Good times and Kurtas at the Indiana Microbrewers Festival yesterday.

Yesterday was the the occasion of the 19th annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival, which as always took place in Broad Ripple, on the north side of Indianapolis. Pictured above are fellow Brewers of Indiana board members Clay Robinson (BIG president) of Sun King to the left, and Rob Caputo of Flat12 on the right. Rob did much of the heavy lifting to get this year's IMF off the ground, and deserves plenty of kudos for doing so.

I've been assigned to Rob's committee, and am about to receive a crash course in festival management. That suits me, and I'm looking forward to it. While it is my usual habit to refrain from emotional displays, I'm very proud to know Clay, Rob and the other Indiana brewers I've met during the course of my time in the business, and I'm excited and bullish about the state's prospects when it comes to better beer.

To be perfectly honest, I wore what I did for the express purpose of being photographed, and it worked as planned. The blue and purple top is called a Kurta, and the white pants a Churidar. These are customary male garments in and near the Indian subcontinent, and were purchased from Dolls of India in 2010 for my 50th birthday. I weighed 255 then, and could barely squeeze into them. Now, at 235, they fit perfectly. The plastic leis were procured at Horner's in Jeffersonville, and intended to mimic flower garlands.

I posed for several pictures, and there were two requests: "Can I touch it?" I was asked whether the Kurta was hot. It wasn't, although it was a pleasingly cool day in Indianapolis yesterday. The best comment came from a man wearing a Miller High Life t-shirt, who I later observed walking in circles, talking to himself: "So, who's the fucking wizard?"

I hope he enjoyed his vomit.

Former NABC brewer Jared Williamson displays the wares of his current employer, Schlafly of St. Louis. I'm proud of him, too, and also these guys:

From left to right, it's Ben, Eric and Tony; Josh, Peter and Blake are not shown. Combined, they did a bang-up job, and it was a smooth festival overall. We ran out of beer roughly a half hour before the end, and there were no Port-A-Let riots as in 2013.

It has been said that 80% or more of the earth's oxygen is used to complain, and I'm guilty of hoarding my share of air. When things go right, we need to celebrate. The IMF fest surely had problems, but we didn't notice many, and the vibe was pleasing and rejuvenating.

Cheers to all the participating breweries and their staffs, and to the Guild's coordinators and volunteers. Special thanks go to the 5,000 (or more) ticket buyers. Our fans keep us growing.

(Photo credits: Valerie, Dump Buckets, Stephen Hale and Alliee Bliss)

The NABC Weekend: The Ben Miller Band, rallying the rescuers and our annual guild festival.

This weekend, we'll be hearing about the Forecastle corporate music festival so often that when we go to buy knitting needles to plunge into our eyes and ears, they'll be sold out, and we'll have to make do with other varied sharp household objects.

But at least Forecastle finally got the local beer availability memo this year, even if it doesn't include NABC. Apparently the Against the Grain brewery spearheaded a local beer village vending area of some sort, while Sierra Appalachia remains the overall beer pay-to-player.

For the tragically unhip, the ranks of whom include your faithful correspondent, Kevin Gibson has suggestions for what to do instead of attending Forecastle.

Meanwhile, Jeffersonville will devote its riverfront weekend to the wonders of country music, and the jokes write themselves.

Let's see what can be salvaged from the hype and hullabaloo.

FRIDAY the 18th

Tonight (Friday, July 18), New Albany’s Bicentennial Park Summer Concert Series features the Ben Miller Band. Production Simple offers this synopsis:

Hailing from Joplin, Mo., The Ben Miller Band is a one-of-a kind trio that combines the frenetic energy of bluegrass, the soul of the delta blues and the haunted spirit of Appalachian mountain music. Band members Ben Miller, Scott Leeper and Doug Dicharry create a unique and modern sound while continuing the tradition of blending together many different musical styles, which has long been a trait of their native Ozarks.

As usual, NABC will offer Progressive Pints to accompany the show at Bicentennial Park. Also on Friday, roughly one block from Bicentennial Park, Bank Street Brewhouse will be open and pouring. Be advised that if you call Wick's for pizza delivery to Bank Street Brewhouse, you'll receive a 20% discount on your order. The Big Four burger trailer may or may not report for duty this evening; when I know, this passage will be updated.

For those reading these lines from comfy armchairs in Circle City, note that NABC's Blake Montgomery will be in Speedway to host the Lino’s NABC Tap Takeover, featuring Beak’s Best Bitter, Hoptimus, Houndmouth and Naughty Girl.

SATURDAY the 19th

In downtown New Albany, Bank Street between Spring and Elm streets will be closed for Rally to Rescue the Rescuers, with adoptable pets, vendors, and a dog and cat food drive. Bank Street Brewhouse will be available for human refueling throughout, with specials on (what else?) Houndmouth. The event runs from 5:00 p.m. through 9:00 p.m. In addition, Gregg Seidl's Drinking with the Dead Haunted History Tour will be winding its way through downtown. Consider joining in.

July 19 also is the occasion for one of NABC's most important annual road jaunts. The Indiana Microbrewers Festival makes its 19th appearance at the Indianapolis Art Center and Optimist Park in Broad Ripple. Indiana breweries will be joined by a select group of guest breweries from around the country at Indiana’s largest craft beer event. Over 350 beer selections will be available during a running time of 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., and subsequent debauchery city-wide, extending far into the evening.

SUNDAY the 20th

I've got nothing, so here's a word from your sponsor: Bank Street Brewhouse is open from noon to 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. Bring a picnic basket, bring carry-outs or order delivery, and pair our Beers of Proven Merit with the very best food from local eateries ... well, at least those open on Sunday.

Always remember that Indiana does have carry-out beer sales on Sunday: At craft breweries. For carry-out wine on Sunday, visit our friends at River City Winery or Indiana's many other artisanal wine makers.

To be reminded of why Indiana's alcohol laws governing beer temperature and daily availability came to be, visit the Indy Star: Will Indiana ever expand Sunday alcohol and cold beer sales?

Egalitarianism and the art of taking a leak.

Yesterday was the occasion of the 18th Annual Indiana Microbrewers Festival in Indianapolis. It was a Brewers of Indiana Guild production, and apart from some light rain at the beginning, probably good enough overall for rock and roll and food and beer on a Saturday afternoon.

Speaking personally, I’m always grateful that so many folks enthusiastically tolerate the discomfort, crowds and expense to come celebrate better beer with us. Without these fans, it is obvious that there could be no “us” in any meaningful conceptual (or commercial) sense. At least the weather yesterday was cooler than usual for July, and the sun mostly muted.

Recuperating on Sunday morning, I began catching up on missed reading, having just returned from England on a transatlantic flight that seemed even more uncomfortable than previous trips.

Class Struggle in the Sky, by James Atlas (New York Times)

During an intercontinental flight, I notice that “on the other side of the curtain” — as the first-class and business cabins are referred to — dinners are being served on white linen tablecloths, with actual bone china. Everyone’s got their “amenities kit” — one of those little nylon bags containing slippers, an eyeshade and a toothbrush. And legroom? Tons. While our seat width contracts — on some airlines by nearly eight inches in recent years — the space up front continues to expand …

… This stark class division should come as no surprise: what’s happening in the clouds mirrors what’s happening on the ground. Statusization — to coin a useful term — is ubiquitous, no matter what your altitude. While you’re in your hospital bed spooning up red Jell-O, a patient in a private suite is enjoying strawberries and cream. On your way to a Chase A.T.M., you notice a silver plaque declaring the existence within of Private Client Services. This man has a box seat at a Yankees game; that man has a skybox …

And so on. Back in June, in a column at LouisvilleBeer.com, I offered what (perhaps) is a heretical viewpoint with reference to beer festivals like the one yesterday. Actually, it was about the one yesterday.

A VIP and an IBU walk into a beer fest

… I’ll cite as a convenient example ticket packages available for the Brewers of Indiana Guild festival in Indianapolis on July 20, while hastening to add that this doesn’t constitute my singling out the Guild for scrutiny; after all, it’s my own trade group. In fact, I imagine BIG is coming to such strategies of ticket pricing rather late in the game.

VIP Experience: $100 (very limited, online only)
Includes early admission (2:00) and access to exclusive VIP Experience Tent (special tappings and food pairings), tasting glass and unlimited beer samples

Early Bird: $55 (limited, online only)
Includes early admission (2:00), tasting glass and unlimited beer samples

General Admission: $40 (advance purchase)
Includes tasting glass and unlimited beer samples

Yesterday I stuck religiously to the Indiana brewer side of the Opti Park fest grounds and didn’t once venture into the “guest brewer” compound, the latter financed primarily by World Class Beer, and accordingly devoted to featuring non-Indiana beers (a topic previously covered here and here).

Consequently, all I know about the VIP Experience Tent is what is noted in the above passage. I can’t tell you whether VIPs had their own port-a-lets (luxury grade or otherwise), although I was told there were plenty of portable toilets lined up on the “guest beer” side of the park, presumably owing to there being more physical space for them.

But I do know this: NABC was positioned at the very end of the misspelled and quite crowded “allee” between the museum and the river, and directly to our right were five (5) port-a-lets. The line to use them was 50 (75? 100?) deep or more for most of the afternoon, until the very end of the festival.

In my June column, I wrote this:

Back out on the pitch, those $40 beer festival ducats still comprise the bread and butter on the fest’s bottom line, and we need to see to it that these attendees are not subjected only to the mud and the blood and the (leftover) beer, while the VIPs strut the corduroyed catwalk, pinkies extended, constantly checking their iPhones to make sure the beer they’re drinking is the truly rare Rye Barrel release, and not that commoner’s Boubon Barrel version that just ANYONE can buy – and subsequently hoard.

Egalitarianism should be a craft/real/better beer ideal, but if egalitarianism even remotely was my guild’s aim yesterday, then toilet lines like the one near us obviously signify a failure that’s rather glaring. Granted, attendees who largely confined themselves to the Indiana brewery area might not have been aware of port-a-lets on the “guest” end, and yet there was ample room for more at “Allee’s” end.

By the end of the afternoon, the ATC-mandated orange fencing defining our salient was being trampled in all directions by men and women looking for secluded tree trunks and underbrush. It was disappointing, to say the least.

Note that as a director serving on the guild’s board, I’m not passing the buck. It is “our” and “we,” not “someone else,” and all of us must be honest and introspective when it comes to planning improvements for a better performance next time out.

I’m saying only this: If I’m ever asked to weigh in, I’ll be voting against a renewal of the VIP Experience. For it to exist alongside hundred-yard lines to use the port-a-let just strikes me as unconscionable.