I enjoyed the recent Holiday weekend in Ohio, and was happy to see craft beer offerings at the Columbus Zoo. It is so much easier to find than it was even ten years ago, and with more people than ever interested in good beer, the social aspect of our hobby goes without saying. I love meeting new people, but as I travel around, it is wonderful to see so many familiar faces as well. Our craft brewing community is vibrant, and social media is doing an excellent job promoting it, even through a pandemic. Craft beer brings people together in so many ways, and this is good for all of us!
Since I am heavily involved in the craft beer scene, I might be biased, but I never go to any get-togethers where people like beer and craft beer is not the drink of choice. Sometimes these things turn into bottle shares, or the host is just using beer from their well-stocked collection. And when I travel, I like to give my friends some thing they can’t get where they live, or just something from a style of beer they like. And when sports are involved, a large percentage of my friends are only into craft beer. It has enveloped our culture deeply, and because more people are aware of better beer than ever, more people are drinking it. and we seem to love drinking it together!
Unless you are very much introverted, I am sure you agree that taprooms seem to be great places to socialize around craft beer. I have met a lot of people I consider to be close friends in this environment, and remember that friendships are often developed because of similar interests. If you like craft beer, you probably have many other things in common too with other people who drink craft beer. And if you don’t know where to go, there’s always chatter about craft beer on Facebook and in Facebook groups. I’ve always been impressed with what’s done here in Indiana for meet ups, and the 513 Craft Beer Group does a good job of promoting beer socials throughout the Cincinnati area. When I was first beginning to write locally about craft beer, there was a group that seem to be at every event. Hopefully when COVID is completely out of our midst, there will be more get-togethers at breweries and taprooms!
It’s hard to believe it was a year ago that I wrote my first article about taprooms and how vital they are to craft beer. This weekend I got to celebrate an excellent first year with the crew at 5’s in Anderson. They are doing an excellent job promoting Indiana beer, and I could go on about how our small towns are where the most growth is going to occur. Craft beer is new to a lot of communities, and I will be writing a later about all the new breweries who seem be popping up in small towns. Smaller towns may provide less opportunity for socializing, so I think it’s wonderful that there are great places in the hinterland where people can get together and drink craft beer. I love to travel, and don’t mind going to the middle of nowhere to find craft beer, but not everybody does, so I’m glad more people have a chance to drink together locally.
And of course I feel there’s nothing more social than a good beer fest. There’s been more of them this summer than I’ve ever seen, and I have been a part of a few really great ones. Pax Verum hosted an amazing fest last month just outside of Indianapolis, and I’ve been writing frequently about 2Toms and many of the other festivals I’ve been able to go to. I made some really good friends at the festival at St Benedict’s, and hope to run into some of them at later festivals. There seems to be something going on year-round, and they take place everywhere. I look at the calendar, and see so many small towns hosting festivals like never before. It’s a great time to drink craft beer with your friends, and that’s what I like about the festivals. I checked ID’s last Saturday for a very large festival at Indiana Beach, and most of the attendees came in groups. When I started going to festivals almost 20 years ago, I always had a core group of friends to go with, and that hasn’t seem to change!
I know sometimes we just sit at home and drink craft beer, and that’s certainly safe, and not the worst idea during a pandemic. Still, beer has always been a social beverage, and will be for the rest of time. Even people sitting at home drinking a good beer seem to want to share it on Facebook with everyone, and that seems a little bit social to me as well! I’m not going to get to Germany for Oktoberfest anytime soon, so I’m glad the city of Lawrence nearby will be hosting one this weekend. Lagers in Lawrence is going to be a great time, and I have been assured there will be lots of Dachshunds everywhere!
I’m sure if you’re reading this article you were already quite aware of just how social craft beer drinking is. I wanted to celebrate a lot of the things that have been going on lately, and this seemed to be a subject I had not covered yet. I hope you had a good holiday weekend, and as the leaves change, I hope there is good beer in your future. Share it with your friends and loved ones, and maybe we’ll have a pint together sometime soon.
So Much Beer So Little Time 