Marcus Calloway
Head Brewer & Co-Founder
Marcus has been brewing since before it was a career. He perfected Old 70 Stout on his third attempt in 1999. He's been refining it every year since.
Est. 1999
Our Story
Where It Began
A Bar Lease, a 30-Barrel Brewhouse, and a Hunch.
We opened in October 1999 on Business Loop 70 — back when the Loop was still Columbia's main commercial drag before the big-box corridor took hold on the east side. The building had been a gathering place in one form or another since the 1960s. The exposed brick on the north wall dates from the original construction. We kept it that way.
The original lineup was four beers: a blonde, a stout, a wheat, and whatever the seasonal was that month. The kitchen served burgers and pretzel baskets through a window. We had twelve bar stools and a regulation pool table that nobody could fold correctly. By Christmas, we'd sold out of our first batch of Old 70 Stout three times. We took that as a sign.
Columbia is a university town, which means it cycles through people every four years. We've always loved the energy that brings — the restlessness, the ideas, the willingness to try something new. But we've also always tried to be the place that stays. The locals' brewery, not the tourist stop. The constant underneath all the change.
What We Believe
Craft Is a Standard, Not a Marketing Word.
Beer First
We brew what we'd want to drink — which means no adjunct shortcuts, no trend-chasing, no apologies for beers that take fourteen months to condition properly. Every handle on the tap wall has earned its spot.
Food That Belongs
Our kitchen exists to complement the beer, not to compete with it. Chef Dana Reyes joined us in 2018 and rebuilt the menu from scratch around Missouri ingredients and techniques that make sense in a brewery setting.
Community Over Growth
We've been offered expansion deals and licensing agreements. We've passed on all of them. One location, done well, is a better contribution to Columbia than ten locations done at a fraction of the care.
The People Behind It
Small Team. High Bar.
Dana Reyes
Head Chef
Dana brought a fine-dining background to a brewery kitchen and somehow made it work better than anyone expected. The Chocolate Stout Cake is hers.
The Crew
Front of House
Our bar and floor staff average 6 years tenure. In hospitality, that's extraordinary. They're the reason regulars keep coming back.
25 Years on the Loop
A Few Milestones
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1999
Grand opening on Business Loop 70. Four taps, twelve bar stools, one pool table.
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2003
Expanded the brewhouse to 60 barrels. Added Saturday hours (since quietly retired).
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2008
Best of Columbia for "Best Local Beer" for the first time. Won it nine more times.
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2018
Dana Reyes joined as head chef. Rebuilt the entire kitchen menu within her first year.
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2021
Launched the barrel aging program. The first release sold out in three hours.
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2024
25th anniversary. Released a commemorative barrel-aged stout. We got a little sentimental.