Why Three Taverns’ Brian Purcell sees the best in what craft beer offers
Europe. 1994. The story of Brian Purcell’s love affair with craft beer, Decatur and the infinite possibilities of communal gatherings, can be traced to that summer in Brussels with two of his friends. It was there Brian had his first experience with Trappist beers—the iconic Belgian ales brewed by monks.
His senses forever changed, Brian returned home and placed the experience, the taste and the aspirations of what could be on hold. In 2000, he traveled to Portland, Oregon, to attend the wedding of one of his European travel mates.
Once again, he found himself immersed in the culture of craft beer. Portland, regarded by craft enthusiasts as the “Craft Beer Capital of the World,” redirected his thoughts back to those Belgian ales. To make things even more intriguing, his friend had taken up the hobby of homebrewing, even making the beer for the wedding. “That was my introduction to home-brewed beer. I was amazed at how good it was. I returned home from Portland and bought a home-brew kit.”
Fast-forward to a sunny weekday afternoon in 2002, when not long after Brian and his wife, Susie, moved to Decatur, he came upon the Brick Store Pub. After seeing a chalkboard sign promoting a LaTrappe Trappist Ale by the door, he went inside and pulled up a barstool. How, Brian wondered, was the pub able to serve a beer that exceeded the law’s 6%-plus alcohol criteria?
Passion ignited, the rest, as they say, is history. Finding a location, hiring a pedigreed Belgian brewer and turning entrepreneurial ambitions into enterprise, Three Taverns opened its doors in 2013 with Single Intent, inspired by those monks’ favored lower-ABV beer and an A Night in Brussels IPA. While it started with Belgian-inspired beers, market trends saw Three Taverns focus on brewing a wide range of beers.
“A part of our identity that hasn’t changed is the commitment to a heightened sensory experience in all aspects of our craft, from the beer, to our branding, to the taproom experience and a love for experimentation. One of my favorite quotes and a defining philosophy of the brewery is when Miles Davis said, ‘to be and stay a great musician, you’ve got to always be open to what’s new, to what’s happening at the moment.’ In this ever-changing environment of consumer palates, craft breweries everywhere, now more than ever, are having to embrace this idea.”
Today, standing as one of the Decatur community’s foundational tenants, Three Tavern’s legacy continues to grow. “Decatur-ites pride themselves on their beer and food sensibilities, which creates high expectations for the quality and the care given to anything made and consumed here. I believe beer at its best is a participant in these moments at the table where we are often formed at our best as humans. My intention has always been to serve the community of Decatur by making beer worthy of such moments and by cultivating the kind of space with our taproom that enhances and inspires life experience. It always gives me pause to consider that our brewery and our beer and experiences around it are now a meaningful part in the fabric of people’s lives.”
