Sneak Preview Inside the New Back Shed Brewing in Waite Park

WAITE PARK -- The St. Cloud metro area's newest taproom is close to opening. Back Shed Brewing is located on the north end of the Crafts Direct building in Waite Park.

Co-Owner Jason Schlecht says the doors will open soon with six to eight beers to choose from to start with.

We're going to start off with a porter, a blonde ale, a cranberry mango blonde ale, an IPA, two sours, and seltzers.

Schlecht says eventually they'd like to get up to 16 beers on tap with the ability to have as many as 24 varieties.

The biggest feature inside the taproom is the "shed" in the center of the room that houses the cooler. The tin on the roof of the shed came from their brewer Chris's parent's farm, and the tin around the outside of the bar came from the Schlecht's grandfather's feedlot.

Large wooden barn doors hang between the taproom and the space that will be used for overflow crowds and hosting events. It features nice high ceilings and a lot of space including an events center and a two-tier patio.

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Schlecht says while the focus will be on the craft beers, they're already planning entertainment.

We've got a number of live music acts booked and we're thinking that every weekend we should have live music in here with food trucks, specials events too between now and Christmas.

Schlecht says the merchandise and the glasses have arrived and now they are just tying up some loose ends before they can open.

Schlecht isn't ready to announce an opening date just yet, he says after they put a few more finishing touches in place, they'll host some soft openings, and then quietly open their doors to the general public.

Brothers Scott and Jason and their sister Jennifer Schlecht Peterson are the owners. Their head brewer Chris Simonsen.

Their hours will be:

Wednesday and Thursday 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Friday noon to 11:00 p.m.
Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Sunday noon to 6:00 p.m.