By Mark Ambrogi
Ryan Coyle figures everyone enjoys a little tournament-style competition. So, why not bring that competition to the craft beer world?
Coyle and Mike Sale, both Carmel residents, started Brew Bracket in 2010.
“The craft beer industry has been booming and has been for the past five or six years,” Coyle said. “It’s almost tripled in size since we started. No one else in the county holds events like this where it is blind side-by-side comparison where patrons can find their new beers. We bring eight brewers head-to-head in tournament-style competition. It’s all the same category.”
Brew Bracket will host an event featuring experimental wheat brews from 2 to 5 p.m. June 11 at Tomlinson Tap Room at the Indianapolis City Market. Tickets are $35. A portion of the proceeds from Brew Bracket events is always donated to an Indianapolis-area charity. This event will benefit 100 Voices of Hope, a cancer research facility through IU Simon Cancer Center. Coyle said they have donated more than $10,000 to area charities.
“The brewers absolutely love our events because it gives them the chance to try new things and find a beer that could be one of the staple beers in their system,” Coyle said.
Carmel’s Flix Brewhouse head brewer Chris Knott was previously an assistant and head brewer for the Ram Restaurant & Brewery in downtown Indianapolis, which has won three of the Brew Bracket contests. Coyle said it would be interesting to see if Knott can continue his winning ways at Flix.
Coyle said the event was previously held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
In addition, Coyle and Sale starting selling a Brew Bracket hosting kit, which costs $35, in 2015.
“People can do this at home or at the office,” Coyle said. “We’ve sold them pretty much all over the globe.”
The kits can be purchased at brewbracket.com, along with tickets for the June 11 event.
