It started with a wedding in 2003....
Connie, gluten intolerant since birth and avoiding it since 1998, wanted a Gf beer for her wedding reception and reached out to Leigh online. (Lol) Leigh had been home brewing Gf beers for years, and had won brewing awards in the SCA (http://www.sca.org/) for her "traditional" brews. The two really hit it off, the wedding reception beer was a huge success, an
d they started brewing for fun in all kinds of settings and sharing with many friends! At one party, an old WWII veteran tried it because it was gluten free and he was Celiac. Tears streamed down his face at the taste of the first real beer he had had in 20 years. That is when Leigh and Connie knew what they had to do and started working on their "Gf Brewery Dreams". By Fall 2008, the two had gathered investors and loans ($1.3M) for the New Brewery: building, equipment, lawyers, engineers, graphic artist, web design, workers--everything lined up. They were ready to sign all the contracts at the end of the week, and begin! But, the end of the week also brought the Recession.... The investors pulled out quick, the whole deal crashed around them in a matter of hours. All of their savings, time, and efforts were wasted, and it wasn't even their fault. Trying to make a smaller plan quickly didn't work either, so Connie and Leigh put the "Gf Brewery Dream" on hold and just brewed beer for fun again, thinking, "Just until just the right situation comes along...." Of course, brewing is in Leigh's blood and she couldn't stop, so high-quality home brewing kept her busy and won DHB the 2013 Gold Metal in the US Open Beer Championship in the Gluten free beer category...beating the Belgians. Then early in 2017, the Hog Haus Brewery saw these two determined women and offered their Brewery a home, the brewing equipment a separate enclosed room, and their Gf beers several dedicated taps! They made history as the first GF Brewery in Arkansas!