I am an avid beer drinker. Lagers, IPAs, Stouts, I love them all. I am always happy to crack a Miller Lite, but nothing is better than beer fresh from the source. That's one of the many reasons I love drinking craft beer. The smaller the brewery the closer to the source you have to get it, and some beers you can only get at the brewery itself.
When I lived in Indiana I of course enjoyed the Indianapolis staple of Sun King, they have 3 great year round brews and a host of seasonal offerings. You can even buy Sun King at Banker's Life Fieldhouse while taking in a Pacers game. But Indianapolis has a great craft beer scene. Grab some Tow Yard, Black Acre, Beir, Daredevil, Three Wise Men... the list goes on! Of course I lived an hour from Indy, so Columbus was a much closer option, being home to Zwanzigz and 450 North (both serving delicious pizza as well).
Now that I live in Chicago though, there are breweries all around. Most everybody is familiar with the big ones Goose Island (and their nationally distributed 312 Urban Wheat), Lagunitas (which brews in both California and Chicago), and Revolution (who has been canning their Anti-Hero IPA and Eugene Porter since I started enjoying craft beer). But there are so many in the city that I have 6 within a mile of me.
I have made to Half Acre (creator of the Daisy Cutter IPA in North Center) and Begyle Brewing (who brews the easy drinking Freebird American Pale Ale, also in North Center) so far. But Dovetail Brewery and Spiteful Brewing are an easy walk, and Green Star (part of the Clark St. Uncommon Ground) and Corridor Brewery & Provision (Southport Corridor, owned by the same people who have Dry Hop over in Lakeview East) are not much farther.
Buying beer directly from a brewery is much better for them as businesses, rather than selling to a distributor who then sells to a retailer. It not only bet economically for the brewery, but it is better for the environment and most likely better on your wallet as well. Take a look at a common growler: they are generally made of glass (some are metal), which is recyclable. Now I'm sure you're thinking "Drew, glass bottles and aluminum can are recyclable too", and you're right. But a great many of them don't end up being recycled. It is also a much more intensive process to set up a bottling or canning line than it is to just fill growlers in a tap room.
The next time you go out for beer, go get some from a brewery if you can. You'll be happy that you did.
