Why Indiana Sports Corp Scored with Friday’s Taps & Touchdowns Event Despite Being Stiff-Armed by the Weather

By Adam Schick of Indiana On Tap

As Indianapolis opened its arms this past weekend to football fans across the country for the third annual Big Ten Conference Football Championship game, Indiana Sports Corp opened the doors of the Pan Am Plaza to craft beer and football fans alike for the first ever Taps and Touchdowns tasting event, held Friday, December 5th. From 4:00 – 7:00 PM, nearly 20 Hoosier breweries poured samples for patrons in the former ice skating rink, while local restaurants dished out warm food and organizers provided entertainment in the form of raffle giveaways, cornhole boards, and football-related games of skill.

What Indiana Sports Corp got right at Taps and Touchdowns (beer fan speaking here) was bringing in a great mixture of breweries. From the more recognizable names in Indiana and Midwest brewing (Sun King, Upland), to Circle City mainstays (Brugge, Triton, RAM), and plenty of newer names (Chilly Water, Two Deep, Grand Junction). There were beers there for everyone to try, and it seemed that every brewery brought at least one special/seasonal, like Scarlet Lane’s standout brown sugar cinnamon porter (or maybe it was a stout? You know how these festivals usually go), and Sun King’s awesome Java Mac, a coffee-infused take on their house Scottish ale Wee Mac (I swung by the store on my way home to grab a four pack of Java Mac. Give it a try folks).

For this festival, I told my inner hop head to take a seat, for I would not be trying any IPAs or pale ales (there’s only so much assault my poor palette can take). My takeaway? This state’s breweries (also present: Fountain Square, Granite City, Indiana City Brewing, Outliers, Tow Yard, and Twenty Below) are doing some great work on the darker side of the beer spectrum. Don’t be afraid to get a little funky with your porters and stouts next time you make a beer run, folks. You won’t be disappointed.

Sadly, I don’t think Taps and Touchdowns got quite the draw that Indiana Sports Corp had hoped, but I chalk that up to some seriously crappy weather shutting down the official tailgate lot adjacent to the rink on Georgia Street, along with not being able to market directly to the visiting fan bases (damn copyright laws). Imagine, “The Official Beer Festival of the Big Ten Championship Game!” Regardless, there were still plenty of festival goers decked out in Ohio State and Wisconsin garb that had braved the wind and rain to sample some great Indiana beers to start their championship weekend.

Despite that, a serious tip of the cap to Indiana Sports Corp. You always hear from first-time visitors to Indianapolis about not knowing there is so much to do here, or how the city “rolls out the red carpet for its visitors.” Well, that’s because of events like Taps and Touchdowns, events that are marketed towards our city’s guests, well executed, and injected with enough Indiana flavor to draw the locals in as well. Indianapolis puts on its best shows when its citizens come out to join the celebrations, and that’s what Taps and Touchdowns did. I hope it returns next year through 2021 (the final year of the Big Ten’s deal with Indianapolis), after which the game will probably move to Los Angeles or somewhere ridiculous because college athletics commissioners like to make crazy decisions sometimes. 

Oh, and entry included a sweet little glass tasting cup with the festivals logo. I appreciate the festivals trust in the admittedly shaky hands of the hundreds of cold, wet, beer drinkers.