- 19 Breweries
- Large sampling of top Indiana brews
- Small boutique to larger restaurant atmosphere
- Many seasonal offerings
- Live music and festivals
So many good brews, so close at hand
Craft beers have rapidly become popular in recent years, and craft beer breweries have grown right along with the trend.
That couldn’t be more true than in the northwest Indiana region where new breweries are springing up on a regular basis.
On the map are small boutique breweries like Hunters Brewing in Chesterton, new breweries like The Devil’s Trumpet that opened in 2014, and Crown Brewing, one of the earliest craft breweries in the state.
The trail boasts more than a dozen breweries. This is a sampling of the people who run them, and the styles and flavors of craft brew served.
Crown Brewing
211 S. East St.
Crown Point
Crown Brewing is the first brewery in Crown Point according to owner Dave Bryan–at least the first in a very long time.
Throughout the year, Crown brews about 80 to 90 styles including regularly rotating beers and seasonal short batch brews.
“Pumpkin Ale is our most popular seasonal, from the end of August through Thanksgiving. We try to keep a good rotation of seasonals,” Bryan explained.
The brewery has a mid-sized, seven-barrel capacity–a barrel is about 31 gallons–and brews about 800 barrels a year.
Beers range from a lighter malty American style Crown Cream Ale, to a darker, nutty Crown Brown, to hoppier beers like North Pole Tree Frog IPA brewed with Amarillo, Simcoe and Mosaic hops.
The Devil’s Trumpet Brewing Co.
8250 Utah St.
Merrillville
Steve Carter’s taste for craft beer developed after a friend approached him with the idea of starting a brewery.
“I have a close friend who began brewing, and it was recommended to him that to improve his skill level he join a local homebrewing club,” Carter recalled.
Carter said Lausin is a passionate Belgian-style brewer, and Chris Pearson, the other brewer, is an American-style brewer.
“They really work well together, and complement each other, and offer us a lot of tap variety that’s actually very authentic per those styles.”
Like Crown, Devil’s Trumpet started as a seven barrel brewhouse, but was in the midst late last fall of converting to a 15-barrel system. Carter was also planning to add a small restaurant on the premises. So far, he said the response from the public has been good.
Devil’s Trumpet boasts a portfolio of 35 different beers, with at least seven on tap at any time. Carter said his flagship beer is My Ghetto IPA, the largest seller across the tap. “The name came from the brewers; they spend so much time in the brewery itself, and being janitors, that they call it ‘my ghetto’.”
Other flavors include Juggling Elephants–a seasonal beer barrel-aged in a Four Roses bourbon barrel, and 10,000 Years–an imperial pale ale brewed with Dark Matter coffee beans.
Hunter’s Brewing Co.
1535 S. Calumet,
Chesterton
Hunter’s Brewing is a boutique brewery just off State Road 49 in Chesterton. If not the smallest brewery in the region, it’s one of the smallest with a single barrel brewing capability.
Despite its size, the brewery exudes atmosphere and craft beer companionship among its patrons noted co-owner Justin Reisetter.
“In here we don’t have TVs, it’s not a sports bar,” Reisetter added. “More or less the environment here is like an upscale coffee shop except we serve beer, and people come in and socialize. The craft brewery culture is a different kind of culture and environment where friendships are made, and it’s just nice to interact with people without the distractions.”
Starting with six different beers on tap, the number has grown to nine with a rotation of about 90 styles and flavors throughout the year including seasonals like Christmas Ale, Pumpkin Ale and barleywines.
Hunter’s top seller is Threadsplitter IPA, followed by the robust Porter County porter, and Octavius, a smoked ale.
Gentry noted that in addition to regular local customers, “we are also starting to see more out of state customers, especially from the Chicago area, southern Illinois, and Indianapolis starting to come. Between Chicago and Michigan, we’re right along I-80, 94 and people are stopping at breweries.”
South Shore Brewery Trail
More breweries along the Brewery Trail:
Figure Eight Brewing
150 Washington St.
Valparaiso
Ironwood Brewing
6 Roosevelt Rd.
Valparaiso
Four Fathers Brewing
1555 W. Lincolnway, Suite 105
Valparaiso
Back Road Brewery
308 Perry St.
LaPorte
Twisted K-8 Brewing Co.
610 Monroe St.
LaPorte
Burn ‘Em Brewing
718 Freyer Rd.
Michigan City
Shoreline Brewery
208 Wabash St.
Michigan City
18th St. Brewery
5725 Miller Ave.
Gary
Bulldog Brewery
1409 119th St.
Whiting
Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brew Pub
9750 Indiana Pkwy.
Munster
New Oberpfalz Brewing
121 E. Main St.
Griffith
Route 2 Brews
141 Harding Dr., Ste. 1
Lowell
Saint John Malt Brothers, Inc.
9575 Wicker Ave.
St. John
Wildrose Brewing Company
1104 E. Main St.
Griffith
Pokro Brewing Co., Inc.
311 N Broad St.
Griffith
Windmill Brewing
2121 Gettler St.
Dyer
Coming Soon: Byway Brewing
2825 Carlson Dr.
Hammond
Coming Soon: 95ate5 Brew Pub
9585 N Industrial Dr.
Saint John
Story by Kevin Howell
