New Crossroads Microbrewery Goes West

By Kevin Collison

The Crossroads latest microbrewery, Rochester Brewing and Coffee Roasting, is straying a bit from the neigh-brew-hood and plans to open in late March on the west side at 2129 Washington St.

“The Crossroads is a great place for breweries, but it’s getting saturated in that (East Crossroads) corridor,” said David Bulcock. “We like our location because its close to lofts and also closer to Boulevard Brewing.

“They’re the big dogs and we like to be close to them.”

The new venture also will have an additional angle over its East Crossroads cousins as the name implies.

“One thing we’re excited about is having our own coffee roaster in place,” Bulcock said. “People can start their day with coffee and finish their day with a beer.”

Rochester Brewing is the creation of Marshall VanTuyl and Philip Enloe, friends who’ve known each other since high school. Bulcock got to know VanTuyl later while attending Kansas State and the pair began home brewing almost 10 years ago.

Mix in Zeth McReynolds, who’ll be the general manager, and you have four entrepreneurs excited to jump into the burgeoning Crossroads brew scene.

“We hope to serve the community great craft drinks in a welcoming and fun environment,” McReynolds said in a statement.

Rochester’s name comes from the historic Rochester Brewery which operated in the Crossroads in the late 19th Century, according to a release. It later merged with a couple other breweries to form the Kansas City Brewing Co. before Prohibition shut down the operation.

The new Rochester incarnation will feature a 1,200 square-foot tap room and 1,400 square-foot event space. In the back of the 6,0000 square-foot building will be a five-barrel production facility.

Bulcock said the partners got a present from the city last week when it received its building permit on Christmas Eve.

The partners plan on producing classic IPAs, stouts, kettle and traditional sours and lagers. Cider and mead also will be part of the mix.

“Our concept isn’t to have standalone beers, but a lot of rotating beers of the same style,” he said.

As for the coffee offerings, Enloe has been brewing relationships with coffee growers during his travels around the world to offer a wide variety of beans. In addition to beverages served in house, customers can purchase roasted beans in bulk online.

The Rochester also will feature pastries and other food options from local bakeries and plans to partner with food trucks to be set up on site.

Rochester Brewing will be located in this building at 2129 Washington St. in the Crossroads District.