05 Aug You Don’t Have To Travel Far To Find A Way Out Beer Fest
by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap
Beer festivals are back, boy! Ticket sales for festivals have been beyond belief so far in the summer of 2021, with record crowds at all of the Indiana On Tap festivals so far – and a 5500 person festival at Indiana Beach coming up in September. Heck, the only problem has been that several vendors have pulled out of events due to a lack of staffing.
Most beer fests are just beer fests, and that’s fine; people are loving those. But some festivals go the extra step to have a niche, a draw, a specialty. And it’s here we find an upcoming festival on August 21 – the Way Out Beer Fest at Pax Verum Brewing in Lapel (908 Main St., 3:30-7:30pm). Get tickets now at wayoutbeer.com.
The Sour, Wild, Funk Fest had its sour beers, Hops & Coaster Drops will have the amusement rides, Brews on Buckeye has the late night light & music show, and Pumpkin Beer Fest has its….well, pumpkin beers. The Way Out Beer Fest is unique in that each brewery will be bringing at least one “way out” beer, something off the wall and perhaps barrier breaking. As owners/brewers Jason and Doug told me, “Way Out is a state of mind for us as well as our location it would seem. We love being “out there” so why not have a Way Out Beer Fest for all to enjoy!!”
The Pax Verum taproom will be part of the festival and afterparty. image credit: Pax Verum
The “way out” part of the Way Out Beer Fest is indeed a bit of a double entendre, it has the way out beers, and Lapel is located way out there. It’s a rustic location – one of those very small towns with a great brewery. Heck, you can walk across the entire downtown on a single breath (population 2000)! On the other hand, there’s definitely smaller towns with breweries (Wawaka, anyone?), and Lapel really isn’t that way out there (only 20 miles from NE Indy), but it works for the festival name.
This August 21 should have been the 2nd Way Out Beer Fest, but 2020 happened and now we finally get to see what way out beer looks like. Over twenty-five breweries will be on hand to pour samples of their beers for you all the way down Main Street in Lapel and in the beer garden. VIP ticket holders will also have access to the taproom during the festival, but everyone gets in for the afterparty.
So – what does a Way Out Beer Fest consist of? Here’s a rundown of the things going on:
Beer Samples from Breweries: Great Indiana breweries (and a distillery) will be on hand with their seasonal releases and some truly way out beers. Look for offerings from host Pax Verum Brewing, Hotel Tango Distillery in Indianapolis, Elm Street Brewing of Muncie, Terre Haute Brewing, 2Toms Brewing of Fort Wayne, Primeval Brewing in Noblesville, Windmill Brewing out of Dyer, Tarnished Hollow Brewing – a homebrewer extraordinaire from Noblesville, Afterburner Brewing of Terre Haute, The Guardian Brewing in Muncie, 450 North Brewing outside Columbus, Black Dog Brewing in Mooresville, Sugar Creek Malt Co. from Lebanon, Field Brewing and Grand Junction Brewing in Westfield, 3 Floyds Brewing of Munster, Bare Hands Brewery from Granger, The Devil’s Trumpet Brewing in Merrillville, Moontown Brewing Company in Whitestown, Burn ‘Em Brewing of Michigan City, Bad Dad Brewing from Fairmount, and Evil Czech Brewery from Mishawaka.
To go with all those interesting beers, there’ll be a new and interesting way in which to enjoy them. Look for Thicc Bois Glass at Way Out Beer Fest. Their artist made glasses are high end, innovative, beautiful, but yet functional. They have been invited to many of the most prestigious festival around the country (Drekkerfest, Wakefest, Tampa Bay Beer Week), so it’s great to have them at WOBF.
image credit: Pax Verum Brewing
Way Out Beer Brewery Contest: Each attendee will be given two tickets or tokens as they enter the festival and each brewery will have a container into which they can place a ticket (vote). Near the end of the festival, the tickets will be counted and a champion Way Out Brewery will be named, with all the recognition, cheezy swag and the ridiculous trophy that comes with the honor. It’s sure to be a coveted award that will grow in honor and prestige.
They may be way out there, but these won’t be strange offerings just for the sake of being strange. Every brewery takes pride in what they put out to the public and will be sure that it pleases both the attendees and themselves. As Doug said, “We like to push the boundaries on brewing beer but at the end of the day you know you’re drinking a beer.”
Music: Anyone who is familiar with Pax Verum knows that they take their music as seriously as they take their beer. It’s especially true for vinyl; they spin platters constantly in the taproom. As such, it’s no surprise that DJ Dan Omega will be on hand during the festival blasting vinyl only as the event DJ. He’ll be stationed in the park across the street from Pax Verum, but that leaves a bit of space in the beer garden for some different music at the same time. Look for The Booze Hounds to knock out some great bluegrass during the festival as well. Finally, the after party will bounce the house with the great local rock cover band, Phyllis. Is that serious enough music for you?
Special Beer Releases: Along with the beers they will be serving for the event, Pax Verum has cooked up some special releases on the day of the festival. The imperial fruited sour called Karmic Wealth was made for the original WOBF and will be on tap for the event now. Jason said, “Karmic has been released but only on a smaller scale compared to our other beers. Really wanting to present it in a bigger way at the festival.”
The Karmic Wealth label for release on the same day as Way Out Beer Fest. image credit: Pax Verum Brewing
But wait, there’s more special beer that day from Pax Verum. A terpine infused variant of the Velvety Kush NE IPA is planned, as is a lemon/lime saison that is a collaboration between Burn ‘Em Brewing and Pax Verum, and for you seltzer fans, a special hard seltzer will be debuted at the festival.
Food: Beer goes better with food, so Way Out Beer Fest will have some way out food available too. Daddio’s BBQ of Madison County will have their specialty smoked and grilled meats along with their homemade side dishes. In addition, Samano’s Mexican Food from Noblesville and Fishers will have their taco truck (more than just tacos) on hand to wash down all that great beer.
Afterparty: The party just starts when the festival ends. Look for the live music to continue (Phyllis) as the beer continues to flow in the Pax Verum taproom, and the food continues to be served. Anyone who has spent an evening at Pax Verum knows that even the most average of nights is a party, so a festival after party is sure to be a blow out.
We’re in the middle of a beer fest lover’s dream period with so many festivals in August, September, and October, so people do have choices about where and when they choose to attend a festival. Some festivals do compete with one another for attendees, but as with politics, all festivals are local. The vast majority of attendees live within 10-15 miles of the event they attend, so when you can break that barrier and bring people in from farther away, you’re doing something right. Way Out Beer Fest is bringing in attendees from all over Indiana, so that should tell you that this is likely going to be a very memorable event. Get your tickets and be part of a new kind of festival.
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