duction and letting the music seek its own path. He says “check this out.” If you like it, great. If you don’t that’s fine too.

“We all grew up on his rock choices,” Hormann said. “He gives us the insight. He’s introduced us to so much music. Joe Bonamassa, for one. Doc’s a friend to wake up to in the morning. Your good friend who knows music.”

As with music, Doc has introduced Fort Wayne to some pretty cool people through WXKE. When it came time to hire a new deejay, Doc looked beyond the resumé.

“I hired Sharon Rossi, Buzz Maxwell, Liz Thatcher, J.J. Fabini,” Doc said. “I walked away from many other people that were qualified way beyond what these other people had on paper. I hired them because of their passion. My main thing is passion. The key word. Passion overrules many, many other things. It was great to see these people develop.”

As for Fort Wayne’s development, Doc is enthusiastic. He sees good things coming back to the city.

“We’re about to see another change,” he said. “I did the Kiss concert at the Coliseum the other night, and for the first time they had us park our van right next to the ticket office on the sidewalk, blasting music. And the Sweetwater people have made the future of Fort Wayne very bright artistically.”

At 65, Doc has no plans to retire. He’ll continue doing his thing on 96.3 WXKE as long as he can. He’ll continue to be everywhere, opening concerts, telling stories, seeking that communal buzz that only music can deliver. tasting glass and a surprise gift.

VIP tickets ($60) include all of the above plus an exclusive hour of tasting before the official start time of the event and an additional surprise gift.

Everyone who attends is entered into a drawing for a most-expenses-paid trip for two to Denver’s Great American Beer Festival in October.

Attendance at the event tends to average about 600 people, Volz said, but Mad Anthony is hoping to see as many as 1,000 this year.

The atmosphere at Brewed IN is nothing like a trade show, he said. It’s more like a reunion.

“When you see the breweries, they’re all hanging out at each other’s tents and reminiscing,” Volz said. “They’re talking about projects they might do together. A lot of these people have relationships going back years and years and years.”