Valparaiso, IN

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by BigRedDog, Nov 11, 2014.

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  1. BigRedDog

    BigRedDog Initiate (0) Jul 23, 2014 Indiana

    Gonna be here for one night later this month and was wondering if there was any place worth hitting up while I was in town. Bars, bottle shops, etc...

    Also wondering what I should look for from anything local or regional, besides some of the obvious distro that I don't get down here in TN, which is a lot I will admit. (FFF, bells, fat heads, hoppin frog, etc.)
     
  2. chi16brew

    chi16brew Devotee (335) Feb 1, 2011 Illinois

    The Franklin house always has about 6 FFF taps so it could be worth hitting up. Triangle liquids on the north side usually has the best beer selection and Trail Inn on lincolnway sometimes has some hard to find bombers in the cooler.
     
  3. kodt

    kodt Pooh-Bah (2,286) Mar 6, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

  4. JohnnyHopps

    JohnnyHopps Grand Pooh-Bah (3,380) Jun 15, 2010 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Of the three breweries in town, four fathers is most worth a visit.
     
  5. ja1022

    ja1022 Zealot (562) Sep 27, 2009 Indiana
    Trader

    Absolutely agreed. Other options, time permitting are Hunter's Brewing 20 minutes north in Chesterton. Greenbush (Sawyer, MI) and Three Floyds (Munster, IN) are options about 40 minutes away but generally crowded. Another I would highly recommend is 18th Street Brewing in the Miller section of Gary. World class stuff is coming out of that place and getting in isn't a problem.
     
  6. YoungLad

    YoungLad Zealot (639) Apr 27, 2009 Indiana

    If your in town for one night, and you want a good dinner / beer experience, there is only one place I would recommend (other than FFF) - Stacks. Right down town in Valpo, and a great mix of food and good beer.

    Depending on the day / time, can be tough to get into, and its not really a beer bar (very small bar area) but they generally have great stuff on tap, and the food is also really good.

    Other than that, if you're looking for a bottle shop, then maybe consider driving 15 minutes west on US 30 to Wise Guys; its got the biggest inventory of bottles in the region, I'm thinking.
     
  7. MCMASTERSANCHEZ

    MCMASTERSANCHEZ Pundit (995) Jun 28, 2012 Indiana

    This
     
  8. JohnnyHopps

    JohnnyHopps Grand Pooh-Bah (3,380) Jun 15, 2010 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I saw that Four Fathers is doing a bottle release on November 29, for those that have money left. It is to be for a regular and BB Imperial Coffee Stout. I may just make an appearance.
     
  9. cetherid

    cetherid Savant (1,105) Aug 23, 2010 Indiana


    I thought the BA wheelhouse they had at their grand opening was better than the past few years of KBS. These guys make great beer. Their Radio Action DIPA was honestly the best DIPA I've ever had in the area. Better than anything from FFF and 18th. Tasted like something poured out of a HF growler. Blew me away.
     
  10. JohnnyHopps

    JohnnyHopps Grand Pooh-Bah (3,380) Jun 15, 2010 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Better than KBS. Wow! That's a pretty lofty endorsement.
     
  11. Pugfugly

    Pugfugly Initiate (0) Feb 20, 2014 Indiana

    I agree Stacks for food/beer and Four Fathers for just beer. Their BA wheelhouse is great. They don't have food unless a food truck is in the parking lot, which they would announce in advance.
     
  12. BigRedDog

    BigRedDog Initiate (0) Jul 23, 2014 Indiana

    Thanks for all the advice! I'll definitely try to hit up stacks, four fathers, and franklin house. Looking forward to the trip up there. It's for a job interview, so here's hoping I can move there soon too....
     
  13. JohnnyHopps

    JohnnyHopps Grand Pooh-Bah (3,380) Jun 15, 2010 Indiana
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Good luck with the interview. A lot of great BAs in the area if you do move up here. Cheers!
     
  14. BigRedDog

    BigRedDog Initiate (0) Jul 23, 2014 Indiana

    Figured I would go ahead and post in this thread again. I got the job and just moved up this week. Looking forward to getting to know some of the local BAs!
     
  15. numbers

    numbers Initiate (0) Aug 31, 2014 Nevada

    Im from Valpo, I have to agree with all of the earlier suggestions. Stacks is the spot. Figure Eight leaves something to be desired imo. Four Fathers is great.

    On Lincolnway and around town square there are a number of restaurants, most carry the best local beer (bells, 3floyds, etc). There is also a great pizza place called Tomato Bar that always has a great selection and the food is no joke.
     
  16. bozodogbreath

    bozodogbreath Savant (1,128) Oct 19, 2006 Indiana
    Trader

    I met BigRedDog at Franklin House tonight during their BCBVS release. He couldn't have picked a worse time to move to NWI, other than the fact he got to experience Bourbon County Vanilla on tap. A great young BA. Welcome to NWI Cliff!
     
    BigRedDog and JohnnyHopps like this.
  17. numbers

    numbers Initiate (0) Aug 31, 2014 Nevada

    what is bcbvs?
     
  18. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout.
     
  19. Disc_n_Beer

    Disc_n_Beer Crusader (443) Mar 20, 2015 Iowa

    In town for the night. Anything to add or omit since early 2015?
     
  20. Wybest

    Wybest Initiate (0) Apr 5, 2009 Illinois

    I seem to go against the grain on this one, but I like Figure 8 more than Four Fathers. Both make nice beer, though.
     
    djtothemoney likes this.
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