545 Mill Street
Sylva, NC 28779
828-631-4466
E-mail: gnome@yourgnometownbrewery.com
Website: http://www.yourgnometownbrewery.com
Hours: Monday–Saturday, 10 A.M.–6 P.M.
Tours: By appointment
Owners: Dieter Kuhn and Sheryl Rudd
Brewmaster: Dieter Kuhn
Opened: 2004
Regular beer lineup: Ancient Days Honey Blonde Ale, Gopher Ale, Middleworld Brown Ale, Black Forest Stout, Weise Gnome Hefeweizen, Hoppy Gnome
Seasonals: Gnutty Gnome, Roktoberfest, Kilted Gnome Scottish Ale, Chocolate Covered Gnome, Imperial Gnome Ale, Dunkel Weise, Big Amber Gnome
Dieter Kuhn, Heinzelmännchen’s braumeister, was born and raised in Heidelsheim, Germany, a village located near the Black Forest. As the legend goes, the Heinzelmännchen—little gnomes that garden gnomes (yes, with the red pointy hats) are modeled after—used to come out of the forest at night and do work so that the townspeople could relax all day. One night, a curious villager who wanted to see what the Heinzelmännchen looked like scattered peas on the floor of a workshop so they would slip and fall. Insulted and angry, the Heinzelmännchen never returned, leaving the people to do all the work themselves.
Kuhn sees the legend a little differently. In fact, he takes inspiration from the gnomes. “The Heinzelmännchen were helpers. They teach us that if we all help each other, life is much better. It’s a sort of ‘pay it forward’ kind of thing.”
Kuhn came to the United States via Chicago and entered the Marine Corps out of high school. It was while traveling between Chicago and his marine base on the East Coast that he discovered the mountains of western North Carolina. “It was sort of a halfway point,” he says. “I used to camp here while I was traveling. It really reminded me of home, in Germany. I knew it was a place that I wanted to be with my family.”
He finally moved to Sylva in 1991, but as beautiful as the mountains were, the small, isolated communities lacked one thing: good beer. “In Germany, beer was part of life,” Kuhn says. “There was always beer at the table.”
Remembering that his father used to make beer at home, he set out to do the same. He found a store that sold malt syrup, a health-food store that sold hops as a sleep aid, and a local bakery from which he could get yeast. The results, he says with a laugh, were horrible. “It didn’t taste anything like beer!”
Knowing he could do better, he pursued higher-quality ingredients via mail order and started making much-improved beer. Friends loved it and began urging him to start his own brewery. Over time, a group of them agreed to invest in Kuhn and help him start a business. He attended the Siebel Institute in Chicago and was ready to hit the ground running.
When he returned to North Carolina, though, he found that the process was considerably more expensive than he had thought it was going to be, so he started looking at ways to cut costs. That’s when he discovered Specialty Products International, a company that produces malt extract for the Beadle Brewing System, specialty brewpub equipment that requires no mashing and no lautering. Kuhn wasn’t entirely convinced, but after trying some of the beers and ensuring that he was receiving only the freshest extract, he moved forward, using his knowledge of brewing to supplement the extracts with specialty grains. Heinzelmännchen was off the ground.
Heinzelmännchen Brewery in Sylva
Now, seven years later, Kuhn has a seven-barrel mash tun/lautertun in place and a plan for further growth. “I need to move out of here to expand production,” he says, gesturing to the small storefront his brewery currently occupies. “I’m full.”
The brewery is compact, yet comfortable. As guests walk in through the beveled-glass doors, the bulk of the brewery is laid out in front of them. A combination cash register/work desk is to the right, and a rack of local goods and, yes, garden gnomes is on the left. Just past the mash tun is a wide table in front of the cold room. The front of the cold room has taps sticking out of it through the end of a barrel. And in the middle of it all stands Kuhn, warmly welcoming guests into his brewery and offering samples.
Brewmaster Dieter Kuhn welcomes guests at Heinzelmännchen Brewery.
Literature posted around the brewery proclaims Heinzelmännchen as “Beer for food.” Kuhn’s beers are mostly traditional German beers or variations on other styles made to more closely resemble those traditional German beers. He talks about how he’s made an IPA using malts from a maltster near his hometown in Germany, and how he uses pilsner malt and German and English hops to get more of the crisp dryness he prefers in his beer, a theme that is constant throughout each of his offerings, whether it be his seasonal Dunkel Weisse or his Black Forest Stout.
In the center of the brewery is a table covered with binders showing pictures of Sylva and of Heinzelmännchen at local events. Kuhn’s goal of bringing good beer to the North Carolina mountains has also led to fruitful relationships among the brewery, the community, and the tourists who travel here for the beer.
The Heinzelmännchen would no doubt approve.
