According to the Brewers Association, there are almost 10,000 breweries operating in the United States. I have been fortunate enough to visit nearly 1000 of them although I’ve lost track of the exact number, and that includes all of them in Indiana, as well as breweries from 14 other states. I like visiting breweries, and hope to visit maybe 100 more this summer if time allows. There are many reasons to visit breweries, and I’ve talked about them in other articles, but what I want to emphasize in this article is how each brewery is special in its own way, and worth visiting.

You could walk into a typical normal bar in United States, and get the same experience that you would in maybe 10,000 other bars. But I feel each and every brewery in the United States offers a unique experience when you visit them. No two breweries will offer the same beer, or food, or be decorated the same way with the same history. Each brewery has a staff that is special to that location, and as I travel, it’s those people I remember at those breweries which makes it even more memorable. And lastly, every brewery is in a location that has something to do with why it’s there, and that can make it special as well.

I was recently brewery hopping in Cincinnati with my friend Sam, and we stopped in four different breweries in an afternoon. Esoteric, Woodburn, Humble Monk, and Urban Artifact all served great beer,and were as different as you could imagine from beer style, to atmosphere, as well as all around charm. We made friends at the breweries, and while these are just a few of the breweries in Cincinnati, they are proof that that city has a vibrant beer culture.

I have found that no matter where I go from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to a city like Fort Wayne, the breweries are always fascinating. Fort Wayne has a dozen breweries who all offer something different. Fortlandia is the one I have visited the most, but 2Toms, Summit City, and all the rest are fun places to visit with lots of good food and atmosphere. While the beer is good at Mad Anthony and Trubble, their food is memorable as well, and I’d like to go back and see their staff too. My beer travels have created memories like this in many places and it’s one reason I love visiting breweries. It’s really nice to walk into a place hundreds of miles from your house and have the staff remember you.

I really started thinking about the differences in breweries when I did my project back in 2020 visiting every brewery in the state of Indiana. I was blown away by the differences in atmosphere in places like Evansville, as well as the difference of all the breweries in the region. From Elkhart county to the Indiana suburbs of Louisville, unique brewery experiences are everywhere. And it’s the same in the vast state of Pennsylvania where I have visited several dozen breweries, and still only seen a handful. Ohio is the same way as is Michigan, and just about everywhere else I’ve gotten to visit. I know one thing is true: I picked the right name for this blog!

So no matter where you live, visit your local breweries and find out what makes them special. Drink local beer where it was meant to be drank, and go for special releases, events, and take friends as you make the experience at a brewery memorable. Always remember, every brewery special on its own way. The brewery that is closest to me here in Indianapolis is Metazoa and I don’t have to tell you that it has its own quirks. It is dog friendly and animal themed and I enjoy drinking the beer because the atmosphere is always friendly and inviting. I have friends who work at Hoosier, and I like visiting them, biweekly for their special releases. I hope you have a similar experience wherever you live as well.

I write about beer so I will continue to visit breweries as long as they exist. I like how each brewery is different and I never know what’s going to happen when I go to visit one for a first time. That makes me want to keep traveling, because there are places like Kentucky, which has nearly 100 breweries that have never been seen by these eyes. So keep drinking good beer, and maybe I’ll see you out on the road to the breweries.

On a final note, I want to shout out to all my friends who I visited these breweries with, and didn’t mention. You know who you are, and you rock!

I was not planning to write another article about the closing of a brewery, but events this weekend have caused me to want to write a piece about Indiana City I have watched this brewery grow from their opening day back in 2013 all the way to the last couple of months when I’ve met friends there frequently. I attended their third anniversary celebration, and I’ve also been there for many special releases, and even vegan food trucks! I’m going to miss all the fun times I’ve had this at brewery. While they are searching for a new owner, they are closing their doors, and it may be for a good. But on Saturday, we got to have one last celebration with them, and least we sent them off in style.

I really liked their beer from the get go and was lucky enough to attend their grand opening Memorial Day weekend 2013. I found the Shadow Boxer to be one of my favorites. It was a delicious oatmeal stout, and I used to drink it at the now defunct Thirsty Scholar which was on 16th St. Over the years, I became a fan of many beers by them, including their Sister City Kolsch which was named after the relationship between Indianapolis and Cologne where the Kolsch originated. I was able to attend many release parties, but one that sticks out was four years ago when they released a strawberry basil sour that I knew a friend of mine would like. We tried all their available sours that day, and had fun demolishing that four pack the same afternoon.

They brewed a variety of different styles of beer, but their IPAs are very memorable They had great artwork on all their cans, and I wish I had saved many of them for they were beautiful. The brewery always seem to have something going on and over the years. I’ve gotten to know many people that worked there, and Ray Kamstra the owner has always worked hard to make it an inviting place. Their pumpkin beer was fun, and as several years went by, I would enjoy it each year. Every release was fun and I tried to get to the brewery often, even bringing people from out of town to try the beer.

Seven years ago, I was fortunate to attend their third anniversary party, and it was one heck of a night. There was live music in the parking lot, a burlesque show inside, and plenty of really good beer to go around! One highlight of the evening was a tapping of a Firkin of beer called Double Uddercut. It was an double milk stout, aged in Four Roses barrels, and my friend Tom and I really enjoyed and were some of the first people to try it. I have many fond memories of the brewery, but this night may have been the best!

I always thought they had a great location on Indianapolis’ east side. There was a time years ago when I would take friends to Metazoa, Indiana City, and Flat 12 showing them the awesome breweries that all were in proximity to each other. It was always a fun trip, and I was happy to have done that several times because I like supporting local breweries, and sadly after tonight only Metazoa remains.

So it was nice to spend one final night at this great brewery. Indiana city will always hold a special place in my heart. From the hop water they made for festivals, to just all the great beer I’ve had over the years, I am going to truly miss this innovating and exciting brewery. I hope that they might open up again sometime, but I know will not be the same. Still, thank you Indiana City for 10 wonderful years and you will be missed!

My first article for this blog dealt with how Breweries come and go, and I discussed a lot of the breweries that I enjoyed that have been lost over the last decade. I discussed how not every brewery is going to make it, and it in this current environment, the beer scene is more competitive than ever. With excellent breweries opening everywhere every couple of months, other breweries are forced to step up their game. After talking to brewers who are stepping down after many years, I understand just how stressful this can be. But as a craft beer drinker, it is sad to see breweries go, and it is important for us as craft beer drinkers to support the breweries we love.

No matter where you live, I’m sure you’ve seen a local brewery close in the last several months. In many instances, a new one opens up in the same spot, such as Metal Works opening up in Bloomington Indiana, where Function once was. Throughout Indianapolis, I have seen old breweries have their locations taken by other breweries, or becoming a Taproom for an already existing brewery. Both Brewlink and Scarlet Lane have done that recently in the Indianapolis area. And then in these tough economic times, I’ve heard a lot about potential closing or breweries looking for new ownership, or someone to buy them out. The bottom line is a brewery is a business, and sometimes making a great product that is popular is not always enough.

So, with more breweries then ever, the competition is fierce, and unless you are a brewery in a really small town, your patrons have a lot of breweries choose from. I try to support a multiple number of breweries, but it’s just not mpossible to support them all. And with the recession, we are going to lose some breweries, and that’s just the facts of life. Some breweries just decide to retire after years of business, and others just don’t feel like they want to do it anymore. But whatever the reason is, not every brewery is going to be around forever!

I have been writing about beer for nearly a decade, and I still don’t like writing about breweries when they close. When I was visiting all the breweries in the state, some told me that they were only going to be open for five years, or that they would close as soon as they ran out of beer. I guess not everybody wants to brew beer forever, and it’s just a hobby for some people who just get tired of doing it. But for those of us who enjoy it, we don’t like it when breweries close whatever the reason.

So, while breweries are closing, you can take heart in the fact that breweries are opening up almost as fast. I have visited four breweries that opened up in the last year just in the last week. As long as there’s interesting craft beer, people will step up and fill in the holes that are left with breweries closing. I was at an Indiana On Tap Tasting event here in Indianapolis that featured four home brewers that look to open up breweries in the near future, so we have a lot to look forward to.

So just this week Indiana lost two breweries, and I made a point to get to both of them. Wabash Brewing was dear to my heart, and the final visit there was sad! I was lucky enough to visit multiple times, and found out the brewer was just tired of brewing. Black Acre was a brewery I first heard about when the founders were still working at 3 Wisemen together, and had told me about the idea while I was working next-door at 1001 Food & Drink. I have enjoyed their beer over the years, and when I heard they were closing, I put together a small group of people, and we enjoyed their beer and fellowship. I was also happy to see that the cooler of takeout beer disappeared over the course of the night! The brewery had a good run, but now it’s come to a close. And we as drinkers just have to accept that!

So breweries will continue to come and go, but as long as there are craft beer drinkers, there will be breweries to visit. All you can do is support the ones you like, and hope that enough of other craft beer drinkers are doing the same. And then you can just hope that that’s enough to keep a brewery going, and for most breweries, that will be enough. But some breweries are going to close, and that’s just the way the market is. So I am going to just enjoy what I have access to and keep enjoying craft beer, and I hope that you can do the same!

As I finish this article, I am sitting in the tap room of Rough Edges in Waynesboro, PA. This place has always been a favorite of mine when I visit Pennsylvania, and it’s nice to come back to an old friend. I’m also happy to say that Scarlet Lane will be putting in a Taproom where Black Acre was and this has developed since I started this article. I’m enjoying the beer I’m having at Rough Edges, and I will continue to support the breweries that are still around, and as long as we do this, craft beer is going to stay strong!

About a year and a half ago, I wrote an article about the rise in popularity of heavily fruited sours. In the time between I have only seen the style grow exponentially, and have watched local brewers hone their offerings to reach even more drinkers. Fine liquor stores that I have visited recently stock more sour beer on their shelves than I have ever seen, and there is more talk about them then ever as well. I recently introduced a friend to sour beer who would not have liked beer otherwise. Not everybody may like sour beer, but plenty of people do, and there’s a plethora of breweries making them!

As a beer writer, I am drawn to many styles of beer, but there is a lasting appeal to the fruited sour as a session beer that is meant to be drunk among friends. When my friend John and I visited Hidden Springs in the Tampa area last April, we wanted to try so many that we each got a flight trying everything from Kiwi Strawberry to a sports drink clone. And when I go to pick up new releases at Hoosier Brewing in Greenwood, there always seems to be a group of young ladies ordering flights of their sour beer. It’s evident that so many new people are drinking fruit sours that wouldn’t drink beer otherwise like my friend Kodi, and this is why the style is helping craft beer on many levels!

Here in Indiana, there are so many breweries making good sour beer. Windmill, Hoplore, Hoosier, Viking, and 450N. are just a few of the big hitters in the style, but dozens of other breweries throughout the state do excellent sours. Ohio has too many great breweries making sours to mention them all, but I have been fortunate enough to have quite a few from Cincinnati’s Streetside. It would take me too long to list all the breweries who are making great sours I’ve had recently, but ones that stand out include Mortialis, Arkane, and of course RAR. I’m hoping to make another trip to Cambridge, Maryland with my mom this fall. If I’m lucky they’ll be lots of new beers from their Out of Order series.

And as I’ve mentioned, I recently have had a chance to expose a friend to beer and he was most interested in sour beer and has now become a very big fan. Kodi would not have liked other styles of beer, and probably may not have discovered he like sour beer without my help. Several months ago he met me at Greenwood’s Ale Emporium and the only thing that appealed to him was a fruit flavored beer. He discovered he really liked it, and I made it a point to have him meet me at several other places where the style was available. From A Taproom to Hoosier, I have watched him discover great beer, and it’s really exciting to see somebody new to craft beer enjoying it.

While many styles of beer can be great introductory beers into the world of craft beer, the fruited sour is different because it’s appeal goes beyond traditional beer drinkers. While I prefer some of the traditional styles of sour beers like the Lambics and Flanders Reds, they can be an acquired taste that isn’t always easy to immerse yourself in when you’re learning about beer. And everywhere that makes these sour beers also features a variety of other styles of beer, so you can meet all your beer aficionado friends at most of these breweries. I spend a lot of time at Hoosier brewering, and their IPAs and stouts excite me just as much as their fruited beer. And when I went to pick up my Out of Order beers in Cambridge Maryland last July, it was an IPA I enjoyed sitting at their taproom while I waited for my mom to shop!

So now that the heavily fruited sour beer phenomenon is several years old, I think we can safely say that these beers are here to stay for a while. Some of them are very good, and I encourage you to experience a few of them if you have not tried them yet. They help bring a lot of people towards craft beer, and maybe some of them will experience other beer as well. And that’s good for craft beer because when the breweries are full, they’ll be making good beer for us for a long time.

So we have a holiday weekend coming up and as styles of beer, go fruit flavored beer is great for the summer. Wherever you live, I’m sure you can find some, and even if you’re not near a brewery as long as you have a good liquor store, or tap room nearby, fruited sour beers are available to you. I have a lot of trips across the next few months and I’m looking forward to see how sour beer is faring in northern Michigan, as well as Pittsburgh. Enjoy beer wherever you are and maybe if we run into each other, we can toast with a few sours!

Right now I think craft beer is experiencing a wave of popularity it has not yet seen. The quality of beer is as good as I can remember, and we have nearly 10,000 breweries in the US making beer, most of them craft related. I have traveled extensively, and found good beer everywhere I went. Last year found me on the East Coast as well as extensively in Cincinnati and St. Louis where mature beer scenes make the drinking of craft beer exciting. And here in Indiana the number of breweries keeps growing, and I would not be surprised if we don’t have over 200 of them within a short time. As I’m writing this, a beer truck with 3Floyd’s Gumball Head artwork is driving by. Craft beer is here to stay, and there’s more of it to choose from than ever!

I have been writing about beer for a very long time, and through exploring and beer trading, I have long been aware of many breweries nationwide. Slowly I’ve watched many of them make their way onto the shelves here in Indiana. While I always advocate drinking locally, it’s hard to pass up beer that you used to travel for. I remember when Shorts became available in Indiana eight years ago, and I had long been crossing the border into Michigan to get their beer. I felt that way about Greenbush as well, and now they have a taproom in South Bend. And as I write this, breweries in Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and many other places are currently working on ways to have their beer be available in Indiana!

So now that there’s even more breweries available to us, and with more people into craft beer, the selections are more exciting than ever. And in addition to all that beer coming to us from out of state, 180+ Breweries in the state would love you to try their beer as well! Dozens of them distribute their beer, but I also like to get their beer at the source. That is why I appreciate Indiana being such a readily accessible state when it comes to exploring the breweries of the state I call home. From the north end all the way to the cities in the south, and everywhere in between, there is a lot of good beer made in Indiana, and I hope you get to try all of it if you want to!

So while it’s easy for me to write about Indiana beer because I find it amazing, and it is augmented with all the great breweries who distribute within our borders, I have been able to see a similar situation in many other parts of the country as well. As I work on this article, I am in Central Florida, and have already discovered an awesome brewery in downtown Orlando called 10Ten. I add them to the list of places I’ve already discovered between Orlando and the Tampa area on numerous trips. I guess I can just honestly say that if you can’t drink locally where you live, drink locally wherever you are!

So while I like to travel, and have a knack for finding good beer wherever I go, I also want to know that you don’t have to travel very far to find good beer. My readers in Cincinnati have an amazing beer scene, and I enjoy beer from there regularly. I may not be able to get Sonder or Esoteric here, but Streetside and others are now available to me through the cooler at A Taproom. Wherever you are, I hope you have somewhere close to provide you with access to good beer. We drink what we like, and unless you live near really bad breweries, I am sure you have a great selection close to you!

I like the beer that I can get but it doesn’t make me still long for breweries who don’t distribute Indiana. In early May, RAR from Maryland will be doing a tap takeover at Indy Crew Brew in Muncie. I traveled very far to get their beer last summer, so I am really excited to be able to drink it right here in Indiana. It seems that this is becoming the norm as breweries try to distribute as widely as possible. And with the Internet, good beer rarely stays a secret.

Now that the pandemic is hopefully ending, I hope you have a lot of opportunity to drink good craft beer. Whether you buy it at a local liquor store, from the source at a brewery, or at a good taproom, you’re drinking great beer and as I said at the beginning of the article, these are the best choices I’ve had in my lifetime. I’ll be at a few of the beer fests this summer, and maybe we’ll see each other. If we do, I hope to toast you!

A lot has happened in my life over the past few months. And with life changes, my time to visit breweries and sample lots of craft beer has been diminished, but that doesn’t mean that I’m giving up my hobby, or my writing of this blog. A lot of people who appreciate craft beer have a very busy lives, and we don’t get as much of a chance to be a part of the culture as some people. With responsibility, weekends become filled and there is less time to do beer festivals, so we have to be selective about the ones we pick. This also means as I have less time to drink craft beer, I want to drink the best beer I have available to me. There is a lot of good craft beer out there, and when I get to drink some of it, it’s generally enjoyable. So I relish my opportunities to drink beer, and savor every moment. And as long as I’m enjoying my experiences, I have no qualms!

I think as I have attended and worked plenty of beer festivals, I have a pretty good idea what to expect when I go to one. And with everything in my life, I can’t go and be irresponsible, because more often than not, I have other things to do that day. I love being a part of the beer culture, but now I am trying to look primarily for beer I have not had, or ones that are special and rare. And when I work at a festival, it’s usually on the front end, so I do I love a little beer as I get to visit with my friends who work in the industry, and generally slow down once the festival has started. I have to be responsible and drive home safely, so I am always careful when I go to festivals. No one wants these things to end badly, and I can assure you that even with drinking less, I am still having a blast!

There is a lot of great beer out there, and I have spent a lot of time writing about it. We have more breweries than ever producing excellent beer, and with limited time, I have become selective. I have a beer collection that I need help with because it has gotten big with my travels. And some of my favorite beers are made in other parts of the country, and I’m often gifted those beers whenever people travel. I know for a fact a lot of us have a lot of beer in our collection, and limited time to drink it. This is all the more reason to pick quality beer, and drink it whenever you get a chance!

I’ve already written about beer sharing, and since good quality beer was meant to be drank with friends, we should always share good beer. But I’ve moved to a different part of the city of Indianapolis, and my schedule doesn’t allow this to happen very often. I’m sure you understand, and amid the holidays, it’s not always easy to connect with friends. So make quality count this holiday season, and drink good beer. Our time is short, so enjoy the moments!

I only get a chance to drink a handful of beers on a weekly basis, and that’s probably normal for most people who aren’t heavily into craft beer. I’m getting older, and I no longer want to drink every day, so when I have a chance to drink something good, I want to open up a beer and chances are it comes in a bomber, or crawler. This is when I often call my friends, and see who is available to enjoy it with me. Fellowship is one of my favorite aspects of craft beer, and I’ve come to enjoy it as much as the actual consumption of what we’re drinking. Good beer goes with good friends, and that’s some thing we should never forget.

So please enjoy craft beer over the holidays, and I implore you to always be safe as you drink. I don’t have to remind anybody that stronger beers are drank during the winter, so we need to always be aware of what we drink. My tolerance is not what it used to be, so I’m not trying to drink anyone under the table, and with good craft beer, there’s no reason to do this. We all had our fun when we were younger, and now we sip on quality beer. If you have more time than me, then I’m very excited for you, and I hope that you get to enjoy visiting all the breweries I just don’t have the time to get to. If we plan to meet, up I will be there and will have fun, but that’s about all I have time for any more!

As I finish this article, I am still excited about a beer dinner at I attended at A Taproom this evening. I will be writing in a later blog about this experience but I have always been impressed with the pairing of craft beer with excellent food. Garrett Oliver’s At the Brewmaster’s Table is one of my favorite books on the subject, and during the holidays I usually try to find something to incorporate from his book. Beer dinners encapsulate this experience, and I have enjoyed them ever since I first got to attend one featuring beer from Upland with fine food at the now defunct Pik’s Tavern in Castleton. Pairing beer with food is an excellent art, and so is cooking with it. And that is exactly why the Perennial Dinner at A Taproom was so amazing!

I will never stop loving craft beer. Good beer is more readily available then it ever has been across my lifetime, and I applaud everyone making a quality product. Great beer is one of the finer aspects of life, and I like having the opportunity to drink it. We have our moments to relax, and if you’re anything like me, a good beer is one of the perfect things to relax with. So let’s try to have a little bit of fun, and enjoy all the good beer we have stockpiled, and remember that it’s always quality over quantity!

Craft beer drinkers are different. Although they’re more of us than ever, everyone else still looks at us as weirdos and beer snobs! Domestic drinkers still don’t get us, and commercials poke fun at craft beer regularly. No matter how popular craft beer gets, the culture is still looked at quizzically. They don’t get us, and some of them never will. They don’t understand how we want to try multiple styles of beer, or that every brewery does something different. There’s a lot about our drinking habits there’s nobody outside of craft beer would understand, and no one recognizes this more than me. So I offer this article to celebrate many aspects of craft beer drinking, and talk about things that only we understand!

If you’re like me, you might have a spouse or loved one that doesn’t drink craft beer, and doesn’t understand your need to have a fridge devoted to keeping your beer cold. They don’t understand why special releases are important, or why we have a diverse collection of beer. The bombers and growlers we collect are a mystery, and they may not understand the need to associate with other drinkers to do bottle shares, and get-togethers. I have a lot of T-shirts, and there’s a complete misunderstanding of why I have so many from different breweries. As a beer writer, I try to support as many breweries as possible, but this is something I could not convey to a non-craft beer drinker. From the outside, all of this looks excessive, and crazy!

So as we drink, many of us visit breweries, and it’s normal to want to collect something to remember the visit. For as many as I manage to visit, I only suggest getting stickers, but it is appropriate to get pint glasses, growlers, T-shirts, coasters, and many other things to remember the visit by. I have managed to get a handful of everyone of these things, and my collection of brewery memorabilia is quite large. If you have been into craft beer for any amount of time, maybe you have a similar collection. So what do you do when someone asks you to get rid of it? People who don’t drink craft beer don’t understand, and this is why I have come to just collect stickers because I have run out of space!

And now let’s talk about glassware, and how we seem to get so much of it. I have been going to beer festivals for nearly 2 decades, and I’ve gotten a commemorative glass at every single one of them. Until I decided to purge them, I had nearly 100 sampler glasses. While these are great for bottle shares, and sampling, they really don’t have any other use besides being shot glasses. There came a point when I decided I didn’t really need them because I use real glassware when I do bottle shares, And they just take up too much space, even when they’re stackable! I never decided consciously to collect them, and I realize it was silly to keep them for so long! But you might also have a similar collection, and I would never judge you for it!

Speaking of glassware, most of us have a lot of it, and if we’re with a non-craft beer drinker, they want us to put most of it in storage. I have a lot of really cool glasses, but I no longer have the space to fill my cupboards with them. Part of the problem is anytime anyone I know traveled, they brought me back pint glasses from breweries they visited. I also have been given many throughout my own travels as well, and I’ve even purchased them when they looked really cool. Consequently I have well over 100 pint glasses, many of them that hold specific memories that I cherish. I realize this may sound excessive, but I’m sure a lot of you have a large pint collection too. Unless you have a bar in your basement, you may not have anywhere display it. Maybe you’ve already got rid of them, and I get it! A lot of people through the years have pawned off there glasses on me. I have enough, and I’m done collecting them, and this has been a hard decision to make!

So we collect things as craft beer drinkers, and there comes a point in our life when we have to pick and choose because unless you are a hoarder, or have lots of space for it, you will run out of room. I love craft beer, but I don’t need to keep collecting things I don’t have room for. This has been a decision that has been long in coming, but as I also collect music and books, so I have limited space. Most of my brewery T-shirts are rolled in a drawer, but I probably have too many of them. As I get older, I don’t need to look like a frat boy every time I go out, so I don’t need a million T-shirts, and that’s OK. But I’m not giving rid of what I have, and I’m proud of the collection that I’ve already amassed, and should you see me at an event, I’ll probably be wearing one. Hopefully you will have one on too!

So I’m sure there are lots of reasons I haven’t mentioned why people outside of the craft beer industry don’t understand us, we don’t have to make excuses for the things we collect while we drink. We like to drink beer from the proper glassware, so we have a lot of it, and we get coasters and stickers and T-shirts when we go places that have craft beer. It’s a craft beer thing, and we have nothing to be ashamed of, but when we get excessive in our collections, we need to probably slow down. That goes with our beer collections as well! I stopped collecting it because it’s gotten too large, and I’m sure you understand if you collect beer as well. Most of what we age is meant to be drunk in the winter anyway, so I encourage you to purge your collection this year if it’s gotten too large! Beer was meant to be enjoyed, and I hope you enjoy it while you drink!

So I make no apologies for the hobby that I love, but even I as a beer writer realize that there can be excess. I love craft beer, and I know you do as well. It’s all right if other people don’t understand us, and that may not change anytime soon, but I think we can all agree that there can be too much of a good thing, and the stuff in our collections might take up a lot of space! I won’t tell you to get rid of it, or put it in storage, and I only want you to be mindful of it! It’s a craft beer thing, and we have a vibrant culture I am proud to be a part of! Everyone else may not get us, so let’s stick together. Enjoy your beer with friends, And if we get a chance to have a beer together, know that I will enjoy it as much as you!

I have been wanting to write this article for a long time. Across 20 years I have been involved with scores of beer festivals in six states. It has corresponded with my education of craft beer, and I have enjoyed the transition from mostly distributors to independent craft breweries at festivals. My first experience happened way back in 2001 when I visited my friend Todd in Atlanta, and we attended the Great Decatur Beer Festival. It was a very special experience, and I remember trying a lot of beer, although back then a lot of it was imported from Europe. Still I remember a handful of breweries from the Atlanta area at this festival, and this would spark my interest into attending them when I got back to Indiana.

It was only a few years after this that I began attending festivals biannually here in Indianapolis. I wrote earlier in the summer about the Brew Ha-Ha, and the FestivAle was a beer festival put on by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation various places around the city. Over the years I would attend festivals in multiple states until I got involved with Indiana On Tap, and would work a handful every year. By 2016, the number of breweries in existence would made it possible a lot more festivals. More people into craft beer made a lot more choices. It was the beginning of the environment that that I feel we have today!

So when this year started, I, like many people was tired of this pandemic, and was looking to a time when things would get back to normal. I had attended several festivals at the end of last year, and enjoyed Anderson On Tap especially! Nothing is more anti-pandemic than a beer festival, and this years’ crop has been especially festive, and well attended. Here in Indiana, there seemed to be at least one weekly across the summer!

I wrote last week about the record attendance at Hops and Coaster drops. I also saw huge crowds at Pax Verum’s Way Out, as well as this years Anderson On Tap. Both festivals I attended at 2Tom’s had great crowds, and Centerpoint’s Not So Frigid Digits was nicely crowded on a very hot Saturday in June. All across the state, I have heard similar stories. As I write this article, amazing fests are taking place. Vincennes Brewing is hosting Pints at the Pavillion, and the Sinkhole in Bloomington is hosting Lager Fest. It continues, and no matter where you are, there is an upcoming beer event near you!

Why I think beer festivals are amazing is because you get a chance to try beer from so many different breweries. As someone who has visited every brewery in Indiana, I see how valuable this experience is. And for people like me, I often get the urge to visit a brewery after excellent experience at a festival. As a writer and volunteer, I know so many people involved in craft beer, and festivals are a great place to meet up with them. There’s something for everyone at a beer festival, and right now there are more of them than ever!

When I first started attending beer festivals 20 years ago, I wasn’t writing about beer or volunteering in the industry. I enjoyed the experience, and got to attend beer festivals in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and a plethora in Indiana. Memorable fests include one at the Penn Brewery, and one in Independence we hit before a baseball game. I even remember a mini one at the Riverbend Center before a concert! I have had a lot of fun, and used to be a little more crazy, but I still get to attend festivals regularly, and enjoy seeing my friends as much as I enjoy trying beer. There are good festivals everywhere, and now that craft beer is as popular as ever, odds are there’s something happening near you almost every weekend!

As I look at the calendar, October will be a busy month for beer festivals. There will be dozens in Pennsylvania including King of Prussia‘s Beer Fest Royale, and Bethlehem’s Oktoberfest at Steelstacks. Cincinnati has a full month which includes a Zoo Brew, and a Helloween Beer and Donuts Festival on the 26th. Across the river in Newport on the same day, there will be an Oktoberfest. And here in Indiana, there will be over 40 festivals all over the state next month. There will be a Zoofari, cider fests, and lots of lager fests. You can find more information about everything I’ve mentioned in this paragraph and more on the Internet.

So as craft beer seems to be as popular as ever, we have more beer festivals than I can remember. I mentioned some events from this weekend, and my buddy Rob just told me 3300 people were at a festival in Valparaiso! It’s a great time to drink craft beer, and no matter where you live, there will be an event near you. I will continue to attend craft beer events, and look forward to next year as well! If we meet at an event, hopefully we can taste some good beer together!

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!

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.