Anyone wishing to try original, artisanal beer will have no shortage of places to explore them in Kosciusko County.
Man Cave Brewing Company’s Robert Vandal began brewing in his own man cave and self-distributing beer with his partners. When the business reached the go-big-or-go-home stage, he bought the site at 10201 N. State Route 13, Syracuse, in 2016. With a front-side coffee shop converting to a full-service family room at 4 p.m., burgers, fish and steaks are served. A full-service bar and kitchen join the brewery in back, creating two 100-seat restaurants.
With 16 taps, visitors can taste everything from hoppy to fruity to dark and light beers. “We put down a flight to taste, or let them sample first,” Vandal said. “You watch them taste, and it’s one extreme or the other. A lot of our beers are traditional, not artsy. Some breweries try to make very different beers. Not us.”
For Stefan King of HopLore Brewing, in the old Leesburg mill at 100 Old State Road 15, beer has an earthy, folk nature. With folklore as ancient people’s only science, “HopLore” loosely translates to “Brewing is science.”
So is tasting. “Our drinkers taste for malty American lagers, stouts, brown ales, bitter West Coast IPAs (India pale ales) and fruit beer,” King said.
HopLore serves four-ounce tasters. Four- to six-course dinners, with beer complementing each course, are special events. “Diners sometimes ask what will pair with that they’re ordering,” King said. At HopLore, it’s tacos. Their own smoked fish, brisket and pork team with unusual ingredients to create savory combos. Consider the grouper taco with pickled ginger slaw and wasabi mayo, or an unusual favorite, the PBJ: pulled smoked pork with Amish peanut butter and strawberry-jalapeno-balsamic jelly.
HopLore now has a new location in Warsaw!
For Abby and Craig Mclaren, Ledgeview Brewing Company nods to Craig’s first brewing place—Ledgeview Drive in Massachusetts. Although born far west of that at 975 Warren St., Warsaw, his first brew pub traces lineage to Goshen through Abby, who had migrated east for culinary school and met her Rhode Island-native husband, a chef, there.
“My Goshen friend said a brew pub was for sale in Warsaw. I thought it was a pipe dream, but it stuck,” Abby said. The Mclarens moved to Indiana, opening a full-service restaurant in January. To complement smoked pork, brisket, ribs and homemade sides and sauce, they served their first beer on March 28, and a second four days later. “Beer color, density, clarity, smell and taste—we’ll discuss all of it with customers,” she said.
