My first festival.  I almost went to this very festival last year but the oppressive heat kept me away.  This year, however, the weather was great so I was able to make it to Opti Park located in lovely Broad Ripple, which is just north of downtown Indianapolis.  The line waiting to get in was impressive, stretching down two city blocks.  It moved quickly and soon I had my commemorative tasting glass ready to take in as much as I could.  At first, it was a bit overwhelming.  There were a lot of breweries there that I knew and loved and even more that I had never heard of.  The first stop was the Hoppalooza tent, which was serving up 20+ different IPAs.  I chose the 21st Amendment offering which was a mistake; it was overly bitter and didn’t impress me at all.  Not the best start to the day.

I then jumped into the line for Bells brewery and was happy surprised to find them serving something I hadn’t had from them.  Poolside, which is a cherry wheat beer, had a nice grapefruit color to it, but was a little too sweet for my liking.

I jumped around to several different big name breweries, at least here in Indiana.  Barley Island and Upland were definitely on the top of my list.  Barley Island was serving up a limited run Single White Friar which was exceptional.

Upland tapped their Van Winkle Bourbon Barrel Chocolate Stout which was really good.  Had so much punch but still managed to let the chocolate shine through.

Some other standouts included Sun King’s Dry Hopped Osiris Pale Ale and Left Hand’s Imperial Stout, both solid offerings.

I had an awesome time even if it was a bit exhausting standing in line all day.  Besides the tastings there was also a cornhole tournament, which I went in on next year, food, and plenty of shirts and merch to bring home.  The list of breweries was well rounded with some big hitters as well as some small local breweries, a great collection of what Indiana has to offer to the craft beer world.  If you in or around Indy next year, I highly recommend stopping by, but get your tickets in advance, the event sold out this year.