One of the first things people notice when they look up IBU Taproom & Bottle Shop in Milpitas is that the 6-month-old craft beer bar has no phone. Anyone interested in finding out what’s available on the 50 taps, or what’s featured in the rotating selection of 250-plus brands of cans and bottles, has two options: Facebook Messenger or get off their keister and inspect the library of beers in person.

“We started with a cellphone,” says Ravi Takhar, IBU’s beer coordinator. But then he trails off, shakes his head and smiles. He doesn’t need to finish. It’s obvious: He was wasting precious time talking about beer when he could be doing something like, say, stocking and serving beer.

Opened as an expansion to the neighboring 20-year-old Stuft Pizza franchise on Dempsey Road, IBU (an abbreviation for the measure of a beer’s bitterness) has deservedly received rave reviews by giving people a mind-blowing number of options. “We’re big on options outside of IPA: sours, stouts,” Takhar says. “There’s always some new style that we have on tap.”

Then there are the TVs. IBU and Stuft owner Ladi Musafar have made a combined commitment to put together more pixels per square foot than just about any bar and restaurant in the South Bay. In total, there are more than 30 screens to make sure guests can see the game from nearly any angle.

IBU Taproom & Bottle Shop
1422 Dempsey Rd, Milpitas. facebook.com/IBUMilpitas