Downtown Cape microbrewery to open by Christmas

Mark Sprigg talks about microbrew as if he's talking about fine wine.

"It can be subtle," he said. "It has extra body. Different flavors go with different meals. It's certainly not meant to be chugged."

It's just the sort of attitude one would want in a man who has been making his own beer since 1979 and is about to become the co-owner -- and head brewmaster -- of Cape Girardeau's first microbrewery since before World War II.

After three years of it being talked about, the Buckner Brewing Co. is set to open before Christmas. It will offer three microbrews at first and have as many as seven beers and a nonalcoholic home-brewed root beer by early next year.

Some of the flavors will be Mudcat Stout, Pilot House Porter, Water Street Honey Wheat, Clyde's Red Ale and Buckner Blonde.

The microbrewery will be at the three-story Buckner-Ragsdale building on the southeast corner of Broadway and Main, a building rich with history that housed a clothing store since the early 1900s and a number of businesses since 1982, when the clothing store closed.

Sprigg, along with his partner, Phil Brinson, bought the building in 1998 and opened Ragsdale's Pub in the lower floor along Water Street. Sprigg is a longtime home beer maker, and Brinson has owned several businesses, including Rufus Mudsucker's (now Indigo) and Jeremiah's in Sikeston.

"Mark is a beer guy, and Phil is restaurant guy," said the microbrewery's general manager Eric Van Oostrom. "They bumped into each other, and the rest is history."

Can watch process

With 60 bags of grain arriving last week, they are gearing up to get the first batch going and the microbrewery and restaurant open.

From Main Street, passers-by will be able to see the first step of the beer-making process. Right now, there is only a few pallets with bags of grain stacked on them. But once the process starts, planned for as early as this week, they will be able to watch as the grain will be ground up in mashing machines.

If they decide to open the doors and come inside, through a glass window they will see the second room, where the ground-up grain will go, dropped by a machine into large, stainless steel hoppers. It will go to nearby brew kettles, where water and flavors will be added.

After that, the liquid will be piped to four huge fermentation tanks, where they will sit for 15 to 25 days. It will then flow out of those tanks through beer lines into a room they call the ice house. Here it will be chilled at around 35 degrees before it can be pumped directly into the bar upstairs.

"It's really the same process that occurred in brewing for thousands of years," Sprigg said. "Just a little modified."

They expect to have 70 barrels -- at the equivalent of two kegs a barrel -- completed by the time the doors open.

"We'll get through that and get on with the next batch," said Van Oostrom. "We'll have plenty by the time we open."

The dining area features a mahogany bar with a solid marble top, along with several leather-backed booths and an area that will be set aside for a three- or four-piece band. The food will be classic American cuisine, including steaks, pasta and homemade pizza.

Keeping in mind the history of the building, the walls are lined with historic photos, such as local railroad pioneer Louis Houck and the existing Mississippi River bridge as it was being built. Renderings of the original Buckner-Ragsdale signs are also hung in a few spots.

An upstairs section of the dining room will feature a view of the Mississippi River and Water Street while another nearby space will make available a private party room that can hold 60 people with a balcony that overlooks the bar and a private rest room.

There will be free flow of traffic from Ragsdale's Pub, where food is already being served, and the microbrewery. Van Oostrom said they will have to hire about 50 more people to add to the 15 they already have to fully staff the microbrewery and restaurant.

Sprigg started home brewing in 1979, first making a batch for friends that he says was "pretty good, surprisingly." He said that people will like it much better than beer made at a large brewery.

"It's a fresher product," he said. "It's like homemade bread compared to commercial store-bought bread. It's a very creative process. It really creates a more satisfying beer and it will change the way you drink. You'll be treating this beer like a nice, red wine."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137