St. Charles County homebrewers have a new resource in O’Fallon, Missouri with the recent opening of Design 2 Brew at 9995 Winghaven Blvd., whether they’re searching for hops, equipment or even honey for mead-making.
Stephanie Drilling, who co-owns the shop with her husband Donnell Christian, opened the education-based homebrew shop Aug. 29. Design to brew offers 90 varieties of hops, 80 types of grains and 26 honeys, and instructors also teach classes in winemaking and brewing with topics like all-grain brewing, cider-making, wine tasting and water chemistry.
Patrons can brew their own beer on site or bring in their basement brews to be inspected for contaminants in the facility’s lab. Eight house-made draft beers are available for sampling, and Drilling and Christian make similar recipes available for new brewers to recreate those varieties.
Drilling is especially proud of Design 2 Brew’s honey selection, which includes honey from bees that feasted in peach orchards, coffee blossoms and blueberry farms across the world, creating distinct aromas and flavor profiles that translate into tasty meads.
Longtime entrepreneurs, Drilling and Christian are making a major change. They operated a forensic lab consulting business together for two decades, and the two started brewing their own cider about 18 months ago. They quickly became engrossed in their new hobby, moving onto making mead, fruit wines and then beer. “To create something that tastes so good, it’s a fascinating process,” Drilling said. “It’s an addicting hobby.”
Design 2 Brew is currently open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and Sundays, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.
This article appears in September 2014.