Buzz Builds Behind Beer Dispenser at Indiana State Fair

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The 2014 Indiana State Fair became historic when alcohol was permitted to be served for the first time since 1946, but what has become the real buzz inside the Indiana Beer and Wine Festival might come as a surprise.

A relatively new beer dispenser is attracting as much attention as the drinks themselves inside the Grand Hall at the fairgrounds.

The Bottoms Up dispenser by GrinOn was selected as an especially fitting feature of the fair due to its Indiana ties. The company moved to Indianapolis in 2011 from Washington State for the city’s central location.

The company’s founder is also the inventor of the system. Josh Springer said he has enjoyed benefits of the move to Indiana more than expected.

“Having the Colts and having the Pacers and having all these restaurants that can get behind it is a lot of fun to be a part of and involved,” Springer said.

The dispenser works with a magnetic seal plugging a hole in the base of a specially designed up. The magnet itself can be considered a souvenir of the fair displaying the Beer and Wine Festival’s logo. Fair officials said Bottoms Up was a clear choice for the festival for its Hoosier connection, novelty and more.

“It also allows you to be more efficient in getting all the beer out of the keg [and] getting customer through lines quicker,” fair spokesman Andy Klotz said. “This whole exhibition is about local company and an ag exhibit. To be able to have that unique system that is a local company along with all the local brewers, it completes the whole exhibition.”

The fairgrounds already utilized the system in the Coliseum’s bar area before the 2014 fair.