Daredevil Brewing’s ‘Hopsfest’ Wins Gold for Racing and Tasting

31 Aug Daredevil Brewing’s ‘Hopsfest’ Wins Gold for Racing and Tasting

By Rodrigo LeMieux for Indiana On Tap

The sound of a siren sent 167 runners (and someone dressed as a tyrannosaurus rex) hurrying southbound on Main Street in the heart of Speedway this last Saturday.  Daredevil Brewing’s Hops & Flip Flops Craft Beer Festival (Hopsfest) 2016 had officially begun and for the second year in a row, a 5K race honoring all hoppy beers kicked off the day’s festivities at 9:00 AM sharp.

The race, primarily organized by the Speedway Trails Association, features a fast, flat course on the newly formed Speedway Trail System and helps fund projects for connecting Speedway with other trails in the Indianapolis area.  I for one participated in the race and had a great experience.  Other than contributing to a great cause there are 3 reasons I would highly recommend participating in this race next year:

1. FUN – The awful weather Indianapolis has recently been suffering subsided just long enough for everyone to finish and receive their official Hops & Flip-Flops medals that just so happened to be shaped exactly like those things (and can also be used to conveniently open a bottle of beer). They were the highlight of the race for most people and I must say that I’ve run a lot of races in my life and never have I received something so useful in return for my participation!
2. ORGANIZED – Thanks to Race Maker Productions and Daredevil Brewing, there were tents for shelter from the rain that started during the awards, which were announced by age groups and included photo-opps. The course was also very well-marked and safe.
3. BEER – Yes, a little after 9:00 AM on a Saturday is the perfect time for a Rip Cord Double IPA from Daredevil Brewing, assuming you’ve earned it. Who could argue with that after a hard day of pounding the pavement?  The newly formed Indiana On Tap Road Sodas Racing Team certainly wouldn’t.  Some of their team members took 1^st (new course record) and 4^th overall and believe me, even victory doesn’t taste as good as that beer.

Hopsfest started at 1:00 PM and as the afternoon crawled by, the humidity rose about as high as my thirst for something bitter.  And malty.  And HOPPY.  I finally found my feet down on Main Street outside of Daredevil Brewing and after the admission process, I was finally in.  I was ready to get down to business so I immediately began an undirected search for where to find my tasting glass.  Luckily, I happened to see a pile of boxes with the words “GLASS” printed on the sides of them near an unmarked tent so I went for it.  Within a few minutes, I was holding the tiniest, most breakable, and most precious…wait for it…miniature snifter.  The journey was worth it.  I challenge anyone to try and look at a miniature snifter without smiling and getting a warm fuzzy feeling deep down inside.  Now add endless pours of craft beer to the mix and tell me how you feel.  Even though the weather was getting hotter, the day just got better.  When all was said and done, I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t enjoy myself at the festival so let’s cut to the chase and cover a few of the highlights:

Barbecue and Bourbon on Main – Local barbecue, set up with two oversized smokers, ready in seconds for your eating pleasure.  The combination of pulled pork nachos smothered in white queso and jalapenos and fresh local beer is too good to be true.  These guys really knew what they were doing and their prices were very reasonable for vending at a brewfest.

New Day Craft Mead & Hard Cider– Of course meads and ciders are made from honey and apples, and not usually hoppy, but I believe that there is a place for these types of libations at every tasting event because let’s face it, not everyone is strictly a beer drinker.  New Day, an Indiana On Tap Tasting Society Marketplace partner, offered a lot of interesting choices for those who wanted to try something a little less hoppy or simply something on the sweeter side.  Most memorable and most popular was the Breakfast Magpie, a blackberry mead with hints of honey and coffee.

3 Floyds Brewing Company – We all know what it takes to get our hands on Zombie Dust, but this day was different.  All-you-can-drink Zombie Dust?  Where do I sign?  And that’s not all.  They also offered Dreadnaught, an Imperial Double IPA with an IBU of 100.  Oddly, though, they didn’t have their own tent or any signage whatsoever so once I found them I kept it a secret!  Kidding of course but I was tickled to death to have the opportunity to have their beers at my discretion.

Tin Man Brewing – the Evansville, IN based brewery and another partner of the Indiana on Tap Tasting Society offered their Overlord Imperial IPA for tasting.  As an IPA lover, especially Imperials, I was pleasantly surprised.  It was perfectly balanced between malty and bitter and still somehow managed to give your palate a heck of a kick.  I also concluded that this beer must have been brewed by some of the most talented and highly intelligent people on the planet and here’s why I say that: The Tin Man Brewing tent was the only tent that offered a rinsing station for your tasting snifter. Pure genius!  That said, I’m now intrigued by this brewery so much that I will be following the yellow brick road down to Evansville sometime soon and I’m sure I’ll find more than just a man behind a curtain.

I am clearing my calendar for next year’s Hopsfest on August 26, 2017, and I would encourage you to do the same.  For those who love racing and tasting, this event brings home the gold in both.