Ultimate 6er | Road Trip Regional Edition: Midwest

Join us as we road trip across the United States in what is to be a follow-up article to the Craft Beer Across America article. In that article, we explored a craft beer from every state (excluding districts and territories) to showcase some of the unknown, or lesser-known, craftier beers that the U.S. craft beer scene has to offer. While that article focused mainly on the beers, this article focuses on specific breweries from a region we think would be fun to visit. We’re going to sprinkle in a couple of bigger craft breweries in each six-brewery regional section just to help spread the word for some of the not-so-big breweries in the mix.

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3 Floyds Permanently Closes Munster, IN Brewpub

3 Floyds Brewing first announced an indefinite closing of their Munster, IN facility back in May, and it now seem as if that closure has become permanent. In a letter … Read More

Windmill Brewing | Mema Colada

In 1979, Rupert Holmes released his defining hit and lyrical earworm “Escape.” The song was an immediate hit, rising to prominence and becoming the last U.S. No. 1 song of the 1970s. While Homes would go on to win two Tony Awards, the defining song of his career is better known by its alternate name the Pina Colada song.

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A Drinker’s Guide to Griffith, Indiana

While I can’t say anything bad about the Chicago beer scene (we DO have the most breweries per capita), everything else about this city is exhausting, to say the least. From the rampant corruption, violent crime, high taxes and crumbling infrastructure, there is no shortage of issues that make a resident of Cook County want to drink. When I am in need for some fresh air, fresh ale and small-town charm, my day drinking location of choice has always been my hometown: Griffith, IN, located right over the border, 30 minutes south of Chicago.

Griffith’s downtown has the charm of a small town, but also the amenities of some of Chicago’s most sought-after neighborhoods. It’s no wonder people are leaving Illinois in record numbers; many of them are moving here. Real estate is hot and the secret is out—Griffith is a pretty hip(ster) place to be. The town of 17,000 now boasts a small but bustling downtown complete with a bowling alley (with a large outdoor patio area), gourmet popcorn shop, meat market, coffee house, arcade bar, vegan hair salon and three microbreweries. All of the three microbreweries are within a short walking distance from one another with plenty of cool local businesses between to browse, shop or grab a snack to soak up some of Griffith’s fine local beer. On a personal note, I grew up here (my most of my family still lives here) so this small town and its breweries have a special place in my liver. It’s my pleasure to bring you a drinker’s walking guide of downtown Griffith, IN.

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The OGs of Craft Beer | 3 Floyds Zombie Dust

Long before people chased down the haziest IPAs that stay fresh for two weeks or the sweetest pastry stouts with ingredients that you’d never expect would make it into a beer, craft beer enthusiasts chased 3 Floyds Zombie Dust. 

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Wooden Bear Brewing | Barrel-Aged Midnight Mauler

One night shortly after my mother-in-law moved to the small town of Greenfield, Indiana, I found myself itching to explore the area. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot in the way of craft beer, but I was pleasantly surprised.

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Brewery Showcase | Saint Benedict’s Brew Works

Featured image courtesy of David Nilsen

I had never met a nun before. That feels important to establish at the outset.

Though I grew up religious, the spiritual instruction of my youth came mostly from non-denominational preachers with overactive sweat glands and a predilection toward sermons about the end times rather than from black-clad Catholic nuns. So I had no idea what to expect when my wife and I arrived at Monastery Immaculate Conception, home of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana. I was there to interview Bruce Luecke, the brewmaster at Saint Benedict’s Brew Works, the only brewery in the country housed on the grounds of a women’s religious community. The graceful but imposing dome of the monastery’s century-old chapel rose above us on a hill as we stepped out of our car in front of the Kordes Center, the monastery’s guest lodging facility. The brewery was nowhere in sight as we entered the doors of the retreat center.
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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

Laws, laws and more laws. All around the country, states are scrambling to either put more restrictions on the brewing industry or introduce legislation to support it. Find out if your state is moving forwards or backwards with all of the details in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

World of Beer is hiring interns to drink all summer, Burger King UK will soon sell beer, and Delaware tries to modernize their liquor laws. We’ve got all the beer news you’ve been craving, now it’s time to enjoy. Sit back, relax, and read up on the details in this edition of the Weekly Growler Fill.

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Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

Drinking beer may slow down Alzheimer’s, MillerCoors will keep calling Blue Moon ‘craft’, and breweries are raising all kinds of money for charity. These are stories you need … Read More

Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

3 Floyds Makes Dark Lord Day Pro-Gay With Big Freedia Show

3 Floyds Brewing Co. really knows how to stick it to the man. Especially when that man is Indiana Gov. … Read More

Time to Move Major Sporting Events from Indiana

It’s incredibly disturbing and ass-backwards that a column like this must be written in this day and age, but when the governor of Indiana signs a bill that could potentially allow businesses to discriminate against the LGBT community it seems you have little choice.

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Scarlet Lane Brewing Company | Dorian Stout

Scarlet Lane Brewing Company is one of the newest breweries to enter the Indy metro landscape, and they have come on the scene guns blazing. Their original lineup really impressed me … Read More

Sun King Brewing Co. | Grapefruit Jungle

Sun King is Indianapolis’ oldest and largest production brewery and they just turned five years old! Like all five year olds, there had to be a party. Sun King didn’t … Read More

Upland Brewing Company | Peach Lambic

According to the Presidents of the United States of America, peaches come from a can, but Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington, Indiana is proving that peaches can come in a bottle too. Upland is famous throughout the US for their fruited lambic style beers. Lambics are a style from Belgium that is normally a low abv beer that is incredibly tart. The fruit is used to cut the tartness and add a little bit of sweet fruit flavor. Upland’s lambics have become so popular that they’ve had to implement a lottery system. You have to enter to win the opportunity to buy their beer. They just released a peach and persimmon version. Read More

Weekly Growler Fill | National Beer News Roundup

I’ve scoured the internet far and wide (with the help from some other Porch Drinkers) to bring you this week’s beer news. We’ve got updates on laws – some good, some bad – a list of some fun beer names, tips on brewing, and a great SNL skit of Rick Perry. How could it get any better? Read More

Sun King Brewery | Fistful of Hops

6.5 ABV, 77 IBU

Welcome to Indiana, home to my back porch. I’m excited to bring all the fermented wonders that this great state has to offer to you PorchDrinkers. Around here Sun … Read More

Flat 12 Bierworks – Walkabout APA

ABV: 5.3%
IBU: 40

Pinewood Social isn’t really a place you go to drink beer. In fact, ordering beer there always feels like a little bit of a cop-out, like I don’t understand what the restaurant does, or at least what the restaurant does best: cocktails. But, guys, sometimes I just want a beer. And I want an APA or an IPA or some combination of a PA with an IPAEDLFSOIWEUR. You know, sometimes you just want a beer?

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