The lines were out the door last week and the crowds abuzz with anticipation for the official opening of De Soto’s first craft brewery.
Force of Nature Brewing opened at 33015 W 83rd St., in the former Ford Automotive building known as “Grandpa’s Garage” in downtown De Soto last Thursday, Aug. 9.
Lindsay and Alex Waller, the husband-and-wife-team behind the venture, say they were strongly encouraged to open the brewery by friends, who felt the growing western Johnson County city needed a brewery of its own.
“There are so many beautiful things about De Soto,” Lindsay said. “We love De Soto. It is getting ready to grow.”
A couple of “doers”
It’s a perfect extension of the couple’s already existing creative passions, which include making tapestries and fiber art, cultivating plants, making herbal medicinal products and brewing mead with honey from their own beehives.
Lindsay said people around town know “the Wallers do stuff.”
“We are big doers, we are big makers,” she said. “We are very busy people.”
Before Force of Nature opened, Waller said De Soto beer lovers had to leave town for places like Kansas City or Lawrence in order to experience locally made craft beers.
The timing was perfect for Waller personally, too, as she was looking to “get out of” teaching after 13 years as an elementary art educator.
Now, she dreams up ideas, and Alex, an engineer by trade, makes it work.
“No one puts herbs in beer,” she said. “Every once-in-a-while you get a basil or something, but nobody is doing roots, nobody is doing burdock or echinacea or calendula. These are just golden nuggets under our feet.”
The Wallers moved to De Soto in 2020
Waller became interested in medicinal herbs after having kids, as she searched for ways to find non-pharmaceutical solutions to their everyday health issues, from diaper rashes to ear infections.
“Once I learned about the dandelion, my interest was super piqued,” she said. “Because a dandelion is very good for your gut, and not everyone knows that. Then, I was like what else is around us that we all think is garbage, but it is actually a wealth of health?”
Waller began making lotions and infusions, including an aloe lotion that cured sunburns quickly and oils for ear infections.
Then, 2020 came.
Not only did the COVID-19 pandemic hit, upending life, but the Wallers also moved to De Soto that year from Olathe, looking for more land, a space for home gardening and a greenhouse.
Lindsay wasn’t a very big beer drinker before 2020.
“I used to be a Bud Light person,” she said. “I would have a Bud Light and be afraid to try anything else. There is more than that (though), and I think people are starting to learn. I think what is most important for people to know is you just have to try something.”
Force of Nature space has a vintage charm
The glassware, furniture and décor of the new brewery are all second-hand vintage items that Lindsay collected over time to add to the historical vibe of the building.
Even the brewing system was bought second-hand from a man in Miami, Florida, known as “Thirsty Samurai” on Instagram.
“Most of it he hadn’t even used, so technically it was pretty much brand new,” she said.
The Wallers gained interest in the building after the former owner Dean Weller passed away in 2021 at 95 years old and sold it to another man to house vintage cars.
“It was so exciting and terrifying,” Waller said
The brewery is the Wallers first business and the grand opening phase has been very exciting for them. They say family members of Dean Weller, the previous owner, sat for two to three hours in the brewery on its opening day.
“They loved it,” she said. “They love to tell me that Dean would be okay with this. He loved places like this.”
When it comes to the name, Alex derived “Force of Nature” from the game “Magic: The Gathering.”
“So apparently ‘Force of Nature’ is one of the most powerful cards,” she said. “It is a spell.”
Lindsay said they were trying to come up with a name that was an homage, too, to nature.
“It is the herbs, it is the plants, it is the recycling, it is about the Earth,” she said. “I loved it.”
What’s on the menu?
The Wallers so far are serving four handcrafted beers for patrons to sample:
- Bee’s Knees, a blonde ale featuring local honey, dandelion root and calendula flowers
- Glacial Pace, an IPA with thyme
- Equinox, a German-style pilsner with elderberry syrup and hibiscus
- Nor’ Easter, a hazy IPA with lemongrass and mandarina lemon balm
Other beers are coming soon, including an Oktoberfest brew in time for the fall.
Force of Nature Brewing also offers small bites including a beer cheese fondue, six types of nachos, four sandwich varieties, three salads, two cheesecakes and a kid’s menu.
Hours are Monday through Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The brewery is closed on Sundays.
