BarrelHouse Brewing’s newest beer taproom is open in Fresno. Here’s what to expect
BarrelHouse Brewing Co. opened its latest craft beer taproom, its first in Fresno, in River Park on Friday.
The business serves only beer made from the Paso Robles-based brewery, featuring 16 beers on 32 taps.
It’s in the main part of River Park, across from the IMAX Theatre in the former Wavelengths Surf Shop and the empty spot next door.
BarrelHouse also has locations in Visalia and San Luis Obispo, though the coastal taproom is temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
Plans for the Fresno beer bar started long before coronavirus hit, so the owners had to make some adjustments.
They always planned to have big, roll-up doors to open the taproom to the outside. On Friday, people ordered beer inside and then sat on the patio.
BarrelHouse also got special permission to add a 50-by-50 feet tent with open sides, heaters and lots of seating in River Park’s main plaza.
Tables are spaced more than 6 feet apart, and stickers on the floor tell people where to stand, with cheeky sayings like “almost there.”
The brewery always planned to have a partnership with The Hangar, another restaurant in River Park. Patrons can scan a QR code on the table and order food from their phones that the restaurant delivers directly to their table.
Because bars and similar businesses can only be open under California’s coronavirus restrictions if a meal is served with the drinks, customers are now required to make a food purchase during their visit.
Eventually, the business will have live music on its stage when the pandemic has subsided.
BarrelHouse is known for its Sunny Daze blonde ale and IPAs.
The River Park taproom carries eight specialty beers at a time that you can’t buy in stores, notes owner Jason Carvalho.
On Friday, there was a Christmas peppermint stout on tap, for example, along with Curly Wolf, a maple vanilla stout aged in bourbon barrels.
“Our taprooms are good places for us to find out what people like,” he said.
This story was originally published November 27, 2020 at 4:00 PM.
