Name: Kevin Ryan
Title: Owner & Vice President
Why did you decide to open a brewhouse in Downtown Allentown?
My father, Rich, and I are business partners, and we have owned and operated the two Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt locations in Allentown, Pa., for the past eight years. We have always wanted to grow as a company and bring another fun and exciting place to Allentown. We developed the concept of a brewery/brewpub that brews on-site and has a scratch kitchen focusing on artisan pizzas. We had looked at a lot of potential spaces in Allentown and around the Lehigh Valley. After traveling to Ashville, North Carolina in 2018, I decided we needed to search for a unique home in an urban environment that had a lot of character. With everything that’s going on in Downtown Allentown, it felt like the perfect fit. 732 Hamilton is the perfect home for Hop Daddy’s!
What inspired you to open Hop Daddy’s Brewing Co.?
My father and I only wanted to be involved in a business that brings fun and happiness to people’s lives. I have a passion for craft beer and my father is a pizza fanatic. What’s a better combo than pizza and beer? Ultimately, we know that people want a unique experience when they go out. We wanted to create a lively, fun vibe that’s different from your typical brewery or restaurant. It has been great seeing people come and hang out with family and friends for hours here at Hop Daddy’s and that’s what keeps us going!
What’s your mission statement?
Our mission is to deliver Good Beer, Real Food and Cool Vibes. We are a totally transparent business. We have an open kitchen and our brewery is open to the public for seating anytime. We source high-quality, fresh, and unprocessed or frozen foods because we care about our guests.
What makes your brewing company different from others in the area?
Hop Daddy’s Brewing Co. has more going on than just the beer. The Lehigh Valley is full of other great craft breweries. We are pumped to be joining an industry of such quality local craft breweries. We went out and hired an executive chef and spent a lot of time developing the “feel” of Hop Daddy’s to make it a unique night out. You can sit really wherever you want. You can hang up on the mezzanine on the couches, playing shuffleboard, foosball, Jenga. We have an amazing outdoor beer garden with a fire pit and heaters. You can check out our pizzaiolos making pizzas in our Italian-imported wood-fired oven. You can enjoy a good quality meal all while you are enjoying house-made craft beers.
What are some signature beers your team is working on?
Right now, we have our Hop Daddy Pale Ale Batch No. 1 on tap! We just kegged up our Rye Porter this weekend. We are going to be brewing our Hazy IPA and American IPA this weekend and early next week. From there, we are working on developing a sour program, a Belgian series, a solid brown ale base to build off of, and development of some unique IPA’s with proprietary hop strains. Over the next couple of months, we plan to fill 10 taps with our house beers and offer one rotating guest tap and a local cider tap.
Name a couple of menu items that you would recommend to a new customer.
Our pizzas are amazing! We make our dough in house daily by hand and the same with our sauce. Each pizza is a work of art. We have great fresh and affordable salads in full and half sizes. We use all-natural Bell & Evans chicken and our wings are smoked and dry-rubbed – they are juicy and delicious. Our burger is a short-rib-and-brisket blend patty, and it’s one of the best in the Valley. The flight of fries has been a top seller, and we have a great selection of shareable items that are great to enjoy any time!
What type of events will you be having at your Brewhouse?
Right now, we have a lot of live music events already planned through January here at Hop Daddy’s. We are launching our Hoppy Hour program next week, which will include food and drink specials ($3 select shareables and $3 house beers) Monday – Wednesday from 5 pm – 7 pm. We are offering half-price wings on Thursday evenings and all day Sunday!
We are looking to add a trivia night, an open mic night and we are partnering with the Alternative Gallery to support local artists via movie screening nights on the mezzanine and other unique events. We are also developing community-based volunteer events where we will invite the public to come join our team on a volunteer mission (support schools or food shelters) and receive a ticket for a complimentary drink after the event. More to come so please stay tuned!
What are some unique features in your Brew House?
We have a 5bbl brewhouse with a reverse osmosis filtration system. The number 1 ingredient in beer is water. Having good clean water allows for great beer. We made the investment in this system so we deliver the best beer possible. Each time we brew a batch, we get about 10 half kegs, which is the perfect amount for a business like ours. We will have enough product to run each beer for long enough and keep a fun rotation of new beers coming on the taps. Our beer will be some of the freshest beer you’ll have because we only run small batches and it’s made only 100 ft from the taps!
Are you going to be doing anything special for City Center residents?
Yes, of course! We want the residents of City Center to feel like Hop Daddy’s is home. We offer the standard Gold Card discount to members. In addition, we want to release information and host special food and beer tastings and private events for City Center residents only. This will allow the folks who live in the buildings all around us to get a sneak peek “under the hood” view into Hop Daddy’s Brewing Co.
Will you be offering any special discounts to residents this month?
Yes, we would like to offer 20% off this month for Gold Card residents! Can’t wait to see you at Hop Daddy’s soon!
