Indiana Bastille Day 2014: The perfect Blend of Culture, Indiana Craft Beer, and the Pursuit of French Fried Twinkies

This last Saturday welcomed a record crowd to Landmark Park in Fortville for the 5th Annual Indiana Bastille Day.  What’s Bastille Day, you ask?  It’s the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is officially celebrated on July 14th each year.  The French National Day, called La Fête Nationale in French, commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution with the ‘Storming of the Bastille’ on July 14th, 1789. Celebrations are held throughout France on this day every year. Ok, so what does this have to do with Indiana?  I’m glad you asked that as well.

Indiana Bastille Day was the brainchild of one-time Fortville (now Fishers) husband and wife residents Calvin and Gabrielle Hendrix-Parker.  Gabrielle was born and raised in France and this festival was a way to bring a little bit of France to central Indiana for Hoosiers to enjoy.  From French-inspired foods to French musical acts, to a one-of-a-kind ‘waiters race,’ the festival brings a unique flair not found in your traditional Hoosier summer festival.

To Gabrielle, the day is even more than that. It’s an opportunity for Americans and French to reconcile their “love-hate relationship.”

“The two countries have really been helping each other over the past 300 years. I think Bastille Day is a great way to talk about it,” she said.

Enough, enough. I know. What does all of this have to do with Indiana craft beer?  Ok, I don’t have a great answer for that.  I do have an obvious answer, though. What makes an already great summer festival even better?  If you guessed french fried Twinkies, you’re right.  Unfortunately, there were no french fried Twinkies at the festival (I know because I made 2 laps around the food vendors to check)…but there was delicious, Indiana craft beer—a first for Indiana Bastille Day.

Indiana On Tap was hired to organize and manage this year’s beer garden to introduce a thirsty crowd to some of the best craft beer Indiana has on tap.  We were up for the challenge.  We decided early on we wanted to invite 4 of the newer breweries to share some of their best.  In attendance and ready to pour was:

Scarlet Lane Brewing Co. from McCordsville
Books & Brews from Indianapolis
Taxman Brewing Co. from Bargersville
Grand Junction Brewing Co. from Westfield

Each brewery brought 2 of their beers available for festival attendees to purchase with their crafty ‘Bastille Day Bucks’ (tickets) and enjoy in full pints.  Now, about that beer:

Scarlet Lane brought their recent award-winning Vivian Red IPA and Siason de Silas Farmhouse Ale.  Both were huge hits—especially the Vivian…the only IPA on draft that evening.  It has a lively balance of Northwest hops with its malt profile.  Scarlet Lane Founder and Chief Brand Officer Nick Servies told me that it will change the way you think about red beers.  Personally, I disagree.  I think it will change the way you think about all IPAs.  If you have the opportunity to try it, please do. Just trust me.

Books and Brews shared their Shogun Soba Ale and their Old Bitter Ms. Havisham ESB.  They also displayed and shared several literary classics (I’m talking about books, people) at the booth.  They certainly had the most festive booth that evening. The Soba Ale is an amber ale brewed with buckwheat, giving it a salty-sweetness that could have calmed the feudal Japan chronicled in the James Clavell classic. If you ever want to walk in a brewery and walk out feeling smarter, go visit Books & Brews at 9402 Uptown Drive (Suite 1400) in Indianapolis.  I know, I know…we all feel smarter after having a couple of craft beers—but their book-themed brewpub actually makes you walk through a library in order to enter and leave.  Yeah, you read that right.  And if you’re lucky, you may get a chance to meet and chat with owner, brewer and literary addict Jason Wuerfel. Jason played professional baseball in a previous life—making him even that much more interesting to talk to.

Taxman Brewing brought along their La Maison Farmhouse Ale and Deduction Belgium Dubbel.  Both were huge hits with the beer garden crowd, along with their vintage-style Taxman Brewing tshirts, which we cleverly traded with them for a few Indiana On Tap tees.  The Deduction Dubbel is an abbey-style dubbel with a rich, malty grain bill delivering dark fruit aromas. A restrained amount of earthy, European hops lend it a mild hop bitterness. The finish is dry with a touch of sweetness from the Belgian candy sugar. I’m a sucker for all good dubbels, and this one was no exception.

Lastly, we had Grand Junction Brewing Co. out of Westfield who shared their 1520 Hefeweizen and The Mulligan—a Scottish Style Ale. The Mulligan was definitely the strongest beer on tap and was intensely malty from start to finish. The 1520 is a light Bavarian-style ale that holds an abundance of wheat malt, which comprises over 50% of the grain bill. I loved it especially for its aroma—which is a nice combination of banana, clove and vanilla—which is thanks to the unique yeast strain they pitch into the wort at the end of every 1520 brew day.

Ok, ok…what does all of this really mean? Let me wrap this up.  To me, it shows how Indiana craft beer continues to cross new borders and blur lines of what’s acceptable.  Where else can you go for a day to enjoy near-authentic French culture while also enjoying a wide variety of craft beer?  If you answered ‘Indiana,’ pat yourself on the back.  Our state continues to make significant gains in supporting our local brewers, and Indiana Bastille Day single-handedly proved that.  For one day, it truly epitomized one of my favorite slogans—which is: “Think Globally.  Drink Locally.”

See you next year, Indiana Bastille Day.  I’ll bring the craft beer, you bring the french fried Twinkies.