The Grange Public House & Brewery comes to Mt. Pleasant

MT. PLEASANT - Craft beer enthusiasts in Mt. Pleasant will be excited to learn about The Grange Public House & Brewery, soon to open in downtown on South Jefferson St.

Owners Sue and Eric Sorensen are no newcomers to the brewery business and are excited to bring a more upscale dining experience to Henry County.

The couple, who have lived in Iowa for the last 16 years, began their journey in the brewing industry back in California, circa 1992.

'Back when Sue and I met, I had left graduate school and was trying to figure out what to do. I was thinking of becoming a lawyer or psychologist. We were talking and she goes, ‘well, what do you like doing?' and I said, ‘I like drinking beer.' And she goes, ‘good, can you make a living out of it?'” Eric said.

That conversation kicked off a career, which has seen Eric work for breweries across the country. The Sorensen's also owned a winery which made mead, hard ciders and grape wines, before they made their move back to Iowa. In addition to extensive work experience with breweries, Eric also helped kick-start the brewers guild in Iowa in 2009. Now as the couple ready to run and own their own brewery, Eric said the new journey 'has been a long time coming.”

'The whole reason we got into beer was ‘maybe one day we should own a brewery,'” Eric said.

The idea for the restaurant-brewery in Mt. Pleasant began late last year when the couple were in town and drove by the nearly 10,000 square-foot building, sitting on the square's corner.

'We looked into the windows and it was empty. And I thought, ‘that would be a really great place for a brewery.' And we were like ‘wouldn't it be great if somebody did that?'” Sue explained.

Following a conversation with Kristi Ray, executive vice president of Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance, who said the area was looking for a restaurant or brewery to move into town, the Sorensen's decided to move forward with the idea.

'Everything has just sort of fallen into place - with the exception of COVID. The building and the people of Mt. Pleasant - Eric and I kind of feel like we're just along for the ride,” Sue said.

The brewery, which also will serve food, will focus on 'farm to fork, grain to glass,” and plans to work closely with local vendors and farmers when purchasing materials.

'The whole thing is connecting people closer to where their food is coming from and it being more healthful where you don't have things picked early so they ripen on the truck or in the store - there's a huge difference, it tastes completely different,” Eric explained.

The couple explained they plan to have a 'small menu with a variety of protein and vegetables - something for everybody.”

As for the dining experience, the brewery aims to be both family-friendly and inclusive, as well as a place where businesses could take clients or students could go on prom night.

'When we were out to dinner at Burlington, I remember seeing a group of kids at one of the tables … I asked them where they were from and they said Mt. Pleasant. And I said ‘you guys drove all the way here?' and they said ‘there's not really a place to go for dress-up prom type of place,' and that kind of stuck in my head,” Sue recalled, and said the brewery hopes to fill that gap.

The name of the establishment also reflects the environment the owners' hope to cultivate with the space.

'A grange is where farmers would come together and talk about everything - the weather, politics, crops. We want it to be that type of feel, where people can gather,” Sue added.

Though no set open date has been established and with delays following the coronavirus pandemic, the brewery is looking at a phased-opening that may include canned beers ready for sale by Labor Day Weekend and the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion.

'We're taking it slow. We're having to think about a lot of things that, without the coronavirus, we probably would have never considered. But that's our goal - to start brewing in time for that weekend,” Eric said.