Indie 500 >>>
At this year’s CBC, we were privileged to pour seventeen collab beers in partnership with some of the best breweries and suppliers in the business.
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR PARTNERS!
Our original hop release and still our most iconic variety, Strata, was featured in several CBC collab beers, all of which skillfully showcased the multitude of flavors found in this rockstar hop variety. Craft Coast and Flatland Brewing brought the heat with West Coast IPAs featuring Strata in T90, CGX, and HyperBoost forms, and Grand Fir Brewing made waves with their Strata-forward West Coast IPA, Lichen, and their Session IPA, Foxglove. The team at Fort George Brewery sent us a beta batch of this year’s 3-Way IPA featuring Strata HyperBoost that we poured in partnership with our friends at PakTech. That keg kicked in under two hours, so to say it was well received would be an understatement!
Even after drinking countless Strata-driven beers, we never tire of seeing how that hop can completely fill out a beer all on its own, or pair beautifully with just about any other variety to create incredible flavor combinations. Whether it’s the passionfruit, strawberry, grapefruit, or wafting cannabis aromas, Strata offers smooth dimensions of irresistible hop flavors that resonate with a broad base of craft beer consumers. Pelican Brewing drove this point home with their Strata Sparkle Hops hop water, which was one of the most popular offerings throughout the trade show.
Our newest hop release, Audacia, punched above its weight and made its presence known on both coasts in a Hazy IPA from Fidens Brewing and a West Coast IPA from Grains of Wrath. Each of these beers was aptly named, The Audacity of Hops, and featured a hop bill of 60% Audacia and 40% Amarillo & Citra. Audacia’s tangy berry and floral bouquet aromas were bursting from the glass before either beer could hit your lips, and each quaffable sip compelled you forward towards the next. Both these beers had us thoroughly excited, as the unique flavors of Audacia paired beautifully with crowd-favorites like Amarillo and Citra, but presented flavors that were truly novel and could simply be described as “purple.”
We also got to see Audacia paired with Strata and Luminosa in a West Coast IPA, called Indie Rock Time, from our good friends and neighbors at Baerlic Brewing. This beer proved that the sum is greater than the individual parts, and made the case for Strata, Luminosa, and Audacia to become the next “holy trinity” of craft beer hops. And we even got to see Audacia paired with Chinook in a modern twist on a timeless classic, a Cascadian Dark Lager cleverly named Commercial Drinking License, by our friends at Hop River Brewing in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The mixed berries and floral qualities of Audacia were a perfect complement to the darker malts used to build the base of this homage to the Cascadian Dark Ales of the Pacific Northwest.
Meridian made a huge impression in Calma Muerta, a hoppy pale ale from the brilliant minds of the brewers at Pinthouse Brewing.
This crispy and hoppy little crusher showcased how less can be more, and featured a simple hop combo of Meridian and Cascade that delivered huge flavors of mojito and fruit punch with a distinctive sweet-tart candy finish.
This beer was a crowd favorite at our booth and was a reminder of how pale ales will never go out of style. Buoy Beer Co. came in big with their iconic Buoy IPA, a Northwest IPA lovingly dry-hopped with and Meridian and Crystal. Citrus, melon, blackberry, and pine can all be found in this flagship beer, and we were stoked to pour it at our booth and crush a few ourselves. We often describe Meridian as being a top-note hop that can be challenging to capture in your beer, but both Pinthouse and Buoy showed just how worth the effort it can be for those who persist.
And of course Luminosa shined bright in Sherman IPA from Fort George, and in the previously mentioned Indie Rock Time from Baerlic Brewing. Both these IPAs were bursting with juicy, liquid sunshine and delivered calypso beach-style flavors of candied orange peel, peach-lemonade, mango sorbet, and guava. Indianapolis felt like a coastal city whenever we were drinking these beers, and with each sip we found our thoughts drifting to the warm summer days ahead. And outside the white sand beaches of the trade show, we hung out at Guggman Haus Brewing with our farm partners from Coleman Ag as we celebrated CBC with a luxurious West Coast Double IPA collab beer, Setting Sun, that featured a stellar combo of Strata, Luminosa, and Chinook. This beer was dangerously drinkable at a hefty 8.4%, and we filled our cups many times over as we enjoyed the company of friends, delicious food, and live music from cover band Lisa Frank & the Trapper Keepers. The folks at Guggman Haus certainly know how to throw a proper haus party, and we’re looking forward to visiting their taproom again the next time we come to Indianapolis.



When everything was said and done, we all felt like it was an excellent CBC and the conversations we had with our industry peers were of the highest quality.
We had a blast doing a raffle prize giveaway in partnership with PakTech, and the winning brewery, Thirsty Buffalo Brewing Company, took home a free 11# bag of hops and a free box of custom printed can carriers. We saw many old friends and made plenty of new friends as well. We drank incredible beers at excellent breweries across Indianapolis, and we found amazing food everywhere we went.
Our first year as a beer pouring station at CBC was as good as we could’ve hoped, and we couldn’t have done it without the generosity and graciousness of all our collab partners. Special thanks to the folks at PakTech, Lallemand Brewing, Baerlic Beer Co, Buoy Beer Co, Craft Coast, Fidens Brewing, Flatland Brewing, Fort George Brewery, Grains of Wrath, Grand Fir, Guggman Haus Brewing, Hold Out Brewing, Hop River Brewing, Maui Brewing, Pelican Brewing, Pinthouse, and Upright Brewing. And thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth to chat, check out our hops, and try our collab beers. We look forward to seeing you all in Philadelphia next year. Cheers!

Life is short.
Make it flavorful.

