Moving on From 2023

This past year was both a whirlwind and a dream come true. Words cannot describe the feelings we experienced alongside our amazing team as we opened the new taproom on Victor Street and celebrated with you all summer. It’s been really fun to reflect on 2023 from all of the construction (and great social media content) to summer nights on the patio, to holding our annual Festivus celebration with so much more room for activities.

With all of this, we’re finding it hard to move on, but here we are; we see you January. Between the recent winter weather and “dry January,” it’s a bit lonely in the taproom this time of year. Torrey and I have been thinking a lot about resolutions and what this means for our type of business. I’ve always found that it’s possible to live an active and healthy lifestyle that also includes craft beer…it just takes a bit of work (anyone interested in a mug club running group this spring)? So, if you see me drinking hop water instead of my half HBIC Sour half ICT IPA, you’ll know what’s up. We’re curious what your resolutions are and would love for you to share with us in the taproom.

We’re looking forward to a fun winter with our new beer pairing dinners , new seasonal beers, and fun taproom events. We hope to see you in the taproom soon, whether you’re drinking our new H2Gnome Hop Water or a Victor St. Hazy IPA.

Cheers to a happy & healthy year with some gnome beers!

-T&S

Not Related Red Heads

If you’ve been by the new taproom on a Wednesday, Thursday, or Sunday, you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Ethan (if you didn’t know him already). A lot of our new guests have wondered if Ethan is related to Torrey, and some have even mistaken Ethan for Torrey. This has brought giggles from our gnomies at the bar, and confusion from some of our new guests, so of course we had to name a beer about it!

We’re excited to tap a brand new Red IPA this Tuesday, Oct 31st! Introducing Not Related Red IPA.

Hop flavors and aromas of pine, grapefruit, and red berries. Mild malt flavor from 2 row, pilsner, and black malts. 6% 65 IBUs.

While Ethan and Torrey aren’t related, they both have awesome red beards and we think they’re pretty great!

Happy Halloween gnomies,

-Stacy, HBIC

Throwback Thursday: What a Summer

Can you believe it’s been a year since our groundbreaking ceremony?

We’ve come a long way and have gone through a lot of phases from a vacant grassy lot, to Gnomes At Work, the Gnew Gnome, Welcome Gnome, and we’re just getting started!

Back-to-school season is similar to New Year’s for me. It’s a time to reflect, make new goals and create new habits, and of course buy new office supplies. Even though this summer has been a complete whirlwind, I’ve been taking time to look through photos and social media posts and to let the reality of our accomplishments sink in.

We opened a brand new taproom, added new team members including an Events Manager and Assistant Brewer, created meaningful relationships with food trucks and other community partners, and are preparing to host private parties at our original taproom…all in the past 4 months!

We feel incredibly lucky and honored to have an amazing team and solid community behind us, and as Torrey and I prepare to head out of town for a much needed vacation, we’re celebrating the little wins of the summer as we look forward to the fall and holiday seasons…not to mention some cooler temps soon!

Thanks for keeping us going Wichita!

Cheers,

-Stacy, HBIC

Starting to Feel Like Gnome

Wow, it’s been a crazy 2nd quarter, and really this past year has been a whirlwind (obviously since we haven’t posted a blog in almost a year).

Hopefully by now you know that we have successfully moved into our new taproom space at 1719 E. Victor Street, and things are going well. Initially, I was concerned that our regular guests and mug club members wouldn’t like the new space, or that it wouldn’t have that cozy feel we’re all used to at “The Gnome".

I’ve been blown away this past month by the support of our regulars or “gnomies,” the small business community, and all of the new faces we’re able to see and host at this more accommodating space, and while we know you miss the original gnome, or OG for short, being able to spread out and go outside, invite more friends, and make new friends, has been a truly amazing experience for all of us.

The team has been working tirelessly this past quarter to ensure a welcoming and successful experience. This has not come without its challenges though; having more space means less time to talk to everyone and really engage with our guests. If you’re missing this interaction as well, we suggest coming in during the week for more of that OG experience. In between all of the opening chaos, ribbon cuttings, and celebrating 8 years of gnome beers, we’re encouraging the team to take time to celebrate all they’ve accomplished. Torrey and I need to also take more time to celebrate…we both looked around the other day and said, “wow, we really did this.”

My favorite part of the move has been all of the community collaborations we’re already doing and will do in this space. It has always been a dream of mine to cross-promote with food trucks and other small businesses in order to continue to strengthen our buy-local community, specifically in our neighborhood and Douglas Design District. We were very intentional when designing the space to be able to host food trucks and provide electricity and other amenities in order to create a favorable experience for them, and we’ve received great feedback so far! Our Pride Celebration and Queer Beers ICT meet-up, included our friends at the new Wichita Experience Rentals, with a photo booth and rainbow cotton candy; it was a fun event for all ages. We also recently hosted a fun partnership with Eight Ball Fashion. They curated a Hopping Gnome themed Cookman USA pants line and decided to have a release party at our place. These are the types of unique events and collaborations we will continue to seek out and offer as we go.

We have such an amazing team, that I’ve been able to get out more this past month and do some fun things like attend local networking and community events. Sharisse and I will be attending the Social Media Day ICT event this week, where I’ll give a workshop on community engagement through reels & TikToks, and I look forward to learning some new things that we can apply to our social media marketing plan. Torrey got to go to the Wichita Open with me, but other than that, he’s been pretty busy making beer happen over at the brew house.

So what’s next? We will continue to add more events like live music, and will bring back old favorites like the Thirkin Thursday Firkin nights this fall, not to mention more new beers and seasonal favorites. If you haven’t met our new Events Manager, Aharon Hoopes, she’s already kicking ass at the food truck and event scheduling. We’re currently planning our annual Xmas in July event for the end of July and a Back-to-School Bash in mid-August. You know we’re all in for Open Streets ICT and can’t wait for you to utilize our new bike racks make by teammate Lauren Bohm, and be looking for more info on a new Oktoberfest-themed event soon that will be taking place in September.

What’s happening with the OG? Plans are in the works to host private events in the original taproom. We will be rolling out more info later this summer, and planning to start scheduling events this fall.

Until then, I hope that you will come by for a beer and celebrate this milestone with us. Thank you for making the Gnew Gnome feel like home.

Cheers,

Stacy

Big Announcement

So there’s this vacant and undeveloped lot behind us that you probably didn’t even know was there, but you will soon! By this time next year, you’ll be looking at our brand new taproom, surprise!

While we know you love our unique and cozy lil taproom, we’ve been listening to your requests for more seating, a bigger bar, and more outdoor space. We hear you and we agree…especially the team…they were ready years ago and had to give us a little push to get to this point. 

At first, we were scared that if we moved locations we would lose that “gnome vibe,” so we put it off for a while, and were just starting to look at some different options in early 2020 when we had to put our plans on hold. Once the pandemic started, we realized how crowded our space can be, and that so many of us just really want to sit outside as much as possible. With hardly any room to social distance and limited outdoor seating, our small and cozy space just didn’t seem to make sense anymore.

It took us a while to understand that it’s never really been about the space… it’s always been about the people. From our rockstar team and Mug Club members, to the new and curious customers wanting to support  local craft beer, that “gnome vibe” is a culture created by all of you that we can take anywhere.

After looking at available commercial space, we decided that we really wanted to stay in our current neighborhood. The Douglas Design District feels like home, but we weren’t sure how to do this, so we decided to just build a new space back here on our lot!

The taproom itself will be double the size, with a large covered patio and an additional outdoor beer garden for lots of indoor and outdoor seating options. Construction will begin later this summer with plans to open summer 2023. Brewing operations will remain at the current 1710 E. Douglas location, while the taproom will move to the new space at 1719 E. Victor St.

Follow us on all the socials for updates as we go, and we hope that you’re as excited as we are! 

-Torrey, Stacy and Team Gnome

What the Ope?

We were thrilled to sponsor local artist Geli Chavez's Ope mural back in 2019 as part of the Avenue Art Days event.

The mural is not only unique & hilariously Kansas, but is also on the side of Arthouse 310, a new local art gallery owned by our friends & gnomies Angie & Rhett Evans!

If you don't get it, "Ope" is something you might say when you are in someone's way, someone is in your way, or any experience where you might use terms like "oops, "sorry," “shoot,” or "excuse me." Now that you’re aware of this, you’ll notice midwesterners saying it all of the time…the more you gnome.

Fast forward to 2022 when we decided to call our wheat beer Ope!

We immediately reached out to Geli to see if she would design a tap handle label based on her mural. Not only was she excited for this project, but she was also thinking about expanding her Ope designs with goals of working with local businesses.

We're obsessed with the design and of course had to make tees & stickers...duh!

The Ope Wheat is currently on tap and kicks off our rotating Gnome Light Series, so there will always be a light beer option available with new styles and seasonal favorites!

Seeing our local art community grow and thrive is amazing, and it's neat when it all connects...almost like we planned it that way.

Even in these uncertain times, we still have to find ways to come together, be creative, and continue all of the Wichita pride and artistic growth we have seen over the past few years.

Let's keep the gnomemories going, we got this!

Cheers,
Stacy & Gnome Team

Living That To-Go Life is Tough

I’m not going to lie, the recent mandatory shutdown of bars and nightclubs has been worse for business than we anticipated. Even with all of our fun to-go events and specials, every week has been a struggle. We also realize more people are staying home as COVID cases have increased, and of course the safety of our community will always be more important than making beer.

While we’re hoping to be able to reopen this weekend (the mandate is scheduled to expire August 21st), we know all of the social distancing and mask wearing makes it difficult to enjoy our small taproom. The space that used to be cozy and felt like home to many of our gnomies hasn’t been the same since March.

You know us, whether we’re open or not, we’ll continue our crazy test batch days, Three-Pack Thursdays, and other fun gnome swag giveaways and contests. We recently got a small can filler, so we’re able to offer more 12 and 16oz can specials.

We appreciate your continued support, and please keep sharing your Gnome at Home moments with us, we miss you! Times are tough for everyone, so if spending money on craft beer isn’t possible, we hope that you will continue to engage with us on social media by sharing our posts and events.

Stay Gnome,

Stacy, HBIC/Small Business Survivor

Trying Our Best...We Have to Do Better

The past few months have been a true test to the stability and longevity of our business. While we are grateful that we were considered “essential,” and were able to stay open for to-go sales, times have not been easy, and I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t nervous about reopening next week.

Since we are already a small space, keeping everyone six feet apart will take us down to only about 25 to 30 seats if you include the patio. We will continue weekly to-go events like Test Batch Tuesday and Three-Pack Thursday for a while, so if you aren’t comfortable coming in or can’t find a seat, we encourage you to continue to place to-go orders either online or at the bar. We hope this isn’t a long-term solution, but we are committed to trying our best to keep our customers safe.

Speaking of being uncomfortable, we are well aware that while we’re over here worrying about wearing face masks and keeping the bar sanitized, there is real pain and suffering happening in our city and other communities that need our immediate attention and action.

The craft beer industry in general is known for being collaborative and progressive in some ways, but we have not been so great at reaching out and including people of color and other marginalized groups. There are many excuses for this, like “Not everyone likes craft beer,” or “We can’t be everything to everyone.”

When you hear inspiring stories from brewery owners of their grassroots start-ups where they have pulled themselves up by their literal brewing bootstraps in order to live their dreams, I have to think; Are we really trying our best? We’re known for raising awareness and sometimes even funds for local non-profits, participating in Pride and Women’s March events, supporting local art and music, and being generally involved in city planning and improvement projects, but we’re overlooking opportunities and large pieces of our communities. It’s okay to recognize this and to be uncomfortable.

Like most small businesses, we don’t have a large marketing budget, so we rely on word-of-mouth and social media in order to advertise. This works great, except when the majority of our customers look the same. We take pride in our diverse age and ideological demographic, but know that on any given day you can look in at our taproom and see a lot of white people.

Obviously we know that not everyone drinks craft beer and cannot be expected to support every small business in the city. However, we do know that brewery taprooms have become gathering places for friends, after work meetings, and a chance to meet someone new. A lot of breweries open in up-and-coming neighborhoods or warehouse districts, which can be great for revitalization efforts, but the groups who already live in these areas are often overlooked, and a bright and shiny new boutique or start-up business might not meet their needs. When we think of gentrification or urbanization, breweries definitely come to mind. The conversation of whether this is good or bad for the neighborhood has to be led by the brewery owners, regular customers, and anyone else who is invested in the economic growth of the area.

I don’t want to speak for other small businesses , but I can guess that most of us do not have diversity & inclusion committees and resources that larger companies might have, but we have to start somewhere. There are some great organizations to help us like the WSU Office of Diversity & Inclusion, and the new Discomfort and Grace online community. I’ve been reaching out to these groups and other non-profits to find out how we can make the most impact right now. This could be a fundraiser, sharing resources, speaking up or speaking out, or simply having the tough conversations that need to happen.

Trying our best at keeping our community safe needs to include everyone, and being a small space or specialized industry are no longer excuses. I have already taken up enough space with this, so I will keep you posted on future plans, but for for now, here is a list of Wichita businesses owned by POC that you can support right now from Create Campaign.

https://www.createcampaignks.com/directory

Here’s a list of black-owned breweries in the US for when you’re traveling again:

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/black-owned-breweries-us

If you want more data or have questions about US breweries in general, we suggest the Brewer’s Association

https://www.brewersassociation.org/directories/breweries/

-Stacy

We'll Get Through This Together, Separately, One Gnome Beer at a Time...or Several

When we started our business plan nearly 7 years ago, we assumed people would just do growler fills, and that we would distribute most of our kegs to local bars and restaurants where people were already patrons. We went ahead and built a small taproom with a bar, just in case people wanted to have a pint or two with friends.

Our opening night was something completely different. Wichita wanted a taproom to gather and enjoy beer with friends while meeting new friends. We ran out of beer so quickly, we hardly distributed any outside of the taproom for the first 6 months. Regular customers started calling it “The Gnome,” and we noticed a seat at the bar was a hot commodity. We also noticed that people were having conversations together and making new friends, coining us the Cheers of Wichita breweries, where everyone knows your name.

After being open for nearly 5 years, we can’t believe we have to tell our gnomies that they can no longer drink a beer in our taproom. While we have not yet been mandated to shut our doors, we feel a social responsibility to limit the number of people coming in. We tried to spread out our tables and chairs, but we have a cozy space and people like to be close together. We were also getting close to the 50 people limit, so we made the very difficult decision to limit our taproom hours for fills and to-go orders only, with limited staff.

This makes us nervous, because while this was our original business plan from the beginning, we have this community of gnomies now, and know that you may not want to drink gnome beer if you can’t be together in the taproom and participate in our events.

You proved us wrong again Wichita, with your overwhelming support of to-go orders and air high fives. Words cannot describe the amazing feeling on St. Patrick’s Day as we shed a few tears while sharing stories. So many of you continue to tip our bartenders as they fill your orders, and we are very grateful for this. The large tips on small orders do not go unnoticed, and reminds us that it’s small acts of kindness that will get us through this difficult time.

We know we won’t stay this busy for long with the economic pressure on all of us, but we also know this won’t last forever. We will be partying in the taproom again soon.

You are the ones who built our little community and keep it going, and we know you will help us continue this community in a different way, as we shift the way we do business and the way we shop.

We will be updating our website daily in order to keep the beer menu current, and have started offering to-go specials. We will also keep our online merchandise current and will be starting sales soon. This will all be shared on social media, and you can pre-order on our website, via Facebook messenger, or text your order in at (316) 771-2110.

We hope to see you briefly as you get a fill or grab a crowler to go, and if not, please continue to stay engaged with us on social media. Share pictures of your gnome beer at home using the hashtag #GnomeAtHome

We will get through this crazy time, and keep you posted as we continue to adjust daily and weekly.

We need each other...and also beer.

Wash your hands,

Torrey, Stacy, & Team Gnome

Getting to Gnome You

February 24th was World Bartender Day. It seems like everyday is something on the National Day Calendar, but this one got our attention. It’s a day to recognize and thank our favorite drink-slinging servers for their hospitality and hard work. For those who frequent a watering hole, a good bartender can be like a therapist or close friend who is an excellent listener and advice-giver. At our local taprooms and beer pubs, we know that our “beertenders” take pride in the ICT made brews they serve, and are ready to recommend all of our brewery friends, as well as local restaurants and shops to visitors; just don’t ask them their favorite.

So, if your bartenders spend time learning all about you, how well do you know them?

We decided to give our gnome team a little quiz with questions like “What was your first craft beer,” “Favorite food,” or “What’s a fun fact about yourself that we might not know.”

We gathered responses and shared in our social media stories all day on the 24th. Here are the answers in case you missed it. We learned a lot about our amazing team and we hope you do too.

Next time you’re in the taproom, give your gnome bartender a high five!

Cheers,

Your HBIC gnome, Stacy

• He had never been to a brewery before moving to Kansas *Answer: Our Rocket Gnome, Joe

• This plant-loving gnome loves helping plan our events and merch, and the Alaskan Amber was her very first craft beer. *Answer: Our Garden Gnome: Rebecca

• He plays in a local band, and loves burritos and pizza equally *Answer: Our Drummer Gnome: Taylor

• She loves the cannolis from Piatto, and is a die-hard KC Chiefs fan *Answer: Our Gnewest Gnome, Lauren

• He can juggle, and loves our Irish Red *Answer: Our Gnow-it-all Gnome, Aaron

• Bonus question: Who is the 6th gnomie who helps pick up shifts? *Answer: Our JV Gnome, Brian

Gaming Gnome

Happy New Year gnomies,

I bet we can all remember our favorite video game or even the first video game we ever played. Mine was Duck Hunt on my brother’s original Nintendo. I loved the springy sound the gun made and later used it to play grocery store…it was my item scanner of course. Years later a friend and I would spend an entire summer in my room playing Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo on what seemed like the smallest TV/VCR combo ever. While my video game playing days were short, I have great memories of playing them with friends and family over the years from Pac-Man to Guitar Hero, especially during the holidays and the winter break from school.

Recently, we decided to bring some of our memories to the gnome with a Raspberry Pi and a tiny little SIM card that holds 11,000 games, including everything from Atari to NIntendo 64. Technology has come a long way from the giant one-game cartridges we used to blow on when there was a glitch.

We love seeing our gnomies playing with their friends, and showing their kids what video games used to look like. Next time you’re in on a weeknight or Sunday afternoon, be sure to ask your bartender to show you the games. They’re free to customers and easy to set up, just buy some beer please...still a business here.

Cheers to 2020 and lots of new gnomemories in the taproom!

Happy New Year from our gnome family to yours.

Stacy

HBIC, Hopping Gnome Brewing

Women's Equality Day: What does that even mean?

Women’s Equality Day commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment on August 26th, 1920, granting the right to vote to women. It was first celebrated in 1973 during the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, which never passed by the way. So, it’s a day that is celebrated in the United States that sounds like women are now equal, but to be clear, equality has not yet been achieved. The name is meant for us to remember that the suffrage movement was just the beginning; there is still a lot that needs to be done not only for the equality of women, but for all marginalized groups in this country.

This brings me to my next point. If we’re being honest with ourselves and our herstory, the 19th amendment really only gave white women the vote. Of course this varied depending on the state and how quickly the polling stations at the time accommodated the ladies (I’m guessing many states were in no rush to get this going), but the suffragists helped to spark future organized movements that would change the course of history in the 20th century. Many women, especially women of color, would not see the inside of a voting booth until after the Civil Rights Movement.

If you are not familiar with the Women’s Suffrage Movement, check out the film Iron Jawed Angels. Trust me, if everyone had seen this movie before our recent primaries, we would have have more than a 10% voter turnout.

So how do we celebrate this equality-seeking day? Be sure to register to vote and vote in every election.

A few years ago when the date fell on a Saturday, I decided to organize a shopping day to support female business owners, while also supporting a female-focused non-profit. It was really an effort to raise awareness about the day. It also happens to be National Dog Day; not sure if women should be offended by this or not, but it really gives HBIC a whole new meaning.

This year’s event date will be August 24th, and participating businesses will be having sales and holding donation drives while supporting Dress for Success Wichita! Businesses include retail, restaurants, breweries, and specialty shops and salons. Many will have voter registration forms available at the register, so gather your gals and make a day of it.

We’ll be celebrating at the gnome with new HBIC Sour shirts! We’re finally printing the winning design from last year’s contest by Emily Rudy. Fun fact, Emily is originally from Wichita, but is now one of the owners of Norseman Brewing in Topeka, KS; what a small world! 20% of all sales will benefit Dress for Success Wichita.

Other organizations like the League of Women Voters and Resister ICT will be holding events throughout the weekend, so be sure to follow the event on Facebook for all updates and a list of participating businesses.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1790673414412872/

https://www.facebook.com/events/389069315147368/

First Fridays

If you are not famiiar with the Final Friday art shows, it is a monthly event held at various galleries and businesses around downtown Wichita, where artists can show and sell their work to the greater community. We started participating in 2015, and have really enjoyed supporting local artists, while having new artwork up on the walls every month!

The Wichita Arts Council recently did a poll and found that many local artists and galleries would prefer to open their art shows on the First Friday rather than the Final Friday of the month. Many holidays fall at the end of the month, and most cities do some kind of First Friday art crawl.

As a small business that supports the arts and has monthly art shows, it didn’t matter to us which date the shows would open, since we’re always open on Fridays. We just want to support the artists. It’s also important to us that we stay consistent with the Arts Council and galleries leading the arts initiatives in the community.

This transition will be taking place over the next few months. Downtown Wichita has been gathering and sharing all of the Final Friday information, and will be changing to First Friday in September.

We will not be holding a Final Friday show in August, but will begin First Fridays September 6th with local artist Cindy Bauman.

Cheers,

Stacy

HBIC, Hopping Gnome Brewing

Where did July go?

Summer always seems to go by quickly; between vacations and endless activities, the time just flies. Is it just me, or is July flying by extra fast? It was like one week we were shooting fireworks, and now it’s August. It could be going so fast, because we’ve had a lot of great events in the taproom and in the community.

Our annual Gnome for the Holidays: Christmas in July was a huge success thanks to all of you! There’s just something about drinking a really strong barrel-aged beer on a 100 degree day that you all enjoy, so we’ll continue this event annually for sure.

We’ve been doing lots of fundraisers lately, but one that is particularly near an dear to us is the Ride In & Recover event benefiting Wes and Karen Jenkins. The Jenkins recently suffered a terrible car accident that has left Wes in the hospital for several months.

Our Beer Advocate Rebecca decided to team up with Ethan next door at Piatto Pizzeria in order to help our friends through this difficult time. On July 23rd, Rebecca will donate all of her tips to the Jenkins, and Torrey and I will match this amount. Wes is a regular gnomie, avid bike rider, and supports all things local, so we want to support him in his recovery.

We have several events and new beers coming up this week, so please follow us on social media, and be sure to subscribe to our email newsletter to stay in the gnome on all events and gnews.

Until next time,

Stacy

HBIC, Hopping Gnome Brewing

Gnora the Holiday Gnome made an appearance at Christmas in July!

Cheers to More Years of Gnome Beers

Dear Gnomies,

I've been putting this off for several weeks now. I don't know why, we had a great anniversary party, and I've been meaning to thank you all for making it happen. The invoices have been paid, and the thank yous were sent, but I just can't seem to get all of my feelings into words in order to button this thing up for good. Honestly, I need to get moving on future events and marketing campaigns; it's basically Christmas in the retail world.

I don't know what it is about putting on a big event, but after it's over, it's just hard to move on. I did the same thing after Torrey and I got married, and after I threw a statewide 100th anniversary party while working at Girl Scouts. I think it's similar to the feeling you get when you come back from a vacation; the work has been piling up, and you need to jump in, but you're not quite ready yet. That's what I've been feeling these past few weeks, while Torrey jumped right back in the next day to brew 2 beers. To be fair, I think we can all agree that his side of the business is the have-to-do-now, while mine is more the nice-to-do-when we have the time, but either way, I am ready to wrap-up and move on.

Despite the weather, we had an amazing event on May 25th. Our wonderful neighbors at M&M insurance let us use their parking lot, which was the perfect size for food trucks, games, and music. In fact, I think we have plenty of room for more activities next year (too soon).

Overall, our team feels like we gave great service and provided a fun environment for all of our gnomies to celebrate, but we know with all first-time events comes some challenges and we there are things to do better next time.

While we're creating our own list, we want to hear your feedback.

Please click the button below to complete a quick survey, we appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

Cheers,
Stacy
HBIC, Hopping Gnome Brewing

You Don't Gnome Me: Don't Tie Me Down, 'Cause I'd Never Stay

The gnome gals traveled to Denver last week for a "work" trip. While most of us are familiar with International Women's Day on March 8th, unless you are really into  craft beer, you probably didn't know that it is also International Women's Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD). This day was started in order to encourage and empower female brewers all over the world to work together, whether they brew professionally or at home. While more women are joining this growing industry each year, the craft beer world is still predominantly male, especially on the brewing and production side. The Wichita craft beer scene has really taken off the last few years, but currently, there are no women employed as brewers and still very few in Kansas. 

While I do not claim to be a brewer, I am the HBIC of the Gnome after all, and I strive to embody and support all things that empower women. Like other Wichita and Kansas breweries, we have participated in this day by holding our own ladies collaborations and donating proceeds to local non-profits. We know the importance of giving back to the community, and will continue to do so, but I wanted to think bigger this year. I thought about what IWCBD really means to the craft beer community as a whole, and how I can contribute by highlighting the women doing the real work. So, I decided to seek out female brewers for an epic collaboration trip with the lady gnomes. My research immediately took me to another place they call "The Gnome," and their Head Brewer, Bess Dougherty. Like many in the industry, Bess started as a home brewer, and after taking a trip to Belgium, she knew she wanted to make a career out of brewing. She attended Siebel Brewing school online, knowing that she had to get as much education as possible in order to be able to compete with men in a relatively small craft beer industry at the time. While working at Wynkoop Brewing, she became the first full-time female brewer in Denver. She is now the Head Brewer at the Grateful Gnome Sandwich Shoppe and Brewery in Denver, and I knew we had to collaborate, if only because of our love of gnomes and beer. 

We worked together to create a recipe that aligned with the IWCBD theme Unite Forage; utilizing plants, herbs, and spices that can be found in your area, while also including a special hop blend from the non-profit women brewer's association, the Pink Boots Society. Prickly pear is native to Colorado, so the gnome team brewed a Prickly Pear Saison that will be on tap at the Grateful Gnome for the upcoming Craft Brewer's Conference in April. Stay tuned for plans for Bess to come to Wichita for a brew day later this summer. While visiting other breweries in Denver, Bess's name came up a lot as not only a pioneer for women in the industry, but also just a great person who makes awesome beer. She is definitely a role-model to any woman interested in pursuing a career in brewing and the craft beer industry as well, and the Hopping Gnome gals feel lucky that we had the opportunity to invade her brew house and learn her inspiring story. I like to take time on International Women's Day to reflect on all of the gains that have been made towards gender equality, but to also remember we aren't there yet, and there is still work to be done. Women like Bess show us that we can live our life the way we want, to say and do whatever we please. Don't tell me what to do.

*Sources: https://unitebrew.org/, https://www.pinkbootssociety.org, "You Don't Own Me" lyrics by Lesley Gore

Crowler Cans Now Available

We are so excited to be able to offer 32 oz crowler cans to go in the taproom! While we still offer the 64 oz glass growlers and will continue to fill 32 oz squealers until we run out out of caps, it has been nice to have an option that is easy to transport and recycle. Crowlers are $12 each and are available for purchase in the taproom now. *Prices may vary on seasonal beers.

Award Winning Amber

Hopping Gnome Brewing recently received a silver medal in the American Amber category for the Sepia Amber at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival in Denver. This is one of the largest annual craft beer festivals and it is considered a great honor to receive a medal at this event.

When Torrey and I were discussing the first flagship beers that we would want to have on tap in the hypothetical brewery in our minds, we both agreed that a good Amber Ale would be a must. This style is fairly common in the craft beer community and is characterized as more malty than hoppy. Torrey had three different home brew recipes that he liked, so he brewed all three and took bottles to friends, family, and other more non-partial members of the Wichita craft beer community. One sample stood out above the rest as the favorite, so Torrey started perfecting the recipe, creating a consistent beer with strong malt character and subtle notes of coffee, caramel, and nutty flavors. Brewed with Northern Brewer and named Sepia for the color of the camera filter that most of us have forgotten, since we don’t actually take pictures with cameras anymore. We were hoping Instagram would pick it up as a filter option, but you get the idea. There are a lot of Ambers out there with cool names that were already taken, so give us a break. 124 American Ambers were entered in the 2018 Great American Beer Festival from across the nation!

To be honored with the silver medal is very humbling, but not surprising to all the gnome fans out there. The Sepia Amber has been a favorite and will continue to be a staple in the taproom, as well as various local bars and restaurants in Wichita. Our gnome team members our excited to be able to officially say “Try our award winning Amber.”

HBIC Shirt Design Contest

Those eyes, that look...don't ask her to smile. We've all fallen in love with the fierce flapper that is our HBIC Sour label. The original artwork is by local artist and Wichita advocate Johnny Freedom, and was made into a beer label for a sour beer yours truly really wanted Torrey to brew...he decided to name the beer after the pop culture acronym HBIC (Head Bitch in Charge).

As we started talking about the beer name with customers, it became more than just a name. We started seeing it used as a hashtag, and to describe awesome women in our community. Both the beer and merchandise have become a staple in the taproom.

Since there are so many HBICs and great artists in the ICT, we thought it would be fun to do a contest for the next HBIC shirt design!

Here are the details:

• Submit entries to contact@hoppinggnome.com by August 20th.
• Must be in either JPG or PDF format...remember it needs to fit on a shirt
• Entries will be printed and voted on by customers at the Women's Equality Day ICT event on August 25th
• The winning artist will receive $200, gnome swag, and recognition on social media and website

New Tanks Arrive

Our five bbl brew system has been growing every year. We started with six fermenter tanks, which means we could only have six beers fermenting at a time. Fermentation typically takes fourteen to twenty-one days, so you could see why expansion in order to get more beers ready more quickly would be needed after the gnome started to catch on.

Shortly after our first anniversary we added in two more fermenter tanks and a new filtration system. Now at year three, we're ready for three more tanks. This expansion will help us keep up with demand in the taproom, as well as distribute more to local bars and restaurants. Stay tuned for more updates, cheers!