When Jeremy Jackson’s wife gave him a home brewing kit for Christmas several years ago, he had no idea it would change the trajectory of his life.
Jackson loves beer. He enjoyed brewing it in his basement and sharing his creations. But he never expected to take it to the next level.
Until he and two of his friends concocted an idea to do just that.
“We kept talking about it and the more we talked about it, it didn’t seem that far-fetched,” Jackson says.
They decided to take a risk and try their hand at opening a small brewery in Newport News. And in June, after self-financing their endeavor, Twisted Knot Brewing Co. was born in Oyster Point.
They built much of the inside of the 2,200-square-foot brewery and bar out of old barn wood that Jackson was able to get from an old family farm in upstate New York. The seven-foot bar is made of a piece of black walnut. The brewery’s name came from the fact that there was a twisted knot in the wood.
The brewery is a two-barrel brewhouse. There are usually 10 beers on tap, six flagship and four rotating.
“We are a nano batch-sized brewery,” says Jackson, 40. It is open on the weekends and is available for private parties.
Jackson and his partners, Dan Peters and Andrew Schlichte, all work full-time jobs. Jackson, who brews the beer with Schlichte, is a solutions architect for Siemens and comes into the brewery at odd hours to brew. The partners rotate weekend duty working the brewery.
Twisted Knot serves IPAs, stouts, wheat beers and coffee stouts. Jackson loves cooking and is a master at coming up with new flavor profiles. For the holidays, he built an American ale flavored with cranberry, marshmallows and graham crackers. The coffee stout is 12 percent alcohol, created with caramel, marshmallows and vanilla beans. “It’s like eating a caramel,” Jackson says.
The brewery has also served a very popular blueberry beer that was purple and 9 percent alcohol. The brewers rotate pastry beers and fruit beers on their menu.
“We have something for everyone,” Jackson says. “We try different ideas. We strive to be innovative with our beer styles. We take advice from our customers. It’s so nice to get reviews from them. It’s a really nice feeling when they like it. We want to know when it’s not good.”
Schlichte decides the names for the beer. But when a customer suggests an idea and it comes to fruition, the beer will be named for the customer. The brewery started a terrarium beer club that allows customers to have their own glass at the bar and get 16 ounces of beer for a 10-ounce price. The club was capped at 130 and sold out.
The brewery has partnerships with other breweries in the area to allow for the sharing of different ideas and resources. It also brings in food trucks for customers who may be hungry while drinking.
The popularity of the brewery has grown significantly since it opened, Jackson says.
“We maxed out our growth in terms of space,” he says. “We are very happy where we are. We are delighted with the growth. We love our client base. Everyone who comes in here has great things to say.”
TO THE POINT:
Twisted Knot Brewing Co.
Address: 11838 Canon Blvd., Ste. 400, Newport News, VA 23606
Contacts: Jeremy Jackson, Dan Peters, Andrew Schlichte 757-782-5941
Hours: Friday: 4 – 9 p.m., Saturday: 1 – 9 p.m.
Be the first to comment