Millstadt will welcome a new business this week, as Millpond Brewing & Incubator is set to open Thursday at noon. 

The brewery is owned by Bryan Schubert of Millstadt, who has been brewing beer as a hobby for the last nine years or so. 

“It’s just always something I really wanted to do,”  the owner/brewer said. “The hobby kind of turned into a passion, which has now turned into a profession.”

Schubert, whose parents owned Schubert’s Smokehouse & Meat Packing Company for 38 years, has worked in the marketing industry for about the last 16 years. 

He has been considering opening a brewery for about the last four years and has had a business plan for approximately 2.5 years. 

“The passion came from being a homebrewer for so long,” Schubert said as to why he wanted to open a brewery. “I just wanted to move on from (marketing) and do something I love on a day-to-day basis.”

So, he bought the building at 308 E. Washington Street.

He said it was important for him to get that location for the brewery. 

“A lot of people in Millstadt say this is an iconic building,” Schubert explained. “And it’s been closed and shuttered for the last close to 40 years. To me, it’s always been an icon of the community, so when we were looking at different places it made sense to be in this building.” 

Taking over a building that had been unoccupied for that long necessitated extensive renovation including new plumbing, electric, heating, ventilation and cooling, windows, garage doors and infrastructure for the brewhouse area. 

“Every square inch of this place has been touched in one way or another through the renovation process,” Schubert noted. “And through that process we tried to preserve a lot of what the building is and materials from the building.” 

That included reusing materials for the area behind the bar, a wall in the private room on the second floor and the fence outside the patio area. 

There are still a few small projects to complete, but patrons will soon be able to see all that work for themselves and enjoy beer, wine or liquor.  

Schubert said there will be enough of a variety of beers that anyone can find one they like. 

The options include easy-drinking English ales, German-style beers and an American pilsner. 

“We have a wide range of beers,” Schubert said. “We will definitely have both lagers and ales, but as far as the style of beers that we have, I think we’ll be pretty far-reaching.” 

The establishment will also eventually offer some meat and cheese boards sourced from Schubert’s Smokehouse & Meat Packing Company. Food trucks will also stop by.

In addition, homebrewers like Schubert will be able to come in and have their recipe on tap – either for fun or to test market their beer if they are looking to open a brewery. 

That is where the incubator part of the name comes in. 

For now, however, it will just be beverages, with Schubert’s beer being the focus. 

With all the other craft breweries in the area, Schubert said he hopes Millpond Brewing & Incubator becomes as beloved as his competitors. 

“I think everybody should go to all of them,” he said of the other breweries. “Hopefully we become one of your stops in seeking craft beer in the area. I’m a firm believer in supporting all local businesses.” 

Millpond Brewing & Incubator will be open 3-10 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, noon-11 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and noon-7 p.m. Sunday. It will be closed on Mondays. 

For more information, follow the business on Facebook or Instagram, email info@millpondbrewing.com or stop by.