ONE on

Mitchell Wideman and Drake Bequette partners, Muddy Banks Brewery

Must-Try Beers From Muddy Banks

This single malt lager has a mild body and a balanced,

Muddy Banks Brewery opened last spring in Sullivan, Missouri, but business partners

Mitchell Wideman and Drake Bequette have known each other their whole lives. Long before turning their homebrewing hobby into a business, the two spent summers on local waterways while cherishing the precious refuge from the heat. With Makayla Bequette rounding out the ownership team as the head of marketing and taproom manager, the trio set out to honor the river by creating their own gathering place. Muddy Banks Brewery offers a variety of lagers, ales and cocktails in addition to a robust food menu featuring local beef, housemade sausages and hand-cut fries.

How was the transition from homebrewing to starting a brewery?

DB: Homebrewing was way less stressful. There really wasn’t a transition. It was kind of just jumping off a cliff.

MW: Drake actually got me into homebrewing a couple of years after he started, and it kind of snowballed. I never thought I was ready, and Drake’s a get-it-done guy. When Drake gets working on something, hang on or you're going to get left behind. I got the opportunity to work with Dave Johnson up at Missouri Beer Company; he’s been a mentor to tons of brewers. With me and Drake being self-taught, he really took us under his wing and helped us fill the gaps.

How would you describe your approach to brewing?

MW: I want to be able to drink every beer on the river. You know, you close your eyes, and it’s nothing that’s going to be super heavy or bog you down. Being that we’re in Sullivan, everyone grew up drinking domestic lagers and no one really branched out. So when we started, it was important for us to be approachable to bring people over from just drinking big name domestics into trying some craft beers. So our approach has always been to brew what we think people will like, not necessarily pushing the edge. Now, that being said, we’ve been absolutely shocked at the response of just old-timers coming in and demanding one of our ales.

Going from making beer for your friends and family to where anyone can just wander in and try your stuff is pretty nerve-racking, but we’ve gotten to the point where we’re confident we can make good beer. We were kind of playing it safe in the beginning, and now we’re spreading our wings as we’re getting more comfortable.

How did you pick the name Muddy Banks?

DB: Me and Mitchell grew up on the river. I spent a lot of time with him as a kid, swimming and floating.

MW: It felt like home. A lot of people spend a lot of time on the banks of the river, and we wanted people to spend a lot of time at our Muddy Banks.

Muddy Banks Brewery, 725 Acid Mine Road, Sullivan, Missouri, 573-468-0299, muddybanksbrewery.com

An American wheat ale made with dark raspberries, this brew's biscuit notes that come from the malt are reminiscent of a raspberry tart.

This hazy IPA is whirlpooled and extensively dry-hopped with Citra, galaxy and mosaic hops; it’s juicy and aromatic with bursts of citrus.