18 Sep Hoosier Hops & Harvest Offers Great Beer, Perfect Backdrop
By Andrew Dickey for Indiana On Tap
It was a damp weekend in September, and the leaves of Brown County had not yet begun to change colors. Still, the picturesque town of Story, Indiana was the perfect backdrop for a harvest-themed brewfest, and the 7th annual Hops and Harvest Festival did not disappoint.
Far south of the tourist-laden streets of Nashville, it was a wonderful afternoon of beer, fellowship, music and, of course, natural beauty. It took place in the field behind the Story Inn, surrounded by wooded hills on three sides. This made it feel as if I attended a brew fest in a forest clearing!
To get to the festival, you had to walk through a garden courtyard, and then through an archway onto the field. After grabbing a sampler glass, the field was yours to conquer. A friend and I spent the afternoon sampling beer and meeting a lot of great people. The breweries in attendance represented a good part of southern Indiana, and I tried beer from several breweries that were new to me. It was great to attend a brewfest outside the greater Indianapolis area, and it was nice to see a lot of breweries present that don’t go to every beer fest.
Sixteen breweries made it and brought a nice mixture of summer and fall favorites as well as both sour and dark beers. There was a Mexican style food truck and other food at a booth off of the stage. There was a large tent in the middle of the field, and the breweries were in a ring, most of them nestled on the field’s south side.
Indiana City manned the first tent, and they brought several of their flagship beers. The brewery is now in their fourth year and going strong. On Oct. 1, they will be having the release for their pumpkin ale. I’ve been to their brewery on a Saturday night, and they do things right.
Redemption is a brewpub in the old Blue Crew site on 96th Street. I enjoyed what they brought to sample, including a honey wheat and a harvest ale made with apples.
Bedford-based Salt Creek brought a good number of their beers to try including, a blonde ale called Bradweiser! This was a new brewery to me, and I tried two excellent beers from them — a nice Pilsner and a Marzen.
This festival was held almost in Quaff On’s backyard, and the Nashville-based brewery came through solidly. Common Necessity, their hazelnut coffee stout, was delicious, and perhaps my new favorite from them. The cherry wheat was good as well. I drove past their production brewery on Nashville’s north side on the way down, and it’s nice to see this brewery doing well.
Upland brought several beers to the festival, but I was most excited when they brought out the Blueberry, and Peach Lambics. These are excellent sours, and I even tried a mixture of the two, which was superb. Upland also makes a great Oktoberfest, which I recommend trying if you haven’t yet.
Tin Man is excited about their Damascene Apricot Sour, and it is definitely an excellent beer. They also brought a new sour, Weld, which is a pear sour. It was very good, and I’m pleased they made another excellent beer in this style. They also released Hoop Pole over the summer to celebrate Indiana’s bicentennial, and it was a fine Dortmunder style beer.
450 North is a brewery from the Columbus area, and they brought a nice IPA, a harvest ale and cider. I was excited to try their beer, and I’m looking forward to their corn maze beer fest which will be on Oct. 1. (You can find details about it on Indiana on Tap’s site)
Donum Dei, “gift from God” in Latin, is a brewery from New Albany. They brought a strong Scottish ale I thought was good, and I hope to see these guys again at another beer festival.
812 Farms grows hops, and it also makes great beer. They brought a device known as a Randell, which, runs beer through fresh hops. It was amazing, and the fresh hops accentuated their pale ale very well. It was a great idea for a beer festival and certainly a highlight of the day!
It was nice to see the gang from Bier, and they always seem to have a lot of volunteers who love serving their beer. If you haven’t been to their taproom, make sure you take a growler.
Wabash is a small brewery on Indianapolis’s northwest side, and it was nice to see them here. I think they definitely do pale ales well. The gang from St. Joseph’s, another Indianapolis Brewery, are pretty cool, and every time I see them at a festival, I remind myself I need to visit them soon. Metazoa and Taxman have been at every festival I’ve been to this summer, and visiting their tents reminds me of the fun I’ve had at their taprooms.
Mashcraft and Fountain Square were the other two breweries present, and I enjoyed the beer they brought. I have gotten to know the staff at both breweries, and it was great to see them here!
Every brewery at Hops and Harvest truly brought great beer, and I made it to every tent. Sixteen breweries was the perfect size for a small festival, and I enjoyed something from everyone that came.
I also had a lot of fun interacting with the other attendees. I ran into a few friends, including Tom Hinds, the former owner of 3 Pints. There was live music, and, overall, a jovial feel to the day. So many people brought chairs that it felt like it was a beer festival in somebody’s backyard. I got to try beer from a few breweries that were new to me, and I enjoyed talking about beer with old friends.
This was a special festival, and if Brown County in September sounds inviting to you, I encourage you to attend next year’s Hops and Harvest.
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