Tenzing Altbier: A Tribute to a Legendary Sherpa, Team Work and Collaboration
Director of Brewing, David (DG) Gonzalez, Head Brewer, Harrison Holder, Lenny Boy Lead Brewer, Trey Lovelace
This week we’re releasing our first Altbier, and one that’s been on our radar for a while. Alt translates to “old” in German, but we have a feeling it will be your new favorite.
While Germany is known for its Lagers, Altbier is an Ale and was brewed before lagers came about, starting in the town of Dusseldorf. It’s brewed using an interesting and complex malt bill, is well balanced and has bready malt notes. It also proved to be the perfect beer to name after Norgay Tenzing, a sherpa high altitude porter who participated in six attempts to summit Everest. Having saved Edmund Hillary’s life early on the seventh attempt, Hillary proclaimed Norgay his climbing partner from that day forward.
To celebrate the spirit of partnerships, we joined forces with Lenny Boy Brewing, one of Charlotte’s oldest breweries, to share in a brew where both taprooms benefit from a new collaborative concoction.
“Brewing with another brewer is a great way to see outside your blinders, how they look at styles and share industry thoughts,” says David Gonzalez, Director of Brewing for Lost Worlds. This brew day also had a dash of serendipity – it turns out that Lenny Boy’s Lead Brewer, Trey Lovelace and DG go way back . “Trey and I met each other when he won a homebrew beer competition that I judged,” says Gonzalez. His winning beer, Kolsch 45, was chosen to be brewed in the brewery I was working for at the time, so this is actually the second time we brewed together, but now he’s a professional brewer.
Meet Townes Mozer, Founder of Lenny Boy Brewing
We sat down with Townes Mozer, founder of Lenny Boy, who named the brewery after his lab/retriever rescue dog, to talk about the history of his brewery and what’s new in their taproom.
What was it like starting a brewery when craft beer was just getting started in Charlotte?
We had a different journey than a lot of other breweries. I started by making Kombucha in 2011. In college I enjoyed taking raw ingredients and making fermented products – everything from kimchi and sour dough bread to kombucha. I saved money and started with a 200 gallon tank. April 2012 first location in Charlotte, off Hawkins Street and the goal was to also get into beer. Today, we’re located in South End (3000 S. Tryon St.) which has been home to our brew house and taproom since 2016. John Watkins, our head brewer, has made over 500 different types of beers there, and we are constantly experimenting with small batch beers.
What do you find most rewarding as a brewery owner?
Leading a team on a focused goal, whether it’s production or sales, is a very rewarding experience. And,
there’s also nothing like and watching people try our product and see their eyes light up.
Talk about the Kombucha business that launched your brewery…
It’s the foundation of our business and today our kombucha is sold in 19 states and we’re the first certified organic kombucha made in southeast.
What’s your favorite style of beer?
Right now I’m all about Lagers!
Lost Worlds tagline is FIND YOUR ADVENTURE. What’s the best adventure you’re ever been on?
My best adventure was in college, with my grad school class at end of senior year when we studied in Belize during Spring Break. BFREE was a foundation for research and environmental education. We stayed in the rain forest and studied ecology and conservation management.