Let’s Eat, Mississippi: Fertile Ground Beer Co.

• Co-founder Matthew McLaughlin deems the city of Jackson as the “cultural center” of Mississippi.

In another time’s forgotten space
Your eyes looked through your mother’s face
Wildflower seed on the sand and stone
May the four winds blow you safely home 

Fertile Ground Beer Co. in Jackson contains the same homey yet trippy vibes of “Franklin’s Tower” by Grateful Dead. That is accomplished through the brewery’s ties to the community and willingness to experiment with their lagers and ales such as their aptly named IPA, Forgotten Space. 

Fertile Ground makes its headquarters at 800 Manship in Belhaven Township, in what once was ;a laundry facility for the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. Co-founder Matthew McLaughlin deems the city of Jackson as the “cultural center” of Mississippi.

McLaughlin, along with co-founders Conner Reeves and Matt Jeffries, certainly talk the talk and walk the walk with how they and their Certified Cicerone-trained team are making Fertile Ground Beer Co. an unforgettable wildflower seed on the sand and stone of Jackson, Mississippi.

In an article by Jake Kring-Schreifels, “How Craft Breweries Have Reinvented & Revitalized Neighborhood” in Community Playmaker magazine, he writes about breweries in cities such as Tampa and Richmond and makes a clear case for breweries like Fertile Ground Beer Co. to be amongst the future of breweries in the United States. From their consistent events such as 5k “Lagers and Joggers” every Thursday and hosting disc golf onsite for “Putts and Pints” on Mondays, Fertile Ground is joining the post-pandemic movement of pushing the limits of what people expect from their neighborhood brewery.

Outside of the jogging and the disc golfing, they reach out to even more of the community through “Pints and Poses” yoga, live musicians such as CJ Meaders and Zach Day, and “Movies on Tap” showings. You may ask, wouldn’t all these activities and beer work up an appetite? This place has you covered. One can also discover pop ups of local favorites including Quinn’s Grab & Go, Poppy Pies, Mississippi Tailgators, and Mando’s.

With all the fun and camaraderie, the beer still cannot be drowned out. McLaughlin states that their beer is made in a traditional European fashion but with a classic southern spin made to be crispy and easy-drinking to bring people together in a Mississippi climate. With award-winning head brewer William Paden and brewer Aaron Pirie, Fertile Ground has developed a staggering demand among restaurants, bars, convenience stores, grocery stores, and the like in the Jackson Metro area and Hattiesburg, although they are not currently distributing their crowd-pleasing beers completely statewide. 

The favorites so far are their Pilsner “Fertile Ground” with an over 35-day fermentation period and the golden ale “Colson’s” not far behind. But there are five year-round ales and lagers to choose from and (so far!) thirteen rotating taps featuring even more diverse beers for every palate. Their most recent seasonal beer is the Tmavé Pivo, a Czech-style dark lager released this month. One can have a daily tasting, buy a flight, or simply decompress with their newly found favorite.

The name of the establishment – and their most popular beer – ties back to the founders’ love for Jackson. The TEDxJackson event “Fertile Ground” in 2014 showcased the untapped (pardon the pun) potential of Mississippi’s capital city and inspired the brewery’s existence just six years later.

Many shied away from opening a new business in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic since people were staying at home. But as stated on their website, and shown through their craftsmanship, “In the end, our goal is to not only make contemporary and innovative beer, but also to positively impact every person we encounter and provide our community with an extraordinary experience.” 

Like a cold ale, it’s refreshing to see a local business live up to their standards – not just with their customers but with their staff as well. After one year of service and for each year after, employees of Fertile Ground Beer Co. receive a $1000 travel allowance. The four winds should surely blow them all home to Jackson when they’re done thanks to the brewery’s heart adding to the City of Soul.