USA, OK: Kochendorfer Brewing Company looking to become Duncan’s first ever brewery

The Kochendorfer Brewing Company in Duncan is looking to become the areas first ever brewing company, KFDX reported on October 11.

Lenny Cripps knew for many years he wanted to open a brewery, but it wasn’t until about six years ago that his business partner Christopher Kochendorfer decided they should make it happen.

The year was 2012. Kochendorfer was at a bar with his friend and they started talking about making their own beer.

After many failed attempts, Kochendorfer was introduced to a man who had been brewing his own beer for more than 20 years, Lenny Cripps.

"My wife's family thankfully lives right next door to Lenny on this land," Kochendorfer said. "They introduced me to Lenny. I got to see this magnificent place and fell in love with it."

Owning his own brewing company has been a long time dream for Cripps.

"Every place that I brewed previously in all of the brewpubs, I was brewing somebody else's recipe," Cripps said. "Not my beer. Brewing somebody else's. So, I wanted to put mine out there and see what would happen."

Cripps said a lot goes into making beer.

"You start with a barley and you grind it, mix it with hot water and what they call an ash. You hold it to a particular temperature, it converts the starches and the grain to sugar. Then you rinse that liquid into your boil kettle and collect whatever volume you need and that's where you boil it with the hops," Cripps said.

After it's done boiling, it's time to add the yeast. Then you have a beer that is ready for drinking. When coming up with this idea, Kochendorfer says he didn't want the brewery to be like other breweries.

"We'll have an outdoor patio, an indoor tap room, we are going to have a dog park, a playground, and walking trails. What you could really is to be able to come, spend the afternoon hang out. We won't be serving food but we're hoping to partner with local food trucks," Kochendorfer said.

Kochendorfer and Cripps said the feedback from the community has been tremendous, as many people have supported them as they take this from a dream to reality.

Kochendorfer Brewing Company will break ground Oct. 12, 2018, with plans to open around April 1, 2019.

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