I'm headed up to the Dunes this week and will be staying in Chesterton. Looks like Pat's Liquors is only a few minutes from my hotel and apparently is a great store. Can anyone tell me if they carry Lagunitas and Great Lakes. I know Northern IN gets a few breweries we don't down here. Also, are there any good Mighigan package stores within 30-45 minutes that I could get some Shorts and other Michigan goodness?
No Lagunitas or Great Lakes at Pat's. You'll find those in Michigan though. Go across the border to New Buffalo and stop at The New Buffalo Pharmacy and Barney's Market. Being up in NWI I highly recommend you visit 18th St brewery in Gary/Miller Beach. Just take 12 a few miles west of Chesterton.
Bud & Elsie's gas station/c-store in New Buffalo is also a good place to check. They'll usually get the same stuff that Barney's does, but one could be out of something that the other place has. They're about 2 blocks apart on the main drag in the center of town. That's about 20-25 minutes from Chesterton.
Greenbush Brewery in Sawyer, MI is worth a stop. The pharmacy/market across the street usually has a few Short's selectons available. Not a big selection of beer by any means but if you stop at the brewery it might be worth checking out.
Hunters Brewing in Chesterton is pretty solid. Octave Grill has great food and a nice tap selection for a small place. You can find Lagunitas at Triangle Liquor in Valparaiso. Second the 18th Street mention. Go there while it's still 'relatively' unknown. They may have some bottles for sale too. New Buffalo is hit and miss, especially in summer as it's a very heavily traveled summer destination. Good luck!
I will second the recommendations of 18th Street and Hunters. 18th in particular, is brewing some world class stuff. 12 is closed however, take 20 instead. Greenbush is also a cool place to check out and very easy to get to. http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31042/ http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/31271/
Didn't get a chance to go to any breweries/pubs, but Barney's and NB Pharmacy were both very good. Thanks everyone.
Sometimes we can get caught up in the side trips to score some brews we haven't tried before, but hopefully - more importantly - you enjoyed your trip to the dunes. We love it there (even if you have to sneak your beers by pouring into a Solo cup). Cheers!
I'm heading to Indiana Dunes in a few weeks so I'm curious what you were able to find at Barney's and NB Pharmacy. This is my first time going to the area so I'm not sure what they might have that I can't get in Cleveland.
They had a nice selection of Shorts and Odd Side, as well as some other Michigan locals that I assume aren't distributed out of state. I got sixer of MMMKAY and Citra Pale Ale bottled in mid July.
