That last three years went quickly at times and not so in others but during it all we have always just tried to focus on making consistently high quality and enjoyable beers and have fun.

 

On December 8, 2012 we brewed our first batch of Lift Off IPA. That was a great day and it was the result of over a 18 months of planning, sacrifice and hard work. By the end of that month we were shipping our first kegs for distributing across the Indianapolis metro area and shortly after across Central and Southern Indiana.

 

Even today over 90% of what we brew is Lift Off IPA and we are very humbled that it has become a go to beer for so many people in the Indy area and across the state.

 

With our investments in the new brewery this year we are making as much Lift Off IPA as we are able to while also holding ourselves to the very high bar of striving to make world class quality beer with the goal that every beer we make on draft and in cans is brewery fresh and delicious.

 

With our added capacity we are also now able to make all of our core beers (Rip Cord, Muse, J.W.P., Vacation, Carnival & Slip Stream) year round on draft and we have started to can them for sales from the taproom. So far we have canned Muse & J.W.P. and next up we plan Rip Cord DIPA and Slip Stream Pale Ale.

 

Now it is time to celebrate: Saturday, December 12th! With the completion of the new brewery this is the first year we have had a taproom to host guests so on we are holding the first Aggressively Fun Customer Appreciation Day to celebrate and kickoff a month of anniversary events that will run through January with culminate with our annual beer dinner at Black Market (more details on events coming soon). For now, December 12th is the day to focus on 🙂

 

 

In December 2015 the Daredevil Brewing Co backyard will get a little bigger with the addition of Northern Indiana. Daredevil already distributes across Central and Southern Indiana and has partnered with Indiana Beverage to bring our Lift Off IPA and aggressively fun craft beers to 24 counties across Northern Indiana. Daredevil beers are now available across the entire state of Indiana and all 92 counties.

“Daredevil Brewing Company has been wildly successful with their beers in Central and Southern Indiana.” Jeff Leetz Vice President Indiana Beverage. “We are thrilled to bring these amazing beers to our area.”

Launch events are planned at BeerGeeks in Highland, Stacks and Martinis in Valparaiso and Bacon Hill in Elkhart.

Daredevil beers will be available in the following additional counties Adams, Allen, Benton, DeKalb, Elkhart, Fulton, Grant, Huntington, Jasper, Kosciusko, LaGrange, LaPorte, Lake, Marshall, Newton, Noble, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joseph, Starke, Steuben, Wabash and Whitley

About Daredevil Brewing Co

Daredevil Brewing Co is an independent, Indianapolis based craft brewery that was founded by two award winning craft brewers, Bill Ballinger and Michael Pearson, and a talented craft beer enthusiast, Shane Pearson.  

Daredevil Brewing Co operates a state of the art production craft brewery built in the heart of the Indianapolis metro area. The brewery is located on a 2.0-acre site at 1151 Main Street in the historic Speedway area just five blocks from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The taproom at Daredevil Brewing Co provides a welcoming atmosphere for guests to visit, take a brewery tour, enjoy a pint or pick up Daredevil beers to go.

For more information and to find Daredevil Brewing Co beers in your area visit www.DaredevilBeer.com. You can also follow Daredevil Brewing Co on Facebook at DaredevilBrewing, Twitter @DaredevilBeer and Instagram @DaredevilBeer

About Indiana Beverage.

Indiana Beverage is an independent family owned wholesale distributor who has been delivering the difference since 1939.  Headquartered in Porter County Indiana with approximately 270 employees, Indiana Beverage provides quality service to its customers by promoting the responsible use of its products.  For over 75 years, Indiana Beverage has been dedicated to its core values of: passion, respect, integrity, commitment, and excelling.  These values and the company’s success are shared by every member of Team Indiana Beverage.  For more information about Indiana Beverage visit www.indianabev.com. You can also follow Indiana Beverage on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at 219Beer or 574Beer.

Cans for the Holidays!

It’s been a fun year as we grow into our new space. With our recent addition of more fermentation tanks we have +40% capacity. Mostly that means brewing more Lift Off IPA but it also gives us a bit of flexibility to make more or our limited release beers and start canning more beers.

We are very excited to announce that we will be canning our Muse Belgian Golden Ale and J.W.P. American Stout during November and Rip Cord Double IPA in December.  Look for announcements on these being available for purchase at the taproom. 

Taproom update

If you have not been into the taproom in awhile then you should stop in. We now regularly have 7 to 10 beers on including our taproom only lagers (currently a Märzen & German Pilsner are available). The taplist is kept up to date on our website. For carry out options we have 4 pack/16 oz cans of Lift Off IPA & Vacation Kölsch and usually all the beers on draft are available for Crowlers (32 oz can fill) and Growlers (64 oz fill). 

For people that want to enjoy some food with our beers we have a selection of snacks available and you can order delivery from location restaurants or bring your own as long as it is from a commercial restaurant. By December we will be adding our pocket kitchen that will provide a small menu of items that we prepare ourselves. Items will include a rotating selection of locally sourced foods such as charcuterie, freshly made soups and sandwiches. In addition we will continue to have restaurant takeovers with Fat Dan’s and other restaurants from across the metro area on occasion. 

Aggressively Fun!

Craft Beer and great food are a match made in heaven. We love to pair our beers with food and are often out and about in Indy visiting our favorite local places especially when we get the opportunity to pair them with our beers or some of our favorite beers from other craft breweries.  

The setup at the Taproom for having our guests order or carry in food has worked great and we will continue this practice. We have great local options in Barbecue and Bourbon, Lino’s, Dawson’s on Main as well as Jimmy John’s and more options are coming in the next few months right on Main Street and nearby. 

However we always planned some type of in house food option and we included a pocket kitchen space just behind the Taproom. Now we are going to start slowing bringing this part of the Taproom to life with an option we think people are really going to like.

We are going to setup and operate a commissary kitchen at the Taproom where we will rotate in some of the best local restaurants on a regular basis. This will start slowly as we figure out what works well and we are excited to start things up. Our first guest restaurant is Saturday (8/22) and we are kicking it off in a big way with Fat Dan’s Chicago Style Deli .We will have their world famous 3 hour, slow-smoked dry rubbed wings and pulled pork sandwiches and brisket sandwiches. 

Service starts at 5 pm on Saturday and you will just be able to place your order for food with your beer. And if that was not enough to bring you over we also have the release celebration for our limited edition J.W.P. American Stout which is returning on Saturday when we open at 1 pm. 

 

 

And you might see this very nice looking semi-trailer out on the roads making deliveries across Indiana for our distributor partner Monarch Beverage. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We like to keep people up to date on what is going on at the brewery so this update is chocked full. 

Lift Off IPA cans shipping across Indiana again

With the move to the new brewery we went to 100% draft for several weeks and just started canning again recently. We are now going to a schedule where we plan to can Lift Off IPA every week. The benefit will be a) fresh Lift Off b) more Lift Off c) more Lift Off shipping to a place near you

It is sometimes hard for us to explain how crazy it is to manage the growth of demand for Lift Off IPA. Believe us when we say we are doing our best to keep everyone in good supply. Even though we are brewing a ton of it — 100 barrels this week in fact (that is 25,000 pints) — demand for Lift Off on draft and in cans far exceeds what we are making and we are making roughly 2 or 3 times of Lift Off IPA than we did just a few months ago.  

You will be able to get 4 packs of Lift Off at the taproom (open Wed to Sat) and we hope starting this week back at 100s of locations across Indiana. We will be updating the locations page on our website as shipments go out this week from our distributor

Rip Cord Double IPA returns this Friday at the taproom

Yes! We love making this beer and the plan is to continue to make it once a quarter for distribution. This is a draft only release and the beer will first be available at our taproom and then will start to ship out across Indiana the week of July 20th. And sometime soon you will see 16oz cans too but not this release. There will be carry out at the taproom in 32 oz Crowlers or 64 oz Growlers (Daredevil branded Growlers)

Taproom Grand Opening Extravaganza, Friday, 2-10 pm

Along with the Rip Cord DIPA release this Friday we also are extending the variety of Daredevil beers available at the taproom. The beers available on Friday will include Lift Off IPA, Vacation Kölsch, Rip Cord Double IPA and then some limited amounts of J.W.P. American Stout, Lift Off IPA Brett Project #2 and some other Rare Devil small batch pins and beers we are working on and will see what is ready. 

Also, the taproom hours have been extended and are now Wed: 3-8 PM, Thur-Fri: 3-9PM and Sat: 1-9 PM.

 

Hops & Flips Flops is bigger & better this year

Mark your calendars for Saturday, August 29th for our Hops & Flip Flops Craft Beer Festival which is going to include a 5K race, craft beer festival and a block party.  We just announced the music lineup today for both the craft beer festival and the block party that follows it that evening. Make a day of it as ticket holders for the Craft Beer Festival also receive admission at the same level for the Block Party — it is 2 events for 1! And for the really energetic you can start the day at 8 AM with the 5K race where all finishers get their choice of a 16oz can of Lift Off IPA or Vacation Kölsch.

Lots of good news to share today. With our move complete to the new Speedway brewery and access to all this extra space and capacity we are now getting back to canning. It has been almost seven weeks since we made our last shipment of Lift Off IPA cans so we know they are pretty hard to find across Indiana. 

 

Lift Off IPA cans are returning July 1st and will be available for sale in the taproom while they last. We will be moving to a regular weekly canning schedule that should allow us to have sales from the taproom and keep people stocked up across our Indiana distribution footprint.  Come in the taproom and stock up for your July 4th needs!

 

We are also excited to announce that Vacation Kölsch is going to be our second beer in cans and will be first available from the taproom on Wednesday, July 1st. It is going to be a great beer to take anywhere for your summer relaxation needs/ 

 

And we are starting carry out fills of Crowler & Growlers starting July 1st. Fills will be available as long as the taproom is not overly busy which if it is we reserve the decision to not do fills. 

 

 

And last but definitely not least please come join us for our Aggressively Fun July 4th Celebration this Saturday from 3 to 10 pm.  We will have fresh Daredevil beers, live music and food trucks. 

We posted photos of our newly restored 1964 Divo truck the other day and we promised the before photos so here they are along with the back story on the restoration. She is a beauty now but like a lot of swans she started out more an ugly duckling.

About a 18 months ago we decided we needed a tap truck. Like most production breweries we looked at what new trucks costs and what we could do with one. Given we do not do any self distribution our needs were mostly for supporting events and also our future taproom when we hosted large events and wanted to drop in an outside service station. Sure we could just buy a new truck with very little hassle but we thought it would be a lot more fun to find something with a bit more character that we could make our own.

The more we thought about it the more we wanted to find an older truck that we could restore so we approached Vintage Step Vans in Chicago to work with us to find and restore a truck. Turns out restoring a truck can be as expensive or even more expensive then buying a brand new truck depending on how you want to customize the truck. Our wish list including finding a step van that had an intact cold box and if possible be a larger model of Metros or Divcos or similar step vans.

 

Searching for a Vintage Step Van

We were told finding a van with a cold box was not going to be very easy but that it was possible and that we should be ready to buy it as-is whenever one showed up because trucks do not last long on the market if they are in decent shape. Over the first few months of the search we had a couple decent trucks hit the market but they sold before we could even get photos to consider making an offer.

Then as luck would have it this 1964 Divco Model 206 shown below hit the market at the beginning of February 2014. The truck was located in Ohio and was owned by a former employee of Divco and Divco-Wayne Corporation who had it and a couple other trucks that he had meant to fix up but had not ever gotten around to those projects. This truck was not in good shape and therefore it was not getting any bidders. After we verified it had a completely intact cold box we decided to make an offer and ended up purchasing the truck.

Figure: Daredevil Brewing Co Tap Truck | 1964 Model 206 Divco before restoration it had been a Pabst Blue Ribbon delivery & tap truck.

 

History of our 1964 Divco

Divco step vans were produced from 1926 to 1986. Divco is an acronym which stands for Detroit Industrial Vehicles COmpany. Founded in 1926, Divco was well known for its pioneering delivery vehicles, especially the home delivery milk trucks. Only the VW Beetle stayed in production with the same basic model for a longer period of time.

Our 1964 Divco Model 206 was manufactured in Richmond, Indiana and was used as a Pabst Blue Ribbon delivery and tap truck. (We are uncertain of the exact ownership history as the truck has passed through several owners since it was last used).

Figure: Collection of before photos of our Daredevil Brewing Co Tap Truck | 1964 Model 206 Divco

 

A Second Life & Higher Calling for our Divco

There were three main phases for the restoration project of our truck. First we had to have a lot of infrastructure work done so the truck would be safe to operate. This included work on everything from the engine (replaced with a new Ford 240 6-cylinder) to brakes, shocks, and wheels. Next up we had to source a lot of parts that were missing on our Divco. With some lucky bidding on eBay these parts were sourced. In parallel there was a lot of bodywork needed on the truck. The guys that did this work really were miracle workers. The only thing that really needed no work was the cold box with the exception of filling in the original four tap holes in the truck and putting in the holes for the now six taps on the side of the truck.

Finally all that was left was painting and decals to give our truck a classic look. 

Figure: Collection of before photos of our Daredevil Brewing Co Tap Truck | 1964 Model 206 Divco

 

Look for our new tap truck at our taproom and local events

The first event for our tap truck will be the Speedway brewery grand opening celebration on June 17^th. After that we will plan on taking it to some events around the metro area and using it for events at our taproom where we need outside service. We are also going to look into a trailer that would allow us to take it to events that are outside the Indy metro area.

We are pleased to announce the return of our limited release, Vacation, which is a delicately balanced, authentic Kölsch style ale brewed with the finest German malts, hops and yeast to provide a crisp, clean and refreshing match for summer relaxation.

Vacation is a 5.0% ABV, 20 IBU limited release that was originally brewed to coincide with the brewery’s traditional summer holiday week where we shut down the production brewery and all take some much enjoyed time off. 

 

Vacation provides an aggressively fun craft beer option for long, relaxing summer days and nights. It will be available on draft throughout the Daredevil distribution footprint of central and southern Indiana beginning Friday, May 1st.  

Later this summer we also plan to release Vacation in 4 packs of 16 oz cans so stay tuned for details. 

 

The construction project is actually getting down to the end. We sure are excited about that and we know lots of you are too. It is down to days instead of weeks (or months). 

Today is a short note with a sneak peak of the back bar at the new brewery and taproom. Next week the tap system is being installed and the outside patio and beer garden work will be getting going. We do not have an opening date yet but we will let you know when we do.

A view of the taproom back bar as it comes to life

 

There is a lot going on with Team Daredevil these days and we wanted to take a moment to share some of the news.

The Crowler is coming
We are excited to announce we are bringing the Crowler to Indy. The Crowler is a 32 oz can that is filled fresh right at our taproom and has many advantages compared to glass growlers. It also means we have the ability to freshly can smaller batch Rare Devil beers in addition to our more regular beers that you know and love like Lift Off IPA, Rip Cord DIPA, Muse Belgian Golden Ale, J.W.P. American Stout and Vacation Kölsch.

 

We just finalized our label design and the shiny new canning machine is on it’s way from our friends at Oskar Blues. Look for Crowlers at the new Speedway brewery and taproom. We love the idea of being able to fill these with Daredevil beers.  

 

Not seen a Crowler machine in action? Just check out this video. 

 

Speedway Brewery & taproom
There has been a lot of progress over the last month and we are about six or seven weeks away from completion. That means the brewery would be ready for production at that time…. not that the taproom would be ready to open. We need a few weeks of brewing to satisfy some of the demand for our beers in market and also to provide more variety in the taproom for when we do open. We will let everyone know about the taproom opening when we make a decision.

Photo: Speedway Brewery facade. The front of the building is now almost complete with the radius glass installation and external signage. The taproom entrance should be complete shortly once the last panes of glass arrive and the trim is finished

 

Photo: Our newest JVNW Brewery Equipment. Our first shipment of new equipment arrived this week. It includes new 60 bbl fermentation tanks and 20 bbl serving tanks for the taproom

 

Brackets for Good
We are a sponsor of Brackets for Good and we would encourage people to take a moment to check out what they do to help 128 non-profits raise funds to benefit their communities. (http://www.bracketsforgood.org/ Brackets for Good runs a competitive giving campaign once a year with the winning non-profit receiving a $10,000 donation on top of the funds they raise during the month long event. This year BFG is running in both Indianapolis and Louisville. We sponsor BFG because it allows our small business to work with a much larger group of non-profits than we could do on our own. Everyone wins in BFG.

Upcoming Events
* Bloomington Craft Beer Festival, Saturday, April 11th
* Indy Brew Fest, Victory Field, Saturday, April 25th