Sudsy warehouse

Yeast geeks: This fall, the neighborhood of Southside Park will have another “third place”—a location other than work or home where nearby residents and employees can routinely mingle. It’s a European concept that Rob Archie and Peter Hoey, the globe-trotting co-owners of Urban Roots Brewing & Smokehouse (1322 V Street), have long wanted to boost in Sacramento.

“We could have picked one of the multiple spots that’s being redeveloped on K or R Street,” Hoey said. “But we wanted to be in a neighborhood. We wanted to be a community gathering spot rather than a nightclub.”

In their under-construction warehouse, they’ve been scratching paint off windows and knocking down walls to make an open-concept space filled with natural light. It will soon feature a 150-seat biergarten, a wraparound bar and a barbecue restaurant, flanked by 250 barrels for fermenting beer from their full-scale, on-site brewery.

The duo are handily prepared for their latest venture. Archie owns Pangaea Bier Cafe (2743 Franklin Boulevard), which boasts perhaps the most robust and well-regarded beer selection in town. And Hoey is a 20-year veteran in the industry, first as a pioneering craft brewer, then as an ingredients supplier who worked with “every brewery in California.”

Both have traveled through Europe and will borrow a technique from the other continent by focusing on the near-limitless array of yeast’s fruity, spicy and, um, yeasty flavors.

Their first beer will be a coffee stout, said Hoey, the head brewer. He plans to make a diverse rotating draft list with ales, pilsners, porters, lagers, saisons, IPAs, Belgian-style beers and sour beers aged for longer in his barrels. He credits Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Brewing Co. for the analogy that brewer’s yeast is like a well-trained dog, whereas the microbes that turn beer tart are more like a fickle cat, which does what you want only when it’s good and ready.

In the kitchen, chefs Brett Stockdale and Greg Desmangles will be serving smoked favorites like ribs, brisket and turkey, but also more healthful options that Hoey—a three-day-a-week vegetarian with four smokers in his backyard—pushed for despite Archie’s light teasing.

“I can’t eat brisket everyday,” Hoey said, defending himself. “I’m trying to get back in brewing shape.”