Swarm Brewing Co. wasn’t launched with hype or headlines. It started when a homebrewer-turned-meadmaker peeked through a brewery window—and followed a hunch that beer and honey still had unfinished business together. One year later, that hunch has turned into a thriving dual-concept brewery and meadery in the heart of St. Charles.
“I started homebrewing beer in 2009,” said Mike Fuson, owner of Mead Hall and Swarm Brewing. “But one day I tried to make mead, which is a honey wine, and it turned out horrible. I think I had some bad honey. The next time I used really good honey, and it turned out fantastic.”
Fuson’s focus turned to mead. By 2021, he was selling it commercially—but he never forgot his first love: beer.
“I knew deep down I was wanting to brew beer again,” says Fuson, whose mead business had started to grow through sales at stores, farmers markets, and festivals.
“We didn’t really have a storefront,” he says. “Then in 2023, we decided to go ahead and open a small tasting bar at our production space over on Droste Road. Very small—just a bar and a few tables. But it turned into this really fun community spot.”
Fuson’s two worlds began to come together after a friend mentioned that longtime St. Charles brewery Two Plumbers was relocating.
“So we drove over here and started peeking in the windows,” he says. “And I saw their 2-barrel brewing system in there. And I knew. I knew deep down I was wanting to brew beer again—and have that be part of what I’m doing.”
Swarm Brewing and Mead Hall officially opened their shared doors on June 15, 2024, with a handful of taps and a split focus: mead on one side, beer on the other.
For Swarm’s one-year anniversary, the brewery is tapping Stay Golden—a Belgian golden strong ale brewed with honey instead of the usual candi sugar, because what else would you expect from a brewer-meadmaker?
And Stay Golden isn’t the only beer worth trying. Swarm’s lineup leans classic, with a few twists here and there. Here’s what else is on tap:
- Magic Sword | Braggot | 7.5% ABV
- Driftwood | Lager | 5.4% ABV
- Drizzle | Golden Ale | 5% ABV
- Dark and Wheaty | Dunkelweizen | 6% ABV
- Run the Jules | Hazy IPA | 6.7% ABV
- Arrows | ESB | 5.4% ABV
- Honey in the Rye | Rye IPA | 7% ABV
The anniversary party kicks off Saturday, June 14, with doors opening at noon. Along with the beer, Fuson is debuting a new small-batch mead called Glo-Tart—an 8% ABV strawberry rhubarb release. There will also be a food truck and live music throughout the day.
Swarm Brewing Co. (inside Mead Hall)
2236 1st Capitol Dr, St. Charles, MO
Open Thursday–Saturday
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