Guild Member Spotlight: Yergey Brewing
A small, peaceful community just southwest of a bustling Allentown, Emmaus is a gem of the Lehigh Valley. However, it too can be a bustling place, if you have ever been to Emmaus on a Sunday morning, during the warmer months. Emmaus offers its residents, and those who venture into town, great trails to bike and hike, annual festivals, a farmers market, and a variety of great local businesses, including some great breweries. Today we spotlight, one such brewery, Yergey Brewing.
Yergey Brewing is located at 235 Main Street Emmaus, right on the main drag, just north of the Emmaus Triangle. If you miss the sign, you definitely will not miss the newly painted mural that stands directly adjacent to Yergey’s. The mural was erected after a local resident, Shirley Kline, entered HGTV’s “Celebrate Home Towns Sweepstakes’’ and won. The mural depicts all things Emmaus and is pictured below. The mural enhances the sense of community within Emmaus, which we feel Yergey Brewing also accomplishes! We sat down with Owner, Jim Yergey and Brewer Matt, Yergey to discuss the past, present, and future of Yergey Brewing.
The Yergey Brewing adventures began with Jim in the 1990’s. After getting his Chemistry PhD from Penn State and working in the US for some time, Jim moved the family to Montreal, Canada. While working in Montreal, Jim found himself becoming more interested in craft beer and put it upon himself to make the beer he wanted to drink accessible. After 10 years in Canada, the Yergey family moved back to the Lehigh Valley, where Jim continued his chemistry focused career up until 2014. Shortly after, Jim, still having a love for brewing, entered Fegley’s “Brewer for a Day” competition and won. One thing we learned after talking to Jim is that he is a modest guy, as he requested that we should not tell this story again. So here is a link if you would like to read more:
Having great success with homebrewing, a background in chemistry, and taking time to reflect on his next career choice, Jim made the decision to open a brewery in Emmaus. When Yergey Brewing opened in 2016, at the location now hosting Funk Brewing’s taproom, Jim was putting in close to 80 hours a week. Eventually Jim made the decision to hand the brewing off to his Son, Matt, who was by no means new to craft beer.
Matt and Jim Yergey
Matt Yergey joined his father’s brewery in 2017, after working as a marine scientist. However, craft beer always played a part in Matt’s life. He was two years old when his family moved to Montreal and over time he witnessed his dad’s passion for craft beer grow. When Matt got older, Matt and his brother bought a homebrewing kit for their father for Christmas one year, as an activity for them all to do together. This sparked Matt’s love of brewing, and also started a Yergey family tradition, where many family and friends brew beer and a winner is chosen in a double-blind taste test. Even some of the brews from that competition have become stellar beers served at Yergey Brewing. Before making his return to the Lehigh Valley to be a brewer, Matt further developed his passion and craft while living in Oregon, where Matt and his roommate, who is also a professional brewer, tried to make the “best beer possible”.
“Trying to make the best beer possible” was a repeated phrase we heard while talking with Jim and Matt. Both expressed their drive to improve and told us how their new location can help them do just that. Their new location offers a larger brew space, but instead of increasing their barrels per batch, they added more fermenters, doubling their holding capacity. After visiting and seeing their diverse and fantastic tap list, we love their decision!
Besides making the best beer possible, it was apparent to us that Yergey Brewing is a business that supports its community. When we met with Jim and Matt, JuxtaHub, an emerging arts & innovation center located in Emmaus, was setting up an art curation in the taproom. Jim intentionally left space on their walls to fill with local art. The following week, Yergey’s Assistant Brewer teamed up with Owner Kaitlin McCall, from McCall Collective Brewing Co, to release “Who Runs The Wort” , a collaboration beer where a donation is made to the Pink Boots Society for every pint sold. Congrats to Yergey’s Assistant Brewer, Brittney, for her fantastic first recipe brewed at Yergey Brewing!
The community involvement doesn’t end there! Yergey’s is proud to be involved in the upcoming “She nailed it” event, which is an all-women nail-hammering relay competition, and one of Habitat (for Humanity) Lehigh Valley’s signature events. In November, Yergey’s holds an event called “Giving Thanks”, where 10% of sales for that month go to a charity that is selected by customer vote. Matt and Jim also told us how they try and support the local music community and music events in Emmaus. After talking to Jim and Matt, it is very fitting that the Emmaus mural stands strong next to their brewery.
The Yergey team told us how excited they are for the rest of the Year. They are excited, being that, they get to make more lagers (a theme we are seeing in these LVBG spotlight posts) and they get to utilize the new location that they worked so hard to build.
Keep your eyes open for new events and new beers coming out of Yergey Brewing!
Yergey Brewing Company
https://www.yergeybrewing.com/
235 Main St, Emmaus, PA 18049
Cheers!
Research by: Leila Kaczmarek and Jerry Collins
Written by: Jerry Collins
Photography by: Jerry Collins