In 2016 Maya Okafor and Sam Lindqvist signed a lease on a 1912 foundry on Leonard Street because of the tall brick chimney out front. They brewed their first lager that winter. Maya still brews every batch, and Sam still runs the bar.
Nothing here happened quickly. A lager needs ten weeks, and so did the building.
2014
Garage batches
Maya and Sam brew five gallons at a time in a garage in Creston and pour it for anyone who brings a glass.
2016
The foundry lease
They sign for a 1912 foundry on Leonard Street with a leaking roof and a very tall chimney.
2017
First lager on tap
Leonard Street Lager pours on opening night, ten weeks after brew day. The line goes around the block.
2019
The barrel room
Twelve bourbon barrels arrive from Kentucky, and the Furnace Stout starts sleeping in them.
2022
The beer garden
The old loading yard becomes picnic tables, string lights and a food truck spot along the river path.
2026
Batch 100
Six year-round beers, a Mug Club of 400 and the same chimney over Leonard Street.
A 15-barrel brewhouse, four fermenters and a walk-in cooler the size of a garage. Each tank has a name and a job.
Tank One
30 barrels
Leonard Street Lager
The big lager tank. It holds the house beer for ten cold weeks at a time.
Spent grain to farms
Every brew day, about a ton of spent grain goes to a dairy farm in Sparta as cattle feed.
Head brewer
Maya Okafor
Learned to brew in a garage in Creston and on night shifts at a big brewery in Kalamazoo. She tastes every tank every morning and still cleans the kettle herself.
Maya or Sam are behind the bar most Saturdays. Ask for them.