New brewery opens despite the era’s obstacles
Madeline Magin and Cody Noble of Noblebräu are having fun with beer.
Photo by Jack Robert
Last November, Madeline Magin and Cody Noble took the helm of 185 King Street, a long-standing Brevard music venue. The plan had always been for Noble, who graduated from Blue Ridge Community College’s professional brewing program, to open his own place. While a global pandemic threw a wrench into those plans, Magin and Noble pressed on and grew Noblebräu.
How did you wind up running a brewery and a music venue?
Madeline Magin: Cody had been in Brevard for about 15 years, and I’ve been here for about six years. And we had moved over the mountain so Cody could be the head brewer at Boojum Brewery in Waynesville. But we were missing Brevard, and we loved the area of King Street, which is really a side district of Brevard proper. … There had been some recent turnover [at 185 King Street], so [the owner] was willing to listen to ideas about different entrepreneurs coming in. There had been an area that they had always just used as storage space, and it’s the perfect size for a little microbrewery. So we saw the opportunity and pitched it.
Photo by Jack Robert
What kind of beer are you making?
Cody Noble: All sorts of stuff. We’re kind of staying away from core beers at the moment; we’re just kind of having fun with things. But I’ve got a New England IPA, a Pale Ale, pilsner, chocolate milk stout, a light American lager, Spruce Tip IPA, and a bunch of things in the works. I’ll probably make every sort of beer imaginable. It’s just like home brewing on a large scale.
The couple’s dog Bean is part of the scene at the happening King Street location.
Photo by Jack Robert
You opened just months before the pandemic shut everyone down. How did the business survive?
MM: There were definitely a lot of sleepless nights. One thing that we are very grateful for is, being in Brevard, and bartending for as long as Cody and I have, you get to know a lot of the different community members, and so many were excited that we were coming back and doing this. Cody had kind of created a name for himself back in the day. He was homebrewing all the time, and would just go around handing out all of his beer to people. So people already knew what he was capable of and were excited for us … knowing that they’d be here for us when the brewery was running is definitely something that kept us going.
Photo by Jack Robert
And you’ve still been hosting shows?
MM: There’s a backyard space, and it already had a fence around it … and when we saw that space, we just said, ‘Look at this beer garden!’ …People can make table reservations so they are still socially distanced and outside … [we’re] filling that need that people have been missing [to] enjoy live music.
Noblebräu and 185 King, 185 King St., Brevard. For more information, call 828-877-1850 or visit noblebrau.com and 185kingst.com
