New brewery, The Post, coming to Lafayette

This was the email I got from the founders of the Post  Brewery, a new brewery/brew pub (105 Emma St. in Lafayette):

“Why Lafayette? We have asked ourselves that question 100 times before seriously considering this. We began looking for a location for a brewery to produce beer for our existing restaurants about five years ago. And during that time, (we have) been spinning a chicken concept around in his big brain for at least that long. It became clear that putting the two together would possibly be a brilliant idea.

“The challenge then came in finding a brewmaster who would not only make outstanding beer but who would be someone we could build a story around. We will be the 180^th brewpub to open in Colorado. So, this brewery needed to have some relevance and street cred and just not be another restaurateur jumping on the craft brewing bandwagon.

“That’s when we met Bryan Selders. Bryan was the brewmaster for DogFish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware for the first decade of that brewery’s life. Their production was very limited when he started, but during his tenure there he took them to the point of being considered one of the most original, delicious and innovative breweries in the U.S., winning many national awards, international press and critical praise along the way.

“The chicken part of this story is about fried and rotisserie chicken. Chef Brett Smith has been with Big Red F for almost 15 years with a six-year hiatus spent on St. John Island where he mastered Creole and island cooking, especially with those island yard birds.

“Chef Brett, Dave and BRF culinary director Jamey Fader have traveled extensively throughout the U.S., searching for the very best chicken they could get in to their mouths – they found a few that will stand out in their culinary daydreams for a lifetime.

“It was at this moment that The POST Brewing Company and GoodBird Kitchen came to be. GoodBird is the name of the kitchen at The POST. Joining this powerhouse team at The POST as General Manager is Lara VannDagenhart(formerly of The KITCHEN, Kitchen Upstairs, Kitchen Next Door). Finally, Brian Selbitschka as beverage manager, rounds out the team – he’s managed bars for The Big Red F for 12 years including LoLa, Zolo and The West End Tavern. We feel this team represents one of the strongest opening teams we have ever assembled to launch a restaurant.”

The Post Brewery is slated to open in January.