Twisted Vine Brewery to begin pouring craft beer in the Des Moines' Market District this summer
Twisted Vine Brewery now has a scheduled opening date at its new location in Des Moines' Market District and is preparing to pour what it touts on its website as "shockingly good beer."
Building developer and landlord Tim Rypma said the brewery is set to debut in the historic, three-story building at 112 S.E. Fourth St. on June 1.
The company's partners expect to begin test brewing next month.
Special beers will mark Twisted Vine's opening in the Market District
Open since 2016, Twisted Vine recently closed its original location at 3320 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines in January when its lease ended. It was home to a 30-foot bar and more than 30 taps of craft and guest beer.
A full beverage menu for opening day at the new location hasn't been made, but Steven Becker, a founder and one of Twisted Vine's managing partners, said likely candidates will include favorites like Twisted Blonde, Old Crusty's Scottish Ale, and some version of an India pale ale.
They also plan a series of special Vine Street beers, named after the company and the street located one block north of its new venue.
More: 20 photos: Twisted Vine Brewery
The brewery's imposing new home on Fourth Street was built in 1874. Its facade is accented by a distinctive brick. It also has a taller ceiling at the rear of the building, which allowed the team to bring over its grain silos and brewing tanks from West Des Moines.
Originally occupied by Central Oil Works, the building's most recent tenant had been The Garden, Des Moines' oldest LGBTQ-friendly dance club. The Garden moved a few blocks away to 525 E. Grand Ave. when its original building was sold for renovation as part of the larger Market District development, south of the East Village.
Twisted Vine Brewery will take over the entire 7,500-square-foot ground floor space, with two commercial occupants on the second floor and four apartments planned for the third floor.
More: Twisted Vine Brewery to relocate brewery and taproom to historic East Village building in 2022
The brewery will offer a large, main bar estimated to include 24 taps. There also will be a second bar that services the 5,000-square-foot patio. Becker said it will "essentially (be) the same bar we had in West Des Moines," because they're installing pieces of the concrete slab that served as the bar top at its original location.
When looking to relocate the business, Becker and his partners knew downtown was a "good location," but needed to take into consideration the strength of the floors before choosing a site. They found it in the historic structure, he said.
"Even a concrete floor is not a given that it's going to work because there's so much weight on some of those legs of the equipment and they're full of liquid, like beer or water," Becker said.
A future with food trucks, comedy and live music
Once open, Twisted Vine will have room for food trucks as well as live entertainment on the outdoor patio.
Twisted Vine also plans to serve pizza and small bites reheated using simple ovens. No kitchen is part of the immediate plans and customers can bring in their own food.
Becker expects the brewery will be open seven days a week. No schedule is set in stone, but the partners are eyeing 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to midnight Friday through Sunday.
Twisted Vine's journey began in 2011, when avid homebrewers and original partners Brian Sabus, Steve Breman and Becker installed a 20-by-20-foot facility inside the Madison County Winery in St. Charles. Five years later, the operation expanded to the 7,200-square-foot West Des Moines taproom, large enough to accommodate more than 200 people.
Even with the pressure of a looming opening day, Becker said he is excited for the future.
"We're really happy to be in this historic building. And we're just looking forward to the next chapter in its existence," he said.
Twisted Vine will be part of a series of breweries in downtown Des Moines
Rypma, the developer, has been active in the East Village since 2005. He's a partner in a plan to redevelop 39 acres of the Market District, and Twisted Vine Brewery is "the first vertical development" within that portion.
Other plans call for a 150-unit apartment complex, a hotel and an 8-acre park along the Des Moines River. It's expect to cost at least $750 million to redevelop the area that's largely filled with industrial buildings and warehouses.
Twisted Vine will be about a block south of Peace Tree Brewing Co., which opened in 2016, and its neighbor, 1717 Brewing, which opened in 2018.
Its opening will come as two breweries are in the works in the Sherman Hill neighborhood, just northwest of downtown. Eastern Iowa-based Big Grove Brewery's first Des Moines location is being built in the former Crescent Chevrolet building on Ingersoll Avenue.
Another brewery, its name yet to be publicly announced, will occupy a former parking garage and leasing office next door to the Concord Apartments at 732 18th St.
In addition, Decorah's Toppling Goliath brewing revealed in September it was scouting for a Des Moines location.
Richard Lane is the real estate reporter for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Twisted Vine Brewery to relaunch in the Des Moines' Market District
