You’ve heard the rumors….here’s what we know so far about yet another locally owned business coming to Brookside East. It’s  BKS Artisan Ales. I recently spoke with  Brian Rooney about his plans.

Brian has been a home brewer for several years. He’s won awards for his beer in a few competitions and decided to “take the hobby a little bit further” by opening to the public. He wanted to stay in his neighborhood of Brookside, and rented space from Butch Rigby at 633 E 63^rd St.  (This building is also home for Farm Dog Studios, Amina Marie Millinery and Golden and Pine).   Brian owns the business along with his wife Mary and a few silent investors.

This brewery will be different than many of the craft brew places that have opened up the past few years. Brian explained BKS Artisan Ales will be open from noon – 5 on Saturdays, with a possible expansion to Sundays after getting established in the space. There will be eight taps and his bottled beer for sale. No food service—however, visitors are welcome to bring in their own eats to enjoy while sampling the beers.

One of the reasons Brian decided to open his own place was to offer some interesting brews you can’t find elsewhere. He will not brew the same beers over and over—what’s offered will be constantly changing. He has a passion for brewing, and explained he’s not “money driven” with this new business—he’s doing it to give people “a different experience” . There will be two sides to the space: the beer production side and the tasting room with approximately fifty seats.

The space build-out is on track to be completed by this month.  Outside, there’s progress:  the patio was recently poured and a garage door with awning and fencing has been installed.  BKS Artisan Ales plans to open in February or March of next year.  

Of course, once the business is open and running….I’ll let you know through the blog.  Brookside East is the hot new area for businesses in our neighborhood–special thanks to Butch Rigby for making it happen and encouraging entrepreneurship in Brookside!