Rochester Brewing Serving Coffee, Beer on Tap Later This Month

By Kevin Collison

Rochester Brewing and Coffee Roasting has the coffee part of its name going at 2129 Washington St. and plans to start pouring beer by the end of the month.

The latest addition to the downtown microbrewery and coffee house scene opened July 10 in the West Crossroads serving coffee drinks and is gearing up the five-barrel brewhouse for production.

It plans to participate in this year’s Beer Fest at the Power & Light District in mid-September too.

The new venture is staking out new territory about a mile west of the main concentration of microbreweries in the East Crossroads centered around 18th and Oak.

Philip Enloe, one of the partners in Rochester, is looking forward to the growth of the nearby neighborhood. The brewery is only a half block from the new Crossroads Westside apartment development.

“Just being part of the growth and development of the area is exciting,” he said. “There’s a lot of apartments and housing and its been exciting to think what it will look like in five- to 10 years.”

The new space features a 60-foot wrap-around bar that seats 15. The entire place can accommodate 177 people and features a back room than can be used for events. There’s also a small play area for parents who want to sip a beer and bring their kids.

Rochester Brewing features a 60-foot bar and can accommodate up to 177 people.

Enloe said the Rochester doesn’t plan to distribute its beer, focusing instead on serving customers at the premises.

“The main idea is to have the beer here for now,” he said, “and focus on the neighborhood and people coming to us.”

The brews in the works include coffee stout, pilsener, kettle sour and a couple IPAs. Rochester also will be making cider, mead and even a house wine.

On the coffee side, the place offers a wall tap for cold brews, nitro brews including oat chai. The Rochester roasts and grinds its own beans. Customers can also buy bulk beans online.

Rochester Brewing has staked out new microbrew territory in the West Crossroads at 2129 Washington.

Food offerings including breakfast burritos and pastries, and there are sandwiches and panini’s available for lunch.

Rochester’s name comes from the historic Rochester Brewery which operated in the Crossroads in the late 19th Century. It later merged with a couple other breweries to form the Kansas City Brewing Co. before Prohibition shut down the operation.

Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 7 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. The Rochester also will be open Sundays, but the hours have yet to be determined.