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The Old Bakery Beer Company is a certified organic craft brewery located in downtown Alton, IL. In addition to our line of up of all organic beers, our restaurant and tasting room features a menu of seasonally-rotating burgers, sandwiches, salads, and soups, designed to pair well with beer. Our food menu features something for everyone, including many vegan and vegetarian options, and our bar menu includes wine, cocktails, and several non-alcoholic options for those not in the mood for delicious organic craft beer.
What's In a Name?
The Old Bakery Beer Company was born in early 2015 after we were introduced to the beautiful old Colonial Bakery building in downtown Alton, IL. Part of the building started its life as a bakery in the late 1800's. After a fire in 1929 and a series of remodels, additions, and changes in ownership, the building remained a bakery until the early 1980's when it shut down. We have tried our best to keep the building's history alive, and our name is just a small piece of that endeavor.
Who are we?
Head Chef - Matthew Cooper
Master Accommodator - Emily Monroe
The Creative One - Lauren Rogalsky
Co-Founders - Lauren Pattan, Murray Rogalsky, and James Rogalsky
Sous Chef - Leigh Sanders
Assistant General Manager - Matt Vitali
Brewery Manager - Eric Weber
Sustainability
We take sustainability seriously here at The Old Bakery Beer Company! This means taking the time to consider the environmental, social, and local impact of every decision that we make. We hope that this strategy will allow us to build a sustainable operation that will have a positive impact on the surrounding community and natural environment.
Here are a few of the strategies that we have implemented to create a more sustainable business:
CERTIFIED ORGANIC
All of the beer that we produce is certified organic! The ingredients that we use to make our beer and food really represent the heart of our business. So, it is important to us that we use the highest quality environmentally-conscious products that we can find. In the brewery, we use only North American malts and hops, and 100% USDA-certified organic ingredients and processes. This means healthier work environments for our farmers, reduced impact on bees & other wildlife, decreased chemical use & runoff, and a better future for our earth!
SUPPORT LOCAL
St. Louis furniture maker, Mwanzi, produced our bar and all of our restaurant tables using reclaimed wood and low-impact fabrication processes. In fact, the top of our 50 foot long centerpiece bar was assembled from 100-year-old floor joists from a one-room schoolhouse in Collinsville, IL!
We are excited to get to work with many other local small businesses & producers every day including Tiny Little Monsters, Cow Creek Farm, Advantage Chemicals, Excel Bottling Company, Silver Tree Spirits, Switchgrass Spirits, Ardent Spirits, Bluestem Vodka, Eckerts Farm, Idle Roasting Co., Theodora Farm, Brick River Cider, Flourish Farmstead, and more!
COMMUNITY
A healthy community gives every citizen and business a better chance to succeed! We support our community through charitable donations, fundraising, and free programming & events. You can help our mission by joining us on the 3rd Thursday of every month for Drink for a Cause, during which 25% of beer sales are donated to a different charity each month!
WASTE
We send all of our food waste - both pre & post consumer - to be composted with Total Organics Recycling. The majority of the rest of our solid waste is recycled, and little is left over to be sent to landfill.
All of the spent grain produced during our brewing process is sent to a local farmer to feed their cattle.
ENERGY
All new lighting installed in the facility uses energy efficient LEDs. Although we wanted to retain as much character from the old building as we could, many of the old, energy-sucking lighting fixtures had to go!
ACCOUNTABILITY
In order to keep ourselves accountable to our sustainability claims, we are certified through the Green Dining Alliance. We have consistently received their highest rating each year! Click here to find out more!