Alcatraz Brewing Company

May 18, 2008
Nice brewing company brew house, the food is a little pricey, but the beer is fresh and easily drinkable.

April 4, 2008
Been here numerous times to rate the beers that were new since the last visit. Beers have been hit and miss in my experience, service has been friendly, some servers more knowledgeable than others, have only eaten here once and the food was average pub fare. From a rating standpoint, a must stop for me whenever I am in downtown Indy.

February 24, 2008
Stopped in on a Friday night. The decor is industrial - concrete and metal. Kind of lame really. I had the sampler - which was a small pour of each of their seven beers. None of them really sang, the black lager rose to the top. The service was good - but the beers were just okay. They have a full service bar to back the beers.

November 1, 2007
A fun place to go, and they do brew their own beers, which is always a worthwhile venture. As with so many brewpubs, their beers are a good deal better than your Bud Lights and whatnot, but inferior to quality craft beers. If you’re at Circle Center, I’d stop in, but don’t make a special trip for these beers!

May 17, 2007
Service was very attentive, and the chicken/spinach calzone was top-notch - best calzone I’ve ever had - kindof a cross between a chicken pot pie and a pizza. The beer was, well, lazy. According to the waiter, the brewmaster’s secret was in the hops - they were some kind of ’foreign’ hops. To me, they mostly tasted like Saaz. The best beer here was the red, which was really a brown. No matter. It’s got a fair patio, good for people-watching and watching the 700 horse-drawn carriages that Indy apparently licenses. The interior is a bit austere, and frankly ’Alcatraz’ isn’t much of a theme, but it is a good scrabble word, except it’s a proper noun. Oh, well.

February 11, 2007 [ Updated February 16, 2007 ]
Not too crazy about the ambiance since it’s located in a mall near touristy stuff - convention centers, sports venue, shopping areas.... The bar is small and the food is pricey (but okay). Service was good although the waiting folk didn’t seem to know much about the beers. Still, the beers were fairly solid, and that alone gives me reason to return.

August 14, 2006
Has a bit of a yuppie feel right in the middle of downtown Indy. The bar is quite small compared to the rest of the place. My favorite thing about Alcatraz was the comfortable large stool. I didn’t even get a beer because they had a quite disappointing selection available. Everything was incredibly generic, the worst of which being an actual pale, light beer.

June 1, 2005
Stopped in while at Indy Carb Day. More about food than beer. Small bar with eight to ten seats. Service was good and freindly. Sampler set is presented on wire rack. House selection are limited and average. Food menu is more substantual and interesting. Interesting stop, but I would and did start across the street.

March 16, 2005
I’ve been about five times and I always have a good time at Alcatraz. It is your typical yuppie-ish, wood-paneled, cookie cutter, high-ceilinged, beer-fermenters-in-the-room (probably unused), urban brewpub. But I like them, and so I like Alcatraz. Call me declasse if you must, but the selection of eight moderately mild brews is always fun (I usually get the sampler). Food’s fine to good, particularly if you like fish and chips or burgers.

September 16, 2004
Average brewpub, food, and atomosphere. There are better in Indianapolis.