Jennifer Helber opens Grain to Glass in the River Market
Chef Boyardee mini ravioli, soy milk, Cascade hops: Market 3 (114 West Third Street) has everything a bachelor, a downtown lunch-break shopper — or a homebrewer — could want. Tucked in a back corner of the River Market grocery is Grain to Glass, Jennifer Helber’s month-old supply shop for home beer makers.
“I’m focusing on new brewers,” Helber says. “I think there are a lot of beer geeks out there that might to learn how to make their own beers.”
Aspiring homebrewers would be wise to study under Helber — a beer judge and president of area homebrew association ZZ Hops. Helber was pursuing a graduate degree in microbiology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1989 when Boulevard founder John McDonald approached her teacher about culturing yeast. A decade later, she was answering a newspaper advertisement to help develop Boulevard’s quality-assurance lab. She spent the next nine years tasting Boulevard’s beer daily to ensure that each style had the desired flavor characteristics.
“I’ve got the science knowledge and the beer knowledge,” Helber says. “I’m just looking to incorporate both of those into the business.”
