There is craft beer in the center of the country, and it is also growing – part of the craft beer wave that has seen expansions at local breweries from New Jersey to California.
In Indianapolis they have several breweries including an award winning chain “RAM” and the fine craft brewery “Sun King”. After cutting their teeth at local breweries including Rock Bottom and the RAM, local brewers Clay and Dave decided to work together and start their own brewery. It took a while but in 2009 they started producing Sun King beer for the local college and craft beer fans.
For the first three years they enjoyed a small loyal following, and last year they expanded to 10,000 barrels distributed throughout the center of the state. They show real inventive diversity – having brewed over 60 different beers (check out the list from their site!).They even did a Belgian style collaboration this year with Dales Ales of Colorado.
Their best sellers include Osiris Pale (5.6 Abv 50 IBU) and Sunlight Cream Ale (5.3 Abv 20 IBU), and the seasonal on tap when I was there was their tasty “Hazy Daze Summer Wheat” with a decided hop snap from it’s 50+ IBU.
If you are in the center of the country – look out for the Sun King, and feel fortunate if he shines on your beer palate.