OLDE HICKORY BREWPUB IS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

HICKORY, N.C. - Olde Hickory Brewery got a new lease on life in December when head brewer Steven Lyerly and business partner Jason Yates aquired the floundering brewpub from its original owners.
The new owners exhibit optimism and determination to build business with fine beer and improved service, and their customer counts are increasing.
Lyerly said he and Yates have big plans to expand the brewing operation by increasing floor space, switching from partial mash to all-grain brewing within six months, and eventually doubling the brewing capacity.
They plan to increase capacity by replacing a seven-barrel brew kettle with a 14-barrel kettle and bringing in additional fermentation tanks. Their goal, they say, is to brew 3,000 barrels annually within three years.
Negotiations to serve Olde Hickory beer at the local Crawdad Baseball Stadium, a minor league franchise, have begun, and additional off-premises sales increases are expected with Olde Hickory kegged and bottled beers at pubs, restaraunts and package stores.
The brewpub itself is undergoing a number of changes, including expanded houyrs, an expanded bar, a spruced up menu, and live entertainment.
Yates brings business and legal acumen along with considerable elbow grease to the partnership. He "moonlights during the day" in engineering.
Lyerly brings years of brewing experience, a restaraunt background, and plenty of sweat equity.
In the short term, watch for some new beers at Olde Hickory such as a chocolate porter or a cherry stout. Perhaps a beer engine will be installed, and Olde Hickory may even be the first brewery in North Carolina serving naturally carbonated, cask-conditioned ales.

Copyright 1996, Southern Draft
Bobby Bush, a businessman and freelance writer who lives in Hickory, contributed to this story.