Back in 2014 friends Colin Lenfesty and Mike Murphy started Holy Mountain Brewing on a 10-barrel system, quickly developed a cult-like following throughout Seattle and a year later opened the doors to a taproom located in the Interbay neighborhood.
Lenfesty and Murphy worked together at another Seattle brewery Schooner EXACT (now Schooner Brewing), the former brewed and the latter ran sales. It was there that their common love for beer, especially farmhouse ales, led them to start their own brewery. Lenfesty had been home brewing for 13 years and, once they got going, never looked back.
Since then Holy Mountain has become known for its barrel-aged saisons, racking up awards and continuing to push the boundary beyond with all the beers. Here, Lenfesty shares inspiration, the future and his favorite jams.
1) Why the name Holy Mountain?
Holy Mountain was inspired by the epic “stoner doom metal” album by the band Sleep in 1992. It’s also a nod to our beautiful and majestic Mt. Rainer in the distance.
2) What is Holy Mountain working on right now that you’re particularly excited about?
I’m very excited about some of the beers coming out of our oak (barrels) right now. We love exploring the relationship between barrel aging and fermenting, and the flavors and aroma we’re getting with the combinations of Brettanomyces and the awesome hops that are grown just a couple hours away.
3) What tunes do you listen to when you’re brewing?
We listen to a lot of stuff. Mainly metal and older hip-hop. We’ve been into movie soundtracks lately, so pretty much anything goes. We have a strict no reggae policy at the brewery. Also, no Sublime because that is basically reggae.
4) Favorite thing to eat with a good beer?
Oysters this time of year.
