Beer bar moving into former store on Main Street

Tap 25 will be a sister location to the original bar of the same name in Livermore, Calif., near San Francisco, which has been open since 2011. The Stowe Development Review Board signed off on the new establishment on Tuesday.

Owner Tim Bryan said he’s going for an “upscale garage party” vibe with the new place. Expect blue-collar (or no collar) meets beer geek, a little industrial and a little shiny. And, he said, expect it to be open before summer.

He and his wife, Carrie, are “outdoorsy people, so Stowe was already a good place for us both,” Bryan said. “We’re both hands-on business owners, so when we realized we could have a tap room and, now, live here, too, that sealed the deal.”

The couple now lives at least part of the year on Maple Street, only a short walk away. They also fly out to California on a regular basis to keep an eye on the first Tap 25.

Tap 25 won’t serve hard liquor, only beer, but on-premise liquor licenses of all sorts require the business to serve some sort of foodstuffs, even if it’s only things such as french fries or finger foods. That’s not a problem, Bryan said.

“If you can hold the food in your hand and still drink a beer, that’s our menu,” he said.

On its website (tap-25.com), the California beer bar bills itself as a “refreshing, intimate and upscale tavern” serving rotating selections of craft beers in an “easy-going, come-as-you-are atmosphere.” The website is more than just a splashy glance at the business. Bryan said the bartenders will update the draft menu every time they kick and replace a keg, so beer drinkers will always be in the know about what’s on tap.

Right now, all the draft beers at the Livermore Tap 25 are from the Golden State. Expect Stowe Tap 25 to feature a lot of beers from the 802 area code.

There’s a good chance the bartenders are going to know more than you do about beer, too. Bryan said all his beer-pourers are required to be Level 1 Cicerone-certified, the beer-world equivalent to a wine sommelier.

Completing the vibe will be regular “live, light, local music,” both inside and on the small deck. Bryan told the Stowe Development Review Board Tuesday that he wants the music to be for the masses, heard by people walking by on the sidewalk, breaking the wall between the bar and the community.

Tap 25 will occupy one of five retail spaces being developed in what was once the Stowe Hardware store. The board approved the taproom Tuesday night, on condition that any music outside is cut off by 10 p.m.