A MashCraft Brewing Co. beer poured on its outdoor patio. MashCraft is celebrating its 10th year at its cornerstone Greenwood location, and is hosting a community part all day Saturday to recognize the occasion, featuring live music, special beer tappings, kids activities and food. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Countless IPAs and golden ales, stouts and sours, hefeweizens and helles have poured from the taps inside MashCraft Brewing Co.’s Greenwood taproom over the past decade.
But at the same time, there have been exponentially more good laughs, celebratory moments, soulful music and special events.
The first 10 years have been great. The MashCraft family only envisions much more to come.
“I feel great about what we’ve done, and I love the fact that we’re 10 years in, in the Greenwood community, with a spotless reputation,” said Andrew Castner, one of the founders of MashCraft.
MashCraft Brewing will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special party for the whole community. Starting at noon Saturday, the brewery plans to feature live music, food, kids’ activities and the special tapping of a new brew — Crafted Mash Vol. 10, a specially created New England IPA.
The event is a distillation of everything MashCraft has cultivated for the past decade, and the company is excited to share it with everyone who has supported them over the years.
“We’ve done things in Greenwood the right way, and we’ve become what we set out to do — whether it’s birthday parties or graduations or a family visiting from out of town, we’ve become a community gathering spot for the people around us,” Castner said.
As one of the first breweries in Johnson County, MashCraft rode a wave of craft beer enthusiasm when it opened in 2014. The brewery came together when friends Castner, Joe Janik and John Lee decided to start a taproom in Greenwood. Castner, who had previously worked as a brewer at Oaken Barrel Brewing Co. in Greenwood, teamed up with Janik, an engineer, and Lee, a banker, to make their vision a reality.
From the start, they wanted MashCraft to be a place where everyone could find something for them among their wide variety of brews. From their core lineup, including MashCraft Gold, a blonde ale, and MashCraft IPA, the brewing team expanded its vision to unique varieties and flavors.
At the same time, it was important to make MashCraft a place where people could gather with friends, or make new ones. Organizers planned special events, such as the annual Mariana’s Stout Bonanza, which celebrated the release of MashCraft’s Mariana Imperial Stout with a stout contest among other brewers.
Regular events such as live music and kids crafts nights appealed to people of all ages.
“When you look at the duration of time, and you see projects that were finished, there’s a lot of pride there. There’s a lot of accomplishment,” Castner said. “At the same time, there’s a ton of really, really difficult moments, especially business-wise, when you have to make hard decisions that impact a ton of other people. All you can do is lean on the people around you to make the best decision overall.”
Since opening in Greenwood, MashCraft has opened taprooms and eateries on Delaware Street in Indianapolis and in Fishers.
But the Greenwood taproom has remained the brewery’s cornerstone.
“For us to adjust, and for the customers to continue to come back because they did like what we were doing and tell their friends, that amount of support from the neighborhood means a lot,” Castner said. “Not everybody in our sector has made it. The reason we made it those first few years, and the reason we made it through COVID, is that when we opened the doors every day, people came in with smiles on their faces and wanted to hang out.”
That’s why, on their 10th anniversary, MashCraft wanted to do something special for all of its supporters.
“We’ve consistently done something similar to this every anniversary, but what I’m hoping to get out of year 10 is, in addition to what we’ve added in with doing something cool on the brewing side, we’re all going to get to hang out again and celebrate. And from what I’ve heard, we’re going to have some of staff back to celebrate,” Castner said. “Hopefully it’s going to be like a MashCraft family reunion.”
Saturday’s celebration will start at noon with the tapping of Crafted Mash Vol. 10. The New England IPA is a juicy, hoppy, tropical and smooth brew that will be available both on tap and in packages as part of the festivities. Moreso, MashCraft has announced they are re-brewing and bringing back every previous anniversary beer they’ve done over the years.
“Everything is going in its original packaging from the year it was tapped,” Castner said.
MashCraft’s full menu of food will be available all day and night, and face-painting and balloon animals are planned for the kids.
Live music will be outside in the MashCraft parking lot, provided by Midlife Crisis at 7 p.m.
“We’re asking people to bring chairs, spread out and have a beer. It should be a good time,” Castner said.
IF YOU GO
MashCraft Brewing Co. 10th Anniversary Party
What: A special celebration featuring special beer tapping and packages, food, kids activities and live music by Midline Crisis.
When: Noon to 10 p.m. Saturday
Where: MashCraft Brewing, 1140 N. SR 135, Greenwood
Schedule
Food available all day and night
Noon: Crafted Mash Vol. 10 tapping and can release.
3-4:30 p.m.: Face painter and balloon animals for the kids.
7 p.m.: Concert by Midlife Crisis, food and beers on the patio
Information: mashcraft.com/upcoming-events
