No more whining about wine
Lively Beerworks debuts next week.
Food Dude Dave Cathey takes a look at some interesting facts about the history of Oklahoma’s liquor laws.
Patrick Lively started brewing beer professionally at COOP Ale Works in 2010. His next stop was Anthem Brewing Co., where he was president and brewmaster, helping to develop local favorites like Anthem IPA and OK Pils. Now, though, the home-brewer turned vocational beer geek is ready for his own name to be on the cans and bottles.
Lively Beerworks, his new project, debuts on Oct. 4 with the release of an IPA, and Lively said more styles are already in planning, including an amber lager expected later the same month. Scott Hill, of Switch Creative, developed the branding package, featuring the logo and label designs, and Stonecloud Brewing Co. will handle production for the short term with Lively overseeing the process and using his own fermenting tanks.
“Depending on the popularity of the two styles, they could max out our production capacity at Stonecloud,” Lively said.
A contingency plan is already in place should that happen, but it’s not a quick solution. In addition to the launch of a new beer line in Oklahoma City, Lively is working on plans for a new, 12,000-squarefoot facility that will house brewery operations and a taproom.
“I started working with Rod Baker, of Baker First Commercial Real Estate, and he has this vacant lot at NE 42 and Walnut,” Lively said. “The perks of a new building are very high; there’s no retrofitting, and I design exactly what I want.”
Lively and Baker went back and forth on the location. The trend, if trend it is and not just established practice, has been to locate breweries as close to downtown as possible. At least part of the reason was the formerly inexpensive property that was available before the rebirth of downtown. At least as far back as the old Huebert Brewing Co., beer producers have been trying to get close to the core.
“We decided the destination close to center of the city but outside the city feel was the best choice,” Lively said. “You’ll be on a property with trees and a creek, but there will be this beautiful view of the Devon Tower, too.”
The taproom at the new facility will be roughly 2,000 square feet, with a patio of undetermined size in the works. The space is large enough to house a kitchen, and Lively said they would be installing one, but the brewery will rely on food trucks at first.
“The kitchen is large enough to provide food options, but the space is too small for a full food concept and taproom,” Lively said.
Currently, Baker and Lively are in the permitting process with the city, so groundbreaking has not been scheduled yet. The anticipated open date is in early spring 2019.
Lively Beerworks IPA will be available as early as Oct. 3, and Bleu Garten and Fassler Hall are hosting launch events on Oct. 4 and 5 respectively to introduce the public to the new brewery. Both locations will be pouring the IPA.