Anniversary celebrations are one of the reasons I love going to breweries and recently three of my favorite breweries on Indy’s northside will celebrate or celebrated what I consider to be milestone anniversaries. Deviate(8 years in August), Moontown,(5), and Pax Verum(5) have all made a niche in the Indiana brewing scene, and the last two did some amazing things for their anniversary. I have enjoyed the time I’ve spent at each of these breweries in the last month, and decided I would focus on them in this article on this holiday weekend.

Pax Verum in Lapel Indiana has become a favorite brewery of mine since I first got to try one of their IPAs at the now defunct 5’s Taproom in Anderson. I would become a big fan of their Velvety Kush, and begin to make regular trips to the tap room when I was in the area. I have become quite fond of the people who work at this brewery, and usually enjoy talking to them at festivals. They have their own Way Out festival in August, and I have enjoyed helping out with it.

Last month they celebrated five years, and released an amazing run of anniversary stouts. I was able to procure all five of them on a recent trip to the brewery, and also enjoyed some very good lighter beers for the summer. I really like their patio beer/garden area, and usually meet some nice people when I’m there visiting. I love this brewery, and I salute them in their five years of excellent brewing!

Moon town in Whitestown has also been a favorite of mine across these last five years. I would usually hang out with them at beer festivals when they were just getting started, and really liked the very approachable beers their making. I was given a hat, and in the winter, I enjoy promoting this place. I was also able to get a large amount of their third anniversary beer which I enjoyed during the pandemic.

Last weekend they had their own fifth anniversary celebration at the brewery. They had a very good Wiezendoppelbock for the anniversary that was amazing. Another stand out was their Oaked King of Troy. The event was well attended, and they had very good live music including the Chilly Water Family Band. I don’t think it’s going to be another 12 months before I get back to the brewery, but I look forward to their next anniversary celebration. Moontown does a great job making very approachable beer, and I’ve always enjoyed drinking it. I’m glad to see that they are still going strong!

Deviate is a very special brewery that has made some amazing beers across was has now been eight years. I first met the owners of this brewery at a Frigid Digits festival sometime before the pandemic, and it’s hard to believe it was three years ago that they were celebrating their own fifth anniversary with two amazing variants of their Scheming Demons. My puppies and I really enjoyed the event even though we had to wait in a very long line to get beer!

They will celebrate their own eighth anniversary in August. When I talked to the owners who attended Moontown’s anniversary last weekend, they were very discreet, but you could tell there’s some excitement about what will happen. I have always enjoyed the beers that the brewery makes and I like their dedication to the same music I like. I am a big fan of the brewery, and look forward to seeing an article sometime in August that might feature them.

So I want salute these three breweries, and all the other breweries that rock on this holiday weekend. I hosted a excellent barbecue yesterday, and we were able to do quite a beer share. I’m going to be going to lot of craft beer events over the next couple of weeks, and should we see each other, let’s have a beer together.

So in the middle of what has been a very busy spring for craft beer, I was not surprised to find myself enjoying many things this week. Several breweries are celebrating milestone anniversaries which I will be focusing on in my next article. Beer festivals, live music, and so much more made this week memorable. For someone like me who is very much involved in the craft beer culture, I could have weeks like this all the time, but maybe you are a little bit more on the sidelines. This week was a good time for fun, so I hope that you had a chance to do something exciting, and craft beer related.

I started the week last Sunday meeting a friend at Moontown. I have always been a fan of their beer, and can’t believe it’s been five years. Next I made the most of an afternoon on the north side heading to Zionsville where Columbus Ohio’s North High Brewing has an great taproom with a beer garden along a cobblestone street. I also got to spend some time at Deviate, and can’t believe we have been enjoying their beer for eight years!

I started this weekend in similar fashion. On Friday afternoon, I met my illustrator for another writing project at Scarlet Lane’s Beech Grove spot. This brewery has always made some fascinating beer, and there’s locations all over Indianapolis, so there’s no reason you haven’t tried something from them. I have always found their beer to be a little different, and that’s why I like drinking it. Craft beer has so much diversity, and I feel there is a spot for everybody in this market.

And later that night, I got to go down to Mashcraft to their original spot in Greenwood where my pal Robert Fedderson was playing a concert supporting a the release of his 10th album. Mashcraft brewed a beer called The Distance in his honor, and he started a great set outside before the rain brought the concert in. It was a great crowd, and I got to try some great beer, and maybe you’ve got a chance to catch Robert last night at Kismetic.

So, with a very fun week already in the books, I was very excited yesterday to have a chance to work the Tipton On Tap festival. I got to try beer from two breweries which will open later this summer, as well as mead from a good friend up in South Bend. I got to talk to so many of my friends in the brewing industry, and I’m excited about Hog Molly’s Hogstock on June 10th. I also met some people who will be opening up a taproom in Tipton, and it sounds fascinating. What I like about getting to beer festivals throughout the state is each area has a different mixture of breweries, so it’s a good chance for me to keep in touch with a lot of places I haven’t visited a while. Indiana On Tap does great beer festivals and I’m glad to be a part of them.

But I wasn’t done, and this week was going to be special for me because Moontown is celebrating their fifth anniversary, and last night they threw a great party. I got to see a lot of good friends, and heard a really good band, Chilly Water Family Band, perform The Dark Side of the Moon! I tried some great beer, including an oak aged version of their King of Troy. It was my second time this week at this spot, and exactly where I wanted to be as I finished off this great craft beer week.

So I think this is going to be a great summer for craft beer, and I am excited to be a part of so many great things happening throughout the state, and beyond. Dark Lord Day happened as well, and I’ve only heard good things about it from people who attended. I’m going to be drinking great craft beer, and you can always find me somewhere. If we meet up, let’s have a beer together.

It seems like only a few weeks ago that I was writing about breweries closing, and I felt like I needed to reconsider where a craft beer was going. I was wondering if the zenith had already been reached, and that we were going to see some sort of implosion on our beloved culture. I was set to start exploring exclusively the breweries of Ohio when all of a sudden, I saw exciting things happening here in Indiana. Lots of new breweries are set to open. We have a homebrew culture that is second to none, and exciting breweries statewide are calling me to visit!

When I felt like a lot of breweries were shutting down a few months ago, I was willing to think we had come to a point of saturation. But with as many as a dozen potentially awesome breweries set to open up this year, it looks like our craft beer culture is continuing to grow. We have a farmhouse brewery coming, as well as some excellent former home brewers set to open shop. And also, I know of at least one brewery that will open up where a now defunct breweries sits. I have traveled extensively over the past three weekends, and with all the breweries I have visited being full, I am confident that these breweries can be successful if they work hard at it.

And I also got to be a part of a great home brewing competition in Elkhart two weekends ago that left me feeling good about where our beer culture is going. While some of these people are just making great beer for a hobby, some of them have the potential to be excellent brewers. I see growth that will continue as long as people are interested in making good beer. I also made some wonderful contacts, and look forward to continue to drink beer made by some of these homebrewer’s because they attend festivals, which is usually a highlight for me.

And my third point is that while I have visited breweries statewide over the past month, I have had what I consider to be excellent beer, and I really like the quality of what is going on in the breweries. They are full of a diverse crowd, enjoying good food with the beer. I think the quality of what’s going on at our breweries has only stepped up as competition makes everybody be better, and one only has to visit one of our 180+ Indiana tap rooms to see just how excellent everything is.

And it’s the same everywhere I’ve had a chance to visit recently. I have been all over the state of Pennsylvania this year visiting breweries, and three weeks ago, the breweries in Pittsburgh we’re just hopping. I discovered a new brewery and found a few others I want to hit when I go back. And I spend a lot of time in Ohio between Columbus and Cincinnati doing podcasts, and even watching my little brother run a marathon. I was able to visit five breweries last weekend in Cincinnati, and the beer was excellent. It’s going to take me a while, but I will visit every brewery in Ohio eventually! Ohio beer culture is every bit as vibrant as Indiana and Pennsylvania and every other state I’ve been to for that matter!

So I’m not worried about where craft beer is going. The sheer number of festivals that I’m taking part in this summer attests to just how popular craft beer has become. And across the last three weeks I’ve had to choose between events because there’s just that many going on. And as I sat in breweries last week, I met a lot of awesome people who love to discuss beer, and it’s another reason why I like when we are going. I rarely go anywhere where there’s not good beer, and later today, a friend of mine is meeting me to go to Moontown which is a brewery in Whitestown I’ve really been meaning to visit.

So wherever you are keep enjoying craft beer. I don’t think our culture is done growing, and we may have a long way to go before we reach the top. For me that’s exciting as I get to chronicle this great journey where more and more people get to enjoy craft beer. And after getting to pour beer at a festival last weekend in which I came home with some good beer, I really must stick to the title of my blog because there is just so much beer and so little time!

Recently, I’ve been able to do a lot more traveling, and this is taking me to many breweries that I have enjoyed over the years. I have gone back to these spots with the anticipation of enjoyment, and have rarely been disappointed. Often times my favorite beer is still on draft, and though the staff may have changed, the place still has warmth. For me, it often feels like I’ve stepped back in time for great memories. Maybe you have a brewery or two that you have great memories of, and if so, I encourage you to stop back and see them for a similar experience.

It was about 20 years ago that I was living in Pennsylvania, and really began to learn about craft beer. On multiple trips to Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, I cut my teeth on very creative beer in what was the early stages of the craft beer movement. Penn Brewing, The Church, Yards, and later Sly Fox, Iron Hill, and Bullfrog would all solidify my feeling that Pennsylvania was a great place for craft beer. I would then watch breweries develop in Indiana and Ohio, and it became evident that I could find good craft beer anywhere. It was also in 2003 that I made a trip to St. Louis where I discovered Schlafly. And since that summer, I have been on a wonderful journey.

And now that I’ve visited over 1000 breweries, there are many places across the last two decades that I consider warm and friendly places that I would go back to in a heartbeat. I was in northern Indiana last weekend for a homebrew competition, and there were many breweries that I wanted to visit, but I was limited on time, so I only got to see a handful. But Hoplore, Ruhe, and others were excellent stops, and it was nice to actually get to Westwind again. And later on in the weekend, I stopped in at the Lakeville Brew Crew. They may have the smallest tap room in Indiana, but they might also be one of the most warm and inviting places in the state.

And of course, my travels take me all over the state of Ohio as well. And while I am currently trying to visit new breweries on most of my trips across the state, I will be in Cincinnati this weekend, and I look forward to visiting some of my favorite places. Streetside has been a favorite of mine, but I also am a huge fan of Esoteric, and Urban Artifact. I discovered others in January that intrigue me, and I may even visit a new brewery. And that’s what I like about visiting cities because there’s always so much good beer to choose from.

So while I always like visiting new breweries and finding new places to drink craft beer, I will never forget the places where I first learned to love this amazing beverage. And my favorite places are spread out across the country and that’s what makes traveling so much fun. I haven’t been to southern Indiana in a long time, and stops to many breweries in places like Aurora, Seymour, and Bloomfield are long overdue. And while I’m at it, I’ll definitely have to stop at Cedar Creek. They are one of the most exciting breweries in southern Indiana, and I’m always looking forward to seeing what they are doing next.

So with the summer coming up, I plan on visiting a lot of new breweries, but there will be old friends to see as well. I don’t know exactly where my travels will take me, but I know there will be good beer wherever I go. I hope your adventures help you find good beer too, and should our paths cross, let’s have one together.

I’m happy to have a chance to talk about something different this week. I have been enjoying mead for a very long time, and noticed that many other craft beer drinkers feel the same way about this fermented beverage made from honey. It is such a great relationship that there’s a place in northern Indiana that is a meadery and a brewery in one. There is historical reason for mead and beer being so close together, and if you need further proof consider this: mead comes in wine bottles, but you can still check it in on Untapped! Mead is popular, and will continue to grow in popularity as more people learn about it. It is a great shareable beverage, and everyone should have at least one bottle of it in their collection.

Mead is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages, possibly dating back to 7000 BC. It is believed to have been created by accident when honey was mixed with water during a rainstorm, and wild yeast developed it into a drinkable beverage. It was predominantly popular in places where grapevines could not grow. A social beverage, it was often used in meals, and is mentioned in both Beowulf and the Canterbury Tales. Like beer, it was drunk in great “mead” halls and is a very communal beverage on every level. Throughout the ages, mead has had a rich history and in an exciting turn of things, it is making an immense come back.

Well, I have been fortunate enough to try mead multiple times, it is only in the last couple years that I have really come to appreciate it. I owe this to a wonderful place in Valparaiso Indiana called Misbeehavin’ Meads. I visited them on my brewery project three years ago, and have been back almost a half dozen times. They continue to push the envelope, and make extraordinary products. Last year I got to try a peanut butter and jelly mead from them at a beer festival, and this is caused me to want to try the same style from other meadery’s as well.

I like the variety of meads I have available to drink here in Indiana. Along with Misbeehavin’ Meads, Manic and Ambrosia, and others are also making a great product. I’m also happy to watch the progress of my friend Jeremy’s place here in Indianapolis. Klausing Meads will hopefully open in the fall, but they are making some great test products that are really turning heads. And in Ohio, I really like Blackbird in Dayton, and I’m hoping to experience some of the meadery’s in Columbus when I’m there next weekend. Brother’s Drake and ZenBee both come highly recommended, so I am sure it’s going to be a great time.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably already got to try some great mead, maybe at a local taproom or you’ve been to a meadery. If so, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you have not, I encourage you to go ahead and try it for yourself, and see how delicious it is. Mead pairs well with beer, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy it. I have a lot in my collection, and should we have a drink together, just asked me to share some of my mead and I probably will!

Breweries need our help during these tough economic times. It’s hard to compete and even with a great product, it’s a tough market. I visit breweries as a hobby, and I am saddened when I hear about places closing. But as craft beer drinkers, we can do our part by visiting as many breweries as possible, and even planning small trips around the state, and nearby cities with our friends. As I stated in another article, every brewery offers a unique experience, and visiting them is the only way you’re going to get to find that out first hand.

I had four breweries to visit to maintain my goal of being to every brewery in Indiana. I’ve been planning this trip for over months, and it was with friends that I finally got it done this weekend. I had mentioned doing this several weeks ago, and they wanted to make sure they could go along. I can tell you that it’s so much more fun to do breweries with friends. While I have no problem meeting people wherever I go, it’s fun to take good people with me on these trips as well. We got to visit six breweries and two meaderys, and it was a memorable evening that I had long been waiting for!

No matter where you live, there are plenty of breweries within an hour or two drive from you, and it’s not hard to plan a trip to visit some of them. As I’ve stated before, it’s great to drink right at the source. Also, a lot of breweries don’t distribute, so you have to visit them to try their beer. And I believe some of the best beer you can taste is not mass-produced which is why you need to hit breweries.

And I have to tell you that I really feel that the quality of food being served at a lot of breweries is quite excellent these days. There was sushi and Asian fusion at Blockhead in Valparaiso, and my friends enjoyed some amazing fried goat cheese at Fuzzyline in Highland. And I was happy to get a plant-based burger at our last stop in Lafayette, at Thieme & Wagner whose taproom I have enjoyed for years. Some of the best food that I’ve ever had in Indiana has been at breweries, and that’s another good reason to visit them.

You don’t have to want to visit every brewery in the state to do your part in visiting good breweries, but if you’re so inclined, it can be a lot of fun. I am planning on hitting every brewery in Ohio now that I have Indiana complete, but not everybody is as dedicated to exploring craft beer as me. Still at whatever level you enjoy good beer, I encourage you to go out and visit as many breweries as possible because our beer scene is better because of the choices we have. And I always want there to be so much beer, and so little time!

As I write this article, a brewery in Lafayette is asking for help. Escape Velocity is a sci-fi themed brewery which makes great beer, and serves vegan food. They are struggling right now, and are deciding whether not to stay open, but I love their product, and hope to enjoy it for a long time. I’m planning on visiting them tomorrow, and enjoying their Easter brunch, and if you happen to be in the Lafayette area, I encourage you to visit them as well. And if you do, please also visit one of the other great breweries in Lafayette. We can all do our part to keep this scene strong, and there’s no better way than visiting breweries. So I’ll be out on the road as often as I can making sure the breweries in Indiana and Ohio are doing well, and if I see you, let’s have a beer together.

I was talking to a friend recently about Saison’s. It’s her favorite style of beer, and she can’t seem to find it at most breweries she visits. Liking the style of beer myself, I felt her disdain as most breweries seem to pigeonhole themselves into making the same styles of beer everyone’s making. I’ve written recently about how there is a plethora of good styles of beer being neglected by a lot of breweries. So I was very excited yesterday when I attended the soft opening of A Taproom and Perennial was offering a beer called Saison Lounge. If you’re willing to look, you can find the beer you like, but it does take effort.

I guess my point is it seems like everyone is drinking IPA’s, sours, and stouts when there are so many other styles of beer out there. I talk to a lot of people, and I get excited when somebody talks about something other than those three styles of beer because that’s what all the buzz seems to be about anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I like stouts, IPA’s, and sours as much as anyone. But as a beer writer, I appreciate nearly every style of beer, and it’s fun to drink things that are out of the norm. Besides the Saison, I also had an English bitter, another style of beer that I really appreciate. It was from Street-side, a Cincinnati brewery who are a mainstay at A Taproom.

I may have lost you if you have one style of beer and that’s all you drink. That’s OK, but the world of craft beer is a wide and diverse environment in which hundreds of styles of beer exist. The cool thing about going to a good beer bar or brewery is that you can try many styles of beer. As I get to travel throughout the country, I don’t always select the same style of beer because sometimes I just want to see what the brewery is doing. I like to see if they can make a porter or a red ale because these are great styles of beer. I appreciate and applaud breweries for continuing to brew excellent beer in every style that they think necessary.

So if you like a style of beer that you don’t see at a lot of breweries, do some research. Go out and find it because I guarantee somebody’s making it. I am out trying different styles of beer all the time, so I know where the good beer is, and I like to help others find it. Just because your local watering hole isn’t serving a style beer doesn’t mean you can’t get it, and that’s the beauty of visiting breweries because chances are somebody somewhere is making that beer, and I look forward to drinking it.

It’s Saturday night, and I have returned to A Taproom here in Indianapolis because my friend Kelly is tending bar. I’ve met some really cool people tonight and we’ve had some great discussion about beer. It only strengthens my argument to hear people talking about so many styles of beer. We have a lot to choose from, and that’s the beauty of craft beer!

So enjoy beer for the sake of it, and if you like a style of beer, keep drinking it because if you like it, chances are other people like it, and hopefully breweries keep making it. The magic of craft beer is there are so many styles out there, and there really is something for everyone. So have a pint, and if I see you somewhere, let’s have one together.

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.