Nick Vaughn Shares More on Doodle Brewing

Nick Vaughn from Doodle Brewing was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about opening a new brewery.  I am really excited to see Doodle get up and going.  Not only will Doodle add to Kansas City's beer culture, they will add to Kansas City's Northland culture.  I grew up in the Northland and always heard the complaint there was nothing to do.  Not any more. Vaughn says "Once I get up and going, I'll have a tasting room. I can't wait to let people come in and try beers at the brewery."  Oh yeah, I'm there!

When should we expect to see Doodle beers on the shelves?

I'm working on getting the remainder of the various licenses and approvals.  I'm hoping to have bottles out in stores by the end of October, but I think that early to middle November is more likely.

What is your distribution going to look like?

The Doodle Brewing Company is a nano-brewery. My current capacity is somewhere around 150 barrels per year. With that being said, my initial distribution is planned for the Kansas City area only. I do want to distribute in more places, however the size and time constraints are my limiting factor. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't already have my eye on other potential markets.

What is the most difficult thing about starting up a brewery?

The most difficult thing has to be getting all the licenses and permits. It's been over a year and a half since I applied for my federal brewers notice. And when things take longer than you originally plan, the money starts to disappear fast. I've had some very forgiving people who've worked with me throughout the beginning and I'd have gone under without making a drop of beer if it wasn't for them.

Your first beer is a Belgian style, can we assume Doodle beers will have a strong Belgian influence?

I think the best answer is that there will probably be a good amount of Belgian influence, but I also want to make it known that I'm not going to restrict myself to Belgian beers. I think that one of the advantages I have as a small brewer is the ability to experiment and try out different beer styles. Limiting myself to one small section of brewing styles isn't something I want to do.

What other styles are you working on?

I always have a lot of ideas for what my next beer style should be (but it does tend to be influenced by the beer I'm currently drinking). I've debated seasonal beers or just another year round selection. I think right now I'm leaning towards a Belgian Pale Ale as a year round selection. But that could change after my next beer.

What food pairings would you recommend for Dubbel Doodle?

The carmel and raisin flavors are probably the dominate flavors for the Doodle Dubbel. It goes great as a dessert beer with a bananas foster or since it's fall, a nice slice of pumpkin pie.

What brought you to Liberty, MO?

I chose Liberty at first because of its location. It's close to Kansas City, its on a major highway, I found the perfect location for my brewery and also I live north of Kansas City. But since deciding on Liberty, I've found that the city of Liberty itself is very welcoming. My first meeting with city officials went very well and they were excited to have a brewery starting in city limits. Its a great feeling to receive a warm welcome when you're trying to start a business, and I think Liberty was a great choice.

What is your guilty pleasure beer?

This is a tough call. I don't think I have a traditional guilty pleasure beer. The availability of great craft beer has made it very easy to always have something for every situation. I think if I had something to be guilty about while enjoying, it would probably be the pints I pull from my brite tanks while I'm brewing. Since I don't produce very much beer, I should leave it all in the tank to bottle and sell, but the need to do some "Quality control testing" always takes over. And if that answer doesn't work, I do have many fond memories of drinking cans of Miller High Life.