By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post
Defiance Brewing Co. is defying the odds by delivering 500 cases of their craft brews to retail stores in Hays a week ago — less than a year after the company was founded.
Stores in Hays are stocking up on the brews and say demand for the “unique and high-quality” beer is high.
The company was founded in April, and the two young co-founders Dylan Sultzer, 26, and Matthew Bender, 32, both said they feel as if their dreams have come true.
“Its pretty surreal right now. People think we drink beer all day, but we don’t do that at all,” Sultzer said, noting 10- to 12-hour days are not uncommon. “We work really hard to make a really good product.”
“I just want to dance,” laughed Bender. “I’m just really excited. We put so much time and effort into it and to see it actually happening now is just amazing. It’s something that is so beyond anything we could have imagined.”
With the cases flying off of Hays liquor store shelves, Defiance is getting requests from outside the region and state for the craft brews.
“The response we are getting back is just amazing, and seeing distributors from other counties and other states at this point trying to get our product … I just couldn’t be any happier, honestly,” Bender said.
For now, the home-grown brews are staying local.
“Right now, (Defiance brews) are just in Hays,” Sultzer said. “We are looking at getting (the beer) into other counties around us. Russell will be getting it soon. ”
Stores in Great Bend, Dodge City and Garden City also are on the list for getting the beers.
Being a Kansas product is important, Bender said, adding he is “stoked” about the support the start-up has received from the community,
“Being from Hays and being able to release a Hays product through a Hays company (Western Beverage Supply), that is a win-win-win,” he said.
Defiance currently offers two craft beers — Gutch, an English ale “with a little twist,” and Trasher, a session IPA. The president of Defiance Brewing Co. is Ken Gottschalk, who owns Gutch’s restaurant and Wild Rose in Hays.
Bender said Gottschalk approached him and Sultzer — both experienced brewers — with the “opportunity of lifetime” to start up Defiance.
Future plans include seasonal brews and the opening of a tap room.