O’Fallon Brewery - Foglight

Foglight presents us with an attractive golden-amber color, moderately hazy, topped with a rocky cap of foam that laces the glass. This thing is super juicy in the aroma, as we expect for this style of IPA, with a ton of subtle and not-so-subtle facets. Look for prominent orange and grapefruit-like citrus notes, along with plenty of passion fruit, mango, and pineapple tropical character, soft floral overtones, some hints of pear and stone fruit, and wisps of pine resin. Boldly juicy-fruity in the flavor, too, Foglight gives us all those fruity elements front and center. But, the malt backbone here can’t be overlooked; there’s a sturdy, round, and very smooth supporting core with plenty of caramel, light toast, and a welcome dose of honey malt. Hop bitterness is moderate in this double dry-hopped ale, offering quenching balance to the sweeter malts without bludgeoning the palate. A delicious brew on its own, it’ll also pair nicely with orange chicken, pineapple-ginger shrimp stir fry, or ham with a honey glaze. Cheers!

The story of O’Fallon Brewery began in the late ‘80s when husband and wife team of Tony and Fran Caradonna saw the microbrewery trend picking up steam on the West and East Coasts and decided to go all-in on bringing the beer renaissance to St. Louis with the founding of one of the region’s first craft beer distributors, Signature Brands. It was a bold move at a place and time dominated by Anheuser-Busch, but they managed to make inroads distributing beers like Schlafly and Pete’s Wicked Ale. Eventually, their dream evolved into making their own beer, and after selling Signature Brands, the duo opened O’Fallon Brewery in 2000. For the first two years, they did everything themselves: brewing, packaging, marketing, delivering. It paid off and the brewery grew.

Sadly, when the Great Recession hit around 2007-2008, the brewery fell on hard times as growth leveled off. Things picked up a couple years later, but by that time they needed an infusion of cash to stabilize and grow the business. It’s then that Jim Gorczyca, a 20-year veteran of Anheuser-Busch, bought the brewery from the Caradonnas, though they stayed on as employees. In fact, Fran remained all the way until she took a job as CFO at Saint Louis Brewery (Schlafly) in 2019. Jim wanted to strike out on his own in the growing craft beer scene, and under his leadership the brewery flourished. In 2015, they moved from their original location to a new 40,000 sq. ft. brewery about 20 miles closer to St. Louis, in Maryland Heights. Currently the brewery produces about eight year-round beers as well as a larger number of seasonals. For more info on the brewery or their on-site O’Bar taphouse restaurant, call 636-474-2337 or visit ofallonbrewery.com.