Indian Valley Brewing To Celebrate 1st Anniversary On Sunday

NOVATO, CA — The planned power outages in October 2019 were a drag for everyone, but the team at Indian Valley Brewing in Novato found a bright spot in the darkness.

On the Sunday of PG&E’s blackout, employees were plugging equipment into a small generator to keep necessary components cold when a patron walked in and asked if the brewery was open. It was not, but he was offered a beer if he could pay with cash and didn’t expect any electric-powered mental stimulation.

“Before you knew it the bar was full,” recalled co-owner Matt Tachis. “It was cool because there were no distractions of phones, TVs or any other electrical devices, and we relied on conversation between each other. That went on over the next few days until the power was turned back on.”

Tachis said throwback moment to a 19th century British pub was one of the coolest stories during Year 1 of Indian Valley Brewing’s taproom, which celebrates its first anniversary with a party on Super Bowl Sunday, February 2. The place is only a football field north of Grant at 1016 Railroad Avenue, a 2-minute stroll from the new downtown train station.

“Every day, there are one or two people who are local who haven’t been here before, saying, “How long have you been open? I didn’t know you were here,” said Joe Tachis, who owns the brewery with his younger brother. “We’d definitely like to draw in more folks like that. Once they stop by, we’re pretty sure they’re going to be back often.”

Indian Valley was Novato’s third brewery of the modern era; Moylan’s Brewery & Restaurant dates to 1995, and short-lived Baeltane closed in 2016. The Tachises opened Indian Valley in the back of Joe’s electrical contracting business in Bel Marin Keys in 2016 and sold kegs solely to publicans and restaurateurs. With a lot of encouragement from family, friends, and civic leaders, they secured a lease at their new home, which features sunset views from the new front porch seating area.

“They welcomed it, and people love it,” Matt Tachis said. “So far, they’ve told us it’s a good place to hang out, and they think it’s comfortable and we’ve had compliments on how it looks.”

Lately, more newcomers have stopped by because the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) trains are stopping at the new downtown station. It’s about a three-minute walk north on Railroad Avenue to get to the brewery. A larger-than-life photo of Joe and Matt Tachis is part of the signage on the old depot next to the tracks.

“We’ve already seen more because of those train stops, mainly on weekends,” Joe Tachis said. “The station’s only been open a few weeks, but already we’re seeing more people from out of town coming in. People come by and say they were commuting and saw our signs out front. Last weekend we had a fun group doing a pub crawl, and they stopped here as they headed up to Santa Rosa.”

The tap handle menu features the mad-scientist stylings of Shawn Cochran, who joined the brothers as a consultant before they brewed their first batch at the Bel Marin Keys location. Cochran quickly was brought on as the full-time brewmaster.

The beer lineup features a few special names. It’s starts with a hearty lager called 50 Trips to Pini, a shoutout to Novato’s fan-favorite Ace hardware store and the comically exaggerated number of times per week the brothers needed to swing by as they built out the taproom. It’s also reflective of how longtime locals can’t stop at Pini without seeing and chatting with somebody they know, which is what they are seeing more often at their brewery.

Grumpa’s Scotch Ale and Gunnie’s Double IPA are both in honor of the family patriarch, Tom Tachis, who worked in sales at the Hamm’s brewery in San Francisco back in the 1950s and raised his 12 kids in Corte Madera with his wife, Rita. Tom, a gunnie (gunnery sergeant) in the Marines during World War II and Korean War, passed away in 2018 right after Indian Valley Brewing was born. Of course, Rita Manzanita amber ale is named after the boys’ late mother; the tree on the official brewery logo is a manzanita.

An IPA called Hopalong outsells everything else. How did it get its name?

“That was after I broke my foot and I was brewing beer on crutches,” Cochran said.

Throughout the course of the first year, finishing touches have been added to the interior and exterior of the brewery.

“It’s not only been 50 trips to Pini, it’s been 50 trips to Novato Builders’ Supply,” Matt Tachis said of the business directly cross the train tracks from the brewery. “It’s incredibly convenient.”

“I love that place,” Cochran said.

The team is proud that IVB is family-friendly. There are lots of games for youngsters to play, and there’s a plan to let the kids use sidewalk chalk to brighten up the concrete walls out back.

“When Joe and I were raising our kids, it was taboo to bring a kid to a brewery,” Matt Tachis said. “That was frowned upon. Now that’s changed, and it’s pretty cool.”

Live music is showcased several times a month, adding to Old Town’s slowly emerging nightlife options. Many other Tachises work at the brewery, and another family, the Molinas, offer burritos and tacos several times a week at their Taquiza los Cuñados popup tent at the brewery’s back entrance.

Those were the reasons why Tony Roth joined the team as general manager a few months ago. Roth has extensive experience in the pub and restaurant business and knows the Tachises from their Redwood High days.

“There’s a lot of energy when a family is happy at a place like this, with the parents relaxed and the kids are entertained,” Roth said. “We will always try to accommodate a family that wants to have a day out.

Looking at the bigger picture, Roth added, “This is something Novato has lacked for a long time. It’s a great place and it’s a great family. There’s passion behind the family’s legacy with beer and the beer itself. It’s developing into a spot where you can have a great beer outside, too. It’s a cozy family beer joint. That’s what inspires me.”

Learn more at www.indianvalleybrewing.com.

— Written and submitted for publication by Brent Ainsworth