Indianapolis, IN
Where to find pumpkin, other fall beers around Indianapolis
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It’s the best time of the year — at least for those who really enjoy malty German beer.
While Oktoberfest officially wrapped up last week, breweries around Central Indiana are still celebrating autumn’s arrival with seasonal batches. From classic Bavarian brews to modern flavors riding the seemingly ceaseless pumpkin spice train, there’s plenty of fall beer for Hoosiers to enjoy. Here are 12 spiced autumn beers to try around Indianapolis, plus several places to find traditional Oktoberfest brews throughout the fall.
Bier Brewery
Three Central Indiana locations, bierbrewery.com
The brew: Pumpkin ale, 5.7% ABV, 14 IBU
The 2018 World Beer Cup silver medalist is now available at all three Bier Brewery locations in Allisonville, Carmel and the recently opened Noblesville campus. The acclaimed ale, billed as the liquid equivalent of pumpkin pie, is so beloved by Bier customers that it received its own release party this year.
Field Brewing
303 E. Main St., Westfield, (317) 804-9780
The brew: Basic Witch pumpkin ale, 5.5% ABV, 30 IBU
Field Brewing’s pumpkin red ale combines pumpkins, tamarind, Belgian candi sugar and maple and fig syrups to create an intensely autumnal dessert beer.
Grand Junction Brewing Company
1189 E. 181st St., Westfield, (317) 804-9583, gjbrew.com
The brew: Not Grandma’s Pumpkin Ale, 8% ABV, 10 IBU
At a bristling 8% alcohol by volume, this pumpkin ale is brewed to get you warm and cozy with notes of cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla. You can find it at Grand Junction’s Westfield taproom for a limited time.
Guggman Haus Brewing Co.
1701 Gent Ave. and 4601 N. College Ave., (317) 602-6131, guggmanhausbrewing.com
The brews: Spooky Pumpkins pumpkin ale, 6.2% ABV; autumn spiced milk stout, 7.6% ABV
The German tap house welcomes both the spooky and cozy sides of fall with its pumpkin ale and spiced milk stout. The Spooky Pumpkins features real pumpkin and classic fall spices, while the milk stout pairs similar spices with vanilla and cacao in a smooth, dark brew.
Kismetic Beer Company
201 S. Rural St.
The brew: Banana nut hefeweizen, 5% ABV, 20 IBU
Kismetic’s “ode to autumn” is a German-style yeasted wheat beer with caramel malted barley and floral hops steeped in a banana nut tea blend from Nelson’s Tea. You can grab a pint at Kismetic’s Christian Park tap room for a limited time.
Metazoa Brewing Company
140 S. College Ave., (317) 522-0251, metazoabrewing.com
The brews: I Saw the Swine pumpkin pie spiced barleywine, 8.4% ABV, 42 IBU; Jackal Lantern pumpkin ale, 5.3% ABV, 15 IBU
Downtown Indy’s animal-themed brewery is greeting the fall with a potent barleywine (strong malty beer) featuring cinnamon, nutmeg and plenty of fermented grain, plus a more forgivingly drinkable classic pumpkin blonde ale.
Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
50 Airport Pkwy L, Greenwood, (317) 887-2287, oakenbarrel.com
The brew: Apple buzz, 7% ABV
Oaken Barrel’s annually anticipated Apple Buzz, part cider and part beer, drops Oct. 14. Pints, bottles and cans will be available at Oaken Barrel’s Greenwood brewpub.
Quaff ON! Brewing Co.
Various Big Woods locations in Central and Southern Indiana, quaffon.com
The brew: Put A Fork In It pumpkin ale, 6.5% ABV, 20 IBU
Quaff On’s crowd-favorite seasonal beer is back through the end of October at Big Woods restaurant locations. The pumpkin-spiced ale is warm without being abrasive, malty but not overly complex, an extremely drinkable brew to welcome the cooler months.
Sun King Brewing
Multiple Central Indiana locations, sunkingbrewing.com
The brew: Pumpkin spice latte, 5.3%, 23 IBU
A blonde ale brewed with fall spices and coffee, this Sun King brew brings the flavors of a fall latte to happy hour. You can find it at Sun King locations throughout Marion and Hamilton Counties for a limited time.
The Tap
306 N. Delaware St., (317) 820-5580, thetapbeerbar.com
The brew: Tap-O-Lantern, 6.5% ABV, 20 IBU
The Bloomington-based gastropub’s signature pumpkin beer is back for the fall season. One hundred pounds of pumpkin are used in each batch of the amber ale, which also features molasses and fall spices. Rimmed with cinnamon and sugar and available at multiple Indiana Tap locations including downtown, this autumn ale epitomizes the best parts of trying to turn every food and drink into pumpkin pie from September through November.
Urban Vines Winery and Brewery
301 E. 161st St., Westfield, 317 (763) 0678, urban-vines.com
The brew: Hey Gourd-geous pumpkin ale, 4.7% ABV, 28 IBU
This mild amber ale packs a blend of fall squashes with fall spice. You can find it at Urban Vines’ Westfield tasting room for a limited time.
Wooden Bear Brewing Co.
21 W. North St., Greenfield, (317) 318-1803
The brew: Pumpkin ale, 6.2% ABV, 14 IBU
Greenfield’s first brewery brews its pumpkin ale with a single hop variety and traditional fall spices.
Where to find traditional Oktoberfest and other fall beers
Numerous breweries are offering their twist on Oktoberfest beer this fall. Each venue listed has a traditional Märzen, a more modern festbier or a signature Oktoberfest beer for sale. Beer names are listed in parentheses next to each brewery.
- Big Lug Canteen and other Sahm’s Hospitality Group restaurants (Oktoberfest wheat beer)
- Chilly Water Brewing Company, 719 Virginia Ave. (Oktoberfest Märzen)
- Field Brewing (Fest Field Märzen)
- Four Day Ray Brewing, 11671 Lantern Road, Fishers (Adler Oktoberfest)
- Grand Junction Brewing Co. (Oktoberfest Märzen)
- Metazoa (Barktoberfest)
- Saint Joseph Brewery and Public House, 540 N. College Ave. (Saint Joeberfest)
- Sun King (Oktoberfest, Bavarian Breakfast coffee-infused Märzen)
- Urban Vines (Rocktoberfest)
- The Tap (Taptoberfest)
- Twenty Tap, 406-08 N. College Ave (Twenty Below Oktoberfest)
- Upland Brewing Company, multiple Central Indiana locations (Oktoberfest Bavarian-style lager)
- Urban Vines Winery and Brewery (Oktoberfest)
Contact dining and drinks reporter Bradley Hohulin at bhohulin@indystar.com. You can follow him on Twitter/X @BradleyHohulin.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — State Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat representing Indianapolis, has announced her candidacy for a bid to run for mayor of Indianapolis in 2027.
Hunley, who had previously teased a mayoral run, has scheduled a launch event for May 8 as her official kickoff her campaign to lead the city, said her campaign website. The Assistant Minority Leader in the Senate announced in January that she would not seek another term in the Indiana Senate, to which she was elected in 2022.
Hunley’s website says, “Indianapolis is my city. Our city. As someone who knows this city, someone who has served this community as a public school teacher leading our children and supporting families, I am committed to the future of the people of Indianapolis.
“Indianapolis is the economic driver and a key cultural hub for our state. Our city boasts creative entrepreneurs and long-standing local businesses, vibrant neighborhoods and corporate headquarters, community-centered nonprofits and public schools. I aim to champion a better quality of life by listening to and working alongside the people, businesses and neighborhoods that make up our great city.”
Mayor Joe Hogsett has not disclosed if he’s seeking a fourth four-year term.
City-County Council Member Vop Osili in January announced his campaign for the Democratic nomination.
In the same month, Pike Township Trustee Annette Johnson announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination to run for mayor. She’s running this year to continue in the trustee’s job, which she has held since 2019.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, who had been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for mayor, announced in January he would seek another four-year term this year for his current job. However, he did not rule out running for the Democratic bid for mayor in 2027.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – While Louisville is famous for one race in May, a Derby City native is set to make his first appearance in a different iconic May race.
Jacob Abel will be making his first appearance in the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, racing for Abel Motorsports, founded by his father, Bill Abel.
“I am excited and grateful to be able to return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to have a shot at the Indianapolis 500. It’s been a lifelong dream to compete in that race and to have the opportunity to do it with Abel Motorsports and Chevrolet makes it even more special,” Jacob said.
Both Abels, the driver and the team, had breakout years in 2024 with three pole positions and three wins in the INDY NXT drivers’ championship, propelling the 25-year-old driver to the NTT INDYCAR Series the following year.
Practice for the 110th Indianapolis 500 begins on Tuesday, May 12 with qualifying being held on May 16 and May 17. The race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway goes green on May 24, coverage begins at 10 a.m.
Copyright 2026 WAVE. All rights reserved.
INDIANAPOLIS — A person was stabbed in downtown Indianapolis Sunday evening.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers were called to the intersection of East Market and North Delaware Streets around 8:28 p.m. to investigate a stabbing. When police arrived at the scene, they located an adult male victim with apparent stab wounds.
IMPD has confirmed that the victim was transported from the scene to a local hospital in critical but stable condition.
Investigators believe the stabbing “stemmed from a disturbance between multiple individuals and the victim.”
IMPD has reported that it has not identified or detained any suspects or persons of interest at this point in its investigation of the stabbing. Police have indicated that they are hoping witnesses come forward with information that can help them identify or locate the suspects.
“The officers now are doing a complete investigation,” IMPD Lieutenant Frank Wooten said during a media briefing Sunday night. “They’re going to investigate this to the best of their ability. We’re going to try to locate our suspect, arrest the suspect, prosecute the suspect and hold that suspect accountable for this heinous crime in Indianapolis. This is not an indication of what our city is about. This is not an indication of what we do downtown, and we hold this to be very serious. So, we will hold whoever did this responsible for their actions tonight.”
Sunday night’s stabbing represented a continuation of a violent weekend in downtown Indianapolis.
Early Sunday morning, two men were critically injured in a shooting near a White Castle on South Street. Before that shooting occurred, police arrested two juveniles on gun charges at Monument Circle.
Police also conducted a shooting investigation near the Hilton hotel located at 120 W. Market St. around 4 a.m. Sunday. Nobody was injured in that shooting.
Elsewhere in the city, a person was injured in a shooting in a CVS parking lot on Kentucky Avenue Saturday evening. Another individual was killed in a shooting outside a residence in the 2300 block of South Pennsylvania Street Saturday night.
Public police reporting systems indicate IMPD has investigated nine shootings that caused injuries since midnight Saturday. During that same timeframe, IMPD has investigated six shootings that did not result in any injuries and five stabbings.
Numbers available on shootings and stabbings in IMPD’s public reporting system may not be complete, as some reports on weekend shootings and stabbings may not have been entered yet.
“This is not what we want Indianapolis to be,” Wooten said. “This is not what we expect out of the citizens of Indianapolis. We expect them to be safe, come downtown and have a good time, and be able to go home the same way they came down here. So, we will hold these suspects, once located, accountable for this crime.”
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