Authors note: I dedicate this article to all the hard-working people in the brewing industry throughout northern Indiana, and also Rob Gibbons, who inspired this article!
Indiana’s breweries are spread across the state, but outside of the Indianapolis area, the greatest concentration of breweries in Indiana lies across the states northern tier. From Fort Wayne in the east, and across Michiana to The Region, you’ll find breweries in nearly every sizable community, as well as many in the hinterlands. The quality of beer made in northern Indiana is excellent, and there truly are too many breweries to choose from!
I spent the early part in my 20s in northern Indiana, and I have a lot of family nestled around this region. This is where I first began to understand craft beer, and I was a big fan of the Mishawaka Brewing Company, and for a while, this was my impression of what craft beer was all about. I visited Belgium during this time, and came back to northern Indiana determined to find good beer wherever it was. This is a far cry from the vibrant scene that is there today. It didn’t happen overnight, and I don’t have time to talk about all the breweries I have seen come and go from northern Indiana, so I just want to applaud the hard work done over the last 20 years to make this beer scene what it is today.
As Indiana second largest city, Fort Wayne is a place that is full of great breweries, many of whom I write about regularly. 2Toms, Fortlandia, Trubble, Dot & Line, and Summit City are all favorites of mine to visit, partly because of their unique taprooms. They are joined by Hop River, Junk Ditch, Mad Anthony, GnomeTown, and The Landing. I have enjoyed beer from all of these breweries, and they provide a great beer scene to the city. I have to also mention the Kekionga Cider House because Johnny Appleseed is buried in Fort Wayne, and this cider house is a tribute to his legacy! So with nearly a dozen places to visit, there’s no reason to not be familiar with the beer and cider made in Fort Wayne!
The area surrounding Fort Wayne is also full of breweries. Angola’s Chapman Brewing has four Northeastern Indiana locations, and the author particularly likes the one nestled in downtown Columbia City. La Otto and Auburn, both just north of Fort Wayne each have a brewery bearing their towns name. To the south, Bluffton’s Parlor City is a great brewery, and an excellent restaurant. Speaking of food, the author found one of the best tenderloins in Indiana at Albion’s Guesswork whose Nutty Bar Porter still has him thinking about the place! And just a little bit to the west, Harry Stuff is making extraordinary beer in a farmhouse setting.
Moving west to Kosciusko County, Man Cave and Ledgeview join the aforementioned Hop Lore. Over in Rochester, Schnabeltier is a brewery that is more well known for its wine and cheese. We are now in North Central Indiana which is also known as Michiana. Elkhart County has six breweries who are all doing amazing things. Middleberry‘s Wedgewood has a beautiful new Taproom, and Goshen Brewing offers excellent sours, and many other beers in their modern looking taproom. Nappanee‘s Ruhe embraces the pace with a lot of excellent beers, and in Elkhart proper, Brass Elk, Westwind, and Iechyd Da make the counties largest city a great destination for good beer!
St. Joseph County is home to South Bend and it’s suburbs, and many breweries as well. Bare Hands and Heavenly Goat are in Granger, and Evil Czech is currently located in the old Mishawaka Brewing Company‘s location. South Bend is home to Crooked Ewe, Greenbush(this Michigan Brewery does brew small batches at their Ireland Road location), Studebaker, and the South Bend Brew Works. To the south, the Lakeville Brew Crew, and Kootnz Lake round out this greater community. If you find this overwhelming, Mishawaka‘s Hop Station features many of these breweries as well as lots of other beer from Northern Indiana on their ever rotating taps!
The counties west of Saint Joseph begin to merge into what is know as The Region. 10-56 in Knox joins Michigan City’s Shoreline, Zorn, and Burn ‘Em who never stops making exciting beer! Porter County has Hunter’s and the Veteran-owned Chesterton Brewing in the north, and Valparaiso features Ironwood, Four Fathers, and a new brewery called Blockhead. And down in Rensselaer, Fenwick Farms is a great place to get a good beer and a meal as you travel on 65!
The concentration of breweries in Lake County amazes this author! Crown Point has Off-Square, and Crown Brewing, and you can find good drink and food at both places. Wheatfield will be getting a brewery soon, and Merrillville has Devil’s Trumpet, and Viking. St John has Malt Brothers, and Griffith has Wild Rose, and New Oberpfalz, and the author enjoys spending time at both of them. Luther, Chris and company at Windmill call Dyer their home, and Fuzzyline in Highland is a brewery that features sour beers.
In the northern part of Lake County, Byway is right off of 80/94 in Hammond which is also home to 18th Street, and their Sour Note project. They also have a taproom in Gary, and of course their Indianapolis location on 10th St. 3Floyd’s calls Munster home, and it will be interesting to see how they progress after Covid. All the way to the north in Whiting, Bulldog Brewing brews in this small town amid urban sprawl.
So that is, in a nutshell, the breweries of northern Indiana. There was too much to talk about to do justice in this article, but as I try to cover the brewers of this state, I wanted to focus on this region first. No matter what part of northern Indiana you’re in, there is quality beer near you. I spend a lot of time here and consider it to be one of the best places to drink beer in Indiana. If you live up here you probably agree, and I’d like the rest of the state to take notice as well!
So Much Beer So Little Time 