Brothers Jerry and Matt Roth grew up experimenting with design, building and creating things together. During a visit to their grandmother’s house in 1986, they discovered an ad on the back of a magazine for a homebrewing kit for beer. They ordered it and immediately began brewing, washing bottles to use in the bathtub and setting up shop in the kitchen. Although they missed a few steps in the directions while brewing that first batch, their family and friends declared it a success.
Fast forward 20 years, and today Jerry and Matt are co-owners of Bastard Brothers Brewing Co., which started operating in High Ridge, Missouri, in October. True to form, they bought all of their brewing equipment from a now-defunct brewery in Kansas City, restoring and assembling pieces that were headed for the scrap pile into a shiny new 15-barrel microbrewery. The current space is 4,000 square feet, with room for expansion that could possibly double that figure.
The Roth brothers have been operating on a shoestring budget for years, and credit their passion for the process for where they are now. Their logos were created through trial and error and most of the graphics prominently feature motorcycles, as both brothers are avid Harley riders. What they feel really sets them apart, though, is their BR5 brewing process. They don’t filter their beer, and carbonate it naturally instead of force carbonating it like many other operations do to save time. They leave the yeast in the beer and before it's bottled, they add sugar, which brings the yeast to life. It’s an old school, back-to-basics brewing style that creates a clear beer with a smooth finish.
The brothers are currently looking for a distributor, but those eager to get an early taste of Bastard Brothers Brewing Co. can do so at the St. Louis Brewers Guild Heritage Festival on the Arch fairgrounds on Sat., June 11. The brewery will be unveiling two beers, an unfiltered wheat beer and a traditional lager.
Following the festival, they plan to add new beers to their lineup, with a focus on beers that are highly drinkable – those you might drink while floating a river for the day. They also hope to soon expand the High Ridge facility to include a tasting room where patrons can sample the beers and a shop where they can purchase Bastard Brothers merchandise geared toward motorcycle enthusiasts and beer lovers alike.
Bastard Brothers Brewing Co., 2114 Penta Dr., High Ridge, Missouri, bastardbrothersbrewery.com, facebook.com/BastardBrothersBrewingCompany