Main Street Speedway The Perfect Place For A Pre – St. Pat’s Pub Crawl

Pub crawls are certainly the rage, especially around St. Patrick’s Day.  Generally, it’s more about large amounts of domestic beer flowing, Irish car bomb’s, and whether or not the bartender can put a shamrock on the top of your Guinness!  So something should be said about a pub crawl where craft beer and wine were the dominant beverages being served.  This is exactly what went on the night of March 12, 2016, in Speedway.  The town is creating a vibrant multiple-block cultural trail with diverse restaurants, shops, and now, two breweries. 

Prior to tonight, my experience on Speedway’s Main Street was a trip to Barbecue and Bourbon.  They have a nice tap list, and I was sure they would be rocking tonight.  I was planning to visit them, but I parked at the south end of Main Street, and visited the breweries first.  Quaff On! is building a tap room, but it is not open yet, so they were serving beer off of a truck.  They were setting up when I walked by, so I made a point to check them out later.  I noticed 1911 on a building and remembered that it is supposed to be a restaurant that will be there soon.  (I have heard good things about them, so l plan on looking for them the next time I’m in Speedway.)

I stopped at Daredevil first, and the place was packed to the gills, with a tent connected for extra space.  In back of the tent, gourmet pizza was being served by Byrnes Pizza.  Daredevil is in its second location, and this is the first new brewery structure built in Indiana since Prohibition.  While I am familiar with several of their products (Lift-Off, JMP, and Vacation), I opted for the Muse, a Belgian ale that was excellent.  I chatted with a young lady at the bar, and she said that the secret is out.  Speedway’s Main Street is turning into a new Broadripple.  If everywhere I hit tonight had this much energy, that statement would be believable.  Bagpipes were going to be on at seven, so I decided to check out more places and come back to Daredevil.  I was on a pub crawl after all.

I continued my walk up to Dawsons, which was full, and crossed  the street.  McGilvery’s Pub had a tent in the parking lot, and they were hosting the band Abby Something.  They had a lot of beer including Sun King, and several craft handles,  but they were mostly selling green beer.  At this point, it was almost seven,  so I headed back to Daredevil.

The Indianapolis Firefighters Bagpipe Band is made up of police, fire, and EMS personnel, and they put on a great set in the Brewery, and then a short set in the tent which included “Amazing Grace.”  It was truly an experience.  While there, I tried Daredevil’s Rip Cord, and it was delicious.

A short while later I was on the move, ending up at the Foyt Wine Bar, which was full, featuring live music.  Racing memorabilia was everywhere.  This was a nice crowd who were enjoying  themselves, and I felt the wine bar added a nice contrast to everything else going on on Main Street tonight.

As the night got into full gear, I was at the tent party at Barbecue and Bourbon where I enjoyed Danny Boy’s Milk Stout very much. They had a very good band, and the food being served smelled divine.  While I was there, another bagpipe troupe, The Indy 500 Gordon Pipes performed out on the sidewalk.  They were also very good, and had a crisp sound.

As my night wound down,  I ended up at Quaff On in need of one more beer.  I went with their Java Red and it was tasty.  The coffee and hop notes were delectable.  I am still impressed with the guys from Nashville, and hope they have success with this future tap room.
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So a craft beer pub crawl was a neat way to Spotlight a part of Speedway that’s up-and-coming.  Main Street has a lot to offer, an more seems to be developing.  I enjoyed all the places I visited tonight, and look forward to another visit sometime soon.