Since my largest account is located in Fort Wayne, I've been spending some time in the city. Fort Wayne has a very vibrant micro-brewing community and I've had the pleasure of finding some good brewpubs in my trips out there over the years. On this visit to Fort Wayne, I found one that I had not been to before - Junk Ditch Brewing Company.
Unlike many brewpubs who got their start from home brewers, Junk Ditch Brewing Company actually started in a food truck. Andrew Smith and Dan Campbell started up the Affiné food truck in 2012 offering customers made-from-scratch specialties made with locally sourced ingredients. A couple years later, the duo became a trio when business partner Jack May came into the picture. May was a chef and had an extensive culinary background as a line cook, sous chef and a butcher. The group had talked about doing a restaurant at some point and thought about something that would be beer-centric with a farm-to-fork sustainable prix-fixe menu.
Along with Jack May, his wife Grace Kelly May became a big part of the project. Grace Kelly May was an artisanal baker and classic pastry chef who had moved back to Fort Wayne after working in restaurants all over the U.S. She was in the process of opening her own bakery - GK Baked Goods. She would provide the new brewpub concept her husband and their partners were working on with the buns, breads and other baked goods. GK Baked Goods opened in 2015, the first restaurant under the Affiné Hospitality umbrella.
For their brewpub, the group found a nearly 100 year old building - which abutted up to Junk Ditch Creek - that initially was a paper company, then later became a slaughterhouse before becoming a warehouse in later years. The building needed a lot of work, but it was perfect for the plans the group had for their brewpub. After an extensive renovation of the building, which included the destruction of the second floor to give the dining area more of an open space, Junk Ditch Brewing opened in July of 2016.
It was around 6:30 when I pulled into the parking lot at Junk Ditch Brewing. (see map) The problem was that there was an outdoor gathering with live music and food trucks (including the Junk Ditch Brewing truck) that was going on in the green space next to the brewery. The parking area was packed and I had to search for a spot. I finally found one - next to a dumpster that was used by a Jamaican restaurant and a convenience store next to the brewery. Not the most optimal spot, but at least I found something close to the brewery.
Inside Junk Ditch Brewing the dining room was open and airy with distressed wood accents along the short walls with distressed wood table tops and banquet seating. The original beams that held up the second floor were exposed with multi-color stained wood panels highlighting the area above the bar area. The dining area wasn't all that big, seating - maybe - 70 people at capacity.
I took a seat at the bar and was greeted by the bartender whose name was Gage. He looked like a guy who would be named Gage - actually, he looked a lot like the actor Chris Evans. But he was a nice guy and was very helpful with any of the questions on the beer and food that I had that evening.
The beer menu at Junk Ditch varies through the months. 4-packs of 16 ounce cans and growlers are available for people who want to drink their beers at home. They have most of the usual suspects in the different styles of beer available year round with different varieties from time to time. The hazy IPA that they had on tap that evening was called the Idle Enterprise. It was...., well, it was OK. Not the best hazy IPA I've had, but certainly not the worst. The beer had a rich hoppy flavor with a bit of a citrus backing.
The food menu also changes seasonally and with availability. Burgers and sandwiches are usually fixed in terms of being on the menu on a daily basis. Small plates such as fried Brussels sprouts and falafel bites were available as appetizers. The Cubano sandwich made with a GK Baked Goods ciabatta along with locally sourced ham and braised pork carnitas sounded good - good enough that I briefly considered it before I realized that I was in Fort Wayne and not South Florida. And the burgers they had - especially mushroom/Swiss burger - sounded good. But I had a burger the night before and I really didn't want another one that evening
Two of the specials they had that night both sounded appetizing. They had a chuck roast with gnocchi in a pureéd sauce made with gochujang (a spicy Korean paste), brown butter and a slow-cooked egg topped with chopped fresh scallions and sesame seeds. The other was a gluten-free chicken breast cooked in a fish sauce and caramel glaze. It came with rice and finished with sesame broccoli crowns, pickled onions, crispy shallots, sliced radish and micro greens.
I had to have Gage help me in my choice that evening. I told him what I was thinking about and it was really down to the chuck roast gnocchi and the chicken and rice. "Oh, go with the beef and gnocchi," he said enthusiastically.
And I'm glad I did. The chuck roast beef was tender and pulled apart easily. The gnocchi was good, but the sauce - oh... my... GOD!! The sauce had a bit of a spicy bite, but overall it was excellent. It was thick and full of flavor. I told Gage that they really needed to serve it with bread to dip into the sauce. I mean, it was all I could do from putting the bowl up to my mouth and slurping down the rest of the sauce once I had finish the beef and gnocchi. If I had a spoon, I would finished the sauce off like a soup. It was just amazing.
Fort Wayne has so many very good brewpubs that it's getting to the point that you really can't go wrong with any of them. It's like each one of them steps up their game when a new one comes on line. And the meal I had at Junk Ditch Brewing Company was just outstanding. The hazy IPA I had was fine, but the meal was pretty memorable. It's sort of hard to find, but if you ever make it to Fort Wayne, a visit to Junk Ditch should be on your list.
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