Month: October 2012

LOUISVILLE, Ky., (October 15, 2012) – by John Wurth

LouisvilleBeer.com: Tell me a little about your team, and the experience behind them:

Blue Stallion Brewing: We have 5 partners involved in the brewery; Jim Clemons – chemical and process engineer, Nico Schulz – food science professional and brewer, Xavier Donnelly – MBA holder and e-commerce specialist, Kore Donnelly – MBA holder and finance officer, and Zac Donnelly – graphic designer and artist. Jim, Nico, and I have been brewing on a small scale for many years and Nico has worked as a brewer in a small regional brewery in Germany so we share a passion, not just for good beer but for how it is made.

We share many traits but more importantly we each offer experience and education to the team that would leave a hole if one partner wasn’t involved.

LB: Tell me about the name of the brewery:

BSB: We wanted a name that reflected the area and decided early that we wanted it to be related to the horse world. We did a lot of research on breeds and training techniques trying to find a name that fit us. We finally came across the legend of “Big Lex” – rumored to have turned blue from grazing on the bluegrass in the region. We also found that the most successful sire in the mid-nineteenth century was a stallion called Lexington. We even put a likeness of Springbok, “grandson” of Lexington on the logo. We liked how the Blue Stallion fit what we wanted in a name and are pleased with the response we have received about the name and logo.

LB: Have you secured a location yet? How are things coming along? Do you have an opening date?

BSB: We are happy to announce that we will be opening in a beautiful building at the corner or Third Street and Newtown Pike. The address is 610 W. Third Street and we plan to begin work on building out the brewery November 1.

We expect delivery of our 15 barrel copper brewing system on November 1st and 2nd and will have our hands full building the brewery and tasting room. We expect to be open by late February or early March but will have a much better idea once we begin work.

LB: What beers are you hoping to offer when you open?

BSB: We’ve developed a passion for the beer styles that originated in Germany and Britain and plan to open the doors with German hefeweizen, Scottish 70 schilling, and a couple of lagers. We have spent the spring and summer brewing pilot batches on a Brew Magic system and are refining our recipes now. We plan to begin offering more selection later in the Spring and Summer 2013.

LB: How many beers will be in your arsenal? What types of seasonals are you planning?

BSB: We plan to have 20 taps available at the tasting room at 610 W. Third Street and will eventually fill most of those with our beers, however we also plan to offer beers from German, British, and American craft breweries to complement our selection. We have several season beers in mind and will be making an announcement about some of those as we get closer to opening the doors, you’ll want to check out Facebook and Twitter accounts for more on that.

LB: Are you planning on bottling or canning? What about distribution throughout the state?

BSB: We have always planned to bottle our beer, especially our most popular beers and are working to have that capability ready as soon as possible after the tasting room opens in the Spring. We will be talking with distributors in Kentucky this Fall and will have our draft beer available in bars and restaurants around Lexington and hopefully Louisville soon after launch.

Of course we won’t be distributing all of our beer styles and folks will want to stop in to the brewery to try our specialty and seasonal beers.

LB: I love that Lexington is suddenly becoming a “beer town”. Can you talk a bit about why you think it’s growing so quickly. Are college kids wising up and drinking better beer, do you think?

BSB: Lexington has been primed to become a craft beer destination for years. The typical craft beer drinker demographics match perfectly with a large portion of the Lexington population. Additionally, the move towards buying locally made products has opened up the door to a business like a craft brewery.

The young people in Lexington are certainly switching to better beer earlier than when I was in school 10 years ago, of course it was a lot harder to find good beer back then – more craft breweries mean more people get exposed to good beer which is good for everyone.

LB: Each of Lexington’s 3 breweries is finding it’s own niche, and I think that’s smart. It leaves room for everyone, and furthers the options for good beer in a city the size of Lexington. Even though there’s been some turnover and “trades” in Louisville’s beer scene, it’s still a really close knit group of people who would bend over backwards to help each other out. Talk to us about how you see all of the breweries working together in Lexington.

BSB: We have a great working relationship with the folks at all three breweries and would like to thank them all for being supportive of us as we have called, emailed, and showed up unannounced many times to pick their brains as we developed our business plan. There will be an interesting synergy among the Lexington breweries for several reasons. First of all, we aren’t competing with each other; we are really competing with the giant national breweries that make lite lagers. The more people we expose to good beer, the more people will switch to drinking craft beer. Secondly our physical proximity will make drinking craft beer in Lexington an event and will begin to put Lexington on the map as a craft beer destination. The Jefferson Street / Newtown Pike-extension corridor will have all 4 breweries within a 2 mile drive, bike ride, or walk. Who wouldn’t be excited about that?

Originally posted on LouisvilleBeer.com

Published October 5, 2012

Over the past year, beer has become one of Lexington’s fastest growing industries. There has been some experimentation with beer in town before, and Alltech has managed to keep Kentucky Ale a viable and strong brand, but the new craft beer scene is something Lexington really hasn’t seen before.

With three breweries opened in roughly the last year, at least one new brewery on the way, numerous bars dedicated to craft beer and a home brewing store, the beer industry has shown up in force. Considering Lexington’s demographics, it was long overdue—the average craft beer drinker is highly educated and Lexington is rated as one of the most well educated cities in the country. Not only that, but Lexington’s art scene is booming and craft beer tends to move in to cities that place an emphasis on art.

The beer scene now seems to be thriving, but what is it like to start a business in the beer industry, and in particular what is it like to start a business focused on beer here in Lexington? To answer those questions we talked to Mike Vincent, an owner of Lexington Beerworks, and Kore Donnelly, an owner of Blue Stallion Brewing which is set to open in a few months. Lexington Beerworks opened nearly a year ago on Limestone and is the only home brewing shop in town which also serves as a great craft beer bar. Blue Stallion is still in the process of working out their location and hopes to open their brewery with a large tasting room and to distribute their beer to local bars and restaurants.

The beer business is, of course, still a business and there are a number of things to consider when starting one so I asked Mike and Kore some questions about why they really wanted to get into the beer business. Obviously, loving beer and brewing is a big part of it, but to start a full brewery takes a lot more.

Q: What was your inspiration and motivation for starting your business?

Mike (Lexington Beerworks): “Honestly, we wanted to do something interesting, and something that we loved. There’s a natural synergy between drinking good beer and the curiosity about what goes into it, hence the craft beer bar / home brewing shop.”

Kore (Blue Stallion Brewing): “My partners and I have wanted to open up a brewery for years, we have been making beer on a small scale for a long time and our head brewer worked for a small regional brewery in Germany. Lexington has long wanted more craft beer options and we are excited to be a part of the growing craft beer scene here.”

Q: What makes Lexington such a good place for beer?

Mike: “Lexington is a city full of folks that fit the craft beer enthusiast profile, and up until this point was underrepresented in terms of beer bars, brew shops and breweries. We visited Louisville a few times for inspiration and then knew that if we found the right spot in downtown Lexington we could start something as well.”

Kore: “Several things have helped set the stage for the booming craft beer industry in Lexington. The move towards buying local is a huge part of why we have seen several breweries open but the taste for craft beer has been slowly developing in Lexington for over a decade. People are getting tired of the homogenous yellow light lager made with corn and rice adjuncts and are expanding their palate by trying interesting beers made by brewers that aren’t interested in making the same tasteless beer we have had for the last 80 years.

Everyone we have talked to about this, from the local government officials, the bank, and people that have just heard what we are doing, has been incredibly excited about the idea. People want this to happen; it feels like we have so many allies to get this project off the ground. We have always talked internally about making the community our partner in the venture, we want to add to the culture and attraction of Lexington – but it seems like the community wants to be our partner just as much as we want to be theirs.”

I know I certainly identify with not wanting to drink tasteless lagers. And it’s not often that you see the kind of support from the community and local government to get businesses off the ground. On the other hand, there are certainly some challenges that come with any businesses and both Beerworks and Blue Stallion have had their share.

Q: What are some challenges you’ve had, if any, so far?

Mike: “EVERYTHING – but that’s what learning is all about. [You are] completely accountable and responsible for success or failure.”

Kore: “There have been several things that have gummed up the works a little bit as we developed our plan but the biggest challenge would certainly be finding an appropriate location for the business. One thing that became clear after months of research was how capital intensive a brewery is. This is probably a lesson that every business owner has learned, regardless of industry but especially true of a manufacturing business like a brewery.

Smaller cities than Lexington, such as Asheville, NC, have become wonderful havens for craft beer recently, and we hope Lexington can become one as well. It’s certainly well on the way there, but it will continue to require a lot of support from the community. Craft beer is an industry that adds a lot to the reputation of a city and can bring a lot of people to Lexington as tourists. Get out there, try something new (and not a generic light lager!) and support your local breweries and beer businesses. Much our vibrant art or food scenes, a craft beer scene can make Lexington a better and more enjoyable place to live.

Originally Published at Awesome Inc.