Meet Kate Ballenger of Lord Hobo Brewing Company in Woburn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Ballenger.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Kate. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Founder, Daniel Lanigan has owned acclaimed craft beer bars on the East Coast for the better part of 15 years. His extensive palate, knowledge, entrepreneurial spirit, & passion for the craft beer industry led him to opening this ambitious young brewery. Lord Hobo Brewing Company is one of the fastest growing regional breweries in the nation, according to Brewer’s Association statistics. Our company strives to produce world class ales (preferably of the hoppy variety) available on every shelf, nationwide. Our taproom will soon be the site of a 200 person capacity restaurant & tasting room. Beer lovers will be able to get the freshest pints possible of our core beers, or try small batches that can only be found in the Woburn taproom.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Every ambitious start-up has challenges. The first challenge was finding funding for such a large project. Another early challenge was recipe development, including scaling up recipes from a 10 gallon home brew system to a 40 barrel (1240 gallon) production system. Every new growth spurt presents unique challenges that our team thrives on finding solutions for.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Lord Hobo Brewing Company – what should we know?
Our company’s business model is to make beer (specifically IPAs) that are on par with the best in the world, but without the exclusivity that often comes with that. Our founder spotted a hole in the burgeoning New England IPA market as all of the hazy, juice forward, decreased bitterness IPAs started becoming the new craze. In order to obtain these delicious & unique IPAs you often have to drive to Vermont, Maine, or Western Mass & wait in line for hours to buy a limited amount. We strive to be able to make enough of this very sought-after style of beer (and more styles in the future) to meet the demand, with the added convenience of limitless cans on your local liquor store’s shelf.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Ambition is our most important quality. Our team is very driven to succeed, and is never intimidated by a challenge.

Contact Info:

• Address: 5 Draper St
  Woburn, MA
  01801
• Website: lordhobobrewing.com
• Phone: (781) 281-0809