Happy New Year! 2016 has been gone just over 11 hours, as of this writing, and so now it’s time to really look at what is ahead in the coming year of beer.
We asked some of our area’s brewers to share what they are most looking forward too in regards to their own breweries but also within the local brewing community.
We spoke with Lauren Pattan of Old Bakery Brewing Company, Brian Nolan from Friendship Brewing Company, Cat Golden of Mark Twain Brewing Company, Denny Foster of Main And Mill Brewing Company and Rebecca Schranz of Earthbound Brewing Company.
Old Bakery Brewing Company
400 Landmarks Blvd, Alton, Illinois (618) 463-1470
What are you most excited about for your brewery for the year 2017?
We are extremely excited to begin expanding our canned offerings to include some of our most popular seasonal beers!
We will have a few surprises throughout the year, but I can let you know that the first seasonal can release will be A-Town Brown, and American Style Brown Ale named after our hometown of Alton, IL, which will be released in late January!
Our second release will remain a secret for now, but I can give you a hint that it will be released at the brewery on Robert Wadlow’s birthday!
What are you most excited about from another brewery for the year 2017?
I am most excited to see Earthbound’s new space come to life! I haven’t gotten the chance to see it for myself yet, but the pictures & accounts that I have experienced sound amazing. They are such great people, I can’t wait to see their brand really take off with this expansion!
Friendship Brewing Company
100 East Pitman Ave Wentzville, MO
636-856-9300
What are you most excited about for your brewery for the year 2017?
We are most excited about expansion of our property and brewing capacity.
What are you most excited about from another brewery for the year 2017?
We are excited about our friend Dave Johnson getting The Missouri Beer Company open near us in O’Fallon, we will be working on a collaboration soon.
Mark Twain Brewing Company
422 N Main St. Hannibal, Missouri
(573) 406-1300
We recently released our first barrel-aged beer, Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Passport to Russia. Since then, we’ve tripled the number of barrels in our cellar, and we plan to focus our efforts on expanding our barrel program significantly in 2017.
Each release will be bottled in 750’s for our “Brewers’ Reserve Series.”
What are you most excited about from another brewery for the year 2017?
We’re particularly excited for our friend Abbey Spencer as she prepares for the opening of Third Wheel Brewing in St. Peters. As one of only a handful of breweries in Missouri with a female brewer, we’re always thrilled to see another brewster join our ranks!
Main And Mill Brewing Company
240 East Main Street, Festus, Mo.
(636) 543-3031
What are you most excited about for your brewery for the year 2017?
We will be releasing our very first limited 750ML bottles this year, schedule and release forthcoming, but the first one isn’t too far down the line.
What are you most excited about from another brewery for the year 2017?
It’s always exciting to see other brewers work hard to open their dream. I’m excited to check out some of the new places scheduled to open like Center Ice, Two Plumbers, Rockwell, and more. It’s also great seeing things like cans coming out from great places like Civil Life and I’m hoping that continues to grow in the coming year.
Earthbound Brewing Company
2710 Cherokee St, St. Louis 63118
(314) 769-9576
What are you most excited about for your brewery for the year 2017?
Opening our damn space up. We’re ready to share more beer in a beautiful space with all of the history behind it we try to reflect in our beers.
What are you most excited about from another brewery for the year 2017?
We’re excited for the new openings from some of our friends: Rockwell Beer Company, Third Wheel Brewing, Two Plumbers, Hopskeller 2.0m, etc.
We’re also very happy to be able to drink on location at 2nd Shift and drive 10 minutes home, see the brew house and drink in Side Project’s beautiful new space, and continue to see breweries giving back like 4 Hand’s generous donations through City Wide purchases.
Beer is about community, not pretentiousness. Drink what you think is good and always share it with fine friends.
