Rural Missouri - October 2017 - 15

Smoked Shredded
Pork Sandwich

Bavarian Pretzel
with beer cheese and
mustard

by Jim McCarty | jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop

tuart Matthews ﬁgures he looked at just about every vacant building in
Cape Girardeau before discovering the perfect location for his brewpub.
"I really fell in love with the building and location," he says of the former
Masonic Lodge built in 1892. "The fact that it had a parking lot across
the street was a big deal. I loved the building, but it needed a lot of TLC. A lot of
construction went into getting this up and running."
The Sikeston native speaks from a stool at the end of the walnut and
cherrywood bar that is the centerpiece of Minglewood Brewery, a brewpub
just a block from the Mississippi River ﬂoodwall in downtown Cape. The name
comes from a Grateful Dead song, "New Minglewood Blues." In keeping with the
musical theme, the walls are lined with photos of musicians and there's a guitar
over the door.
Stuart transformed the aging brick building that had been home to a number
of businesses into a brewpub that combines ﬁnely crafted beers with good eats.
"We felt like there was a void in the Cape area," Stuart says, adding that
Cape's only brewpub had closed at the time. "Craft beer is so big, it's really
coming around everywhere. We felt like we could really ﬁll that void. We wanted
to bring something of value to the Cape area."
But before the dream could become reality, Stuart needed brewing equipment.
Fortune smiled on him as he ate lunch at Front Street Brewery in Davenport,
Iowa. The state's oldest microbrewery was planning an expansion, and its old
fermentation tanks were for sale. Stuart bought them, moved them south to
Cape and beer began fermenting for the brewpub's opening.
When Minglewood opened in January 2015, after 23 months of renovation
on the old building, the plan was to keep things simple while offering food that
pairs well with the beers on tap. That meant pizza.
"Everybody from a kid to grownups loves pizza," Stuart says. "Pizza and beer
go well together. We've been expanding it. We smoke our own pork, chicken and
do chicken wings. Then we make our own dough, and we've been able to incorporate a lot of different items into the food."
Many patrons start with a ﬂight, a ﬁve-beer sampler that can include any of
the brewery's beers in 5-ounce glasses. Stuart says the most popular beers are
the American Kolsch, a light, German-style ale, and the Fat Monk, which is a
sweet and sticky cross between a Belgian and a Bock.
Also on tap is the Common Sense, which is a regional specialty rarely seen
elsewhere.
The Demise IPA and a new Kamikaze Wheat round out the year-round offerings. But guests always will ﬁnd seasonal beers on tap as well, including Mocha
Latte Porter, English Pale Ale, Hoptooth Double IPA, a Scottish heavy called
Under the Kilt and a ginger-ﬂavored beer called Satan's Mistress.
Visit the brewery's Facebook page, and you can stay current on small batch
offerings. There are always guest taps as well, letting Stuart share the love, so
to speak.
"If we brewed just what we wanted to brew, we'd have nothing but sours, IPA
and funk on tap," he admits. "But that's not going to keep the lights on, so we

brew clean beers for everyone and those are popular. We try to walk that line
while putting those fun beers on for the beer geeks, too."
The perfect companion for a Minglewood beer are the giant, soft Bavarian
pretzels topped with kosher salt and served on a hanger with beer cheese and
mustard. On Mondays, the brewpub sells out of its smoked chicken wings, while
Tuesdays are devoted to street tacos.
For those who love to share, sliders are a popular item. These come on a
sampler plate, with any combination of four including Chicken Parmesan,
Bratwurst, Shredded Pork, Beer Battered Cod or Buffalo Chicken.
The most sought after pie at Minglewood is the Sausage Goat Cheese pizza, a
perfectly matched taste of spiced meat and tangy cheese, along with portabella
mushrooms, spinach, caramelized onions and the signature sauce. A ﬁvecheese blend tones down the goat cheese, giving every slice an amazing taste.
Another popular pizza is the Taco, made with refried beans, beef crumbles
and a ﬁve-cheese blend, topped with lettuce, crumbled nacho cheese tortilla
chips, pico de gallo, shredded cheddar cheese and the house-made taco sauce.
For the truly daring, Stuart recommends the Buffalo Chicken, not to be
confused with tamer offerings from elsewhere. "The Buffalo Chicken, that's
pretty tough," he admits. "I warn people that it has the ghost pepper cheese. It'll
light you up. People are sweating. They say they can handle it and then a server
walks by and they want more water. There's a beer for that though - a good
Demise IPA."
If that is too hot for your taste buds, there's always the Italian Meat, the BBQ
(which has hardwood-smoked bourbon bacon), two vegetarian offerings and a
Spinach Artichoke which includes the bourbon bacon. You can build your own
pizza from a list of 28 toppings and ﬁve sauce options. The house-made pizza
dough includes brewer's grain from the beer mashing process. Beer shows up
in the food elsewhere as well.
Perhaps the most amazing thing on the menu at Minglewood is the Smoked
Shredded Pork Sandwich. Stuart takes great pride in his pork, which is rubbed
with a special mix of spices, then slow smoked over a combination of hickory
and applewood. The process lets the seasoning soak into the meat, leaving a
smoky, slightly spicy taste that is consistent throughout the meat.
The sandwich combines pulled pork, portabella mushrooms and poblano
peppers that are topped with a ﬁve-cheese blend and a signature barbecue
sauce, then served on a sourdough batard. Other sandwich offers include the
Gourmet Veggie, Philly Cheesesteak, Chicken Chipotle Melt and the Deli Deluxe,
featuring pepperoni and salami.
Salad lovers will enjoy the Minglewood Tropical Pale Ale Vinaigrette on a
House Salad or the Caprese with sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basil leaves
drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
Should you still have room for dessert after appetizers, entrees and libations,
Minglewood has you covered. There's a Rustic Apple Tart, a Rustic Triple Berry
Tart, a Cream Cheese Pretzel with pureed raspberry spread and all natural
Vanilla Bean ice cream. There's also a special dessert offered every week.
"If you want a local taste of Cape, and to try some beer brewed here in town
with some quality ingredients, then Minglewood's the place to go," he says.

Minglewood Brewery
Specialties: Craft beers, including American Kolsch, Fat Monk, Demise IPA, Kamakazi Wheat and Common
Sense, plus seasonals; smoked chicken wings; specialty pizzas, including Sausage Goat Cheese, Taco and Italian
Meat; Smoked Shredded Pork, Gourmet Veggie and Chicken Chipotle Melt sandwiches.
Price: Appetizers from $6.99 to $11.99. Pizzas from $9.99 to $12.99. Sandwiches $8.99 to $10.99.

Cape
Girardeau

Details: Open Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11
a.m. to midnight. Cash, checks and major credit cards accepted. Smoking on outside patio only. Free Wi-Fi.
Directions: Located at 121 Broadway St. in downtown Cape Girardeau.
Contact: 573-803-0524 or look for Minglewood Brewery on Facebook; www.minglewoodbrewery.com.

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JULY 2017 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP

http://www.ruralmissouri.coop http://www.minglewoodbrewery.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - October 2017