquors Fest of Ale is a charity beer festival to help raise funds for the WHAS Crusade for Children. The event features 40+ Breweries, 3 Beer Distributors, 5 Fine Wine Distributors, over 150 craft and import beers, wine, food, charity silent auction and raffle and more! The 2012 event raised over $9200 for the Crusade for Children, so head out and help them make this year even better.

Jungle Jim's International Beer Fest

Friday, June 14th 7-10pm and Saturday, June 15th 7-10pm

Oscar Event Center at Jungle Jim’s International Market

5440 Dixie Highway, Fairfield, OH

Tickets: Friday Session $40, Saturday Session $45, Designated Driver $15

So you’ve probably already gone out of your way to visit Jungle Jim’s just north of Cincinnati to stock up on bottled treasures from the likes of Alesmith, Great Lakes, Green Flash, Lagunitas, Oskar Blues, and Troegs. Why not combine your next Ohio beer run with a festival? Jungle Jim’s Beer Fest will offer 350 beers from 100 different breweries. There will be brew masters available for conversatin’ and some special firkin and rare beer offerings. A complementary picnic style meal is included with the price of every ticket. If you enjoy a good cigar with your beer, Jungle Jim’s cigar expert will be selling a selection of their world class cigars that you can take out on the terrace with your beer sample.

Brew Bracket Pale Ales

Saturday, June 15th 3pm (VIP Brewer Q&A at 2pm)

Indiana State Fairgrounds (Expo Hall)

1202 E 38th St, Indianapolis, IN

Tickets: VIP $45, Participant $35, Designated Driver $5

March Madness style voting, blind taste testing, raffle prizes, good beer, all for a good cause. Brew Bracket brings the Pale Ale style to the next version of their game. Sixteen breweries in a showdown for the best beer, all determined by your votes! Back at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, this event is 4 hours of fun and trying new inventive brews. A VIP session has been added that gets participants in an hour early for a special sampling and Q&A session with Brew Bracket multi-winning brewer Andrew Castner of the RAM along with Barley Island. For a better idea of what to expect, Indiana Beer visited December’s AMBERgeddon Brew Bracket event. A portion of the proceeds benefit People for Urban Progress.

  

Fishers on Tap

Saturday, June 15th 5-8pm (4pm VIP entry)

Town of Fishers Municipal Grounds – Outdoor Amphitheater

1 Municipal Drive, Fishers, IN

Tickets: VIP $60, General Admission $40, Designated Drive $10

The second annual Fishers on Tap is presented by The Rotary Club of Fishers. The Rotary Club is promising 15-20 local breweries, live music from Dear Abby and the Bad Advice and Soul Street, and cuisine from select food trucks. Tickets are limited to 200 VIP and 800 General Admission. VIP ticket holders receive early entry to the festival and food pairings with local eateries and select breweries. All proceeds from the event will be distributed back to the local community to those in need through local service agencies.

18th Annual Brew-Ha-Ha

Saturday, June 22nd 3-7pm

Phoenix Theater

North Park Ave between Massachusetts and St. Clair in downtown Indianapolis, IN

Tickets: General Admission $30, Designated Driver $10

Indy’s original microbrew festival returns for its 18th year of benefiting the Phoenix Theater. North Park Avenue will be blocked off to traffic between Mass Ave. and East St. Clair St. and the festival will provide a summer outdoor block party. The festival already has 18 confirmed breweries and wineries and should eventually have over 25, making this one of the best festival deals of the summer. Confirmed breweries include Bell’s, Bloomington Brewing, Brugge Brasserie, Flat 12, Fountain Square, New Albanian, The RAM, Rock Bottom, Upland, and many more! Live entertainment is provided, and food from local vendors will be available. Note: General Admission tickets increase to $35 day of event.

Indiana Microbrewers Festival

Saturday, July 20th

Optimist Park and Indianapolis Art Center

E. 67th St and Ferguson (Broad Ripple), Indianapolis, IN

Tickets: TBA

This has not been officially announced, but we have it on pretty good authority the 18th annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival will return to the Optimist Park and Indianapolis Art Center grounds on July 20th. If you’ve never attended, this is Indiana’s largest outdoor festival where you can sample the greatest variety of beer (don’t try them all!). The recent expansion to the Indianapolis Art Center grounds offers the chance to find a little shade and makes it easier to move around then most festivals of this size. Some pictures and a quick recap of last year’s festival are available here. That event featured over 300 beers from 64 breweries, can it be topped this year?

  

16th Annual Michigan Summer Beer Festival

Friday, July 26th 5-9pm and Saturday, July 27th 1-6pm

Riverside Park

6 West Cross Street, Ypsilanti, MI

Tickets: Friday Admission $30, Saturday Admission $35, Designated Driver $5

It’s a bit of a drive, but what better reason is there to head up to Michigan in July? Put on by the Michigan Brewers Guild, the Summer Beer Festival boasts over 600 different beers from more than 65 Michigan craft breweries. That number is not an exaggeration – Dark Horse Brewing alone offered 51 different beers last year. Try the Friday session if your schedule is flexible, the lines can get a little intense on Saturday. For more details, check out Nathan’s review of last year’s event. Tickets went on sale May 1st and will go quickly, so make your plans now!

  

GnawBrew - Art, Music and Beer Festival

Saturday, July 27th noon-midnight

eXplore Brown County/Valley Branch Paintball Retreat

2620 Valley Branch Rd, Nashville, IN

Tickets: $15 General Admission

Set in the rustic hills of Brown County, GnawBrew combines breweries with artists and musicians for a fun filled, yet family friendly event. This year’s participating breweries include Big Woods, Hawcreek Brewing, HWY50 Brew House, Powerhouse, and Zwanzigz. Festival gates will open at 11am with music starting at noon. Beer samples will be served all day and well into the evening and complimentary primitive tent camping is being provided after the event by eXplore Brown County to encourage alcohol safety. So bring a tent and stay the night!

Brew Haven

Saturday, August 3rd 2-6pm (1pm VIP entry)

Main Street, Downtown New Haven, IN

Tickets: $60 VIP, $35 General Admission, $5 Designated Driver

Northeast Indiana’s premiere craft beer festival promises to be even bigger and better this year with 3 tents and a 20-tap semi trailer. The price of admission includes samples from 50+ breweries, local and regional homebrewers, bottled water, and a meal! The VIP package also includes one hour early entry, commemorative t-shirt, and a special gift. Designated drivers also get a meal along with unlimited soft drinks. Check out Cindy’s recap of last year’s event. Tickets go on sale May 31st and Trion Tavern will celebrate with a Ticket Release Party featuring special tappings and pricing. Note: VIP and General Admission ticket prices increase $10 day of event.

  

Festiv-Ale

Saturday, August 24th

Victory Field

501 W Maryland St, Indianapolis, IN

Tickets: $75 VIP, $55 General Admission

Looking to attend Victory Field for an adults-only event? The Festiv-Ale is a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation featuring 30 Indy restaurants, 100 beers, and 100 wines. The VIP reception will include an educational tasting.

Beers Across the Wabash

Saturday, August 24th 12-4pm

John Myers Pedestrian Bridge

Downtown Lafayette

Tickets: TBA

Details were very limited at publishing time, but it appears that August 24th will bring us the 2nd Annual Beers Across the Wabash on the John Myers Pedestrian Bridge overlooking the Wabash River between Lafayette and West Lafayette. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for further details. Until then, you can get an idea of what to expect from Jason’s review of last year’s inaugural event.

  

 

That covers everything we can confirm at the time of publishing. There will certainly be a number of other festivals that will emerge throughout the season for your beer drinking pleasure. Thanks for reading and remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates. Stay safe and enjoy the festivals!

Sour + Wild + Funk Fest Review

Editor’s Note: Various circumstances prevented our reporters from attending this event. The good (arguably better) news is we were able to line up a guest review from Andrew Korty. Andrew is a BJCP National-ranking beer judge, National Homebrew Competition medalist, and all-around swell guy. Big thanks to Andrew, check out his review that follows…..

As craft beer popularity continues to grow, festival-goers are haunted by the specters of overcrowding and high-priced or unobtainable tickets.  One hope for satisfying this demand is smaller, style-oriented festivals.  How fortunate that one of the first of these in our area focuses on perhaps the most challenging and beer-geeky of styles -- sour ales.

Upland's Sour + Wild + Funk festival featured over 30 sour ales with suggested cheese, fruit, and meat pairings which could be sampled from several large spreads on each end of the venue.  An aural backdrop of funk and related music set the mood, and if you and your colleagues wanted to discuss the finer points of B. bruxellensis versus B. lambicus, you could step out into the quieter outdoor area.

Upland's own Sour Reserve was the clear standout and the only beer of the evening with that braying, horse-gone-strange character you'd expect from the finest Cantillon Geueze.  Other highlights were Sun King's surreally complex Stupid Sexy Flanders, a Bretted Pilsener from Brugge Brasserie, Saint Somewhere's Lectio Devina, New Belgium's Bier de Mars, Barley Island's Damien (although not a sour, a nice Belgian Golden Strong) and of course Goose Island's fruited wild ales Lolita and Juliet.

Jolly Pumpkin and Saint Somewhere beers were available courtesy of Starlight Distribution.  These are the folks that took over the Shelton Brothers lineup from Cavalier, and they're a high-energy bunch.  Thanks to them for making some of the most interesting brands available in Indiana.

Although the number of beers was small at this festival, it was nice having plenty of time to sample them all.  The food pairings were better than I'd have imagined, both in variety and quality.  On the downside, a couple of the exhibitors left as early as 4:30, apparently having run out of beer.  Seating was lacking -- altogether lacking, in fact.  But apart from these minor miscalculations, this event was a wild success.

Summer Beer Festival Guide

With the Sour Fest this Saturday, we unofficially kickoff that time of the year where thoughts turn to fancies of sunburns, rampant dehydration, and patrons begging for an extension of last call (seriously, don’t be that person). Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Summer (Spring/Summer?) Beer Festival season. There are a lot of great events on tap in many areas of the state, so here is our guide to help you sort out where to spend your beer-sampling dollar:

 

Sour + Wild + Funk Fest Saturday, May 12th 2-6pm Developer Town 5525 Winthrop Ave, Indianapolis Tickets: $45 (Sold Out)

The first, and certainly not the last, festival in Indiana to capitalize on the growing popularity of sour ales. Our friends at Upland have put together an event with over 30 styles of sour ales from around the state, country, and world paired with foods designed to accentuate the unique flavors found in these beers. The list of participating breweries includes Indiana flavor from Brugge, Mad Anthony, Sun King and Upland along with Bell’s, Jolly Pumpkin, New Belgium, Rivertown, and Saint Somewhere. International flavor will be provided by Brouwerig Van Steenberge, Brouwerij Bavik, Brouwerij Liefman’s, and Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. Tickets are sold out, so start looking for someone who owes you a favor if you still want to get in.

Indianapolis Monthly Beer Fest Wednesday, May 16th 6-8:30 pm Tomlinson Tap Room in City Market 222 East Market St, Indianapolis Tickets: $25, $10 Designated Driver

If you were left out of the Sour Fest, the next opportunity for beer sampling comes just around the corner from Indianapolis Monthly in celebration of local beer. It features unlimited sampling from central Indiana breweries including Barley Island, Bier Brewery, Big Woods, Black Swan, Bloomington Brewing, Flat 12, Fountain Square, Oaken Barrel, People’s, Ram, Sun King, Three Pints, Thr3e Wise Men, Triton, and Upland. Free parking is available and City Market food vendors will be open. Admission is limited to 500 tickets, which can be purchased here.

Illiana Mayfest Saturday, May 26th 2-6pm (VIP entrance at 1pm) Lake County Fairgrounds 889 S Court St, Crown Point Tickets: $45 VIP (Sold Out), $30 General Admission, $5 Designated Driver at the gate

Moving away from Indianapolis, we find a little sumpin’ for the folks of Northwest Indiana. The 3rd Annual Illiana Mayfest will be hosted by Crown Brewing (recent gold medal winner at the World Beer Cup) at the Lake County Fairgrounds. Your ticket entitles you to four hours of sampling from 24 breweries including such favorites as Crown Brewing, Figure 8, Flat 12, Goose Island, Lafayette Brewing, People’s, Sun King, and Upland. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Arc of Northwest Indiana. Tickets are on sale now and General Admission is available here.

Keg Liquors Fest of Ale Saturday, June 2nd 3-7pm St. Anthony’s of Padua 320 N Sherwood Ave, Clarksville Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at gate, Designated Drivers admitted free

Next we move to the southeast for the 7th Annual Keg Liquors Fest of Ale. This festival features both beer and wine with more than 150 craft and import beers from more than 40 participating breweries along with samples from six fine wine distributors. Be sure to visit the House of Hops with a tent dedicated to fulfilling your desires for hoppy bliss. The St. Anthony’s Men’s Club will be cooking up hamburgers, brats, and hot dogs for hungry patrons. Proceeds from the event go to the WHAS Crusade for Children, who received over $7200 from last year’s event. Tickets are on sale now and available here.

Bloomington Craft Beer Festival Saturday, June 9th 4-7pm (3pm entrance for VIP)  Historic Woolery Stone Mill 2200 West Tapp Rd, Bloomington Tickets: $50 VIP, $35 General Admission ($40 at gate if available)

The Brewers of Indiana Guild bring the buzz back to Bloomington at the 2nd Annual Bloomington Craft Beer Festival. The setting at the Woolery Stone Mill provides a unique setting from sampling over 100 craft beers. Details on participating breweries were limited at press time, but it’s a good bet that you can count on finding most of your local favorites. Parking at the mill is limited and costs $10, but a free shuttle service will be provided from designated pick-up and drop-off locations. Tickets are on sale now and available here.

Fishers on Tap Thursday, June 14th 6:30-9:30pm Forum Conference and Convention Center 11313 USA Parkway, Fishers Tickets: $40 General Admission, $20 Designated Driver

The inaugural Fishers on Tap festival is brought to us by the Fishers Rotary Club as a first-of-its-kind fundraising event in Hamilton County. The event will be held at the Forum Conference and Convention Center and offers beer sampling from Barley Island, Bier Brewery, Flat 12, Sun King, Triton, and Upland. The event will be a flat-out Thursday night celebration including Hor d’oveuvres, beer education sessions, live music, raffles, and games of chance. The Fishers Rotary Club has donated over $650,000 to over 85 non-profit organizations locally and around the globe, and all proceeds from this event benefit local service agencies in Fishers and Hamilton County. Tickets are on sale now and available here.

History on Tap Friday, June 15th 6-10pm Conner Prairie 13400 Allisonville Rd, Fishers Tickets: $25 General Admission, $12 Designated Driver

If you didn’t get enough “on tap” entertainment the previous evening, head on over to History on Tap at Conner Prairie. There will be the requisite beer sampling from Bier Brewery, Flat 12, Fountain Square Brewery, Sun King, Upland, and more. But since you’re at Conner Prairie, there will also be the unique offerings of a keynote by Douglas Wissing, an evening adventure through 1836 Prairietown, and the 1859 Balloon Voyage. Aspiring brewers can witness craft brewing demonstrations by Tuxedo Park Brewers and food will be available at an additional cost. Tickets are on sale now and available here.

Phoenix Theatre Brew-Ha-Ha Saturday, June 23rd 3pm Outside the Phoenix Theatre 749 N Park Ave, Indianapolis Tickets: $30 in advance, $35 at the gate, $10 Designated Driver

The original, albeit by a small margin, beer festival in Indianapolis returns to bring the 17th annual celebration to devoted fans in central Indiana. Unlimited samples of over 50 different beers will be available along with live music and great food. The current posted list of breweries is clearly applicable to 2011 (RIP Bee Creek), but you can expect a lineup that has hit 20+ breweries in previous years. This event takes place in a classic street setting along the 700 block of North Park Ave (translation: limited shade, wear sunscreen). Proceeds from the event benefit the unique art of the Phoenix Theatre. Advance tickets can be purchased on the Phoenix’s website here.

17th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival Saturday, July 14th 3-7pm (VIP entrance at 2pm) Optimist Park and Indianapolis Art Center E 67th St and Ferguson (Broad Ripple), Indianapolis Tickets: $50 VIP, $40 General Admission

The Brewers of Indiana Guild will unleash the Big Dog of the summer beer festival season on July 14th. Back for its 17th assault upon Optimist Park in Broad Ripple, and expanding the chaos to the grounds of the Indianapolis Art Center, this is the largest craft beer celebration of the season. Expect to see all your favorite Indiana breweries, regional favorites like Bell’s and Founders, national selections from local distributors, and special features like the Firkin Tent. The expanded grounds offer some opportunity for finding shade, unique settings for live music, and completely losing track of your friends. Tickets are not on sale yet, but watch for updates and plan to buy early as this event is a very good bet to sellout. Practice up on your keg throwing skills!

Michigan Brewers Guild Summer Festival Friday, July 27th 5-9pm and Saturday, July 28th 1-6pm Riverside Park 5 E Cross St, Ypsilanti Tickets: $30 Friday, $35 Saturday (the website mentions gate tickets at a slightly higher rate, but I wouldn’t count on many being available)

OK, so this is an outlier from Indiana, but it makes for a great weekend road trip and I wanted to share some insights after attending the last two years. The good: this is an amazing festival consisting exclusively of beer from Michigan breweries (no interlopers allowed). You will have the chance to sample beers from breweries that may be current favorites (Arcadia, Bell’s, Dark Horse, Founders, Jolly Pumpkin) along with those you may be in the process of discovering (Arbor Brewing, Kuhnhenn, Liberty Street, Odd Side, Short’s, The Livery). The bad: Archaic local laws require the use of tokens for samples. You will be allocated a certain number of tokens with your ticket, but will be able to purchase more once inside (and the enforcement of token exchange can be…uh…lax). Similar to our festival in Broad Ripple, there are no hotels within easy walking distance, so factor in some cab rides to your travel budget. The Friday night crowd size is a bit more sane, but Saturday will bring out more opportunities to sample rare brews. This event proves the level of respect for the Michigan beer scene has been well-earned. Advance tickets are on sale and available here.

Brew Haven 2012 Saturday, August 4th 2-6pm (VIP entrance at 1pm) Main Street Downtown New Haven Tickets: $60 VIP Package, $35 General Admission ($45 at gate), $5 Designated Driver

Staking their claim for the premier festival in Northeast Indiana, the Trion Tavern returns with Brew Haven 2012 in downtown New Haven! They already have more than 30 breweries lined up and you can expect more to be added as we approach the event date (find the latest list here). There is currently a healthy mix of Indiana and Michigan breweries including Bell’s, Founders, New Holland, Mad Anthony, Crown, and Figure 8. As an added bonus, the local homebrew club MASH will be serving up 50 of the finest homebrews the state has to offer. Advance tickets will go on sale June 1st and can be purchased here. The VIP package will get you one hour earlier admission, an event t-shirt, and access to VIP-only pourings.

Beers Across the Wabash Saturday, August 25th 12-4pm John T. Myers Pedestrian Bridge Over the Wabash River (between downtown Lafayette and West Lafayette) Tickets: TBA

Details are limited at this time, but we have it on good authority that Lafayette’s new summer beer festival is moving forward. The event is being planned as a precursor to the Uptown Jazz & Blues festival that starts at 5pm on the same day. A little pre-party should make the jazz crowds a bit more interesting! Stay tuned for future updates – we will share details as soon as they’re available.

Whew, that’s a lot of festivals……thanks for sticking with me to this point. Of course, there is still time for new events and additional details to pop up. Remember that you can “Like Us” on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates! Stay safe and enjoy the events!

Indiana Beer News – April 5

The Easter weekend is a bit slow before we get into several major events the following Saturday. But keep in mind the Fountain Square Brewery Peep Show on Friday and the Michigan Brewery Tour leaving from South Bend on Saturday. Not to be outdone by Fountain Square, Flat 12 is rolling out their own Peeps-fueled Cross Rabbit Milk Stout that also includes Cadbury cream eggs, malted milk eggs, dark chocolate Easter bunnies, and black jelly beans. I’m told it’s the official beer of Diabeetus Cat==>

You can always party at home as Saturday brings us the celebration known as Session Beer Day. Session Beer Day recognizes flavorful beers that are low in alcohol so you can enjoy a few without getting lost in your own home. It ties in with the date that the Cullen-Harrison Act was signed into law by Franklin D. Roosevelt. While Prohibition was not repealed until later that year, Cullen-Harrison effectively legalized low alcohol beer by changing the definition of an “intoxicating beverage” to anything over 4% ABV. Now let me check the fridge……a few 10% Hopslams, 10.4% Alaskan Barleywine, 10% Ballast Point Imperial Stout, 11.2% homebrewed Barleywine……oops, looks like its Anti-Session Beer Day here.

As of 4:00 this afternoon, there were still a very limited number of tickets available for the Sour + Wild + Funk Fest on May 12th. Head over to the ticket site soon if you want to attend (or we’ll be talking about the evil resale market again).

Andy at The Beer Is Good! gives some results on the beer he brewed with Four Horsemen in South Bend. Classify this blogger as jealous – nice job Andy!

A story like this on the Austin Beer Fest should remind us of the hard work of many organizations and volunteers that go into great Indiana beer festivals. Yes, there were the bathroom lines at Winterfest two years ago, but that has been setup beautifully since. Consider a $200 “VIP All-Access Pass” to an event that was an unqualified disaster. As the owner of Jester King Craft Brewery astutely points out, be wary of a craft beer festival that advertises beer pong.

I’m not the biggest Heineken fan, but really have to give them credit for this initiative. The new Heineken Ideas Brewery challenges innovators from around the world to present ideas for how to package and distribute beer in a more sustainable manner (editors note: drinking local beer would be a start). If you have the type of mind that is intrigued by such challenges, submit your ideas by May 8th for a chance to win $10,000.

Wynkoop Brewing has found a new way to push the limits of craft beer flavor with their Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout. It should be noted that “sales” of the special brew were only available on April 1st. Have a ball!

Enjoy your Easter weekend, be safe, and remember to beware the bunny!

Cheers to you and your Peeps, Nathan

Indianapolis Sour + Wild + Funk Fest

Breaking news that’s sure to grab the attention of Indiana fans of sour and wild ales. Upland has announced the first Indianapolis beer festival to focus exclusively on the emerging craft beer trend of sour ales. The event will be held on Saturday May 12th from 2-6pm at Developer Town (5255 Winthrop Ave in Indianapolis). Over 30 styles of sour ales from around the state, country, and world will be paired with foods designed to accentuate the unique flavors found in these beers.

The list of participating breweries includes Indiana flavor from Brugge, Mad Anthony, Sun King and Upland along with Bell’s, Jolly Pumpkin, New Belgium, Rivertown, and Saint Somewhere. International flavor will be provided by Brouwerig Van Steenberge, Brouwerij Bavik, Brouwerij Liefman’s, and Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck. Tickets are limited to 350 and can be purchased for $45 online here via Eventbrite starting April 2nd at 12pm.

Still not convinced? Well OK then, here’s the kicker. Upland is offering 200 of the tickets (for the same price) that come with a reservation for one bottle each from their upcoming release of Raspberry, Persimmon, and Blackberry Lambics. Those familiar with these popular beers will likely attest that this bonus justifies the ticket price on its own. Did I mention the Persimmon Lambic won professional Best of Show at last year’s Indiana Brewers’ Cup? Now get ready to make a mad dash over to that ticket page Monday and start drooling over the funky goodness!

Cheers, Nathan

P.S. Keep in mind that the following Saturday is Upland’s UpCup competition and AHA Rally. Lots of good reasons to spend some quality time with them this May.