Kenneth Richards was studying for his PhD in Religion when he came across the history of brewing alcoholic ginger beer in a textbook, which inspired him to revive a pre-prohibition era ferment and brew hard ginger beer for the modern-day. Now he is introducing a lesser-known category to today’s drinker: from craft beer lovers to wellness-driven consumers of hard seltzer and kombucha with Halyard Brewing.
How is ginger beer brewing similar and different from other fermented beverages?
It’s a lot more like cider or mead production than beer. We take U.S. grown evaporated cane sugar, grade A molasses, organic ginger, and spices and brew them together with water in a large kettle. The ginger beer wort is then fermented much like a beer or a cider. Depending on the brew, there are different steps we take after fermentation. For example, in our brew Volcano Juice we blend in a house-made lemonade (made with organic lemons) with the ginger beer for our version of a ginger beer shandy.
![Kenny with apple](https://beerselfie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Kenny-self-portrait-apple-orchard-882x1024.jpg)
Who has brewed ginger beer historically?
Generally speaking, ginger beer was brewed mostly by the English and in English colonies – especially in the US, Caribbean, and Australia.
![Halyard on ice](https://beerselfie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/halyard.jpg)
How has your education informed your work with Halyard?
This is a big question, and I feel like I could go on at length in my attempt to answer you. In short, I am a strong believer in the importance of a humanities education in helping to create good citizens, better people, and for building strong critical thinking skills. I find that I am constantly pulling from my education and experience in academia as I build this company: from public speaking to managing group dynamics, from design thinking to brand building, and to the ability to apply critical thinking skills across a variety of important business tasks (like reading contracts). Also, grad school is very hard, it’s tons of work, and you are very poor for a long time… just like the life of an entrepreneur.
![Kenny with pip](https://beerselfie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/kenny-self-portrait-salty-768x1024.jpg)
Who is your target market for Halyard, and how have you introduced Halyard to them?
Our target market are people who want to drink something different, who may be a little bored or tired of craft beer, and want to drink a brew that is delicious, made with whole ingredients, and better for you. Our customers tend to be adventurous, wellness driven, but still down to have a good time.
What kind of flavors work best with ginger beer?
Citrus, fruit, spicy: acid and sweetness to bring out the ginger.
How do you come up with ginger beer cocktail recipes?
Ginger beer is a wonderfully versatile cocktail ingredient and can be subbed in for a variety of other sparkling beverages (like champagne or tonic). There are also a lot of cocktails that work really well with a ginger beer addition. For example, we like to add Volcano Juice to the classic Jungle Bird to make a Volcano Bird. I like to do lots of research and experimentation (for example, I love Amaro + Ginger Beer variations). We also get a lot of great ideas from the bartending community. I love when a bartender makes a cocktail with Halyard. They are the real pros, and I am rarely let down.
![El Diablo](https://beerselfie.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/El-Diablo.jpg)
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