An attendee receives a beer during the Hops & Vines festival in Franklin. This year’s festival will be held at the DriveHubler.com Amphitheater in downtown Franklin on Aug. 10. DAILY JOURNAL FILE PHOTO
Over the past decade, Johnson County has built up a robust craft beer and wine scene.
Breweries can be found in all corners of the county — crafting unique ales, stouts, pilsners and more. Mallow Run Winery remains one of the county’s most popular attractions, drawing hundreds of people to its summer concert series and its cozy historic tasting room.
Trying them all can be a challenge. Luckily, the community is invited this weekend to see what the buzz is all about.
At the annual Hops & Vines festival on Saturday, participants can sample selections from 10 different breweries, wineries, cideries and craft-beverage taprooms, and purchase full pours of their favorites.
But the festival goes beyond the beer-and-wine crowd. Toy Factory, one of the region’s most beloved party band, will spin a set of pop, rock, R&B and funk classics. Opening act RC3 will get the crowd fired up and loose.
A large selection of food trucks and vendors are planned to set up throughout DriveHubler.com Amphitheater, so the event caters to the whole family, said Danny Causey, executive director of Discover Downtown Franklin, which is organizing the festival.
“We’re trying to do our best to combine really good music, really good beer and really good wine, to not only be a fundraiser for Discover Downtown Franklin but to be a fundraiser for downtown Franklin,” he said. “We don’t want people to just come in for the festival; we want them to come in early and get lunch, to see what we have to offer.”
Hops & Vines has been a downtown Franklin tradition since 2017, the evolution of a previous late-summer festival planned by Discover Downtown Franklin. The previous event was originally known as Beer and Bluegrass, which featured bluegrass bands performing while local breweries served in a special beer garden.
Seven years ago, the festival transitioned more to focus on local beer and wine.
“It’s no surprise that people love beer and wine. The craft beer scene has just exploded, and Indiana has a lot of really good breweries and wineries,” Causey said. “This is really the only festival in Franklin where you can go to get samples of these beers and wine, you can get full glasses, you can really give a lot of different places a try.”
At the heart of Hops & Vines is the opportunity to sample from a wide variety of breweries and wineries from the region.
A fenced-off beer and wine garden is set up for all guests 21 and over. Admission to the beer and wine garden is $5, serving as a fundraiser for Discover Downtown Franklin. People can then purchase samples of the different selections for $1. Once they find ones they like, people can buy a full 16-ounce pour of beer or a 5-ounce glass of wine for $6. Cash and card both accepted.
Organizers have expanded to include two entry points to the beer and wine garden; in the past, there had been only one, causing some delays, Causey said. Discover Downtown Franklin has also revamped signage and recruited more volunteers to ensure a quick and enjoyable experience for participants.
“We wanted to streamline the process for our patrons, to make it as smooth as possible,” Causey said.
Participating breweries and wineries include Johnson County’s Planetary Brewing, Mallow Run Winery, MashCraft Brewing and Shale Creek Brewing, as well as Ash & Elm Cider Co., Daniel’s Vineyard, Garfield Brewery, Sun King Brewery and ZwanzigZ Brewing.
In a unique twist, organizers have also invited Greek’s Pizzeria & Tapp Room to participate. The craft-centric Franklin eatery will be serving up selections from Upland Brewing, 3 Floyds Brewing and Quaff On! Brewing Co., in addition to wine from Oliver Winery, Baron Fini and Crane Lake.
“We wanted to make sure we had plenty of opportunities, for Indiana beers but especially for wine,” Causey said. “We were thinking about ways to not only support downtown businesses, but giving patrons at the event more choices. We decided to get Greek’s Pizzeria involved; they’re the local experts in craft beer.”
A good glass of wine or a pint of beer goes better with music, and Hops & Vines organizers lines up some of the best to keep festivalgoers dancing.
Toy Factory runs the musical gamut, performing tunes from the past five decades. The group is one of the most popular in the area and has been booked to perform a number of times at Johnson County events this year. From their spot-on rendition of Van Halen’s “Jump” to the rousing “Uptown Funk,” be prepared to boogie.
“When we heard Toy Factory was available, I was really excited for that. In my opinion, they’re one of the top bands in the area. They bring a lot of energy and play a lot of place in Indiana for a good reason,” Causey said.
IF YOU GO
Hops & Vines
What: An annual festival celebrating the breweries and wineries of Johnson County and central Indiana, with a 21-and-older beer and wine garden, live music, food trucks and more.
When: 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday
Where: DriveHubler.com Amphitheater at Youngs Creek Park, downtown Franklin
Beverage garden: Adults 21 and over can pay $5 to enter the beer and wine garden. Sampling tickets are $1, and a glass of beer or wine is $5.
Participating breweries and wineries: Hoosier Brewing, Nailers Brewing, Planetary Brewings, Taxman Brewing, Shale Creek Brewing, MashCraft Brewing, Sun King Brewery, Bier Brewing, Hog Molly Brewing, Chilly Water Brewing, Quaff On! Brewing, Mallow Run Winery, Easley Winery
Music: The Happy Enchiladas perform from 5 to 6 p.m., My Yellow Rickshaw performs from 7 to 10 p.m.
Information: discoverdowntownfranklin.com/hops-and-vines-festival
