McKay, Eric and Murtagh, Patrick
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Brewers Association
label: Collection Interviewer
content: Harry, John
label: Collection Interviewer
content: Johnson, Paula, Curator
label: Collection Interviewer
content: McCulla, Theresa
label: Collection Creator
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: American Beer Brewing Oral History Collection
label: See more items in
content: American Beer Brewing Oral History Collection / Series 1: Born-Digital Interviews
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 655.57 Megabytes (Total Running Time: 01:04:57, audio/wav)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2018-08-30
container: label: Container
content: Item NMAH-AC1595-BDA0054
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Audio
label: Type
content: Megabytes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Oral history interview with Eric McKay and Patrick Murtagh, co-founders of Hardywood Park Craft Brewery in Richmond, Virginia. McKay, born in Connecticut, and Murtagh, born in New York City, share their childhood memories and family backgrounds. Both discuss their initial encounters with craft beer in college; the beginning of their homebrewing hobbies; Murtagh's study of brewing at Siebel Institute in Chicago and the Doemens Academy in Germany, influenced by his family's brewing history; Eric's early career in finance and then with Union Beer Distributors, where he witnessed the growing craft beer movement; and their decision to open a brewery together, Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, in 2011. McKay and Murtagh also discuss early financial challenges; the development of their flagship beer, Singel, a Belgian blonde ale, and other unique beers, including Gingerbread Stout, made with local ingredients; their perception of an industry shift toward lighter, more approachable beers; and the importance of social media in connecting with customers.