The many ways Richmond’s first brewery pays tribute to Kentucky, from beer to location

Dreaming Creek, Richmond’s first brewery, likes to remember the past, specifically Kentucky’s past.

Named after the stream that long ago ran through downtown Richmond, much like Lexington’s Town Branch, the brewery produces 20 beers such as 1792 (the year Kentucky was granted statehood).

But it also likes to support the present times, as it did when it helped host the city’s first ever official Pride event.

Either way, craft beer has found a calling in the county seat of Madison County.

“It is our belief that craft beer can create something great,” co-owner Taryn Edington said. “Dreaming Creek is a place to meet new friends and be a part of a community as well as an opportunity for us to bring something very unique to our little town.”

Dreaming Creek Brewery launched in April 2018 from the legacy of the city’s first craft beer bar, Richmond Beer House.

The brewery launched with the creek’s name, which originates from a tale often told by Daniel Boone from when he first traveled to the region on a bear-hunting expedition. According to the story, Boone grew fatigued after drinking from the creek and crawled into a hollowed-out sycamore tree (referenced in the brewery’s logo) to rest. During his slumber he dreamt of being surrounded by Native Americans, only to wake up and see that he was. However, Boone was able to trick them into getting caught in his bear traps, allowing him to escape.

Located inside a former Richmond State Office Building built in 1968 that was home to a local branch of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and a social security office, Dreaming Creek is nestled in the heart of downtown between the Madison County Courthouse and the Richmond Fire Department Station. Once inside, beers steins collected by and gifted to the brewery’s owners line a shelf running above a window stretching the length of the building along with prints on the opposite wall depicting Kentucky’s various state parks.

“I’m sure that all of our family is thrilled to have the cabinet space in their houses freed up again with all of our steins being here now,” joked Edington.

Many of Dreaming Creek’s 20 original beers on tap have names paying homage to Kentucky phenomena whether it be the “1792,” a Kentucky Common Ale named after the year the state was founded; “Blue Lick Blonde,” a blonde ale calling attention to the region of the state where Country Music Hall of Fame member Red Foley is from; “Sinking Spring,” a cider named after the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln; and “Sheltowheat,” a hefeweizen named after Daniel Boone’s supposed Native American name “Sheltowee” meaning “Big Turtle,” among others.

Dreaming Creek has also partnered with several other Kentucky breweries and businesses on brews including “Traumhaus,” a marzen cooked up with Rock House Brewing in Lexington for Oktoberfest; “Elk Lick Haze,” a New England IPA concocted with the help of Sawstone Brewing Company in Morehead; “Purdy’s Porter,” a coffee porter that the brewery makes with beans from Richmond based Purdy’s Coffee; and the “Bourbon Barrel Aged 1792,” a partnership with Danville’s Wilderness Trail Distillery.

In addition to beer, Dreaming Creek also serves wine from Winchester’s Harkness Edwards Vineyards (“Big Red”) and Richmond’s Chenault Vineyards (“Bovine Blush”) along with three bourbons from Wilderness Trail; four small-batch, non-alcoholic sodas (root beer, grape, fruit punch and cherry cola) on tap and food trucks on site five days per week.

Dreaming Creek is also very active within the community when it comes to hosting events and bringing people together, although much of the outreach has been put on hold in 2020 due to COVID-19. But in 2019 the brewery teamed up with Richmond Pride to host the city’s first ever official Pride event. Dreaming Creek also partnered with the Court Appointed Special Advocates of Madison and Clark Counties on a “Giving Tree” decked to the halls with holiday wants and needs of abused and neglected children in the region.

The brewery has also hosted trivia nights, bingo nights, live music and other events in the past but has slowed down the frequency of them since the onset of the pandemic. They have also adapted into a carry-out liquor store canning their beers by hand. Dreaming Creek has also placed EZ-up canopies and picnic tables in it’s parking lot to give patrons more space to socially distance, a fixture that Edington says will stay permanently.

“Richmond has been incredibly supportive of us, particularly during the difficult circumstances surrounding COVID-19, and it’s not lost on us,” said Edington. “From the beginning we’ve strived to partner with those in our community on events, drink collaborations and in sourcing our ingredients while giving people a place to unwind after a long day at work and it seems to be resonating well. It’s everything we’d hoped for and more.”

Dreaming Creek Brewery

Where: 109 East Irvine Street, Richmond, KY 40475

Hours: Open 3-10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, 3-11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and 3-9 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday, Tuesday

Online: Facebook.com/DreamingCreekBrewery

This story was originally published December 23, 2020 at 6:00 AM.