Word to Your Mother's.

Those guys in the photo, talking beer and drinking it, are Jeremy Wicks, Brian Allen and Jeff Schrag. Their new production brewery, called Mother's, is set to launch any day now in Springfield, Missouri.

That's my hometown. It's not really a small town, but it thinks and acts like one. I went to high school with Jeremy, who's the marketeer. Brian is the brewmaster. Jeff is the owner.

Thanks to my brother,* I met them just after Christmas at a place called Farmer's Gastropub--a good place that I'll tell you more about sometime. Jeff and Jeremy tell the jokes. Brian is the brewing veteran, the consummate pro who knows exactly what he's doing and why. Previously he made beer for Beer Works of Boston as well as Capital Brewing and Fox River of Wisconsin. My hunch is that these guys are going to do all right.

Mother's is a good name. On May 14 they're having a big party for Mother's Day, when they'll also launch their summer seasonal. There will be a pizza truck and a wiener truck. There will be a couple of excellent local bands, including Big Smith and Speakeasy. I went to high school with a bunch of those guys too. I swear this city has 160,000 people. You just have to take my word for that.

I've written about Springfield beer before. The Springfield Brewing Co. specializes in highly drinkable, technically perfect beers, most of which would not excite many geeks. They are ordinary craft beers made well by Mr. Wizard himself, Ashton Lewis. Earlier I speculated that there must be something in the water for a town to produce me, Brad Pitt, and such totally decent beer. Later Ashton told me that he strips all the water down to RO before rebuilding it. So much for that theory.

Mother's will have a tasting room. So now you know what to do when you stop in Springfield on your way down Route 66. Or visit the national headquarters of Bass Pro Shops. And Rad Brad knows what to do when he goes home for the holidays. I guess he will have to get Angelina's permision first. If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

The Pitts donated $1 million for a cancer treatment center in Springfield. It's named for Brad's own mother, Jane. See? That's just how we roll.

*My brother Ben sometimes writes about beer locally here. He also dreams of opening a micro. I dream of drinking there.