Good news to report for fans of the O’Fallon, Missouri brewing empire, known for just that – Good News. Good News Brewing is among the fastest-growing brewing companies in our area. I first caught up with Dan Tripp and Matt Fair, the owners of Good News Brewing Company, at their first brewpub in OâFallon for an article the St. Charles County Visitors Association. The topic was their expansion into coffee and a second taproom in Defiance.
Now, in 2020 they are preparing to expand again. The plan announced on Facebook is to buy the historic Augusta Brew Haus right along the Katy Trail. The expansion is planned for the spring of 2021. In the meantime, Augusta is operating normally.
Good News will move their brewing operations to Augusta, and both the O’Fallon and Defiance taprooms will remain open.
The August location will also feature a menu. In the post, which you can find here, the brewery also asked its followers what kind of food it should serve at the new spot. The most popular responses were pizza, barbeque and vegetarian options.
The backstory
In 2003, Dan Tripp caught the homebrewing bug with a lot of self-admitted failures along the way. But there were enough successes that Tripp knew brewing would define him, leading him to build an electric brewing system in his basement. He and some friends turned out some decent beers, but more importantly, he enjoyed himself, and the seed of an idea to open a brewery was planted.
Around the same time, Fair also began homebrewing, so when the two met at a bible study in early 2014, homebrewing was a commonality. They discussed brewing whole grain beers in Trippâs basement, and from there, their partnership began.
After meeting Miller and including him in their brewing, their bible study group began looking at a book called âFleshâ by Hugh Halter. The book is about forming a community and how to âshare good news.â The trio combined this lesson with their love of beer to create an event, with the intention of creating a positive experience for everyone.
âOnce a month we hosted a monthly beer night, inviting friends, family, and non-churchgoers to party and brew with us,â said Tripp. âWe would always brew an extra five gallons to give away and share. We would share good news, stories, laughs, and beer.â
The response to their beer was overwhelming, nurturing that idea to one day open their own brewery. The name, Good News Brewing, came from a rough week in Millerâs life, when he told his brewing buddies âI could use some good news today.â As Tripp puts it, the âlightbulb went off. It symbolized what we were about, and is really what folks love â Good News!â
The Brewery
Good News Brewing Company & Wood Fired Pizza opened in OâFallon on July 12, 2017, with a one barrel brewing system, six in-house taps, and four guest taps. Their first beer was The Perfect Storm.
The immediate reaction was overwhelming. People really took to their beer, providing them with great feedback and an explosion of interest on social media.
âWe are very much off the beaten path and became a destination for craft beer fans. When people in the area realized we were located in the old Pat Keysâ ice cream store, people really started finding us,â said Tripp.
Expansion into coffee
One of Good News Brewingâs most popular beers, Hazelnut Coffee Milk Stout, would eventually provide Tripp and Fair, the inspiration to expand. Matt wanted to make a hazelnut coffee milk stout, but Dan, who also is a home coffee roaster did not think it was a good coffee flavor. Matt brewed it anyway, and after one taste, Tripp changed his mind. Customer response to this new brew helped influence their decision to open a coffee house.
With the idea that customers could begin and end their day with Good News, the Alpha and Omega Roasting Company officially opened its doors in the fall of 2018. Located inside a midcentury home in OâFallon, they roast their own Cameroon coffee beans in a light, medium, and dark roast for everything from their coffee-based beers to drip coffees, lattes, and espresso.
More From Drink314