Guild Member Spotlight: Sherman Street Beer Company
It takes a great amount of time, resources, and morale to start a brewery. We have heard countless stories from Guild Member brewers and brewery owners about the highs and lows of starting a brewery. There are so many creative decisions to make, approvals to get, items to purchase, all while trying to meet deadlines and balance work with home life. Opening a brewery is no easy feat! We have seen so many dreams of owning a brewery come true and that is especially true with today’s Guild Member Spotlight: Sherman Street Beer Company. Sherman Street Beer Company is owned by husband and wife, Beau Baden and Casey DeCeia, who we were lucky enough to sit down with and chat over a few fastatic beers.
When visiting the brewery, located at 1825 E Tremont St in Allentown, you will likely run into both Beau and Casey, who are heavily involved in the brewery, with Beau being the head brewer and Casey running the day-to-day operations. The brewery offers a great environment for both indoor and outdoor drinking and dining, with a dog friendly outdoor space that has window access to the main bar. Complementing the great space is the outstanding beer that is constantly flowing from the taps. Beau has a diverse tap list of current and classic beer styles that makes Sherman Street Beer a crowd pleaser. In fact, Sherman Street was awarded “Best Brewery of the Lehigh Valley 2022” by the Lehigh Valley Beer Fellowship in April.
Casey DeCeia and Beau Baden
While the awards are coming in for Sherman Street, the brewery itself has not been open for very long. It was only last year when Beau and Casey opened their establishment out of the old Mink’s Candy Factory in East Allentown. However, the vision of this brewery started long before 2021, with Beau’s first business plans for a brewery dating back to 1993!
Beau and Casey told us that it is surprising how long the idea of owning a brewery has been in the works, as they view themselves as “fast planners'', having planned their wedding in just two weeks. Nonetheless, Sherman Street Beer Company was long in the making and was built on decades of industry experience.
Beau’s brewing history dates back to 1993 when he brewed out of a two barrel system in Scranton PA, where he and his friends were just making it for themselves. While Beau wanted to start something on his own, he knew he needed experience. Beau then worked for decades to perfect his craft and has become a household name in the Lehigh Valley beer industry for both brewing beer and building brewery systems.
While Beau was the head brewer at Fegley's Brew Works, Casey joined the Fegley’s team and worked in both sales and operations. The two formed a strong bond and began their journey to conquer their dreams together. By 2013, they started their search for a possible brewery location and began seriously collecting brewing equipment. All of this was happening while Casey was also pursuing her teaching degree. In 2017, the two purchased their current location and began to look into flipping the old candy factory into the business we see today.
Listening to Beau and Casey talk about the journey to get Sherman Street Beer Company running was very inspiring. Both of course had demanding full time jobs, Beau working hard in the brewery industry and Casey teaching full time. However, it was also inspiring to see how much help the two got from their friends from over the years. One of the great things about the craft beer industry is the relationships that are built over time and how so many people come together to accomplish something great.Even with the unforeseen 2020 pandemic, Sherman street was still able to open in the Spring of 2021. Beau and Casey tell us that eventually they just said to each other, “Lets just open, and figure things out!”
Since then they have been keeping the beer lines full and hosting a variety of events for their patrons. In addition, you can expect great food coming from their kitchen and/or your favorite local food truck parked outside. Stay up to date on their social media pages to see what beer and food are available!
Event at Sherman Street
Going into the Summer, Beau and Casey tell us they are thankful for where they are and excited for the future. They are proud to be a female owned brewery and thankful to all those that helped them along the way. Looking into the future, Beau plans to extend his seltzer lines. While not everybody is excited about the seltzer popularity, Beau finds the positives saying, “Spending years as a contract brewer and making all beer for decades, it's exciting to make something new to try and perfect it.” In addition, Sherman Street is looking to add more “ready to drink” cocktails and ciders on tap from local establishments. Beau also expressed his excitement that Sherman Street is now distributing their beer and he is happy with the experience Ant’ny Wardle brings to the task.
Patrons enjoying Sherman Street’s outdoor space
We, at the Lehigh Valley Brewers Guild, urge you all to visit Sherman Street Beer Company this Summer and experience the amazing beer and atmosphere for yourself!
Website: https://www.shermanstreetbeer.com/
Hours: https://www.shermanstreetbeer.com/contact/
Cheers!
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Research by: Leila Kaczmarek and Jerry Collins
Written by: Jerry Collins
Photography by: Jerry Collins