Sun King Brewing is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

in the Cole-Noble District of

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, United States. It is the largest brewery in Indianapolis and the second largest brewery in the state. In 2011, Sun King won eight medals, including four gold medals, total at the

Great American Beer Festival The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is an annual beer festival hosted by the Brewers Association, held in Denver, Colorado. Typically held in late September or early October, the event is currently held at Denver's Colorado Convention Cente ...

. Sun King was the first commercial brewery to open up in approximately 30 years in Indianapolis.

History

Sun King Brewing was founded in July, 2009 by Dave Colt and Clay Robinson. Robinson and Colt previously worked together at various

brewpub Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

s in Indianapolis. Colt worked at Circle V., which closed in 1999, and Robinson worked at Rock Bottom Brewery. They met while working at Ram Restaurant & Brewery. Robinson quit his job in July 2008 and started planning to start a business. They had three additional partners, including Robinson's father, Omar. Later that year, they acquired their current property in

Downtown Indianapolis Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area in and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65 in Indiana, Interstate 65, Interstate 70 in Indiana, Interstate 70, and the White ...

. They brewed their first batch of beer on July 1, 2009. The name Sun King was inspired by the sun and its importance in life cycles and beermaking. In 2010, Sun King started packaging their beer in

beer can A drink can (or beverage can) is a metal container with a polymer interior designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Drink cans exteriors ...

s. They attended the

in 2011, and won eight medals, including four gold. By 2011, they were producing 5,000 barrels of beer. That year, Sun King replaced their 15-barrel system with a 30-barrel system. The tanks were made by Poynter Sheet Metal. They also started selling their beer outside of the metropolitan Indianapolis area, expanding to sell in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

. Sun King distributed approximately 50 miles outside of Indianapolis by 2012. The first time Sun King was shipped outside of Indiana was for the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Sun King produced 18,000 barrels of beer in 2012 with a

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

of $5 million. As of 2013, the brewery had produced 15,000 barrels of beer, with 35 full-time and 50 part-time employees. That same year, Sun King was named best Indiana beer by '' Nuvo Newsweekly'' readers. It was their fourth time in a row winning the title. The brewery announced that it will expand by 2016, investing $2.1 million in updated equipment and additional staff. An additional $3.9 million will be spent on expanding the brewery facility, making room for 240 fermentation tanks. These investments are in lieu of tax credits offered to the brewery and approved by the Indiana Economy Development Corporation. It has been voted one of the best small workplaces in Indiana by the ''

Indianapolis Star Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County. Indianapolis is situated in the state's central till plain region along the west fork of ...

''. Until 2017, when distribution was extended into

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Sun King beer was sold only in Indiana. The brewery distributes their products to over 700 businesses in the state. Their beer is sold at

Victory Field Victory Field is a minor league ballpark in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is home to the Indianapolis Indians of the International League. History Victory Field opened on July 11, 1996, with the Indians falling to the Oklah ...

and at

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). It opened on August ...

. Sun King sponsored and planned the CANvitational, the first canned beer festival in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

Beer

Sun King has three House Beers: ''Wee Mac Scottish Ale'', a Scottish brown ale, ''Osiris Pale Ale'', a

pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared in England around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at th ...

, and ''Sunlight Cream Ale,'' a

cream ale Cream ale is a style of American beer that is light in color and well attenuated, meaning drier. First crafted in the mid-1800s at various breweries in the United States, cream ale remained a very localized form with different styles until th ...

. Also brewed yearly, "Fistful of Hops" Seasonal IPA a quarterly series of four IPAs, each with the same malt base. Sun King makes a variety of specialty or limited and

seasonal beer A seasonal beer is a beer that is typically brewed during or for a particular season, holiday or festival period. Many breweries produce seasonal beers. Seasonal beers may be produced when fresh ingredients are available during various seasons, p ...

s. Many are only available at the brewery or at special events. ''Java Mac'', a

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

flavored version of ''Wee Mac'', was awarded a gold medal in the 2011

in the Coffee Beer category. In 2012, their ''Velvet Fog'', a Belgian strong dark ale, was awarded the gold medal at the

World Beer Cup The World Beer Cup is an international beer competition organized by the Brewers Association, a trade group A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organizatio ...

. They have two limited beers, ''2nd Five Pappy van Muckle'' and ''Velvet Fog in Pappy van Winkle'' which are aged in

Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve is the flagship brand of bourbon whiskey owned by the "Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery" company. It is distilled and bottled by the Sazerac Company at its Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Pappy Va ...

barrels. Their Pappy van Muckle won a silver medal at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. Their ''Popcorn Pilsner'' uses Indiana grown

popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...

. The brewmasters air pop the popcorn, add it into the mash to give the beer a light popcorn flavor. Sun King uses local ingredients when possible, including

crab apple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 32–57 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples (sometimes known in North America as crabapples) and wild apples. The genus i ...

s and

masa ''Masa'' or ''masa de maíz'' (; ) is a dough made from ground nixtamalized maize. It is used for making corn tortillas, '' gorditas'', '' tamales'', '' pupusas'', and many other Latin American dishes. It is dried and powdered into a flour f ...

. The masa has been used to make

malt liquor In the United States of America, Malt liquor is a type of mass market beer with high alcohol content, (typically above 5%), made with malted barley and resembling those for American-style lagers. Manufacture Malt liquor is a strong lager or ale ...

. For their fourth

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

, Sun King created ''Grapefruit Jungle/GFJ'', an American IPA using a unique blend of

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whic ...

. Sun King partnered with Three Floyds Brewing to produce ''Royal Brat'', an extra special bitter. They have also partnered with Oskar Blues Brewery to produce ''Chaka'' and in 2012, ''The Deuce'', specifically for the Great American Beer Festival. ''Chaka'' was named one of the best beers of 2012 by ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

''. Sun King's house beer, ''Osiris'', was voted the best beer to represent the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

by ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' and one of "15 Awesome Craft Beers in a Can" by ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

''. In 2013, Sun King was the official beer of

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

. That year, Sun King won an award for "Most Creative Names" for ''Bitch'n Camaro'', bronze in the

barley wine Barley wine is a strong ale from 6–12% alcohol by volume."Barley wine"
Michael Jackson (writ ...

category for ''Johan the Barleywine'', and silver in the wood

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

aged sour category for ''Stupid Sexy Flanders'' at the U.S. Open Beer Championship. Sun King also produces a beer called "Naptown Brown" for the

Naptown Roller Girls Naptown Roller Derby (NRD) is a women's flat-track roller derby league based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2006, the league started their 10th season in March 2016. Naptown Roller Derby is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Associatio ...

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

league. Their main

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

provider is the

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

based company, Brewing Science. Sun King sells their beer in four packs of 16 ounce cans. As of 2012, they were using cans made by the

Ball Corporation Ball Corporation is an American aluminum manufacturing company headquartered in Westminster, Colorado. It is best known for its early production of glass jars, lids, and related products used for home canning. Since its founding in Buffalo, N ...

. In 2013, Sun King introduced a resealable can, made by Ball, called Alumi-Tec. Sun King was the first brewery in Indiana to can its beer.

Tasting room

Sun King has a

tasting room A tasting room is a part of a winery or brewery, typically located on the premises of the winery or brewery's production facilities, at which guests may sample the winery or brewery's products. Originally an informal public relations outreach ef ...

. Visitors can sample various available beers for purchase by the pint, fill growlers, and buy cans of beer to go. It is open every day, and upwards of 1,000 people can visit the tasting room on a Friday night. In 2019, Sun King Brewing was named the 19th most popular attraction in Indianapolis, with 175,000 visitors.

References

External links

*
An interview with former head brewer Jim Matt
*
Taste Test: IM Drinks Sun King on the Job
' from

WYXB WYXB (105.7 FM), branded as "B105.7", is a commercial radio station owned by Urban One in Indianapolis, Indiana. The studios are on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. WYXB is one of two adult contemporary stations in Indianapolis; ...

{{Portal bar, Beer, Companies, Indiana 2009 establishments in Indiana Beer brewing companies based in Indiana Manufacturing companies based in Indianapolis Tourist attractions in Indianapolis

History

Beer

Tasting room

See also

References

Further reading

External links