Collierville’s first brewpub, Maroon Brew Co, is ready to start selling its small-batch beers in the Memphis suburb.
Maroon Brew opens to the public on Friday, June 28, at 11 a.m.
The family-friendly brewpub will offer a wide selection of craft beers brewed onsite, as well as a food menu that ranges from hot dogs to smash burgers to kids meals.
Maroon Brew will be open Tuesdays-Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and closed on Mondays. It’s located at 642 West Poplar in an unassuming strip center just east of Byhalia Road.
Owner Maggie Emerson said she wants Maroon Brew to have a coffee house vibe, where people can come in, hang out and not feel rushed.
The brewery’s name is a nod to the main color for Collierville’s schools. Maroon Brew’s logo features Collierville’s town square gazebo, as well as the water tower, topped with a hop.
“The whole brand,” Emerson told Memphis Beer Blog, “represents the town.”
A brewery where kids are welcome
Emerson and her husband are parents to two young kids, and she’s gone to great lengths to make Maroon Brew a family-friendly place.
On one wall, there’s a tall shelving unit with board games. Next to it are shelves of books that appeal to younger readers.
In a comfortable nook with couches, chairs and a flat-screen TV, there are multiple “busy board” cubes for small children. On a training night this week for staff, prior to the official opening, “Bluey” was on the TV.
Emerson, who has a background in marketing, started homebrewing with her husband a decade ago.
She got into the beer business, professionally, as a brewing assistant at Collierville’s Hook Point Brewing Co., working her way up to head of production and operations.
Beers at Maroon Brew
At Maroon Brew, Emerson has a small, 5-barrel brewhouse, with three 5-barrels fermentation tanks and a Brite tank.
Maroon Brew won’t be distributing its beers, at least not initially. That means you’ll need to head to Maroon Brew to try their selection of beers, which Emerson said will likely change often.
“I think not distributing give us a lot of leeway to be able to have fun. I hate going to a taproom in January, and then again in February or March, and you might have just one different beer,” she said.
The beer menu for Maroon Brew’s launch includes:
- Collierv-Ale, 7.6% ABV, an amber ale
- Water Tower Wheat, 5.0% ABV
- Wolf River IPA, 7.4% ABV
- Gazebo Golden, Ale, 5.5% ABV
- Byhalia Brown, 8.3% ABV
- Pickwick Pale Ale, 5.6% ABV
- West Powell Hazy IPA, 6.7% ABV
- Shelton Sour, 5.4% ABV
“I wanted to have a full range to open,” Emerson said, “so that everybody could find something they wanted.”
Full pours and half pours are available, as well as tasters.
Emerson’s favorite beer is the Pickwick Pale, named after the dam in Hardin County. (The other beer names are references to Collierville.)
“I grew up going to Pickwick, and Collierville was the town we passed through on the way to Pickwick. So that’s the reason it’s a little different from the rest of the names.”
In addition to the beers, there’s also a hard seltzer, Halle Hard Seltzer, 4.1% ABV. Both the seltzer and Shelton Sour can be flavored with strawberry lemonade, mixed berry, mango, blood orange and blueberry.
There’s also a non-alcoholic sparkling lemonade, Loni’s Lemonade.
Leave a Reply