Lake Tahoe/Squaw Valley in the spring of 1996, to be exact. A young Stephen Apking was visiting his brother in California for a spring break snowboard trip. It was here that Stephen discovered his passion for craft beer. Drinking Tahoe Red Ale from Lake Tahoe Brewing Company quickly became a daily routine as he would stop for lunch at the Mid Station grill. Stephen was struck by the uniqueness of
the flavor, and how drastically different it was from the brews he had been accustomed to on the East Coast. So began his journey. With no way to get that style of beer back home, he took it upon himself to brew his own. He read up on the subject and began trying as many microbrews as he could get his hands on. His first batches of beer tasted good, friends and family enjoyed them, and urged him to brew more. Over the years he gained confidence and began to brew bolder styles, experimenting on his pilot system and sharing his beer with as many people as possible. That same pilot system would go on to serve as a pilot system for numerous other craft breweries in the Knoxville area taking root in the 2000s. But just prior to the turn of the century, Stephen had an itch ... an itch for competition. Beer festivals were different back in the day. Much smaller crowds, far fewer brewers, and a totally different experience altogether. The men and women who were drinking craft beer in the 90s were pioneers in their own right. Many were homebrewers, and all shared a love for full flavor beer like it had been made in the past. Stephen learned from these individuals, and before long he was winning awards at various festivals in the area. He racked up five gold medals, three silvers, and one bronze over the course of three years; but more importantly, he had decided that one day he would open his own craft brewery. The hexagonal shape is where this story begins. The founders of Hexagon Brewing Company searched far and wide to come up with a name that not only had meaning, but also was 'free and clear' on the open market (any brewer will tell ya, coming up with an unused brewery name can feel damn near impossible!). Little did they know their inspiration was all around them. Stephen was an avid beekeeper; the honey comb structure, also similar to the design of the snowboards and wakeboards that brought him in contact with craft beer, gave him the idea to use the hexagon shape as motivation for a name. But, it was a bit of fate that solidified Hexagon as the brewery name. During the time a decision had to be made about the name of the brewery, Stephen got a call that would take him to Ohio on a hunt for the fly rods his grandfather taught him to fly fish with. After finding the rods, he came upon a signed copy of a book by the maker of the rods, Wayne Cattanach. Stephen flipped a few pages and came across the explanation of the hexagonal structure used in making these particular bamboo rods. It was as if his grandfather had reached back and gave him just the guidance he needed at this particular point in the infancy of what would soon be called Hexagon Brewing Company. With Hexagon the brewery name, he hit the ground running. Stephen worked for several years to put all the pieces together to start the brewery: putting a plan together, selecting equipment, raising funds, finding a location, design/layout, etc. Finally, in June 2016, with everything in place, the first swing of a hammer started demo and build-out process for their new brewery at 1002 Dutch Valley Drive. Over the next 8 months, the work went on to build a production facility and taproom based on a steam-fired, 20-barrel SMT brewhouse mated with a 3.5-barrel pilot system. The big system would allow them to make enough beer to distribute to the market, while the pilot system would allow them to create fun beers and continue experimenting. On Saturday, February 18, 2017, they fired up the pilot system for the first time, and so began the exciting next stage for Hexagon, brewing great beer for Knoxville and beyond to enjoy. Cheers!
