Hi, Everyone!
This week, I have a treat for you! I went on a beer trip to Indianapolis and Southern Indiana!
Our first stop of the day was at a brewery recently voted best small brewpub in the U.S. and after hearing that, how could we not have rushed immediately over?!
ZwanzigZ Brewing is in Columbus, Indiana; a quaint town about 30-45 minutes south of Indianapolis. When we pulled up to the brewpub, at 11:30 on a Tuesday, we saw this amazing antique pickup sitting outside and a packed to the gills restaurant. It seemed like everyone from the town and maybe a few of the surrounding towns were there! We walked in, ordered our pizza slices and breadsticks, a great deal at $6 for a large slice, and two breadsticks with a dipping sauce. We then sat at the bar and got to business. We had a flight, and it was a pretty top-notch brewery! We tasted the Frankenwald Eisbock, the Ryerish Red Ale, the Columbus Pale Ale, the Triple Z IPA, the Foehnstrum, and Beauregard's Blueberry. My personal two favorites were the Blueberry, which was not overpoweringly fruity, and the Triple Z, which was a very balanced IPA that I could have (and would have) sat and drank all day.
After our lunch, we decided to head back up to the Indy area and we hit Blind Owl Brewery. While there, we had a tiny snack (we had just eaten giant slices of pizza) of seasoned nuts and blue cheese chips, both of which I completely recommend. We had a small flight of 4 of their beers: Wheat the People, None the Wiser IPA, the Marzen and the Sweetwater Pilsner. I am usually one who favors the flavors of hops over those of malts (hence the name), and I enjoy a good Pilsner, but in this line-up, the Marzen is what stole my heart. It was so smooth and full of flavor, I wished I wasn't about to go to two other breweries because I could have gone for a full pint of it. The brewing system overlooked the dining room and made the restaurant portion of the building truly feel like a brewery and not a gastropub. I would have loved to taste the food here, but we were on a mission to hit all the breweries on our list that day, so onto the next place we went!
This week, I have a treat for you! I went on a beer trip to Indianapolis and Southern Indiana!Our first stop of the day was at a brewery recently voted best small brewpub in the U.S. and after hearing that, how could we not have rushed immediately over?!
ZwanzigZ Brewing is in Columbus, Indiana; a quaint town about 30-45 minutes south of Indianapolis. When we pulled up to the brewpub, at 11:30 on a Tuesday, we saw this amazing antique pickup sitting outside and a packed to the gills restaurant. It seemed like everyone from the town and maybe a few of the surrounding towns were there! We walked in, ordered our pizza slices and breadsticks, a great deal at $6 for a large slice, and two breadsticks with a dipping sauce. We then sat at the bar and got to business. We had a flight, and it was a pretty top-notch brewery! We tasted the Frankenwald Eisbock, the Ryerish Red Ale, the Columbus Pale Ale, the Triple Z IPA, the Foehnstrum, and Beauregard's Blueberry. My personal two favorites were the Blueberry, which was not overpoweringly fruity, and the Triple Z, which was a very balanced IPA that I could have (and would have) sat and drank all day.
After our lunch, we decided to head back up to the Indy area and we hit Blind Owl Brewery. While there, we had a tiny snack (we had just eaten giant slices of pizza) of seasoned nuts and blue cheese chips, both of which I completely recommend. We had a small flight of 4 of their beers: Wheat the People, None the Wiser IPA, the Marzen and the Sweetwater Pilsner. I am usually one who favors the flavors of hops over those of malts (hence the name), and I enjoy a good Pilsner, but in this line-up, the Marzen is what stole my heart. It was so smooth and full of flavor, I wished I wasn't about to go to two other breweries because I could have gone for a full pint of it. The brewing system overlooked the dining room and made the restaurant portion of the building truly feel like a brewery and not a gastropub. I would have loved to taste the food here, but we were on a mission to hit all the breweries on our list that day, so onto the next place we went!
Our next stop was Triton Brewing. I was really excited about this one because in their amazingly long beer menu, they had a series of sours, which are kind of my not-so-guilty pleasure. I had tried one of their sours a few months before called Sassy Pants and loved it, so I needed to try their others. In their Barn Phantom Series was a Sour Pale with Cranberries, a Sour Pale with Rhubarb, a Sour Pale with UGLI Fruit, and one called 5 Alive. They also had one other sour called Barn Phantom Gose with Blueberry. I loved each one separately, but my favorite was the Rhubarb. I loved that they had fruits that were commonly used in brewing, as well as fruits that are much less common. It gave them a uniqueness without scaring come people off from the series.
Next stop, and second to last! After the sours, what sounded great was cider. We ventured over to Ash & Elm Cider.
This cider company is a fairly new addition to Indianapolis. It is located in a big old building and shares a space with a coffee shop. I ordered three ciders that peaked my interest, the Headlong, and Fieldstone Reserve and the Dry cider. I ended up taking home a howler of the Headlong (a hopped cider) and a bottle of the Fieldstone Reserve. The Dry was also amazing, but I had to choose just two.
After our long day, we stopped by our go-to brewery in Indianapolis, Books and Brews. This is a used bookstore/brewery that names their beer after books, book quotes and character names. I have no pictures of Books and Brews, unfortunately. They were so packed, any pictures that I took would not have done it justice. I guess you'll just have to go see it yourself.
Until next drink,
The Hop Chick
Photo Credit: Tim Decker Photography
Next stop, and second to last! After the sours, what sounded great was cider. We ventured over to Ash & Elm Cider.
This cider company is a fairly new addition to Indianapolis. It is located in a big old building and shares a space with a coffee shop. I ordered three ciders that peaked my interest, the Headlong, and Fieldstone Reserve and the Dry cider. I ended up taking home a howler of the Headlong (a hopped cider) and a bottle of the Fieldstone Reserve. The Dry was also amazing, but I had to choose just two.
After our long day, we stopped by our go-to brewery in Indianapolis, Books and Brews. This is a used bookstore/brewery that names their beer after books, book quotes and character names. I have no pictures of Books and Brews, unfortunately. They were so packed, any pictures that I took would not have done it justice. I guess you'll just have to go see it yourself.
Until next drink,
The Hop Chick
Photo Credit: Tim Decker Photography
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