What started as a love of hiking and exploring turned into a craft beer romance for husband and wife team JD and Megan Park. (Because who doesn’t want a cold one after a long day of hiking?) Now, the Parks have plans to open Tonka Bay’s first-ever brewery: Unmapped Brewing Co.
JD began home brewing in 2012, and explains that he and Megan developed a similar relationship with brewing that they have with exploring nature. “The name Unmapped plays on our love of nature, and doing and trying new things,” he says.
Brewing on a 20-barrel system, Unmapped will deliver four Belgian-style and three “Stateside” (Unmapped lingo for American-style) beers to what they say is an underserved market. “In Minnesota, there’s a significant presence of craft breweries, but they are underrepresented in the western suburbs,” says Megan. “And the Belgian beer market is underserved in the metro.”
The Parks want to implement a business model that will convert those who are still wary about craft beer into aficionados. Topographic Wit, a Belgian witbier, is proving itself to be the catalyst— helping to develop palates that will eventually be eager to try more robust beer.
They are hoping this plan will provoke community members to invest in Unmapped. With a $5,000 investment, any Minnesotan (age 21 and up) can become a founding owner, which includes a share in profits and two free beers during each visit to the brewery.
