Sun King Brewing Company

Brewery, Bar, Beer-to-go

135 N. College Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202
United States

(317) 602-3702 | map
sunkingbrewing.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.88
Beers:
198
Ratings:
5,156
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.07
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
131
pDev:
12.53%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by RossiDaMan:
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Reviewed by RossiDaMan from Illinois

3.68/5  rDev -9.6%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.75
My first stop here was a quick one while passing through-- and at 11:00 AM on a Friday. I was there for a total of 10 mins so please take my limited time into account with my review. First thing, upon entering there is a small gift area (t-shirts, etc) and a receptionist. I didn't see any beer so I asked the receptionist where the carry out items were. She wasn't overly friendly but pointed me through a door that led me into a "warehouse" which is where the carry out cans and growlers were filled and is what I was looking for. There were about 5-6 varieties of carry out cans available-- I picked up a 4-pack of Osiris. Checking out was a breeze and I was on my way. Again, 10 minutes in and out and once I found the carry out area, it was fine. To another reviewer's point-- it looked kinda touristy but could be a cool place to hang on a summer night.
Jun 28, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of edthehead
Reviewed by edthehead from Maryland

3.89/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 3.75
Downtown brewery in Indianapolis, tons of seating, outdoor patio, semi-weak beer selection and quality of primarily pales and IPA. Some Mexican light fare food available inside.
Feb 27, 2024
 
Rated: 4.56 by MJSFS from Florida

Feb 16, 2024
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Reviewed by eluvah from New York

4.16/5  rDev +2.2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
Big place with plenty of seating. Beertender was very helpful and attentive. Have a really good selection of styles. Beer was good, not great but I would recommend it as a place to stop to have a few beers.
Mar 09, 2022
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Reviewed by Pivopijak from Washington

4.41/5  rDev +8.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75
Upon talking to the tap keeper, whom was very helpful and full of information on the company's beers, found out that Sun King is a top beer volume producer in the state. The canning line is visible if you turn your head, while stationed at the bar. The building is big and quite tall. The decor is the standard wood topped tables with lots of room and polished concrete flooring. The beer menu is the main attraction here. On a large and tall wall, above the 30-40 taps are vertical banner flags, with each beer name, information and logo. They have a number of beers that are only served on premises. They have most any brewpub beer style. For instance, I stuck to a little fraction of the beer menu and had: Afternoon - doppelbock aged in boubon barrels , Touched By An Angel - Belgian style tripel aged in bourbon barrels, Sympathy For The Devil - Belgian style black ale aged in whiskey barrels & Velvet Fog - Belgian style quadrupel aged in boubon barrels, and there were non-barrel aged verions of some of these, and they were all equally quite good.
Nov 13, 2021
 
Rated: 4.39 by LXIXME from New Mexico

May 16, 2019
 
Rated: 4.41 by CisPiece88 from Nebraska

Apr 09, 2019
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Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

4.29/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5
The brewery was located in a not so great part of town in a warehouse like building....but inside was bright and decorative with plenty of seating and a bar at the one end. The quality of the beer was above average and there was plenty to choose from. The service was fine....just the ordering process is a bit difficult as you have to order from the bar and you have to squeeze between those sitting at the bar to place an order....it just makes things difficult.
Apr 01, 2019
 
Rated: 4.01 by FrozenGoat from Michigan

Mar 20, 2019
 
Rated: 3.43 by Dinger0227 from Colorado

Dec 24, 2018
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Reviewed by NCSapiens from Indiana

3.99/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75
Cool large location downtown Indy. You can see into the brewery operations through glass. I was lucky and I got to see the whole crew zest lemons into a beer while I was sampling some brews. Cool life-size yeti. You can play board games and they had nintendos and other cool things to do. There are quite a few sun king beers on tap to choose from. The beers aren’t that great in my opinion, but it is the number one brewery within Indiana in terms of gallons distributed to locals because they have a lot of approachable beers for those who haven’t had much experience with craft beer.
Jul 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.71 by TargaFlorio from Indiana

May 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.24 by robebo44 from Virginia

May 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4.53 by JRaffTX from Texas

May 05, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Apr 01, 2018
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Rated by JDeV from Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev +2.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.25
Cool place with games and a nice selection.
Mar 07, 2018
Photo of NoYouDidnt
Reviewed by NoYouDidnt from Indiana

4.44/5  rDev +9.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.5
Atmosphere- there's been a nice change recently to make this place more hospitable and that is the addition of OCA from goose the market. So, food in the form of sandwiches and sausages and so forth is available now too which is nice. They have some tables set up within an open space in the brewery. You can order pints flights food. Being in the brewery it's not the most inviting atmosphere. Quality- good quality beers, clan place, a few different glassware served. Service- is great. Lines move quick. The beers are well explained on their menus and board. The servers get your beers poured quick and out to you. Selection- they have a wide variety of their own beers on. Their 3 flagships, a few seasonal, a few draft only releases, and a couple barrel aged reserve beers. Plus you can pick up 4 packs and reserves and growlers to go. Overall- quality place!
Dec 03, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by Jamison85 from Indiana

Nov 30, 2017
 
Rated: 4.63 by cstasek from Indiana

Oct 27, 2017
 
Rated: 4.14 by Brob245 from Missouri

Oct 21, 2017
 
Rated: 4.48 by camiconnell from Minnesota

Sep 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4.04 by mkyer from Connecticut

Aug 02, 2017
 
Rated: 4.51 by rossracing from Illinois

Jul 24, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by ssimpson89 from Illinois

May 05, 2017
 
Rated: 3.3 by SomewhereInTheMiddle from Indiana

Mar 20, 2017
 
Rated: 4.14 by turtmcgirt from Indiana

Feb 23, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by Danmullens1 from Wisconsin

Feb 05, 2017
 
Rated: 4.28 by irishpride from New York

Oct 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by Kevinpitts from Illinois

Oct 08, 2016
 
Rated: 4.21 by nwhittin from Indiana

Oct 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.82 by Thirstygoat from Illinois

Aug 21, 2016
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Reviewed by nickfl from Florida

3.46/5  rDev -15%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 3.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.5
I was told there wasn't really a lot worth while in Indianapolis, brewery wise, but I was looking forward to Sun King, unfortunately it was a big letdown. The vibe of the taproom is similar to what I have seen at bigger breweries in states where they can't sell pints to the public, more of a hospitality room in the brewery than a real taproom. This is fine, except they can and do sell pints, but the taproom is still clearly an afterthought. The most off putting part is that they sell cans, but only as 2, 4, or 6 packs, so if you wan't to take some variety home, forget it. The service was fine, and the selection is decent, at least in terms of the number of beers on tap, but the actual beers were very mediocre and uninspired. They had things like a Wit, two "experimental" hefeweizens, and a watery wee heavy. I was floored by the selection, which I couldn't help but see as really hacky and out of touch. I know these guys won a bunch of GABF medals a few years ago, but it just goes to show how little those competitions can mean. The beer wasn't bad really, just dissapointing. If I had it to do again I would have skipped these guys in favor of one of the other, no name breweries in town because with them at least you never know, you may get a pleasant surprise, while Sun King was quite the opposite.
Jun 27, 2016
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Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

4.03/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Visited on a Wednesday just before dinner time.

V - Tap room sits in the middle of the brewery. Lots of operations to see. Clean and bright. Smells like malt. Concrete, lots of stools and four tops. Good space for corporate events and the like. But nothing unique. Depends on what you like. 4

Sel - No guest taps. A decent selection but somewhat one sided if I had been looking for something deep, dark and roasty during my visit. 3.5

Ser – Friendly and helpful. Great prices on growler fills. All tips are donated to charity. 4

Q - How much better can it get than at the source. Clean and appropriate glassware. 4.5

F - No food but can order from local establishments. Sun King has some of the menus available.

BONUS info – No keg sales on Sunday in Indiana!
Jun 20, 2016
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Reviewed by Phoneguy from Indiana

3.68/5  rDev -9.6%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3
Taproom in brewery with a cold, industrial feel. There were probably 50 people there and it was quite noisy, due to the metal walls & ceiling. The quality of the beers we had was good and the staff was friendly and helpful, but I was a bit disappointed with the selection.
Jun 18, 2016
 
Rated: 4.14 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

May 31, 2016
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Reviewed by bwood06 from Wisconsin

4.88/5  rDev +19.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Brewery and tap room are in an industrial setting, i.e. warehouse type location, with the brewery equipment plainly visible to everyone in the tap room. Tap list is fairly long with various styles available for a variety of tastes. No food available (other than the hilariously simple menu, trust me, check it out), but you can have food delivered or bring it in. Both indoor and outdoor seating is available but the indoor space does get quite loud with even just a slight crowd (due to all of the metal present). I only saw one bathroom and it was a one hole unisex so the line was quite long and took a while to get through.
May 21, 2016
Photo of pezhead_79
Reviewed by pezhead_79 from Indiana

4.01/5  rDev -1.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75
A nice place to get a few drinks. Fridays are $6 growler fills on the standard beers but there is always 2-3 options only available at the brewery. They have some nice, fair priced merch and lots of room to chat with friends. Overall a good brewery with some upper level beer.
May 13, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by qcbrewer from North Carolina

Apr 05, 2016
 
Rated: 5 by jgagne from Kentucky

Mar 23, 2016
 
Rated: 4.05 by michaelsmith11 from Illinois

Feb 09, 2016
Sun King Brewing Company in Indianapolis, IN
Brewery rating: 3.88 out of 5 with 5156 ratings