Robin Shepard
Madison’s newest beer hangout is set to open this weekend. The BarleyPop Tap and Shop at 2045 Atwood Ave. holds its grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 11 beginning at 2 p.m. It joins a host of other beer venues on Atwood that make up a “beer row” of sorts that also includes One Barrel Brewing, Alchemy, the Harmony Bar and Next Door Brewing among others.
BarleyPop is a unique blend for these parts: part beer store and part tap room.
Owners Jason Hajdik and Brandon Dorman are adding to this east side epicenter for craft beer with a storefront on the ground floor of Kennedy Place. “Atwood is a great mix, an established cool funky neighborhood with a lot of new things going on,” says Hajdik. “It’s taking on its own beer identity.”
Robin Shepard
Brandon Dorman (left) and Jason Hajdik were inspired by west coast tap and bottle shop combinations in opening BarleyPop.
Hajdik, 39, and Dorman, 36, are both from Madison. “This is a niche that hasn’t been filled,” says Hajdik. Their business plan expands the idea of a tap room to include take-home beer. BarleyPop offers about 200 bottled beers and 40 taps of draft selections. Patrons can enjoy those in the tap room; they can also carry out mix-and-match six-packs, 64-ounce growlers, and 32-ounce crowlers and howlers. “We are here for a range of drinkers, from novices wanting to advance their tastes, to beer nerds,” says Hajdik.
Hajdik got the idea for BarleyPop after traveling the west coast and seeing similar businesses in Seattle and San Diego.
The BarleyPop taproom is about 1,800 square feet with a capacity for about 40. Near the entrance of the long, narrow bar room there’s a row of self-serve doors that open to an impressive array of bottles. A bar that seats about 10 faces a long line of taps offering the products of local breweries, regional beer makers, national brands and even a handful of imports. The initial tap list is a who’s-who of craft beer celebs with a few local favorites like Ale Asylum, Karben4, New Glarus, Next Door, One Barrel, Tyranena, Lake Louie and 3 Sheeps; regional darlings like Ballast Point, Stone and Surly. Hajdik also plans to have a regular tap reserved for ciders.
For Saturday’s grand opening there will be a very limited release lambic from Madison’s Funk Factory Geuzeria. “We want to offer a variety, from well-known and accessible, all the way to rare sours and barrel aged beers,” says Hajdik.
BarleyPop’s taproom doesn’t serve food; however, Hajdik hopes to bring food carts to spaces nearby. Patrons can also bring in items from nearby restaurants.
Bar pint prices start at $4/glass. Growler prices vary, starting at around $12/refill. The BarleyPop Tap and Shop will be open 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 11 a.m.– midnight Thursday-Saturday and 11 a.m.– 9 p.m. Sunday.
