Master Brewer Dave Hartmann and his wife, Wendy, moved to Eureka Springs a couple of years ago after deciding it was the perfect place to open a brewery and taproom. What they didn’t expect was that by the time they would be ready to open, it would be in the middle of the worst pandemic seen in more than 100 years.
Gotahold Brewery opened July 2 in the old Clear Spring High School on US 62 West. What were the obstacles of opening during such a challenging time? Pretty much everything.
“We have standard operation procedures that follow the Health Department’s directives,” Wendy said. “We temp check employees and customers upon entry. We maintained thirty-three percent occupancy inside even though we could go up to sixty-six percent under the law. We clean a lot. The staff wear masks when we are open. We are installing special filters on our HVAC system to assist with air filtration. We have an ozonator for the taprooms.”
Dave worked his way into a brewery job in Vermont in the early ‘90s. After about a year, he decided he wanted to learn more and enrolled at University of California Davis for the brewing program. He successfully passed the International Brewer and Distiller test making him a Master Brewer.
“Beer making is both an art and science,” Wendy said. “Dave has been brewing commercially for twenty-eight years. He knows the materials he works with and how they work together. Sometimes, it’s a particular style he’s looking for, and sometimes it’s a particular flavor profile he’s seeking. He’s won numerous World Cup and Great American Brew Fest awards over the years, as well as smaller competitions. He’s trained to know when something is off and how to deal with that, too.”
Customers often ask why they named the place Gotahold.
“We’d found a dozen or more names we really liked, but couldn’t use because someone beat us to it,” Wendy said. “It was frustrating. We thought we’d end up going with Hartmann Brewing, until one day in April 2018 when Dave was back in Vermont closing on the sale of our house.
“I had gone to Brews to listen to some music and have a cold beer when I ran into some new friends and their friends. They asked what brought me to Eureka Springs. I said it was to open a brewery. Then I asked what had brought them to Eureka Springs. They said, ‘This place just gotahold of us’.”
That was the third time in the three weeks they’d lived here that she’d heard someone say that.
“I knew that was the perfect name because it is so Eureka Springs,” she said. “Eureka Springs got ahold of us, too. Though we aren’t a multi-generational Northwest Arkansas family, we chose this place as our home. Many of the residents are transplants, like us, whom the place gotahold. I think that’s part of the magic.”
There’s another reason the name fit.
“Dave’s beers gotahold of me,” said Wendy. “I didn’t know he was the brewmaster of my favorite brewery when we met. Over the years, we’ve had a lot of beers together, some he’s made, some others have made. There have been a few beers I’ve liked as much as Dave’s, but not many. We believe that Eureka Springs, as well as our beer, will get a hold on you, too.”
They started considering building a brewery in 2016. The taproom model was going strong in Vermont. Dave was working at a large, regional brewery at the time.
“He saw the nimbleness a taproom model posed and the opportunity to brew what he wanted,” she said. “However, this isn’t his first brewery. He was a partner in a New York brewery several years ago. We wanted to create a community space where Dave could brew great beers. I wanted a place that focused on environmental, economic and social justice, a place where people could come meet friends and make new ones, create memories and have fun.”
They have shown dedication to their principals by donating tips on Thursday nights to local non-profits. The first recipient of tips from July Thursday nights was People Helping People, which received $750 for its mission to help people pay for prescription drugs.
They have 10 beers on tap: two hoppy, two sour, two saison, two dark, and two lagers.
“There is something for everyone,” Wendy said. “People have been very supportive of the Black Is Beautiful beer. It’s an Imperial Stout, part of a national collaboration started by Weathered Souls brewery in San Antonio as a way to support justice and equality for people of color. We are donating 100 percent of the proceeds of this beer to NWA Urban League’s Young Professionals.”
At a time when people need to be very careful to avoid coronavirus, Gotahold Brewery is a safe place for some fun and social interaction. The large building has big windows and a garage door opening to the outside in the taproom. The outdoor beer garden has tables spaced from eight to 20 feet apart.
The business also offers NuJava Coffee, and is open from Thursdays and Fridays from 3 to 7 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 7 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.
Currently they only sell the beer onsite, but there are plans to sell it wholesale in the future. Dave started barrel aging beer this past week, they are adding more entertainment this fall in the beer garden, and a food truck is returning in September. They plan to continue art exhibits, and have activities planned with the Writers’ Colony.
“We are also working on some collaboration beers,” Wendy, author of The Alchemy of Yoga, said.
They plan to remain open in the winter.