Alley Kat Brewing Co

Neil Herbst is a fan of beer, and that’s putting it mildly. He loves everything about beer. As he grew increasingly frustrated by what the major breweries had to offer, Neil knew that he had to take his interest in everything beer one step further. He wanted to expand his tastes, but the market back in the '90s didn’t seem to cater to guys like him.

In 1994, Neil founded the Alley Kat Brewing Company with the simple aim of introducing beer lovers to great craft beers. “The Alley Kat Brewing Company predates the craft beer boom by a long ways,” says Neil.

It wasn’t enough to be just a fan of beer, though. Neil had to learn his trade, research beer making techniques and visit others who had the same burning ambition as he did. “I started home brewing, did research, read books and toured lots of microbreweries and brewpubs,” he says.