Flat 12 Bierwerks<\/strong>. The Indianapolis brewer had 17 taps flowing, 13 of which had a unique spin. With their Pogue\u2019s Run Porter, they used 7 different yeast strains to come up with distinct flavors. And their crisp golden ale Hinchtown Hammer Down was infused five different ways, from black cherry to cranberry and pomegranate. Their willingness to take chances made it a fun and adventurous stop for anyone.<\/p>\nAnd speaking of creative, it was tough to top ZwanzigZ Brewing<\/strong>. The Columbus, Ind. pizzeria expanded to include a brewery 3 years ago and owners Kurt and Lisa Zwanzig brought in Mike Rybinski, formerly of Walter Payton\u2019s Roundhouse in Aurora, to lead those brewing efforts. The Siebel Institute grad has won three golds in the World Beer Cup and that experience showed in their Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate ale, which smelled and tasted just like you\u2019d imagine. And their Nullius In Verba, maybe an American Strong Ale, maybe a blend of a lot of things, I\u2019m still not quite sure, but I liked it a lot. Spicy, fruity, sweet, funk, just a whole lot of goodness going on. And there was a wait all day to get a taste of their ghost pepper ale \u2013 which brought all of the kick you might expect. All I know is that if the pizza is remotely close to the quality of the beer, ZwanzigZ is worth a road trip south.<\/p>\nAlso pouring impressive stuff was 4-month-old Wooden Bear<\/strong> out of Greenfield. They delivered a trio of Russian Imperial Stouts \u2013 one brewed with coffee, another with chili pepper and a killer combo of chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla \u2013that is sure to have me visiting their 3,000 square foot tap room inside the 120-year-old Gant Opera House.<\/p>\nThe three-year-old Bulldog Brewery<\/strong> in Whiting \u2013 a chip shot away from the Chicago city limits \u2013 impressed with a double chocolate oatmeal stout aged for two months in Journeyman Distillery barrels, making me regret not visiting them more often when stopping by my in-laws down the street.<\/p>\nAnother new Northwest Indiana brewer, Michigan City\u2019s Burn \u2018Em Brewing<\/strong>, continues to turn heads with unique offerings, this time with an awesomely sweet raspberry vanilla porter on cask, while LaPorte\u2019s Back Road Brewing turned out a unique red rye \u2013 brewed with 10-1\/2 pounds of bacon \u2013 which was surprisingly smooth, with little smoky taste.<\/p>\nOaken Barrel<\/strong> poured a phenomenal 2009 barleywine aged in port barrels. And I couldn\u2019t have been happier to see Triton Brewing<\/strong> bring back its Hatchblower Pepper IPA \u2013 a beer I was introduced to at last year\u2019s fest and have yearned for since.<\/p>\nI came back twice for Bloomington Brewing Company\u2019s<\/strong> winter ale \u2013 a blend of cinnamon, vanilla and orange aged in whiskey barrels that was one of my favorites of the day. The brand-new Danny Boy Beer Works<\/strong> in Carmel drew raves for its Rock-n-Rolla Double IPA and its scotch ale infused with James-aged French oak chips, as did Chapman\u2019s<\/strong> Russian Imperial Oatmeal Stout (RIOS).<\/p>\nAnd while Lexington, Kentucky’s Country Boy Brewing<\/strong> is known for their minimally processed beers that use local fruits, vegetables and hops, they came up north and delivered an awesome pair of barrel-aged beers that were good enough that my planned February trip to the Bourbon Trail will be extended a few miles just to stop by their brewpub.<\/p>\nAnd who\u2019d have thought a homebrewer\u2019s club \u2013 Indianapolis-based Midwestern Order of Ninkasi (MONK)<\/strong> would turn out such an awesome Belgian quad at 10.9% ABV? But that\u2019s one of the amazingly cool, unexpected finds at this fest.<\/p>\nI never made it to Daredevil<\/strong>, much as I wanted, nor Bare Hands<\/strong> and their ridiculous assortment of stouts (raspberry, peanut butter, then PB&J among them) nor Iechyd Da<\/strong> or Evil Czech<\/strong>, both of which I keep hearing great things about.<\/p>\nBut that\u2019s what happens at a beer festival \u2013 you wait in line or you don\u2019t, you wander and find undiscovered gems, miss some and discover others. And doing it all without feeling crowded or overwhelmed is the best part of all.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The non-profit Guild is pouring its revenues from the Fest into its legislative, promotional and educational efforts, with a percentage of proceeds going to Joy\u2019s House, an adult daycare facility in Indianapolis.<\/p>\nWell done, Brewers Guild of Indiana, well done. Though it\u2019s a longer drive south, I\u2019ve already got April\u2019s Bloomington Craft Beer Festival marked on the calendar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From a rye ale brewed with bacon to dozens of stout variations and everything in between. if it was funky, Steve sampled it at the 2015 Winterfest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":17533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[911],"yoast_head":"\n
Bacon Beer, Stouts and Homebrew Wow at Winterfest | GDB<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n