In the past, beer lovers and fun seekers living in the Whiteland area have been forced to travel outside the town to have a good time.
The brewery boom brought quality craft beer and chef-prepared food to places throughout Johnson County, but not to Whiteland. The owners of the county’s newest brewery hope to fill that gap.
“There hasn’t been anything to attract people to Whiteland in a long time. If we want to go out, we didn’t go out, we go to Franklin or Greenwood. We want to bring people from those areas back into Whiteland and grow the local community,” said Steve Harmon Jr., marketing director for Nailers Brewing Company.
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Nailers Brewing has opened to the public after much anticipation by local beer lovers. Guests can sip on pints of Nailers IPA or GFI Blonde while enjoying a menu focused on sandwiches, soups, salads and charcuterie.
Harmon Jr., head brewer Steve Harmon Sr. and the rest of their family picture Nailers as a center of home-brewing culture as well as a gathering place that Whiteland can call their own.
“We have always wanted to be in Whiteland,” Harmon Jr. said. “It was a struggle for a long time to find the right location. We’re all born and raised here, all the way back to my great-grandmother. Our whole family is based out of Whiteland. We wanted something here.”
Nailers Brewing takes it name from Harmon Sr.’s primary business in home improvement and remodeling.
That industrial theme is unmistakable throughout the entire brewery. Stainless steel is a prevailing feature on walls, the bar and of course the brewery vats. Sacks that once held the malt necessary to the brewing process are mounted on the walls.
The brewery’s logo, featuring a nail as the “I” in the name, is prominently featured in large-scale artwork on the taproom’s main wall.
At the same time, the goal was also to balance that rugged feel with posh accents.
“We wanted a really comfortable setting. It started out more industrial with a classier look,” Harmon Jr. said. “It makes you feel right at home. We want people to come in and relax, have some food and some drinks and enjoy each other’s company.”
Nothing embodies that sleek yet homey aesthetic more than the L-shaped bar. Made of polished wood accented with stainless steel, the bar is inviting but grand. A fruit-infusion system built into the structure features three-foot-tall towers with windows in the side, where brewery employees can put fresh fruit into it.
“The bar is the centerpiece of the whole brewery. We didn’t want it to look like your normal, typical bar,” Harmon Jr. said. “We want people to be wowed when they come in the door. Some places, you walk in and you just sit at the bar. We wanted to be a place where people were taken aback.”
The ambiance of the taproom provides a welcoming pathway into Nailers beer. Though Harmon Sr. brews a variety of different styles of beer, the foundational brews will be pilsners, lagers and ales. Specialty versions will be rotated in and out throughout the year, Harmon Jr. said.
Even the beers’ names pay homage to construction, with descriptors such as Sledgehammer Stout and GFI Blonde, referring to a type of electrical outlet.
Guest taps will also be featured in addition to the brewery’s own beers.
The food menu moves away from fried pub food and focuses more on fresh, lighter options such as sandwiches and paninis, soups and salads. Charcuterie boards of different meats and cheeses will also be featured.
“We don’t have any fryers, so everything we’re doing is geared towards trying to pair foods well with the beers we have,” said chef Eric Hollon.
The path to opening the brewery started seven years ago.
Harmon Sr. has received a brew-at-home kit from his son, Ethan Harmon, and the two of them made their first batch of beer together.
That first batch was not only fun to make, but stoked a competitive fire in them to make better and better beer. Harmon Sr. started studying hops and malt, playing with different flavors and styles such as India pale ales, Irish reds and milk stouts.
Soon, his brews became more and more popular with friends. Many mentioned that they’d pay to drink Harmon Sr.’s beer, so the family decided to turn the hobby into a business, Harmon Jr. said.
Renovation of the brewery’s location has been ongoing since late 2017. Crafting the vacant space in a strip of businesses along US 31 into this finished product required an immense amount of work. Now that it’s finished, though, the long hours have been worth it, Harmon Jr. said.
The brewery is technically in a location annexed by Greenwood, but their address is in Whiteland. That was important to the Harmons.
“It’s a great feeling to have landed in Whiteland, and bring something to the community that hasn’t really been here before,” Harmon Jr. said.
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Nailers Brewing Company
What: A new brewpub in the Whiteland area that will offer a variety of different beers, as well as a limited menu of paninis, soups and other fare.
Where: 6001 N. U.S 31., Whiteland
Who: Head brewer Steve Harmon Sr., as well as his wife, Therese Harmon, and sons Steve Harmon Jr. and Ethan Harmon
Information: facebook.com/nailersbrewingcompany
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