Happy 24th Birthday, Broad Ripple Brewpub!

By Adam Schick of Indiana On Tap

I like birthdays and birthday parties a lot. I like them more than most holidays (save for Thanksgiving, the best holiday of all, and definitely more than Halloween, the worst of all). I like knowing that at one very specific second of one minute of one hour this upcoming December 16th, my dad will have been on this earth for EXACTLY 65 years. That’s kind of cool!

I also like watching the evolution of birthday parties as we get older. As adolescents, the day is specifically about us: presents, balloons, cakes with our names and faces on them, songs about us, etc. But as we get older, though the presents or cake may remain, birthday parties become more about looking back on the year prior and forward to the next coming year of your life, while you surround yourself with the people in your life you care about and who care about you.

That is exactly how Indianapolis’ Broad Ripple Brewpub celebrated their 24th birthday Friday, November 14th – packed to the brim with so many friends and fans who for years have sat at their tables and bar, drinking their beers and eating their food, showing their appreciation for a pub that for 24 years has been a pillar of the Broad Ripple community.

In fact, there were so many who showed up to celebrate Indy’s first brew pub’s special day, that I couldn’t get in.

I know, I know – I should have treated the advertised 6:00 PM start time as a soft suggestion. I should have expected that, by then, plenty of people would already be dining with patrons gathered around the seemingly-always burning fire pit outside, beers in hand and waiting for their chance inside. I should have expected the bar area to be shoulder-to-shoulder. I generally view myself as a punctual person, but for Broad Ripple Brewpub’s 24th birthday party, some people were just MORE punctual. And that’s ok, because the Brewpub, on this day, deserved that adoration for what it’s helped build in the neighborhood. 

“When [founder] John Hill first conceived of opening the Broad Ripple Brewpub,” General Manager Billy Hannan tells me, “he wanted a bar with a friendly neighborhood English Pub atmosphere where he could enjoy a good beer.”

Instead of searching and pining for such a place, the Englishman took charge. 

“He built such a place… and its reputation for producing beer unlike anywhere in the city grew.”

The Brewpub continued to grow in size and reputation as the surrounding neighborhood grew with it, with shades of its influence seemingly everywhere: the Brewpub hosted the Broad Ripple Farmers Market (also started by John Hill) in its parking lot during the market’s first two years; three different former employees have all owned the popular Three Sisters Cafe at different times; former brewer Kevin Mattalucci, now owner of Twenty Tap in Broad Ripple, was one of the driving forces behind the Indiana Microbrewers Festival, the state’s largest annual brewfest; Brugge Brasserie, another neighborhood brewery, was founded by Ted Miller, another former brewer. 

Oh, and the Brewers of Indiana Guild? John Hill founded that too. 

So you can see why Broad Ripple Brewpub’s birthday party would be so well attended (and why I should have thought to arrive earlier). 

I was able to shrug myself past all the bodies packed in thick winter coats and scarves and make my way to the bar for their Monon Porter (at $2.40/pint, that’s enough to pack a place for any occasion), which is full coffee flavors and is an excellent choice for any drinker who is looking to ease into the murky brown world of Porters.

I decided to put my new winter gloves and hat to the test and take my porter outside, where I could breathe in the crisp winter air, warm myself with my porter at the fire pit, and drink up as more and more people filed in for the celebration, which included music, trivia, and a tapping of a special Birthday Beer.

In a way, this was okay. Away from the crowd and the noise, I could see a little brewpub that has served a small neighborhood community while helping it grow for 24 years be surrounded and embraced by that same community, thanking it for providing a warm local place for food and drink all these years. And, as drinks flowed, food was served, and games were played, all in attendance could take their turn in wishing Broad Ripple Brewpub a happy 24th birthday, with all eyes towards what year 25 will bring. 

“As we move into our 25th year in business, which in many ways represents the 25th year of craft brewing in Indiana,” says Hannan, “we’re excited for what comes next and are looking to grow with the times just as Broad Ripple has grown around the Brewpub.”

So, happy birthday, Broad Ripple Brewpub and your amazing staff. Here’s to 24 more years. 

Cheers.