Of quality vs. quantity: A recap of Fishers On Tap 2014.

I wasn't able to make it to Fishers on Tap this year, but I worked last year's inaugural event, and had many of the same observations as Donovan Wheeler in his piece at Indiana On Tap. It is a delightful gathering staged by folks who are actively considering quality vs quantity, and running their show accordingly.

Plainly, there isn't enough introspection in "craft" beerland as to the relative merits of beer festivals. There seem to be plenty of willing customers, seas of beer to be consumer, and much money to be made (where it goes is a variable story). However, the customarily stated rationale of "education" can be elusive when crowds are trampling fences to urinate behind bushes in the absence of sufficient port-a-lets.

“Back in the ‘90’s,” said Broad Ripple Brewery’s John Treeter, “all brew fests were like this. Bigger events are just drunk fests, but here you can interact with the patrons…and with other brewers.” Treeter’s last comment echoed with a rising inflection, emphasizing the enjoyment brewers feel when they get to talk about their work with their competitors.

There is a disconnect in "craft" beer, in the sense of "craft" brewers having the time (in some cases, the willingness) to explain exactly what me mean by "craft," not be reference to barrels produced, but what exactly is artisanal about what we do. Whatever one's intentions, a beer festival attended by 5,000 drinkers probably isn't the best place for that. It doesn't mean it's a bad thing. Just different.

Wheeler's essay is thoughtful and well written. Here's to Fishers on Tap; good job, guys.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY: A LOOK BACK AT FISHERS ON TAP CRAFT BEER FEST AND THE CHOICE TO BE DIFFERENT

A VIP and an IBU walk into a beer fest ... and our day at Fishers on Tap.

Yesterday's Fishers on Tap in Indianapolis ran the requisite VIP hour at the beginning, followed by three hours of general admission. But rather than waxing egregious, the VIP portion at Fishers offered the opportunity for attendees to pair Indiana beers with food from local restaurants. The food presenters stopped serving when general admission began, but food trucks (Indy has such a culture; I imagine Floyd County's Health Department prevents it here) began.

The Fishers event was very good in all respects, and a veritable model for how a small outdoor beer fest should find its opening legs. There was a refreshing absence of geek samplers tethered to Untappd, and no roving bands of 22-year-old males asking for the highest alcohol content. There was a surfeit of locals, considerable community spirit, and a mellow vibe all around -- and the band Soul Street was the best music I've ever heard at such a beer fest.

Kudos to the organizers. Here's my column at LouisvilleBeer.com for June 15.

A VIP and an IBU walk into a beer fest

I went to my first rock concert at the age of 15 in 1975. The venue was Louisville Gardens, and the band was Chicago, which had made it only to IX at the time and wasn’t yet overtly pop. Tickets were $7 in advance, and $8 “on the day of show.”

My most recent name brand concert was the Who at Yum Center in February. Tickets cost somewhere around $75 after Ticketmaster’s various digital anal probes, but for a mere $750 (maybe more; who can remember a spare zero or three?) I might have tithed myself into position backstage as a VIP, fed organic Black Sea caviar with a coke spoon formerly wielded by the late, great Keith Moon, and exchanged pre-curtain pleasantries with Pete Townshend just prior to him ceremonially smashing his guitar atop my tonsure – although it occurs to me that fretboard abuse cost an extra C-note, of which I keep plenty around to light cigars.