Chef Schaaf rolls out new beer venture; first bottled beer brewed in Cape in 80 years

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.

Sour, bitter and wheat beer — brewer DeWayne Schaaf knows how to make them all, and then some. With nearly 70 unique blends achieved, his love for hops is almost instinctive, having a taste for "very old-school, rustic" brews.

Schaaf's mixture of yeast, akin to hops and also an ingredient imperative to beer, is gaining around-the-world popularity. Within the last five years, Schaaf said his curiosity has gotten the best of him.

"A couple of my yeast blends are in, like, 35 breweries worldwide, 47 countries, six of the seven continents," he said while finishing up chalk work on a sandwich marquee board at Ebb and Flow Fermentations, a brewery he operates in downtown Cape Girardeau.

A Ste. Genevieve native, Schaaf moved to Cape Girardeau in 1998. In 2017, he accepted the reins of fine dining restaurant Celebrations in Cape Girardeau.

Brewer DeWayne Schaaf examines a bottle of beer Tuesday at Ebb and Flow Fermentations.TYLER GRAEF

Nearly four months ago he established Ebb and Flow Fermentations. The space provides Schaaf with the atmosphere to passionately create and test his craft beers.

Schaaf said his fascination with brewing began 15 years ago when his wife bought him his first home-brew kit.

"I don't know if she knew what she was getting herself into," he said with a grin.

His goal is to present a "different style of brewery" to the community, he said, through mixed fermentations, traditional styles, Norwegian yeast and invert sugar.

"There was a heavy, heavy beer influence in this town, but in 1940 it basically stopped," Schaaf said.

Brewer DeWayne Schaaf examines a budding hops plant in his garden Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019, at Ebb & Flow Fermentations in Cape Girardeau. Schaaf said the garden, which is in the early stages, should yield ingredients he plans to incorporate into beers in the future.TYLER GRAEF

With a heady aroma and sour flavor, Schaaf said Parsec -- released last week at Ebb and Flow -- is perfect for stargazing, adding the name was derived from a Star Wars-related inside joke.

It's the first beer to be brewed and bottled in Cape Girardeau in nearly 80 years, he said.

Schaaf said brewing usually takes place on Mondays, due to the kitchen of Ebb and Flow Fermentations being transformed into a brewing epicenter.

The process isn't difficult, but it does require several hands, plenty of room and several hours to complete a batch.

His brewing system includes two dedicated "mash tins" for grain, and two separate boil pales.

"You add hot water, then you wait an hour," Schaaf said. "And then you rinse, and that takes about an hour. Then it boils for about an hour. There's a whole lot of hurry up and wait."

The Rusticus, one of the many rotating beers on tap, contains hops that were found in Schaaf's great grandfather's hop field in Ste. Genevieve, he said.

It has no definite style, Schaaf said of the field-to-tap concoction, but it does exude hints of coffee and toffee, finishing with a mild bitterness.

"We wanted something that would be what they would've done 130 years ago," he said. "If they wanted a darker grain, they had to toast it, so we used irregular methods."

One of the latest experimental beer creations at Ebb and Flow is Gris Gris, a Braggot made with bananas, caramelized honey, cinnamon and nutmeg, with 6.3% alcohol content.

Green & Gold, a sour beer with a tart kick also is part of the rotating tap at Ebb & Flow Fermentations. It's a Gose-style wheat beer made with gobs of basil from the nearby herb garden, containing 5.11% alcohol.

"With wine, nature gives you your final product," he said. "In beer, you decide what the product is. Period."

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