RACING IN FOR THE INDY 500 AND WANT TO QUAFF SOME ALE?
There are three Indiana craft brewery locations not far from the track. These would be Daredevil Brewing (.6 mile), Big Woods Speedway – Home of Quaff On! Brewing (.8 mile), and Guggman Haus Brewing (3.1 miles). Each of these locations also serve food, so you can graze will you sip. Guggman Haus may be of special interest to race fans because of its location at the historic Boyle Racing Headquarters.
Hoppy visited each of these locations yesterday and enjoyed the following ales:
Daredevil Lift Off IPA – Described as containing a bounty of American hops which deliver the signature clean and crisp finish of a perfectly balanced West Coast IPA. 7.2% ABV, 72 IBU.
Quaff On! Quaff IPA – Described as featuring a complex malt bill that creates a semi-dry finish that balances malty sweetness with a hops selection that creates intense citrus aroma and flavor with notes of melon, berry, lime, passion fruit and papaya. 6.5% ABV, 58 IBU.
Guggman Haus The Riverside New England IPA – Made with a variety of eight hops and described as a hazy, juicy beer that provides a major punch of citrus flavor. Bronze medal winner at the World Beer Cup 2025. 6.9% ABV, 41 IBU.
Should you wish to visit other Indianapolis breweries while in town, below is a list of all breweries within their approximate area, including their Indianapolis address. All mileage information listed in this post reflects the distance to the location from the Indiana Convention Center.
Downtown:
Taxman Brewing – 310 S. Delaware St. – .7 mile
The Tap Beer Company – 306 N. Delaware St. – .8 mile (They have 50 taps of guest beers.)
Brew Link Brewing – 714 N. Capitol Ave. – 1.1 mile
Sun King Brewing – 135 N. College Ave. – 1.2 miles
Metazoa Brewing – 140 S. College Ave. – 1.3 miles
St. Joseph Brewery – 540 N. College Ave. – 1.5 miles
Pax Verum Brewery at Natural State Provisions – 414 Dorman St. – 1.7 miles
Quaff On! Brewing at Hard Truth Garage Food Hall – 906 Carrollton Ave. #400 – 1.9 miles
Guggman Haus Brewing – 1701 Gent St. – 2.2 miles
Centerpoint Brewing – 1125 East Brookside Ave. – 2.3 miles
Mashcraft Brewing – 2205 N. Delaware St. – 2.6 miles
Kismetic Beer Co. – 201 S. Rural St., Ste. 110 – 2.9 miles
Narrow Gauge Brewing at Abandoned Station – 2457 N. Delaware St. – 3 miles
Fletcher Place/Fountain Square Area:
Chilly Water Brewing – 719 Virginia Ave. #105 – 1.2 miles
Fountain Square Brewing – 1301 Barth Ave. – 2.2 miles
Upland Brewing – 1201 Prospect St. – 2.2 miles
Garfield Brewery – 2310 Shelby St. – 3.1 miles
Broad Ripple/SoBro Area:
Chilly Water Brewing – 4155 Boulevard Place – 4.9 miles
Guggman Haus Brewing – 4601 College Ave., Unit C – 5.7 miles
Upland Brewing – 4842 N. College Ave. – 6 miles
Black Circle Brewing – 2201 E. 46th St. – 6.2 miles
Liter House – 5301 Winthrop Ave., Suite B – 6.6 miles
Twenty Below at Twenty Tap – 5406-5408 N. College Ave. – 7 miles (They have 38 taps; mostly guest beers)
Centerpoint Brewing/Bad Dad Brewing/Chilly Water Brewing at 317 BBQ – 6320 Guilford Ave. – 7.8 miles
Broad Ripple Brewpub – 842 E 65th St. – 8 miles
Speedway/West:
Quaff On! at Big Woods – 1002 Main St. – 5.1 miles
Daredevil Brewing – 1151 N. Main St. – 5.2 miles
Herrmann Brewthers Bierwerks – 7811 W. Morris St. – 11 miles
Binford Area:
Blind Owl Brewery – 5014 E. 62nd St. – 9.1 miles
Bier Brewery – 5133 E. 56th St. – 9.8 miles
Nora/Castleton Area:
Daredevil Brewing – 2721 E. 86th St. – 11 miles
Quaff On! at Big Woods in Fashion Mall – 8702 Keystone Crossing – 12miles
Big Lug Brewing – 1435 E. 86th St. – 12 miles
Upland Brewing – 4939 E. 82nd St. – 12 miles
Books & Brews – 9402 Uptown Dr. #1400 – 21 miles
Northwest:
Traders Brewing – 8587 Zionsville Rd. – 15 miles
Deviate Brewing – 4004 W. 96th St. – 18 miles
More information regarding each of these breweries can be found by placing the brewery’s name in the search bar on this website. If you plan on visiting several breweries you should download the Indy Craft Pass.
Many breweries are also located in nearby suburbs, which you can find here.
Other Things to Do:
You’ll definitely want to visit the newly updated and recently opened Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, which is located at the track.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) events can be found here. 500 Festival events, including the parade, can be found here. The World’s Largest Racing Memorabilia & Trading Card Show can be found here.
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Indianapolis has a vibrant sports scene that includes the Indiana Pacers, who are currently playing the New York Knicks in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. They will be playing in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday night, following the race, in the third game of this series.
Indy is also home to an acclaimed symphony, and many excellent museums including the world’s largest and best Children’s Museum. The Indianapolis Art Museum at Newfields houses the first, and largest iconic Love Sculpture ever made. By the way, their beautiful grounds also include a Beer Garden!
You can also visit a zoo that is ranked in the top ten in the nation. More information can be found here.
Indy enjoys a thriving restaurant scene that includes one of the ten classic restaurants in the world, according to Forbes – St. Elmo’s Steakhouse, and a top ten rated food court in the nation by USA Today readers – The Garage Food Hall.
Did I forget to mention that Indianapolis is consistently ranked as one of the top beer cities in the country by the readers of USA Today?
A good source for finding other events, while in the area, would be to check the Do317 website.
Heading Home:
It can be worth it to check out the beer aisle at Costco, where I have often found cases of Three Floyd’s Zombie Dust for sale. (I have been known to place six 6-packs in a well-labeled and sealed box for transport in airplane baggage, with no issues.)
If you are flying home, you may wish to arrive at IND early so that you can indulge in some Indy beers and some non-airplane food prior to your departure. Circle City Beer Garden is located in the Civic Plaza section of the airport and is open to the public daily from 11:00am-10:00pm. Sun King and The Tap have locations in Concourse B which is only available to ticketed passengers. They are both open daily from 7:00am-9:00pm. You’ll find Sun King near gate B-13, and The Tap near gate B-17.
Pictures from Hoppy’s visits, yesterday, follow:
Photos at Guggman Haus:
Photos at Big Woods:
Photos at Daredevil
