Pints for Half Pints Unites Local Breweries For STEM Education

(Ed. note: this story has been updated to reflect Broad Ripple Brewpub’s participation in the event 10/27/2015)

On October 2nd the Broad Ripple Kiwanis Club pulled together some of the most popular craft brewers in the state to feature their 4th annual Pints for Half Pints at the Speak Easy in southern Broad Ripple. The Speak Easy, as many of you know, is quickly becoming a “trading post” for beer lovers; not a place for people to actually purchase good craft beer but more of a place where like-minded guys and gals can commune over their mutual love of a frothy pint (or whatever size your drink is).

This event hosted a few of my personal favorites, Upland and Bier. Along with them I was able to enjoyBlind Owl, Outliers, Thr3e Wisemen, Metazoa, as well as Broad Ripple Brewpub, who will be celebrating their 25th anniversary here soon! All these breweries were willing to donate their beer free of charge (or damn near it) because they believe in the cause. I have to make a special note to Bier, who has been supporting the event since it was first held at their brewery four years ago. Prost guys!

Speaking of the cause, Pints for Half Pints supports an often overlooked part of our educational system. You may have heard of the S.T.E.M. Initiative (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics). The idea behind this bold action is to enable “the U.S. to remain the economic and technological leader of the global marketplace of the 21st century” (according to stemedcoalition.org). The members of the Broad Ripple Kiwanis Club believe these industries need more attention in our schools than they are currently receiving.

In the last 3 years this event has allowed to BRKC to fund many STEM related projects around the city. According to the event organizer, Mary Anne Beck, these included such projects as local science clubs, one-on-one tutoring, robotics research/clubs, and providing much needed science materials to local schools. The event brought in approximately 350 people (at the time of my interview with her), nearly maxing out the Speak Easy with a crowd of people who were eager to drink great beer, hear good music, and win raffle prizes such as a tub of liquor, a basket of wine, and free lawn tickets to a show at Klipsch.

This was my last event of the year where I would be sporting my lederhosen. I always give my honest opinions about the events I go to and I can think of very little I would change. The beer was good, the band was good, the food was good, and the crowd was lively. I’ll be sure to attend next year.​