Two weeks ago, I was at the bar of the Hoof Hearted Brewing Company in Columbus talking with the lady sitting next to me about craft beer as we both enjoyed samplers. One thing she said to me has resonated because it’s true. Since most breweries are doing the same thing, “they need to be mind blowing!” I think she’s right, and in order to be successful when there’s so many breweries doing something similar to your plan, you definitely have to step up and be different in order to be noticed in this highly competitive environment.

This conversation goes with one I had a few weeks before while I was sitting at A Taproom in Indianapolis. I asked Eric Foust what the next brewery, Widowmaker, would be bringing. He said “the same as everyone else. Big IPA’s, Crazy Stouts, and heavily fruited sours.” His bar features tap takeover’s, and I have noticed over the last year that 85% of the beers he’s had on tap fall into those three categories. It’s what people like to drink right now, and what sells. The breweries he brings into Indiana are obviously successful, or on the verge of becoming notorious, but what about everybody else who is trying to do the same thing?

So this is where I talk about marketing. You are going to have a lot of competition when you are making similar beers to everyone else, and this is where your packaging imaging needs to make as strong an impression as the quality of your beer. I will write an article about how labeling has become an important part of brewing, but I will say right now that it’s one way your beer is set apart from others on the shelf. I always look for the style of beer that a cool label is promoting, but my eyes were first drawn to the artwork or images on the label. So, you can make really awesome beer, but if you can’t find a way to set yourself apart from everybody else, you are going to get lost in the crowd!

Other breweries have decided that since everyone else is doing the same thing, they are going to create other beers to fill the gap. I wrote last week about the diversity of beer, and a lot of breweries don’t want to get caught up in trying to make the next big IPA or sour because everyone else is doing that. If I was running a brewery right now, I would probably be making all sorts of big ales that I want the public to know about because I think they’re fun, and I would do the best I could to market them! Palates change, and when people want something different than IPA’s there are breweries already honing their craft to offer beers to fit that bill!

So this subject is particularly pertinent for breweries that operate in an urban setting when they have lots of competition. Some breweries close for reasons beyond the excellence of their beer, and that’s unfortunate. But if you work hard to create good beer and market it, people should drink it. It’s what you do to be different that will keep your name in peoples minds. And if you can your best beer, and send it to other locations, people will visit your taproom when they come to town. Whatever you do to get people into your brewery, make sure it involves the drinking your beer.

As I write this article, I’m excited about a trip later today to Primeval Brewing in Noblesville. Their English Dark Mild, Mildly Offensive was delicious, and I plan on drinking that while I’m there, and bringing some home in a growler. I support the breweries I can, but there is after all so much beer, and so little time. There are 10,000 craft breweries in America all fighting for your dollar, and what they do to impress you and I, and everybody else is what’s going to keep us coming back to drink their beer. I’m going to be vigilant looking for quality beer, and when I find it, I’ll write about it. Please do your part and drink good beer, and let people know about it. Together we can keep our craft beer environment healthy, and as long as the breweries are working to make their mark, we will have a vibrant scene.

One reason I like craft beer is there are scores of different styles of beer, and I like nearly all of them. As a beer writer who has gotten to visit many breweries,one thing I do when I visit a new place is to try a style a beer I don’t usually drink. Like a lot of people, I’ve been in kind of a rut, doing hazy, IPAs, stouts and fruited sours. I notice many of the big guns in craft beer seem to be focusing on these styles. At A Taproom which is local and brings in beer from breweries across the country for tap takeovers, the beers I mentioned above are usually the focus. But for someone who really likes a good red ale, and thinks the altbier is an under-appreciated German ale, I want to take the time to celebrate all styles of craft beer.

If I sat down and thought about it, I probably have tried several hundred different styles of beer. For their regular drinker, that probably sounds ridiculous, but yes there truly are that many styles of beer. If you take the time to look at all the sub variance within each category, you will see what I mean. Even within the style of IPA, you probably are aware of dozens of sub styles from hazy to west coast, DIPA to dry hopped, and so on. And the nuances of these styles makes for a lot of unique flavors within hoppy beer. So while I am enjoying myself at a favorite watering hole, IPA’s are my go to. But when researching, I usually order other styles. Besides, I haven’t always been a fan of the IPAs.

A lot of breweries focus on making a lot of different beer styles, and some focus on their core beer. But the more beer styles brewery has the time and effort to make does a service to craft beer in general. I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that the history of craft beer focused on a lot of styles of beer that we don’t want to drink anymore. Porters used to be my favorite dark ale, but they have been overshadowed by the brashness of stouts lately. And I can’t remember the last time I had a Dunkel Weizen!

As a craft beer drinker, I guess I just like to have a diverse choice is when I’m choosing my beers. I remember drinking at Rivertown Pourhouse in Pittsburgh with a friend years ago, and the bartender gave us a sample board with every beer they had on tap, which was somewhere in the vicinity of 35 beers! I don’t have that picture anymore, but it was beautiful to behold. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience because many places do offer large amounts of beer on tap, and if they are willing to serve you up a great amount of them, it could be a fun experience. Or a great reason to go back. Larger taprooms like Hop Station in Mishawaka do flight service as well and this is a good way to learn about beer.

So I want to celebrate the diversity of craft beer and encourage you to go outside the box. Next time you’re out drinking craft beer, try a style or beer or you may not be familiar with. More drinkers who are willing to do this will help brewers stay exciting as they keep all styles of beer alive. We all have our preferences in craft beer and that’s great, but we are willing to try other styles of beer, we are keeping craft beer exciting and vibrant. I want and like diversity in my beer, and I know you do too, so let’s do our part and order something different next time we go out.

One of the first articles I wrote for this site was about the importance of taprooms, and I finished the article on the lawn at 5’s in Anderson. I was listening to live music on their opening night back in 2020. For almost 3 years, they have done an amazing job of serving Indiana beer to craft beer drinkers in the Anderson area. I spent many hours there, and I’ve gotten to know the owners very well. I’m saddened that this taproom is no more, and just like all the breweries I’ve written about recently that have closed, I write this with a sad heart.

Situated in an old fire house on the west side of Anderson, 5’s Taproom was a quaint spot, which I found to be an excellent place to drink good beer. Lance, Mike, Kyle, and their wives were an excellent team keeping this place afloat, and I got to know all of them and consider them friends. And from bottle shares, to meeting friends, and any other reasons that would take me to Anderson, it was always a great stop as I researched craft beer. And I would just like to share a few of my fun memories of this place.

Since I was able to enjoy the opening, I made it a point to attend their first anniversary party, which also featured great live music. It had been a busy Saturday in September, and I had been on the other side of the state working at a beer festival. My friend Chris and I were able to get people to travel all the way from Monticello to Anderson just to attend this party, telling them how great the taproom was. I didn’t want to miss this party, and I had brought beer back from Maryland for one of the owners. It was a wonderful night, and it was so packed that we had to sit at a small table on the front porch, which gave us a great view of the yard which was teeming with great music.

I also remember one winter weekend when I spent time with the owners at a beer festival in Fort Wayne at 2Tom’s. Kyle’s wife Kristen is a great person, but she doesn’t know a lot about craft beer, so he asked us to mess with his wife when we stopped in on our way back to Indianapolis the following day. Since she knew me, I had my friend ask her all kinds of crazy questions about craft beer, and she became flustered, and when she asked him why he was doing this, I chimed in because your “husband told me too!” She started laughing, and that’s when all the husbands walked in grinning!

I can’t remember how many times I had a chance to visit 5’s, but I got to try a great deal of beer there, and meet a lot of the regulars. It was always nice to see them, as well as the owners who are friends. I have lots of fond memories of spending time at the tap room after the Anderson On Tap festival two years ago. Many of the brewers and representatives of breweries across the state all met there afterwards, and it was a great time for socializing.

For me, this was always a great place to stop, no matter where I was in the northern part of the state. I have great memories, and I’m proud of the job they did promoting good craft beer. While the other excellent tap rooms across the state do a fine job promoting Indiana beer, there was something special about 5’s. I’m going to miss them a lot, but I’m thankful for all the wonderful memories I have.

So there are still excellent places to drink in Anderson, and nearby, but there’s one less good taproom in that part of the state. As I said, I will miss them, but thank you for almost 3 good years. I wish the owners success in whatever they do in the future, and they need to be proud of the taproom because it was a great place to drink craft beer and meet people.