USA, MN: Pantown Brewing Company one step closer to opening later this summer

A new St. Cloud brewery is one step closer to opening its doors later this summer, The St. Cloud Times reported on June 13.

Pantown Brewing Company's on-sale taproom and off-sale brewer license applications were approved by the St. Cloud City Council this month. The brewery and taproom is located at 408-37th Ave. N, the former home of coffee roaster Muggsy's Beans.

Marty Czech, who co-owns the brewery with Noel Johnson, said he is aiming to open in August pending approval from the Department of Agriculture.

According to plans submitted to the city, the taproom will hold up to 80 people with nearly 4,000 square feet of space for brewing operations and the taproom.

"It basically was a wide-open warehouse space with a couple of little offices," Czech said. "Taking that and converting it into a commercial brewery and taproom has been a significant undertaking."

Czech said they have been renovating the space for roughly six months. They will be using a 10-barrel brewing system and expect to produce around 350 barrels their first year.

Pantown Brewing will have an initial offering of four beers when they open later this summer. A cream ale, amber lager, milk stout and IPA are tentatively planned for the brewery's debut.

That leaves plenty of room for more variety with the planned 12-tap system in the taproom. Czech wants to fill the remaining eight taps with seasonal brews and one-off specialty beers. He said he hopes to be able to introduce a new beer each week.

"(That's) one of the things that keeps me going to craft breweries," Czech said. "If you can keep refreshing constantly and make that your business model, I think that's fantastic."

Pantown Brewing Co.'s beer will be available on tap as well as in growlers for off-premise consumption. While there are no initial plans to package and distribute outside of the taproom, Czech said he's "not saying 'no' to anything in the future."

And although there are no plans for a kitchen, Czech hopes to partner with area food trucks to offer a variety of tasty treats and snacks to the brewery's customers.

Hours of operation will be 4-10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, according to the brewery's taproom license application.

14 June, 2018