25 Feb Fishers On Tap 2015 Offers More Than Just An Escape From The Cold
Saturday could have sucked. We could have hunkered down, deciding to not brave the multiple inches of snow and below-freezing temperatures leveled at us overnight and call it a day. Chalk up the hermitting to the bad weather and try again next weekend.
It could have sucked, unless you were one of the few hundreds in attendance at this year’s Fishers On Tap.
An annual fundraiser held by the Fishers Rotary Club (what’s better than drinking for a cause?!), Fishers on Tap incorporated great restaurants with a hand-picked selection of Indiana breweries to great effect. In attendance this year was Triton Brewing, Daredevil, Flat 12 Bierwerks, People’s Brewing Co., Scarlet Lane, Bier Brewery, Grand Junction, and Tow Yard Brewing, highlighting some of Indiana’s smaller exceptional beer makers.
(Note: I stopped at Scarlet Lane’s booth more times than I can count for a glass of their Dorian stout, along with Triton for some Railsplitter, so just sprinkle them in to the following recap anywhere you want!)
From there we moved to Flat 12 Bierwerks’ booth and to what was the largest beer selection of the day. Drew and I both opted for the cask of Dan Patch Wit, a delicious witbier made with oranges and chamomile. I followed that up with Phantom Assassin, a white IPA from Peoples’ Brewing Co. that was missing the big boozy body I normally like in my IPAs, but the strong aroma of grapefruit paired with the hop-heavy flavors makes this a delicious beer.
Many thanks go to Sean Webster, Peoples’ Sales & Marketing Manager, for the pours and taking the time to talk to not just me but every patron that stopped by about each of their three beers present, including their cask of Amazon Princess IPA, a beer that, looking me dead in the eyes, Webster said I “have to try.” That little touch goes a long way towards making smaller festivals like Fishers On Tap worth attending.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the Fishers Rotary Club also did an excellent job with selecting their food vendors for the event. Sushi and fried rice from Red Sake, meatballs in marinara with tiny breadsticks from Simeri’s, along with delicious steak and seafood offerings from Ruth’s Chris, Peterson’s, and Eddie Merlot’s, to name a few made for great afternoon snacks without consuming stomach space better served storing your beers.
We followed our Flat 12’s with a coffee-dried brown from Bier Brewery. Coffee porters and stouts are the rage these days, but I can’t remember ever coming across a coffee brown, even though I can easily imagine those flavors pairing together nicely, which they do in Bier’s beer (ha).
Away from the main gathering of breweries sat Brew Link Brewing Company. If you haven’t heard of the Plainfield-based brewery yet, worry not. Brew Link originally started as a supply shop for home brewers, but in 2015 will become Indiana’s first ever brewing supply shop with a brewery. Previously only seeing stickers or advertising for their shop, I was excited to finally get a taste of their beer, of which they brought two. Both were citrus-forward IPAs, with the Outerworld being a very drinkable session variant. Two tastings and I’m already excited for everything else Brew Link will bring to the Indiana brewing community.
I wrapped up my evening with the ever-so-good porter from Grand Junction, before moseying down to the Fountain Square neighborhood for a night of music at the Hi-Fi, pleased with the effort put into this event by the Fishers Rotary Club, who clearly showed a desire to make, above all else, a good beer festival.
Saturday, with all its snow and blustering winds, could have sucked. Thanks to Fishers On Tap, though, it didn’t.
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