From PBRs to ThaiPAs: How I Got Into Craft Beer

When most of my friends talk about their 21st birthday, it typically involves some combination of crazy bars, insane amounts of liquor, and hazy—if not blurred or entirely forgotten—memories.

Though I’d like to say mine was equally outrageous, involved countless breweries and copious amounts of craft beer, my 21st wasn’t exactly worth bragging about.

On the evening of my birthday in 2011, I walked to the nearest gas station for a six pack of PBR. I know it isn’t a glamorous start–especially considering that my first beer was a Hefeweizen on a brisk evening in Heidelberg.

Let’s just consider this the confession of a former ignoramus turned beer snob.

I once was lost. Then I found IPAs.

I’m originally from Ohio, but was living in Portland, Oregon when I reached a legal drinking age. And even though I was in a proverbial craft beer Mecca, I lacked any serious appreciation of it and never realized what I was missing until I returned to Ohio.

Nevertheless, my love of craft beer grew and I recognized that amazing, local beer can be found anywhere–and is certainly not limited to the west coast. But my appreciation for craft beer didn’t develop from just tasting it in different parts of the country.

It developed from brewing it.

I had moved back to Ohio and began working at LD Carlson: the nation’s largest home beer and wine distributor. And as one might expect, my discount on home beer supplies proved both useful and educational. Brewing beer opened up an entirely new and exciting world for me, and when I began working at a homebrew shop in Elkhart, IN, I refined my craft with each new batch.

While I acquired the basics of the brewing process, I also learned what differentiates specific beer styles—-a concept that becomes so much more accessible when you’ve made them yourself.

As a brewmaster for a small restaurant in Goshen, for example, I remember how excited I was over a batch of cream ale that I made simply because I had figured out that using corn as an adjunct in the grain bill lends a creamier flavor and mouthfeel.

Tasting beer, for me, isn’t about comparing one beer to another as much as it is a process for understanding how a brewer can get a specific taste, color or aroma. A brewer that can repeat a recipe consistently is, in my book, an expert.

And what beers catch my interest? It was once IPAs, then became a porter/stout phase, which eventually transitioned into Belgian beers. Ultimately, there isn’t a style that I don’t find drinkable, although I tend to shy away from wheat beers.

But lately, I’ve been thrilled by some of the mildly obscure concoctions I’ve tasted recently–especially during my short time in Indiana.

Granger’s Bare Hands Brewery caught my attention with their ThaiPA, while Elkhart’s Iechyd Da occasionally brews a Breakfast Cookies Milk Stout, which rarely lasts long on their taps. From Indianapolis, Flat 12’s Cucumber Kölsch came by surprise at a local taproom, and there appears to be no end to the citrusy flavors of hop-bursted IIPAs.

But even among homebrewers, obscurity prevails.

I recently visited the Kosciusko Kettleheads, which has a few brewers that incorporate vegetables or smoked meat into their recipes. There is nothing that will ever quite taste like a mushroom-infused stout (affectionately named, “Beer Makes Me a Fun Guy”).

There has been a surprising rise in the amount of unusual ingredients found in new beers everywhere–and Indiana certainly is no different among its commercial breweries.

But enough about my (limited) knowledge of Indiana’s craft beer scene. I’m just as curious to hear about what other beer connoisseurs have found across the state.

What’s the weirdest beer (or the weirdest ingredient in a beer) that you’ve had at an Indiana brewery?

Residing in Goshen, IN, Logan is the newest Content Contributor at Indiana On Tap.  You can contact him at loganandmiller@gmail.com.