Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Knight, Jon Paul Goytia, and James Peery.
In 2011, long time friends Alex Knight and James Peery discovered a mutual passion for craft beer that left them with a strong desire to explore the inner workings of the brewing process. The duo quickly became engrossed in all things beer related and spent all of their free time home brewing in a garage in Hurst, TX. Knight and Peery began volunteering at professional breweries around the metroplex shortly thereafter, which eventually landed both of them full-time gigs at Community Beer Company and Martin House Brewing Company, respectively. These positions led to invaluable new friendships, including a blossoming relationship with a production assistant at Community Beer Company, Jon Paul Goytia. The three quickly recognized that the complementary nature of their working habits could lead to a flourishing business, one that would eventually become Turning Point Beer. In 2016, the group began dreaming up business plans and marketing strategies for a local brewpub. Their idea was to bring new life to a part of the metroplex that was close to their hearts, the mid-cities. Investment opportunities finally led them to their home in Bedford in August 2017, where the three embarked on a daunting buildout by themselves. After nine months of impossibly hard work, while still working full-time jobs, the three finally opened their doors on March 17th, 2018.
Has it been a smooth road?
Here at Turning Point, “smooth” is a relative term. Our founders put in countless hours learning new skills and implementing creative solutions in order to bring their dreams to fruition. In comparison, any roadblock is just that; something we navigate by working together. The city of Bedford has been an outstanding resource for us, and we can’t thank them enough for their ongoing support. While we recognize the fact that our journey hasn’t been a cake walk, we are grateful for the challenges, because it validates the victories- big and small.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Turning Point Beer – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Our goal from the get-go was to be a small, community-based operation that focused heavily on quality over quantity. We’d seen our fair share of breweries fall victim to the negligent practices that can go hand in hand with mass production, and we wanted nothing to do with it. We wanted a way to have total control over our product, from the time it was received as raw materials to the time it reached our consumer’s lips. Our best option was to obtain a brewpub license. In the state of Texas, a brewpub license allows us to not only pour our own product in our taproom for the community to enjoy on premise but also to sell to go beer for our consumers to take home and enjoy with friends and family.
With innovation at the forefront of our business model, it was only fitting that we introduced a new style of beer to North Texas- New England IPA’s. This style, popular in the northeastern part of the country, accentuates a more approachable flavor profile derived from the hops used in fermentation. This produces an opaque, hazy, beer that is rich in juicy, refreshing flavors. The success of this style paired with our commitment to the community paved the way for us to hire four full-time employees within our first year of business- something we couldn’t be more proud of. Our two brewers, Andrew Martin, and James “Teppanyaki” Herrington have proved to be invaluable as our production scale has increased over the past year. Our taproom manager, Rachel Neil, has slowly turned our taproom into an integral part of the community– a place for people from all walks of life to relax and unwind. Our social media coordinator, John Parrack, bridges the gap between the inner workings of the brewery and the curiosity of the public via knowledgeable and interactive media. These four have allowed us to maintain excellence within our business while continuing to push the limits of the industry.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We are so incredibly grateful to the metroplex for its ongoing support. Obviously, we took a huge risk of specializing in an underrepresented style in the DFW market, and the reality of our reception far exceeded our wildest dreams. We’re continuously astounded by the vast demographic array of supporters we see regularly. Initially, the concept of a small scale, direct to consumer, the brewpub was foreign to the community. We had countless requests for our four packs to be in stores, which we simply couldn’t commit ourselves to. Our entire foundation was based on quality assurance, which would be impossible to achieve, given our limited manpower. Over time, our goal has become more well known, and the community has been more than accepting of our commitment to excellence. This is yet another reason we’re so grateful to call DFW home.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1307 Brown Trail
Bedford, TX - Website: www.turningpointbeer.net
- Phone: 8177058817
- Email: rachel@turningpointbeer.com
- Instagram: @turningpointbeer
- Facebook: facebook.com/tpbeers
Image Credit:
Sam Wynne
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
