Live Music, Great Food, And Award Winning Beer Make Chilly Water A Fountain Square Destination

There is something to be said for consistency, especially in the world of beer. That’s partially why the macro giants have made it for as long as they have: you know what you’re getting every time you crack open a can of Coors Light. That level of consistency is why a beer was “your grandfather’s beer, your father’s beer, and now your beer.” The first sip tasted like the fourth sip which tasted like the last sip. Good to the last drop.

Well, kind of good, depending on your tastes and the situation, I guess.

That level of consistency is not as easily attained at the micro level. Because craft brewers work at intensely smaller levels than the international conglomerates, their margin of error is incredibly smaller. Every ounce of hops and grains, every bit of yeast, and every drop of water that go into your favorite craft beer matter that much more at this small of a scale. Hops added at the wrong time, water with the wrong pH, or an unscrubbed portion of a tank can send a batch haywire and offset a craft brewery’s profits enormously, while damaging their reputation with their patrons. Consistency can make or break a brewery.

And consistency is something that Chilly Water Brewing’s head brewer Dan Kryzwicki does at an award-winning level.

Kryzwicki developed his talent for years as a homebrewer before one day riding his bike to the now-defunct Alcatraz Brewing Co. and asking then-head brewer Skip DuVall for a turn at going professional, but it was four years prior when his eyes were opened to the world of craft beer.

“I drank a beer in college that was made by a friend of mine,” he tells me over a pint of his Built To Last Pilsner, “and it opened a world to me. It was like, ‘oh this is what you can do with beer!’”

DuVall started Kryzwicki out working one day a week, and the duo quickly bonded over a shared love of live music, excellent beer, and hard work. Kryzwicki also found a home at Great Fermentations after Darren Connor left for Bier Brewery.

“Working at Great Fermentation and having that equipment gave me a chance to experiment and figure out what styles I liked to brew.”

Experimenting, however, is not what Chilly Water has hung its hat on since opening their doors just over a year ago.

“I don’t like to get crazy with different variations of hops, or make ten different versions of the same beer,” Kryzwicki says. “My philosophy is brew to style as much as possible.”

“I want people to come in and know that the Vienna Lager they order is going to be the best by-the-book Vienna Lager they’re ever going to have.”

Judges have taken to that philosophy, as evidenced by this year’s Indiana State Fair Brewers’ Cup, where Chilly Water brought home Best In Show, Indiana Brewery of the Year, and Grand Champion Brewery of the Year, as well as medals for best Dark Lager and best Scottish/Irish Ale.

[Editor’s note: I got to interview two award-winning breweries in a row. This is a sweet gig.]