Traveling to indy - help

Get thee to La Margarita in Fountain Square immediately. Short drive or cab from downtown. Really good food and the beer menu is as good as you will find (stay away from mega-taps like Yard House that manage somehow to have 130 taps of nothing but shelf turds). Last I checked, La Margarita had bottles of 18th Street Imperial Blood and Deal with the Devil. Might have to head over there myself tomorrow...

 

Totally agree w La Maragrita & Tomlinson. Sun King is pretty cool. I haven't been since they started selling pints. If you're in that area I like Flat 12. Cool outdoor space, larger variety of beers.

I personally love Brugge Brasserie up in Broad Ripple. There's also a Hop Cat up there along with a few other brew pubs.

If you're downtown I had a decent sandwich and some pretty good beer at Tow Yard which to me is walkable from where you're staying.

 

Thanks again, all. Really appreciate all of the recommendations.

Just got into town, so will report back on what I actually get to check out throughout the weekend.

 

Apparently there's a Beer Garden in the Circle Centre Mall Foodcourt this weekend. Bier Brewery tweeted that they'd have a keg there. They make great stuff but for me are too far off the beaten path to say you should visit them. That event might be worth a stop if your wandering downtown.

Also, Indiana On Tap is good at keeping track of events so you might check out their Twitter or Facebook for specific events.

 

The Lift-Off was very good. I will be buying it again.

Three Floyds makes fantastic beers but I don't get all they hype surrounding them. My friend manages a liquor store in Fishers and about every 3rd customer is looking for Gumballhead or Zombie Dust. We did a side-by-side blind taste test between Gumballhead and Boulevard's 80 Acre the other night and it was very difficult to discern any difference between the two. Zombie Dust is a great beer, but Schlafly's Tasmanian IPA is superior in my opinion and much easier to find (when in season). I will say that Robert The Bruce is probably the best Scottish Ale I've ever had.

I haven't tried any of the Tin Man stuff yet, but I see it around. Which ones would you recommend from them?

 

Thread jacking here, I'll be in Indianapolis from the 24th-26th after the 18th Street release. My buddy is coming too and he suggested Fogo De Chao to eat at one day, looks awesome from the website. He also said it's the best place he's been to. We're gonna stay downtown somewhere, but what would be the best place to stay near all the bars? Looking for like a 200 a night tops kinda place really. My buddy is also dying to know, where do all the babes hang out? Hahah really though... Never been to Indianapolis and by the looks of this thread it looks like it'll be a good time!

 

Whelp, depends on your scene. Hilton Garden Inn on the Circle is centrally located and shouldn't be too pricey. There's a Hampton Inn downtown as well. As far as scene's go here are you options:

Mass Ave - Semi-Trendy. Chatham Tap and Ralston's have good beer selections and are good "early" bars. The Libertine is an upscale cocktail bar with a trendy clientel. Union 50 is pretty new and should be pretty lively.

South Meridian - Killroys is the early bar with a collegiate crowd and a decent, but not great, beer selection. Lots of dance clubs down that way. At 35 its not my style, but if you are looking for a younger crowd that's the place to go. Couldn't really recommend a specific bar.

Fountain Square - The up and coming food and dining area of Indy about 1.5 miles from downtown, so a short cab or uber. La Margarita (see above), Revolucion and a number of other bars have killer beer selections. Thunderbird is a great place for cocktails and food. A very hipser-esque scene but without the pretention.

Let me know if you want more specific recs

 

there's a beer fest at Victory Field downtown on the 25th....might be worth looking into.....

I'd highly recommend Mass Ave for "scouting talent".....the Rathskeller is a great spot IF the beer garden is open, which I'm not sure of at this point. But there are a ton of bars on that strip....Macnivens, Bakersfield, Ball and Biscuit, Chatham, Mass Ave Pub, OPT, Ralstons (another good bed), and many many many more.

I believe the Hampton Inn on the circle is probably the closest hotel to that area....but it's only a short walk/cab ride to get there....less than a mile.

I definitely recommend a trip to La Margarita though, great tap list and great food....

 

Co/sign for all these suggestions as well

 

I am a big fan of Chilly Water Brewing on Virginia Ave. Really good service and beer. Plus their food is really good.

 

Hotel Tango is right across the street as well. New distillery that has a cool atmosphere.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone! My buddy now wants to go to Chicago instead. I didn't want to have to drive around there because it's terrible, but he is going to pay for most of the 2 nights for a hotel smack dab in the heart of downtown Chicago. Can't say no to that I guess Plus it's obviously just past 18th street instead of rerouting all the way to Indianapolis. But I will definitely keep this thread in mind when I visit there!

 

Anyone have any updates to this thread? My wife and I are driving from Cincy to Indy tomorrow morning for the weekend. We're staying one mile outside of the city center and are looking for suggestions on both beer and general Indianapolis city things to do on foot. Any new suggestions since this thread was last touched last year would be appreciated, thanks.