Rock The Junction: A Rockin’ Good Time

By Anna Skinner

There is nothing much better than unlimited beer from local breweries and good music while you are drinking said beer and Rock the Junction was all of the above and more. 

Being an avid beer drinker and a Westfield native myself, I attended the inaugural event and was blown away by not only the phenomenal beer but the nonstop music and the abundant food trucks. 

Jon Knight, co-owner of Grand Junction Brewing Co., organized the event with Indiana on Tap, and he did a bang up job. 

More than 20 breweries set up shop at the corner of Park and Mill Streets in Westfield and doled out unlimited samples in a commemorative Rock the Junction tasting glass. I gave a valiant attempt to hit every brewery there, and standing out from the unlimited beer were my personal favorites from Brew Link Brewing Co., Twisted Crew Brewing Co., 450 North Brewing Co., Four Day Ray Brewing, and Bier Brewery. 

My theme of the day was wheat beers, but I did branch out and try a  mango IPA called Summer Romance from Brew Link. Phenomenal. The hops paired with the smooth sweetness of the mango leveled out the brew for a perfect summer pick. 

​Twisted Crew catered to my wheat theme, offering an apricot and cherry wheat, which I downed multiple samples of. Light, fizzy, and refreshing – despite the unseasonably cold winds and overcast sky. I even bought a bro tank from them to top off my experience. 

I am a bit partial to Hefeweizen brews, as that is always my number one pick from Grand Junction when I visit the brewery’s bar. Bier Brewery offered a Weizengoot, with an ABV of 5.3% and an IBU of 10.7. The German-style Hefeweizen had notes of clove and banana and wow, I never pictured myself enjoying a beer with a banana hint, but I could go back for seconds, thirds and fourths here. 

I do not usually drink hard ciders, and also, hard cider brews are not really present at brewfests. When 450 North Brewing Co. used a colored chalkboard to boast of its hard ciders, I decided to take the plunge and sample the dry-hopped cider. It was bright and full of green apple flavor. I fell in love instantly. 

Four Day Ray, a new brewery planned to settle in Fishers this fall, has a coffee blonde that they offer at brewfests that I always take advantage of. I love stouts and coffee, chocolate anything. However, to pair a coffee flavor with a blonde? Breakthrough. It was creamy, and the hint of coffee paired with the wheat color of the beer was a perfect pair. 

In between my marathon of beer sampling, I took full advantage of the food trucks conveniently parked around the event. Limonez Catering made a mean pork tamale. Cosmic Chrome Café served an interesting take on a vegetarian loaded mac and cheese with okra, beans and more. 

The 78’ s, Twin Cats and Angela Mckinney Live provided the music. It was cold and windy, and I almost wish some of the breweries would have sold gloves instead of T-shirts. I can’t wait for next year’s Rock the Junction!