Less than one year after opening a fine-dining restaurant in SoBro, Sahm Restaurant Group is adding a second restaurant on the same plot of land. Liter House, a German inspired restaurant with traditional German beers, opened July 10th, 2018. A great article about it can be found here. That very same location, will now also be home to Half Liter BBQ.

Half Liter BBQ in theory, is almost the exact opposite of Liter House. Almost. It specializes in serving up some amazing Texas style BBQ in an open, yet energetic atmosphere. It’s family friendly with an additional, draft only area, upstairs for 21+. Plus, pets are welcome at the picnic tables outside! Walking in however, it almost feels like a German inspired beer hall. Tall ceilings, wooden tables and bench seats greet every customer who walks in the door.

The American inspiration kicks in with the crackling fireplace, garage doors that open to two sprawling outdoor spaces, various games in a 21 and up area, a grand bar and the food ordering window.

The one thing that does bind the two restaurant’s vastly different cuisines is the beer. Patrons to either restaurant are greeted by the same beer selection, German inspired craft, brewed right there in house. Thus making ‘Half Liter’ almost an exact description of the restaurant. The man responsible for these brews is Scott Ellis.

He’s been brewing for Big Lug for awhile now. Originally over at the canteen location off of 86th street, or a short walk up the Monon Trail (which is accessible at the back of the parking lot), Scott made the jump to Liter House when it opened last year. He’s since focused on canning all of Big Lug’s killer beers and fine tuning these fantastic in-house brews on his 15 barrel system.

Big Lug cans are available as an in-house consumption choice or packs and kegs to-go. Some of those same beers are also available on draft but I highly recommend the in-house, specialty beers. They’re killer. Half Liter also lists several whiskey options, cocktails on draft, frozen cocktails, wine, cider, crocktails (warm drinks like hot toddys, irish coffees and warm cider) and something called “Milk Punch” which is defined as: “MILK PUNCH IS A CLARIFIED DRINK THAT’S RICH AND CREAMY, BUT CLEAR AS WATER WITH BEAUTIFUL COLORS. BASICALLY A MAGIC TRICK IN A GLASS.” Try that one, let me know how it is.

Once you’ve got your food and your beverage of choice, and if it’s nice outside, walk through one of those beautiful garage doors and relax in the lot behind the building. There are ample picnic tables and their website states there will be fire pits, live music and games.

Next time you’re in Broad Ripple, definitely stop in at this spot. It’s brand new right now but I can tell it’s going to be one of the most popular stops along the Monon. Look for Scott’s newest creation – Johan Lager – becoming available here in the near future.

Cheers!

Jake

Updated 3/7 10am. Added in that the space is family friendly and pet friendly.

Address: 5301 Winthrop Ave Suite B, Indianapolis, IN 46220





