Indiana Beer love

They're tapping a new batch on 9/22 - so I'm told.

 

Another thread got me wondering... what is everyone's favorite liquor store in Indy+suburbs?

I personally like Kahns in terms of selection. However living south, I tend to frequent Big Red or Parti-Pak in Greenwood more often due to proximity.

 

Lived in Carmel for ~3 years until recently and Vine & Table was my standard, though I do recognize their prices on some tougher to find bourbons, etc., were not always competitive if you were able to find the same product elsewhere.

Crown Downtown is a second best option imo.

 

I’m also a south sider. The grocery stores tend to have fresher beer than most places if you aren’t looking for something esoteric. The Target on 135 does a really respectable job with Indiana beer. The Big Red on 31/Fry has so much selection, but many of those beers are so far out of code it is embarrassing. The Payless on 135 used to be amazing, but the long time beer guy moved on to another job a few years ago.

 

Good advice on the grocery stores.

My biggest complaint with Parti-Pak on Stop 11 is also things being way out of date. They seem to relish in the idea of having tons of beer on the shelf, not whether any of it is any good anymore. All the more reason for breweries to date their individual bottles.

 

Yeah, Party Pak used to be a great place to grab some really hard to find beers. Those days are over and now you are left with super old stock that should be drank fresh. I haven’t been there in probably a year, but the Big Red or Payless there in the mall parking lot was still trying to sell four packs of Cutters. They have been closed at least 2-3 years.

 

Is 450 north worth the drive from Indy? I’m in Indy on business and have nothing to do this evening. Debating making the drive. Thanks in advance, cheers!

 

What types of beer do you like? When are you going? Do you want on tap or to go?

 

I would go to Deviate instead.

 

Went there last night!

 

Mostly into hops(NE IPA in particular) sours and stouts. To go would be great, but I wouldn’t mind just trying a bunch of offerings on draft if that’s the only option.

 

People like some of their taproom only NEIPAs and fruited beers (much like Answer Joose or More fruited). I don't know, but I think when they have a release they normally sell out over the weekend. No idea if they have them on tap (for the weekend or after a release). A friend indicated that they liked Triptych's NEIPAs better than 450Ns special releases (of those that they have tried).

I'd check to see if they have any of those on tap before you make your way down. I personally dislike 450N shelfies, and think they aren't worth writing home about. Anything they produce that people seems to like appears to be taproom only.

I guess that did not help you as much as you'd like. Hope it was moderately helpful, though.

 

No. Go to Goose the Market and order a sandwich, then take it next door to the Koelschip and get a Central State beer.

 

Oops, was trying to reply to the original inquiry. Not your recommendation of Deviate. Definitely recommend Deviate too. But if they've already done that, go to the Koelschip.

 

While I think Goose is great, their prices are crazy for some of their stuff. Even if I had enough money to eat there everyday without a care, I don't think it's a good deal, so to speak. I definitely don't feel like you always get what you pay for.

 

Stopped at 450 North a few weeks ago. They had a maple imperial stout that was money, but the NEIPAs they had were just okay. Fine if you're there, but certainly not top tier and absolutely not worth the long drive from Indy, imho...

 

I realize this might be too late to help the OP.

450 North is pretty close to my house. They occasionally knock one out of the park. But you really need to come the weekend of the release because their really good stuff will sell out that day in cans, and usually within a few days on draft. They only do IPAs well, IMO. And their beers that see distro are kind of meh.

I would honestly recommend Taxman overall if you want to drive South of Indy. 450N only if you are just into IPAs, and only if it's within a few days of a release.

 

Thanks for the tips. Made the trip and along the way stopped at taxman. Very cool spot and had a great selection. At 450 I tried 450 nugs, pina colada fresh froot and 2 “slushy” berliners. Wasn’t blown away, but all weren’t bad. Personally I enjoyed the slushees more that the NE beers. They had a decent selection of to go. Fountain of juice, 450 nugs, 6th anniversary and maybe 1-2 others.

 

Glad you enjoyed 450. I would say you caught them on a "meh" release of beers. I'm usually really into their triple IPA "rare nuggets" and a few of the Fresh Froot varieties have been excellent. They can usually be found on trade if interested... or PM me.

 

Def would be interested in swapping hops for hops. More brewing, hop butcher, corridor and forbidden root are a few of the Chicago breweries that can and knock out some great NE beers