Ever wonder how it started? The seed for the idea of the Civil Life was planted a long time ago when I (Jake the one writing these descriptions) headed over to Dylan's house for a home brew party. As many of our industry friends consumed his beers remarks were made on their general tastiness and also on the odd space invaders symbols that denoted different styles on Dylan's fridge. Months later, we were working our shift at 33 in Lafayette Square and it happened to coincide with my personal search to begin another business. I had opened 33 in 2001 and it had done exceptionally well but it was an 800 square foot room and quite frankly, I wanted a bigger or different place to work in. I had decided to sell.
Dylan, Mike and I were working one night when it struck me, a revelation of sorts. We should open a brewery. Within three hours, I purchased on my credit card a pro-consumer SABCO brewing system which allowed us to take Dylan's home brews up a few more notches. Mike and Dylan began brewing immediately with the intention of opening the brewery. The following year, Dylan headed off to brewing school at Siebel Institute in Chicago. Mike continued brewing.
In the early days, we would brew a batch of beer and play games of Risk. Home-brewing in Dylan's basement was fun. We would drink previous batches and try a variety of beers. Things have changed a bit since then. But we are playing a much bigger game of risk and it's really nice that we now work on the first floor in a brewery designed for beer makery.
For the first 2 years of our business, Dylan long claimed that Mike was our mortar. That Brick, Brick, Mortar was the best way to describe the three of us. It's true. Mike picked up brewing in wicked short time. He came up with the English Pale recipe that is now one of our flagships. Mike also was the Mike behind Mike's deli! Mike moved to Florida in 2013 to be closer to family. Dylan and I kept thinking of a way to move Florida closer to St. Louis but neither one of us were ever good at geology. In 2015, Mike decided to move back to St. Louis to work with us again. We've got a lot of mortar at the brewery now and are stoked (the cool kids circa 1999 used to say this). No doubt, with Mike back and the great group of people on this page 2016 should be our best year yet!
Dylan Mosley
Head Beer Magician
Dylan is no doubt the driving force behind the brewery side of this operation. It's been great to watch him go from home-brewer to professional brewer without skipping a beat. He has an uncanny ability to ask the right questions as well as understand the over-all business and how each beer we make becomes a reflection of the Civil Life in the market. I would say there may be other brewers that have as high as standards as Dylan but I would say none have higher standards. His laid back attitude has served us well over the last 5 years and his ability to answer questions in over 30 minutes is a talent only a few people on this earth have. He has a masters of Art and I like to think that has served him well in this profession. He also really likes beer and is quite good at drinking it. It was Dylan's idea and his passion for sessionable ales that drove us in this direction.
Mike Bianco Mike returned from Florida in December of 2015 and it was a big deal for us at the Brewery and especially as the brewery owner. Mike was key to our success in our initial years and bringing him back to re-join the team will no doubt be the main reason we will be able to grow this year without growing pains. Mike returns in a support position of practically everyone here and has taken over keg cleaning, pub shifts and basically become the Civil Life's Jose Oquendo. Chris, Brendan and Tony (all die-hard Cardinal fans) will quite like that description. He'll be supporting Dylan and Brandon in the Brewery and Tony and Brendan in the kitchen. Mike is also an exceptional bartender and we are glad to have him back in St. Louis.
Chris Valier (our resident court painter/barman). Chris has been here since the beginning and is without a doubt the most seasoned barman on our staff. His glass isn't half-full it's full and spilling out the top. He painted the masterpiece Hand of God passing a beer to man found in our upstairs room. Chris brings fine dining experience to a place that doesn't do fine dining. He was born to paint and manage the Cardinals but we quite like the fact he would rather work at the Civil Life. I mean someone's already painted the Sistine Chapel and Bob Gibson quit pitching a long time ago. Chris does have several years experience working at a brewery and had with a good stint at our St. Louis big brother Schlafly when they were just a few years old. He is also responsible for updating our chalk board which lists every kind bar/restaurant in Missouri that carries our beer. Dylan's joke is that Chris doesn't print the letters he actually paints each letter. Civil Life wouldn't be as Civil without him. Chris has recently become Civil Life's resident handy man. I can assure you he will have a job here as long as he wants because we are constantly either fixing things or constantly improving and adding things.
Dr. Patrick Hurley Yes he is a Dr. and he doesn't play one on TV. Quite frankly, TV and Patrick go together like Rocks and Dinner rolls. I have known Patrick for over 10 years now as he was a patron at 33 for many years. He and his wife, Tree became two of my closest friends. Patrick teaches a class or two a year and is in charge of the esteemed Civil Life Book club. He has an ability to explain beer in an effortless thoughtful way and I'll admit it's nice to work side by side him in the pub and catch his conversations with new patrons and others that are bending his ear. Patrick has in incredible internal clock (i.e. liver) that notifies him it is 10 pm. 10 PM marks the hour employees may imbibe in a drink or two as we finish up our night in the pub.
Joe Mooney began working with me at 33 a long time ago and he helped me run it for 2 years. He eventually decided to trade up and found a job working for Cellar Advisors and for the next many years learned the finer aspects of the wine auction/storage business. We lured him back into the beer business with stories of wild session beer parties that ran late into the night. Little did he know, late into the night now meant 11 pm and drinking only began at 10 pm. Joe is a work-machine. He came on board to help us move forward and that is just what we will do with Joe on board. Go ahead and try to bottle Joe's enthusiasm, you could sell it for millions. Joe is as fiercely loyal as the day is long and he dresses quite nice as well. If you want to know about the band you didn't know you should be listening to just ask Joe. He'll tell you as he pours a pint.
Tony Collida Joined the Civil Life in June of 2014 after a stint as a brain surgeon at St. Mathews Hospital that doesn't exist. Actually and in all honesty, Tony is what we call here a champ. Tony was way over qualified to work in our 100 square foot kitchen but the brewery called and he answered. We of course, didn't call on the phone we don't have. We expected great things out of Tony from the get go and we haven't been let down. Tony adds in another layer and commitment to the finest food that has ever come out of such a small kitchen. I can see his passion for cooking and every time a sandwich or appetizer or BBQ comes out of our kitchen with his name on it, it's guaranteed to be great.
Kari, Kevin and Erin Our trusty sidekicks can be found filling in shifts or in Kari's case, working every Sunday. You'll be glad when you have a chance to meet any of them. Some of the nicest people I know and they have been kind enough to help keep the ship afloat.
David, Seymour and Troy: More on these great people later.
As for me, I'm Jake Hafner and I am the self-proclaimed Captain of the Barley Ship. Sometimes when things aren't going well, I say I am the Captain of the Sometimes Wayward Barley ship and sometimes when things really aren't going well, I act like I don't even work here. I have spent a considerable amount of my life in pubs and restaurants. I believe strongly in the role a great pub/restaurant plays in the lives of people. I have worked at Windows on the World (formerly in the WTC), at Astor Wines and then owned 33 in Lafayette Square for 8 1/2 years. In 2011, Dylan, Mike and I began the Civil Life. It has not been without it's challenges but most importantly we have not strayed from our eternal pursuit of crafting the perfect pint. Three of us, who never worked in a brewery, took a chance. Thankfully there has been a massive ground swell of restaurants and patrons to support us along the way. We are incredibly thankful for your help and your belief in our craft brewery. All of our beers are produced in South City (Tower Grove South) and we welcome you to come down some time and have a look.
We can't do this without you and all of us thank you. [Insert warm fuzzies here]
Cheers and thanks for reading,
Jake Hafner
Dylan, Mike and I were working one night when it struck me, a revelation of sorts. We should open a brewery. Within three hours, I purchased on my credit card a pro-consumer SABCO brewing system which allowed us to take Dylan's home brews up a few more notches. Mike and Dylan began brewing immediately with the intention of opening the brewery. The following year, Dylan headed off to brewing school at Siebel Institute in Chicago. Mike continued brewing.
In the early days, we would brew a batch of beer and play games of Risk. Home-brewing in Dylan's basement was fun. We would drink previous batches and try a variety of beers. Things have changed a bit since then. But we are playing a much bigger game of risk and it's really nice that we now work on the first floor in a brewery designed for beer makery.
For the first 2 years of our business, Dylan long claimed that Mike was our mortar. That Brick, Brick, Mortar was the best way to describe the three of us. It's true. Mike picked up brewing in wicked short time. He came up with the English Pale recipe that is now one of our flagships. Mike also was the Mike behind Mike's deli! Mike moved to Florida in 2013 to be closer to family. Dylan and I kept thinking of a way to move Florida closer to St. Louis but neither one of us were ever good at geology. In 2015, Mike decided to move back to St. Louis to work with us again. We've got a lot of mortar at the brewery now and are stoked (the cool kids circa 1999 used to say this). No doubt, with Mike back and the great group of people on this page 2016 should be our best year yet!
Dylan Mosley
Head Beer Magician
Dylan is no doubt the driving force behind the brewery side of this operation. It's been great to watch him go from home-brewer to professional brewer without skipping a beat. He has an uncanny ability to ask the right questions as well as understand the over-all business and how each beer we make becomes a reflection of the Civil Life in the market. I would say there may be other brewers that have as high as standards as Dylan but I would say none have higher standards. His laid back attitude has served us well over the last 5 years and his ability to answer questions in over 30 minutes is a talent only a few people on this earth have. He has a masters of Art and I like to think that has served him well in this profession. He also really likes beer and is quite good at drinking it. It was Dylan's idea and his passion for sessionable ales that drove us in this direction.
Mike Bianco Mike returned from Florida in December of 2015 and it was a big deal for us at the Brewery and especially as the brewery owner. Mike was key to our success in our initial years and bringing him back to re-join the team will no doubt be the main reason we will be able to grow this year without growing pains. Mike returns in a support position of practically everyone here and has taken over keg cleaning, pub shifts and basically become the Civil Life's Jose Oquendo. Chris, Brendan and Tony (all die-hard Cardinal fans) will quite like that description. He'll be supporting Dylan and Brandon in the Brewery and Tony and Brendan in the kitchen. Mike is also an exceptional bartender and we are glad to have him back in St. Louis.
Chris Valier (our resident court painter/barman). Chris has been here since the beginning and is without a doubt the most seasoned barman on our staff. His glass isn't half-full it's full and spilling out the top. He painted the masterpiece Hand of God passing a beer to man found in our upstairs room. Chris brings fine dining experience to a place that doesn't do fine dining. He was born to paint and manage the Cardinals but we quite like the fact he would rather work at the Civil Life. I mean someone's already painted the Sistine Chapel and Bob Gibson quit pitching a long time ago. Chris does have several years experience working at a brewery and had with a good stint at our St. Louis big brother Schlafly when they were just a few years old. He is also responsible for updating our chalk board which lists every kind bar/restaurant in Missouri that carries our beer. Dylan's joke is that Chris doesn't print the letters he actually paints each letter. Civil Life wouldn't be as Civil without him. Chris has recently become Civil Life's resident handy man. I can assure you he will have a job here as long as he wants because we are constantly either fixing things or constantly improving and adding things.
Dr. Patrick Hurley Yes he is a Dr. and he doesn't play one on TV. Quite frankly, TV and Patrick go together like Rocks and Dinner rolls. I have known Patrick for over 10 years now as he was a patron at 33 for many years. He and his wife, Tree became two of my closest friends. Patrick teaches a class or two a year and is in charge of the esteemed Civil Life Book club. He has an ability to explain beer in an effortless thoughtful way and I'll admit it's nice to work side by side him in the pub and catch his conversations with new patrons and others that are bending his ear. Patrick has in incredible internal clock (i.e. liver) that notifies him it is 10 pm. 10 PM marks the hour employees may imbibe in a drink or two as we finish up our night in the pub.
Joe Mooney began working with me at 33 a long time ago and he helped me run it for 2 years. He eventually decided to trade up and found a job working for Cellar Advisors and for the next many years learned the finer aspects of the wine auction/storage business. We lured him back into the beer business with stories of wild session beer parties that ran late into the night. Little did he know, late into the night now meant 11 pm and drinking only began at 10 pm. Joe is a work-machine. He came on board to help us move forward and that is just what we will do with Joe on board. Go ahead and try to bottle Joe's enthusiasm, you could sell it for millions. Joe is as fiercely loyal as the day is long and he dresses quite nice as well. If you want to know about the band you didn't know you should be listening to just ask Joe. He'll tell you as he pours a pint.
Tony Collida Joined the Civil Life in June of 2014 after a stint as a brain surgeon at St. Mathews Hospital that doesn't exist. Actually and in all honesty, Tony is what we call here a champ. Tony was way over qualified to work in our 100 square foot kitchen but the brewery called and he answered. We of course, didn't call on the phone we don't have. We expected great things out of Tony from the get go and we haven't been let down. Tony adds in another layer and commitment to the finest food that has ever come out of such a small kitchen. I can see his passion for cooking and every time a sandwich or appetizer or BBQ comes out of our kitchen with his name on it, it's guaranteed to be great.
Kari, Kevin and Erin Our trusty sidekicks can be found filling in shifts or in Kari's case, working every Sunday. You'll be glad when you have a chance to meet any of them. Some of the nicest people I know and they have been kind enough to help keep the ship afloat.
David, Seymour and Troy: More on these great people later.
As for me, I'm Jake Hafner and I am the self-proclaimed Captain of the Barley Ship. Sometimes when things aren't going well, I say I am the Captain of the Sometimes Wayward Barley ship and sometimes when things really aren't going well, I act like I don't even work here. I have spent a considerable amount of my life in pubs and restaurants. I believe strongly in the role a great pub/restaurant plays in the lives of people. I have worked at Windows on the World (formerly in the WTC), at Astor Wines and then owned 33 in Lafayette Square for 8 1/2 years. In 2011, Dylan, Mike and I began the Civil Life. It has not been without it's challenges but most importantly we have not strayed from our eternal pursuit of crafting the perfect pint. Three of us, who never worked in a brewery, took a chance. Thankfully there has been a massive ground swell of restaurants and patrons to support us along the way. We are incredibly thankful for your help and your belief in our craft brewery. All of our beers are produced in South City (Tower Grove South) and we welcome you to come down some time and have a look.
We can't do this without you and all of us thank you. [Insert warm fuzzies here]
Cheers and thanks for reading,
Jake Hafner