The highly anticipated bar and restaurant at BrewDog’s new U.S. brewing HQ in Canal Winchester will open its doors later this month.

The bar, called DogTap Columbus, will open to the public at 11am on Monday, February 20, according to general manager Martin MacDonald, who previously managed the brewery’s Manchester and Soho bars.

MacDonald describes the 10,000-square-foot taproom, which is still awaiting a few finishing touches, as something you just “kind of need to see.”

“There’s an awesome merchandise shop as you walk in the front door, we have a massive mural of the world with all the [BrewDog] bars in the UK and the rest of the world, and we’ve got this big keg wall that you walk through into the taproom,” said MacDonald. “The thing I like the most about it is the keg cooler, which is an old shipping container in the center of the taproom.”

In addition to the cool keg wall and murals (the mural inside the taproom, as well as that on the building’s exterior, were pained by BrewDog artist Craig Fisher), the taproom features a floor-to-ceiling glass wall offering a view into the brewhouse, and four large garage doors that will open up to the patio as warmer weather permits.

On tap for the opening will be six BrewDog beers — Punk IPA, Dead Pony Club, 5AM Saint, Jet Black Heart, Elvis Juice and Cocoa Psycho — as well as beers from six of BrewDog’s favorite Ohio breweries: Rhinegeist, Fat Head’s, Seventh Son, Land-Grant, Jackie O’s and Rockmill. Coming out of the kitchen will be a to-be-finalized lineup of pizzas, wings and burgers.

The BrewDog beers served in the taproom will be brewed in Scotland, not on-site, for at least the first few weeks of the taproom’s opening.

“We’re still shipping from Scotland because the [Canal Winchester] brewery isn’t up and running,” said MacDonald. “We’re scheduling to do some test brews in the middle of March, so there’s still a bit to go on the brewery side of the business.”

BrewDog is also planning to open a bar in Franklinton that will specialize in sours, though MacDonald said that concept is still in the early planning stages and will likely not open until next year.

DogTap Columbus and BrewDog’s USA production brewery are located at 6601 Gender Road in Canal Winchester.

photos by Taylor Williams