Maquoketa Brewing thrives despite opening during a pandemic

Imagine starting a new brewery business and opening your doors on January 1, 2021 — in the midst of the worst global pandemic in modern history. This is exactly what Mark and Judy Lyon did with Maquoketa Brewing.

Mark had been experimenting with home brewing for several years, and after reading an article in The Atlantic entitled “Eleven Signs a City Will Succeed,” he was inspired to see that the only major thing that his hometown was missing was a local craft brewery.

“I got tired of waiting for someone else to do it,” said Mark. “I had been retired for a while and felt it was a nice challenge and something I could do to enhance Maquoketa’s downtown.”

Building a business from the ground up during a pandemic took ingenuity and some good old-fashioned hope. “We signed the lease on the space early in 2020 before things started to shut down,” Mark said. They chose a derelict building in the downtown district to revive with the help of a state grant from the Community Catalyst Building Remediation Program.

“We continued the build-out as the year went on, and when things were ready, we opened up to start bringing in some revenue. While there were government programs to help existing businesses, our only hope was to open and see what would happen,” Mark said.

They also began selling memberships to people, offering them a chance to “pre-buy” a year of beer. This helped bolster their business and helped them with revenue during the building phase. “The opening was well received and though initially we had to deal with masking and plexiglass and only using half our tables, we made it work, and everyone was understanding and supportive,” said Mark.

Mark started out brewing the beers but quickly found another interested partner. “I am the head brewer, but Mike Anderson, who we originally hired to tend bar, showed interest in what was going on back in the brewing area and has become the other half of our two-person brew team,” said Mark.

Maquoketa Brewing crafts a variety of beers, mainly because Mark likes to experiment with different styles, and some of the beers he’s been brewing for years have become local favorites. “Our most popular beer is called Pappy’s Yellow Light. It is a light blonde ale that I have been tweaking for years,” said Mark. “It is named after my neighbor Pappy who is rather fond of a very light macro-brew and who I kept making try my beer to get his feedback until I had something that you might call a ‘gateway craft beer.’”

Although it’s mostly Mark who is involved in the brewery, Judy still played her part in the planning process. “I have dragged my wife to innumerable taprooms and breweries over the years, and one of her pet peeves is when they do not have anything for non-beer drinkers,” said Mark. “When we find a place that also has cider, I know that I will be allowed to stay longer. Another peeve is when she has to put her purse on the floor or on the table.” Judy’s stipulations were that the brewery then provide cider on tap and purse hooks for every table. Mark said people seem to appreciate her touches.

The Lyons also make giving back a part of their business model. “We love this town. This is where I grew up and where our children grew up, and we even have a couple grandchildren in town,” said Mark. “We knew there were needs in the community that we could help with and were excited to do it.” Their regular Thirsty Thursday promotion gives back one dollar from each pint sold to a charity of the month. “We have augmented this with raffles, and recently we created, brewed and canned a beer (Ladder #1) especially for the local firefighters with some of the proceeds going to their association.”

Address: 110 S. Main St., Maquoketa, Iowa

Phone: (563) 748-1138

Website: maqbrew.com

Distance from Downtown Des Moines: 199 miles

Hours: The taproom is open 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, 4-10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 12-10 p.m. Saturday and 12-6 p.m. Sunday.

Beers: Having brewed more than 50 recipes of beer in its first year, Maquoketa Brewing always tries to have Pappy’s, its most popular, and Maquoketa Milk Stout, another popular beer, on tap, as well as an IPA or two, one or two lagers and a sour beer. They also brew seasonal beers, like Maqtoberfest, a Marzen for fall, and Winter Wonderland, a spiced Scottish Ale, for winter. See their full selection and what’s “on deck” at maqbrew.com.

Food: As is common in taprooms, guests are allowed to bring in their own food. “We like the arrangement as it helps the local restaurants, of which Maquoketa has many good ones,” said Mark. They did, however, start offering light snacks, including a charcuterie board, pretzel crisps with their own beer cheese dip and locally produced gourmet popcorn. 

Kids: Maquoketa Brewing prides itself on being family-friendly, offering free juice boxes for the kids along with games and coloring books. “A modern taproom is not your bar of old, which was not a good environment for children,” said Mark. “Here we have a brightly lit taproom in a beautifully restored century-old building where people gather and converse.”

What to Do in the Area: Mark can’t praise his hometown enough for all it offers for visitors. He suggests visiting the world-renowned Maquoketa Caves and seeing a movie at one of the only remaining drive-in theaters, the 61 Drive In Theater (61-driveintheatre.com), celebrating its 71st year in business. Codfish Hollow Barn (codfishhollowbarnstormers.com) hosts concerts that bring people from all over. 

Visit Other Breweries: “For those who do brewery travel, we are in a great location to hit a number of breweries while taking in the scenery,” said Mark. “With our friends at River Ridge Brewing in Bellevue (riverridgebrewing.com) and Jubeck New World Brewing in Dubuque (jubeckbrewing.com), you can create a nice loop of unique experiences and great beer.”

Where to Stay: Mark recommends The Decker Hotel (deckerhousehotel.com), a historic downtown hotel that has been totally renovated. “Ulysses S. Grant stayed there and even got thrown out of the bar,” said Mark. “It is a delightful place to spend the weekend.” Squire’s Manor bed and breakfast (squiersmanor.com) is another local historic mansion with amazing rooms filled with antiques that is always a great place to unwind, according to Mark. Both are only a short walk to and from Maquoketa Brewing.