The Beer: Double Dry Hopped Fallen Flag Hazy IPA
The Brewery: Narrow Gauge Brewing Company
The label art on Double Dry Hopped Fallen Flag, a Hazy IPA straight out of north St. Louis County, reveals a history of connection between city and county.
The connection was physical — and steamy. In the late 1800s, West End Narrow Gauge Railroad ran from Grand Boulevard at Olive Street in the city all the way to its final destination, a small station house in Florissant. At a reasonable price of 16 cents for 16 miles, the rail line brought passengers to and fro in about an hour each way.
The electrification of towns and rails paved the way for a streetcar to replace the locomotive in 1891, marking the end of Narrow Gauge Railroad after only 13 years of service. Forty years later, the trolley serviced its final passengers. No longer a hub for public transportation, the station house assumed a new role as an ice cream and soda shop until it, too, shuttered in 1964.
The widening of Graham Road a few years later forced the station house to relocate, and it found a lasting home in Tower Court Park. The New Historic Florissant Inc. purchased the building in 1970. Now a National Historic Landmark, it’s hosted everything from a cheesecake bakery to a design shop. Today it sits vacant, but plays a starring role as an illustration on a beer can from Narrow Gauge Brewing Company.
Narrow Gauge owner Jeff Hardesty knew he wanted to incorporate local history into his craft when he began brewing in the basement of Cugino’s restaurant in Florissant in 2016. He dug into Florissant’s history and unearthed the story of the humble rail station.
Hardesty also knew he wanted to incorporate art. Inspired by a brewery in Massachusetts, he began hand-sketching drawings for Narrow Gauge’s labels. Remarkably, both he and Cugino’s manager, Jeremy Hegger, have rich artistic talent. Hardesty says, “Art was always one of my favorite subjects as a kid. I always enjoyed drawing and got into photography in high school.” The two produce all the brewery’s art in-house.
Hegger, however, has the hand behind the Fallen Flag label sketch. Hardesty brags on Hegger, saying, “It seems like everything he would draw just got better and better.”
Based on this label, he’s not wrong. The sublime detail on the can depicts the Florissant rail station building as a storage room for hops, which spill out the front door like hay from a barn. Intricate cross hatching creates shadows around the peaked roof and in the worn station window. Hegger even managed to include the population and elevation detail on the “FLORISSANT” sign that Boy Scouts hung as an Eagle Scout project back during the station’s restoration in 1971.
“Fallen Flag” is a railroad term, referring to a railroad company that has merged with or been taken over by another rail, subsequently losing its original name. The West End Narrow Gauge Railroad became a fallen flag in 1891.
One hundred and twenty-five years later, in the time leading up to Narrow Gauge Brewing Company’s opening, Hardesty began developing its flagship brew. Officially on tap for the first time in June 2016, DDH Fallen Flag marked the beginning of a new brewery for St. Louis, and a new market: the hazy IPA. Hardesty led the charge for hazy IPAs in the region, and he says Fallen Flag “set the brewery at the forefront in the world of making hazy IPA.”
The ale is hop heavy but balanced by fruity notes of citrus, melon and passionfruit. An English malt, pearl, adds subtle biscuit and nutty profiles. If you’re a fan of hazy IPAs, look no further! And make sure to look out for the Florissant rail house on your way.
The West End Narrow Gauge Railroad had the goal of better connecting the city to north county. While the initiative did not last long, the railroad paved the name and image for a modern connection between the city and north county: a craft brewery.
Lauren Harpold tells the stories behind the art gracing the cans or bottles of local brews. Got a suggestion for her to explore next? Email her at [email protected]
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