Scotty’s Brewhouse owner plans to start brewing signature beer

Scotty’s Brewhouse, which first opened in Muncie, has been serving up suds and burgers around Indiana for the last 14 years. But even though it’s called a brewhouse, Scotty’s doesn’t serve its own beer — yet.

Beginning in the fall of 2010, Scott Wise, owner and founder of Scotty’s, said Scotty’s will join the ranks of local brewers in brewing its own beer.

“That’s been the idea all along,” Wise said. “But we’ve been expanding so quickly, we never got a chance.”

Instead of expanding into a brewpub right away, Wise continued opening new restaurants around Indiana. In March, Wise also opened another restaurant, Scotty’s Lake House, next to Geist Reservoir in Fishers.

“We finally found the perfect location,” Wise said of the new brewpub, which will be named Scotty’s Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co. “It’s an old-style Chicago warehouse.”

Located in Broad Ripple in Indianapolis, Wise hopes to turn a former supermarket into not just a brewery but a place where Scotty’s can make its own sauces and desserts, base its corporate operations and still seat up to 60 people for beer tastings.  

From there, Scotty’s will be able to ship craft beer to all of the restaurant locations.

Wise is partnering with Noblesville brew masters Jon Lang, who recently worked at Barley Island Brewing Company, and Mike DeWeese, who will provide equipment and additional know-how.

Wise wants to focus on creating a good West Coast hoppy beer, which he says is lacking in the market. His partners, however, will be working on recipes for their separate label, Beer Baron LLC.

“They’re going to do their thing and we’re going to do our thing,” Wise said. “The beauty of this is that we’ll be able to offer 10 to 15 beers. There will be seasonals, a lot of different brews.”

Scotty’s Bloomington bartender Jonathon O’Dell said he’s happy to add an original beer to the menu.

“We have a lot of people who come in and ask what we brew,” he said. “They’re really upset when they find out we don’t ... We have a ways to get to (Upland’s) level, but we’ll give it a shot.”

Other local brewers welcomed the idea.

“We actually applaud this,” said James Woodard, a manager at Lennie’s. “It’s great to have competition. I think this town could easily support another brewery.”