11 Jul Bier Brewery Celebrates Seven Years Of Awesomeness
by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap
In the midst of an increasing number of closings, it feels great to preview the 7th anniversary party (July 28th, 6-10 pm) of one of the state’s premier producers, Bier Brewery. If all it took to ensure longevity and success was making great beer, Bier would certainly have a place wrapped up in the Craft Beer Hall of Fame, but it takes much more than that to thrive in today’s competitive craft beer environment.
You have to offer the customer a personal enjoyable experience when they visit. You need to be consistent in your flagships and inventive in your seasonals and special releases. You need to be connected to your neighborhood and your larger community. Owners Jerry and Darren Connor have gathered all these attributes into a unassuming and quaint taproom on the northeast side of Indianapolis, and that’s why their 7th anniversary party is really a celebration of things to come, not just a congratulations for lasting this long.
Click on the image to get a larger readout of all the awards Bier has won. It was up to date until this past weekend’s Indiana Brewer’s Cup. image credit: Bier Brewery
Taproom guru and in house Gauguin Sarah Buschmann said the anniversary party is just as much a thank you to all the loyal craft beer fans in Indiana, “Our taproom isn’t a business, it’s like a family room. We’ve always believed our customers are part of our family and have helped us grow to where we are now. It’s like being fed comfort food from your grandma; we only want to serve the highest quality bier that we know how to brew to our customers. Leaving them full, happy and always wanting more, no matter what’s on tap.” And this is why Bier is such a success, the bier, the patron, and the experience are always uppermost in their minds.
The taproom is lined with all the medals that Bier has won in their seven years of existence. There might be 83 medals on the walls, but the awards that stand out include the fact that they were one of two breweries in the world to win double golds at the World Beer Cup in 2016, and the back-to-back Brewer’s Cup Champion accolades in 2011 and 2012. With all that hardware, it’s easy to lose sight of the more important things going on around you in the taproom.
Neighbors make weekly sojourns to the taproom to talk with one another and the Bier folks. There is live music a couple of nights a week along with euchre tournaments on Thursday nights. Comedy shows are common, as are special lectures like A Pint of Science. And then there are the friendly dogs that walk around and look for a hand to pet them or a drop of beer to clean up. Heck, Bier used to have a python that hung over the brew house door! Oh for the good old days.
In that spirit of providing great beers with great happenings, get ready to taste some great beer and hear some awesome music the night before the Indiana Microbrewers Festival at the Bier Brewery at 5133 E. 65th Street (sorry, 21+ only). There will be some coozies for giveaway and a charitable partner is being worked out as we speak. Three music acts will be on the stage, including acoustic musicians Tory Fischetti at 6:00 and Jack Barkley at 7:00 before the headline band, King Sheriff hits us with their spaghetti-western afro-funk world groove from 8-10 pm. Bring the chairs and sit outside to take in the music and have some food from 5280 Bistro Truck from Fishers (Walter recommends the PB&J – pork loin, bacon and fig jam) or from next door at the Movable Feast (I especially like their Ahi tuna steak sandwich).
Click on Sarah’s poster to get a timeline on Bier. I guess I could just posted this and left well enough alone. image credit: Sarah Buschmann
Wash this all down with some tried and true Bier favorites, or with any of the special tappings they will bring out for the party. The Hator Dopplebock will make its return to the draft lineup, and three Belgians will be alongside – the Dubbel, the Trippelle, and the 1.21 Gigawatt Belgian Golden Strong. What’s more, head brewer Darren is preparing a new IPA called Something Bad A$$, so one can only wonder what that might consist of. Hopefully, my current favorite Bier offering, Bubonic Chronic will be on tap as well, with that Caliente hop that provides a bit of peppery phenolics.
Though the July 28th party is just a single day out of the year, it’s nice to know that Bier is there for us all year round. Sarah remembers the first pint night she worked in January of 2013, Bier couldn’t serve pints every night then, they did mostly growler fills, but the popularity of the beer ensured that the place was always packed when pints were on, and that first night even Eddie Sahm was on hand serving food. Now we can get pints six nights a week, but we have go visit Eddie at Big Lug or Sahm’s Ale House.
Whether you are going in to the taproom form a show or calling their name at your favorite craft beer bar or beer store, the quality, consistency and inventiveness of their beers guarantees that Bier Brewery will have many more of these anniversary parties.
For more information on the party, see the Bier pages:
Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/7-years-of-brewing-awesomeness-tickets-34911703846?aff=es2
No Comments