If you could only pick 1 brewery AND 1 brewpub for a 1 day Indy trip, what would your picks be for Indy and/or surrounding cities i.e. Carmel, Fishers, etc.? Thanks!
Excluding Three Floyds since I've been there many times, what would be your 1 brewery AND 1 brewpub pick be for places located between Fort Wayne and Merrillville and South Bend? Thanks!
The only visit I made to the Hammond location for 18th St. impressed me even though they did not have a ton of stuff on tap. Sweet older warehouse and the food was good. They did have hunter on nitro (milk stout), tasty! Please avoid Byway brewery just off of 80/94.
For Indy, the super easy choice for brewery is Deviate. They don't have food but you can carry in or get delivery from anywhere. My best recommendation would be to grab some tacos/tamales at Don Ramon about a mile down the street (don't be scared, it's awesome). For a brewpub specifically, I'd say Twenty Tap, though you're going there for the food and the guest taps...or better yet, if you're willing to make a decent drive (about 45 min south of Deviate (25 min south of downtown Indy or so), Taxman in Bargersville is good beer, good guest taps, great space, and food that is damn good.
Or, the Upland taproom in Carmel, which doesn't brew onsite, but has a number of Upland beers on tap (which are hit or miss but there are some great ones in the bunch), and excellent food.
I'd echo Deviate as being the best "brewery-only" brewery in the area, followed closely by Black Acre. Keep in mind Deviate only does growler fills for one of their beers unless you're a member - and memberships are all sold out. So plan to enjoy it there. For breweries that serve their own food - Taxman is excellent, but it's a pretty good hike south of the city. Grand Junctionin Westfield is often overlooked in these lists, but I really think theyre outstanding. First, they're one of the few that will reliably have a great selection of both hopper and darker beers (definitely try the Udderly Chocolate Milk Stout). Second, they make amazingly good food - their Tenderloin is the best I've had, and in Indy that's saying something. Finally, they have a very chill atmosphere. It's worth checking out if you're in the area. For Brewpubs - 20 Tap is a staple, but the Hop cat in Broad ripple and the Pint Room in Carmel are both solid as well.
In South Bend, we recently went to Bare Hands, and Crooked Ewe (brewpub). Bare Hands doesn't have food, though sometimes they do have a food truck. Crooked Ewe has good food, and good beer selection.
