12 Feb Bier Brewery Adds More Fuel to Indianapolis Hockey Games
by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap
For all you Bier Brewery fans out there, and there are a lot of you, I have another way for you to enjoy their beer. Most of you know and love the mothership location on E. 65th Street; it’s been around for more than a decade now, with all those beer competition medals on the wall attesting to their quality. Some of you have also been to the north location in Carmel, with its larger space and big kitchen.
But did you know that there’s a third Bier location? This “hidden” Bier taproom is more about entertainment – hockey to be specific. While Covid has slightly reduced Bier’s availability at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Bier does has a taproom at the Indy Fuel games. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know about this spot. I knew Bier had products that were sold at the Indy Fuel games (and has for five years), but the lounge/taproom was a complete surprise to me.
image credit: Bier Brewery
I talked to Jerry Connor, one of the owners of Bier Brewery about the Indy Fuel, and he added a lot of depth to their relationship. It’s about more than just selling beer at the games. He told me that when the Fuel approached Bier more than five years ago about partnering, he envisioned much more than that.
Sun King was the brewery that sold beer at the Fuel games then (and now), but Bier looked to be more than just a vendor. Immediately they started selling Weizengoot and other beers in the stands. Right now you can get Weizengoot and Special Kolsch (2-3 beers usually) while you watch the hockey, but the beers do switch out frequently. But they gone so far past beers in the stands.
They expanded to having a rink panel for Bier, and then the events started. Jerry says, “Basically, anything the Fuel does marketing-wise, Bier is there to help.” They provide beer for the finishers of the Fuel’s benefit 3 and 5k runs, and they also are the beer providers for Indy Fuel banquets and parties.
image credit: Indy Fuel
Customer appreciation nights, marketing to other potential partners……it’s a rare thing that the Fuel or the Coliseum do that doesn’t include Bier. The two partners even have an idea to do a collaboration beer. The style and details are yet to be determined, but I can image in might involve a hockey stick mash paddle. Maybe Bier/Fuel fans should suggest beer styles – what would a hockey beer look like? Unfortunately, the collaboration beer, as with so much else, is going to have to wait until after Covid-19.
And this brings us to the part of this relationship I didn’t know about. Under the stands of the Coliseum there is a Bier Brewery lounge; essentially, it’s a third Bier location. Jerry says it acts as a taproom, they have places to sit and watch the game or other things (they have Netflix nights), and usually it’s draft Bier beer, not just packaged beer. The choices are many, with 4-5 beers on tap and others in package. True, you do need a ticket to visit the Bier Lounge, but even if you’re not a hockey fan, this experience would be worth the price. And best of all, The Coliseum has decided to open the Bier Lounge during this 2021 season – it will only have package beer for now, but at least it’s open.
The Bier Lounge at Pepsi Coliseum. image credit: Bier Brewery
The commitment of Bier to the Fuel is seen in the amount of promotion they do for the team, their willingness to help out with events, and also by the Fuel jerseys that hang in the taprooms at the mothership and Bier North – alongside with all those college flags. This commitment is part and parcel of the way Bier works. They go full out in all the things they do, and attention to detail and consistency is their mantra.
If you have a need for a beer partner, you couldn’t do better than to talk to Jerry and Bier. Yes, the quality of the beer is fantastic, but it pales in comparison to the quality of the people and their dedication to customer relationships and details. As Jerry says, “Bier is always willing to listen and help out in any way we can.”
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