We recently went to the Tap Brewing Company in Haverhill, Massachusetts. They have been open since 2003 focusing on high quality food every visit. They want everyone to leave happy.

It is located in an older building which they work with instead of against. They embrace the old painted walls and the painted tin ceiling. We could tell that they do take pride in this. On their website they give a brief history.

Our location at 100 Washington St has played a major role in the history of Haverhill. Built in 1882 to house the L.H. Hamel Leather Company, it later became J.M. Hickeys, a local bar for the workers of the surrounding shoe mills.  There our main dining room and bar area feature the original exposed brick and dark wood bar for a cozy, yet industrial feel.

They have a fair amount of seating – two bar areas, the main bar and the playpen. The playpen is an area with pool tables and arcade games.

They have a dining room as well as outside seating, out front on the city sidewalk and out back on a deck.

They have a 10 barrel brew house, which is multi level.

 

We arrived around 1:30 on a Friday afternoon and were pleasantly surprised by how many other people were there as well. All beer consumed at the Tap Brewing Company is made by them, you won’t find a Bud or a Miller, or any other craft beer, but you should find something you will like. If you don’t know what to order, talk to the bartender, they know THEIR beer. This is definitely a plus to them selling only their beer, they get to know it.

 

We ordered 2 samplers, $8 each, not bad! That way we got to try every beer.

Year Round Beers

Commuter Ale

German Blonde Ale – 4.7% – 23 IBU

Really light beer flavor, light spice on the tongue.

 

Whittier White

Spiced Belgian Wit – 4.6% – 30 IBU

Smelled like a Blue Moon, which makes sense. Good flavor, orange peel, coriander and ajwain. Mark thought it was lighter than other spiced beglians.

 

Home Run

American Pale Ale – 5.6% – 30 IBU

Made with 3 hops, Glacier, Athanum, Cascade. Megan did not like the smell or the taste, but she usually does not like APA’s. This was more what Mark would consider ‘light craft beer’ that most people would like. It has some flavor and hops to it, but not too over powering or too heavy.

 

Leather Lips

IPA – 5% – 50 IBU

Dry hopped, fairly light in color. Definetely has that classic IPA flavor, but it has a little something extra, maybe because it is dry hopped with whole leaf centennial hops. Fairly light in color.

 

Sassy Rabbit

Rye Ale – 5.6% – 41 or 4 IBU

Mark is always surprised how smooth rye ales are. Had an earthy, nutmeg finish.

 

Seasonal Beers

Wheatless

Dampf beer – 5.1% – 21 IBU

All of the flavors and aromas of a Hefeweizen without the wheat malt. Mark thought it had the Hefeweizen smell, but not the taste.

 

Intergalactic Acid

Berliner Weiss – 3% – 4 IBU

German style with a light tartness.

More sour than we expected.

 

Ignoble

IPL (India Pale Lager) – 7.1% – 67 IBU

Hoppy punch of IPA with the smoothness of a lager. Megan did not like it. Mark enjoyed it, was super hoppy, and not really easy drinking like a lager, but good, especially if you are looking for a hoppy beer.

 

Field Guide

Farmhouse Ale – 6.7% – 30 IBU

Traditional farmhouse style, bright and spicy, one of our top choices, bought a bottle before we left.

 

On Cask

Intergalactic Acid On Peaches

Had a similar smell to the uncasked Acid. The peaches cut the tartness and added a good flavor. One of our other top choices.

 

Food

Bacon Cheese Fries

Big plate, good amount of cheese and bacon.

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread

Mark really liked this. Lot’s of bleu cheese and the mix of hot sauce was good.

 

Overall, we felt like we got a lot for what we paid. Prices were good and serving sizes were good. This is another place that we would go to more often if it was a little closer to us.

 

 

HOURS

Tuesday-Saturday: 11:30am-10pm

Sunday: 11:30am-9pm

The bar is open until local last call each night. We are closed on Mondays