Welcome to our “Meet The Brewer” series! Where we interview brewers in Pennsylvania, from breweries small to large. Let us know if you know anyone who should be featured, email us at [email protected].

Vault Brewing first opened in 2012 at 10 South Main Street, in a historic bank in downtown Yardley, PA. In August of 2019, the brewery opened a second taproom at 19 W College Avenue, just a 4-minute walk from the primary brewery and taproom location. Recently, on April 1st, Vault rebranded this taproom and re-opened it as the Vault Smokehouse, serving a full BBQ menu alongside Vault’s lineup of craft beer! The production facilities for the brewery are also located in this building as well.

Kyler Gretz is the head brewer at Vault Brewing. Read more to find out his introduction to craft beer, where he sees the craft beer industry heading, and more!

What was your introduction to craft beer?

My first exposure to craft beer was through my family’s business which was a Philly area beer distributor. As I was coming to the legal drinking age, local breweries like Troegs, Victory, and Sly Fox were really catching my interest and kept redefining my idea of what beer could be.

How did you get started as a brewer?

After college, I was looking for jobs and quickly learned a desk job was not for me. I knew I preferred physical work that was methodical and creative..so I lucked out in pursuing brewing! I started brewing professionally and homebrewing around the same time in 2011.

What style allows you to be the most creative, and why?

Lagers are an outstanding platform for exploring brewing ingredients. It’s one of the most appropriate styles for allowing ingredients to speak for themselves. Given that balance is key for lagers, the flavors are not directly competing with each other thus allowing their true colors to shine. Especially when it comes to malts. If I am curious about a certain malt variety or what effect a certain mash program may have on a beer, I’ll look to brewing a lager to find that out.

What was the first beer you ever brewed, and what did you learn from it?

It was my first homebrew, an amber ale. I wanted to brew something simple to get an idea of what I was doing so I could more readily detect off-flavors. It turned out ok and I don’t think I learned too much. Well, I learned that I liked to brew.

Where do you see the craft beer industry heading in the next few years?

There are so many breweries everywhere and I find it hard to make decisions on what to drink sometimes. So I imagine breweries will continue to specialize in their approach to brewing. More breweries focusing on regional styles of brewing, more lager-focused breweries, or experimental brewers. Also, it would be great for more breweries to also focus on the food at their brewpubs. Pairing world-class beer with world-class food would really bring the industry to another level and help give the beer world the clout it deserves.

Describe what it’s like to be a brewer in Pennsylvania.

I think it’s special to brew in a state with such a rich brewing history. The first domestic lager was brewed in Philly and I’m happy to keep that going.

What is the inspiration behind your beer names?

All of our beer names are financial terms. There are a bunch of funky ones out there that seem totally random, like Dead Cat Bounce or Castles in the Sky. Or Pure Play..what’s up with that!?

What is your favorite beer to drink right now?

Lately, Vienna lagers have been tickling my fancy. Shout out to Workhorse, Trauger, Vault (gotta self-promote), and Von Trapp for slinging some fine amber treats!

What is the most important lesson you learned in the beer industry so far?

Always be open to change. Change of brewing procedures, ingredients, trends, and ideas from outside the beer industry. The beer world and the world at large have been rapidly changing and if you can’t keep up.. yer old news! Brewing trends and newly developed styles like Hazy IPAs, smoothie beers, and uncommon use adjuncts have turned my brewing knowledge, experience and assumptions upside down! And that’s one helluva learning opportunity and a humbling experience taboot.

That being said lots of this progress has come through trial and error and for me highlighted the value of tried and true ingredients and processes. Like there are tons of cool designer hops out there but I can’t help but notice that the classics like Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe are still blended into a majority of the IPA’s I see. We need an adult in this playground of sexy, label-friendly hops like Zappa or Cashmere. Which in my experience of brewing and drinking kinda, like, sucks. And I think the recent rise in popularity of lagers is due in part to some of the hype trends over the past few years so I guess there’s a lesson that the classics are classic for a reason. Cheers!