Anything new and exciting in Indianapolis?

18th Street just announced plans for a brewpub downtown

central state slowly moving away from wild rustic beers and into trendy styles

450 North is the laughing stock of the brewing industry. If you weren’t aware, so any kind of research and you’ll see why

 

Ellison Brewing just opened in Indianapolis a few months ago. Their first location is in East Lansing, MI. They do a great job with their stouts and IPAs. And their Dawn Street pale ale is my favorite pale ale. Definitely give them a try.

 

The beer scene here isn't great. All I really drink locally is Deviate (IPA and stouts) and Daredevil for their Germans. Otherwise, M43 gets distributed here now so no need to drink the crap hazy's the locals are making if that's your thing.

 

I believe that's only a pub; no on-site brewing.

 

Timely post as I'll be downtown in Indy the weekend of 1/18. Plan on checking out Ellison. Maybe Taxman? Also, searching for some beer that doesn't get distro in Northeast Ohio. Plan on checking out Kahn's and maybe Whole foods? Any other thoughts? Thanks!!

 

Yeah, basically Dare Devil and Deviant.

Indiana City is newish. My experience with them is they are either really strong or really meh, but, I think it's worth a stop if you're into stouts and hazies.

Depending on how you feel about them, BrewDog has a place in Indy now. They have 10+ of their own taps and 5+ guest taps at any given time.

 

That is sad news. I always liked their sours / wild ales

 

I never tried them, mostly because I am not big on the style. That said, any decent store always had between 4 and 20 of their cans of the same style (or close) on their shelf, with what seems like nothing ever moving. I always wondered who bought their beer/how they stayed open.

 

450 North lol

 

YMMV on this but I love the Indy beer scene. Big fan of the NEIPAs coming out of Indiana City (and I always love me some Shadow Boxer). Just stopped by Rad for the first time and they had some tasty variants of their big seasonal stout.

Stopped by Scarlett Lane a few times recently when I'm in a big stout mood. Black Acre if I'm in Irvington. St Joseph's Brewery if there's soccer on and I want big Belgian beer. Brugge and Broad Ripple Brew Pub are my hang outs in nice weather days in the spring, summer, fall.

Speaking of nice weather hangouts I quite enjoy the Liter Haus for BBQ and beer. I'll even occasionally get to Big Lug for some delicious vegetarian food and beer.

When I feel like bringing the dog out we'll hit Metazoa or Triton, both with good beer options. We even have an award winning brewer for a movie theater/brewery combo with Flix Brewhouse.

Excited to check out 18th Street's Indy location, haven't got a chance to stop by yet.

 

I saw Flat 12 was undergone a transformation. Is it for a better or worse? I remember liking Flat 12 when it first opened. I loved their Cucumber Kolsch.

 

I'm boycotting them for no other reason than the decision to change to Rad brewing is just awful. One of the worst marketing decisions I've ever seen.

 

Clearly, your sentiment is not alone. Despite changing in November, no one has bothered to suggest an update on beer advocate

 

The bad: 1) agree the marketing decision was terrible 2) the sub/sandwich in the former growler fill area is gone.

The good: 1) I like the idea behind Rad about supporting local (and a few not so local) youth organizations 2) Saw lots of board game options and adorable dogs in there last time I stopped by

 

The thread I've linked below sufficiently details Flat 12's downfall and plunge into irrelevance. It's unfortunate, as they were cranking out damn good beer in 2011/2012, with a really cool space to go with it. Living in Indy at that time, it was my regular spot, hands down. My personal opinion, is they tried to get too big, way too fast. They opened a second location in southern Indiana (just outside Louisville) and expanded significantly into distro. The packaged beer quality was consistently terrible, and went unaddressed for years. They continuously put tainted beer into the market place and took more than 3 years from the first reports to even attempt appropriate remediation efforts. It destroyed their business and reputation.

Final comment -- Rad Brewing is a really bad name. But regardless of what they chose, for any seasoned beer geeks in the Indy area, can't imagine many giving them a (re)visit based on Flat 12's legacy, at this point.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/flat-12-beer-has-too-much-head.345470/