Meet Fringe Beerworks 

It all started in Mark Myers’ backyard in the early 90s when he was studying for his Master’s in organic chemistry. A group of friends would sit around together and play cards, and like magic, he’d whip out the homebrew for everyone to enjoy. Myers never expected his homebrew hobby would lead him to where he is today, but he sure is happy it did.

As brew master and co-founder of Fringe Beerworks, a brewery and taproom in downtown Lee's Summit, Mo., Myers was able to find a way to combine his passion for science with his love of making beer.  Myers said he has been interested in science all his life, and after a stint working at a lab that made pharmaceuticals; he found his happy place in the brewing business. “Now I get to do fun chemistry that people get to taste,” Myers said. 

Myers and his good friend and Fringe co-founder, Eddie Pease, had been hanging out for over 15 years before they decided to take Myers’ backyard brew and go pro in 2016. Both Fringe co-founders are “good Missouri boys,” from rural parts of the state who love magic and the aesthetic of the old-fashioned, small town circus. So, Myers and Pease wanted to create an experience that captured some of the nuances from that time period, and that is how they came up with the name Fringe for their brewery. “Fringe comes from the circus,” Myers said. “In the circus you had the big top, where all the main acts were, and then on the edge of the big top, you had the freak show, or the fringe acts.” 

Myers, who calls himself the “mad scientist behind the flavors and taste,” started making a gIn the case of Fringe Beerworks, the beer is the main act, and just a glimpse at the wild and tantalizing menu they’ve concocted tells more than just one story. While Pease comes up with the flavors, sometimes seemingly on the fly, Myers uses his background in chemistry and knowledge of flavonoids to figure out how to successfully pull them off. Grapefruit wheat beer behind his house all those years ago. That humble brew he passed around during card games with friends is now Fringe’s flagship beer, the Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit Wheat. “If you are up for it, it’s a tasty beverage but it impacts the palate.”

The grapefruit wheat is what put Fringe on the map, even before it was open for business. Myers’ brew won the Lee’s Summit Oktoberfest competition in the craft homebrew category in 2017 along with a stout that is now on Fringe’s menu as Madam X.

Some of the beers on Fringe’s menu tell a story, such as Doc Myers’ Snake Oil, a black IPA named after Myers’ father who worked as a physician in Kansas City for many years.   

“The imagery for that is a picture of my father, who has passed, so it is kind of a homage to him,” Myers said. 

During the height of the coronavirus shutdowns, Fringe remained open, and was able to keep its people employed. “We were able to stay open as an essential business, because if Missouri had shut down alcohol businesses, people would not be happy,” Myers said. 

In order to continue satisfying humanity’s insatiable desire for craft beer, Fringe took out the crowler and started selling brews to go. At one point, Diametric Brewing Co., another Lee's Summit brewery, spearheaded a program called Together We Can. The program allowed a slew of local craft breweries, including Fringe, to pool together resources and sell their beer on Saturdays during the shutdown. At one point cars snaked around the building in long lines in Diametric’s parking lot where beer lovers would receive a menu detailing the available products from each brewery.   

“Kansas City has a big craft brew following, and so, people knew that if they wanted to have craft beer after this was over, then they needed to help support the local businesses,” Myers said of Together We can. 

During the pandemic, Fringe was able to expand its operation, after acquiring the adjacent building, essentially doubling its space, allowing for adequate social distancing. “And so really we were able to do a lot, during that time. And now that helps us have more spread out space. During the social distancing, we are able to have more space,” Myers said.  

The extra space allows Fringe to have pinball machines and a dartboard in the back room, and more activities for people to do while they enjoy a beverage, Myers said. Fringe is also collaborating with Lee's Summit’s Long-Bell Pizza Co. on what they are calling #InCrustWeTrust. Fringe is using Long-Bell’s pizza crust to brew their crust beer. The crust beer was released on the 18th of February, Myers said. 

To learn more about upcoming events, such as pinball tournaments and beer specials at Fringe, check out the brewery’s Facebook page.

Or, just stop by Fringe’s quirky, circus themed taproom at 224 SE Douglas St in downtown Lee's Summit for a flight and some kicks, and maybe you’ll get to meet the men behind the brew-madness. “I never would have thought that I would be doing something that I love so much, at this point in my life,” Myers said. 

Whenever he pulls up to the brewery, Myers said, he is reminded that Fringe all started from a thought in his head.  “That’s pretty awesome when you think about it. It went from just a thought to reality. And it’s something that people look forward to coming to and people enjoy,” Myers added. 

“And who can ask for more? We all drink to that…. I get to live the dream, right?” 

 Fringe Breerworks

224 SE Douglas Street

Lee's Summit, MO 

www.fringebeerworks.com