Kasson brewery opens for business

Scott Stroh has been brewing beer since he turned 21, when his parents gave him an at-home brew kit for Christmas. Now Stroh is operating Chaotic Good Brewing Company out of a back shed at his home in Kasson.
On Wednesday, Jan. 27, the Kasson City Council approved Stroh’s off sale liquor license during its regular meeting. Stroh must now get the off sale liquor license approved by the state, but he sees this as a formality.
He sold his first keg last week to Wildwood Sports Bar & Grill in Byron, so his beer is officially on tap now.
“It’s very exciting,” he said. “It’s a long time in coming.”
Stroh built his small brewery himself, and hasn’t hired any employees as of yet. He and his wife Molly handle everything related to the business.
Both teachers, Scott and Molly Stroh tackle the brewery’s to-dos after work and around the schedules of their kids.
“I started brewing right away at 21,” Scott Stroh recalls. “For Christmas I got an ingredient kit from my folks and I’ve been brewing ever since. I’ve made a lot of beer over the years.”
The brewery’s name, Chaotic Good Brewing Company, is a take-off from Dungeons and Dragons terminology, Stroh said. It refers to doing the right thing, but taking your own path, which is how Stroh sees his trajectory.
“It’s about doing the right thing but marching to the beat of your own drum,” he said. “This is a way I can pursue this business, and grow my business, and still teach and tuck my kids in at night. I can build my business and live life at the same time.”
Stroh will have his beer available at area bars, restaurants and liquor stores. He’ll also soon start offering curbside pick-up and some limited delivery within the Kasson-Mantorville area. Customers can place orders on his website, chaoticgoodbrewing.com, and receive updates at his Facebook page, facebook.com/chaoticgoodbrewing.
Stroh hopes to have a handful of other restaurants selling his beer within weeks. “We’ve called a few and a few have called us,” he said. “It’s real nice when they come to you.”
He is selling a cream ale called Initiative Cream Ale. Next up is an IPA, a rye oatmeal stout and a Belgian triple. These, he said, are his “go-to beers.”
Customers can purchase a half gallon growler or a 25-ounce crowler, currently sold in bottles but by summer Stroh hopes to be selling crowlers in cans.
In three to five years, Stroh envisions moving off his property to a bigger location with a tap room. He would like to host food trucks and employ staff.
“The grand goal is to turn it into something bigger,” he said, “and to be able to provide beer more widely. We’d like to give back to the community.”