I was able to visit over 200 breweries last year across eight states. We definitely have a vibrant beer scene with more breweries nationally then has ever existed in my lifetime. And while I encourage people to visit Breweries as often as they can, it’s now so much easier to drink craft beer because there are more places than ever where you can get it. There’s a decent selection at the grocery store, and many restaurants have at least one tap dedicated to a local brewery. Craft beer is more prevalent than it ever has been, and part of the reason I think is because liquor stores and beer bars are doing so much to promote our passion.

Having worked at a beer bar, and a good liquor store, I feel more than qualified to speak on the subject. When I worked at the Old Towne Alehouse 12 years ago, it was fun to serve craft beer in an environment that had not quite embraced it. There was a fraction of the breweries there are now, and we did our part to support as many Breweries as possible as we rotated beer across our 20 taps. We did tap takeover‘s, release parties, and other special events to help promote craft beer. I was already ensconced in craft beer, and was happy to tell all my patrons about the breweries, and the beer they were drinking. I’m happy to say this mentality is prevalent across the tap rooms that I have visited recently which is excellent for craft beer!

I could write exhaustively about the taprooms nationwide that I’ve been blessed to visit, but I think I already wrote a very good article about the subject last fall. I will therefore just focus on the tap rooms that I’ve been able to visit locally and what they’re doing in this blog. I have been fortunate enough to visit nearly a dozen recently, and have a few more on my radar. The good thing about beer bars is as long as you live in a decent sized community, the odds are good there is one near you.

5’s Taproom in Anderson is one of my favorite places to have a beer, and I wish it was closer to my home! Lance, Mike, and company do an excellent job of keeping the best craft beer available in Indiana on tap. They are knowledgeable about the breweries they are supporting, and when you sit in a place like 5’s, it’s like having a passport to multiple Breweries! The experience is more memorable when you know the bartender is passionate about Indiana beer as well. It’s places like this that you can meet representative from different breweries, and I like being able to learn what’s going on across the state. Obviously a Brewery enjoys having its beer on tap at many places outside the brewery if they want to expand, and what better place to expose your beer to a larger community than a place where you know it’s going to be enjoyed in an environment where the patrons and the bartenders are supporting local breweries!

I feel this way about Hop Station in Mishawaka, and Pearl Street in Jeffersonville. Indianapolis seems to be getting more of them all the time, and I’ve been hearing buzz about a Taproom that’s only going to feature tap takeover‘s regularly. That sounds amazing because then it’s like going to the brewery only the brewery is coming to you! This is an experience that happens at many tap rooms, and apart from beer festivals, most people don’t get to talk to representatives from the breweries unless they actually go to the brewery! I have friends that work at dozens of breweries across Indiana, and it’s hard to keep track of all of them. That’s another reason I like a good taproom room where I can see beer from many of those breweries and smile about having a chance to drink their beer!

Taprooms are a good place to enjoy craft beer for all the reasons I mentioned, as well as a chance to have a good food with your beer because more often than not, they have good food at beer bars! There’s even a place in Franklin, Old Towne Beerhall, that specializes in filling your growlers. You may not be aware that you can get takeout beer at a lot of the good taprooms. It like getting brewery fresh beer, and getting very fresh beer at a tap room in a growler to take home sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Before I move onto liquor stores, I would like to say I know that there are some very good taprooms rooms in Indiana that I have not visited yet. Dicky’s in Fort Wayne is being talked about so much I feel I owe them a visit. And in the city market in downtown Indianapolis, the Tomlinson Taproom has been serving Indiana craft beer for years. When I lived in downtown Indianapolis, this was always one of my favorite places to drink local craft beer. They are one of the many beer bars in Indiana helping people drink locally, and I owe them a visit as well!

Liquor stores have long been a good source of craft beer, and now that more craft breweries are bottling and canning their beer more than ever, liquor stores are the best places to go for the best selections in craft beer. The breweries watch where their beer sells the best, and often that’s where they send their special releases. Liquor stores establish relationships with breweries, and can do a lot of the same things a taproom can like tastings, and release parties. If you’ve ever stood in line outside a liquor store for a special release like the Bourbon County Stout from Goose Island, you probably know what I mean!

I have been to all the breweries in Indiana, but I can’t keep track of everybody that’s canning and bottling, so it’s nice to go to a liquor store and see what’s available for retail. It also saves me the trip of going to that brewery. And another reason that I appreciate the liquor stores role in the craft beer pipeline is that recently I visited a brewery for a beer that they had already sold out of. I was discouraged until I found some at my neighborhood liquor store. The craft beer set aside for retail can often be available long after the brewery has run out of their supply for the tap room. And if you like a particular beer, that should music music to your ears!

Another reason I like good liquor stores with a nice craft beer selection is your ability to purchase al a carte. Yesterday I was told about a store in Evansville that lets you break up cases and six packs. Up north in the Michiana area, City Wide offers a lot of craft beer by the can or bottle. I have long been stopping in Pittsburgh to visit D’s Sixpack and Dogs to peruse their beer cave making mixed sixers. And just down the street from my house, Plainfield Discount has already done the work for you making lots of exciting mixed four and six packs. It’s a great way to try more beer, and if you like a specific style or a brewery, you get more bang for your buck. I am sure other places are doing something, and it is only good for craft beer.

Fine liquor stores have long been the spot to find craft beer. SoBro in Broad Ripple has had some of the best beer selections in Indiana for years. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jason the beer manager for almost as long as I have enjoyed craft beer. Often times there is beer at SoBro I cannot find anywhere else. And when the NA craze hit in early January, they had the best selection around. If your travels take you to 52nd street in Indianapolis, please check SoBro Spirits. Wine. Craft Beer out.

So no matter where you are, there is always good craft beer nearby. Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, someone is making or selling craft beer close to you. The pipeline is extensive, and ever expanding. More people are enjoying craft beer than I have seen in my lifetime, and if things continue the way they are going, it will be this way for a long time. I enjoy the camaraderie Taprooms provide, and I also like the privilege of drinking craft beer in the comfort of my own home. I enjoy the knowledgeable staff at a lot of the liquor stores, and the friendly knowledgeable bartenders you find at the tap rooms as well. So enjoy good beer wherever you are, and remember to always drink safely. There is a lot of good beer out there and I know you’ll find it!

Sometimes we just want to try great beer on our days off. I spent last year making it to nearly every corner of the state of Indiana on my quest to visit every Brewery in the State. Now I’m trying to visit a few of the notable ones as my travels take me to other parts of the state. I wanted to spend a little time seeing my brother in the South Bend-Mishawaka area, so yesterday I made the trek up. It was a journey I made many times last year on my Quest, but today felt a little different. It was a cold afternoon and I started seeing snow as I made my way to the northern reaches of my state.

I stopped just south of Michiana because I wanted to revisit Ruhe 152 in Nappanee. it is an excellent Brewery who dabbles in sours, and is making excellent stouts right now as well. The town of Nappanee seems to have a theme right now around “Embrace the Pace,” and I was able to try an excellent chocolate milk stout bearing that name. (They also had an imperial aged version of that beer called Increase the Pace which I took to go.) They also had an interesting variation of the Gose called Post. It had traditional flavor and a nice salt finish.

While I was sitting at Ruhe, I met a pair of gentleman who were doing the same thing I was. They were checking out several breweries in the area on their day off as well. It is nice to see craft beer lovers out there visiting breweries which today were full of eager drinkers. I didn’t stay long at Ruhe 152, but I expect that I will get back there again sometime soon. They have a great beer, and an excellent atmosphere. I definitely recommend visiting them!

Before I made my way up to the Granger area, I stopped in to see my friends at Hop Station. I had recently ran into the Windmill rep at 5’s Tap House in Anderson, and Chris had told me their Mile High Squares(Think intense Smores!) was on there. It had been months since I had seen Casey and company, so I owed them a visit. I had time for a small pour of Mile High Squares, and it was delicious. I enjoy these kinds of stouts in the winter, and was glad I got to try it! I had a chance to talk to both Casey and his brother DJ, and then I was off to Granger.

There are two breweries in Granger, Indiana, and the first, Bare Hands, is the oldest active Brewery in Saint Joseph County(2011). It also has the distinction of being the northernmost brewery in Indiana as its backyard abuts Michigan! Back in 2013, I purchased a grey hoodie from Bare Hands that I wore until it fell apart. I replaced it on this trip, and it will be nice to have a brewery hoodie for all my adventures this winter.

Bare Hands Has long been making excellent beer, and the Westy IPA is top notch. I’ve also been fortunate enough to try their chocolate peanut butter stout a number of times. Currently my favorite beer from them is Old School, a tradional IPA. They had sold out of it, so I tried a Drain the Swamp, and a Braintree Way, both excellent IPA’s. I wanted to stay and enjoy one of my favorite breweries, but they were packed and I was supposed to meet my brother at Heavenly Goat on the other side of Granger.

I got to Heavenly Goat, but my brother and I were not able to sit at their bar because they had just changed their status to carry out only hours before they opened. My little brother suggested we get some beer to take back to his house. We got a four pack of The Greys(DDH Pale Ale), and a crawler can of Into the Cauldron, an intense American IPA. I was excited and not terribly upset about the situation because we are still in the middle of Covid, and it’s very understandable. With beer in hand with beer in hand, I made the way back to Osceola to fellowship with my little brother.

So we were soon experiencing this excellent IPA. It was very flavorful, and full-bodied. I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to have it again, but I recommend the beer if you happen to be in northern Indiana. My brother and I had a lot to talk about, and it was a very enjoyable visit. Good beer always makes for a good conversation, and today was no exception. I couldn’t stay long as I had things to do back home in Indianapolis, but feel very blessed that I got to make the trip up to Michiana this Friday.

So no matter where you live, I am sure you can have a day visiting visiting Breweries and Taproom‘s if you make the time. You might meet some awesome people, and probably get to taste really great beer. Just do it safely, and remember that there is So Much Beer, and So little Time!

When you hear the term nonalcoholic beer, you probably think of one of the beers in the picture above, or Odoul’s. Over the years many different near beers and such have been introduced to us by the larger American brewing companies. If you are like me, you have always come away thinking that there seem to be no point considering this beer had little flavor and if you bought it at a bar, it generally cost you more than an alcoholic counterpart. A lot of people have said what’s the point? Do you really need to drink or pretend to drink that much that there was ever any reason for this to happen?

I never really thought too much about this subject until a couple years back when situations in my life caused me to take a year off from drinking. I knew what was on the market and asked my friend Charles if he thought there would ever be a future for craft nonalcoholic beer. Back in late 2017 he said yes if they followed along the more European versions of beer making and how they extract the alcohol from the beer. Having tried Kaliber from Guinness, and St Pauli’s NA, I vaguely had a general idea of what he was talking about. And then on a trip to Chicago when I was a designated driver, I tried Clausthaler Original, and was rather impressed with the flavor of this nonalcoholic beer. It was satisfying, and something I could drink again.

So I was intrigued a few years back bye the excellent nonalcoholic beers being made in Europe. I didn’t get a chance to drink them very often, and partly didn’t go to them because European lagers aren’t my go to when I drink beer anyway. There was a point in my life before good craft beer wasn’t readily available that that would’ve been my direction, but my taste have moved on to American IPAs, Brown Ales, Stouts, and others. If I was going to be interested in nonalcoholic beer, it would be a replication of these styles that would probably be the avatar to turn me on to nonalcoholic beer.

If we fast forward to this January, the subject has become a widely discussed one. Many beer drinkers are doing a dry January, and since I like to write about beer, I thought it was time to discuss the subject. Recently quite a few craft breweries have begun making nonalcoholic beer, and at least two of them make nothing but nonalcoholic beer. On a recent trip to SoBro Liquors in Indianapolis, Indiana, there were about 25 different nonalcoholic beers to choose from. If this was something someone was going to take seriously, they would certainly have plenty of beer to choose from. IPAs were well represented, as were darker beers as well. I heard good things about some of them from people that had tried them, so I was anxious to see how they were going to taste!

I returned home with a six pack of nonalcoholic beer from each of the four Breweries on the top two shelves in the picture. I had a mixture of IPA’s and dark ales. Having never tried a nonalcoholic brew from anyone in the craft industry to this point, I was excited and interested on how they would taste. Rather than describing separately each of the four brews I tried, I will discuss all of them because I found common flavor profiles in all four despite the fact that they were different styles.

Each beer was drinkable, yet there was no disguise to the fact that it was a nonalcoholic brew. They all tasted exactly what I expected non alcoholic beer to taste like. I tasted a little bit of malt in them, with the darker beers having a larger presence of malt flavor. Each had a slightly sour tinge to them. But what I noticed about all four of the beers was that the hop flavor was prominent, and it didn’t taste anything but raw. All four beers tasted like the hops were added after the beer was made and this created quite the bitter flavor on the finish. Most hoppy Beers don’t generally do this, so these nonalcoholic beers all reminded me a little bit of the hop water that I tried at a beer festival last winter.

I’m not disappointed with the flavor of the beers I tried. I clearly feel that nonalcoholic craft beer is still a work in progress, and from looking at the reviews on Untapped, some people claim to really love the flavors of these beers. Since there are a lot of them out there, I will continue to look for the flavor that I enjoy the most, and I truly hope those making these beers continue to tweak them until they get the flavor perfect. In the meantime, I will enjoy what I’ve purchased because they are starting to grow on me.

So if you are taking a month off, or are a designated driver, you always have a choice when it comes to these beverages. I think this is a trend that will continue, and perhaps a lot of breweries will have a nonalcoholic beer in their repertoire in the near future. Whatever reason you have for wanting to sample this beer, I salute you and hope that you find a flavor that you like. There’s already quite a few out there, if you know where to look. And also, I like to keep my wits about me when I’m drinking so it would be nice to know I have a an option because like the motto of Hairless Dog says, sometimes you want to “party like there’s a tomorrow!”

I keep harping on the fact that I think our craft beer scene is as healthy as it is ever been. I firmly believe more breweries than ever are making excellent beer. And just this year alone I have visited over 200 breweries in seven states and had beer from at least 100 others. And as diverse as the styles of beer available to me, I wouldn’t be surprised if 40% of the beers I drank this year are some variation of an IPA. The style is only getting popular, and there are so many sub styles of beer within the IPA I wouldn’t have time to mention all of them. Not everyone likes IPAs, but it’s obvious a great deal people do because it seems that some breweries make nothing but them! And as long as craft beer is popular, I think IPAs will be as well, and that’s as good as any reason to celebrate!

The beer we know as the IPA(India Pale Ale) is a far cry from the beer that was made in the 19th century that was hopped sufficiently to be able to make the journey to India from England. The hop presence was subtle compared to its big American cousins. We have a slightly fiercer version of that beer in America that we call the New England IPA. And before I start throwing around all these different sub genres, I will finish up what I was saying about the origins of the style. It slowly came into prominence among American craft beer drinkers during the first wave of craft beer in the 1970s. A great deal of that movement was on the American west coast and proximity to hop farms undoubtedly led Brewers to create a more robust American version of the beer. And if we fast forward to the craft beer scene today, we see a very diverse style of beer that is re-created almost every time someone makes a new beer.

15 to 20 years ago, IPA’s were much more simple. You had different strengths in the single and double, and sometimes heavily hopped barley wines would be called triple IPAs(Founder’s Devil Dancer is an excellent example). Speaking of Founders, they were one of the first breweries where I experienced variations of the style including black and red rye. It wasn’t long before some of the other big breweries began tweaking the style. Sierra Nevada has his own hop farm and has been making countless IPAs. Before long New Belgium, Sam Adams, and later Three Floyd’s, Surly, Toppling Goliath, Terrapin, and many others would feature countless IPAs in their portfolio. All of a sudden I realized just how big the style had become.

So now we are at a time when there is absolutely nothing that can’t be done with an IPA. Fruit and fruit flavoring has long been used.(Heavy Seas Tropicannon and Shorts Cat’s Pajamas are two excellent examples). Now I see that milk sugar is gaining prominence in the style. Hazy IPA’s are all the rage, as are bigger and bolder hopped beers. When I got the beers in the picture above from my friends at Wedgewood, they were proud of the bold IPAs they were making. I’ve been able to drink a lot of good IPAs in many styles, and I’ve liked nearly all of them. Maybe my palate isn’t as refined as some people, but I feel I know a good beer when I drink one.

The breweries know that their IPAs are some of their best beers. I have visited a lot of breweries and asked the bartender to pour the best beer only to have it be a excellent IPA. This happened last week at Iechyd Da in Elkhart. And when I visit a brewery for the first time, I go on Untapped to see what beer has the most check in’s from them. There is almost always an IPA near the top! There are some styles of beer that I can tell you the best one I ever had, but I’d be hard pressed because of the sheer volume of IPAs I’ve been blessed to drink just this year alone. But if I could mention one that still sticks in my head, it is from the good people at Neshiminy Creek in Corydon, Pennsylvania. The Shape of Hops to Come is an amazing beer that I’ve been lucky enough to drink multiple times. And you can rest assured the next time I’m in Pennsylvania I’m gonna secure some!

As I finish this article, I’m enjoying a Moon Rambler from Founders which is one of the beers featured in that picture at the top. I have loved all the specialty IPA’s that Founders has made from Azecca to Mosaic Promise. I also feel that way about several other breweries including Sweetwater, and 18th St. I realize I have really only touched the surface of the style we know as IPA, but I really think I have done justice to its popularity. I was just in several liquor stores and can attest that there are dozens of options when you go to buy an IPA. I just encourage you to drink what do you like, and also try new beers from time to time. The beauty of it is there is something for everyone whether you want a Hazy, fruity, Imperial, session, or plain every day single IPA. I like most of them and should we be enjoying one together, let’s toast to success of this style!

As the holidays are in full gear, this is a time for remembrance. It has been a arduous year and it’s a year when we need a holidays even more. Recently I was in Syracuse, Indiana at the Man Cave Brewing. They had a shirt that said: Beer, the glue that holds the 2020 shitshow together. As a beer writer, I get the sentiment completely and for myself I have certainly taking the time to enjoy beer as I have traveled my home state in an attempt to catalog every single brewery. I’m nearly done and now I’m looking to enjoy my holidays and the excellent beer we drink with them. So I’m in reflective mood and will try to mention some of my favorite holiday beers.

My first Belgium trip was in November 1999, and my fledgling beer palate was exposed to many seasonal beers, most of which I don’t remember. The word Noel was thrown around, and I was told that the seasonal offerings from Belgian breweries were excellent. Last night we tried the Pere Noel, and even though it was past its prime, I got delicate hints of what that the beer was supposed to taste like. And I’ll just say simply that what I like about the seasonal beers of winter are the spices that are added to many offerings.

I think early in my drinking days the two beers I liked most we’re both made on the East Coast. Harpoon’s Winter Warmer is a delicious malty ale with all the flavors of Christmas! The nutmeg and cinnamon blended well in the beer. I enjoyed it so much that I think I even purchased a case of it. The other beer I liked equally was the St Nikolaus Bock from Penn Brewing. It is a rich Bock with chocolate malts, and a deep flavor that I have come to enjoy many a winter month. The brewery also releases a seasonal Nut Roll Ale which I also enjoy. And it tastes just like that wonderful dessert!

There are so many different seasonal offerings from many fine breweries that I may not have chance to count them all. The celebration from Sierra Nevada is a personal favorite every year as well as the one from Great Lakes. Whatever store that you shop at should carry some of them, and I encourage you to try a few if you are not already a fan of one. I particularly enjoy Anchor’s Christmas beer which has been released every year since 1975. I don’t understand the flavor profile but it has always reminded me of Pine needles!

In addition to making beers that fit the season, many breweries release excellent winter sampler‘s. I’m sure a lot of you have enjoyed Sam Adams around the holiday with the special beers they include only in their winter sampler. I saw a lot of very good samplers this year including one from Rochester Mills which features 12 milkshake stouts. It’s not a stretch to see how these beers fit the season. Dark beers blend with the cold months, and if you’ve never tried Samichlaus from Austria, you don’t know what you’re missing!

This is one of my favorite times of the year and I have always enjoyed good beer over the holidays. As I have finished up my brewery project, I have been in many full tap room across the state of Indiana. You don’t have to appreciate holiday beer to fellowship this time of the year, but it doesn’t hurt. So I hope you have someone to enjoy a pint with over the coming weeks, and maybe it will be a Christmas beer or holiday offering, or maybe not. All the same remember there is so much beer and so little time!

A few years ago I was writing articles about the state of craft beer. There were a lot less breweries then, and many were opening and closing. I felt that it was just business as usual, and there was probably half as many craft beer drinkers as there is now. I had read a lot of articles about the state of craft brewing because many people thought the movement was seeing a death knell. (One critic went even so far as to say that fruit beer was going to do the movement in!) I was in the trenches and attending multiple festivals, and drinking at tap rooms. Looking at sales at liquor stores led me to believe craft beer as a whole was far more healthy than the naysayers were willing to believe. I had also spent a lot of time in the restaurant business and felt that no more breweries were closing than the average number of restaurants as a whole. And no one ever said that dining out was in a crisis!

Fast forwarding to the present day, we have a plethora of more breweries, It clearly feels like more people are drinking craft beer than ever. I have visited over 200 tap rooms this year, and I don’t know when before 2020 I could’ve ever said this. I have drank beer in six states, and consumed craft beer from well over half of the states in our union. There is more craft beer being made than ever. Speaking about Indiana by itself, its nearly 170 active breweries is quite an achievement for anywhere. Who knows if we have reached the zenith, but I know of several breweries that are set to open next year. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that if all those breweries are going to stay solvent, a lot of people will need to drink craft beer! The current pandemic will no doubt put strain upon a multitude of breweries, but I firmly believe that the strongest ones will weather the storm.

Looking at the market, it has to be as competitive as ever. I have been to seven metropolitan areas in Indiana with more than five breweries, and none of them were empty, even in the middle of the day. And while the bigger cities are nearly saturated with breweries, growth is continuing in small towns where there is less competition. I can’t tell you how many times this year I have driven nearly to the ends of the earth to find a small tap room bustling with good beer and cheer miles from anywhere. It’s hard to fathom just how much craft beer is out there. And I’m the one that’s trying to visit every single brewery in Indiana!

So there’s no rhyme or reason for why our beloved craft beer scene is so healthy, but I believe it speaks for the quality of brewing on many levels. I have talked to many brewers in my journeys and feel this bunch really knows what they’re doing. Even if you only figure in six beers for a brewery, when you multiply that by 170 that’s a lot of beer being made in our state! And when you see that most states have a healthy beer scene, the amount of craft beer available now is astronomical. And if you’re on untapped, you will never run out of beer to check in!

So for good beer to stay successful, the breweries need to know their clientele, and always make the best beer possible. New endeavors need to start in places where there is room for competition. No one knows exactly how much hard work is needed, but it will take a lot in this age to make a niche. There is dumb luck in all of this, but marketing and good business acumen are necessary to stay relevant. If people didn’t want to drink good beer, this many breweries could not stay open. Location is key to some successful breweries, but I think if you want a beer to be well-received, you need to be either very local, or willing to travel. There is room for everyone in this industry at least for now. And for me, if you make good beer, I’ll find you!

As I write this article, I am enjoying good beer at the Pearl Street Taphouse in Jeffersonville, Indiana. I’ve already secured my Bourbon County Stout from Goose Island, and I am having a pleasant holiday weekend. We are set to visit a place called Harbor and Hops where I am told there are dozens of types of good beer. We certainly have lots of good beer in southern Indiana. And as I wrote in the last article, were good beer dwells, you often find excellent food as well. I hope to finish my brewery research projects over the next several weeks, but new breweries keep popping up and that’s a good problem to have. This is an active beer scene, and if you like craft beer, you couldn’t ask for anymore!

So getting back to my original statement I have looked at craft beer from the perspective of being there and drinking it. I have attended festivals even during this pandemic, and have seen a lot of good beer poured. We’ve had dozens of good beers on our podcast(A Gateway to Lesser Things), and are set to continue trying good beer as long as it’s being produced. This is the beer drinkers golden age and it’s been along time since we could say that. Craft beer is here to stay, and I hope you have somewhere that you can enjoy it. If I see you out there, let’s have a pint together!

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to attend a beer dinner, you’re fully aware of how excellently food and beer pair together. The establishments hosting such dinners have gone great lengths generally to pair each course with the proper beer. It’s been a subject of interest as long as beer and food have existed. And you probably would not be surprised to learn that I have multiple books on the subject. The Brewmaster’s Table by Garret Oliver, head brewer for Brooklyn Brewing, is a personal favorite. I also have enjoyed everything that Michael Jackson wrote about the subject as well. I usually enjoy a good meal whenever I visit a brewery or a tap room, and decided I would devote this article to the subject of the food at breweries.

This subject became very interesting to me during this pandemic while I was in Pennsylvania. Current law mandates that anyone drinking in any Taproom must also order food as long as this crisis exists. It’s probably a good idea to have snacks with alcohol on a basic level so I was not at all upset. Les and I enjoyed good food all over the state, and I particularly liked the brunch menu at the Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport. I also found it ingenious the way the taprooms pushed tables up against the bar to make good use of the space since bar seating is currently outlawed in the Keystone State. It’s a creative loophole and I appreciated the way the bartenders could still hand us drinks across the bar!

This was not my first venture to Pennsylvania and I have been eating in their taprooms for over two decades. German beer culture has long been associated with food, and Pittsburgh’s Penn Brewery has been serving good German fare in their Northside taproom since 1986. We made it there on this trip and I am still thinking about the amazing brat I had with an authentic tasting Pilsner. Across town the Church Brew Works also serves excellent food with a Pittsburgh flair in their sanctuary turned beer hall. I can honestly say it’s the only taproom that I have ever been served a Caesar salad with french fries on it!

I could go on and mention at least another dozen Taproom‘s in Pennsylvania with good food that I have experienced, but I will move on and say that good food awaits you in Pennsylvania taprooms should you make the trip. However I don’t think you have to travel very far to find good food because nearly every brewery seems to be offering food in their taproom. And those I don’t often have a really neat food truck in the parking lot! Some places do simple bar food, and I can honestly say I’ve probably had more scotch eggs than anyone should have in their lifetime! It’s probably a good idea to have food anyway, so I encourage you to look at the menu whenever you visit a craft beer establishment.

I also want to look at the topic of pizza with beer. This is long been a popular pairing, and I have been to at least a dozen places in the Midwest that are pizza places with a brewery. New Holland in Michigan instantly comes to mind when I think of Pizza. Recently I was in Crown Point at Crown Brewing and the smell of pizza baking was heaven to my senses as I enjoyed a Java Porter. Turoni’s in Evansville has been brewing at their pizza place for a long time, and my friend Chris and I like Zwanzig in Columbus and am thinking right now about their lasagne pizza. I haven’t had New Albanian pizza yet, but I’m looking forward to that as well. And finally I can’t talk about pizza themed breweries without mentioning Chicago’s Piece. You need to discover for yourself what Connecticut style pizza is like(yes in Chicago seriously!) while sampling their excellent beer!

Even breweries which don’t feature pizza often have flatbreads on their menu as well. Brew Link in my own town has excellent flatbreads, and I recommend their bacon chicken ranch. Chefs often get creative when making food to pair with beer, so if pizza and flatbreads are your thing, I encourage you to try the more unique ones that they feature. I’ve had pastrami pizza, pirogi pizza(yes obviously that was in Pittsburgh!), duck pizza, breakfast pizza, and most likely a few other really awesome ones I have forgotten about. I’m sure a brewery near you features pizza, and if you haven’t tried it yet, there’s no better time than this weekend!

With most craft beer establishments offering food, the more unique places will be the ones we remember. I wrote a few months back about the Small City Taphouse in Sandusky because it’s the only beer bar I’ve been to with a sushi bar, and a Pan Asian menu. I also remember the walnut burger I enjoyed at Red Jacket all the way up in the UP. And I’m still thinking about the duck wings at North Country in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. They were robust and the greasiness of duck makes for an excellent wing. I have always enjoyed the food at their tap room which feels like it came right out of The Hobbit. They used to have a beer called Slippery Rock Dew which featured local honey. It paired up well with a steak sandwich that I used to go hours out of my way to enjoy when I made trips to Pennsylvania.

I know I haven’t talked a lot about the formal pairing of food with beer, though I do know a lot about it. There are certainly many books and articles that have been written about the subject, and this is a topic for you to explore on your own. You get to decide what you order, and if you want to get the most out of your experience, do a little research. I remember traveling through Cleveland and stopping at Great Lakes where I ordered a burger because I knew it would go well with the Elliot Ness brown ale I had been anxious to try. Beer and food pairing is subjective and you can be educated, but I find that it’s fun to mix and match to find what pairs best. And getting to that knowledge is half the fun. Years ago I used to love to boil crab legs, and I discovered that I liked hoppy beers to go with it. Hoppy beers go well with most meals, especially the spicier ones. But that’s my experience, and I think you should find that out for yourself.

So while I’m out exploring every single brewery in the state of Indiana(I hope to complete my project by years end), I will try to eat as much food as I can while I travel. When Pic and I visit breweries, we often go for a meal, and have had many excellent meals in taprooms. I like pub pretzels and will certainly miss the monstrosity that used to be available at the now defunct Black Swan in Plainfield. So I’m out there searching for another amazing pretzel! And I’ll be trying good beer, so you know where to find me!

I’ve been into craft beer for over two decades. While I’m glad we have so much craft beer I often think back to 20 years ago when craft breweries were scarce and far between. I learned to appreciate the beer I could actually get in pubs, and enjoyed visiting towns like Pittsburgh where Church Brew Works, and the Penn Brewery satisfied my taste for a good beer. As I traveled, I found amazing places throughout the Midwest and Northeast, as well as the deep South. Weyerbacher and Bullfrog in Pennsylvania excited me, as did Ithaca and Captain Lawrence in New York. And as I learned more about beer, I got to sample hard to get beer from California from such icons as The Lost Abbey, and Russian River. I also had lots of reasons to visit the south and breweries like Cigar City, Terrapin, and Sweetwater all made great beer I couldn’t get at home.

And while I was back in Indiana, Bells, Founder’s, 3 Floyd’s and others were making amazing beer that I always thought was a cut above the rest. As I continued to become more engaged in the craft beer culture, I learned to seek out breweries that pushed the envelope and went beyond the norm. A lot of breweries do a very good job of making very normal traditional style beers, and there certainly is a market for it. Indeed prior to my developing an appreciation for hoppy beers, it was brown and red ales and lagers that taught me about beer. It was a gradual process as my palate developed to where I could come to enjoy all styles of beer. Eventually I became excited about barrel aged beers, and sours, and intense IPAs. As the industry has grown, I’m so excited to say that so many breweries have stepped up to provide great beer.

Now in 2020 we have more active breweries than I think we had even during the golden age of brewing in the 19th Crntury. It is also worth noting that many of the breweries I mentioned in the above paragraphs are now available in Indiana as well. And a lot of breweries are gaining notoriety as craft beer is taking a much larger section of the pie than ever has. More people drink craft beer than ever before, and as I’ve traveled across the state of Indiana tasting beer from every single brewery, there is a lot of good beer being made. I’m happy to say that a lot of new breweries have joined the older ones making exciting and unique beer. It is the new breweries that are pushing the envelope that I want to focus on because as they deviate from the norm, and they are challenging all breweries to be exciting in the beer they create!

I’m sure this is going on all across the nation as craft beer continues to gain notoriety and excitement. I will speak primarily on Indiana as I’ve had a chance over the last several months to taste beer from every corner of the state. There over 150 active brewers state wide, and it seems that many have got to the starting line with experience that puts them on par with brewers that existed for decades. From Terre Haute, and Big Leaf in the West, and 5 Arches and Elm Street in the East, from Windmill and Bare Hands up North, to Damsel and Great Crescent in the South, there is no shortage of amazing beer being made. I don’t have enough space to mention every single phenomenal brewery, but if you’re out there like me visiting them, you know where the good beer is flowing! The really great breweries push the envelope, and they make the beer we want to write and tell people about!

Deviate Brewing has been in existence for five years, and is making beer that is as exciting, and excellent. They release barrel aged beers and other exciting concoctions on a regular basis. Their output is small, and they’ve created a very loyal following in just a short time. For their fifth anniversary a few months back, they released Scheming Demons on a Thursday that saw their tiny brewery packed to the gills with beer connoisseur’s. They sold out of their beer quickly, and then they went right back to their next creation. I try to procure all of them, and feel blessed to live in close proximity to such an exciting place. As I write this, their next release is hours away. Waffle Horse, a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with Vanilla and Maple will sell out in no time on this Halloween Saturday.

While it is their barrel-aged beers and such that bring people to stand in line for the releases, there are a lot of other things that really impress me about Deviate. They constantly make excellent sours, and they tinker with nearly every style of beer possible. On a recent trip to the tap room, I tried Caterpillar On A Shroom which was a wheat ale that used mushrooms in the brewing process. I thought it was an amazing beer and you could actually taste the mushrooms in it. I like extraordinary beer and to make extraordinary beer, you have to push the envelope. You don’t need mushrooms to deviate from the norm, but this is just one example of the crazy beer this brewery is making. From Boysenberry IPA’s to Jalapeño Cornbread Cream Ales, this brewery Devaites. As long as they continue to make great beer, I will support them.

Living just outside of Indianapolis, there are great breweries all around me. I have been able to visit a lot of them recently and I’m excited by the quality of beer available in taprooms. Just recent I discovered Primeval Brewing in Noblesville, and I’m very impressed as what they’re doing. From Belgian Strong Ales to English Porters, this brewery is putting excellent beer out there, and I wish them all the success. I would like to focus on every excellent brewery I’ve discovered in the past few months but this article has already ran long enough!

So I encourage you as you drink beer to drink beer from breweries that are a cut above what other people are doing. I haven’t mentioned 18th Street yet, and they doing things as amazing as anyone. There are many other breweries no matter where you live that push the envelope. I encourage you to enjoy good beer. And when possible enjoy it at the source, or in a good taproom. If I see you out there we’ll have a beer together. In the meantime stay safe, and enjoy good beverages when you can!

I love craft beer so much. As I’m doing my project trying to canvas my entire state of Indiana, there are far more breweries then I originally ever imagined would be operating here in Indiana. By years end I may have tasted beer from well over 150 breweries and may not even have hit all of them. But as I’ve canvassed the Hoosier state, I have come across a lot of joint ventures between breweries, wineries, and distilleries. It has caused me to see that all three of these craft industries really work together to make the whole scene enjoyable for everyone. So I thought it was worth doing an article about how craft beer works with the rest of the craft beverage industry.

I have always been aware of the wineries of Indiana. Oliver and Mallow Run are both near my home, and have been making wine for years. I have recently been visiting orchards and in an attempt to try cider, have seen lots of wine producing places like Huber’s, and McClures. (I consider cider to be close to Beer and have been counting anyone that produces cider on my list as well). My travels this year have brought me to a lot of joint ventures including Cedar Creek in Martinsville which is a brewery, distillery, and a winery all on the same location. For obvious reasons I think this works because it can bring a diverse crowd together to the same place, and at the end of the day, everyone making craft beverages should work together. And while I’m saying this I think this also includes craft sodas, and Kumbacha.(The latter reminds me very much of sour beer anyway!)

As I travel the state of Indiana I think there are anywhere between 50 to 100 wineries here, and I have come across at least a handful that also make beer. Just last weekend I was in Seymour Indiana and enjoy the beer at Chateau de Pique. And even though McClures is making great strides in craft wine making, they are an orchard, and I still think their cider is some of the best stuff they produce. My travels should take me to that part of the state, and I can’t wait to pick up some of their fall productions. And I’ve also noticed that sometimes wineries venture into liquor production and Huber’s has Starlight Liquors on their southern Indiana complex. I had a chance to visit them last weekend, and they are making some amazing Brandys and aged whiskeys.

Cider has always been a close cousin to Beer along with mead, and a few other beverages. Orchards are everywhere, and hard cider is easy to find if you look for it. Many wineries make it, as well as breweries. And there are plenty of places who specialize in it exclusively. I was in Bellaire Michigan this summer and after visiting Shorts Brewing, I found an amazing cider house across the street. I was on vacation and helped close the place down. They had an amazing amount of great selections. I feel that way about McClure’s selections, and Beasley Orchard’s In Danville has started making amazing stuff. And if you’re in Indianapolis, I highly recommend a visit to Ash & Elm. Their cider is excellent and they share a location with a Coffee house.(This concept is not new. Coffee and beer as well as other adult beverages go well together. There was even a place in Indianapolis called the Thirsty Scholar, and I think a coffeehouse/taproom would be excellent if it was in the right location!)

Craft distillery’s have become very popular lately, and I’ve had a chance to visit quite a few already. Some of them are affiliated with a brewery or winery, (Starlight, Hard Truth, Cedar Creek), and a lot of them are standalone.(Oakley Brothers, Hotel Tango) I have found over three dozen of them spread across Indiana. I don’t drink a lot of liquor, but I have friends who do, and I definitely recommend checking the spots out if you’re into mixed drinks, and small batch liquor.

So while craft beer is my thing, I wanted to mention everything else that’s going on alongside it right now. I don’t see it as competition to craft beer because everyone small and independent needs to work together. I also I have friends who are not into craft beer, and I’m open to visiting wineries and distilleries as well. Pic willingly follows me to many breweries, and I like to return the favor by making sure we go to wineries as well. Drinking locally includes this whole gambit, so I guess this article demonstrates the options you have when trying to do so. In the end as long as you support craft beverages, you are doing your part.

Craft beer is certainly everywhere these days. You can find it at many places you couldn’t have until recently, from grocery stores, and movie theaters, and smaller restaurants that only had one or two taps. More people drink good beer now, so it seems you can’t really go hardly anywhere and not find it. I personally like this, and hope this is the way things continue to be. If you agree with me, the best way you can support craft beer is by drinking locally. Supporting the beer scene in your area is a vital job, and it starts with craft beer drinkers like yourself.

I enjoy most styles of beer, and visit a lot of breweries. It starts with those places close to my house, and I am fortunate living in central Indiana to have well over 50 breweries within less than an hours drive of my home. And driving around the rest of the state gives me access to nearly 100 more. It’s the same no matter where you are, and if we want this awesome selection to be available to us, we need to support the breweries we like, and make sure the ones in our hometown’s are successful. Drinking locally means many things, and drinking beer made in your region is the obvious one.

I have done a lot of research and what I see in Indiana is accurate across-the-board. We have more breweries than ever because more people than ever drink craft beer. And with cities and large towns being saturated with breweries, it is the small towns of our country where we are seeing the most tremendous growth. Fellow beer writer Rita Kohn and I discussed this several years ago at a beer festival. We really felt that small towns offered an opportunity like no one else, and I’m seeing it happen right now. A good brewery can create a loyal fan base, and that’s one of the major keys to success. If you live in a small town, I hope do you are in one that already has a craft brewery, and if not, maybe you need to open one!

So I urge you to drink locally and support the breweries that you like. If they have a restaurant, eat there as well. If you go to a beer festivals, always stop by the tent of your favorite brewery, and let them know that you appreciate what they are doing. And if you travel like me, take your favorite beer to relatives everywhere else, and spread the word. But if you’re like me you probably have a few breweries that you would consider your favorite. My advice is to do what you can, and never stop drinking good beer!

Drinking locally also means doing just that when you travel as well. I made it to the upper Peninsula of Michigan this summer and found a sparsely populated region with over a dozen breweries! And when I used to go to New York, Little Town NYC always provided an excellent selection of New York State beer. They have close their doors so when Pic and I visit the city in November, I hope we can find another spot that will offer good local beer. I also have been able to write about a lot of breweries on the way there and back, and I look forward to visiting them as well as the tap houses I love to feature. I guarantee that no matter where you go in the United States, you can find beer culture if you look hard enough. For me that’s truly what drinking locally on the road means.

I’m writing this article seated at Scarlet Lane’s SoBro location in Indianapolis. They are decked out for Halloween, and the festive spirit really blends well with their off kilter beer. I have far too many breweries near my home to truly support them all, so I try to visit a few each week just to see what’s going on. We have a vibrant beer culture, and hopefully when Covid is a thing of the past, our beer selection will be just as fine. I’m doing my part to support the breweries in Indiana by drinking locally as much as I can. When I travel, I try to do the same. It’s a crazy time to be drinking craft beer, and I wouldn’t want it any other way! I didn’t pick the title for my blog just because I liked it. There truly is so much beer, and we have such limited time!