Putting a name to a brewery isn’t as easy as it might seem. At least, that was the case for Chad Marchand, left, and John Minton, right, co-owners of Old Majestic Brewing Company. After eight months of head-scratching, Minton, who also serves as head brewer, found the answer overhead.
“Oak trees are about as sturdy and as long-lasting as anything around here,” he says from behind the bar. “They symbolize strength, endurance and have weathered all kinds of storms: economic, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods. And we’re going through a pandemic now, so it’s weathering that storm, too.”
Though Old Majestic’s doors didn’t open until December 2019, the business partners first met one night in 2016 at the urging of a mutual friend. Marchand, a local attorney, and Minton, an aerospace engineer (he still works for Airbus), bonded over their love for homebrewing. “And by the time the night was over, and the beer was gone, we had decided we were going to do this,” Marchand remembers.
The two men set out to find a building, eventually teaming up with Lafayette Land Company to relocate a cotton warehouse from Greenwood, Mississippi, to an empty lot beside The Cheese Cottage on St. Louis Street. In this large indoor space, featuring original trusses and 1920s brick, visitors can sip from a wide selection of beers, brewed in the tanks visible through a glass wall.
“I think we have a vibe of being kind of revolutionary because we are out front as far as beer recipes,” Minton says. Marchand adds, “What John has done is make beers that are well-balanced, not too hoppy, not too sweet — just really easy-drinking beers. That’s our goal with every single one.”
Aside from the entertainment provided by four TVs (ideal for fall football), darts, cornhole, giant Jenga and Connect Four, customers can kick back with their own food or have local meals delivered — a prospect made extremely convenient by next-door neighbor, The Cheese Cottage. “We certainly feed off each other,” Marchand says, noting that the restaurant routinely delivers meals to the brewery’s customers.
“We just say, ‘Come see it,’” Marchand says, glancing up at the soaring ceiling of the one-time cotton warehouse. “There’s really no other place like it in Mobile.”
On the Menu
Majestic Blonde
This “honest to goodness Belgian strong ale” contains notes of coriander and orange with a honey-like malt sweetness.
Amber Waves of Grain
An American amber ale, this brew has a sweet profile and is pleasantly malty with a slightly spicy aftertaste and floral aroma.
Reflections IPA
A moderately strong American pale ale, this beer showcases Pacific Northwest hop varieties with a hoppy finish of pineapple and mango.
Four Fathers’ Stout
This nod to the Founding Fathers is a bold coffee-and-chocolate-flavored stout with a well-balanced hop aroma and a unique blackcurrant undertone.
Old Majestic Brewing Co. • 656 St Louis St. • 283-3132
4 – 8:30 p.m. Tu – Th; 4 – 10 p.m. F; 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sa; 12 – 8 p.m. Su
