So You Want To Be A Great Craft Beer Fan – Ways to Pave the Road to Success

27 Jun So You Want To Be A Great Craft Beer Fan – Ways to Pave the Road to Success

by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap

It’s no great secret that craft breweries are rowing upstream in rough waters right now. Indiana hasn’t seen a huge number of closures, but every shuttered brewery is a loss to the community. And you only have to look as far as Chicago to witness some true carnage (at least 15 in the metropolitan area this year alone). Windmill Brewing in Dyer is a coming loss, and while their demise is multi-factorial, the timing is highlighted by some cumbersome road construction.

What’s the longest piece of pavement in Indiana without any construction? The IMS loop. I’m pretty sure they’re going to change the state motto to “Road Closed Ahead.” Believe it or not, this is an important issue for the state’s breweries, wineries, & distilleries. Like most things in life, alcohol isn’t a necessity (present company excepted), so it is one of the first things to be forsaken if there are difficulties, with your finances or your ability to get there.

image credit: Primeval Brewing

If getting to a brewery becomes difficult, perhaps you will just choose not take on the burden of the traffic and parking. But… does that mean the breweries can just get along without you and your patronage? No! At a certain point, road construction definitely cuts into the bottom line.

One of the truly stellar breweries in Indiana is in the midst of a traffic nightmare, with the added kick to the crotch of some newly opened competition (restaurants and bars) in their immediate area. Primeval Brewing in Noblesville is on Logan Street, which currently resembles a third world, bombed out, catastrophe with a missing bridge. The current iteration of work is a couple weeks into a 90 day project, but before that, the street closures were just one block further south and had the same effect of snarling all downtown traffic.

The brewery is great, and the downtown is more than worth seeing. Primeval is just half a block off courthouse square, where they have car shows (usually), and is surrounded by unique shops. Noblesville is a great day trip and will be well worth your time. And visiting now is important than ever.

Profit margins for a brewery aren’t large (or even medium), and if people find it difficult to park or drive to your place, they’ll just wait until the construction is done before they come buy beer again. Fine for the patron – but it could mean the difference between profitability and a quarterly loss (or worse) to a brewery.

Nathan and Tim, owners of Primeval Brewing. image credit: Primeval Brewing

A couple of new restaurants have opened up near Primeval that aren’t affected as badly by the construction, and that, along with hell that Logan Street driving and parking has become, have left Primeval in a quandary. How do they get people into their taproom – when it’s harder to get there and isn’t going to get better for a good while?

This is where you can help. You love beer, and you love good beer, so you are likely a big fan of Primeval Brewing. They make “to style” European beers that have won medals and made fans all over. So why not visit them, especially now when the road gods are conspiring against them. It’s great beer and you’ll be supporting a great bunch of people. You have a few beers, learn about the brewery and the town of Noblesville, and I guarantee that you’ll want to go back. They have food, they have TVs, they have branded merch, they do private events…. there’s lots of ways you can support them by coming in now.

Yes, it’s a bit more work to get to Primeval right now. But if you go now when it’s a hassle, you’ll be so happy when the road work is done and it’s a breeze to get there. And it doesn’t have to be Primeval Brewing – all craft breweries are having a tough time right now, whether it be from road construction, increased costs, changing drinking habits…. be a craft beer fan, make a difference, go visit. Or as a substitute, buy their beer in distribution, go online to buy gift cards, like their posts, etc. There are many ways to help – but nothing is as good as making the effort to visit.

BTW, keep your eye on Indiana On Tap’s Facebook page. We’ll be doing a few Primeval Brewing gift card giveaways to help prime the pump.