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Firm roots in the past, with an eye on the future
October 6, 2025
WRIGHTSTOWN – According to Owners Adam and Katrina Magnuson, Gnarly Cedar began as a small venture with big ambitions.
After restarting LedgeStone Vineyards in 2017, the Magnusons said a friend’s advice led them to start brewing Gnarly Cedar beer in 2019.
Sharing production space with LedgeStone Winery for more than four years, the brewery now officially has a space of its own.
Located at 420 Washington St. in Wrightstown, Gnarly Cedar occupies the village’s former public works building, a place where the Magnusons said a new community is blossoming and fresh energy is flowing.
A history of brewing
The Magnusons said their roots in the wine and beer industry began with a small homebrew shop in Denver, where they sold supplies for wine, beer and cheese making.
After selling that business and developing a passion for winemaking, the couple said they spent nearly three years traveling the world to learn the craft.
“Along the way, we got into all things fermentation – beer was always kind of the start,” Adam said. “Margaret River in Australia was our last stop for international winemaking, and then we started LedgeStone.”
At the time, the winemakers noticed that while many visitors came for wine, plenty were also asking for beer, so when a friend suggested they start brewing, the idea quickly took shape – and they started to brew their own beer in 2019.
Though they began with a small barrel system, Adam said they were “flying” through the beer, making the process unsustainable no matter the batch size.
When the original brewer left in 2021, Adam said he stepped in to take over brewing operations.
That, he said, prompted them to invest in a seven-barrel system, which they have since used to produce a variety of beers, including traditional lagers, IPAs and hybrid brews that combine grape juice with a beer base.
Since 2021, Adam said Gnarly Cedar has seen steady growth, with a significant boost in the past two years as their recipes became finely tuned.
This progress, he said, led to the hiring of an experienced new brewer in 2023, which has fueled even more growth.
“We figured out what’s selling, what’s seasonal, what our beer menu looks like and really understand our beer and brewing process to make the best beer possible,” he said. “From water profiles, to yeast selection, to equipment, the process and all the techniques within the process, we’ve really dialed in everything.”
Local support
In 2023, the Magnusons said they were approached by the Village of Wrightstown about transforming the building at 420 Washington into Gnarly Cedar Brewery.
Adam said he was excited when the village approached them about the building, as he had long seen its five garage doors and open riverfront space as perfect for a brewery.
“Maybe it manifested itself to some degree,” he said. “Having been part of the community for eight years, LedgeStone has built strong ties through its concert series, which regularly draws hundreds of people. That presence has helped establish trust, and the village has been supportive and collaborative every step of the way.”
Adam said Gnarly Cedar was already planning an expansion at LedgeStone when the village’s offer came, and that opportunity shifted their plans, enabling them to accelerate beer production in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.
The project coming to fruition nearly two years after those initial conversations, Adam said, marks a significant milestone for the brewery.
Brewing beer vs. making wine
The Magnusons said brewing beer is a very different experience from making wine, as beer can be brewed multiple times a year, whereas wine production typically happens just once annually.
Adam said brewing beer is much more regimented and recipe-driven, with the key to quality being consistent results every time.
In contrast, he said winemaking depends heavily on natural elements – such as sunlight, rainfall, cooler nights, bird activity and even insects affecting the grape crop – making it a more variable process.
Generally speaking, Adam said brewing beer offers more control over elements like water, yeast and the process itself, making it easier to manage than winemaking, with the biggest difference being the overall mindset.
“It took a little bit to really embrace [that], because I wanted to treat each beer with the attitude of ‘this is going to be great and different in this unique way,’ but really it’s about sticking to the recipe and perfecting it,” he said. “Winemaking is both science and art. We’re really just shepherding the grapes and responding to what they give you. In a perfect year, there’s nothing to add – the natural yeast on the grapes would ferment on their own.”
Traditional, unique beer options
Adam said Gnarly Cedar stands out for its unique beers, particularly its hybrid varieties, which are unlike anything else in the world – especially given the distinctive style of grapes grown in the region.
“That’s something that sets us apart for sure, but also our focus on making the best possible beer and then recognizing if it’s good and quality,” he said. “We’ve dumped one beer in our existence, and that was because of equipment failure.”
To some extent, Adam said a brewery’s success involves studying what other breweries have accomplished over the past 15-20 years, identifying the key factors behind their success, and then building upon those while developing their own unique qualities.
The factors that make the difference – such as yeast selection, water profile and grain choice – he said, are part of a continuous, ongoing process.
“Every time we get to make a beer, we revisit the beer and don’t just make the same recipe,” he said. “We look for things to improve and mark if batches are better than previous. Keeping that constant log is essential, because you only make some of your seasonals once or twice a year, and you have to revisit those every year.”
Adam said Gnarly Cedar’s hybrid beers blend the winery’s fresh grape juice with various beer styles.
One of his favorites, he said, is the La’Hef – a Hefeweizen co-fermented with La Crescent juice, which adds a touch of acidity along with notes of apple and honeysuckle.
Space: The final frontier for a brand
The biggest challenge the new building resolved for Gnarly Cedar, Adam said, was space.
Previously, he said brewing was restricted to three days a week in a shared area that had to be cleared and reset for guest seating.
Now, Adam said the expanded facility allows for more consistent brewing in a space dedicated solely to beer production.
“Having a place that’s centric for serving and sharing beer is great,” he said. “Wine is great, but beer has kind of a community aspect to it. This can be a place where people come to meet and share, hang out and it allows us to create two paths for the brands – [LedgeStone and Gnarly Cedar] – and establish end goals and where we want to take Gnarly Cedar in the future.”
Building a brand at Gnarly Cedar, the Magnusons said, means focusing on team development, expanding their lineup of beers and continually improving quality.
Though he sees the appeal of limited distribution, Adam said he’s realistic about the challenges – recognizing that, from a business standpoint, it’s difficult to turn a strong profit without large-scale production.
Distribution remains a long-term goal, he said, but the current focus is simply on drawing people in and sharing what they’ve created on site.
Furthermore, Adam said attitudes around distribution have shifted in recent years, especially with the rise of breweries both locally and across the country.
“A lot of breweries when they initially started thought it would be a much larger piece of their pie, whereas we went the opposite direction,” he said. “We’d rather give you a good experience and go from there. I think it’s really about that.”
So far, Adam said the community has responded positively to both the brewery and the beer, which is exactly what they’ve always focused on – creating a full experience, whether at the vineyard or now in the new space, rather than just selling a product.
A key part of that experience at both locations – in addition to the wine and beer – he said, is the food.
Gnarly Cedar has its own kitchen with sharables and cultural comfort food, while Adam said the vineyard focuses on wine-centric and pairing dinners, chef menus and produce grown on the property.
“At Gnarly Cedar we’re adding four or five different categories,” he said. “We have our Detroit-style pizza, smashburgers, bar bites, wings and tacos. It’s really focused on being beer food, gastro pub and upscale a little bit more, but we get to have some fun with it. Our chef has a backlog of about 60 burgers, all with unique names that he can rotate through.”
Community connection
People, Adam said, are just as much a part of the brand as the product.
The new location, he said, has introduced a wave of new faces – community members who had been waiting for something like this in Wrightstown as the river community continues to grow.
“We’ve got a beautiful riverfront view where you can watch the Waterboard Warriors [ski] by, you can sit on the patio and enjoy the river or watch the eagles flying by the river,” he said. “It creates a positive space for the community to enjoy. We have plans to expand our riverfront options in the future, too.”
Adam said the goal with Gnarly Cedar is to build a community within the community – where one night you can show up for trivia, and the next attend a guest speaker event exploring topics beyond beer.
Dubbed “Think and Drinks,” Adam said these TED Talk-type events show that the brewery is about more than just enjoying a pint.
For more on Gnarly Cedar, check out the brewery’s Facebook page.
