Our Time in Indianapolis from a Beer Perspective

I was in Indianapolis for a week-long continuing education class at Indiana University and Nancy decided to come with me and visit a few people she knew there, do some work on her book, and spend a little time away from home and church.  It was great having her with me, made the trip much less onerous. 

 One evening we spent at Brugge Brasserie where Nancy enjoyed a hoppy Pale Ale (above).  I had a Belgian Stout which I thought was outstanding.  Brugge is a small nano brewery and restaurant - the food was outstanding.  We had a great chacuterie plate and mussels Provencal.  Very small place with just a few tables and there were lots of families with small children there, very fun.  Highly recommended!

 One evening, before dinner, we stopped by Sun King's tasting room - free tastings of three of their regular offerings and three special or seasonal offerings.  Plus a tour of the brewery with a couple of other folks (above).  Sun King keeps its production small enough that it can self-distribute in Indiana, so their beer is not available here in Illinois.  Really enjoyed this - highly recommended, too!

Our final beer-related report is from the Rathskeller in downtown Indianapolis.  It is in a very character-full old building and features a good selection of German beers and German food.  We started in the bar, which I quite liked.  It is a long hall, tall, with windows high above, not unlike a chapel.  Many dead animal heads on the wall. 

I enjoyed a Warsteiner Isenbeck, a dark lager made with roasted malts, in the bar.  For dinner, I had schnitzel accompanied by a Spaten Optimator, a nice commercial example of Doppelbock.  Again, highly recommended.

The guy in the photo with Nancy is Patrick, a fellow student in my class who is our oldest son's age and just graduated from St. Ambrose College.  A fun evening.