Hoosier Beer Geek worked with Metromix to create their 2010 Local Brewing Guide. It was published in the November 18th issue and we are republishing the interviews we conducted. Enjoy!
Brugge Brasserie and Brewing, est. 2005
1101 E. Westfield Blvd, Indianapolis, 46220
Website: www.bruggebrasserie.com
Phone: (317)255-0978
Ted Miller’s road back home to Indianapolis had stops in Seattle, Taiwan, and China before taking a Belgian twist in Broad Ripple. Miller, a Broad Ripple native, traveled the world working as a brewer and brewery consultant before putting together an investment group to launch his restaurant and brewery, Brugge Brasserie.
“I had been homebrewing a little bit, [but] when I actually stepped foot into a brewery, [I was] just totally fascinated,” said Miller. While the desire to leave Indianapolis eventually brought a young Miller to Seattle, a recommendation from a friend in Zionsville got him work in Hong Kong. “I said, ‘Let me get this straight – You’re going to double my salary, and you’re going to move me to Hong Kong’,” said Miller. “Okay, I’m there.”
From Hong Kong, Miller and his wife, Shannon Stone, eventually worked their way around Asia, always keeping Ted in positions in the brewing industry. When their oldest child reached school age, they returned to Indianapolis. “There was always this plan for a brewpub,” said Miller. “Shannon and I had been living all over the world, but now we’re in Indianapolis. I thought, ‘What is going to make me the happiest? And what’s going to give me an edge?’ Belgian beer.”
Though Miller has expanded Brugge’s offerings from the Belgian styles that the brewpub started with, those styles –Black, White, and Tripel de Ripple - still serve as the base for everything else that Brugge brews. But Miller’s sour beers might please beer geeks the most.
“There are a lot of different sours,” Miller said, “and we dabble in all of them.” Sour beers can be produced in different ways, such as a quick method through the introduction of lactic acid, or a longer development through the use of Brettanomyces yeast strains. “[Sour beers] can be very frustrating, because you can lose them,” said Miller. “Lambics [a sour style] get ill – there’s just so much going on, it’s just terrible nasty stuff. And then it turns into this gold.”
Regular Beers (styles in parenthesis): White (Belgian wit), Black (Belgian dark), Tripel de Ripple
Seasonals: Thunder Monkey (Belgian strong), Bad Kitty (Gose), Pooka (American wild ale with fruit), Spider (American Wild), Artemis (IPA)
Events: Semi-Annual Beer Brunch with Hoosier Beer Geek
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