The Electric Brew

118 East Washington Street, Goshen

(574) 533-5990

All Ages

The Electric Brew, Goshen’s first-ever coffeehouse, has been a popular gathering place in Goshen since its opening more than a quarter century ago.

Brenda Hostetler-Kauffman and Tony Kauffman opened The Electric Brew on April 4, 1996, at 136 S. Main St. The store served gourmet coffees, espresso drinks, and baked items. Brew offerings quickly expanded to include a lunch menu, blended drinks and additional baked goods.

Brenda and Tony sold The Electric Brew in May 2007. The coffeehouse, which has since moved to East Washington Street, is now owned by Myron and Dana Bontrager and their sons, Jeremy and Christopher.

“A number of years before we bought The Brew, we fell in love with Downtown Goshen,” Myron said. “I had come to know a number of business owners, employees, and in general those who were certainly passionate about making Goshen something even more special than it already was. The more I got to know the downtown, the more I wanted to be a part of what was happening.”

Myron added that even though his family is passionate about coffee, “it is the people that we have gotten to know over the past eight years that have made it so worthwhile for us. We have learned to know so many great people that make Goshen, and specifically the downtown, a really great place to live and own a business.”

The Electric Brew has adapted and evolved over time, and now offers a mobile espresso bar, catering services including corporate events, and even has a conference room, above the coffeehouse, available for booking.

In support of the fair and ethical treatment of coffe growers, The Electric Brew operates on a Relationship Coffe model. Cutting out intermediaries, The Electric Brew buys directly from farmers and producers. So when you purchase Bald Brothers coffee at The Electric Brew, for instance, you are purchasing beans grown by an all-women’s cooperative in Sumatra and Guatemala, and you are helping to support and grow their community!

The Electric Brew has made its mark as one of the all-time great breweries in the history of Goshen—swing by their Goshen location sometime and try a ‘Hot Cuppa’ like their Bullet Proof, an Espresso with unsalted butter and MTC oil; the Red Eye, regular coffee with one shot of espresso; or the Vietnamese Coffee, an Espresso sweetened with condensed milk.

Come see (and taste) why folks keep coming back to The Electric Brew morning and evening, day after day! The Electric Brew in Goshen is open Monday-Friday from 6:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday Noon to 5 p.m.

Goshen Brewing Co.

315 West Washington Street, Goshen

(574) 971-5324

All Ages

Goshen Brewing Co. (more affectionately known by fans and locals as “GBCo.”) is in a repurposed public service building two blocks off Main Street, sitting along the Elkhart River.

Jesse and Amanda Sensenig are the founders of the family-friendly brewpub. The Sensenigs’ zest for beer, food, and community was developed while living in Charleston, S.C., and later in Fort Collins, Colo. Fort Collins at that time boasted the most breweries per capita in the United States. The Sensenigs checked them out, and Jesse began brewing and developing recipes.

Amanda is a Goshen native, and both she and Jesse are Goshen College graduates. They kept returning to Goshen, and fell in love with it.

“We wanted to move back this way,” said Jesse, who’s originally from Archbold, Ohio. “We felt like Goshen was a place we could see ourselves and thought it was a good place for a brewery. This building came up as an option right at the beginning. That kind of pushed us to put together a business plan and make it a reality.”

The beer at GBCo. is brewed in an onsite, seven-barrel brewhouse (31 gallons per barrel), and GBCo. brews a variety of traditional styles blended with unique ingredients, including barrel-aged and sour beers. The tap list is updated daily and the food at Goshen Brewing Co. is a fresh approach to regional American fare with an emphasis on local, organic ingredients. The menu, created by GBCo. chef Jesse Shoemaker, includes Southern-style smoked food combined with a bit of Asian influence. Sandwiches include the popular Beef Brisket, served with sliced raw onions, pickles, and Texas barbecue sauce on a brioche bun; the tasty and healthy Falafel Pita, and the can’t-miss Pulled Pork sandwich served with fennel slaw. Tuesdays are all about Pad Thai, and Pad Thai only, at GBCo.—but children can still order from the kids menu.

While you’re dining, you can look through a glass-paned window into the brewhouse, and you might even catch some great entertainment. GBCo. has become one of the best places in the area to catch live music and features crowd-pleasing, family-friendly live concerts and shows all throughout the calendar year.

GBCo. is open Tuesday-Friday from 3-10 p.m. (kitchen open 4-9 p.m.), Saturday Noon-10 p.m. (kitchen open until 9 p.m.), and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Brass Elk Brewing

333 Nibco Parkway, Elkhart

(574) 326-3938

All Ages

Brass Elk Brewing, located on Elkhart’s scenic riverfront, offers a perfect blend of elevated cuisine and traditional beer in a dynamic, cozy, and relaxed atmosphere.

Paying homage to the city’s history in the brass industry, Brass Elk Brewing serves exceptional dishes paired with carefully crafted beers. Head Brewer Ryan Thompson, who has worked at renowned breweries including Chicago’s Goose Island and Colorado’s Ska Brewing Company and 12 Degree Brewing Company, has assembled a strong list of in-house brews, and the menu features an array of delicious items prepared with Exectuive Chef Jay Helton’s non-traditional “modernist barbecue” style.

The in-house list of beers includes the popular Big Buck Bertha—a version of the classic English Barleywine featuring notes of toffee and fig and a punch of American Hops; the 12 Point Imperial Stout—brewed with roasted chocolate barley; a White Rump Wheat with a light and crisp malt character and a balanced hop finish; the Ruthmere Red IPA with hints of citrus and fruit and a balanced malt backbone; and the Marz Madness—a traditional German Marzen with German malt and hops.

Brass Elk Brewing is family-friendly and is open Monday-Thursday from 5-9 p.m., and Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., and features a partially covered patio offering picturesque views of the river. The patio is ideal for intimate evenings or lively gatherings!

Brass Elk Brewing offers mug club memberships for $50 per year that amount to a host of member perks and rewards.

Iechyd Da Brewing Company

317 N. Main Street, Elkhart

(574) 293-0506

21+

“Yah-key-Dah.” Say that several times, and you’ll be able to pronounce the name of Iechyd Da Brewing Company—a brewpub offering handcrafted ales, lagers, unique beverages, pizzas, sandwiches, and sodas. Iechyd Da Brewing Company, which makes all of its beer and much of its food in-house, is still going strong after more than a decade serving Northern Indiana.

After several years of homebrewing, husband and wife team Chip and Summer Lewis decided to take the plunge in 2011, building a brewery right on Main Street in their hometown of Elkhart. More than a year of scouring the country for the right equipment culminated in a 7bbl brewery and kitchen in which to create their signature, handcrafted beer and food.

The beer tends to be sessionable and varies from easy drinking English Milds to hoppy American IPAs. Among the many craft brews conjured up by Head Brewer Chip Lewis—the establishment’s so-called “Guru of Grain”—are Iechyd Da’s Local Blonde, its Big Pit Porter, the Cantankerous Irish Red, the Test Subject #12 Pale Ale, and the Tatarosa Blackberry Sour. Iechyd Da Brewing sells what they brew and not much else, but with more than 10 taps there’s always something for everyone. This 21+ Elkhart brewery also offers a small selection of guest wines, ciders and Boozy Brain Freezies (adult slushies).

Iechyd Da’s food meu features an array of handmade items. The pizza dough, sauce, sides, dips and specials are made in-house, and the brewery offers seasonal salads and meatless options, as well. Try the Kidwelly! Named after one of 600 castles lining the Welsh countryside, this delicious house pizza features rosemary oil, ham, smoked gouda, arugula, and balsamic.

Fresh and local, Iechyd Da Brewing Company is open Wednesday and Thursday from 3-9 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from Noon to 9 p.m., and Sunday from Noon to 8 p.m.

Wedgewood Brewing Co.

129 Orpha Drive Unit B, Middlebury

(574) 358-0265

21+

Wedgewood Brewing Co. is a 21+, music-centered brewpub offering artisan craft brews, craft cocktails, and delicious food. Inspired by their love of music, the owners of Wedgewood Brewing Co. take great pride in offering an array of creative, handcrafted foods and beverages that are as innovative as they are fresh and delicious.

Wedgewood’s house brews include Get Some!, a bright and easy-drinking Golden Ale brewed for football season; Little Dreamer—a hoppy Pale Ale brewed with mosaic and galaxy hops; the Copperbelly double IPA—featuring flavors such as fresh-squeezed orange juice, peaches, and tropical fruit combined with a max load of mosaic hops; Beyond The Pine, a soft, distinct American Double IPA featuring flavors of grapefruit, citrus rind, and floral pine; and Sweet Thing, an Imperial Milk Stout brewed with chocolate, hazelnut, and espresso. Wedgewood also serves its Copperbelly Double IPA in carry-out 4-packs, and offers a flagship IPA, the Yippie IPA MF! Brewed with American hops and honey and loaded with juicy citrus, mango, and stonefruit flavors, the Yippe IPA MF! is an India Pale Ale with a staisfying and smooth finish.

The food menu at Wedgewood is a happy collage of munchies, salads, sandwiches, chicken options, and smash burgers—including the mouth-watering California Smash (two smashed patties with American cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato and 1000 island sauce)—and menu specials are available Thursday-Saturday until 2 p.m. The Loaded Tots, flavored and ‘loaded’ with white queso, bacon and jalapeno, are a crowd favorite and—paired with some great music and one of Wedgewood’s craft brews—will help you find your happy place!

Wedgewood Brewing Co. is open Wednesday from 3-9 p.m., Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from Noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday from Noon to 8 p.m.

Westwind Brewery Co.

911 Plum Street, Elkhart

(574) 327-6767

21+

The goal at Westwind, a family-run, small batch brewery, is simple; to use fresh ingredients to create and serve unique, high-quality small batch beer for afficianados in Elkhart, Goshen, and all throughout Northern Indiana.

All beers on tap at Westwind Brewry Co. are available for purchase in 16 oz cans, and Westwind sells kegs as well. Some of the beers Westwind Brewery Co. is known for include the Better Days Raspberry Wheat—a fruity, award-winning Wheat Ale brewed with fresh raspberries; the #17 New England IPA, brewed with Midwest Paradigm and Talus hops; the light and easy-drinking Kingsmen Kolsch; Genesis Stout, a Russian Imperial Stout with hints of chocolate, coffee, and maple; and Captain’s Parlay, a Belgian Dark Ale brewed with Saaz hops and Belgian candy sugar.

Westwind is open Monday, Thursday, and Friday from 3-8 p.m., Saturday from Noon to 8 p.m., and Summer Sundays from 2-8 p.m. Pets are allowed on the patio (not inside, sorry) and shuffleboard is always an option! Customers can buy merch and place scheduled pickup orders for beer, online, at order.toasttab.com.