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Episode 27 – Hopkinsville Brewing Co. (Hopkinsville, KY) + Brooklyn Brewery (Brooklyn, New York)

In this episode, beverage industry veteran and founder of Brooklyn Brewery, Steve Hindy, phones in. In addition to his work with the brewery, we talk about his adventures as a War Correspondent reporting on the Iranian Revolution and Iran-Iraq War. During his time in the Middle East, he met up with many men who homebrewed (due to the country’s laws, it was the only way to obtain alcohol). Steve and I talk about educating the consumer about craft beer, the company’s logo, and Brooklyn Brewery’s newest relationship with Japanese beer company, Kirin. You’ll want to hear Steve’s opinion on certain breweries “selling out.”

I cannot state this enough. If you haven’t read Beer School, I encourage you to do so. It’s a great book about the long history of Brooklyn Brewery, but it also holds secrets to entrepreneurship in the beverage industry. It should be noted, however, that if you do your research on their brewer William Moeller, you might find that he has a son named Michael Moeller…no relation.

Also in this episode, I travel down to Western Kentucky to speak with actual veterans Steve and Kate Irving of Hopkinsville Brewing Co., where we discuss their family friendly brewery, Edgar Allen Poe, and the upcoming total Solar Eclipse in 2017. Kate and Steve opened the brewery about six weeks before the interview took place, and in those six weeks, they have found success in being Christian County’s first and only brewery.

A note to listeners:

If you know of a brewery with an interesting origin story or background, or if you are a brewery and think you have a story to share, I’d be more than willing to learn more about it! Please reach out to me on Twitter or Facebook.

As always, I would be grateful if you subscribed to Building Breweries on iTunes and left me a rating/review. It would go a long way in helping me grow and attract other breweries.

Thank you for listening!

Forwards to previous episodes:

New Belgium

3 Floyds

Craft Beer Attorney

Founders

Abbey Brewing

New Glarus

Hill Farmstead

About Building Breweries

In each episode of Building Breweries, Michael Moeller speaks with a new brewery representative, from establishments of all sizes, about their origin as a brewery and other Beverage Industry issues, ranging from wholesaling to state regulations. This is Michael’s first podcast project.