Overall, I'd say that Indianapolis is a good, but not great, beer city. There is a decent number of breweries, but not a huge number. For the most part, it was quality beer, but I don't think I had anything exceptional. (Of course, in our limited time there, we were only able to stop at a few of the breweries. There are MANY other options. Since originally posting this, I have received suggestions that we should have tried Flat 12 Bierworks and Bier Brewery and Taproom.)
Black Acre Brewing Company (5632 E Washington St., Indianapolis)
Our first stop was Black Acre Brewing. This small brewery sits in a strip of stores and restaurants on in the Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis. There are a few tables available on the front patio, along with the relatively small bar and around 15 tables available inside. Reclaimed wood running up the wall and across the ceiling to the bar warms up the interior. Parking is conveniently available in a small lot behind the brewery.
Situated in the middle of a neighborhood, I could see myself spending a lot of time here if I lived nearby. This seems like the comfortable kind of place that I'd like to walk to, enjoy a beer on the patio, and just watch the world go by.
While we were there, they had 6 of their own beers available, along with around 10 guest taps of other beers, ciders and a mead. The drinks are reasonably priced, and I was able to get a flight of 4 samples for $8.
Fair Wind Porter (7.5/10)
- Has a fair chocolate bitterness up front, but the finish is a little weak.
- This is a little light at first, but then the dark chocolate flavor builds. Medium-bitterness
- This medium-hoppy beer has an almost "punch"-like fragrance. It has a floral upfront flavor, but is light at the end.
Dagger Punch! ESB (4/10)
- Drinks like a brown, but much more intense. This has a deep flavor that stays with you, but I wasn't a big fan.
Like a lot of small breweries, they have a number of seasonals available throughout the year. I really wish we could have been there when the Carver's Army (Peanut Butter Porter) or Late Christmas (Gingerbread Porter) was available.
New Day Craft Mead & Hard Cider (1102 Prospect St., Indianapolis)
It was then time to move onto the Fountain Square area so that the Mrs. could try out what ciders Indianapolis has to offer. New Day has a bright tasting room on the corner of Prospect and East Shelby Streets.
I'd say this tasting room knows it's target audience, and knows that a good portion of those people are women. Weekly events include a yoga night and a massage night, but anyone can be comfortable sitting around and playing their available board games while enjoying New Day's cider.
When we were there, they had 3 ciders and 2 meads available. The favorite was their South Cider, which had a nice balance between tartness and sweetness.
It was nice to see that New Day's offerings are also available at the other breweries we visited. The Mrs. was able to get a mead at Black Acre and a cider at Fountain Square.
Fountain Square Brewery (1301 Barth Ave, Indianapolis)
Leaving New Day, it was a short walk to Fountain Square Brewery.
They have a relatively large tasting room, with a couple of old-school video games sitting around. A deck attached next to the entrance provides a great place to spend a sunny afternoon.
We visited on a Sunday afternoon, and the growler line was crazy. They offer growler fills for $5.50 on Sundays, and I don't think I ever saw the line with fewer than 10 people in it during the hour or so that we were there. Compared to the idiotic Georgia no-sale laws, it almost brought a tear to my eye...and certainly made it obvious why Georgia breweries would like to be able to sell their own beers.
And now, the beer...
After scoring a couple of seats at the bar, I ordered a flight ($5 for 6 - 3oz pours), and the Mrs. was able to enjoy a New Day Johnny Chapman cider.
Workingman Pilsner (3/10)
This seems to be a popular location among the locals. The bartenders seemed to know half of the people that wandered up to them to get beers. They also welcome dogs inside, which means this is a great place to walk to and spend a couple of hours on an evening or weekend day.
Tow Yard Brewing (501 S. Madison, Indianapolis)
At this point, we thought we were done visiting breweries for the day, because most closed fairly early on a Sunday, but we happened to drive past Tow Yard, so decided to check to see if it was still open. Happily, it was!
Tow Yard has a large dining area, along with a small outdoor seating area that overlooks the downtown skyline. We decided to sit at the bar, overlooking the brewing equipment.
We had been busy checking out breweries, so decided it was time for a snack. We just got an order of the pretzel bites, since we were planning on dinner later. They were very good, and came with two dipping sauces. The honey mustard sauce was some of the best I've ever had, but I didn't really spend much time on that, because the other sauce was a beer-cheese dip that was simply amazing. They have their own deli area, with a number of sandwiches available. After trying the pretzel bites, I'd really like to try a meal here.
Overall the beer was good, but nothing exceptional. As is normal, I had a flight. Unfortunately, they had very limited options for someone who didn't want beer. They had a few wines, but no ciders...so the Mrs. had to go without. (I never understand why more places don't have cider available, especially if they have other drinks available.)
Hook Up Shandy (6/10)
I could see coming here for a couple of beers and to have some appetizers or dinner, but probably wouldn't seek it out especially for the beer. The food quality seems to out-pace the quality of the beer.
If you have to stay the night anywhere near the airport, I'd recommend going to Black Swan to try out the beers. The food was solid, but we weren't overwhelmed with anything we had. I'd like to give it a try again. If you happen to be around on Friday...even better; fill up your growler for $6.50.
If you're visiting Indianapolis, check out some of these breweries or any of the others. Check their schedule before visiting, though. Most have limited hours, and many are not open at all during the beginning of the week.
BONUS - Triptych Brewing (Savoy, Illinois)
The friends who we were visiting live in Champaign, Illinois, so we made visit to their local brewery: Triptych.
Triptych is a great small brewery that anyone should be happy to have in their neighborhood. They usually have around ten of their own beers on tap.
We tried a few of their tasters (available for around $1.25-$2.00 per 4 oz pour), and then each followed it up with our own glass. A couple of our favorites were:
Because, Coffee (Coffee Stout)
It was then time to move onto the Fountain Square area so that the Mrs. could try out what ciders Indianapolis has to offer. New Day has a bright tasting room on the corner of Prospect and East Shelby Streets.
I'd say this tasting room knows it's target audience, and knows that a good portion of those people are women. Weekly events include a yoga night and a massage night, but anyone can be comfortable sitting around and playing their available board games while enjoying New Day's cider.
When we were there, they had 3 ciders and 2 meads available. The favorite was their South Cider, which had a nice balance between tartness and sweetness.
It was nice to see that New Day's offerings are also available at the other breweries we visited. The Mrs. was able to get a mead at Black Acre and a cider at Fountain Square.
Fountain Square Brewery (1301 Barth Ave, Indianapolis)
Leaving New Day, it was a short walk to Fountain Square Brewery.
They have a relatively large tasting room, with a couple of old-school video games sitting around. A deck attached next to the entrance provides a great place to spend a sunny afternoon.
We visited on a Sunday afternoon, and the growler line was crazy. They offer growler fills for $5.50 on Sundays, and I don't think I ever saw the line with fewer than 10 people in it during the hour or so that we were there. Compared to the idiotic Georgia no-sale laws, it almost brought a tear to my eye...and certainly made it obvious why Georgia breweries would like to be able to sell their own beers.
And now, the beer...
After scoring a couple of seats at the bar, I ordered a flight ($5 for 6 - 3oz pours), and the Mrs. was able to enjoy a New Day Johnny Chapman cider.
Workingman Pilsner (3/10)
- Ok, to be fair, I don't go to a craft brewery for a pilsner. I'm sure it was fine, but it just didn't do anything for me.
- This may be the first time I've picked an amber as my favorite beer from a brewery; but it may just be because it's different. It drinks like a dark pale ale, with a slight hoppiness. I actually ended up ordering a pint of this after going through the flight.
Backyard Porter (7/10)
- This had a medium-deep flavor, with just a bit of smokiness. Very drinkable. When we were there, one of the locals was telling us about how much he likes to take this beer home and enjoy it while barbecuing due to the way the smoke in the beer worked with the smoke from the grill. I can understand that completely.
Craic Oatmeal Stout (5/10)
- The Craic had a pretty light flavor, with just a little maltiness coming through.
Hop For Teacher Pale Ale (4.5/10)
- The pale ale had a slight floral and fragrance and taste, but really not a lot of flavor. A slight bitterness at the end made it more interesting.
Soul Ride IPA (6.5/10)
- A floral fragrance and taste accompanies a slight bitterness at the end. I would say this was pretty lightly-hopped for an IPA.
Tow Yard Brewing (501 S. Madison, Indianapolis)
At this point, we thought we were done visiting breweries for the day, because most closed fairly early on a Sunday, but we happened to drive past Tow Yard, so decided to check to see if it was still open. Happily, it was!
Tow Yard has a large dining area, along with a small outdoor seating area that overlooks the downtown skyline. We decided to sit at the bar, overlooking the brewing equipment.
We had been busy checking out breweries, so decided it was time for a snack. We just got an order of the pretzel bites, since we were planning on dinner later. They were very good, and came with two dipping sauces. The honey mustard sauce was some of the best I've ever had, but I didn't really spend much time on that, because the other sauce was a beer-cheese dip that was simply amazing. They have their own deli area, with a number of sandwiches available. After trying the pretzel bites, I'd really like to try a meal here.
Overall the beer was good, but nothing exceptional. As is normal, I had a flight. Unfortunately, they had very limited options for someone who didn't want beer. They had a few wines, but no ciders...so the Mrs. had to go without. (I never understand why more places don't have cider available, especially if they have other drinks available.)
Hook Up Shandy (6/10)
- A little lemon/orange flavor, with a slight wheat taste. Some sips seemed to come through with a cheap lager flavor at the end.
Golden Hops (4/10)
- Not much flavor with this one...slight lager taste.
Horse Power Double IPA (6/10)
- Slight floral and hops flavors. Very drinkable.
Who's That? Brown (7/10)
- This is better than the average brown, and has much more chocolate/coffee flavors than you would usually find.
All Along the Scotch Tower (4/10)
- This is ok, but there's really no scotch flavor at all. Overall, it's pretty much...eh.
Black Swan Brewpub (2067 E. Hadley Rd, Plainfield)
Our hotel was near the airport, so we decided to head to the Black Swan Brewpub for dinner. When we were at Fountain Square, one of the other customers suggested trying it out.
Black Swan is more of a restaurant than the breweries that we had visited earlier. There were only around 8 seats at the bar, but it was fairly late, so we were able to grab a couple.
We ended up ordering the reuben and the stack (a sandwich of 2 stacked pork tenderloins), because they were recommended by the guy we talked to at Fountain Square. They were both good, but not great. I wouldn't go out of my way to get them again. One highlight is their fries. They will toss them in a seasoning (mixed herb, truffle oil & parmesan, sea salt & vinegar, salt & pepper), and they come with one of five dips (bacon aioli, sundried tomato aioli, pineaple aioli, chipotle aioli, habenero ketchup).
They have 16 drafts, mostly devoted to their own beers, but they do also have a cider and some other Indiana beers on tap. As always, I got a flight while the Mrs. went for the cider.
Rye IPA (4/10)
- Mild upfront flavor, but way too much bitterness at the end for me. That's a bitterness that sticks with you.
Nelson Sauvin IPA (4/10)
- Slight sweetness, but very bitter at the end.
Chile Porter (8/10)
- This may be the favorite/most interesting beer that I had in Indy. It has a nice porter depth, with sweetness from the chile peppers. The heat is somewhat subtle, but builds in the back of the throat with each taste. I'm not sure that I would want a pint, but an 8 ounce pour would be great.
Scottish (6.5/10)
- There's a scotch sweetness, but not much else memorable to this beer. I'd expect a stronger flavor in a scotch ale.
Cream Stout (8.5/10)
- This was very drinkable, with a slight coffee bitterness at front, but that really smoothed out at the end. Another favorite of the trip. I finished the night with a pint of this one.
If you have to stay the night anywhere near the airport, I'd recommend going to Black Swan to try out the beers. The food was solid, but we weren't overwhelmed with anything we had. I'd like to give it a try again. If you happen to be around on Friday...even better; fill up your growler for $6.50.
Sun King (135 N. College, Indianapolis)
We decided to make one more brewery stop on Monday before flying out, but the options were really limited. Normally I wouldn't bother with a larger production brewery, but we decided to stop at Sun King. Honestly, it really wasn't worth the stop.
For $8, you get 6 small tastes. The Fistful of Hops was a decent IPA. The others were just disappointing, and not really worth writing about. Most were lacking in flavor.
- Sun Light Cream Ale
- Wee Mac Scottish Ale
- Osiris Pale Ale
- Indians Lager
- Bitter Druid ESB
A non-brewery recommedation - Goose the Market (2503 N Delaware St, Indianapolis)
We knew we were going to have limited time before our flight, so we decided to grab a couple of sandwiches to eat at the airport. We had seen some recommendations for Goose the Market, so decided to give it a try. Wow...great place.
We ordered a couple of their sandwiches/subs, the Nimoy and the Batali. Ok, the Nimoy was great, but the Batali was phenomental. The Batali is a sandwich filled with italian meats, provolone, tomato preserves, red onion, giardinara and mayo...yum. Plus, all the meats and cheeses are freshly cut from their deli case.
This just seems a like a great place, and I wish it was in my neighborhood. Upstairs is full of freshly baked breads, deli items, and gelati. the basement is full of beers and wines, along with a tasting bar where you can get a glass of wine and try some of their small plates (olives, cheese, etc.).
I'd love to stop back in at Goose the Market for some picnic items, and then go for a nice walk by the canal. (Of course, I might have to check to see if it's legal to bring some beers down there too.)
We knew we were going to have limited time before our flight, so we decided to grab a couple of sandwiches to eat at the airport. We had seen some recommendations for Goose the Market, so decided to give it a try. Wow...great place.
We ordered a couple of their sandwiches/subs, the Nimoy and the Batali. Ok, the Nimoy was great, but the Batali was phenomental. The Batali is a sandwich filled with italian meats, provolone, tomato preserves, red onion, giardinara and mayo...yum. Plus, all the meats and cheeses are freshly cut from their deli case.
This just seems a like a great place, and I wish it was in my neighborhood. Upstairs is full of freshly baked breads, deli items, and gelati. the basement is full of beers and wines, along with a tasting bar where you can get a glass of wine and try some of their small plates (olives, cheese, etc.).
I'd love to stop back in at Goose the Market for some picnic items, and then go for a nice walk by the canal. (Of course, I might have to check to see if it's legal to bring some beers down there too.)
BONUS - Triptych Brewing (Savoy, Illinois)
The friends who we were visiting live in Champaign, Illinois, so we made visit to their local brewery: Triptych.
Triptych is a great small brewery that anyone should be happy to have in their neighborhood. They usually have around ten of their own beers on tap.
We tried a few of their tasters (available for around $1.25-$2.00 per 4 oz pour), and then each followed it up with our own glass. A couple of our favorites were:
Because, Coffee (Coffee Stout)
- A stout with heavy coffee flavors, The coffee was almost too much, but it had a nice balance.
- This had nice a nice subtle sweetness to pair with the 10% ABV & 103 IBUs. This is a nice beer to sit around and enjoy over the course of a half hour or so. This is one of the best barleywines that I've had.
Smoke Me Out (Smoked Porter)
- I can take or leave smoked beers. Sometimes it's like you are drinking it out of an ashtray. Some people like that...I don't understand it, but then again, I don't understand sours either, and those are all the rage right now. That's not this beer. This has a nice deep porter flavor with a smooth smoked taste that works really well with the porter.
RedX (Red IPA)
- This was the favorite that they had on tap while we were there. This has a nice balance of hops and malts. There is a hoppiness that I didn't find in any of the Indianapolis, without being overpowering.
Triptych is a brewery with a tasting room. It's not a restaurant, and doesn't have anything available to drink other than their beers. But, you can bring food in to enjoy with their beers.
And, this is the first time that I ever saw a brewery where you could get 32oz cans poured right from the tap and sealed in front of you. Maybe I'm a little too impressed by this, but it was a nice find (especially since I don't need yet another glass growler).
There are lots of great beers available in the Midwest. Hopefully this will get you started on your search.
