Only one person in our party of six was a fan of either team (a Colts fan). The rest of us just wanted to see a good game.
Some in the party have been to the city before to see the Colts and served as our guides.
Needless to say checking out some of the local brews was high on my list of priorities. Especially since everywhere we were going was walking distance!
The first place we visited was a steakhouse named St. Elmo's. If you are in downtown Indianapolis this is a place to be sure to get to. It's been a fixture there since 1902. Well their sign said they've been famous since 1902. I suppose they could have opened before 1902 and just not become famous until then, but I interpreted it as their founding date. Either way, if you are a fan of horseradish you can't miss it.
Everyone else in the party began with St. Elmo's famous shrimp cocktail. What's famous is the cocktail sauce. It is full of freshly cut/shredded horseradish. And tastes it.
Now I'm allergic to shrimp unfortunately but used the crackers that came with the cocktail to sample the sauce. It was great.
The bartender was very accommodating and got the kitchen to make me a platter of raw oysters on the half shell accompanied by the sauce. I was in heaven.
The local brew I sampled while we were at St. Elmo's was a brown ale named Wee Mac. It comes from a local Indianapolis brewery called Sun King Brewery. Maybe it was the ambiance. Maybe it was the horseradish. Maybe it was the company and being in a nice establishment in a new city.
But I really enjoyed it. Both the beer list and the bartender advertised the Wee Mac as a Scottish Ale. Since it was a blustery day in the 30's I jumped at that one. It was a flavorful brew. Not a lot from a hops perspective, but it was very nicely balanced. And it wasn't too heavy. I was able to drink a few of them in the hours we spent at St. Elmo's without feeling weighed down. It certainly left plenty of room for the oysters and sauce.
Our party made it to several establishments over the course of Saturday and Sunday. And we sampled a fair amount of local brews. Maybe it was because they were the first, but the one venue and the one brew that really stood out for me were St. Elmo's steakhouse and the Sun King Brewery Wee Mac.
If you're ever in Indianapolis I heartily recommend you make your way to St. Elmo's.
And you should try the Wee Mac from Sun King. They also have many other brews and if they are as good with those as the Wee Mac I would give those a try as well.
Unfortunately Sun King beers are only available in Indiana. So if you're not there you are out of luck. But if you have the opportunity to be in the state, then definitely look them up. And if you're in Indianapolis and have the time look them up. The brewery is in the capital city and they have tours and tasting hours.
I enthusiastically rate Sun King Wee Mac 7 mugs out of 10.