About 40 Indiana craft brewers and wineries will be the first to serve alcohol at the State Fair in nearly 70 years.
The fair began accepting applications for the new wine and beer garden in the fairgrounds‘ Grand Hall last month, three months after legislators lifted a longstanding ban on alcohol at the fair.
Spokesman Andy Klotz says the fair received interest from all across the state in occupying the newly-authorized wine and beer garden in the fairgrounds‘ Grand Hall.
He says the lineup will vary from day to day.
"We knew that people were excited about it and wanted to be involved in it," says Klotz. "But we didn't really know what kind of response we'd get because we also know that it's a big commitment for a lot of these places to be able to leave their hometowns and come down and be at the fair."
The fair initially assigned each brewer and winery to a single day, but now that everyone‘s had a chance to book a slot, Klotz says the fair is offering additional days to beer and winemakers who asked for them.
Visitors to the beer garden will be issued a wristband which limits them to three servings of beer or wine.
You can use one of those three on a tasting platter of smaller, sample-size glasses.
Alcohol won‘t be allowed to leave the Grand Hall.