Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
Ten years ago, Jake Hafner was simply trying to match his skill set with “something St. Louis was lacking.” The result was 33 Wine Bar, an 8-table beer and wine shrine with no mainstream beers, no smoking, and not one media ad; a year later, he even removed the signage. So what’s in Hafner’s skill set? An uncanny knowledge of intoxicants, to be sure, and a magnetism that draws you to the edge of your seat--or stool. His next project, The Civil Life Brewery (opening next month), is an amalgam of finely-crafted “session” beers and what he thinks is the perfect environment for their consumption. Hafner believes, just like he did in 2001, that “it’s what St. Louis is lacking.” – George Mahe
People come into this business through different doors. How did you get started?
When I went to the French Culinary Institute in NYC in 1996, I took several wine classes in the city as well, and landed a job at Windows on the World with Andrea Immer [now Robinson], the top sommelier in the country at the time.
Wow, straight to the top…literally.
It was only summer work, but it led to a job with Astor Wines in the East Village, one of the top 5 retailers in New York City. I moved back to St. Louis to be with family.
Did cooking ever appeal?
One I realized I belonged in the front of the house, no. Then again, now we’re seeing great chefs who are as comfortable in the dining room as they are in the kitchen. That just wasn’t the case 20 years ago.
Right out of the gate, 33 Wine Bar was an anomaly, wasn’t it? You didn’t even have a sign.
We did initially, but once we established a repeat clientele and were busy most of the time, I took the sign down. We only had 8 tables, so we didn’t need to cast a very wide net. Had I advertised and tried to grow the business, I would have alienated the regulars…and I would have missed them!
Not many businesses can say that…
It helped that it was such a small space. And were it not for two revenue streams—in-house and as retail sales—33 would not have worked. (Slow nights were often bailed out by retail beer and wine sales.) A bond got created there…we were their bar and their retail store. The community appreciated that…our customers were fiercely loyal to us.
There was good one-on-one time there.
And you don’t get that in other places, in the major cities.
People came to 33 Wine Bar for various reasons; I came for your J Peterman-esque beer and wine descriptions. That was really well done.
That set the tone for the place and people saw that. We didn’t put beer and wine on some lofty pedestal. I didn’t care if you bought a $5 glass of wine or a $15 glass… I liked being able to select the best possible wine at your price level. People saw that and it put them at ease.
At 33 Wine Bar, you became a wine educator.
Our wines were temperature-controlled and we had a “wine keeper” system, which used inert gas to prevent open bottles from oxidizing, both of which are common now, but weren’t 10 years ago. I knew the right way to handle wine and I believe my customers respected that by returning.
Your menu descriptors made trying a new varietal less intimidating.
Only when you can turn a customer on to a new experience do you differentiate yourself. That’s our job…that’s when the close bond gets formed. That’s when loyalty starts.
Has the drinking public become more experimental?
When you really see that is by removing “safe” choices, the mass market beers and familiar wines. My customers were forced—then guided—to try something like what they were used to. We even got the A-B guys trying new things.
How did that work? Not offering the world’s best-selling beer, and doing so in the shadow of its flagship brewery no less?
We never felt pressured. Many customers had to make that decision...they could leave or try something new, at which point we were “on.” And that’s what got us going. We were proud to not offer the things you could find everywhere else. I was very focused on who we were and what we did.
Why did you sell it?
To get into the brewing business, although I didn’t say so at the time. One, I knew it was years off; and two, when you sell your business to a good friend, you don’t want to steal any thunder. Jeff [Stettner] has done a better job with 33 than when I owned it.
Were you suffering from burnout?
It might have been wearing on me a bit…we were open 50 hours a week and my hours bookended those.
So why the interest in beer?
When I owned the wine bar, we would drink a beer when we got off work. The refreshment of it, the timing…when I was drinking wine, I was in a different setting.
And sometimes a beer just hits the spot, like after a softball game.
Hey, I’m an equal opportunity drinker. I love both beverages.
How did the name The Civil Life come about?
My friend Tuan Lee came up with it. Drinking fine ales are one sign of a civil life, as is providing the place to do so.
Why jump in now? There are at least four new microbreweries opening in St. Louis this year.
There are a massive number of beer drinkers in this town: the older ones are probably courtesy of A-B; and the younger ones, because of the new mentality toward craft beers.
The Tower Grove neighborhood—our bread and butter--is already so supportive of us, and we’ve yet to open the doors. I think there’s a newfound allegiance to support the town’s microbreweries…as the economy sputters along, people tend to indentify with local things. I see so much more untapped potential here. The collective result is that we’re all stronger.
But isn’t four a lot of competition?
We don’t feel we’ll be stealing customers from one another. St. Louis is now at the tipping point—where this brewing thing is now ready to explode—it feels similar to how the wine business felt when I started 33.
And guys like Mike Sweeney [stlhops.com] and the P-D’s Evan Benn are maintaining that buzz.
How great is it that we have several beer writers in this town? And good ones, knowledgeable ones. You only see this level of skill and interest in far more established craft beer towns. These guys are rallying the beer community.
I guess we have to thank Tom Schlafly for getting this craft beer ball rolling years ago.
Starting a microbrewery in this town 20 years ago may look brilliant now, but back then many questioned that kind of investment in a big beer town, but yes, Schlafly saw the future clearly.
Why did craft beers suddenly become so popular?
And as the food culture explodes, as people become more concerned about what they are consuming and how things taste, I see this as a great opportunity for microbreweries.
How many beers will The Civil Life brew and who’s brewing them?
We hope to start off with five, with the capacity to do smaller run batches as well. The brewmaster is Dylan Mosley, who ran the beer program for us at 33.
Will you brew a Budweiser-type lager or is that a bad word in craft beer circles?
We’ll brew light beers because I like to drink light beers, so yes, I want to deliver something great in that category. Plus, this business is about volume, and to get there you have to reach out to a large number of people.
How do you test beers without brewing equipment?
We’ve been making beer at brewmaster Dylan’s house--on a heavily monitored and computerized system mind you. His basement has served as our brewery and tasting room for 3 years. I first became interested in the business after going to a party at Dylan’s house…he was brewing beer—like most home brewers—in his kitchen.
How big’s the batch and how long does a batch take to brew?
Usually five to 10 gallons takes a couple of weeks, start to finish; then it’s either bottled or kegged into stainless steel soda tanks.
Will the design of The Civil Life be any different than any other micro brewery?
Very much so. You approach the entry via a long footpath that hopefully will clear your mind a bit and prime you for the experience. Then just like that you’re inside the brewhouse, and immediately see several tasting rooms on multiple levels. All the spaces were designed to maintain the connection to people. Because that’s what beer does.
Will you have a beer garden or patio?
Yes, complete with a walk-up window, like the one I saw in Germany.
How will you distribute your beer?
Slowly. Before we think about distribution, we want to sink strong footings and also determine what the public will embrace. I prefer to walk my businesses rather than run ‘em.
How do you go about creating a beer? What goes into the thought process?
We designed our core beers to parallel our philosophy of community; they’ll be so-called session beers, beers you can drink several of without becoming intoxicated, moderate alcohol beers, beers to enjoy socially, in the company of friends.
What is one thing that most people do not know about home brewing?
It’s huge and it reaches across all demographics; and it’s pretty easy to make a world-class brew right on your kitchen stove.
Where will the beer industry be in 5 years?
I don’t know hard numbers, but just look at the increasing number of beer taps, from the corner bar to places like Bridge and ITap. Five years ago, this was maybe someone’s dream.
Let’s discuss “growlers.” That’s become a buzzword.
It’s simply a reusable half-gallon beer container whose contents need to be consumed fairly quickly. You take it home and you share it with someone. With all the density in our neighborhood, growlers will be come a big part of our business. With all the new microbreweries, you’ll hear that word get tossed around a lot.
Is beer recession proof?
Sure. Craft beer is a great product that can be delivered at a very reasonable cost, and in a setting like this, it becomes a great experience. When people pull back, The Civil Life will still look good.
