Stephanie Dolan

https://lemonwire.com/2017/11/03/hoppy-halloween-craft-beer-fest-pleasant-surprise/ Hoppy Halloween Craft Beer Fest a pleasant surprise By Stephanie Dolan When you go to an inaugural event (and if you’re at all realistic) you don’t always expect things to run seamlessly. There’s almost always some kind of unexpected last-minute hitch in the proceedings that either slows things down or brings the event to a momentary halt. This typically happens before things even really get started, so it’s not as noticeable as if – for example – you’re an hour into a “first-of-its-kind” brew fest only to have the power in the event space go out entirely. Yeah. Try stumbling your way out of a massive meeting hall along with 1,000 other “I’m not drunk – you’re drunk!” cranky, thirsty beer lovers. The point: it’s not always convenient – or even pleasant – but sometimes things just happen. Sometimes, the only way to learn how to pull off a great event is to keep tugging, so to speak, until issues just “give.” Sometimes that process takes a year – because planning for a new annual event takes at least that long in its inception and development- – and sometimes it takes a few years before all the kinks are worked out entirely. Whether by very thorough design, or simply happy accident, the inaugural Hoppy Halloween Craft Beer Fest, presented by Indiana On Tap, went off without any kind of hitch whatsoever… at least to the untrained eye. In spite of surprisingly frigid temperatures even for late October, the festival was packed and truly “hopping” as soon as the non-existent doors opened in the Claddagh parking lot at the Shops at Perry Crossing in Plainfield. Hundreds of craft beer lovers lined up at more than 25 brewery stalls ready for a sudsy taste of what the day had to offer. “It’s been really great, and the weather has not put a damper on the spirit of things at all,” Indiana On Tap founder Justin Knepp said. “We’ve already welcomed about 1,000 people.” While Knepp said he was a fan of each and every brewery on the blacktop, he did reserve a special place in his heart – – and his liver–for the most local of local breweries. “I love them all,” Knepp said. “But a local favorite is certainly Brew Link.” Brew Link is Plainfield’s first craft brewery and has been very popular with the locals and local travelers alike, who often come out from Indianapolis just for a pint of Plainfield’s best. Hoppy Halloween was conceived by Ruari Crabbe, co-owner of Plainfield’s Brew Link, and Plainfield Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Brad Dubois. The idea was turned over to Indiana On Tap, a craft beer media marketing and events company, for development and thus… Hoppy Halloween rose up like the Great Pumpkin (Ale) that was served in the Brew Link tent during the event. “We’ve handled every single detail of putting this together,” Knepp said. “We’ve been blown away by the interest. This is going to be an event that we plan on bringing back to Plainfield year after year.” DuBois added, “Ruari talked to me about it, and then we met with Justin. I wanted to start a craft brew festival a few years ago but never found the right venue.” Crabbe said he had also been wanting to put on this type of festival in Hendricks County for some time. “We approached Justin and here we are,” Dubois said. “These are the kinds of things that people want to go to.” Other participating establishments were Bier Brewery, Centerpoint Brewing, Daredevil Brewing, Metazoa Brewing, New Corner Brewing, Noble Order Brewing, Rock Bottom Brewery, Round Town Brewery, Taxman Brewing, Circle City Zymurgy, Rhoades Beverage, Deer Creek Brewing, Route 2 Brews, Garden Party Botanical Hard Soda, Mogul Vodka, Planetary Brewing, Cardinal Spirits, PRP Wines, Kind Kombucha and Chateau Thomas Winery. Yet, beer in its usual form wasn’t the only way for attendees to enjoy craft beer at the festival. “I’ve been baking with beer since 1998,” Laura Turvey of Tipsy Turvey Pubcakes said. “I love to make cupcakes. I have five of the breweries that are here today represented in the cupcakes I have for sale. Brew Link beer has been used in two cupcake flavors as well as in two different cookies.” Turvey said the craft beer movement has brought a lot of unique flavors to beer. “These are funky, crazy flavors that go along really well with cupcakes too,” she said. For more information on Hoppy Halloween, visit the website at hoppyhalloweenfest.com.