Ever since Perennial Artisan Ales entered the local scene in fall 2011, its head brewmaster, Cory King, has become, well, a perennial favorite. One of his latest beers, Abraxas, recently garnered 100 points from Beer Advocate, which left beer enthusiasts wondering what was next up his malty sleeve. King, who is also Sauce’s beer columnist, divulged his next move yesterday on a StewedSTL podcast: He is starting his own brewery.
To be specific, King will be opening a gypsy brewery. That is, he is leasing Perennial’s system and space on the weekends to brew his own beer. “I buy the malt, barrels – everything,” said King. “I just rent the brewhouse.”
The unofficial name for King’s new enterprise is Side Project Brewing. King cautioned, however, that the name “might be trademarked” and that a lawyer will “look over everything” before marketing materials or product are made available.
While the legal team does its thing, King has already begun brewing. “Everything is barrel-aged in oak,” he said of his brewing concept, noting that all of the casks are spent, some having held chardonnay, others Chamboursin, still others Rittenhouse rye. “I see my first release probably in the next six months, but last week, I filled 18 oak barrels. Those might not be ready for over a year.” King explained that he is able to start brewing because he is using Perennial licensing.
As for distribution, King expects his small-batch brews to be sold at the Perennial tasting room. If Perennial were to become licensed as a winery – which is a possibility – then he could self-distribute Side Project’s beers, since breweries can’t self-distribute, but wineries can. He also noted that being licensed as a winery would give him and Perennial co-owner Phil Wymore the ability to make cider and mead.
What was the impetus behind starting Side Project? Figuring out a win-win situation for himself and for Perennial. King explained that Wymore took him aside recently and asked, “When are you leaving me?” King explained that his gypsy status was “a good way for me to stay on at Perennial and I get to do my own thing on the side.” We’ll consider that a win-win for St. Louis.
This article appears in February 2013.