Deviate Brewing

very well done «niche» brewery (read somewhere they don’t intend to «mass package» beer like sun king, etc.). large open area with the brewery on the east wall. several large tables to socialize and play any of the many games that deviate makes available. the «bar» is on the north wall and really isn’t a sit down bar, but really just there to make sure you get your beer. nicely decorated with several beer cans along the top shelf with intermittent local around hung throughout. good if you just want to chill and read the paper, converse with a friend, or in a large group. very friendly staff!

Oh Deviate Brewing– how I love thee.
Ok– Fair warning as I have had friends complain a bit about this. Deviate Brewing’s Beers are high ABV. That being said, WOW. WOW. WOW. I mean, we had a flight and a pint, and I might have been feeling pretty happy, but their beer is spot on.
I first had an experience with Deviate Brewing before the brewery was even opened. I went to an event at the Tasting Society where they were serving a peanut butter beer. It basically tasted like a nutter butter and in a very odd but good way. They didn’t have their brick and mortar store open yet, so we put their name in the back of our busy minds and waited.
Fast-​forward some months later and I am absolutely still in love with this brewery. The ambiance is awesome, board games and card games line the windowsills with menus of places that deliver. Basically, you never need to leave the brewery. The beers are listed on a chalkboard behind the standing area bar with tables both indoors and out. It has a very unique space and character that you don’t expect in the 96^th area corridor.
Now for the important stuff: the brews. Just order them. Deviate does well with what their name implies, they deviate from the norm. You aren’t going to find a typical domestic style beer. You are going to find beer with unique flavors and ingredients in them. Ghost Pepper? Peanut Butter? Coffee Cake? Orange Sherbet? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
My only gripe is that now I want to move to the north side so I can live closer to their awesomeness.

Checked out this place last night… so fun. The location is deceiving. On the corner of Michigan and 96^th. It has a small outdoor area. Go in and tall, long picnic style tables seat the patrons. We were greeted with aroma of popping popcorn. We walked to the counter and were greeted by several people welcoming us. They told us about the 8 draft beers, we each opted for 4oz tastings of 4bof the 8. Our favorite was one with Thai tea in it. So good. Their motor is deviate from the norm and that’s exactly how I’d sum up this brewery. Great job!

What’s left to be said. Plain and simple, Deviate deserves the top-​tier rating it has. Easily the best brewery in Indy. High turnover of their beers means new items popping up on tap frequently. Overall quality of their brews is outstanding. If you are a seasoned craft beer fan, this place will blow you away. If you are new to craft, they will let you sample everything they have for free and help you find something on their board that will convince you to come to the dark side.
Deviate offers all beers in 5oz pours, does flights of 4−5oz pours for $ 7, and their full size pours are incredibly well priced relative to their competition and the quality of their product, which truly is among the best you’ll find in the country. The owners are great people, the place has a cool vibe, and I have yet to meet a person who has visited and been less than extremely impressed. My wife and I hit Deviate 1 – 2 times every week, without fail. More or less, there is no longer any other brewery in Indy that receives my money because they cannot compete with the caliber of product Deviate is putting forward… No food, but they encourage bringing in whatever you want or just have something delivered. They have a bunch of games to play for free as well (cards against humanity anyone?). If you haven’t been, just get there.

I had my first encounter with Deviate Brewing at one of the Indiana on Tap Tasting Society events, which prompted me to eventually visit their brewery. Okay, get ready for the lineup of great brews I have experienced on various visits, here goes; Conor McKeggor Milk Stout, Chocolate Porter, Swiss Cocoa Imperial Stout, Legalize Lemongrass Saison, The Main Monkey Business Scottish Ale, Razzy Nut Brown Ale, Tikimochanut Russian Imperial Stout, and Sailin’ to Ceylon Porter. You may notice that the majority are Porters or Stouts, which is why I am so thrilled with Deviate. I am a Porter and Stout junky, and love the excellent flavors of chocolate, coffee, and even coconut infused into their various beers. Many breweries I visit are heavy on IPA options so I appreciate Deviate not following the IPA-​heavy path.
In addition to the excellent and unique brews, the staff is friendly and eager to assist patrons in finding that perfect beer that suits their taste. Also, the space is roomy with a large amount of beer memorabilia everywhere one looks. I saw bottles or cans that I hadn’t seen since I was a child, when my father used to partake on the weekends. One of those beers was Wiedenmann. When one tires of reading the beer nostalgia there are plenty of games available to entertain. If you get hungry feel free to enjoy the complimentary never-​ending pretzels that are offered, however, if you desire something more substantial you can bring your food with you.
Deviate lives up to its name and deviates from the norm when it comes to some of the unique flavors infused in its brews, such as the Legalize Lemongrass Saison. Their beers are not unique just for the sake of being unique. A lot of thought goes into the recipes to ensure the uniqueness also tastes good. I have no complaints. Keep doing what you’re doing Deviate and keep all of those dark, rich Porters and Stouts coming. Those of us whom are not in love with the IPA need love too. Cheers!

Really. tasty. beers.
Favorite is the Hop Supremacy, an outstanding IPA.
It’s a block from the I-​465 & Michigan exit on the Northwest side of Indy.

Deviate is a low key spot to enjoy unique beers that rotate through the taps quickly. We stopped in late on a Sunday afternoon to grab a pint. The beers they have on tap at the moment are some big beers! We shared a tasting flight of imperial chocolate stout, imperial stout with dark cherries, CTZ IPA, and a double IPA with grapefruit zest. My fave was the imperial chocolate stout, Doug followed up our flight with a pint of the hoppy IPA.
The thing I like most about Deviate is the taproom, they have chosen to go very low maintenance, allowing their patrons to BYOF, bring your own food, or call the delivery guy to bring some Thai Papaya from across the street.
Super friendly staff, and a very welcoming crowd of beer drinkers. We ran into one old friend and met 4 new friends, two of them canine, the taproom is dog friendly for well behaved pups.

The BEST brewery in Indianapolis. The passion of this brewery is evident in the quality and fearlessness of their varieties. These guys are truly wizards (and lovers) of the craft. Deviate’s brews are remarkable and distinctive, but usually come in small batches. Don’t expect to see the same selection from month to month. Still, the small batch approach is Deviate’s strength. You’re always guaranteed that whatever beer you’re tasting was made with careful and innovative attention. Far from normal — just the way they like it.

Mike is cool! He’s funny.
(Bill, that’s his stage name) ha!
I’m not a huge fan of heavier bier, but I love Hop Supremacy.
The beer changes, so don’t get too attached. (You can count on Tiki Mocha, that’s been here awhile).
Oh, If you’re hungry, beware there are plenty of pretzels, but not much to grub. Feel free to bring your meal or order in. (Thai Papaya, McDo, some random Chinese place)…
And play a game! We’re playing Cranium.

Amazingly creative beers from a great brewer. This place goes above and beyond to make exciting beers that you won’t see anywhere else. We enjoyed all eight rage they had on draft. The two we were most impressed with were Swiss Cocoa and Tikimochanut Stout. The Swiss Cocoa had an awesome amount of sweet chocolate flavor. The beer had a big rich malt backbone to keep the beer balanced. Tikimochanut had a wonderful amount of coconut along a tasty Russian imperial stout.

This place is very cool! Interesting beers! I am not a giant hops fan, but tried the hops supremacy, and this was actually my favorite! I also really enjoyed the green peppercorn one (name escaping me).
They serve pretzels, and that’s it for food. You can have something delivered or bring your own. This concept is odd to me (Sun King does it too at the fishers tap room), but I’ll go with it. I’m kinda a lightweight, so I obviously recommend snacks. Plus I like snacks. :)
My friend got some scoop-​apparently they have been so busy they cannot sell growlers right now! The lady there told my friend that they recently added two beer making things (I’m ignorant about this stuff. I would have asked more but I was already slightly intoxicated, even with the bags of chips I brought in from my Costco trip just before!). Anyway, hopefully soon they will be able to sell growlers. They’ve been in the location for a year preparing, but have only been open for four months.
The décor is nice too! Tables seem to be reclaimed wood with barrels underneath. They have a few tvs for sports watching.
So go, check it out! Interesting beer flavors in a cool place. Just bring chips!

These guys work hard for the money. If you are into swill and beer water, this is not the place. They flex their deviant muscle by incorporating flavors (lemongrass, chipotle, coconut) that are out of the ordinary. They do this in a skillful way that won’t make you gag. I don’t know about you, but I appreciate that in a beer.
There is no kitchen, but there are quite a few nearby restaurants that will deliver for little to no cost. If you are hangry, there are pretzels on every table to munch on while you wait for you delivery. The brewery is filled with local art that can be purchased (or stared at). The bathroom is always clean and the set up of the tables is conducive to making new friends.
If you find yourself on the northwest side, stop in and grab a flight.

They do live up to their name ‘Deviate’ by making brews with flavors that departs from the more institutional/​traditional beer taste. The night we went, they have beers with flavors like cucumber, chipotle, cinnamon, green peppercorn, raspberry, and coconut. And I’m not talking like just hint of flavor or a mild after taste. Its a quite strong and in your face flavor sip after sip. The more conventional beer drinkers might not like it or find some of the beer taste weird, but it can be fun and you gotta appreciate what they are doing and I think that makes them unique and special, and an excellent addition to the list of breweries in the Indy area and certainly worth a try. Definitely the place to visit for the more adventurous beer drinkers.
The staff were very friendly. They serve beer flight which is a great start so you can try most if not all and then decide which you like the best. No food but there were free pretzel sticks and water, and I think they allow order in or even bring your own food.

This is a very different kind of brewery (hence the name). It falls into the nanobrewery category due to the limited production. In fact, I think the only place you can get their beer is from this location.
Even though it is a small production brewery, Deviate always has 8 beers on tap. You can buy them by the pint or sample 4 or all 8 at a time. Of course you can always have your growler filled to take some home.
The brewmaster is usually working the taproom so you can really pick his brain to get some insight on every beer there.
What makes this place truly unique is the styles of beer they make. You won’t find a regular ale or lager here. They like to do wacky flavor combinations/​profiles and see what does and doesn’t work.
On this night, my favorite was the MeSo PepperCorny (green peppercorn) saison. Another good one was the VanConChile (vanilla chipotle) porter.
There’s no food sold on site, but you can bring in whatever you want or order delivery. There’s a McDonald’s across the street and a Thai restaurant too.
There is plentiful seating inside. You can belly right up to the bar or sit at one of the high top long tables. There’s also an area with more comfortable low seating. There are even board games available to while the hours away while sipping your cucumber IPA.

Had the pleasure of stopping by here several weeks ago on a self-​imposed rainy day brewery tour. Awesome place!
We decided to go with a flight (two) so we could try each beer. Also decided to munch some pretzels between plowing through the nectar that they have to offer.
I appreciated the variety! Many styles were available, and even styles I don’t typically like we’re very pleasant.
If I lived closer I would be here all the time.
One of the owners stopped by and was happy to chat about the styles, the business, and just beer in general. All in all, a very enjoyable experience.

My friend recommended this place, commenting that they have unique beers brewed in small batches that rotate pretty regularly. That sounded appealing to me so when I first visited with friends, we tried the full flight and got pints of «Hop Supremacy». All of the beers were pretty full-​bodied and filling, like, you might not be able to drink more than two pints without feeling like calling an Über. :) That said, I love what they are doing and would possibly recommend also adding a flavorful lower gravity beer.
The setting is casual with tall, long tables for open seating with big containers of Utz pretzels. As Deviate does not have a kitchen, they endorse folks bringing in their own food.
Very friendly vibe in this place; chill dogs are welcome. They were playing 90’s alt when I was there last, which I think is awesome craft beer-​drinking music.
P. S. Very cool logo — their growler would be perfect to add to your collection.

If you are looking for a run-​of-​the-​mill, boring, unimaginative, meh, tasteless beer — keep moving on. Deviate is anything BUT normal or average. Even their slogan («Deviate from the Norm») points to what they hope to accomplish… and they are far exceeding this mission in my opinion.
Owners Greg and Mike have been friends and home-​brewing companions for about 20 years and have just recently ‘quit their day jobs’ to throw themselves in to brewing and being at Deviate full time. Word spread and demand for their beers became so high that they had a short spell where they had to refuse growler fills (which admittedly broke their hearts) as they could not keep up with demand. What a GREAT problem to have! However, they hope to remedy this soon — and they have been staying at Deviate 15 – 18 hours a day in order to get supply back up to meet demand. Greg and Mike are always around, friendly, genuine, and willing to talk about their passion for their craft. You can totally feel the love that goes in to each batch of brews here.
Cliff notes version:
– You MUST make the trip up to 96^th and Michigan to get in and try the amazing beer offerings at this place if you haven’t already. Deviate is on the right side of the road heading north on Michigan just past the McDonalds
– You MUST try each of the brews they have as you will NOT be disappointed. Best suggestion is to get a flight or 2 and sample all that you can, even if it’s not something you would typically order as they are straight up changing minds in there.
– The space/​tasting room inside is dog friendly as there is no food prepared or served on site (see below).
– Pro Tip: Have a snack or order food to be delivered while you are there as their beers are no punks… they are up to/​often exceed 10% ABV. There are menus on the tables for places that will deliver while you drink. Score.
– Deviate Brewing caters to a developed/​more sophisticated palate and complex flavors abound… I guarantee you that you have never had craft beers like this.
– Try the Orkey’s (Van)illa, Swiss Chocolate, Chocolate Orange, Strudel Cake, or Hawaiian Imperial Stout for velvety/​desserty/​rich dark goodness.
– Their IPA/​hoppier offerings get RAVE reviews from friends… and I can even handle the DIPA with Lactose which says a lot because I am NOT an IPA fan. At all. Damn you, Deviate for making me enjoy an IPA!
– Try the Lactic Prophylactic (served with your choice of added blood orange, guava, or other flavors) for a light, tasty alternative.
– The seasonal Barley Pumpkin was just tapped… and is one of the top seasonals I have had this year. Get it.
So GO. Drink. Often. I know we will.

Seriously. This place and these guys are doing some awesome, awesome stuff and creating something different in the craft beer scene here in Indy.
These guys have been doing homebrew for 18 years (and passing it out for free at Hoosier Beer Geek’s Tailgate for Nothing) and now they have taken the plunge into brewing full-​time. And I am so glad that they did.
There are about 8 beers on draft that change really quickly because they are only doing very small batches of beers. No food onsite, but there are a handful of places nearby who will deliver.
The location is prime, right off of 96^th and Michigan, seen from 465.
Deviate is definitely one of the places we’ll be stopping by frequently.

I have to be honest, I was a little hesitant about this place simply because of its location. This area is surrounded by big box stores and chains so I thought it was strange that a brewery would pick this location. I tried it because my boyfriend’s coworkers raved about the place and I sure am happy I did.
I stopped in here after a workout at the nearby LA fitness. I went in with low expectations but came out with only smiles. First off, the staff is very friendly. You can tell the bartenders highly respect the passion the owners put in their beer and they are a good face to the brewery.
We tried the flight of 8, all their beers on tap. They were very generous pours! I took my time sampling all their beers and took my rest in between sampling as a chance to look around the place. They let you bring in your own food! Not only that, but they have a list of places near by and their flyers available to you if you decide you need some carbs to soak up all the beer you have been drinking. They also have GIANT containers of pretzels to also soak up all the beer you have been drinking, for free. The nicest touch is the water jug in the corner. You can fill up your water to your hearts content without having to wait for a waitress to come by. I appreciate that more than they know.
The atmosphere is very laid back, huge tables to line up your pours on, and televisions to watch the game. Happy I decided to stop by. This is brewery that Indy will probably start to see a lot of.

Got plans? You do now, you’re going to Deviate. Trust me on this. Get here fast because once the word is out there will be droves of people & beer buses O-​plenty lined up for these mind blowing brews. If it’s your first visit order two flights so you can sample all of their offerings. Each flight of four will cost you $ 7. Again, trust me, you will want to try every last one of their beers so get two. These are not your standard IPA, Pale, Wheat styles these are beers brewed with a unique twist. They want to deviate «outside of the norm.» Their goal I quote, «we are driven to find great combos of aroma flavor mouth feel in liquid form as possible.» You hear that? They are making beers for one purpose and that is to blow your mind. Challenge accepted and appreciated Deviate Brewing!
My husband and I were lucky enough to grab a seat at the bar and chat up with one of the owner/​brewers Mike Orkey. What a fantastic guy! We learned that Mike Orkey and prior home-​brew partner Greg Ortwein have been brewing for 18 years so they are definitely not newbies on the block. There were even tales told of block parties which included 20+ beers on tap with kegs kept chilled on ice in hot tubs. Oh… to have been one of the luckies given the opportunity to taste all of Balls Brewing (their former home brewing name) creations for the past decade!
Obviously, the proof of greatness is held in your glass and sipped slowly (most beers pack a punch of 9%-10% ABV). Some of the daily offerings included a Lactic Prophylactic Berliner Weiss (which allowed your choice of Blood Orange, Passion Fruit or Pomegranate syrup), a Hawaiian Imperial Stout (barrel aged with coffee and coconut), an amazing original gravity West Coast style IPA (Hop Supremacy), a Rye Porter Chipotle, and a Russian Imperial infused with 100 vanilla beans (Orkey’s Vanilla). With an ever changing menu, by the time you visit many of these offerings may not be available however, I can guarantee you will find something exceptional in their line-​up. Out of the 7 beers we tasted each and every one was amazing. This is a very bold statement that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
I’m very excited to see what comes next from this dynamic team including the fall release of a Barely Wine made with Butternut Squash and also a Sour in the works! They currently don’t offer food but you can bring your own. There are also barrels of pretzels on each table that are meant for partaking. Beers can be purchased by the pint and growler. I can definitely see myself being a regular here! Great people making astounding beer. Can’t wait to return!