Thanks to my Indiana On Tap Tasting Society Marketplace membership, I had the opportunity to visit Metazoa several weeks before it was open. A group of Tasting Society members were welcomed into the brewery for a tour, treated to tastes of what the head brewer was working on at the time, and offered the chance to purchase pints ahead of the grand opening. Since that day, I’ve been eagerly waiting for Metazoa to host this grand opening on April 1.
Before we get too deep into the grand opening, lets cover some basics about Metazoa, because it is rather unique. First off, Metazoa is term used to reference the animal kingdom. It was chosen because the folks behind Metazoa have a passion for animals. In fact, Metazoa donates a portion of all proceeds to animal charities each month, with the charity changing each month. As such, all animals (mostly dogs and brave cats, as they put it) are welcomed at the brewery at all times – both inside and out. They have (or will eventually have – I didn’t see it at the grand opening) a small dog park outside for your best friend as well. Since I love visiting breweries with my dog, it seems this place was made for me.
Metazoa had the grand opening set for 11am on Friday April 1, with special beer releases at 3pm and the real party starting at 6pm. I assumed the place would get wildly busy by 6pm, and I wanted to avoid that mass of people since I did plan on taking my dog (who is a giant great dane, so he takes up some space). I also didn’t want to start my lunch hour with beer, so I arrived about 2pm. Although I did beat the giant crowd that had populated by the time I left around 5, it was far from empty.
When I arrived, I started with a “Dormouse Dubel” (A Belgian dubbel) and, thanks to some sharing with friends, worked my way through trying the “Jackaroo” (English Mild Ale) and the “Belgian Chocolate” (Dark Ale). Of the three, Jackaroo was definitely the best and most true to style. I must say, all of the beers had a very similar profile, and everything seemed to be served in full pint glasses (despite being listed as different sized pours).
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You can’t welcome animals inside an establish and make your own food, so Metazoa cleverly fulfills the Indiana law for food with a food cart attached to the building. They also typically have a local food truck slinging something tasty for patrons. For the grand opening they had 3 trucks present: Pierogi Love, Nacho Mama, and Wild Boar Barbecue.
As I mentioned, the place was pretty much packed full when I was ready to leave around 5pm. The line was out the door and it took me 10 minutes just to close my tab at the bar (the wait for beer was even longer). However, the staff was not frazzled by any means. They kept their cool and didn’t rush. The best thing you can do is be patient and deal with it, which is what they did.
The highlight of the visit, for me, was the friendliness of the staff. When I walked in, the first employee I saw remembered me from the pre-opening event and the second employee I talked to made sure to show me where they kept the dog treats. I look forward to many more visits with my K9 friend.
