The Tap Beer Co. to Open in Bloomington on Friday 9/5

Four members of the Indiana On Tap team were able to sit down and chat with owners Nathan Finney and Jeremy Myers and brewer Jarred May today to discuss the progress of The Tap Beer Company in Bloomington. And they’ve made a lot of progress! Since they announced their brewery back on June 15th, they’ve constructed their 10BBL brewhouse and brewed their first seven beers. The beers will debut at The Tap Beer Bar this Friday, September 5th at noon.   

We were treated to samples of their IPA, Hefeweizen and Milk Stout.  Their hefeweizen was crisp and refreshing, with a surprising degree of clarity and subtle notes of banana and orange peel. This is a great beer for the warm days of late summer. Brewed with Chinook, Centennial, Columbus and Australian Summer hops, their IPA provided a near perfect combination of hop aroma, flavor, and bitterness. Described as a “East Coast meets West Coast IPA”, the balance of maltiness with crispness will make this beer a crowd pleaser. However, beware of an unassuming 7.4% ABV! The milk stout graced our taste buds with a well blended balance of chocolate and coffee that seemed to linger on our tongues long after the sip. Carbonated with nitrogen and carrying a lighter body than many other milk stouts, this was another favorite that proved to be refreshing even on a hot summer day.

Starting Friday they will be serving seven different beers: Milk Stout, Hefeweizen, IPA, Belgian Wit, Blueberry Wheat, Citrus Session Wheat, and American Pale Lager. We’re looking forward to trying them all!  They’ve installed 18 new tap handles for their house beers, with two of those being nitro taps, in addition to their existing 50 tap handles from around the state and around the world. 

For now, beers will only be available at the original Tap Beer Bar at 101 N. College Ave. Over the next month they will be finishing build out of their brewpub located in the local level of the same building with a dedicated entrance on iconic Kirkwood Ave. From the brewpub you will be able to enjoy their beers, watch Jarrod in action in the brewhouse, grab a bite to eat and buy growlers to go. They will be rolling out more “craft-centric beers” soon including a Belgian Tripel brewed with local honey, a pumpkin ale, a smoked persimmon ale and a Belgian Porter. They also have an ambitious barrel aging plan, including barrel aging most of the dark beers. Plans are already in place to age their Milk Stout and Pumpkin Ale. 

We’ll be back on Friday, and many more times in the future, to try some full pints and taste the other four beers. We hope to see you there!