Former Iowa State football player opens 1st Down Brewing Company in Winterset
Just east of the historic downtown square in Winterset is an 1880s renovated building-turned-brewery that opened its doors on Dec. 11, 2021. 1st Down Brewing Company is the story of a Winterset native who returned home to raise his family while building a business to help his community thrive.
Sam and Missy Anker met while in college at Iowa State University, where Sam was a long snapper on the football team from 2008-10. After completing college, the couple decided to move back to Sam’s hometown to settle down and start their family, which now includes three boys ages 8, 6 and 1.
The Ankers felt that one thing Winterset was lacking was a brewery and taproom, where people could come together and socialize while enjoying handcrafted beers.
“I had been a homebrewer and had dreamed of opening a commercial brewery for several years,” said Sam. “My dreams came to fruition when I was presented the opportunity to move into the commercial space. I started researching commercial brewing systems that would fit the space I had available and found the perfect system from Spike Brewing out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We love that 85 percent of the parts used to make these brewing systems are American made.”
The remodeling process took a full and busy six months.
“Since our space was originally built in the 1880s there was quite a bit of updating to do,” said Sam. They chose to renovate the existing building rather than building new mainly due to its location.
“During the summer months, the town square is filled with town people and visitors, which is perfect for the type of business we are,” said Sam. “We also wanted to bring a historic building back to life.”
Being a nanobrewery, 1st Down Brewing Company produces just one barrel (31 gallons) per batch. So far, their most popular beer has been their German wheat beer called “In the Trenches.” However, they plan to brew new beers seasonally.
Having been open only a few months, Sam and Missy are just getting their feet wet in the brewery business, but they have grand plans to be able to expand and distribute one day. For now, they’re just grateful for the reception they’ve gotten in the community.
“We are extremely humbled by the support we’ve received from our community and surrounding areas so far,” said Sam. “We try to support other local small businesses as often as we can, and we actually donate our spent grain to a local farmer, who feeds it to his cattle.”
Address: 106 E. Court Ave., Winterset
Phone: (515) 462-2980
Website: facebook.com/1stdownbrewingco
Distance from Downtown Des Moines: 36 miles
Hours: 12-10 p.m. Saturday and 12-5 p.m. Sunday
Food: “We don’t serve food at the brewery,” said Sam. “However, we encourage people to patronize local restaurants and carry food into our brewery. We do serve complimentary snack mix (made by Missy) as well as Cheerios for the kids.” They plan to offer food trucks on site in the warmer months.
Kids: Sam said, “We are extremely family friendly. Having three young kids ourselves, Missy and I wanted to make entire families feel welcome in our establishment. We offer Cheerios for kids as well as juice boxes. We also have a ‘kids corner’ with kid-friendly games and coloring books.”
The name: As you might imagine, the name 1st Down Brewing Company is a nod to Sam’s experience playing collegiate football. “I thought long and hard about this and decided on 1st Down after watching a football game and continuing to hear the announcers say, ‘That’s another first down.’ When people hear that phrase while watching a football game, they will think about our brewery.”
While you’re there: Sam said, “Winterset is extremely unique in the fact that our town square is strong and thriving. There are several unique shops and places to eat on our square. People could easily spend an entire day simply walking around the square patronizing local shops. 1st Down can serve as the break they need to enjoy a refreshment in between shops. We have the John Wayne Museum that is located just one block south of the square, and Madison County is obviously known for our covered bridges. We have a wonderful park system that people can enjoy as well.”
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Former ISU football player Sam Anker opens brewery in Winterset
