USA, KY: Holsopple Brewing becomes Lyndon’s first craft brewery
Lyndon got its first craft brewery on February 21, when Holsopple Brewing opened to enthusiastic crowds, Insider Louisville reported on February 22.
The cozy taproom tucked away in a building just off Lyndon Lane buzzed, and the line to the bar ebbed and flowed. Meanwhile, a makeshift tent sheltered the overflow, many of whom were displaced members of the Bluegrass Brewing Co. Worthogs club.
Holsopple, owned by Sam and Kristy Gambill, announced last fall it would open in early 2017. Time since has been spent finishing out the taproom and getting the six-barrel brewing system up and running, not to mention acquiring permits.
The brewery opened with six beers on tap: Amber Lager, Aloupa Pale Ale, Bob’s Blessing Porter, Paula’s Pilsner, Project Alpha “A” IPA, and St. SÖB, a dry Irish stout.
The Aloupa, a crisp and approachable American pale ale, is a flagship beer of sorts. Paula’s Pilsner and the Amber Lager are the first in what Sam Gambill promises will be an ongoing series of lager beers, while the Irish stout will be a pleaser for Guinness fans, and the porter is a rich, roasty version of the style.
The Gambills have worked in the industry for many years, so it’s no surprise the beers were all well done — and well-received by the throng of first-comers. Impressive, given the beers on tap Tuesday literally were six of the first seven batches ever brewed on the Holsopple brewing system. The goal is to achieve “clean and attenuated” beer.
“She is the quality manager,” Sam said of Kristy, “and she hasn’t rejected anything yet. I think that’s a good sign.”
Creating quality beer statewide is, of course, a key goal for Derek Selznick, executive director of the Kentucky Guild of Brewers.
“For them to match their experience in quality control at large-scale breweries and distilleries and passion for craft beer to open a brewery is not just great for the city of Louisville, but adds another dynamic to Kentucky craft beer,” Selznick said.
The Project Alpha IPA, Sam explained, is the first in a series of single-hop IPAs that will come out every couple of weeks using different hops. Basically, it’s going to be a long-running experiment to see what types of flavors he can create while focusing on various hops. The longterm goal is to later begin mixing and experimenting with multiple hops.
“We’d like to create an extraordinary IPA,” he said.
The tap system includes only eight taps currently, but the Gambills plan to expand that to 12 or even 16, creating room for guest taps. However, Sam acknowledged the size of his current brewing system might make it tough to keep up at times, especially given that lagered beers take much longer to ferment than ales.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” he said, but also noted there is room in the small brewhouse for three more fermenters. That additional future expansion will obviously help.
“Making sure we have enough beer for the taproom hopefully will be a problem,” he added. ‘It’s just one of those things you have to manage.”
He said that filtering the beer helps speed up the fermenting process, which also will help. In fact, he had spent the day filtering beers prior to opening for the first time, giving him a complete taste of what life as a brewer is going to be like, even if every day won’t be as hectic as opening day, which requires a lot of hand-shaking and question-answering.
“We had a soft open a week and a half ago,” he said, “and I couldn’t talk afterward.”
He has some help in the taproom in the form of his cousin John Gambill, who will run things there. Sam pointed out that a big part of what he and Kristy are trying to accomplish is not just to make good beer, but also to create a profitable enterprise, and much of that involves a learning curve.
Holsopple Brewing, located at 8023 Catherine Lane No. 105, will have taproom hours Tuesday through Thursday, 4-10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, noon-10 p.m. Snacks such as Spudz chips are available for purchase, and outside food is welcome.
27 February, 2017
