Editor’s note: The following story was produced through a paid partnership with MOSourceLink, which boasts a mission to help entrepreneurs and small businesses across the state of Missouri grow and succeed by providing free, easy access to the help they need — when they need it.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A midlife career crisis took Carol McLeod from a Fortune 500 coffee company to serving craft beers in her hometown, she said, shattering a glass bottle ceiling in the brewing industry.
After the sudden passing of her father, McLeod left her corporate job at Starbucks to explore brewing beer. She ultimately opened Springfield-based Hold Fast Brewing alongside her sister, Susan, in August 2019.
“I suckered my little sister into joining me on this crazy ride,” McLeod said.
While being the only brewery owned and operated by women in southwest Missouri sets them apart, she noted, it also comes with challenges.
“We had to deal with that in the beginning,” McLeod recalled. “People would come in like, ‘I don’t want girl beers.’ I drink IPAs. Define that to me. So we had some stereotypes to break.”
Now the community has embraced Hold Fast — which survived the pandemic by filling to-go orders — and the sisters are brewing and serving up seven flagship beers, plus a slew of rotating, seasonal, and small-batch offerings, in an old firehouse in downtown Springfield.
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Inside Hold Fast Brewing in Springfield, Missouri; courtesy photo
From beans to hops
Turning away from a two-decade career at Starbucks wasn’t an obvious choice, McLeod said, noting her new path came with a steep learning curve.
“I kind of had a midlife crisis, like, ‘Is this going to be my life working for corporate America?’” she recalled. “And one day I was like, ‘We should open a brewery.’ We had never brewed beer. We weren’t home brewers. We just liked good craft beer. And Susan didn’t laugh at me.”
Carol McLeod and Susan Carol McLeod sign documents to establish Hold Fast Brewing in 2019; courtesy photo
The sisters started with a homebrew kit, but McLeod quickly realized that — if they were going to take the venture seriously — she needed to look into brewing school, she recalled.
“I really wanted to know the details,” McLeod explained. “I just didn’t want to throw it all together and learn in my garage.”
She quit her full-time corporate job, was accepted into the American Brewers Guild in 2015, and graduated in 2017.
“I got in, and I was shocked because I did not fit the normal mold,” McLeod continued. “I wasn’t a dude with beer. I was a woman in my 40s. Then after that, every domino has just fallen into place for us.”
When it came to choosing a location for their brewery, McLeod wasn’t in a rush, she said.
“My Starbucks background has served us well because I knew real estate was prime,” she noted. “I wasn’t going to just open a brewery to open a brewery; I wanted to have the right location, right feel, everything.”
They passed by multiple locations until they heard the City of Springfield was putting the historic Fire Station No. 1 up for sale, McLeod said. The sisters converted the garage bay into a brew house and tap room. The fire chief returned the old pole, and they dedicated a small area to the firefighters, featuring boots and helmets donated by those who worked there.
“The moment I walked in, I was like,’ Susan, this is it; we have to get this property,’” McLeod said. “Again, every domino had fallen our way.”
Hold Fast Brewing in Springfield, Missouri; courtesy photo
Tapping tastes, opportunity
“We brew a little bit of everything,” McLeod explained. “We like to drink beer on patios or in the backyard. We’re not high ABV, so it’s easy-drinking styles of beers.”
Their flagship beers include Brewery Cream Dream, Trafficway IPA, the Experience Pale Ale, Highlander Wheat, Boodock Brown Ale, Lazy Day Lager, and Patio Pleaser. Seasonal selections currently include Birthday Cake Lager, Poblano Pilsner, and Rye Rye Baby.
“Susan is a classical German fan, so she does all the pilsners and marzens,” McLeod explained. “I’m the one who throws all the fun stuff in it. I create menu items like our Poblano Pilsner, our Lemon Meringue Ale, and the sours. That’s my forte. We always have something fun or unique on tap.”
Hold Fast — which donates a portion of its proceeds to a local organization/hero each month — isn’t known for one specific style, but the Lazy Day Lager, followed by the Trafficway IPA, are the top sellers, McLeod noted.
“We’re in Budweiser territory, so obviously, a lager is popular,” she said.
The brewery doesn’t serve food, but food trucks are brought in for those who want to eat something with their beer, McLeod said.
“I knew coming from Starbucks, I did not want to have a kitchen again,” she explained. “We’re a small business, and I’m a firm believer in helping other small businesses. And that’s what the food trucks are. They’re people with a dream — whether they want to have a brick-and-mortar store or something else — and we want to give them a shot; we give them that audience, and it’s worked out really well for us.”
Hold Fast also offers live music, including jazz every Tuesday, and such events as trivia, music bingo, craft nights, and a book club.
