We were alerted recently to the following public information on file in Catawba County court system with regard to the Hollar Hosiery Mill:

Since the legal cases were filed recently (in early-May 2013), we don't know if they have been resolved or still pending. But, the Defendants (Hollar Hosiery is listed as a Defendant in both) are alleged, according to the above complaints, to owe more than $586,000.

Since part of our lease agreement was the eventual ownership of the brewery equipment, it begs the question: Would all of the brewery equipment, as a current asset of Hollar Hosiery, been in jeopardy? Or would there have been a lien(s) placed against the equipment by the Plaintiffs? We don't know.

There are hundreds of other questions that these cases raise. We can't answer them here. We can only speculate. But, as we stated before, give anything a little time and the picture becomes clear. 

Since this is public information (if we can get it), why hasn't there been any mention of this in the local newspapers? Being scooped by an ale company, in a different state, might be an interesting question as well.   

It should be noted, Nathan Kirby has insinuated severe, mind-boggling, potential repercussions against anyone who informs the public about him. He told us several times that he would "sue us," if we ever mentioned his name. Just mentioned his name. Seriously!

According to him, he is not someone to be trifled with. He's very powerful, you see.  

Therefore, we want to make sure the former statement, and we'll repeat it: “We are not seeking to defame or cause any injury whatsoever to Nathan Kirby, or his business,” is abundantly clear.

Since we assume that we still have the “freedom of speech” in the United States, the following are just casual observations that we have found interesting:

1. Nathan Kirby has a vanity project called, “The Preservationist;”

2. According to Nathan Kirby's own website, at this date and time (May 7, 2013), no one has picked up “The Preservationist” reality show for programming yet;

3. During one of Nathan Kirby's own online teaser trailers (on his website, mind you), one of his workers, Bill, says, “Nathan thinks his timeline is aggressive. It's [bleeping - for public purposes] insane. It's not just aggressive. It's insane!”

   You can see it here:

The above statements are true. They are taken from Nathan Kirby's own website and videos. We have not altered or touched them.

Therefore, please take this video into consideration, as we assume the worst going forward. You see, we have been threatened with legal action from the Hollar Hosiery developers, for their inability to deliver the brewery on-time. Somehow, you see, it's our fault they couldn't deliver the brewery. Remember, their own video captured timeline wasn't just aggressive, but bleeping insane, according to their own project manager.  

UPDATE: It appears "The Preservationist" trailer was taken from public to "private" on YouTube. That's interesting... We wonder why that is???  

I haven't tried it yet, but I love the name!

While we won't get into some of shady written lease amendments we received from the developers (and rejected!), it was during this time that we first learned of the soil contamination, and where and what the Hollar Hosiery "Brownfield" concern was exactly.

It should be noted that in our lease agreement that was signed on April 20, 2012, there is one line in the agreement discussing the "Brownfield." However, there was no exhibit specifying what and where it was. When we asked about it, they basically gave us the "all old buildings are Brownfields" line. Apparently, they found out in August 2012. We didn't find out until we got the first attempted Lease Amendment. 

We got extremely concerned when we saw the following image (the red box has been added to show where the brewery was supposed to be):

As previously mentioned, the added red box is where the Skull Coast Brewery would have been. The black plume with the little toxic icons inside of it is titled "Area Of Possible Soil Contamination."  

My favorite part of this process, however, was when we heard from Nathan Kirby basically telling us that you don't need to get your attorney involved.

Boys and Girls whenever someone tells you basically NOT to consult your attorney on their lease amendments and "Brownfield" environmental assessments, RUN don't walk to your attorney's office!

And, before you think I am exposing the property unfairly, I'll let what we heard from Nathan Kirby answer that: The Brownfield agreement is public record anyway.

We are happy to report we will be in the June issue of Culture Magazine. The Skull Coast Brewing Company's Gallows Point Dead Man's Porter will be paired with a cheese (not sure which one yet). When we get the magazine, we'll be sure to upload images and the article. Otherwise, you can get it at your newsstand!

That's right.

On April 20, 2012, we signed a lease agreement with Hollar Hosiery Investments, LLC., to lease 6,019 square feet of space at 883 Highland Avenue SE, Hickory, NC. The term of the lease commenced on July 1, 2012, and would end at midnight on June 30, 2022. The monthly lease rate was $9,028.

We even agreed to provide a cushion for the developers to deliver the space of an extra 180 days from the commencement date. If the developers were working diligently to make the space operational, they had until December 28, 2012.

It should be noted that we started speaking with representatives about the project back in 2011. We first met with a representative of the development as early as March 2011. While we had spoken with potential investors and developers before, things really started to heat up in the Fall of 2011. We helped them make contact with a couple of different brewery equipment manufacturers, and architectural plans for the 6,019 square feet of space were drawn up.

In January of 2012, I met with all the developers of the project and we hashed out the deal, based on the plans, renders, equipment and installation necessary for them to make the brewery operational. Without getting too detailed, the shorthand version boils down to “If you build it, we'll come.” We were not responsible for the construction of the space.

We made the developers aware that they had missed the 180 day deadline from the commencement date. Even after, we were negotiating with the developers, working hard to figure out how to keep the project alive and moving forward. On February 13, 2013, however, we had to formally serve the developers notice of default and breach of the lease.

While later posts will get into some of the details and refute some of the rumors being put out there, we think it is important to establish some of these initial points.  

http://www.hickoryrecord.com/news/article_ef4abab4-a883-11e2-9118-0019bb30f31a.html

Sadly, complete information contained in the HDR article is sorely lacking. It's really only from the developer.

While Skull Coast Brewery kept a strict code of silence during the negotiations with the developers, they apparently did not. We'll fill you in on all the details.

Please stay tuned to new posts in the coming days.     

We also want to thank The Grapevine in Fort Mill, SC, for letting us shoot there. And, we couldn't be happier for Boxcar Brewery out of Lancaster, SC!

It was great to get to know Alison from CN2 News and chat about craft beer! 

Bavarian Brewing Technologies Installation in the UK

The image above is a brewery they manufactured the equipment for and installed in the UK. It should be noted that our Mash Tun and Kettle have the exact same plating and look, although smaller. 

Hang in there everyone! We're getting there! 

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