Scenes from the 2nd Annual Bloomington Craft Beer Festival

Starting a beer event from scratch is always a tricky proposition. (Anyone remember Hops for Pops?) While the math seems easy enough (Beer = People), the summer months provide plenty in the way of entertainment options, and weather is always a wildcard. Last year's Bloomington Craft Beer Festival, an outdoor event held at the beautiful Woolery Mill, had most of the right ingredients. But as most first time beer events go, attendance was not as strong as the organizers might have hoped.


At Saturday's 2nd Annual Bloomington Craft Beer Festival, a few things fell into place. The now-finished venue allowed for covered Mill building space, the weather was hot but not unbearably so, and the ever-expanding Indiana brewery scene meant there was plenty of opportunity to not just drink, but to converse with the folks behind the beer.


We spent the day behind the Brugge table, pouring samples of Black, Tripel de Ripple, and Peony - a new chardonnay-barrel-aged Brugge sour. Attendees looked to be enjoying themselves, with an almost full showing of Indiana breweries on display, along with out-of-state tables from festival sponsor World Class Beverages. We also saw new breweries such as Columbus' Zwangzigs and Whiting's Bulldog Brewing Company.


I suspect that this year's event has proven that there's enough momentum to keep this event going. We look forward to its continuing growth, and our continued attendance.