With the support of 24 breweries and cideries the VNA of Northwest Indiana will host its inaugural Hops For Hospice brewfest on July 10, 2021 at the Porter County Expo Center. The event will go from 12:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. and will include options for food purchase, raffle entries, and music by Chris and Lou.
“We are so excited about launching our Hops for Hospice event,” said VNA of Northwest Indiana CEO Bob Franko. “While of course we’ll have outstanding beers and a lot of fun, I see this more as a celebration of the resilience and recovery we’re sharing as a community in dealing with a global pandemic. We’re all just ready for something to raise a pint to!”
Chesterton Brewery is the VNA of NWI’s premier partner and brewery in its Hops For Hospice brewfest. The Brewery and the VNA of NWI teamed up last Fall to collaborate on Best Days Hazy IPA, a beer to promote the VNA of NWI’s “We Honor Veterans” program. Best Days Hazy is now available in cans at most local retailers and liquor stores.
Other local breweries include Windmill Brewery (Dyer), Burn ‘Em Brewery (Michigan City), Ironwood Brewery (Valparaiso), and Aftermath Cidery (Valparaiso). “We’ll also have Devil’s Trumpet from Hobart and Shoreline from Michigan City,” said Maria Galka, VNA of NWI Foundation Director. Other Indiana breweries include Evil Czech, Sun King and Upland. Popular breweries such as Dogfish Head, New Belgium, Deschutes and Bell’s will also be represented. For a full list of all breweries and participants go to www.hopsforhospice.org. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at that link. Limited day-of sales will be available on a walk-up, first-come first-serve basis, said Franko. “We’re only selling 500 tickets so that we can spread people out and provide a safe and comfortable environment,” he said.
Franko and Galka said they hope to have Hops For Hospice as an annual event. “It’s important that we engage with a younger demographic and make sure that they know about the breadth of services we provide,” Franko said. “Most people don’t know about our five service lines and that we serve over 500 people a day across them.”
The VNA of NWI is a nonprofit organization that provides hospice services, palliative care, Meals on Wheels of Porter County, LifeLine life alert services, and the Phoenix Center. It has offices in Valparaiso, Laporte and Crown Point. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020.
