Ohio Brewery News

Friday Six Pack with Hannah Kent, Urban Artifact

Every Friday, we ask an Ohio craft brewery owner or employee to answer six questions about their path to the brewing industry, what sets their brewery apart and their thoughts on craft beer in Ohio.

Today we’ll chat with Hannah Kent, brewhouse operations lead at Urban Artifact in Cincinnati.

 

What made you decide to get into the craft brewing industry?

I had just come home from a deployment in 2013, the experience grew me up real quick and showed me that life is way too short to do something that I didn’t feel fulfilled with. I took the rest of my enlistment to look at what I loved and enjoyed and realized that my greatest enjoyment was meeting others over a beer and learning all of the different facets of the brewing industry. Here I am, eight years later after taking the plunge of changing careers and I don’t regret a second of it.

 

What advice would you give to someone who’s considering a career in craft brewing?

My best advice would be to expand your knowledge into more than just brewing. There are so many avenues in the brewing world to pursue that will help bring something more to the table. Find a path that you’re passionate about and use it to improve not just your work life but also your personal life.

 

Which of your beers do your customers enjoy the most and why?

Keypunch! It’s the perfect summer beer and the fruit just pops so well with the acidity of both our lactobacillus and the citrus profile of the key lime that it’s hard to put the pint down.

 

What’s your favorite thing about your brewery?

First and foremost our camaraderie – the ability to have a group of random people all in one building from completely different backgrounds and still work so well together just blows my mind. Our brewers are nothing but excellent.

 

Besides your own, what Ohio craft breweries impress you the most and why?

Hands down, Wolf’s Ridge. Everything I’ve had from them is delicious and truly shows the care and effort they put into their products.

 

Where do you think craft beer is headed? What do you think craft beer will look like five years from now?

Right now I believe the industry is in the age of either experimenting with what works and what doesn’t OR fine tuning their recipes to churn out consistent product. These two trends work so well for consumers as it allows them to drink from both ends of the spectrum. In five years time I believe the industry will be continuing the trend of pushing the envelope and creating completely unimaginable products to continue to change the alcohol beverage industry.