Meanwhile in Ohio: Alcohol Enthusiast Transforms Retired Fire Truck Into Mobile Taproom, Taking Falling Off the Wagon to New Heights

Photo: Tapped 419

We don’t have to tell you that beer is big business in the US. Currently, there are over 9,000 breweries in the country. That’s more IPAs, pale ales, stouts, and sour ales than anyone could ever drink. Beer is commonplace at festivals and concerts regardless of the size of the event. Usually, when beer is available for purchase at an event it’s in kegs or poured from a beer-centric trailer adorned with various taps. It’s not usually served from a fire truck. That is unless you live near Toledo, Ohio.

That’s because the Ohio city is where a man named Kevin Mullan took the idea of a mobile taproom and turned it up to eleven. Instead of outfitting a boring, old trailer with kegs and taps, he took a decommissioned fire truck and made it into the coolest, sleekest mobile taproom ever. Honestly, we dare you to find a cooler one.

The fire engine once served the community of St. Joseph Township but hadn’t been used in years. That’s why Mullan was able to buy it from a farmer in Coldwater, Michigan for the low price of $5,000. The farmer has previously used to fire truck to water his crops but stopped using it when it began to sink into the muddy fields because of how heavy it is.

Mullan spent $15,000 to fit the truck with all of the essential tap room equipment he’d need. Called Tapped 419, he sells locally-produced craft beer at area events and the truck can be rented for three days for $1,000 or for $450 for a four-hour event.


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