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Drinks: Every Beverage We Served at Our Inaugural Story Feast Gathering
The Drinks Table: Every Beverage We Served at Our Inaugural Story Feast Gathering
From Brother Justus whiskey to Northstar Kombucha, every beverage at our inaugural Story Feast gathering at St. John's Abbey was local, artisan, and chosen to celebrate Minnesota's makers. Alcoholic and nonalcoholic options, no formal pairings, just great drinks for everyone.
Hibiscus Raspberry Kombucha from Northstar Kombucha
At a Story Feast gathering, the drinks matter just as much as the food. Not because we fuss over formal pairings or tell you what to drink with each course. It’s because every bottle, tumbler, and glass on the table tells a story about the place where you're sitting.
At our inaugural gathering at St. John's Abbey, we wanted the beverage table to feel like a tour of Minnesota's best craft and artisan producers. Whiskey built on Benedictine values. Kombucha brewed in small batches in Minneapolis. Cider pressed from heirloom apples grown just down the road. Wine donated by the monks themselves. A sparkling nonalcoholic beverage developed with Michelin-starred chefs. Craft beer from the Stillwater’s very first taproom.
All of it local or independent. All of it made by people who care deeply about what goes into the bottle.
And all of it available to you, however you wanted it.
There was an open bar throughout the entire Story Feast event
Your Table, Your Way
Here's something we believe in strongly at Story Feast: we don't do formal beverage pairings.
There's no sommelier telling you which glass to reach for with each course. No card at your place setting suggesting the "correct" combination. No pressure to drink alcohol at all.
Instead, we set the table with a generous spread of extraordinary options and let you choose what feels right. Maybe that's a whiskey cocktail during the cocktail hour and kombucha with dinner. Maybe it's cider all night. Maybe it's TÖST from start to finish. Maybe you start with a beer, switch to wine, and end with a Pommeau from Milk & Honey.
We trust you to know what you like. Our job is to make sure every option on the table is worth reaching for, whether it contains alcohol or not. Nonalcoholic beverages aren't an afterthought at Story Feast. They're given the same care, the same quality, and the same prominence as everything else.
Because hospitality means everyone at the table feels celebrated.
The Brother Justus cocktail being prepared
The Beverages
Brother Justus Whiskey
Brother Justus is Minneapolis-based and Minnesota's first legal whiskey distillery since Prohibition. Founded by Phil Steger, it's built on Benedictine values of community, craftsmanship, and hospitality. These are values that run deep at St. John's, where Phil himself is an alumnus.
Phil didn't just donate whiskey for our gathering. He showed up in person, poured for guests throughout the evening, and created an original cocktail for the occasion: Vespers, a contemplative mix of Brother Justus American Whiskey, Benedictine liqueur, cream sherry, and mole bitters. The name comes from the evening prayer service observed in monasteries around the world. It was fitting for a meal shared by candlelight in a monastic dining hall. Phil described it as velvety and smooth, with black coffee colour and ruby red refractions in the light.
During dinner, Brother Justus whiskey was poured neat into handmade ceramic tumblers crafted specifically for the event by JD and Megan Jorgenson of Maine Prairie Studio. Phil and JD embraced when they saw each other at the gathering. They were old friends, both St. John's alumni, reuniting at a table set with JD's pottery and toasted with Phil's whiskey.
That's the kind of moment that makes Story Feast what it is.
Milk & Honey Ciders
Milk & Honey Ciders sits in the rolling hills of Stearns County, just down the road from St. John's Abbey. Founded by Peter Gillitzer and partners, they make dry, tannic, highly aromatic ciders from heirloom apple varieties with names like Calville Blanc d'Hiver, Arkansas Black, and Kingston Black. Their motto: Let the apples shine.
A few days before the gathering, we drove out to pick up the kegs and ended up staying for a bonfire tasting as the sun dropped behind their orchard. They insisted we take the proper tulip glasses for service, because they care about how their cider is experienced right down to the shape of the glass.
Throughout dinner, guests enjoyed their Estate Cider: dry, aromatic, and a perfect counterpoint to the richness of the harvest menu. After dinner, we poured their Pommeau: a blend of apple brandy and fresh-pressed juice aged two years in barrels. Warm, spiritous, with notes of caramel, oak, and dried fruit. Served neat, in those tulip glasses, exactly as intended.
Northstar Kombucha was served throughout the Story Feast dinner and also found its way into the goody bag
Northstar Kombucha
Northstar Kombucha is brewed in small batches in Minneapolis using organic ingredients and live cultures. Their flavors are creative but balanced. It’s the kind of kombucha you actually want to drink, not just tolerate for the health benefits.
Throughout the evening, guests sipped their Raspberry Hibiscus kombucha, bright and refreshing alongside the rich courses coming out of the kitchen. And every goody bag included a bottle in one of their gorgeous flavors: Grapefruit Basil, Lavender Ginger, Strawberry Rose, Cherry Elderberry, Honey Ginger, Blueberry Maple, and more.
Northstar is based in a shared maker space that houses a small community of independent producers, each one crafting something by hand. When I drove over a few days before the event to pick up the kegs and bottles myself, I loved walking through that building. It's what Minnesota's food and beverage scene looks like at its best: collaborative, community-rooted, and absolutely extraordinary.
TÖST being poured during the Story Feast dinner
TÖST
TÖST is a premium nonalcoholic sparkling beverage crafted with white tea, white cranberry, and ginger. It's dry, not sweet and was developed in collaboration with Michelin-starred chefs and James Beard Award winners to pair beautifully with food, just like fine wine.
TÖST was available throughout the cocktail hour and dinner. It gave guests who weren't drinking alcohol something genuinely celebratory to raise. It looked elegant in the glass, tasted wonderful, and offered everyone something special and festive.
Every guest also took home a bottle in their goody bag: a little reminder of the evening and an invitation to recreate that feeling of celebration at their own table.
Lift Bridge Root Beer was served during dinner (along with a selection of Lift Bridge beers) and the root beer also went home with guests in their goody bags
Lift Bridge Brewery
Lift Bridge Brewing Company was founded in 2008 in Stillwater, Minnesota. It’s the first brewery to operate there since Prohibition. When Minnesota changed its laws in 2011 to allow craft breweries to sell pints on-site, Lift Bridge opened the state's very first taproom.
We served a selection of their craft beers throughout the dinner, because this is the Midwest, after all, and great beer belongs at the table. And in every goody bag, guests took home a can of Lift Bridge Root Beer, crafted with the same care as their beer: no shortcuts, no artificial anything, just a delicious old-fashioned root beer that feels like a celebration in itself.
The stained glass honeycomb in the church of St. John’s Abbey
Wine From the Monks of St. John's Abbey
And then there was the wine.
The monks of St. John's Abbey generously donated wine for the gathering. It was a gift that felt deeply meaningful given the setting. Benedictine monasteries have a centuries-long relationship with wine, from the vineyards I visited at Cistercian abbeys in Spain for Elysian Kitchens to the sacramental role wine plays in monastic life around the world.
To have the monks' own wine on the table alongside the harvest feast, in a hall where they've gathered for generations, was a subtle but powerful reminder of where we were and who had welcomed us in.
Why Local and Artisan Matters
Every beverage at our St. John's gathering came from Minnesota or from an independent producer who shares our values. That wasn't a coincidence. It's central to what Story Feast is about.
When we host a gathering, we want the drinks on the table to celebrate the sense of place. We want you to taste where you are. We want to introduce you to makers you might not have discovered otherwise, and to support the small producers who are doing extraordinary work in every region we visit.
At St. John's, that meant whiskey from a distillery built on Benedictine principles, cider pressed from heirloom apples grown a few miles away, kombucha brewed in a Minneapolis maker space, beer from the state's first taproom, and wine from the monks themselves.
At our next gathering, the producers will be different because the place will be different. But the philosophy stays the same: local, artisan, chosen with care, and always with options for everyone at the table.
Because the best drink at a Story Feast gathering is the one you want to be drinking.
My newsletter
Every Wednesday in my Substack newsletter, What’s Good Here, I share a new, well-tested recipe alongside guides, how-tos, interviews with inspiring people, and stories about what it means to live a good life. Every other Friday I also share five original recipes plus a step-by-step guide to host a Fantasy Feast inspired by your favorite movies, books and television shows.
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Interested in partnering with us for a future gathering? See partnership opportunities →
Interested in joining a future gathering? See upcoming events →
Photographer Spotlight: Bailey Bassen at St. John’s Abbey
Bailey Bassen, Photographer | Story Feast at St. John's Abbey
Bailey Bassen reached out with a generous offer to photograph our inaugural gathering and delivered images that took our breath away. Meet the eye behind the lens.
Minnesota was at its autumn best on the day of our event at St. John’s Abbey.
Most of the images on this website exist because Bailey Bassen reached out with a generous offer: Would we be interested in having her photograph the event?
We'd never worked together. We'd never even met. But something about her portfolio, and her willingness to take a chance on a brand-new gathering, made us say yes immediately.
It was one of the best decisions we made.
A Leap of Faith
Photographing a Story Feast gathering is not a simple assignment. Our events unfold across hours, in multiple locations, with dozens of moving parts. At St. John's Abbey, that meant capturing:
Three simultaneous tours spread across the monastery grounds
A cocktail hour with 180 guests
A multi-course dinner by candlelight in a historic dining hall
The chefs, the partners, the details, the atmosphere
Interviews I conducted with key collaborators
I wasn't sure how to prepare someone for all of that. So I wrote Bailey a very detailed shot list, every moment, every partner, every angle I hoped we'd capture, and trusted that it would be enough.
Then the day arrived, and we barely crossed paths. I was managing the event. She was somewhere else entirely, doing her work. I caught glimpses of her moving quickly through the crowd, camera raised, but we didn't have time to check in.
I had no idea if we'd gotten what we needed.
And Then the Photos Arrived
When Bailey delivered her files, I understood.
Every moment was there. The tours: all three of them, happening simultaneously in different corners of the abbey were captured beautifully. The food, the table settings, the candlelight. The guests laughing, the chefs plating, the pottery glowing in the candlelight. The quiet moments and the joyful ones.
I still don't know how she did it. I imagine her sprinting from the organ workshop to the pottery studio to the church to The Great Hall and back again, catching every shot on the list and dozens I hadn't thought to ask for.
She didn't just document the day. She deeply understood it.
A Joy to Work With
Beyond her stunning work, Bailey was an absolute joy, professional, easygoing, and fully committed to capturing something special. She showed up ready, asked the right questions, and then disappeared into the work with quiet confidence.
If you're planning an event in Minnesota and need a photographer who can handle complexity, move fast, and deliver images very quickly that make you catch your breath, Bailey is your person.
Nearly every image on this site is Bailey's, unless otherwise noted. We're so grateful!
My newsletter
Every Wednesday in my Substack newsletter, What’s Good Here, I share a new, well-tested recipe alongside guides, how-tos, interviews with inspiring people, and stories about what it means to live a good life. Every other Friday I also share five original recipes plus a step-by-step guide to host a Fantasy Feast inspired by your favorite movies, books and television shows.
Subscribe to What's Good Here →
Interested in partnering with us for a future gathering? See partnership opportunities →
Interested in joining a future gathering? See upcoming events →
Partner Spotlight: Milk & Honey Cider At St. John’s Abbey
Milk & Honey Ciders at Story Feast’s Inaugural Event
We picked up kegs, Pommeau, and tulip glasses… and stayed for a cider tasting by the bonfire. A spotlight on Milk & Honey Ciders, our partner at St. John's Abbey.
A cider tasting at Milk & Honey Cider, photo: Jody Eddy
Some partnerships begin with an email. This one began with a bonfire.
A few days before our gathering at St. John's Abbey, we drove out to Milk & Honey Ciders, which is just down the road from the abbey, to pick up their contribution to the evening: kegs of their Estate Cider, bottles of their Pommeau, and, at their insistence, the proper tulip glasses to serve it in. They care about how their cider is experienced right down to the shape of the glass.
What I didn't expect was to stay for a tasting by the bonfire.
The Cidery
Milk & Honey sits in the rolling hills of Stearns County, just north of St. Joseph, Minnesota. The taproom overlooks their orchard, rows and rows of heirloom and traditional cider apple trees stretching toward open fields. It's the kind of place where you're invited to walk the grounds, watch the pressing operation, and settle in with a flight while the afternoon disappears.
Founded by Peter Gillitzer and partners, Milk & Honey focuses on dry, tannic, highly aromatic ciders made with minimal intervention. They source heirloom varieties from across the country, apples with names like Calville Blanc d'Hiver, Arkansas Black, and Kingston Black, and blend across multiple years of production. The result is cider that tastes like wine: complex, layered, meant to be savored.
Their motto: Let the apples shine.
That Afternoon
We arrived to pick up the kegs and ended up by the bonfire, tasting few of their crisp, refreshing ciders as the sun dropped behind the orchard. We talked about cider, about community, about what it means to make something by hand in a world that rewards speed.
The next day, they'd be pressing apples in the production room, fruit already harvested, the whole space fragrant with the aroma of bright, fresh apples. I wished I could stay for that. Next time.
Milk & Honey Cider, photo: Jody Eddy
What We Served
At St. John's Abbey, guests enjoyed Milk & Honey's Estate Cider throughout the evening. It’s dry, aromatic, and a perfect counterpoint to the richness of the meal. After dinner, we poured their Pommeau: a blend of apple brandy and fresh-pressed juice aged two years in barrels. Warm, spiritous, with notes of caramel, oak, and dried fruit. Served neat, in those tulip glasses, exactly as intended.
Visit Milk & Honey
The taproom is open Thursday through Sunday, year-round. Bring your own food, order a flight, and settle in. Each season offers something different: cozy winters by the fire, fall harvest energy, summer evenings on the patio. It's worth the drive.
My newsletter
Every Wednesday in my Substack newsletter, What’s Good Here, I share a new, well-tested recipe alongside guides, how-tos, interviews with inspiring people, and stories about what it means to live a good life. Every other Friday I also share five original recipes plus a step-by-step guide to host a Fantasy Feast inspired by your favorite movies, books and television shows.
Subscribe to What's Good Here →
Interested in partnering with us for a future gathering? See partnership opportunities →
Interested in joining a future gathering? See upcoming events →
Partner Spotlight: Northstar Kombucha at St. John’s Abbey
Northstar Kombucha at Story Feast’s Inaugural Event
Northstar Kombucha partnered with Story Feast at our inaugural gathering at St. John's Abbey. Small-batch, organic kombucha brewed in Minnesota.
A bottle of Northstar Kombucha was sent home with every guest in their Story Feast goody bag.
One of the joys of hosting Story Feast gatherings is connecting guests with the makers behind what they're eating and drinking. At St. John's Abbey, that included Northstar Kombucha, a small-batch kombucha company based locally in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Throughout the evening, guests enjoyed Northstar's Raspberry Hibiscus kombucha, bright, refreshing, and a perfect complement to the rich courses coming out of the kitchen. And when they headed home, each guest left with a goody bag with one of the Northstar flavors: Grapefruit Basil, Lavender Ginger, Raspberry Hibiscus, White Peach, Strawberry Rose, Cherry Elderberry, Honey Ginger, and Blueberry Maple.
A Building Full of Makers
A few days before the event, I drove to pick up the kegs and goody bag bottles myself, and love where Northstar calls home.
They're based in a shared maker space that houses a small community of independent producers, each one crafting something by hand. It's the kind of building where you walk in for kombucha and leave with a deeper appreciation for the people doing the slow, careful work of building something real. This is what Minnesota's food and beverage scene looks like at its best: collaborative, community-rooted, and absolutely extraordinary.
About Northstar Kombucha
Northstar Kombucha is brewed in small batches using organic ingredients and live cultures. Their flavors are creative but balanced, the kind of kombucha you actually want to drink, not just tolerate for the health benefits. Full disclosure, it’s one of my all-time favorite kombucha brands so when they said yes to partnering with us for our inaugural event, I was over the moon!
You can find Northstar at co-ops and specialty grocers across Minnesota, or order directly from their website.
Northstar Kombucha’s ginger hibiscus kombucha being served at our Story Feast event at St. John’s Abbey in Minnesota.
A Note on the Founder
We always invite our partners to join us at gatherings and we love when they can share their story directly with guests. One of Northstar's founders, Dan Fischer, couldn't make it to St. John's that night. When I invited him he explained that he was on dad duty with his kids. And honestly? That's exactly the kind of person we want to partner with!
My newsletter
Every Wednesday in my Substack newsletter, What’s Good Here, I share a new, well-tested recipe alongside guides, how-tos, interviews with inspiring people, and stories about what it means to live a good life. Every other Friday I also share five original recipes plus a step-by-step guide to host a Fantasy Feast inspired by your favorite movies, books and television shows.
Subscribe to What's Good Here →
Interested in partnering with us for a future gathering? See partnership opportunities →
Interested in joining a future gathering? See upcoming events →
Recipe: Vespers: A Story Feast Signature Cocktail from Brother Justus Whiskey Founder, Phil Steger
Vespers Cocktail Recipes
A Story Feast signature cocktail recipe by Phil Steger, founder of Brother Justus Whiskey in Minneapolis and host of our cocktail hour at St. John’s Abbey.
Vespers cocktail creation during the Story Feast cocktail hour at our St. John’s Abbey gathering.
Phil Steger founded Brother Justus Whiskey with a simple belief: spirits should bring people together. Based in Minneapolis, Brother Justus is Minnesota's first legal whiskey distillery since Prohibition, and it's built on Benedictine values of community, craftsmanship, and hospitality.
Phil created this cocktail for the inaugural Story Feast gathering at St. John's Abbey in November 2025. The name "Vespers" refers to the evening prayer service observed in monasteries around the world, a moment of pause and reflection as day turns to night. It felt fitting for a meal shared by candlelight in a monastic dining hall.
From Phil: “This is an original cocktail called “Vespers.” It feels fitting for the occasion and the time of day, given that Vespers is the communal divine office prayed by monks in the evening. The build has monastic references too. In addition to Brother Justus, it is also made with Benedictine liqueur, as well as cream sherry and mole bitters. It’s a boozy cocktail, with a lot of richness, but is velvety and smooth, with black coffee color with ruby red refractions in the light. Perfect for end of day reflection and reverie.”
Brother Justus founder Phil Steger during the Story Feast cocktail hour. Phil not only created a signature cocktail for the event, he poured Brother Justus whiskey for our guests throughout the event.
When Megan and JD Jorgenson, founders of Maine Prairie Studio, found out about the whiskey pouring during dunner, they handcrafted a whiskey tumbler for every place setting (it’s the small one on the left). Megan and JD threw every single piece of pottery for our Story Feast event at St. John’s Abbey. It totaled over 1300 pieces of original place settings, serving vessels, water and whiskey tumblers and vases for the table. It was extraordinary.
Not only did Megan and JD craft a whiskey tumbler for every place setting, they also created enough of them to send a tumbler home with every guest in our Story Feast goody bag.
Vespers
Makes 1 cocktail
Preparation time: 5 minutes
The recipe combines American whiskey with Benedictine (a French herbal liqueur originally created by monks) and cream sherry, finished with mole bitters for warmth and depth. It's smooth, contemplative, and best enjoyed slowly, at sunset, with good company.
Ingredients
2 oz Brother Justus American Whiskey
½ oz Benedictine
½ oz Cream Sherry
2 dashes mole bitters
Ice
Method
Add whiskey, Benedictine, cream sherry, and bitters to a mixing glass.
Fill with ice and stir until well chilled, about 30 seconds.
Strain into a coupe or rocks glass.
Serve without garnish, or with a single orange twist if you like.
My newsletter
Every Wednesday in my Substack newsletter, What’s Good Here, I share a new, well-tested recipe alongside guides, how-tos, interviews with inspiring people, and stories about what it means to live a good life. Every other Friday I also share five original recipes plus a step-by-step guide to host a Fantasy Feast inspired by your favorite movies, books and television shows.
Subscribe to What's Good Here →
Interested in partnering with us for a future gathering? See partnership opportunities →
Interested in joining a future gathering? See upcoming events →