Indianapolis breweries

I've been a Deviate fan boy since they've opened and have made countless trips from Greenfield to the north side to load up. I've been of the opinion for years that they're the best game in town. I lean towards Daredevil when I want good German offerings but Deviate serves my ipa/scotch ale/adjunct needs.

I noticed Covid has claimed a handful of breweries like Brugge (we've been going there with the kids for frites for over 10 years), Central State (big fan of grabbing a sandwich at Goose and getting a pint at The Koelschip next door) and New Day (more of a meadery but was a big fan of grabbing a Breakfast Magpie after a stop at Kuma's).

Is there anyone else in the Indy area making beer worth seeking out? All of Indiana City's hazy IPA's taste the same, Taxman are okay but have never brewed a 'WOW' beer, and I don't care for 450 North's Hi-C kiddie water. Just want to see if there's a diamond in the city that I've missed out on.

 

I attempted to stop at Ellison yesterday. Nice big empty parking lot out front blocked off to the public for Colts parking. Tried finding parking on side streets with no luck. It was unbelievably frustrating to have money in my pocket and a coned off empty parking lot preventing me from going in. Ended up going to Deviate. Maybe next time.

 

My wife and I ended up getting into Ellison yesterday for lunch. Beers were pretty good (enjoyed the Kolsch and imperial coffee Irish dry stout the most) but damn, the pizza was a great surprise. We'll definitely be taking the kids back before the place gets shut down because of all the covid horseshit going on.

I talked with the dude behind the bar about the parking and he said they were changing out the Parking Permit Required signs that day to eliminate the confusion. He also said that there's new ownership in control of the Colts parking lot and that they're in talks with them about working out some sort of deal to allow brewery parking in there.

All in all that was a good recommendation. Much appreciated, archie.

 

Oh, awesome! Definitely rare to see someone from around these parts posting here. I've never been a big fan of Wooden Bear as I've always felt they were barely a step above average homebrew. We used to frequent the place a few years ago when they allowed The Mug and Home Town Pizza to deliver. I stopped in a week ago when the Tyner Pond food truck was there and grabbed a bullet of their hazy ipa (forget the name) and thought it was okay.

I'm not real big into Scarlet Lane which is out in McCordsville but I love the Trax BBQ place that's connected to it. It's a good spot to get good smoked pulled pork with a beer. I just wish their IPA's were of higher quality (I do enjoy their Dorian stout series).

 

Trax is back open. They've been doing Fri-Sun hours for the last month or so but I believe they're about to start opening back up through the week. I'm real picky about BBQ since I know my way around a smoker but they're definitely the best I've found in central Indy. My son was born at the end of June and I was too beat with the lack of sleep to babysit a brisket so I threw $130 at them on July 4th for their big family sized BBQ platter. Money well spent.

We used to go to Triton a lot years ago. They always had really good food trucks and the kids enjoyed the outdoor stuff they had going on. Not sure what happened but we just never make it out to the Lawrence area anymore. If Jockamo's is still open out there, we may have to grab a pizza and stop in for a pint.

 

Brugge in Broad Ripple was our most frequented brewery. They never really switched up the tap list or menu but we always had a comfort level there and have watched our kids grow up there over the last decade. It was a real bummer to see them shut their doors.

Broad Ripple Brewpub still brews my favorite beer (drank many, many ESB's) but I've found dead moths in the last 2 pizza's that I ordered for carryout. Unfortunately, we're probably done with them.

Black Acre always has something good on tap over in Irvington. I haven't gone to the new beer garden yet.

Tax Man in Fortville is a good spot but I tend to like their waffles more than their beers.