We recently connected with Jon Lawlor and have shared our conversation below.

Jon, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

We knew that we wanted to create something that stood out and stood the test of time in a crowded and growing industry. With that in mind, we planned a taproom aesthetic, construction projects, beer flavors, a full opening day tap list, and every other aspect of the plan that we could design. Only after we had it laid out did we consider what to call ourselves.

It was somewhat of a shock to see how many of the names that we thought of were actually already in use and trademarked. We must have gone through dozens, being a little more disappointed each time we thought we had the perfect pick. Thankfully, it all ended up being a blessing in disguise. We were forced to think more imaginatively, and that extra effort landed us on our final choice: Fabled Brew Works.

‘Fabled’ is a word that evokes images of fantasy worlds, folklore, myths, and legends. It also allows for a broad interpretation of those tales: anything can be a story; anything can be fabled.

‘Brew Works’ was chosen because we produce both beer and mead. Even though ‘brewing’ may not technically be the best term for mead making, ‘Brew Works’ hints at more than just beer. Hopefully, our customers feel that we live up to the name.

Jon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

It was probably around 2017 when a group of friends conceived the idea of opening a brewery.

The owners of Fabled Brew Works met at various points in our lives, but we all coalesced around beer and beach volleyball. A couple of us had grown up together, another pair had spent years together sharing beer, but we all found one another collectively through playing beach volleyball around Cincinnati. Slowly, that friendship evolved into one that included traveling the country to share the best beer and mead in the world.

Through our experiences together at national breweries, beer events, and festivals, we discovered many unique styles of beer. We decided that we wanted to bring these styles home to Northern Kentucky and the Greater Cincinnati area.

Luckily for us, one of our group was already a seasoned head brewer. That immediately took care of one of the most critical components. We also happened to have a friend who had run his own meadery in the past, which allowed us to add another dimension. They brought their career experience in the industry, the rest of us brought our varied and well-rounded business experience, and we hit the ground running.

We knew differentiation would be the name of the game, so we strove to open with a full tap list of unique styles and a fully realized vision in the taproom. Drawing on some of our favorite fictional universes, we constructed a fantasy-themed world inside of our otherwise unassuming facade to bring customers into a place that feels wholly like somewhere else.

We aim to transport people into a world away from their own and offer them an experience they can’t get anywhere else.

Our brand is probably best encompassed by the story we feature on our website:

“Fabled Brew Works began as a group of friends with a passion for beer, mead, and the extraordinary.

Drinking a beer is more than simply consuming a beverage. It’s an opportunity to share with family… a chance to trade tales with friends… a vessel to toast an accomplishment at the end of an epic journey. In fact, a beer can be quite many things, and that’s what makes it so special.

At Fabled Brew Works, this is what originally drew us to beer and ignited our passion. We met regularly to try unique beers from breweries across the country and throughout the world. But we shared so much more than drinks. We shared our lives, our hobbies, and our stories… along with, of course, our appreciation for a well made beer.
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As the craft brewing industry expanded, so did our enthusiasm. Beers, meads, brewing events, and festivals – they became a catalyst to so many of our adventures and enriched our lives with so much joy. Not only did we get to experience thousands of unique beers and learn so much about them, but we gained so many friendships and amazing memories along the way.

Fabled Brew Works is our way of sharing this all with you. We strive to provide the highest quality beer and mead while harnessing the vastness of the imagination for a unique and memorable experience. We see each brew as a miniature expedition – an opportunity to tell a unique story. If we do our job well, we hope that our brewery can help you forge your own epic tales as well.

It’s time for an adventure.”

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Making a strong first impression was critical for us. We set a goal to not open until we had 24 taps filled with products we were proud of, and a fully-finished thematic taproom in which to serve them. Introducing ourselves to the industry by showcasing our passion and dedication to quality set the precedent for how we want to present ourselves long-term. Maintaining that reputation is contingent upon a continual focus on quality ingredients, best practices for production, and an openness to experimentation.

We also have the fortune in the craft beer and mead industry to have the platform Untappd, which is an app that allows users to supply ratings for their drinks. It has made itself the industry standard over the last decade. It’s a great resource for customers to communicate their appreciation for the products, and for other potential customers to recognize the quality and reputation of the products (which hopefully encourages them to seek us out).

Everything in the beverage industry comes down to reputation, so building ours as a destination for world-class beer and mead is our primary focus. We’re eternally grateful for our customers and community who help us in that endeavor every day.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Being a nano brewery with multiple owners allows us the opportunity to directly interact with our customers fairly regularly. On-site events give us the chance to meet people and form relationships with them, both around the products and beyond. Apart from the ownership, our staff does a fantastic job making customers feel at home and a part of the Fabled experience. Having face-to-face interactions with customers is by far the most effective and rewarding way to make everyone feel welcome.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://fabledbrewworks.beer/
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/fabledbrewworks
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/fabledbrewworks