Hoosier Beer Geek is Five: The Urbanophile Stops In

As we approached our fifth birthday, I began to wonder how we'd celebrate the occasion. Last year we wrote about what the site meant to us, how much we've enjoyed ourselves, and how lucky we feel to have the friends and audience we do. Our thanks go out to anyone who's ever gave us even a moment of their day. We would have never kept at it without your support.

On the inside looking out, we hope we've made some sort of difference here in Indiana, but instead of banging our own drum, we've asked asked our friends throughout the community to write a bit about what they think of us. We were thrilled when what came back seemed to be positive.


I grew up in rural Southern Indiana where the Indianapolis I knew much of my early years was as a dot on a map. The rest of the state did not loom large in our eyes. Today it’s quite different. One of my cousins and a high school classmate are both Colts season ticket holds and Colts fandom is rampant. Another high school classmate started a winery and is very active in the state’s wine making industry. He now often travels to Indianapolis for various festivals and events.

Traditionally Indianapolis had been very cut off from the rest of the state. And while sometimes resentment of the state capital still runs high, Indy is much more connected than in years past, as my own personal story illustrates. Part of that is the result of Indy becoming a sort of “cultural commons” for the entire state, with the city increasingly a focus of statewide attention for things like pro sports and local wine making.

Another example of his has been in the state’s emerging microbrewing scene. Indy itself has fairly few of these, but the state as a whole a large number of high quality brewers, including what I think is the best brewery in the United States – Munster’s 3 Floyds.

The Hoosier Beer Geek has been a key element in binding the state’s brewing industry together and bringing knowledge of the state’s beers to Indianapolis. Rightly they focus on whatever is of the absolute best quality regardless of origin. But they’ve also championed Indiana beers, when they find them measuring up the standards of the world. This includes breweries from the furthest reaches in the state, such as their special tasting events for New Albanian.

I believe things like this are important in helping Indianapolis build and maintain connections and trust throughout the state, and lowering the barriers of resentment that have traditionally caused problems. This is of critical importance for both the success of the city and state. While HBG may be but a small element of this, it’s very significant because truly vital relationships are built not on a few single mega initiatives but a multitude of small and diverse interactions.

Congrats and best of luck to HBG in its next five years.

Aaron M. Renn
Urbanophile.com