At last. Bluewood Brewing, a brewery that has been a staple at local beer festivals for years, is open for business.
Legions of St. Louis beer lovers have been enjoying soft openings for months, but Cameron Lund and Grant Lodholz, and their dream brewery at 1821 Cherokee Street is finally open and the beer is a flowin’. And just in case that’s not enough, their food partners Mac’s Local Eats, relocated from Dogtown, to serve their insanely good burgers all under one roof.
Bluewood Brewing was started by Lund and Lodholz, two longtime friends. Their “claim to fame” so to speak, is that they are unconventional, with the unofficial motto “we do whatever the fu&% we want.”
“We make beers that we think would taste good and we experiment to create new flavors that haven’t been seen before. For example, we have made a beer with Barbeque pork butt rub seasoning. We excel in barrel-aged beers but do not limit ourselves to any single style of beer,” said Lund.
Bluewood Brewing and Mac’s are officially open, but they’re not done celebrating. Mark your calendar for Oct. 6. Â for the official grand opening festival.
The Beer
Right now the beer is flowing, and the menu will, of course, grow in time, but you can expect to enjoy these four beers right now and on at the Grand Opening.
Charles Itch | 7.3 ABV | 70 IBU
Cafe Noir | 10.5% ABV | 65 IBU
Cherokee Standard | 5.4% ABV | 0 IBU
The Back Story
The name “Bluewood Brewing” is derived from nicknames for the college homes of its brewers – one called “Ol’ Blue” and the other known as “Plywood.” The brewers formed a lot of memories here and found their love of craft beer.
Before establishing Bluewood, Cameron Lund founded Bray Avenue Brew Co. on October 12th, 2012 in Rolla, MO. In this homegrown operation, he had only 1/6 bbl capacity and continued to operate at that production capacity into 2018. To commemorate this experience, Bluewood celebrates its anniversary on Oct. 12th each year.
In 2015, Grant Lodholz joined Cameron as co-brewer and established Bluewood. The pair earned a following and reputation with their unique artisan ales in the St. Louis area, pushing them to take their passion and create a professional production. By the end of 2016, the two combined their brewing knowledge and expertise with the efforts of Michael and Joseph Jones to form the “Original Four.”
Their unique offerings and approach to the art of brewing helped establish their presence and products in the local brewing community. Here’s to years of success to Bluewood.