By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
April 8, 2024, is going to be – wait – don’t turn the page yet! This is not another eclipse article.
This, dear readers, is about a limited-edition local beer. Yes, there are eclipse references in here, but trust me, this article is more about the beer than anything else.
MashCraft Brewing will be launching a new beer just for the occasion: Sol Invictus. It will be available at all three of their locations for about two weeks starting April 5, and will be offered on-site at Cool Creek Park on the day of the great lunar darkness.
“We’ve come up with this really cool thing,” Andrew Castner told The Reporter. “The style itself is ages old, hundreds of years going back. It’s called a Vienna Lager, and it’s kind of like a baby Oktoberfest. It’s bready, it’s easy drinking. It can impersonate light beer at the same time as being a touch malty. It really is a beautiful combination for large events and large groups of people.”
Castner said the name of their brew, Sol Invictus, is named after the sun god worshiped in the late Roman empire. It means “Invincible Sun.”
“We’re going to release it in our houses on April 5,” Castner said. “That’s three stores in the Indiana area, including the MashCraft Fisher’s location on Allisonville. That will be released April 5 for our stores, and then we are going to be in a bunch of different places between Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, including the Cool Creek neighborhood up in Carmel, where they’re going to be having a Pink Floyd tribute band.”
The event at Cool Creek Park, “Park Side of the Moon” is being organized by Hamilton County Parks and Recreation. The tribute band, Echoes of Pompeii, will be performing.
“Hamilton County Parks has developed a great working relationship with MashCraft Brewing through their participation in our popular Cool Creek Summer Concert Series,” Hamilton County Parks Events Coordinator Christopher Gullion said. “It was only logical to invite them to serve their quality craft beers at our upcoming total solar eclipse event at Cool Creek Park on April 8. That they’ve crafted an eclipse-inspired beer for this special event is typical of their creativity and commitment to quality and variety.”
Sol Invictus will only be available for a few weeks. If you want to try it and you are not going to be at Park Side of the Moon, Castner has some options for you. Since not everyone wants to go to a public event, if you are having an eclipse gathering in your own back yard, MashCraft still has you covered.
“The easiest way is come in the store, grab one of our 32-ounce bullets or a 64-ounce growler and share it with the crowd,” Castner said. “If you’re really expecting a big group, contact us directly through MashCraft.com. We might even be able to get you a keg of it.”
“It’s got one of those nice elements of the maltiness, but it still finishes so clean and dry and refreshing,” Castner said. “So I think this is going to be a big hit in-house and out.”
Stop in at MashCraft, 11069 Allisonville Road, Fishers, visit them online at MashCraft.com, or call them at (317) 863-5165 to learn more about Sol Invictus and their various other brews.
And on April 8, no matter where you are, don’t forget to grab your eclipse viewing glasses to enjoy the show safely.
“Put your special glasses on,” Castner said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. The world might come to an end!”