Sun King Brewing facts for kids
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| Location | Indianapolis, Indiana, US | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opened | 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Annual production volume | 18,000 US beer barrels (21,000 hL) (2012) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Dave Colt Clay Robinson Omar Robinson Andy Fagg Steve Koers |
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| Website | http://sunkingbrewing.com/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Seasonal beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sun King Brewing is a company that makes beer in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is the biggest brewery in Indianapolis. It is also the second largest brewery in the whole state of Indiana.
In 2011, Sun King won eight medals at a big event called the Great American Beer Festival. Four of these medals were gold! Sun King was the first new commercial brewery to open in Indianapolis in about 30 years.
Contents
The Story of Sun King Brewing
Sun King Brewing was started in July 2009 by Dave Colt and Clay Robinson. Before this, Robinson and Colt worked together at different places that made and sold beer in Indianapolis.
Clay Robinson decided to quit his job in July 2008. He then started making plans to open his own business. They had three more partners, including Clay's father, Omar. Later that year, they found their current building in Downtown Indianapolis.
They made their very first batch of beer on July 1, 2009. The name "Sun King" was chosen because the sun is very important for life and for making beer.
Growing the Business
In 2010, Sun King began putting their beer into beer cans. This made it easier to sell and transport. They went to the Great American Beer Festival in 2011. There, they won eight medals, including four gold ones.
By 2011, they were making 5,000 barrels of beer. A barrel is a large container, and this shows how much they were producing. That year, Sun King upgraded their brewing system. They replaced a smaller system with a bigger one.
They also started selling their beer outside of the Indianapolis area. They expanded to sell in Bloomington, Indiana. By 2012, Sun King was selling its products about 50 miles away from Indianapolis. The first time their beer was sent outside of Indiana was for the 2012 Great American Beer Festival.
Sun King's Success and Expansion
In 2012, Sun King made 18,000 barrels of beer. This brought in about $5 million in sales. By 2013, the company had 35 full-time and 50 part-time employees.
That same year, readers of Nuvo Newsweekly voted Sun King as having the best beer in Indiana. This was the fourth time in a row they won this award. The brewery announced plans to grow even more by 2016.
They planned to invest $2.1 million in new equipment and hire more staff. Another $3.9 million was set aside to make their building bigger. This would create space for 240 large tanks used for making beer. These plans were helped by tax credits from the Indiana Economy Development Corporation.
The Indianapolis Star newspaper has also voted Sun King as one of the best small workplaces in Indiana.
Until 2017, Sun King beer was only sold in Indiana. Then, they started selling it in Illinois too. The brewery now sells its products to over 700 businesses in Indiana. You can also find their beer at sports venues like Victory Field and Lucas Oil Stadium.
Sun King also helped organize an event called CANvitational. This was the first festival in the Midwest that focused on canned beer.
Types of Beer Sun King Makes
Sun King has three main beers they make all the time. These are Wee Mac Scottish Ale, Osiris Pale Ale, and Sunlight Cream Ale. They also brew a yearly series called "Fistful of Hops" Seasonal IPA. This series includes four different India Pale Ales (IPAs) that come out each quarter.
Sun King also makes many special or limited-edition beers. Many of these are only sold at the brewery or at special events. For example, Java Mac is a coffee-flavored version of Wee Mac. It won a gold medal in 2011 at the Great American Beer Festival.
In 2012, their Velvet Fog beer won a gold medal at the World Beer Cup. They also have two special beers, 2nd Five Pappy van Muckle and Velvet Fog in Pappy van Winkle. These beers are aged in special barrels to give them a unique flavor. Their Pappy van Muckle won a silver medal in 2012.
Unique Ingredients and Partnerships
Sun King's Popcorn Pilsner uses popcorn grown in Indiana. The brewers air-pop the popcorn and add it to the mix. This gives the beer a light popcorn taste. Sun King tries to use local ingredients whenever they can. This includes things like crab apples and masa (a type of corn dough).
For their fourth birthday, Sun King created Grapefruit Jungle/GFJ. This is an American IPA that uses a special mix of hops. Sun King has also worked with other breweries. They partnered with Three Floyds Brewing to make Royal Brat. They also worked with Oskar Blues Brewery to create Chaka and The Deuce.
Chaka was even named one of the best beers of 2012 by Esquire magazine. Sun King's Osiris beer was voted the best beer to represent the Indianapolis Colts football team by Today. It was also listed as one of "15 Awesome Craft Beers in a Can" by The Huffington Post.
In 2013, Sun King was the official beer of Gen Con, a big gaming convention. Sun King also makes a beer called "Naptown Brown" for the Naptown Roller Girls roller derby team.
Sun King gets its main yeast from a company in Colorado called Brewing Science. Sun King sells its beer in packs of four 16-ounce cans. In 2013, Sun King introduced a new type of can that could be resealed. Sun King was the first brewery in Indiana to put its beer into cans.
Visiting the Tasting Room
Sun King has a special place called a tasting room. Here, visitors can try different beers that are available. They can also buy full pints of beer. People can also fill up special containers called growlers to take beer home. Cans of beer are also available for purchase.
The tasting room is open every day. On a Friday night, more than 1,000 people might visit the tasting room. In 2019, Sun King Brewing was named the 19th most popular attraction in Indianapolis. About 175,000 people visited that year.
