Photo courtesy of Schwerpunkt Brewing
Howard Schroeder (left) and Justin Bradbury (right)
St. Louis beer lovers, rejoice. Schwerpunkt Brewing is the newest venture to join the local craft brewery scene.
Justin Bradbury and Howard Schroeder founded Schwerpunkt (which means "focal point") and officially debuted it Friday, January 20. The duo met through the Jefferson County Home Brewers Club, of which they are both founding members. After Bradbury won awards for his home-brewed beer at competitions and festivals, the pair decided it was time to sell it to the public. Now, they produce their Schwerpunkt beers at Kirkwood Station Brewing Company.
"We're essentially gypsy brewers," Bradbury says with a laugh. "We both still work 9-to-5's."
Though small in scale, Schwerpunkt made a big impression at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company's anniversary event more than a week ago. Bradbury says their beers were well-received, especially their flagship brew, Cinnamon Roast Brunch, an imperial milk stout made with coffee beans from Community Beans Coffee Roasters, cinnamon sticks, cocao nibs, and vanilla beans. Bradbury describes it as full-bodied and creamy, and says the idea for it was inspired by the milk left from a bowl of cinnamon cereal.
"It's basically breakfast—or dessert—in a glass," he says.
Standout brews also include Juice Nuk'em, a New England-style IPA, and their Drachenstechen Berliner Weisse, a wheat beer infused with passion fruit. Other fun beer names from Schwerpunkt include It's a Blonde Thang, a blonde stout with coffee and chocolate, and I Fell Off My Unicorn, a red IPA.
The labels for the beer match the unconventional titles. Schroeder, a graphic artist, designs all of Schwerpunkt's striking labels and logos. He draws sketches by hand, and the end product is completed on a computer. He says he sometimes finishes designing a label before the new beer is finalized.
"It's almost like the label design is part of the recipe development," he says, adding: "That's my favorite way to do a label."
Schroeder spent eight years in Germany, and he says he draws much of his inspiration from that. Some of the label imagery follows a steampunk theme, and features things like German Zeppelins and war officers. The intended message?
"Make beer, not war," Schroeder says with a laugh. "It's been done before, but we kind of bring a fresh place to it. And we're willing to depart from that theme... At any given moment, we'll wander off and do something else."
The partners reiterate they plan to take it slow with Schwerpunkt Brewing, weary of stretching themselves too thin. They appeared in this past weekend's Frosty Brewfest at Crown Valley Brewing & Distilling in St. Genevieve. Thirsty St. Louisans can still find them tapped at Kirkwood Brewing Station, and the pair will be pouring at the upcoming Centennial Beer Festival in St. Louis. They also plan to have their beers available at the soon-to-be-open Russell House Restaurant & Inn in Hillsboro, Missouri.
"We're taking small steps," Bradbury says.
In the meantime, the duo are grateful for the help they've received from the community.
"What's great about the St. Louis brewing community, is there's a wealth of awesome brewers, craft breweries," Bradbury says. "And they're friendly as all get-out."
