For a day named for two of life’s most depressing guarantees, Taxman Brewing Co.’s annual spring festival promises to be anything but melancholy.
Death and Taxes Day at the Bargersville brewery and gastropub promises pours by more than 40 breweries, live music and food trucks.
At the core of the event is the release of Taxman’s exclusive Deadline beer.
“We’re in a rural town, and this event is very much about the downtown of Bargersville,” said Leah Huelsebusch, who founded Taxman with her husband, Nathan. “So it’s always fun to bring people to the area, shut down the streets, bring in some other breweries and vendors for a very unique experience.”
Death and Taxes returns in all of its hoppy, malty and roasty glory. Organizers will shut down the streets around the brewery to bring the community together in celebration of beer, music and the return of warm weather.
After its cancellation in 2020 and a scaled-down block party in 2021, being able to host a normal Death and Taxes Day is a welcome relief for the Taxman family.
“We did a little version of Death and Taxes last year, an opportunity to get people together,” she said. “But everyone is excited to get together again and do the festival in its full glory.”
Taxman Brewing started celebrating its annual Tax Day soiree in 2015, about six months after the brewery and restaurant opened up in Bargersville. The Huelsebusches had lived in Belgium for more than two years, where Nathan Huelsebusch worked as an international tax director for Cummins. That experience proved to be the inspiration for Taxman Brewing.
Many of their projects feature accounting or financial terminology: Deduction dubbel, Exemption tripel, Gold Standard blonde ale, Tax Holiday dark strong ale.
So it made sense to have a party around April 15, the traditional filing day for taxes.
Every year, the event has gotten a little bit bigger. But that progress was halted in 2020, as the pandemic forced first the postponement and then the cancellation of the event. Taxman was able to put on a smaller scale festival last year, with live music and the release of Deadline variants.
But they have been looking forward to a full-strength return to Death and Taxes now for two years, Leah Huelsebusch said.
For this year’s celebration, Taxman has prepared a few very special versions of Deadline. People can try the roasty Belgian-style stout aged with Indonesian vanilla beans and rested in whiskey barrels, as well as four variants of the brew created solely for the festival.
This year’s versions include a maple-vanilla brew, a chocolate-caramel-coconut one and a hazelnut latte variety.
The releases are among the most popular for beer lovers around the region, said Kassidy Hummel, director of marketing and communication for Taxman.
“It brings a lot of excitement to the people attending, because they want to try the different varieties of beers.
If those beers alone aren’t enough to sate your thirst, more than 40 breweries are scheduled to be on hand as well. Local favorites such as Oaken Barrel, Nailers, Planetary, Quaff ON!, Hoosier Brewing and MashCraft will be among the brewers from all over Indiana taking part. Mallow Run Winery is also lined up to pour their selections.
Taxman’s gastropub will be open serving their menu, and food trucks from vendors such as Brozinni’s Pizzeria, Johnson’s BBQ, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Tipsy Turvey’s Pubcakes, among others, will be on site as well.
To work off all of that beer and food, a pair of local rockers will take the stage throughout the afternoon. The Failers, playing everything from alt-country to power pop, and multi-instrumental duo The 78s are lined up to get people dancing.
“We’re already seeing a really great turnout and ticket sales, which just indicates that people are ready to celebrate again,” Leah Huelsebusch said.
IF YOU GO
Death and Taxes Day
- What: A springtime festival featuring more than 40 breweries, live music, food trucks and the release of Deadline, a Belgian-style stout aged with Indonesian vanilla beans and rested several months on Kentucky-whiskey barrels. Four varieties of the stout will be released.
- When: Noon to 4 p.m. April 23
- Where: Taxman Brewing Co., 13 S. Baldwin St., Bargersville
- Tickets: $50 general admission, $10 designated driver
- Information: deathandtaxesday.com
