Sasquatch Sighting!
(903 Brewers / 45 minutes north of Plano)
The first stop on our weekend road trip up Highway 75 is 903 Brewers in Sherman, owned by husband-and-wife team Natalie and Jeremy Roberts. Their whimsical beer cans can be found all over Texas and Oklahoma, with funny names like “Birthday Sasquatch” or “Cerveza por Favor.”
In 2009 Jeremy and Natalie got into home brewing. Much to Jeremy’s delight, his specialty craft brews started taking home awards. With interesting flavors that stood apart from the competition, it seemed that plenty of people liked what he was brewing.
Jeremy and Natalie figured that if someone were to open a brewery in Sherman, maybe it should be them. They laid some groundwork, and in June 2013, 903 Brewers opened its doors, featuring its first two beers, The Chosen One Coconut Ale and Roo’s Red Ale.
Jeremy has a wall in his office where he displays signs from many contests and shows he’s entered beers. His most prestigious award was winning the 2015 silver medal for 903’s Sasquatch Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. He talked a little about the brewing process and admitted that not every recipe is a total success, but his team learns from each failure and that’s what turns subsequent attempts into award winners.
Sherman has always had a quaint downtown square. As most small towns go, it has its periods of highs and lows, with folks growing up and moving away, and later moving back home. Jeremy is humble when speaking about the contribution his business has made toward reinvigorating the downtown Sherman landscape.
903 Brewers has recently purchased the Lee School building, built in 1913 and sitting just a few short blocks from downtown off Highway 75. Although it sat empty – and kind of creepy – for many years, Jeremy could see its potential. With renovation and construction starting in May, Jeremy and Natalie plan to move the whole brewing operation and tap room to the Lee School next summer.
We got a sneak peek of the rendering for the new facility, and Jeremy dreams big, ya’ll. The new 903 Brewers location will bring many things that downtown Sherman needs. A ballroom and event center will sit on the third floor; the second floor will hold the taproom and a restaurant, and the first floor will hold offices and segue into the newly constructed brewing facility behind the school. There are plans for an outdoor stage to attract local musicians, and a large green space because 903 is kid- and pet-friendly.
Until the move to the new location, the current 903 Brewers taproom is a casual and comfy warehouse-type space. Plenty of tables and chairs abound for lounging, eating and drinking, plus a small stage area for musicians and performers on any given day or night. There is an outdoor patio area large enough for food trucks to pull up, as they often do.
903 Brewers partners with businesses and charities around Sherman for different events like trivia nights, dog training classes and drink-and-painting. They also host rotating eateries on the weekends, like the Downtown Grilled Cheese Company, owned by Jeremy’s parents. The day we visited, his dad was in the house making brisket grilled cheeses and Sasquatch Nachos.
The new 903 location isn’t the end of Jeremy’s plans though. His ultimate dream is to expand to multiple locations across Texas and the United States, brewing local beer and creating neighborhood hangouts. “They’d have the brewhouse as a community center,” he hopes.
Check out 903 Brewers in Sherman; you can catch a Sasquatch there.
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