Olde Hickory Brewery Review in Hickory, North Carolina

I love a craft beer story where a founder has a vision beyond just brewing quality craft beer. It’s why I geeked out so much a couple of months ago when I wrote a review of Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, North Carolina. Both the craft beer and business nerd in me stood in admiration of brewery founder Sean Lily Wilson. Not only is Fullsteam Brewery producing high quality beer, they also helped transform downtown Durham into somewhere people actually want to patron, live, and work.

Fullsteam’s story is not one in seclusion. Craft breweries throughout the country deserve credit for doing more than brewing excellent beer. They’re also helping to change local economies. Olde Hickory Brewery in Hickory, North Carolina is another great example.

A Vision for Hickory

When Stephen Lylery and Jason Yates purchased Olde Hickory Brewery, the brewery was located outside of town in Longview. Downtown Hickory was going through a transition from the furniture hub the city once was to the data center (Google and Apple) that the region is quickly becoming. Thus, the downtown was void of life and mostly abandoned.

Olde Hickory’s downtown presence began with the Olde Hickory Taproom in 1998 but soon expanded to include the brewery in 2000. Stephen drove by an abandoned building in downtown on his daily commute and had a vision that the historic building would be perfect for a brewery. One day, a for sale sign was posted in front of the building which today is the brewery home for Olde Hickory Brewery.

Today, over 25 businesses operate in downtown. Seven of those businesses are restaurants and bars. Olde Hickory later added a second downtown taproom to the mix, converting the town’s historic train station into the Olde Hickory Train Station, which operates as a higher end restaurant and gourmet market specializing in regional foods. Even their burgers are amped up a notch mixed with 60% short rib and 40% bacon.

The brewery also operates a third taproom at its original location in Longview. Amos Howards is definitely a spot beer pilgrims shouldn’t miss. The taproom reminded me of an old roadhouse saloon with is dark paneling and black and white checkered floor. As an added touch, many of the tables are located inside wooden barrel cutouts. The bar still honors the imperial pint and serves beer in 20 oz glasses.

An Impressive Kitchen

While I didn’t get to try the burgers at Olde Hickory Train Station, I did get to sample the fare at the Olde Hickory Taproom. If the Taproom is supposed to have the scaled down kitchen, I can only imagine what the food is like at the Station.

We started with the Pub Chips. I’m a sucker for homemade potato chips, and the Taproom’s definitely didn’t disappoint. The chips are served alongside one of three dipping sauces. We sampled all three. The Cool Buttermilk Ranch was what you would expect. The Beer Cheese had a nice hint of spice that elevated the flavor. The Hot Blue Cheese was very impressive. There was an ample amount of funkiness without an overly sharp finish. The dip is warm which lends a sense of meltiness.

For my main, I ordered the Olde Hickory Special Pizza made with homemade tomato sauce, cheddar, spinach, smoked oysters, tomatoes, onions, and bacon. Why I ordered it, I have no idea. Regulars of this blog know how particular I am with pizza. I admit to loving the pizza. The flavors were a perfect blend of smoke and brine with plenty of toppings studded throughout the pizza, including large chunks of oysters.

For dessert, I opted for more beer…

The Beer

I started my tasting with the Ruby Lager brewed in the American Amber style. I’m a big fan of Olde Hickory’s dark beers so I was expecting greatness from their rendition of a slightly darker larger. I felt the beer was a bit too much of a malt bomb. Then again, I was sampling on a hot, summer afternoon. The weather could have affected my palette.

Next, I tried the Hefe-Weizen, which was supposed to be an unfiltered wheat beer. The appearance lacked any cloudiness though. I was assured that while the color in this batch was off, the full flavor was still there. Strong notes of banana and bubblegum were definitely present with a slight hint of cloves. It was definitely a nice thirst quencher regardless of the appearance.

I sampled the Raving Session Black IPA alongside its bigger brother, the Black Raven IPA. The sessionable version had a balanced blend of chocolate and tobacco studded malts on the nose. The tongue started out with those same notes but finished with an earthy bitterness from the hops. It was a well-done version of a beer that is hard to reproduce in a session format and would be ideal for a fall tailgate party. The Black Raven IPA brought more of everything to the mix, including a 7% ABV. The black IPA was the perfect warmer for a cold autumn evening.

I followed the pair of black hoppy ales with the Hickory Stick Stout. The ale delivered strong and welcome notes of bitter coffee with a creamy texture and crisp finish from the hops. It was the type of stout that works well on the palette any time of the year. This is where Olde Hickory really hits its stride with maltier, heavier selections including the Irish Walker Barley Wine, which won a silver medal in the Olde Ale / Strong Ale category at the Great American Beer Festival. Even though the ale is not barrel aged, I still found a nice booziness to it (perhaps that’s from the 10% ABV…) along with a blend of caramel, crisp hops, and hints of dried fruits.

Yes my friends, the tasting did continue through more of Olde Hickory’s portfolio. With my pizza, I ordered the Redeemer Imperial IPA as I was looking for something hoppy and malty to wash down the many flavors I was expecting on my pie. The 10% IPA delivered a healthy caramel malt backbone to stand up the dank and piney hops. It was definitely a perfect pairing with the pizza.

Last, we ventured over to Amos Howards, as it’s a must visit Olde Hickory Brewery attraction. To our surprise, they had one of the last kegs of Omega Point still on draft. Olde Hickory produced Omega Point in honor of their 20^th anniversary and blended seven different barrel aged beers dating back to their first barrel aged beer Olde Hickory brewed in 2006. Omega Point delivered a complex blend of flavors bringing together oatmeal, fig, apple, and raisin. The beer highlighted why it’s important to visit breweries; it’s a chance to try passion projects that you won’t find even at your most eclectic bottle shop.

Olde Hickory Brewery is a Destination Worth Visiting

Olde Hickory Brewing has transformed historic downtown Hickory into a place worth visiting. Not only does the brewery have two taprooms mere blocks from each other, it has also paved the way for additional restaurants, bars, and shops. Located about an hour north of Charlotte, it’s definitely worth an afternoon visit or stop on your way to or from Asheville. Go for the beer but stay for everything else Hickory has to offer.

What brewery have you been to that has helped to transform a city?