Hitting Indianapolis tomorrow and planning to hit Sun King and St. Joseph. Wondering if there are any other must stops for good food and beer. Cheers!
-The Koelschip (basically Central State's unofficial 'taproom') -Black Circle (also serves tasty Cuban food here) -Daredevil (quality, to-style Lagers and the other beers are good too) -Deviate (if you're into adjunct beers) etc.
I'll be heading back to Indy next month. Staying by airport and won't have a vehicle so I'm wondering if Black Swan and Brew Link are good breweries to check out and what stores are somewhat nearby to grab some cans to have during the stay. I've visited Indy several times over the past couple years so have hit just about every brewery I wanted to in the area so don't really need additional suggestions. Figure since I'm staying by the airport and those are the closest ones I have not tried then it could be worth an Uber / Lyft to check them out? Also, have heard and seen a lot about 450 North. Mostly because their can art is really attractive but how is the beer and would there be any nearby shops / stores where I could grab cans? If it's worth the hour drive to the brewery I suppose I could rent a car for the day and take the drive down for lunch. I'll be coming in on a Sunday and that would be the day I could check them out if I did that. Looks like their cans release towards the end of the week so good chance whatever they release the week I'm in town will last through Sunday afternoon? TIA!
450N has stepped up their consistency/quality and usually has plenty of options - slushies, hazies, pastries - on draft. Their brick oven pizza is top notch.
I agree with the above re: 450 North. My wife's parents live 10 minutes from them and I swing by a few times a year. The pizza is really good. The beer has steadily improved over the years. I really enjoy the slushies and pastry stouts. Unfortunately, I've never been there during a release weekend and it doesn't seem the NE IPAs last on draft. I've not been overly impressed with the IPAs I've had. For me personally, it's worth a stop if you are nearby, but not worth getting a rental car and making the hour plus drive down... If in Indy for one afternoon, I am a broken record on this, but Deviate on the northside is a no brainer as the top priority, in my opinion.
Agreed on this. Of all the breweries I have visited in Indy over the past 3 years coming Deviate is by far my favorite. I always try to check out new breweries I have not been just to get a taste of everything and those that may be flying under the radar from locals but when I'm around the Northside I'll always make a repeat stop. Unfortunately out of the way this trip but I'll be back in the Fall and they will definitely get a stop. When I was in town a few months ago I ventured a little farther away to check out Moontown. Was really impressed with what they had. A couple of the IPAs reminded me a lot of the juice we have here on the east coast.
Can anyone chime in on what are the best liquor stores/bottle shops in Indy/Northside that allow you buy singles bottles & cans?
I checked out Parti Pak North a couple years ago and they definitely have a big selection of singles to choose from. It was a lot to take in but I was interested in local stuff and the guy working pointed me in the right direction. One thing I was not aware of was in the back of the store where the cooler doors are there is a door to the left of it where you you can go into the walk in that has a bunch of cold singles besides when on the racks on the doors facing the store. I would have completely left without going in there but the person working, knowing I was not local, asked if I knew about the cooler in the back as I was about to check out. Went back and was impressed at how much I overlooked. A bunch of Three Floyd's stuff. I grabbed some Zombie Dust since I had not had it at the time. Unfortunately, after getting hack to my hotel I realized it was 2 months old. So be sure to check those date stamps wherever you go. I typically do but on that trip was so overwhelmed at the selection and being in an unfamiliar place that it completely slipped my mind to do so.
I have been to brewlink many times and always had good beer there. Their milkshake ipa is amazing. They also have a sour made with jelly donuts that is good. They have a lot of beers on tap and cans to go. I have not heard much about black swan.
