danny boy beer works on tap

“Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling …” They’re calling you and your friends to the Danny Boy Beer Exchange, an upcoming brewpub and taproom planned for the heart of the Village of WestClay community in west Carmel.

Kevin and Lainie Paul, the proprietors of The Brockway Public House and Danny Boy Beer Works brewery, are expanding their enterprise along with their partner, Prescott Sanders. The Danny Boy Beer Exchange will be located on .21 acres at 12702 Meeting House Road with a projected opening date of June 2014.

The Pauls opened the Brockway in downtown Carmel in 2007. After achieving success with the pub, they founded Danny Boy Beer Works, Carmel’s first brewery, in 2011. The term “Danny Boy” originates from the WWI era and is the nickname that Irish mothers dubbed their doughboys that went away to war. Today, Danny Boy Beer Works operates as a commercial nano-brewery producing and distributing over 5,000 kegs annually.

Danny Boy Beer Exchange will offer a family-friendly environment so to best serve the local residents. These publicans chose west Carmel as the site of their newest endeavor for its location and because the Pauls, who reside in the Village of WestClay, are advocates for the community’s growth and long-term success. They also needed a building that would accommodate their brewery’s specific needs that will boast an outside seating capacity of 120-plus.

Jake Skjodt, Branding Manager for Danny Boy Beer Works

“We wanted to own our building for the brewery,” Lainie explained. “It’s going to have large-scale equipment in it. There aren’t a lot of existing buildings that have the space available for what we need. We currently live in the Village of WestClay and the location is convenient. The village has been very welcoming and easy to work with. This was the best fit for our needs and we are committed to the community and the growth of WestClay.”

What differences the patrons of The Brockway and new customers of the Danny Boy Beer Exchange can expect are primarily the architectural themes of each of these facilities.

“The Brockway is styled after a Dublin industrial pub, a corner public house that you would find in the industrial areas of Dublin, Ireland,” Kevin explained. “The architectural aspects of design are more linear and simplistic than the ornate Celtic or cottage or farm-style pubs that you would see throughout the United States. What we’re going to do with Danny Boy Brewery is move from the Irish-centric style and make it more Irish-American, more ‘Boston Irish.’”

The Danny Boy Beer Exchange will reflect a 1920s design, more industrial and purposeful. One elevation has an industrial factory feel and the south side of the building will have the feel of that era’s firehouse, with large overhead doors and entrance doors with transoms and awnings. The interior will have cement floors, corrugated sidings, and Belgium blue stone or gray soapstone bar tops for the taproom.

“We’ll have four to six staple beers, and we’ll take iconic flavors or styles, whether it be a stout, IPA or a wheat beer, and put what we feel would be a craft spin on it,” Kevin said. “Our Black IPA, which is inspired by a black Irish stout, has a number of different West Coast hops in it that give it that hoppy flavor and nice roasted finish. It has an appropriate balance to make it a session beer. Our craft beers’ alcohol contents fall between 5 and 8 percent for the ‘session’ beers.”

Currently on tap is their flagship beer, Training Day. This American pale ale is 6 percent alcohol by volume, with citrus, centennial and cascade hops in it. This makes for a nice, drinkable APA. They offer their Scottish contribution, Mac Daddy, and for a great summer “lawn mower” wheat beer, patrons will want to try their Miss Ginger Witte. The Miss Ginger Witte has a nice coriander and ginger feel to it. They’ll have a vanilla chocolate stout and a Mexican fiesta lager that will be an easy-drinking or summer beer.

Kevin explained how their system would operate within the Danny Boy Beer Exchange. “We’re going to have a 15-barrel system. A typical craft brewer is between 10 and 20 barrels and with the number of fermenters that we have, we’ll brew 2,000 barrels to start with or 4,000 kegs for internal and retail consumption. In addition to the Indianapolis market, we have relationships in the Chicago, New Jersey and Fort Myers markets. We’ll start canning at the end of 2014, probably four different beers, including our Training Day and Black IPA.”

Jake Skjodt, the brewery’s brand manager, explained, “We’ll have 50 taps and 30 guest taps. From our own brews, it will come right from the barrels to the taps. IPAs are the biggest trend in the craft beer industry. We bring beer that everyone likes but add our twist to it. Our APAs are drinkable. You can drink three or four instead of one or two before switching to something lighter. Our IPAs are palatable and easy on the taste buds as opposed to some extremely ‘hoppy’ IPAs that are on the market.”

Test your brawn at the Pumper Pull

While planning the construction and grand opening of their newest location, the Pauls are pleased to continue what has become a popular community celebration and fundraiser for the Carmel Fire Department, the seventh annual St. Patrick’s Day event and Pumper Pull contest. Following true Irish-American tradition, the event will include a Pumper Pull contest in which local firefighters, police officers and even corporate teams from around the state will compete by pulling an old-school pumper engine. A true exhibition of brawn, the teams compete for who can pull the pumper 60 feet the fastest. Following the Pumper Pull contest will be the Keg Toss competition. The Keg Toss competition will host divisions for children, women and men. Tossing empty kegs is an old Irish tradition that the Pauls enjoy simulating at their event. Their St. Patrick’s Day celebration and a variety of events will take place March 14 through March 17 at The Brockway Public House at 12525 Old Meridian St. in Carmel and benefits the Carmel Firefighters IAFF Local 4444 Bereavement Fund.

“One of our first customers was Sean Sutton, the current president of IAFF Local 4444 of Carmel and his wife, Karen von Kamecke Sutton,” Lainie reflected. “We quickly built up a close relationship with the CFD, right from the beginning.”

The CFD paired up with the Pauls and they combined their annual St. Patrick’s Day activities with the celebration at The Brockway Public House. Their collaboration has resulted in an annual event that people from all over the state come to enjoy and celebrate with their families and friends.

The Pauls will continue to support local events and engage with the community at the Danny Boy Beer Exchange.

WHAT: Seventh annual St. Patrick’s Day event and Pumper Pull contest

WHERE: The Brockway Public House, 12525 Old Meridian St., Carmel

WHEN: March 14-17

WHO: Open to the public

COST: $50 for a pull team and $5 for the keg toss

DETAILS: Sparky the Fire Dog will make an appearance. There will be live entertainment Friday and Sunday, a DJ on Sunday, and live music on Monday.