In honor of the musical Waitress, which was making its Indianapolis debut, Sun King Brewery and WFYI, our public broadcasting station, sponsored a pie contest. The contest required entrants to submit a story about a pie, and the persons who submitted the six best stories would present their pies for judging and tell their stories at the brewery. In the meantime, the brewery would develop a new beer with a “pie flavor.”
The winning stories and pies captured the spirit of the lead character in the show who named her pies for events in her life. As each contestant told the story of her pie, a panel of judges tasted the pie. The audience participated by trying the new beer! 
The new beer, Ba-Na-Na-Na (Do-Do-Do-Do-Do) was inspired by a Banana Cream Pie. The beer is a German-style Hefeweizen, brewed from the unique strain of ale yeast used in making the beer. It was quite tasty, actually, with an after taste of banana.
People: Six finalists who showcased their pies, wore their favorite apron, and told their pie stories.
Places: Sun King Brewery. This brewery has a fondness for pies and of course beer (See the January 2017 Blog.) The brewery was lively on the night of the pie story telling.
Pies:
“Apple Dean Pie” –Apple Pie with a Cheddar Crust. The pie was made from the contestant’s grandmother Dean’s recipe.
“Deep Dish of Gratitude”-Caramel Apple Pie. The pie-maker gave this pie to her neighbor for welcoming her to the neighborhood by mowing her lawn.
“Married to the Wrong Guy and then the Right Guy” -Smoked Cherry Pie. This second place winner told a story about a mistake that turned out for the best. The “right guy” was cheering in the audience.
“Mother’s Lemon Meringue Pie”—Lemon Meringue Pie. This contestant told her story with props from her mother including a wooden spoon, a recipe box, and the handwritten recipe for the pie. The pie and story received the third place ribbon.
“You Look Like you Might Ruin my Life” — Colorado Chicken Pot Pie. The story for this pie was about feeding a homeless person each time she came to a basketball game. The pie is wrapped in a bandanna to be used as a napkin. (The original version of the “Colorado Pot” pie included a bit of Colorado pot!)
“Triple Berry” –Triple Berry Pie. When this contestant was a young woman, she entered this pie in a “Grandma’s Pie Contest.” She thought she was entering a contest that was to include her grandma’s recipe, not the actual grandma, and when she showed up to the contest she discovered her mistake! She redeemed herself with her funny story and tasty pie as the recipient of the first place winner of the Waitress Pie Contest.
