In the first instance of consolidation in Antelope Valley’s craft brew industry, Lucky Luke Brewing Co. has bought the assets of Kinetic Brewing and is leasing its downtown Lancaster location. The Palmdale brewery is looking to open in the next month at 735 W. Lancaster Blvd. It is currently renovating the space where Kinetic operated during its nearly seven years in business. Kinetic closed down at the end of October. Its product has won awards at the Great American Beer Festival, Los Angeles International Beer Competition and Bistro Double IPA Festival. Brian Schmitz, co-owner of Lucky Luke, which marked its third anniversary last month, said the new location should open in about a month or so, but it was the combination of construction and permits that would be the determining factor. “We are waiting on health department approval and (federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) approval,” Schmitz said. “Once we have those two, we’ll be ready to go.” ‘Familiar but different’ To create an open dining room floorplan, Schmitz had two walls taken down. Booths will go along one wall, while couches and lounge-type seating will be close to the front and the doors that open to outside patio. The former concrete bar was removed and replaced with one that has a herringbone pattern made from pallet wood. And as in Palmdale, the top of the bar will be covered with heads-up pennies (and one penny showing tails) under a clear epoxy. “It’s going to be familiar but different,” Schmitz said. “We will carry over the same feel but have some fun new stuff to look at.” Myrle McLernon, who owned Kinetic along with Steve Kinsey, said that it was a mutual decision the pair made to sell the business. It was a struggle keeping a brewery and restaurant going, especially in the face of state and county regulations and permits and having to keep up with employment laws, said McLernon, an architect who operates his own firm in Lancaster. Kinsey was the head brewer at Kinetic. “Neither of us wanted to do all the other stuff that went with it,” McLernon said. “Our heart wasn’t in it. You really have to love what you do, especially in food service.” Earlier, Schmitz had made an unsolicited offer to buy the business. He and Kinsey considered that confidential offer, tabled it for a while and then eventually took Schmitz up on it, McLernon said, adding that they liked the offer because it came from another brewer. “The property is suited for that,” McLernon said. “Even the landlord didn’t want to dismantle the brewery.” Schmitz said he was at his brewery when he had heard from his business partner about Kinetic willing to sell. The partner contacted McLernon and a couple days later they were in his office discussing numbers. Schmitz declined to say how much he paid. “It happened very organically,” he added. “It wasn’t anything that we knew about previously.” Some of the brewing tanks in Lancaster will be shipped over to the Palmdale location, where larger batches of beer are produced. The new place will become a test kitchen for recipe development. “This will double our production from where we are currently at,” Schmitz said. “We do about 1,000 barrels a year right now and this should bring us to about 2,000.” Lucky Luke produces a variety of beers – blondes, golden ales, IPAs, sours, saisons and stouts. It is distributed to bars and retail stores. At the Palmdale tap room, there are pints available in the $6 range, along with cans, 32 oz. crowlers and 64 oz. growlers. “We sell more beer to our wholesale accounts and retail accounts outside the tap room than we do in the tap room, which was the overall goal,” Schmitz said. Multiple-location strategy The consolidation reduces to three the number of breweries in the Palmdale and Lancaster area. In addition to Lucky Luke, there is Bravery Brewing Co., which opened in 2012, and Transplants Brewing Co., which opened three years ago. Like the greater Los Angeles area, the brewing industry has matured in the Antelope Valley. It is no longer just about brewing great beer and everyone will buy it, McLernon said. “You have to be business savvy; you have to work your marketing and do all the things that make a business work,” he added. Transplants, in Palmdale, is a low-budget brewery while Bravery, in Lancaster, is taking the opposite approach by building a larger brewhouse and expanding its distribution, McLernon said. Lucky Luke is developing its multiple-location model. Schmitz said that his ultimate goal is to open up in Los Angeles and then expand along the coast. The brewery has always wanted to add a food element, but it is challenging because he has no experience in that industry. Opening the Lancaster location with a kitchen allows him to learn food service locally, Schmitz said. “The learning curve would be steep with a long commute (in Los Angeles), so it’s nice to have it here in town,” he added.