Patrick Anderson

panderson@argusleader.com

Before Fernson, before WoodGrain, before Hydra or Monk’s House of Ale Repute, a group of beer-loving Sioux Falls residents came up with the idea for a downtown brewpub.

Sioux Falls Brewing Company graced the intersection of Fifth Street and Phillips Avenue until 2003, when its founders closed up shop.

Dean Stalheim wonders if his business would have closed if it had been able to push through to downtown’s revitalization, which occurred in the years that followed.

“I was hoping for all that stuff to happen when we were still down there,” Stalheim said.

But Stalheim’s brewery days aren’t quite finished. He helped Fernson bring back his company’s top seller: Ringneck Red Ale. It’s a solid, malty red, with none of the frills so common in today’s microbrews.

Rumor is, Ringneck was on tap again this week. Stalheim said the Fernson guys were working on a second batch, but he wasn’t sure if there was anything left.

“The light bulb will turn on once you try it,” Stalheim said.

The initial batch was drained by nostalgic imbibers in a matter of hours, Stalheim said.