I think most people can look back and remember the first beer they had with their dad. Watching a game? Relaxing in the living room? Thanksgiving dinner? Once you’re twenty-one your parents start becoming more like friends than authority figures, well mine have at least. This was the first time my dad had been to visit me at college; so I obviously had to make it a good time. I’ve heard of Indy Brew Bus before, and when I saw they had just two seats left on a tour while he was here, I figured why not? So for $60 bucks we got to tour Indy’s famous breweries, make twelve friends, and have a lifelong father-daughter memory. I’m here to give you the low down on why you should make the Indy Brew Bus your next bonding experience!
The Beer
On my trip, we went to five of Indy’s best breweries including: Sun King Brewery, Flat 12, Bier Brewery, and Fountain Square Brewery. Each of the breweries offered its own unique look and feel, along with their own house-brewed beer. Sun King offers an industrial feel, and in my opinion, the best beer. Flat 12 had a cozier feel with dim lighting, shopping cart chairs, and a warm fire pit. Beir Brewery was pretty no frills, but had a great design for social gatherings. Beir Brewery is definitely for anyone who loves hoppy beer. Finally, Fountain Square Brewery was my favorite. It had awesome ambiance, really friendly staff, and my favorite beer of the day, the Cinnamon Girl.
Beer flight at Fountain Square Brewery
The Guide
Meet Rex Scott, a casual, laid-back, beer connoisseur with a head of hair that just says “Hey, I know what I’m talking about.” He drove the iconic green bus to all of the breweries and kept all us “chatty-cathys” on a strict time schedule, insuring we would make it to all of the breweries in the allotted time. A word of advice, use your guide to the fullest. As a 21-year-old girl I have not developed a very sophisticated beer taste yet, but Rex was able to point me to one I’d like at every single brewery.
My dad enjoying the shopping cart chairs at Flat 12.
The Friends
When I first got on the bus I noticed pretty quickly that I was the youngest person there by about 15 years. There was even a couple on the bus who was well into their sixties. Nevertheless, I could tell that the crowd was going to be a fun one. I mean 7 out of the twelve of us were Butler Bulldogs. Now, I’m tempted to not give up this little piece of information, but I will anyway. This was hands down the best way I’ve found to network so far. In just four hours I got six business cards and four LinkedIn connections. Hey, after a few beers everyone just seems to love everyone.
The awesome friends we made on the Indy Brew Bus.
The Details
The Indy Brew Bus runs most Thursdays through Sundays and offers tours of Indy's five local breweries, To reserve a spot, visit their informative and easy-to use Website. Tickets are $30 and be sure to reserve your date enough ahead of time, three weeks to be safe.
