Modern Brewery Moves Out From the Shadow of Its Most Famous Beer

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JESSICA ROGEN

Modern Brewery reopened in summer 2022 on Oakland Avenue in prominent view of Highway 40.

The offerings at Modern Brewery & the Kings Oak (5200 Oakland Avenue, 314-788-0900, modernbrewery.com) are in constant flux. In the kitchen — new to the brewery since last summer's move from industrial digs into a sleek, remodeled space just south of Forest Park — Executive Chef Charles Hess is constantly one-upping himself with sourdough pizza, Cajun arancini, breaded-and-deep-fried cheddar grits and sandwiches such as a porchetta pastrami on pillowy housemade focaccia. Owner Beamer Eisele recently brought in accomplished New York City bartenders to build a cocktail menu, including several that incorporate Modern beers. The tap list churns with the whims of head brewer Brian Harmon, an unsung master of styles from the chocolatey and coconut-y OHHH! BIG STRETCH stout to the crisp Birdman Helles lager to the dank Choice Nugs hazy IPA to the warm Airport Hugs ESB.

While logos, locations, labels and leaders have come and gone over the past decade of Modern's existence, there has been one constant — Citrapolis. This remarkably steady and smooth American IPA is at the top of the tap list; the green tallboys with the silver Gateway Arch are in constant need of replenishing in the to-go cooler. The classic brew is also a mainstay at bars, restaurants and bottle shops all over the metro area. "When we opened, it was just the beginning for the local scene," Eisele says. "Everyone was finding their footing; it took my brewery a little longer to get going. But we had a really good fucking beer named Citrapolis that got us through."

In the beer world, success is about one thing — and that one thing can be anything that makes you stand out. In a giant vat of more than 9,000 U.S. breweries, a brewer either somehow distinguishes themselves in the minds of drinkers, or they drift anonymously along and often drown. Locally, the drive for distinction might have been even more intense when Modern took the plunge in 2014. The St. Louis scene was still being reborn from the ashes of Anheuser-Busch. Schlafly was a nationally recognized OG; Urban Chestnut had laid claim to the German biergarten/lager-drinking sect; Perennial was bottling prestige in bombers of wild ales and barrel-aged stouts; and 4 Hands, with its clever hands/hops logo, was doing a little bit of everything out of their stylish downtown digs.

Into this wilderness stepped Eisele, a Lindbergh High School grad who had set up an independent-study brewing curriculum at Harvard; interned and worked for Boston craft-beer pioneer Harpoon Brewing; graduated from the master brewer program at the University of California, Davis; and come home to intern for Dan Kopman at Schlafly. But even that CV wasn't enough street cred to earn a regular seat at the bar. Then, former head brewer Ronnie Fink had a notion to make an all-Citra-hopped IPA. "I was kind of IPA-ed out at the time," Eisele says. "But we made it, and it was fucking delicious. It was so good, it sold itself. We didn't have to go out to accounts, they came to us saying, 'Holy shit! This beer is fire! Where can we get that?'"

Like any band with a hit song, Modern's relationship with Citrapolis was complicated. Eisele and Co. were proud of their creation and grateful for its success, but they didn't want to be known as a one-hit wonder. And unlike Semisonic, which can mindlessly breeze through "Closing Time" (don't come at me with your "Secret Smile" BS) at the end of every set and let the recording do the rest, Modern had to keep devoting resources, time and creative energy to meeting the constant demand for their flagship.

Until COVID-19. The pandemic may have actually increased demand for green cans of Citrapolis to drink at home. But the dip in keg orders and, perhaps more importantly, shuttering the makeshift weekend tasting room that was just a corner of the brewery's Manchester Avenue production facility gave Eisele and new head brewer Harmon time to catch their breath. They started experimenting with hop varieties and combos in popular and "collectible" series, such as the single-hop Oops! hazy line, the imperial Mansions & Benzes IPAs and the Three Stacks of High Society oat cream IPA run. They leaned into the barrel program, releasing limited 12-ounce cans of aged stouts including Looted Art, Phenom and Devil Magic. They branched out with more lagers and maltier ales.

In Summer 2022, Modern reopened with a vengeance in the former home of Bloom Café, in prominent view of I-64. The brewery is building a reputation as not only one of the most versatile and prolific beer-makers in the region, but also as a warm and family friendly place to eat great food and hang (with a patio set to open any day and a larger event space in the works). And while Eisele jokes about moving on from Citrapolis and one day selling the recipe, he still obviously has affection for his breakthrough brew. In fact, when opening the new location, he spent a chunk of change on a fabricator to make a steel sculpture of the Arch, backlit in green lights, to stand center stage behind the bar, a not-so-subtle wink to the beer that helped build this place.