Behold, beer drinkers — a new taproom destination has materialized on the horizon: brewery and taproom Ill Mannered Brewing Company will open in Powell this Labor Day weekend.
Tom Ayers, Brian Mathias, Ryan Romer-Jordan, and Greg Dannemiller, the four friends and business partners that make up Ill Mannered, joined forces to take their homebrewing hobby to the next level. Their operation will be Powell’s first microbrewery.
The Ill Mannered space at 30 Grace Drive is a slight 950 square feet, which houses the entirety of their three-barrel brewing operation and taproom. The interior, decorated with repurposed pallet boards, framed photos, and a wall of hand-blown glass mugs, seats 15. A patio is set to be added next spring. They first acquired the space in April, and have been working nights and weekends readying it for the opening.
“It’s almost crazy to do what we’re doing in 950 square feet, but the appealing thing about is that it was a blank slate, where we could do easy modifications without a ton of rehabbing and remodeling,” said Mathias.
The space already had the bones of a brewery, with floor drains, a steam vent, and three-phase power.
“We poured our blood, sweat and tears in this project, working 40-50-60 hour weeks at our regular jobs, then coming here and doing another 30,” said Ayers. “Now it’s amped up to where we’re putting a 40-hour week in here as well. It’s been an incredibly fun challenge.”
Ill Mannered has plans to open with five beers: a blonde ale, west coast amber, breakfast stout , IPA, and a Belgian rye. Next up on the lineup are a cream ale, double IPA, India brown ale, porter, and hoppy wheat. They have additional plans for a pale ale, Christmas ale, and fall brown ale.
A grand opening event is planned for early October, where Ill Mannered will shut down the parking lot and bring in in a band, food trucks, beer, and more.
“Powell is the right space for us – it’s great in terms of craft beer, all of the restaurants downtown have great local selections,” said Ayers. “We couldn’t think of a better place where it was clear the community was ready to go, and this location just happened to be available.”
Ill Mannered Brewing Company will be open Wednesday through Friday, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m, and Saturday noon – 8 p.m.
For more information, visit www.illmanneredbeer.com.
All photos via Ill Mannered Brewing, except group photo by Rebecca Wagner.
