Watch now: Lexington to add craft brewery to Main Street in 2022 | Local Business

LEXINGTON — A chemist, an analyst and a manager walk into a bar.

The bar is at 510 W. Main St. in Lexington — and more accurately, the bar is actually a brewery, and the chemist, analyst and manager are co-owners.

That’s the aim of Hudson friends Andy Arndt, Brian Graves and Nate Poehlman, who’ve set a goal of March 2022 to take what was once a garage-bound hobby into the marketplace. 

“It’s really been something that is decades in the making,” Graves told The Pantagraph. “It was at least that long when Nate and I started having conversations about home brewing. And it was something that so many things, whether it was careers or kids or family, just kept us from really being able to do.” 

Perhaps it was the uncertainty that came along with the pandemic and its related shutdowns. Perhaps it was the realization of a dream yet unfulfilled in a time where many people found themselves reevaluating their lives and priorities. 

Either way, that’s when the conversations became serious. First came the name — Analytical Brewing.

“I think it speaks to the approach, the mindset that we all have,” Graves said. “Andy is a chemist by profession and education and all three of us have an attention to detail. I think when you think about the analytical and scientific approach, it was just a name that flowed naturally.” 

Although they didn’t detail their exact processes, the co-owners said they plan to leverage Arndt’s background in chemistry, knowledge of craft breweries across the U.S. and experience with “higher-end” home-brewing systems to create a host of beers. 

“Really, our intention is to provide and produce really great beer that’s true to style across many different styles,” Graves said. “We know there are many different craft beer drinkers and preferences and we think we have a lineup of beers that meets that.” 

The owners also plan to collect data tracking which beers are most popular with customers, another aspect of the name.

“Part of it is staying in tune to what’s common and what’s up-and-coming in the craft beer industry, but part of it is also staying true to our roots at the same time: Providing good, quality beer that people can expect from us,” Poehlman said.   

More recently came the approval of project from Lexington’s city council.

That came with the chance for the three friends to buy a building formerly occupied by Brandt Consolidating, a company specializing in fertilizer. 

“The building we’re in the process of purchasing is going to need a lot of work — and the three of us have day jobs,” Poehlman said. “So it’s going to be a lot of nights, weekends and working with local, professional contracts to make it all happen.”