Peek inside: New downtown taproom opens this weekend

June 17, 2020

When Stacey and Dan Berry started Covert Artisan Ales in 2018, they had no plans to open a taproom.

They just wanted to make craft beer using spontaneous fermentation and sell it to customers. Within three months of releasing their first brews last year, they squeezed a taproom onto the production floor of their brewery in a west-side warehouse.

“The response we had from the public was the reason we did that,” Stacey Berry said.

“And then this happened naturally. We were driving around and saw that the space was open.”

Now, the Berrys are opening a full-fledged taproom in downtown Sioux Falls.

Covert Cellars opens at noon Saturday in the newly renovated East Bank Depot on East Eighth Street.

Covert is one of the first tenants in the former freight warehouse. Owner and developer Larry Howe turned the sheet metal part of the structure into a commercial center with a boardwalk. While the steel girders and timber ceiling remain exposed in Covert’s space, there is a new brick exterior, and the entire west side is filled with windows. The view includes a new mural Howe commissioned on the building next door that houses Monks House of Ale Repute and a glimpse of the nearby Arc of Dreams and St. Joseph’s Cathedral farther away.

“We are super excited about being downtown,” Berry said. “The location is more central to where things are happening.”

Covert Artisan Ales specializes in a style of brewing that captures wild yeast and microbes in the air for spontaneous fermentation. Most of the production will remain at the brewery at 605 N. Watson Ave. near 12th Street and Marion Road.

“We do focus on wild ales and sours, but we have a few surprises that are coming out that are not that will appeal to a wider audience,” Berry said.

Two of those new offerings will be available Saturday.

“We’ll have 12 tap lines,” she said. “At any given time, we’ll have at least three guest taps; we’re looking probably at having four. As far as bottles go, we’ll have our bottles. Some will be to-go, and some will be for on-premise only. And we’ll have several bottles from other breweries.”

Those other offerings will be from brewers in the region.

“A friend of ours at White Elm Brewing down in Lincoln, Neb., has always been really good to us, providing us really delicious beers that most people can’t get up here. So we’re going to dedicate a line to their brewery for now. And then our other offerings from other breweries, they will be local or regional, but there’ll be non-sours or something that will appeal to other folks.”

The taproom seats 75 at picnic tables, the bar and in front of the windows. On the boardwalk, there will be two fire pits with comfortable seating around them.

Covert Cellars will be open from 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.

It will be kid-friendly until 8 p.m. and dog-friendly all the time as long as pets are on a leash and owners clean up after them, Berry said.

Covert Cellars doesn’t have a kitchen, but customers are welcome to bring in food. The taproom plans to invite food trucks some nights.

The decor inside is like their home, Berry said. It’s eclectic, colorful and everything tells a story.

“We want people to get that vibe when they come in, that it’s comfortable. … We just want people to come in and enjoy the beer and appreciate the fun styles of the beer and the fun style of the place.”

New brewery Covert Artisan Ales will offer ‘wild’ beers

Want to stay in the know?

Get our free business news delivered to your inbox.



Peek inside: New downtown taproom opens this weekend

From starting a craft beer brewery in 2018 with no plans to add a taproom, Covert Artisan Ales has gone from one squeezed onto its production floor a year ago to a full-fledged offering now in downtown Sioux Falls.

News Tip

Have a business news item to share with us?

Scroll to top