New brew pub coming to South Mississippi and will feature award-winning brewer
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Owners aim to open new South Mississippi brew pub by St. Patrick’s Day .
- Award-winning brewer Jimmy Sumpter will craft beers, seltzers and barrel-aged beer.
- Pub will offer family, pet amenities, full bar, food delivery and entertainment.
Downtown Pass Christian has a new compound of places to dine, stay and play, and soon it will have its own brew pub.
Why it’s named 9 Toes Brewing Company is a mystery, as construction progresses on this brewery tucked between Hotel Pass Christian, Bacchus on the Beach and the new Pass Bungalows with its assortment of restaurants and shops. This is the finishing touch to the new area created by the Nicaud Group.
The owners are shooting to open in time for beer and cheers on St. Patrick’s Day, and they’ve hired one of the best brewers in Alabama, said Tyler Kidd, a co-owner.
Jimmy Sumpter has won multiple awards, he said, and is known for creating a variety of beers, India pale ale, pilsners and fruit sours during his time as head brewer at a top brewery in Birmingham, which recently won brew of the year.
He’s relocating to the Pass and going to work creating a collection of 9 Toes beers and seltzers.
“We’re shooting for six to eight brews for opening,” Kidd said, “but we’ve got an 18 PATH system there, so within the next three or four months, we’ll have 18 to 20 beers.”
The pub is designed to be family and pet friendly, with a large playground being built in the fenced front yard for the kids, an ice cream and coffee shop next door, a place for pups to romp out back, plus a spa and shops nearby.
“That’s been our vision for this whole thing,” Kidd said, “to provide an environment where a family can come in and they’ve got something for everyone.”
Window to the magic
The significance of the name 9 Toes Brewing Company remains intentionally under wraps “There are a lot of wild stories floating around,” Kidd said, as people in the community try to guess the meaning.
It’s just one of the quirky things to draw people in to see for themselves what the brewery offers.
Most of the building is a wide-open pub with high ceilings and a window in the back. Through the glass, customers can watch as Sumpter and his team create magic — turning traditional and unexpected ingredients into something unique.
He doesn’t add any preservatives and no artificial flavoring, instead making beer and pure seltzers with ingredients he cooks or mashes himself, Kidd said. For Halloween, Sumpter came up with a Margarita jalapeño sour that was fantastic, said Kidd, who plans to use some of the bourbon barrels he has at his local liquor store to create bourbon aged stout beer.
Novel food service also part of the story
The pub will have a liquor license and full bar, in addition to the beer, and finger foods like peanuts, Bavarian style pretzels and nachos.
Being surrounded by excellent restaurants, they’ll focus on the beer, taking customer orders for food that can be delivered on foot from Bacchus across the street or Field’s Italian restaurant that also is part of the new compound.
The concept is similar to the mighty beer halls in Europe. Weekend entertainment and American technology will be added for more fun.
Those who want to relax with their beer will be able to keep up with the games on one of the many screens positioned throughout the room. Those who prefer to be part of the action can play 18 holes of any golf course in one of the two golf simulator rooms off the pub.
With a head brewer creating drinks customers will remember and a pub with European flair, “It’s going to be kind of an all encompassing experience,” Kidd said.
