South Bend Brewfest Recap

After several days of cold and rain, the clouds finally parted, making way for the sun to shine down on hundreds of craft beer fans during yesterday's South Bend Brewfest at the Century Center. This highly anticipated festival included well over 100 beers to sample from over two dozen breweries from around the country and world.

Just a few of the local and regional breweries represented include Bell's, Founders, 3 Floyds, Four Horsemen, Bare Hands, Iechyd Da (kinda, but more on that later), Greenbush, Figure 8 and Backroad. On top of those great local favorites were many imported beers along with home-brew demonstrations and the Michiana Extract and Grain (MEGA) group talking all things beer.

Covering this event primarily from a blogger perspective, I only sampled a few select beers that I've not had the opportunity to try yet. First up was a silky smooth Chocolate Stout from Bare Hands that tasted exactly as the name suggested, chocolatey and thoroughly delicious. Although I've yet to come across a Pumpkin flavored beer that I like, I took a sip of their Pumpkin Ale... yep, still not a fan. In addition to enjoying the Chocolate Stout, people seemed to really like the Double IPA, Pale Ale and ThaI.P.A. Chris is a great guy that brews some fantastic beer, so look for Bare Hands to open in Granger before the end of the year!

Next up was a visit to another favorite local brewery, Greenbush. Although Scott (Brewer/Owner) was unable to attend, the rockstar women of Greenbush represented the brewery well. Their tap list included many of the same great beers from their Fiddler's Hearth invasion on October 12th such as Dungras, Anger, Pain and more. Dunegras IPA has evaded me since they opened over the summer, so this was my chance to savor every delicious hopped-up drop. If you haven't made it up to Sawyer, MI yet, what are you waiting for?  

Of course I couldn't pass up stopping by to see my friends Ben and Stephen at Four Horsemen. Having already sampled many of their offerings, I wanted to try the fabled Raspberry Ale that was rumored to be an accident turned success. Generally speaking, I'm not typically a fruity beer kind of guy, but I enjoyed this one quite a bit. Light, slightly tart and very refreshing, this "accident" would be an awesome way to cap a hot summer day. Ben mentioned that they are considering brewing this again in the future.

Finally after scheduling conflicts prevented a visit to new kids on the block (but certainly not new to brewing), Iechyd Da from Elkhart, it was great to stop by and talk to owners Chip and Summer Lewis. Unfortunately due to some ridiculous excise rule, Iechyd Da was unable to pour their beer for all to enjoy, but it was nice to spend time talking beer and plans to open their brewery/tasting room in Elkhart during the 2nd quarter of next year. Look for a post sometime in the next few weeks regarding an upcoming visit!

 

We could not have asked for a nicer day to sample beers from all over the country! Special thanks to Ben Amster of Indiana Beer, the Century Center and all involved for putting on such a great event. What was your favorite beer and/or brewery from Saturday?