Índica Beer

Great little Montevideo bar & brewery

Montevideo

Craft Beer, Montevideo Restaurant

By Karen A Higgs

This is a Guru’Guay Top Pick

Guru’Guay only recommends businesses and service providers in Uruguay that we absolutely love, who love what they do and demonstrate constant quality.

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Índica Beer is a friendly welcoming Montevideo bar and brewery making some of the best craft beer—particularly IPAs and German-style lager—in Uruguay.

The thing I most like about Índica Beer is the beer. The second thing I like most is the music.

Set right down by the port of Montevideo, just seconds from the Port Market—Uruguay’s infamous Disneyland for carnivores—lies Índica Beer. Índica makes some of the best craft beers in Latin America and many of Uruguay’s best. Working at Índica is like training at Uruguay’s beer mecca, a bartender told me.

To get started, request their four-beer flight. You choose from the ten on tap—all by Índica.

The beer with the most awards is the West Coast IPA. It’s the Uruguayan IPA that’s won most prizes nationally and internationally.

Also, don’t miss their Helles lager which won the South Beer Cup silver medal.

Beers on tap: West coast IPA, Helles Lager, Amber Lager, Nitro Irish Stout, American Pale Ale and New England IPA.

In addition check out their Imperial Stouts, barleywines, American IPAs, sours, and more. There’s even a hemp-based beer available in cans (a great gift?!).

Índica is run by Lucio Faina who started off classically as a home brewer over 10 years ago. He founded the brewery in 2016, and things came together when his recently retired dad came on board to sort sales out. Now Índica employs 10 people.

What you should know

Lucio and team speak English, Spanish and Portuguese. If you speak a different language, they want to learn how you say “a beer please” 😉
Bar meals The burgers and sausages are all handmade on site. And they use real potatoes for their chips (or French fries)! a rarity. As a Brit, I took a bit of my stash of Sarson’s malt vinegar to Lucio to try. He loved it and is on his way to trying to make his own.
Music has a special place in Índica The music every time I’ve been there has been really great. Lots of excellent rock particularly. They also regularly host live music events including Brazilian Samba.
Índica is a great place to hang out for people of all ages The atmosphere in this Montevideo bar is super friendly. When I go alone, I feel very comfortable sitting at the bar and chatting with the bar staff—several of whom are beer makers themselves.