Festival features 300 beers

Where beer drinking meets an appreciation for creativity, tasty things can happen.

About 70 breweries and their crafts were on the menu Saturday at the Indiana Microbrewers Festival at the Indianapolis Art Center and Optimist Park in Broad Ripple Village.

“If you really love craft beer, you won’t miss it,” said Shalise Lee, a five-year volunteer. “It’s huge.”

She was right.

Every ticket, at a price of $40 or more, was sold.

“I’ll be here the whole time,” festivalgoer Chris Miller said. “This is where it’s at.”

And it was — 6,000 people, each wielding a three-ounce sampling glass, were ready to taste the fest’s more than 300 craft beers, poured by the brains who created them.

Indiana’s oldest brewery, Broad Ripple Brewpub, was flowing three of its eight beers on tap.

Sharon Treeter of the brewery said microbrewing allows for more experimentation and, in turn, a more unique selection of beer.

“Microbrewing is making a smaller amount than normal so there’s less risk in trying new things,” Treeter said. “There’s less commitment.”

Several not-so-obvious flavors included dark and thick ones such as coffee, oatmeal and even French toast.

Beatnik Blonde was one of the lightest beers to be found at the festival, created by Tom Hynes of Three Pints Brewing in Plainfield, Ind.

It was named for his daughter, an IU graduate.

“It’s light but complex at the same time,“ Hynes said. “Unconventional, like she is.”

Hynes’ brew Yoshi’s Nectar was named for his son, also an IU graduate, who had a knack for Nintendo.

“Beers can have personalities just like people can,” Hynes said.

Similarly, the first impression is important.

And the second, and the third.

“A good beer is consistent, no exceptions,” said Spencer Turner, a Bier Brewery employee. “The last drink has to taste like the first.”

But when it comes to what tastes good, festival attendee Peter Tanasovich said he has a less conventional philosophy.

“The more it tastes like a bad case of B.O. the better,” Tanasovich claimed. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s something about the hops.”

Fortunately his girlfriend, Courtney LaFavor, said she appreciates something a little more appetizing.

And she said she’s not shy about spending the cash to get it.

“I’ll drop 12 bucks on a single bottle if it’s good enough,” she said. “Not always, but sometimes it’s totally worth it.”

What’s worth it is a revenue of approximately $250,000 handed over by thirsty attendees.

That’s how much Saturday’s festival raked in from beer and ticket sales.

The money will be shared between the Indianapolis Art Center, Optimist Park, local breweries and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the festival’s event coordinator Jason Larrison said.

In the past the festival has raised more than $40,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and expects to have raised a similar amount this year.

“Good quality beer, friends, giving back — it’s all for a good cause,” Larrison said.