Craft brewing has the spotlight at the 8th Annual Crown Beer Fest at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
More Top Picks Planter Boxe
Featuring food and live music, the craft-beer bash is set to offer about 200 brews on June 10.
“If you’re a craft beer lover, this is for you,” said Barb Smrecansky, brand development manager for Crown Brewing in Crown Point. “We expect about 3,000 people to be here.”
Hosted by Crown Brewing, the celebration of malts and hops is scheduled to welcome 50 breweries.
Smrecansky’s business is one of them.
“We’re going to have 12 beers on tap,” she noted.
Among those offerings will be Alkoholika Dopplebock and the “hoppy” Special Forces IPA, which stands as Crown Brewing’s flagship IPA, according to Smrecansky.
Also part of the dozen scheduled for pouring are Grand Poobah Russian Imperial Stout and The Dude, a white Russian java porter that is Crown Brewing’s top seller.
With 50 breweries represented, Crown Beer Fest ranks as “a craft beer lover’s dream,” Smrecansky said in a press release.
The showcase for microbreweries brings in beer makers from various states in the Midwest.
One of the out-of-state beer makers slated to attend is the Saugatuck Brewing Co. of Michigan.
Ironwood Brewing Co. of Valparaiso will be among the local beer producers that offer selections of their handiwork.
For instance, Anak — a barleywine style brew — is being brought in.
“It’s a malty beer, it’s not a hoppy beer,” Barbara Kehe, Ironwood Brewing owner, said.
Dark in coloration, Anak is scheduled to be accompanied at the fest by Ironwood’s Catkin pale ale.
“It has a good hop character,” Kehe noted.
Located at 6 Roosevelt Road, Ironwood Brewing opened for business in August 2013, according to its website, which also states that local ingredients used in the brewing process have included blueberries, cherries, honey and hops.
Kehe said her brewery participates in a minimal number of beer fests, but said the Crown Beer bash provides a good, appropriate forum for her business.
“My customers go there,” she noted.
Kehe also said that she connects with the fest’s host brewery: “I like the people at Crown (Brewing).”
Other Northwest Indiana brewers participating at Crown Beer Fest include 3 Floyds Brewing Co. of Munster, Wildrose Brewing of Griffith, and Burn ‘Em Brewing of Michigan City, according to promotional material for the Crown Point-area event.
VIP tickets for $75 are sold out. Holders of those tickets have early 1:30 p.m. access to the fest, which has general-admission hours of 2:30 to 6 p.m.
General admission is $35, and includes unlimited sampling and a collector’s tasting glass.
Designated driver tickets are $20, and also include a collector’s tasting glass, plus unlimited sodas.
Diversity in sampling opportunities is the basic watchword for the fest, as lovers of craft-industry fare can traipse amid beer styles that cover porters, lagers, stouts — and more.
In addition to the libations that are available, food vendors will offer fare that includes pizza, pierogi, and chili, according to Smrecansky.
More Top Picks Best Sleep Earbuds For Listening
Hailing from Northwest Indiana, the eclectic Fresh Hops will dispense their jam-band sounds as a host of breweries present their product inside the 4-H and Industrial buildings.
A portion of the proceeds from Crown Beer Fest benefits Crown Point’s St. Jude House, a family violence prevention center and a shelter for victims of domestic violence and their dependent children.
Bob Kostanczuk is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
8th Annual Crown Beer Fest
Where: Lake County Fairgrounds, 889 S. Court St., Crown Point
When: 1:30 to 6 p.m. June 10; general-admission entry at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets: Designated Driver $20; General admission $35
Information: 219-663-4545, http://www.crownbeerfest.com