MONDAY DECEMBER 27, 2021

“The beans we are buying come from farmers in Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, Sumatra and Ethiopia. We also get a decaf from Colombia.”

Janice Brummer and Denice Petersen are the owners of Roosters Coffee Roasters in Salado. The two women are sisters and the live in the Belton and Temple areas.

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple

Thanks to two Bell County sisters and their Salado business, you don’t have to have chickens to wake up with the Rooster.

The sisters — Janice Brummer and Denice Petersen — own Roosters Coffee Roasters, a small-batch premium roaster in Salado’s industrial park.

“I had worked in coffee shops and always wanted to get into roasting,” Janice said Thursday. “My son, Justin Longnecker, was a roaster in Lincoln, Nebraska, and he came down and taught us the trade. We’ve been roasting in Salado since February.”

Janice and Denice get premium-grade coffee beans from a supplier out of Kansas City who has fair-trade agreements in place with small farmers around the world.

“He makes sure farmers are treated right and get a fair price,” Janice said. “Right now, the beans we are buying come from farmers in Colombia, Brazil, Guatemala, Sumatra and Ethiopia. We also get a decaf from Colombia.”

“Denice wanted to get into roasting because she loves coffee but can’t have a lot of caffeine,” Janice said. “The decaf beans we used are water processed and taste very good. She wanted a decaf that tastes like ‘real’ coffee, so we decided to make one.”

The water decaffeination process uses water from the mountains of Colombia to gently remove caffeine until the coffee beans are 99.9 percent caffeine free, Janice explained. Many decaf makers use chemicals in the process instead of fresh water.

“Water processed coffee maintains the bean's distinctive origin and flavor characteristics,” she said. “It's decaffeinated coffee without compromise.”

Janice said Roosters is experimenting with various blends, and will likely look into getting beans from additional coffee-growing regions as time goes on.

The sisters are selling their coffee beans online at roosterscoffeeroasters.com and on their Facebook page. They sell by the bag and also offer coffee subscriptions that are delivered once or twice every month.

“People can order online and we will deliver or ship,” Janice said. “We also have drop-off locations, if that’s more convenient.”

Roosters Coffee also is available at Sofi’s at the Stagecoach across the street from Stagecoach Inn.

“At the end of this year, we will sit down and decide our next move,” Janice said. “We might consider expanding into other retail outlets.”

HERE’S A DEAL! Roosters Coffee Roasters has decided to offer a special promotion to get Our Town Temple readers to try their coffee. Order online and use the code “2022SPECIAL” to get a buy one, get one free deal. The code expires Dec. 31, 2021.

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Construction under way on West Temple brewery

An artist rendering of the Bold Republic Brewing being built in West Temple.

Bold Republic Brewing Co. expands plans for outdoor beer garden

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple

Construction is under way in West Temple on the 4,500-square-foot future home of Bold Republic Brewing Company.

Owners Adriane and Patrick Hodges hope to open the new brewery July 1.

Bold Republic Brewing Company has been making beer at its Penelope Street location in Belton since 2018, and the Hodges said they have outgrown their current space.

The new building will be located at 7070 Stonehollow Drive on 2.5 acres near Crossroads Park. The brewery will have a much larger brew room and a massive outdoor beer garden that has grown while still on the drawing board.

“We’ve added on an additional covered patio that will more than double our outdoor seating,” Patrick Hodges said Friday. “The outdoor area will feature playground equipment and an area for live bands. “We’re hoping to have a summer concert series and bands on the weekends.”

The new brewery will be able to accommodate crowds of about 150 people, he said.

Inside the brewery, customers will be able to watch the brewing process from their table via see-through walls. The new Bold Republic will feature sandwiches and soups, seafood and salad, and cold beverages.

“We will have a tap wall with beautiful black subway tile leading to a 32-tab draft system,” Patrick said. “Half of the taps will be featuring Bold Republic beer and we will have a bunch of great guest beers as well.”

“We want our offerings to be broad and really deliver in the West Temple area,” he said.

According to Patrick, vegetables will be grown on-site, and on warm days garage-style doors can be rolled up to create an inside-out feel.

While the Hodges are obviously excited about the new digs, they also plan to distribute their products to Central Texas restaurants, bars and nightspots.

“We plan to start keg distribution about a month or two prior to opening the new brewery,” he said. “By mid year we hope to have our beers in several bars and restaurants.”

Once the keg distribution is up and going, Patrick said he is considering canning his beers as well.

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Some of the world’s greatest pole vaulters will be competing in Expo Explosion this Friday and Saturday.

Anicka Newell, a Texas native who competes for Canada, will be among the world’s elite pole vaulters who will be at Expo Explosion this weekend.

Soaring to new heights at The Expo

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple

Some people set goals of soaring to new heights on New Year’s day. About 600 of those goal-setters will be at The Expo this weekend to usher in the new year.

For the 13th time in 12 years, some of the world’s greatest pole vaulters — and some who are fairly new to the sport — will be competing in Expo Explosion, the second largest pole-vaulting competition in America.

The event begins Friday and continues on Saturday in Belton.

“We’re expecting a record number of competitors this year, and that will include some really big names in the sport,” said Jack Chapman, event organizer. “Anicka Newell is coming, and many, many more superstars of the sport.”

Newell is a native Texan who moved to Canada and now competes for that nation’s national and Olympic team.

Other top female professionals include American Kourtney Ross-Oats and Colombia’s Esthepany Ibarvoo.

“Jenn Shur, America’s top woman pole vaulter since 2006, will be here signing autographs but won’t compete,” Chapman said. “She is an Olympian and former world champion.”

The men’s professional division will be led by three Americans who have soared over 19 feet. Jacob Wooten and Audie Wyatt are both former Texas A&M standouts, and Brandon Ellis is a former NCAA national champion from Stephen F. Austin.

“The elite high school divisions will have some exceptional athletes, including two sisters from Washington state that are heavy favorites,” Chapman said. “A Texas product, Anthony Meacham of Woodsboro, is the favorite in his classification. He’s a high school kid who has cleared 17’6.”

“Pole vaulters from all levels will be competing in this event,” Chapman said. “We will have six pole-vaulting runways going.”

Vaulters will begin competition at 9 a.m. both days.

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