450 North Brewing Co. is planning an eclipse watching party beginning at 11 a.m. Monday, featuring the company’s Great Eclipse Beer on tap or in cans to take home.
The Simmons family, which owns 450 North and Simmons Winery, doesn’t know how many people might be coming, but there have been 25 reservations so far, owner David Simmons said.
There’s almost 300 acres of beautiful Indiana farmland to watch an unobstructed view of the eclipse and the brewing company is offering free viewing glasses with a purchase of the beer and will have limited-edition T-shirts also available.
Describing the beer as “beautifully balanced,” with a “hazy New England style,” the IPA is a blend of Mosaic and Citra hops.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
The new Great Eclipse Beer has been in the development stage for three to four months, Simmons said.
450 North is located at 8111 E. County Road 450N in Bartholomew County.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Postal Service also is in on eclipse mania, releasing the Total Eclipse of the Sun stamp June 20 that lets viewers create a solar eclipse with the heat of their thumb.
Designed by Antonio Alcala, the stamp is the first to use thermochromic ink, which reacts to the heat of touch. When you place your thumb or finger over the black disc on the stamp, it causes the ink to change from black to clear to reveal the underlying image of the moon. The image reverts back to a black disc once it cools.
The back of the stamp pane shows a map of the path of the eclipse. The stamp uses a photograph taken by astrophysicist Fred Espenak of a total solar eclipse that was seen over Jalu, Libya, on March 29, 2006.
The stamps area available at post offices throughout Indiana, including Columbus.
