Who are these people, brewers or mad hatters?
- Nigel Knoy
- Dec 6, 2016
- 2 min read
The answer is, probably a little of both. You just about have to be mad to try opening your own brewery.
Our mission is to create a unique brewery experience with wholesome food offerings, quality craft-brewed beer, and an enjoyable atmosphere.
Let's meet the founders:
Nigel Knoy is a true Arizona native: he graduated from Prescott High School, and then from Northern Arizona University’s Hotel and Restaurant Management program. While working as an assistant brewer in Tucson, he took classes in chemistry, organic chemistry, and biochemistry from the University of Arizona. He spent the next three years as Head Brewer before deciding the time had finally come to open his own brewery. Nigel has shown a talent for creating a variety of quality beers using traditional techniques and locally sourced ingredients. When not brewing beer, tinkering with new flavors, or doing paperwork, you’ll find Nigel relaxing in his rural home with his wife, 7-year-old daughter, and 1-year-old son or out hiking in beautiful Northern Arizona.
In 2009, Kirby Knoy and Nigel brewed their first batch of beer together—and quickly found themselves brewing more and more beer of increasing variety. It wasn’t long before they realized they had tapped into something that would go far beyond that first batch of stout. Kirby is a graduate of San Jose State University, having earned a Master of Fine Arts degree. In addition to being an artist for many years, he has been a general contractor in Apache Junction and Prescott, operated a garage door installation company in Prescott, and dabbled in the Prescott-area real estate market. Kirby has 48 years of business sense and a love of stouts.
Tia Knoy met Nigel in Organic Chemistry lab while at the University of Arizona, and discovered a shared love of everything “geeky”. The rest is history. Tia has been part of the management teams at Big 5 Sporting Goods in the Tucson area for three years, and was part of the team that opened a new store in Green Valley Arizona. She has a chemistry background from the University of Arizona, and a love of sour beers.
