In this eighth episode of I Live In Dallas Radio, co-hosted by myself and Jason Channell, we interview Wim Bens, who is the owner and operator of Lakewood Brewing Company, an independent brewery in Garland, Texas, that offers a handful of original premium micro-brewed beers and tours to the public.

Bens is also the mastermind behind the unique selection of brews Lakewood Brewing Company offers. He started the operation in his garage while living in Lakewood, and eventually moved to the current facility which is 10s of 1000s of square feet and has several employees including Craig Bradley, whom we also interviewed. Bens still lives in Lakewood and has for nearly ten years.

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From what he said in our interview, we can see he has taken East Dallas and attempted to bottle it: eclectic, smart, friendly, progressive, fun, and quirky. From what we learned, we at at ILiveInDallas.com like his style and the embodiment of that style he has captured in his beers.

You can find Lakewood Brewing Company handles and drafts at over 100 DFW locations.  At only a year-old, their success could be due to their extreme local appeal, great tasting beers, as well as the hard work of Owner Wim Bens and Craig Bradley, Lakewood Brewing Company’s head promotions and sales guy. Bens and Bradley worked together at Dallas advertising monolith Tracy Locke before Bens took an apprenticeship at Rahr and Sons followed by fulfilling his dream of opening a brewery.

This episode of I Live In Dallas Radio was recorded in an office, just outside the main room housing the large industrial beer drums, mixing vats, and fermentation systems. Jason and I were on a tour of the facility like they have for the public most Saturdays from 12-3pm. This is what drew us to the location one random Saturday.

According to their website:

Tours are $10 (cash at the door) and include:

• A souvenir glass for you to keep and use
• Four free samples of beer
• An informal brewery tour (starts at 1:30pm)

They also state that you should feel free to bring your lawn chairs with you and hang out. Kids are welcome as long as they are kept under control. Last call is at 2:30pm and they stop pouring at 2:45pm.

In this radio show, we ask Wim to recount his personal history, the origin of the brewery, and other fun facts.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:05 — 47.9MB) | Embed

Listen as:

• Craig tells us about the day-to-day operations of the brewery.
• Wim describes the brewing process and tasting notes of their current beer selection.
• We learn of Lakewood Brewing Company’s plans for the next few months.