Always excited to try new beers, I sought out a few of the small batch and un-bottled offerings available in Indianapolis. My first chance was at the Sun King Tasting Room on a late Saturday afternoon.
After picking up our free tickets for samples we entered the warehouse/tasting area. There was a beer festival atmosphere – dozens of people were sampling and chatting while even more folks were touring the facilities. A film crew was working inside the crowd. Sun King was offering 6 different samples – 3 regular and 3 specialty beers. I gravitated toward the beers I was unfamiliar with like the Black Lager, which had a nice burnt toast char. Generally I don’t care much for Wheat beers but I believe I enjoyed the very hoppy wheat most of all.
Next stop was Flat 12. It is a smaller operation than Sun King but they were equally crowded for their size. I was there near closing time and the staff appeared to be tired and somewhat surly. We were able to take away the tasty West Coast style Half-Cycle IPA and the Tangerine Porter for later (review here!).
In the Irvington neighborhood is Black Acre Brewing. They brew a few of their own beers (like the refreshing Green Tea Pale Ale) but also host some other great taps supporting other small Indiana breweries such as Bloomington Brewing and Triton.
Other worthy stops include The Brugge Brasserie and Upland Brewing. Both are doing wonderful sour ales as well as their more mainstream offerings.
Although I was in Indianapolis for only a short time I was able to drink a great selection of fresh and interesting beers. There are many more spots to be mined and the Indianapolis beer scene is definitely worth a road trip.
