E-Malt.com News article: USA, NC: Mystery Brewing opens in Hillsborough

When home brewer Erik Myers started brewing beer 13 years ago, he never thought he would open his own brewery. However, in February 2012, Mystery Brewing Co. in Hillsborough received the final necessary permits needed to open and officially became operational, Reesenews.org reported on March, 16.

“It’s wonderful and lovely, but I still kind of feel like we’re flying by the seat of our pants,” Myers, the owner and head brewer of Mystery Brewing, said. “But it’s nice to finally be making money.”

In May 2010, Myers began raising money on Kickstarter, a crowdfunding website, to start a “contract brewery.”

“The idea was to go in to other people’s breweries, brew on their equipment then take our beer away,” he said.

However, Myers said he learned that the brewing industry in North Carolina was doing really well, and it became increasingly difficult to find breweries with space for him to brew.

“All of a sudden I had money from a bunch of people I had to do something with,” he said.

So in October 2010, Myers quit his job as an information specialist and began working full-time to start his brewery.

Myers said that although the $44,259 donated through Kickstarter only made up about 10 percent of the funds needed to open the brewery, it provided the push to get started.

“It’s what made me make the decision to move forward on everything,” he said.

Myers said he chose Hillsborough for his brewery because of the town’s proximity to major highways.

“We’re self-distributing, which means that we have to go and bring beer out ourselves. We’re not relying on another company to do it for us,” he said. “I want be able to get beer there, drop it off and get back.”

Myers, who currently lives in Chapel Hill, said he is really happy with the location.

“Now that we’ve got the brewery here, I really want to move here,” he said.

Myers said he chose the name Mystery Brewing Co. because of the word’s not so obvious relation to the history of brewing.

“It comes from the original meaning of the word mystery, which is an art or a craft,” Myers said. ”You need science to make good beer, but you need art to make great beer.”

Myers said he hopes that Mystery Brewing can become a really well-known artisanal brewery in North Carolina.

“I want us to be well-known without having to be everywhere,” he said.

Jessica Myers, director of sales and marketing for Mystery Brewing, said currently their beer is available at The Wooden Nickel in Hillsborough and Rockfish Seafood Grill in Durham.

“I like to focus on some of the restaurants in Durham and Hillsborough that like to focus on local beer,” she said.

Erik Myers said their beer is also available at Hillsborough BBQ Company, The Depot at Hillsborough Station and Spanky’s Restaurant and Bar in Chapel Hill.

“Right now, the only places we’re selling beer are places where we actually know the people that own it or run the bar,” Erik Myers said.

He said Mystery Brewing eventually plans to sell their beer at local grocery stores in growlers but need to receive government approval on their labels first.

Erik Myers said he also plans to open a small taproom in Hillsborough to serve their beer.

Derrick Smith, general manager at The Wooden Nickel, where Mystery Brewing debuted their freshly brewed beer, said he expects Mystery Brewing to do well.

“People have been waiting for him to come out on the market,” he said. “Once it’s fully-operational and he’s got his beer out there, I think he’s going to do a really good job.”


21 March, 2012