Metazoa Brewing Company

Hell of a day trip up from Louisville this morning for one, two, and now this last of the Indy breweries 3 before we pack it off to Cincy. And then Cleveland, Ann Arbor, & Detroit later in the week, but let’s not rush things. Standalone, as they often are. So, my phone died shortly after arriving. Not like ‘out of juice’ dead, but ‘throw it in the river’ dead. Or at least geting it to a Verizon store where they will end up taking HOURS migrating all my stuff over and killing my vibe, but I’m just in getting my beers (yes, plural) on mode just now…

Long narrow room with seating forward and to the rear of the bar proper; ‘L’ shaped heavily laminated wood slat topped with a vertical corrugated base. Seating for 12 barside on wood & steel chairs. Taps 12 & 12 on a looooong barback stainless panel; some with logo handles and others non-descript. 4 horizontal boards above, 3 of them listing draft selections (beer, style, ABV, IBU, & pricing mostly but not always for 5oz taster, shortyish 12oz, & full pour pint, + crowl, growl, and/or cans to go, if applicable). Shelving atop displaying vintage beer cans spread out fronting a corrugated cold box.

Concrete floors, black fabric ceilings on orange I-beams, ductwork, drop filament bulbs tracing the bar & suction cup lamps across the floor. Black wall logo’d between roll up panel doors on the stretch and another one forward between a mad mug club stein corner to one side, and a really cool display by the ‘Save the Chimps’ folks on the other side corner with framed profiles of different chimps you should know and some of their art adjacent, too (just a handful of fingerpaintings, some of them are better than the ones I got from my nephew. Don’t tell my nephew I said that). Back wall ‘Drink Beer, Help Animals’ mural. A metric shit ton (actual unit of measure) of medals over the corner vestibule door, merch zone adjacent to there.

A half dozen small round tables forward, and then a dozen+ tables down the corridor past the bar in between; long shared on the outer wall below a Metazoa logo painted and shorty squares across the way butting up against a sectioned off seating pen with nearly a dozen and a half mix & match tables of all 3 types in rows.

Now, the boards indicate that there are 27 beers up and they all seem to be draft and not can pours based on the multiple pour sizes and crowl & growlability, but I see 2 panels with 12 taps each so I don’t know where they’re pouring the rest of ‘em from unless I’m doing bad math. No matter. I did a sampler of 6 as I found it to be 50% gooder than a sampler of 4 (the maths). Fill out the card, I did. Avoided the hoppy board and things like the Tripel that I knew Davo was going to get in on and played center board (Mortal Wombat, German Style Pils, 5.4%, soft, crisp, clean, crackery yum; Good Boy, Czech Pilsner, 5%; floral, light bitterness, biscuity, solid; Ain’t Afraid of no Goats, Helles Bock, 7.5%, sweet, toasty, a bit of booze; Lagerhead Turtle, German Style Helles, 5.4%, sweet, bready, crispy; Barktoberfest, Marzen 5.3%, bready, toasty, a bit floral, yes please; Nap in the Hammock, Cream Ale, 4.8%, crisp, clean, a little sweety). Well, they can Lager, uh huh. Am thinking Mortal Wombat German Style Pils, Ain’t Afraid of no Goats Helles Bock, & Barktoberfest Marzen for the wins, but really, there was nothing of the suck here.

Okay, so saying, “It’s a dog bar” doesn’t quite capture what’s going on here. That’s an understatement of an understatement. No, this is a bar owned & operated by dogs, for dogs. Wait, no, that’s not quite right, but it is exxxxxxxxxxxtremely dog friendly. Like dog birthday parties and shit (no, not really that either. Well not when I was here anyway, but possibly maybe probably). They do have a rather nicely curated dog park space out front.

And, oh by the way, they donate 5% of profits to nearly a dozen animal & wildlife organizations across 5 states (respect). Humane society, a few zoos, rescues for tigers & chimps, elephant & wildcat sanctuaries, retired Greyhound fostering. Um, seriously, RESPECT!!! (I’m talking RESPECT in like all caps with at least 2 exclamation points there).

Nice, friendly folks, and a very cool scene. Beers were good. I would have liked to have gotten in a few more here but it was not to be. When in in in in Indy.

Dog friendly is an understatement. To reach the bar I had to cross over the leash of one dog, and walk around another. If that’s a dealbreaker then this isn’t the place for you. I liked the laid back vibe, the communal seating, and —did I accidentally crash a private party? I felt like if I lingered for a second longer I’d have been invited to join in the festivities at another table. Beer is good to great, too.

 

Here’s an example where going to the brewery location noticeably improved my opinion of the brewery. On a Saturday the place was bustling, with people milling around and talking, and it was dog central. The space is fairly large, long and skinny with a big wooden bar rail where you can order or sit down, tables, high tops, and picnic tables, and some outside seating with umbrellas. Garage doors, Edison light bulbs, animal art, steins in the corner. Had 27 house beers on tap. I’d had several of the IPAs and stouts in cans and on tap around Indy, and I always thought they were sort of middle of the road. But at the brewery I had a number of European styles, such as Vienna, Helles, Marzen, and this is where they shined. Earned a return visit no doubt.

 

Animal themed taproom, over the top dog friendly (has it's own dog park). Pretty specious, seating options inside and out. Wide variety of taps, lots of styles. I asked the server to surprise me with a flight, and he seemed excited at the task. I got 4 very good, well crafted bweers, froma variety of styles. I do not think they had a kitchen. Fun experience.

A fairly new brick, short warehouse type building. The taproom has tall, thick wooden tables with stools and a dark polished concrete floor. This is quite common at craft brewpubs and works well and creates a casual atmosphere. Tasting flights are served in cat shaped wooden trays. The beer is good. Recommend the Hoppopotamus American IPA.

 

 

This brewery was in a warehouse like building on the near East Side of Indy. There were dogs everywhere which made it a bit annoying. The quality of the beer I had was very good. There seemed to be plenty of beers to be available. The service was fine.

I don't know how this place doesn't have higher reviews. Maybe some people don't like dogs -- yeah, you can bring your dog here, and many do!

As for the beer itself, it's among the best I've had. Every style is very clean easy-drinking, yet the flavor profiles emerge beautifully.

The staff is friendly and enthusiastic, too.

Can't say enough about Metazoa.

 

 

 

Can get a little loud, but overall a good place to watch a game with your pups. Oh, and try to pet the brewhouse cat... I dare you.

 

Very mellow vibe. The place is large and not far from downtown. I'm here on a Monday afternoon and there may be a dozen patrons. Dogs are welcome everywhere.

The selection was extensive but there's no food served here except through delivery.

The beer quality was okay -- enjoyable but not remarkable. The service was welcoming and attentive but not necessarily informed.

 

 

Very new brewery that just opened up just 1 month before visiting. Modern industrial setting with the brewing equipment easily visible to everyone but also very modern tv and bar set up and a nice long bar with multiple taps. Beer list is fairly extensive with mainly session style beers available, but there are a couple bigger abv beers too. No food but there are food trucks from time to time. Wide open floor plan allows for easy movement from one end of the building to the other. Love the red brick facade of the building. Very nice and chatty bartenders as well.