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Dec. 11, 2019

Covert Artisan Ales is expanding with a downtown taproom in the new East Bank Depot.

The brewery, which specializes in sour beers and wild ales, has a building permit and will open Covert Cellars hopefully in late spring, co-owner Stacey Berry said.

She had her husband, Dan, started brewing their unique beers out of a west-side warehouse in September 2018 and released their first beers in April. They initially didn’t plan to have a taproom but opened a small one in July in the brewery at 605 N. Watson Ave. near 12th Street and Marion Road.

The Berrys are excited to join the growing development along Eighth Street east of the Big Sioux River.

“The location right next to Monks is going to be really nice,” Berry said of the craft beer taproom. “We’re excited to be located with those guys. They’re a fun bunch.”

Monks House of Ale Repute also houses Gandy Dancer Brew Works, and Remedy Brewing Co. is nearby in the 8th & Railroad Center.

While Sioux Falls has several craft breweries, Covert Artisan Ales uses a “different approach to our style of brewing,” Berry said. The couple captures wild yeast and microbes in the air around the brewery for spontaneous fermentation.

“We’ve already started to ramp up production for preparation of the opening downtown,” Berry said.

Covert Artisan Ales typically releases a new beer every two weeks.

“We’re constantly doing something new and a little bit different from what we’ve done,” she said. “We have right around 40 barrels and puncheons that are fermenting now. We usually have seven or eight on tap in the taproom and then five or six different bottles of our beer to go.”

Covert also serves offerings from other craft breweries for beer drinkers who “aren’t interested in sour and wild ales,” she said.

Covert’s main brewing operations will remain in the warehouse.

“We will have brewery operations happening downtown, but it won’t be our primary location. The primary function there will be the taproom.”

The new taproom will have seating for 75 customers and additional seating on the patio.

Covert Cellars won’t have a kitchen, but customers will be welcome to bring in food. Berry said they’ll likely invite food trucks to sell meals outside too.

The taproom likely will be open Wednesday through Sunday, Berry said.

The current taproom is open from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday and will remain in operation until the new space is ready, Berry said.

“They don’t have to wait until then to discover us,” she said.