If you are down on Union Square some days when the wind is right, a unique and perhaps perplexing scent will waft by your nose. Some folks will recognize it right away. The smell is coming from inside the old Abernethy Livery Stable building.
You don’t have to go inside to figure out what’s going on. Two clues. One is the vine growing up the side of the wall, which is consistent with what is going on inside. The plant is hops and the other clue is contained on the back page of this week’s FOCUS.
Back in 1994, restaurant entrepreneur Lorin Weaver started Olde Hickory Brewery (OHB). He tapped into growing interest in craft beer, which had been growing ever since the 1970s. During that era, selection was ruled by the likes of Anheuser-Busch, Schlitz, and Old Milwaukee, all nationwide brewers. Today, OHB is one of the oldest breweries in North Carolina.
Olde Hickory Brewery started with a “7 barrel converted dairy system” (Catawba County had once been home to numerous dairies) with the goal of “providing unique traditional ales and lagers” for the local market. Steven Lyerly was hired as a waiter, but Lorin quickly found out that Steven knew more about the process than OHB’s brewmaster. Soon, OHB had a new brewmaster. Not long after, Lorin discovered that Steven was interested in starting his own operation, so instead of competition, OHB was sold to Steven and Jason Yates, who own it to this day.
In 1997, OHB converted the 1882 building just south of the tracks in downtown, which was also know as Hickory Bonded Warehouse, now the center of all operations. By 2000, the operation was up and running and craft brewing took another step forward. On weekends, you can visit the location and get a taste of what is being brewed on site. The brewpub is within Hickory’s social district. During the week, that’s the location where Steven spends countless hours developing new tastes.
Steven has always been ahead of the curve with his offerings. Even when you could only get OHB beers locally, he went across the state paving the way for an expanding market. In 2017, he began exporting as far away as Amsterdam. Along the way, OHB has a multitude of awards for the effort. From the Carolinas Championship of Beer to the World Beer Cup, numerous types of beers, made in Hickory have won bronze, silver and gold medals for their flavor. Quite an accomplishment coming from a Hickory microbrewery.
Today, a whole slate of choices awaits your tastebuds, everything from ‘Ruby Lager’ to ‘Death by Hops’ which brings us back to the aroma. Hops, a flower that provides “aroma to the beer” is central to brewing and what you smell. In the dozen or so vats inside, beer is brewing that will not be available to consumers until next Christmas. That’s how far ahead Steven and his crew are thinking and planning.
Oh, another clue to what’s going on just across from Union Square are the murals painted on the side of the building. One depicts Steven’s father, Carl who taught his son much and made his own contribution to the success of OHB through the crafting of the bar and dining room, all inside the old Abernethy Livery Stable.
Photos: The Art of Beer, on display in downtown Hickory.
