On a sweltering Saturday afternoon, over 2000 beer enthusiasts, geeks, and aficionados descended upon Optimist Park, which is located at 66th and Carrollton Avenue, to enjoy a multitude of beers. Over 200 different beers representing 10 styles were supplied by over 30 breweries. Twenty one of the breweries hailed from the state of Indiana. Five different homebrew clubs participated, sold merchandise, and also gave samples of some of their brews; many of these just as good as the commercial breweries. While attendees were not sampling the beers, they could enjoy music supplied by local bands in the entertainment tent, get some food from Dick's Bodacious BBQ and Yats, or take a shot at the dunk tank, the keg toss, or the human slot machine. All the proceeds from ticket sales and the various games went to the Optimists Club and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Despite the heat, the turnout was great. Marissa Gee of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society estimated at least 2200 attendees. "It has been a huge success and we appreciate the support of the Society," Marissa stated.

Iain Wilson, of the Rock Bottom Restaurant located in College Park, was attending his first BIG Microbrew Fest and thoroughly enjoyed it. He brought one of the few cask-conditioned ales of the fest. It was a brown porter that was full of chocolate, coffee and toffee in the nose. It was soft, smooth and rich without being too heavy and was quite enjoyable, even on a 90 degree day. Iain also brought a Kolsch that has won both a bronze medal and the 2006 Indiana Brewers Cup. The Kolsch was light and crisp, with just a touch of sweetness and was very refreshing on a hot day. A full 12 ounces would have been nice, but 2 oz samples were the limit. When asked about his first experience Iain replied "it's a warm one" in a smooth Scottish accent.

The line to get in to the fest was blocks long. The gates opened at 2 pm and the full crowd was in and under the three large tents by 3:30 trying to stay out of the sun. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves despite the weather. The volunteers and pourers all put on their best face and did a great job taking care of everyone. It was a large but well behaved crowd. William Luczak of Zionsville stated "This is a great event, and I have been impressed by both the selections of brew available and the consideration of the crowd."

Jeffery T of The Good Beer Show (www.goodbeershow.com) was in attendance with his crew from Muncie. They were sampling brews and interviewing people and brewers for a podcast. The Good Beer Show won a podcast award last year and has been nominated again this year. You can support a local podcast that is getting national and worldwide accolades at www.PodcastAwards.com. Jeffery was most impressed by the offerings of Founders, and really liked the RIPA from He'Brew.

World Class Beverages has a homebrew competition every year. This year Sean Tucker of Pendleton was named the "Ultimate Beer Geek 2006" for his version of an America IPA. He called it Problem Child IPA and used eight different grains and six different hops to create his masterpiece. He has been brewing for about eight years and enjoys trying new things, being creative, and only worring about satisfying himself and his family. Oaken Barrel in Greenwood will now produce a batch, and will bottle Sean's brew for sale in Indiana.

Each year the brewers of Indiana make a special ale for the fest, a ReplicAle. This year it was a Belgian Farmhouse Saison made with Indiana Shagbark Hickory syrup. Here are two highlights of those brews:

Mishawaka Brewing - strong molasses like aroma, smooth and mostly sweet malt with a slight tart finish. It was clean and refreshing with a nice hop presence that was balanced with hints of maple syrup.

Broad Ripple Brew Pub - This one was rich and sweet, nice honey like aroma, refreshing with a good malty feel and finish. A touch richer than the Mishawaka version but less hop presence made it less balanced, but still quite good.

In addition to the ReplicAle brews, there were many selections from local brewpubs or regional brewers, as well as some from other brewpubs in the state that are not readily available in Indy. Distributors also showcased many of the craft and artisanal brews they carry. It was a great opportunity to try a few beers that you do not often see.

Here are some highlights of those beers:

Brugge Brasserie - Quadripple, aged in French oak cabernet cask with pickled plums - Best in Fest! - Notwithstanding the incredibly complex flavor profile and enjoyable drinkability of this brew, it should get an award for creativity alone. It has a strong nose of sweet alcohol and oak. Flavorful malt up front is very sweet and rich, carries to back of the pallet. A hint of something fruity, but not plums, is in the background. It finishes with a sweet port wine-like warming sensation down the throat. Kudos to Ted Miller at Brugge!

Bells Brewing Hell Hath No Fury Strong Belgian Ale - 2nd Best of Fest - All Bells brews are good to great, and when they do something special it usually turns out great, like this rich dark brown brew with a slightly sweet aroma with hints of dark chocolate. The flavor profile was a semi rich roasty malt base with sweet hints of molasses and bread. A mellow hop finish to balance the sweetness and remain satisfying.

New Albanian Elector - 3rd Best in Fest - This is one good beer, amber in color, with a strong northwest hop aroma, probably cascade. It is rich and well balanced between the sweet malt and the strong resinous hop character. This was one of the best balanced beers at the fest, strong but not overpowering - very rewarding.

Lafayette Brewing - 85 IPA - This one is one of the best and most straight forward representations of the style. It is well balanced with good American north west hop aroma up front. The rich malt flavor covers the palate. It finishes with a piney, slightly bitter citrus bite that dries the inside of ones cheeks ever so slightly.

THC (Tippecanoe Homebrewers Club) Scotch Ale - Home brew clubs beer can go either way. This was a strong Scotch ale example that went the good way - real good. Rich and malty, not a lot of hop to balance, but well fermented to give the malt a slightly dry sensation. The brew had a nice caramel note, but did not come off too sweet. This was a really a good beer, that would have been better on a cool fall night.

Bloomington Brewing Vision Weiss - This was a nice simple weiss (wheat) beer. Typical of the style, it had a sweet citrus aroma with hints of clove. The palate is enclosed in light maltiness with a touch of citrus and hints of banana on the palate. It then finishes soft on the tongue with a refreshing light hoppiness.

New Albanian Jenever - This was one of the more interesting brews of the Fest. It had a floral aroma, and was a light golden color. The flavor profile was malty and balanced with some hop bite, but much more of the floral character came through in the malt flavor giving it a unique mouth feel and presence.

Shmaltz Brewing He'Brew Genesis 10:10 - This is a strong (10% ABV) amber brew that includes pomegranate juice. The pomegranate is not recognizable, but the flavor is strong and has hints of fruitiness. Mostly a sweeter beer, but balanced with a decent hop finish. Very enjoyable beer!