Indiana Craft Beer New Year’s Resolutions

1. I will visit at least one (new-to-me) Indiana craft brewery each month. By reading of the exploits of my fellow IndianaOnTap contributors, I have a running list of places I want to visit. I know I’ll get to more than 12 Indiana craft breweries this year, but this list is all about the attainable, and attainable = success. Join me as I count off breweries this year. 
    
   
2. I will visit at least one (new-to-me) Indiana restaurants that feature Indiana beer each month. I am committed to the growth of Indiana’s craft beer industry, and one way to ensure that Hoosier-state craft beer gets the attention it richly deserves is by voting with my dining-out dollars. By supporting Indiana restaurants that serve Indiana beer, I spend my craft beer dollars two-fold, one by supporting Indiana’s craft beer industry by buying their product and one by supporting Indiana restaurants which feature Indiana beers.
    
   
3. I will ask restaurants which do not feature Indiana beers to add them to their beer lists. I don’t know about you, but I am entirely *over* the twenty-five varieties of the same mega-brew crap with no Indiana craft beers available. I will do this as a service not only to Indiana craft breweries, but to my own palate. Down with the lesser beers, up with Indiana craft beer! 

4. I will continue to support those Indiana breweries I have already visited, with continued patronage this coming year. One comment I heard from a liquor store owner recently really struck home with me – he noted that craft beer in his store went through cycles of being a super-hot commodity to being on-the-shelf for weeks. Let us not forget our favorites in pursuit of the newest and latest – I will support my “old favorites” as well as pursuing new breweries – my favorites would have never made favorite status without being top-notch establishments. See you again soon friends.
   
5. I will continue to contribute to IndianaOnTap’s writing community in 2015. Although most of what I write in my “real life” is read by few, it is extremely rewarding to write an article which pleases brewery owners, patrons, and beer-lovers across Indiana. Thank you to all the welcoming brewery owners and brewmasters who so kindly let me into their establishments this year – Twisted K-8 Brewing, Ironwood Brewing, Figure Eight Brewing, and South Bend Brew Werks. Cheers to a productive and delicious 2015 – one Indiana beer at a time.

Cheers!

 Aleea is a native Hoosier, beer-lover and PhD candidate in public administration. When she’s not championing her home state, actively seeking out Indiana breweries and trying new beers, she writes on topics related to public management, public policy, politics, financial management, and organizational development. She can be contacted at hoosier.breweries@gmail.com.