Earthbound Beer is a local micro-brewery that got its start two and a half years ago. Currently, the business is located in a cozy little 1000-square-foot shotgun-style building on Cherokee Street, right across from The Luminary.

As the brewery continues to experiment with unique beer ingredients and attempts to distribute them, Earthbound found itself with a new need for space. Conveniently enough, the solution to that problem is located right down the street.

On May 19, Earthbound plans to move to a lot on the same block that is not only rich in history, but also opportunity. The property originally belonged to Cherokee Brewery Company, which was founded in 1866, but closed about 30 years later.

Related: Digging for a cold one: Brewery returns St. Louis lagering tradition to Cherokee Street

Since then, the building that currently stands has been home to a sausage factory, a horse stable, a carriage paint shop and a big office building. While the space that the building has to offer provides plenty of incentive to move locations, its true value comes from what’s underneath the building.

In the featured audio tour, the brewery’s head brewer and owner Stuart Keating takes us through every layer below ground level.

MAIN LEVEL

The main level of the building will include the taproom, as well as a suspended mezzanine, both of which will provide a place for customers to eat hot dogs, among other foods, and drink beer.

Collin Mueller | St. Louis Public Radio

Collin Mueller | St. Louis Public Radio

Collin Mueller | St. Louis Public Radio

BASEMENT

As of now, the basement is occupied by Earthbound’s brewing equipment. Big refrigerators and fermentation tanks occupy the floor. The foundation leans in one direction, making the walls and ceiling appear crooked.

Collin Mueller | St. Louis Public Radio

Collin Mueller | St. Louis Public Radio

CELLAR

The walls in the cellar are made of beautiful quarried limestone. To access the cellar, it had to be cleared of rubble, which Keating says was not easy.

Nancy Fowler | St. Louis Public Radio

SUB-BASEMENT

The sub-basement is cold, wet and dark. The floor is covered by water and the only place to stand is on two planks of wood between a slab of concrete and a mound of dirt.

Collin Mueller | St. Louis Public Radio

Collin Mueller | St. Louis Public Radio

OUTSIDE

The entrance is made of big wooden double doors set into an arched frame. The exterior of the building is made of red brick, which will be tuckpointed and re-mortared by the time they open.

Collin Mueller | St. Louis Public Radio

Collin Mueller | St. Louis Public Radio

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