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Every summer, tens of thousands of people flock to Indianapolis for Gen Con, America’s largest tabletop gaming convention. From Dungeons & Dragons to Settlers of Catan and far, far beyond, anything that gets played on a table in-person is here in full force. I have attended every Gen Con since 2004, a fact that causes me major lower back pain every time I remember it. Nevertheless, I spent the first day of this year’s event tasting as many of the specialty foods and beverages on offer as I could, on a mighty quest to tell my fellow nerds what’s worth their time (and everyone else about all the fun they’re missing).
Dragon’s Milk x Dungeons & Dragons Coconut Barrel Rum Reserve Stout
Inspired by the Gargantuan Sea Turtle from Dungeons & Dragons, this limited-edition stout is aged in Caribbean rum barrels with toasted coconut flakes. I’m not the most experienced beer taster (or the luckiest), but for the first time, I can taste something in a stout besides old bread. The original Dragon’s Milk is the #1 top-selling American-made stout, so I shouldn’t be too surprised a specialty variant is standing above the pack.
This layered stout delivers everything it’s claiming to and then some. The toasted coconut is complemented naturally by the underlying hints of rum; both notes are distinctly (and positively) present over the density of this 11% ABV brew. It’s just my luck to start falling for a beer produced as a very limited run.
I’d also like to take this time to let everyone know about the upcoming mead-cask-aged Blue Dragon edition of Dragon’s Milk’s Origin Bourbon Whiskey, revealed to the world at Gen Con 2026. This 100-proof spirit comes with a sculpted dragon’s-head pour spout, which I am so unbelievably into.
Hot Box Pizza’s Dragon’s Luau Pizza
Indiana’s own Hot Box Pizza runs a fan-submitted contest every year to determine the name and toppings of Gen Con’s official pizza. Gen Con 2026’s offering, the Dragon’s Luau, was ideated by Wesley Melitz. This year’s slice tops a spicy red sauce and mozzarella base with spicy pepperoni, bacon, pineapple, and a drizzle of Mike’s Hot Honey.
While I’m partial to Columbus’ take on Hawaiian Pizza (Donato’s Hawaiian is topped with ham, pineapple, almonds, and cinnamon–don’t knock it until you try it), this is a solid, meatier take on the concept. While the pizza looks absolutely laden with pineapple at first glance, the taste is actually quite balanced between sweets and meats. This could convert quite a few pineapple-on-pizza non-believers.
As someone who’s already on board with turning pizza into a fruit salad, I have time to ponder improvements to the rest of the toppings. I would have preferred cubed pepperoni to these cup slices, both for texture and theme; after all, nearly every tabletop game uses square tokens or a six-sided die or something square. And call me a hot honey fanatic (I’ll be meeting Mikaela in the pit of gladiatorial combat for her recent article decrying the popularity of my favorite shortcut to sweet heat), but I’d like more of that nuanced warmth over the basic heat of the spicy pepperoni and red sauce.
Wild Bill’s Soda
This is a bit of a cheap answer, but Wild Bill’s Craft Beverage Co. almost has too many sodas on tap for Gen Con attendees to choose from. The wagon cycles flavors in and out as the taps are killed; keep an eye out for their spectacular Rocket Pop or Ring Pop Blue Raspberry flavors if you’re looking for a great nostalgic cane-sugar soda. If neither are available by the time you make it through the refill line with your Gen Con-branded flagon, you can’t go wrong with their classic root beer.
Critical Hit Soda’s Sour Wyrm Soda
Critical Hit Soda has offered an annual specialty dirty soda at this event for the past few years. The Gen Con 2026 recipe mixes coconut, strawberry, watermelon, and sour flavoring with a Mountain Dew base. This sour tropical mix isn’t too far off of this year’s actual Halloween Mountain Dew flavor: Sour Mango Pineapple Strawberry Punch. If the official release is as layered and bright as this handcrafted dirty soda, we’re all going to be happy. (As it stands, I’m just happy the smallest size they offer is 32 ounces; I wouldn’t want any less.)
Sun King Brewery Rage Quit Ale with Cherry & Lemon-Lime Flavor
Confession time: I did not have time during the first day of Gen Con 2026 to try Sun King Brewery’s official event beer. I’ll be taking tasting notes on this cherry-lemon-lime sour ale ASAP (likely with my Friday afternoon lunch) to update this piece for the good of all thirsty gamers prowling Indianapolis this weekend. Stay tuned, warriors.
