Walnut River Brewing Company: Brewing through COVID-19 in The Pour House

Successfully starting a small business is hard. It’s especially daunting for a manufacturer when the initial investment capital requirements for the equipment are so steep. Keeping a business going during a pandemic shutdown proved equally hard for Walnut River Brewing Company co-owner, BJ Hunt.

Rick Goehring and BJ Hunt each had dreams of starting a craft-brewery years before they met. They didn’t know it at the time when they were introduced to each other in 2010 by a mutual friend who happened to be working on an entrepreneurship capstone course on starting a brewery for his MBA program. Rick and BJ each brought to the table the know-how to turn their dream into a reality.

Rick Goehring started brewing beer in 1994 when his brother gave him a ‘beer-in-a-bag’ brewing kit. He kept refining his brewing techniques, and even spent five months completing the Craft Brewers Apprenticeship Program through the American Brewers Guild in Vermont. Rick also obtained a college education in chemistry, computer engineering and physics. While Rick wanted to make brewing his profession, he knew he needed to partner with someone who had the business background and marketing skills.

BJ Hunt, a former director and president of a family-owned company for many years, was looking for the opportunity to start a craft brewery when he met Rick.  BJ had earned an Executive MBA, and had a passion for marketing, fundraising, management, and of course, good beer.

One year later, in 2011, Rick and BJ bought a half-barrel pilot system to sample, share and promote their brewed products in El Dorado and surrounding areas.  It didn’t take long for them to know the demand was there to support more production of their award-winning beer.  After investing significant personal assets, and initial financing through Emprise Bank in El Dorado, Walnut River Brewing Company was sanctioned by the various government agencies to officially start selling beer in July 2013. 

When they reached the maximum capacity, Rick and BJ brought in another partner to grow the business. Travis Rohrberg, an avid home brewer and microbiologist with work experience in ethanol production and pharmaceutical manufacturing, had been excited about the new brewery in El Dorado. Since 2012, Travis had been volunteering his time helping BJ and Rick paint and other tasks to keep the brewery going. Travis had the skills needed to manage yeast and other lab work functions necessary for large production. Travis’ know-how and enthusiasm made him a natural fit to invest in Walnut River Brewing Company as a junior partner.

In 2015, Walnut River Brewing Company expanded its production from a 2-barrel (62 gallon) to a 30-barrel (930 gallon) capacity. As is the case in most manufacturing environments, the large jump in production is necessary to obtain the economies of scale needed for long-term growth.  “The cost of a 30 barrel system was not that much more expensive than the 15 barrel equipment we looked at. We opted for the 30 barrel system because it would support 7 to 8 years of growth,” said BJ.

After tapping-out their savings, Rick, BJ, and Travis approached their lender, Emprise Bank in El Dorado for financing the construction and new equipment. Emprise Bank financed the project with a SBA 7(a) Loan.  The large 30-barrel fermentation tanks, glycol cooling system, and a 1 million BTU boiler were installed in Walnut River Brewing Company’s warehouse in July 2015.

“While we've considered ourselves a Wichita brewery, the City of El Dorado has been super supportive of us and the quality of water is better for brewing beer,” said Hunt. “Eventually, our goal was to have a presence in Wichita.”

Walnut River’s brewpub The PourHouse opened next to the Union Station building in Wichita on Christmas Eve 2018. PourHouse uses the original two-barrel system that was used in El Dorado. While the main production of Walnut River’s six all-season brews, the PourHouse’s smaller system allows Goehring, the head brewer, to experiment with seasonal and single-issue brews.

Hunt considers everyone at Walnut River a family. “Our staff don’t work for us, they work with us,” emphasized Hunt. “We have found success by offering a quality product in a venue that gets people talking. Our team has embraced that philosophy and we reward their efforts.” Staff member Denver Ridgeway started working in the tap room but was also interested in helping out Goehring with the brewing process. Today, Ridgeway is the assistant brewer. PourHouse general manager Jennifer Rutledge grew into that position and is now organizing events each Monday at PourHouse to support and empower other women in the community. 

The health mandates that closed restaurants in 2020 due to COVID-19 impacted Walnut River Brewing and the PourHouse as much as it did for other establishments in Kansas.

Hunt had to furlough most of the employees at first but were able to bring them back to work a short time later thanks to SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program. “Laying people off was the hardest decision of my life. Without the PPP, we would not have been able to bring everyone back,” said Hunt. The company also received a SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) grant.  “The SBA’s COVID-19 disaster assistance programs removed the uncertainty about whether we would survive. We were able to hold-on to most of our staff,” said Hunt.

Walnut River’s canning line was a critical asset to keep the business going during COVID-19. “Since we couldn’t sell draft beer, the canning line we acquired back in 2016 from Tallgrass Brewing was our lifeline,” said Hunt. “Over the last 18 months, our canned beer sales went from 60% of our business to 78%.”

Hunt is currently developing a Strategic Growth Action Plan for Walnut River Brewing while participating in SBA’s Emerging Leaders Program. Hunt said, “I’ve learned so much from the class and the other CEOs in the program.” Hunt and a member of his CEO mentoring group Kim Redeker of Sweet Granada, a gourmet chocolate and confection shop in Emporia, have collaborated on chocolates made with Walnut River beer.  

When asked what advice he would give to someone thinking of starting up their own business, BJ Hunt said “Take care of your spouse during the whole process. Make sure each of you are on the same page. They may not be involved in the daily details of the business but having their support to see the whole thing through is critical. Likewise, take care of your employees and give them opportunities to shine.”