They say when a man hits the age of 30 - he does one of three things: 1) starts a podcast, 2) gets into home brewing, or 3) becomes a history buff (specifically the Civil War). When I hit 30, I started a podcast (and now a second podcast) as well as got into home brewing so not really sure what that says about me. My beer I make? I call it King Rooster because of King David and my last name means “rooster” in German but you all care about that second podcast I mentioned and Hopping Gnome so let’s talk about them.

I sat down with one of the owners, Stacy Ward Lattin, to hear all about how Hopping Gnome started and where they are at today. You can check out the full interview on any of your favorite podcast streaming platforms or find it here. Hopping Gnome is located at 1710 E Douglas Ave and is open Tuesdays through Thursdays 3pm-10pm, Fridays 3pm-11pm, Saturdays 12pm-11pm, and Sundays 12pm-6pm. But if it is outside those hours, you can find them at several Wichita locations on tap such as the Monarch, Public, Ziggys, or even sometimes Buffalo Wild Wings and Wind Surge games!

During the interview I got to sip on the Earl of ESB - one of their standard beer options. They also offer rotating brews, so it is always good to check in from time to time to see what all is on tap. Stacy and her husband Torrey are both from Kansas and found themselves in Wichita working in industries that are not very beer related, Torrey was in engineering and Stacy in non profits. They did what almost every local Wichitan has ever done - questioned whether Wichita was going to be their home for the foreseeable future or not. Torrey had always enjoyed home brewing and had won some awards for that, so in 2012 when in Colorado they came up with the idea to put together Wichita’s first ever taproom. A taproom is a place that focuses on the drinks and not on food, and that is what they set out to create.

So with very little business background for either of them, they decided to give the whole brewing and taproom idea the old college try and see if they could put something together. But first, they had to come up with a name. High Five Brewing was their first thought because they like to high five a lot, but of course, it was already a brewery. They toyed around with several ideas but one night, while Torrey was sipping on an IPA he had just put together, he saw the give-away gnome from the 2012 Kansas City Royals All Star game and it hit him! Hopping Gnome - because of hops and gnomes love to drink. Stacy, not at all a gnome person, decided to go with it. (To be clear, they did not hate gnomes, they just were not as in to them as they are now).

So Hopping Gnome was born - a coffee shop vibe spot that instead served beer (and coffee beers). They wanted to focus on the community aspect of beer drinking - enjoying a cold one with an old friend, playing board games with the gang, or just sitting at the bar and getting to know a stranger. Kids are even allowed at Hopping Gnome until 10pm, and they see all walks of life come through their doors. They originally thought they would mostly distribute the beer, and yet they have found the community wants to come to them, too, and they are more than happy to welcome them.

During our interview, Stacy talked about how important it is to her to support local, and she talked about some of the ways she has become involved in the Wichita scene. She also mentioned how the local community has helped them over the years, and talked about some of their early Facebook videos that were involved with Kickstarter, which I promised to post so: video 1, video 2.

Another fun topic we talked about during the interview that I wanted to highlight was the HBIC Sour that seems to be one of their most popular options. It is named after Stacy, because she wanted to do a sour for so long and Torrey finally put one together. HBIC or “Head Babe* In Charge” comes from the show Flavor of Love and everyone’s favorite gal New York.

*insert whatever word that starts with “B” here that you want.

So, I had to try the HBIC Sour when I was done and took home a growler so my wife could try some as well, and we were not disappointed. Definitely one of the better sours I have had, and I was sad when we crushed the growler in one sitting (after the kids went down for the night, of course).

Finally, a little time sensitive for this blog so if it is after June 25, 2022 you can skim this part, but Hopping Gnome is throwing a big bash for their 7th anniversary located in the parking lot behind the taproom. All of the details are on the picture below and we talk about it on the podcast but it is 70s theme so get ready to Shake Your Gnome Thing.

At Hopping Gnome, “community is the real product, beer is just the byproduct.” It truly is the perfect place when you want to enjoy Wichita and beer at the same time. So go check out some delicious options and tell them (3YUM6) sent you!