What's Brewing on Route E? The Story Behind Great Pyr's Taproom at George Carney's Old Mining Town

The Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce calendar lists a ribbon cutting on September 1, 2026, "to celebrate the opening of The Brewery at the Village" at 14550 State Route E. A second Chamber listing puts another ribbon cutting for the same company on Tuesday, November 3, from 11 to 11:45 a.m., at 14574 State Route E. If you drive out this Saturday expecting a pint, you will be early. Great Pyr Brewing Company's own website says "Opening March 2027!" and sets opening day for March 13, 2027.

The wait makes more sense once you know the property. The brewery sits on land where a Rolla entrepreneur once planned a mining-town movie set. The current owners have spent ten years getting it ready for the public, and a taproom has been the goal since they bought it.

Two ribbon cuttings, one opening day

Here is how the public dates line up as of late September 2026:

The two addresses belong to the same property. The Village, the wedding and event venue, uses 14550 State Route E. Great Pyr lists 14574 State Hwy E as its contact address. The Chamber listings don't say how the two ceremonies relate. Both the brewery site and The Village's brewery page call March 13, 2027, the grand opening. Until that date, plan on the taproom being closed to walk-in visitors.

The mining town George Carney started

The property's history explains why there's a train depot behind a brewery. George Carney ran motels and theaters, collected and restored classic cars, and turned his collection into Rolla's Memoryville USA museum in 1970. He ran it as a museum and restoration shop with his son Steve. In a 2002 Associated Press profile, Carney also hosted car shows and organized the Ozarks Extravaganza at a nearby airport, hoping it would grow into a major national show.

Out on Route E, Carney built an 1800s-themed mining town he called Miner's Junction. According to The Village, the buildings that remain include:

• a grist mill
• a cider mill
• a shingle mill
• a firehouse
• a smokehouse
• a wood shop
• a machine shop
• a train depot and conductor's shack

A 2020 Phelps County Focus story reported that Carney planned to turn the site into a movie set with a late-19th-century mining-town theme. The paper also covered the yellow Victorian cottage near the entrance. Carney built it for Donna Douglas, his friend who played Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies, and she stayed there when she visited him. Today the cottage is called The Victorian. It has been rented to overnight guests and serves as the honeymoon cottage for couples married on the property.

Many of Carney's buildings are still on the property, and the brewery borrows from that history. One of its fall and winter beers is called Mr. Carney Spiced Ale.

A taproom that was the plan from the start

Judy and Jim Dabler took over the property and established The Village in 2016. Their first few years went to weddings and lodging. By late 2020, Carney's Blacksmith Shop was being renovated into lodging, and a new Pavilion for receptions opened in September 2020. The venue side has kept growing since then. The Village now promotes a Glass Pavilion, the Meadow Events Center, the Chapel in the Meadow, Imogen's Orchard, a monarch waystation, and a 200-seat amphitheater overlooking a lake.

Even in 2020, the Focus reported that beer was the main goal:

"My husband has always wanted to make beer," Judy told the paper. The couple's aim was "making the beer and having a place where people can come and enjoy it."

At the time, Jim was still working as a software engineer at Boeing in St. Louis and planned to have the brewery running around his retirement. A 2023 Focus profile listed a winery, cider house, brewery and taproom, patio, and food as future plans for the property. The brewery's website goes back further. It says Jim and Judy first talked about running a business on a beautiful piece of land as teenagers sitting in a pancake house. The Village calls Great Pyr "a 45-year dream come true" built on Jim's many years of home brewing.

From 1970s Memoryville to a 2016 purchase to a 2027 opening day, this property has been heading toward public use for a long time. March 13 is when it finally gets regular public hours.

What will be on tap

Great Pyr has already posted its opening menu. Seven beers will always be on tap:

1. Cream Ale, described as crisp, sweet, and easy drinking
2. Peach Wheat, light and flavorful
3. Belgian Wit, spicy and citrusy
4. IPA, floral and hoppy
5. Salty Wench, listed as gluten-sensitive
6. Bourbon Vanilla Porter, rich and oaky
7. Chocolate Coffee Stout, full-bodied

Two seasonals rotate through the year. The Saisson is a blood orange beer for spring and summer. Mr. Carney Spiced Ale brings cloves, cinnamon, and ginger for fall and winter. The cider list includes Champapple, a dry sparkling cider the brewery compares to champagne, a year-round Sweet Cider, and a Caramel Apple cider billed as "a taste of fall."

A cider house on land that already has one of Carney's cider mills is a fitting match. The Village markets the brewery as a "Brewery and Cider House."

How a Saturday out there is set up

You'll only find this beer on the property. The Village says Great Pyr is a farmstead brewery, so "if you want to taste our beer... come for a visit!!!" It won't be sold in stores or restaurants. Combined with a schedule of Saturdays only, mid-March to mid-November, that makes a visit something you plan ahead. The listings don't post opening or closing times yet, so call ahead before you go.

The two websites describe the food a little differently. The Village says, "We provide the drinks, our community provides the food trucks!" Great Pyr's site shows a "coming soon" menu of sourdough stone-baked pizzas in Neapolitan, Sausage & Pepperoni, and Vegetable styles, plus charcuterie boards. One of those boards is labeled Alpha Gal Friendly. It swaps red meat for rolled turkey and chicken and smoked salmon, with dairy-free and gluten-free dips and crackers. That will matter to anyone in the Ozarks who has picked up the tick-related red meat allergy.

The seating is outdoors. The Village describes:

• a Terrace with sun sails and Edison lights
• a cornhole area with three boards
• three gas fire pits with Adirondack chairs
• a wood-burning fire pit ringed with boulders
• an air-conditioned restroom building the owners call the deluxe "Outhouse"

The season ends in mid-November, so the fire pits will get their use on cool spring evenings and in the last weeks of fall.

Getting onto the property before March

Until opening day, you have two ways in. The Village offers complimentary property tours by appointment through its inquiry form. Great Pyr also advertises "private brewery experiences" and invites people to ask about them at 573-466-6229. Otherwise, the property's 2026 calendar is full of weddings and private bookings, not public events. If you're a Chamber member, the November 3 ribbon cutting is the next scheduled gathering at the brewery address.

Put March 13, 2027, on the calendar. That Saturday is the first chance for anyone to order a Cream Ale on George Carney's old Miner's Junction grounds, no wedding invitation needed.

Acar Real Estate has followed Rolla and Phelps County since 2003, including the quieter changes out along State Route E. If you'd like to know more about properties with history like this one, or what is changing on the roads outside town, call our team. We're happy to talk it through with you. Contact Us.