The Scene: People's Brewing Company

I am an IU guy and because of that I haven't really had much People's beer. I didn't really give them a fair shake until I had Captain Black Strap and Notorious BIP, which are amazing brews. Once I had these I knew I had to go check them out. It doesn't hurt that my wife is a PU grad and she still has friends that are up in the area.

People's brewery is a little spot tucked away in Lafayette. You pull up to a big garage door with their logo painted on it in a fairly industrial area. Their brewery is like the Cheers of Indiana craft beer. It has an awesomely friendly vibe right when you walk in. The tapping room is intimate without being claustrophobic with a bar for about six people and a handful of tables.

The style inside was industrial with a rustic bent and plenty of local photography and more Purdue propaganda than an IU guy can normally handle. Everything was cozy enough to make me want to sit and drink all night. The bartender was friendly and helpful. He made a great recommendation with the Parishioner's Porter on Nitro for my first pint. It was robust and dark with a nice mix of sweetness and coffee bitterness. I give it a solid four out of five. Some of our fellow patrons at the bar even struck up a conversation with us People's newbies. That kind of stuff always reminds me how much I love craft beer people.

What really impressed me though was the number of open taps. So often you go to a brewery and only find a few brews on tap. We ordered two flights on top of my pint. When we got the two flights, the bartender was good enough to mix it up since the flight only held six glasses and they had ten beers on tap. Also, the glasses were a pretty generous size, probably four ounces. The three of us passed the tasting glasses around to try everything they had to offer and their beers were excellent.

I was starting to regret not going up sooner to check them out. Overall it was an outstanding drinking experience. I ended up picking up a shirt so I could represent properly. After our stop at People's we went over to 9 Irish Brothers, a local Irish restaurant (by the way the food was excellent). When I got there, I found out they also had a People's brew on tap that was only available in the restaurant. It was their Irish Red and it was fantastic. I had been impressed with some of their brews, and I really liked the nitro porter, but Nine Irish Red was a stand-out. It was probably one of the best Irish reds that I've had. I totally see why People's is taking over the scene up in Lafayette.

Thanks for doing it right guys!