By alley - Oct 18, 2014, 1:14 PM ET

"Hinchtown Hammer Down" beer speeding to success

It may have started out as a bit of fun, but James Hinchcliffe's signature "Hinchtown Hammer Down" micro-brew is becoming a business success story for Indianapolis-based Flat 12 Bierwerks. The

Indianapolis Business Journal

reports that the beer is now one of the brewery's top sellers and is one of Flat 12's five core brews.

Introduced two years ago soley at Flat 12's tasting room in Indianapolis, Hinchtown Hammer Down became available in bars and restaurants around the state lin 2013 and sales began this year in cans and bottles. It's now available in regional liquor and grocery stores and next year will expand to Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and parts of Hinchcliffe's native Canada.

Hinchcliffe demonstrated a flair for promotion of the beer along with himself by arranging for

the announcement of his new IndyCar contract with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

earlier this month to be held at Flat 12's tasting room (LEFT, Steve Schunck photo).

"James is one of the best personalities in motorsports today, and not just in IndyCar," Ken Ungar, an Indianapolis-based sports marketing consultant and former Indianapolis Motor Speedway chief of staff and IndyCar Series senior vice president, told the IBJ. "He's very open and welcoming, he's got a great sense of humor, and he's authentic. Not only that, he's very business-savvy when it comes to his brand. His website is excellent and he's very good with social media."