Fest of Ale Brings Craft Beer Fans Together For Good Cause

Welcome to Southern Indiana. On Saturday, May 30th the sunnier side of Louisville became home to the Keg Liquors Fest of Ale.

Keg Liquors Fest of Ale seeks to bring awareness and monetary gifts for Crusade for Children as part of the event objective.  Additionally, they want to further craft beer in Indiana by providing a premier tasting event that embodies the craft beer lifestyle.  This event featured sampling of more than 100 craft beers in a grass roots beer festival environment. Each year, the proceeds from Fest of Ale go to WHAS Crusade for Children.

I think it is important to understand the above information. Yes the beer was great. Yes the crowd was great. The weather? Great. But the cause behind this festival is something so awesome, words can’t really do it justice. In short, this is above and beyond.

Understand?

Good!

Now, it was a humid day in beautiful Southern Indiana but that didn’t stop the hordes of thirsty craft beer fans from flocking to St. Anthony’s for the 10th annual Fest of Ale presented by Keg Liquors.

The gates opened a tad bit before 3:00, and so it began.

I was very fortunate to be accompanied by my fiancé and future mother-in-law, whose sharp eyes and motherly instinct directed us in the opposite direction of anxious festival goers, allowing us to sidle right up to some of Indiana’s awesome breweries with zero wait time.

First up was Quaff On! Brewing Company, who brought their core lineup (Hare Trigger IPA, Yellow Dwarf Wheat, Six Foot Blonde, and Busted Knuckle). The Yellow Dwarf went perfectly with the rising temperature and I could have stayed put in front of their booth for the remainder of the day, but I forced myself to move on. However, before I wandered on to the next booth, I was able to sample the reworked version of Busted Knuckle. It still has that great porter/stout hybrid taste but the mouthfeel is now smoother and creamier. Quaff On! took an already stellar beer and made it better.

The next stop brought us to one of my personal favorite breweries – Bloomington Brewing Company. Along with the infamous Rooftop IPA, they were also dishing out samples of 10 Speed Hoppy Wheat (a crowd favorite). Of course I couldn’t help but sample the delicious Ruby Bloom Amber – a rich, creamy amber ale that had me smiling like I was a high school kid again, experiencing a feeling similar to the first time the cute girl from Home Ec. flirted with me.

After the nostalgia at BBC passed and I was brought back to the sobering reality of actually being a 31 year-old middle school teacher, my fiancé (the cute girl from Home Ec.) and I visited Upland Brewing Company. Former Indiana on Tap alum Jon McNabb hooked us up with pours of Kiwi Lambic and Peach Lambic. The tartness of these beers were absolutely perfect on a day such as this. There is a reason that Upland is nationally renowned for their sour program and I hope that the assembled crowd took note on how lucky we are to have a brewery like Upland representing the great state of Indiana.

Our friends from Carson’s Brewery out of Evansville showcased their stellar offerings and even brought a special Amarillo Falconer’s Pale Ale. Of course I had to try it and was impressed by the hop explosion and drinkability of this particular beer.

Tin Man Brewing continues to impress and raise the bar with their outstanding lineup. In addition to Adam Schick’s personal favorite – Overlord Imperial IPA – the Evansville brewery brought Czar Russian Imperial Stout, Circuit Bohemian Pilsner, and Megawittt, a Belgian style witbier. I tried the Megawitt and walked away more impressed (and I was already super impressed) by what is happening with the Evansville beer scene.