Brewers rally around family to bring Knapptronix owner's final brew to life (2024)

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When Bradley Knapp told his fiancée, Lindsay Nation, he wanted to open a brewery, she told him he was crazy.

But Knapp said he was quite the opposite, Nation said recently.

"He thought life was too short," Nation said. "This was something he wanted to do."

Knapp died unexpectedly on June 6, leaving behind many loved ones, along with his brewery, Knapptronix Brewing Co., at 1004 Main St. in downtown Lafayette.

After the announcement of Knapp's death spread around the brewing community, Nation said local brewery owners and restaurateurs were at Knapptronix's door the next day, offering their help in maintaining the business and feeding the crowds of supporters who came for his memorial.

"I know that he meant a lot to a lot of people. ... I mean I knew in my heart he'd made an impact on a lot of people, but I just didn't realize how many," Nation said. "In the past few weeks, the community has just rallied around the business. This place has been packed every single night."

Chris Johnson, co-owner of People's Brewing Company, said when he heard the news about Knapp's sudden death, he made sure to stop by Knapptronix the next day to assess its operations and make sure the equipment was in safe working order.

"That's how the beer industry is all across the country; we are all like-minded folks who help each other," Johnson said. "We like making beer, our worlds revolve around beer, and we help each other through the good times and the tough times."

Knapp's personality made him a hard person to forget, Nation said. Naturally funny, Knapp was quick to make a joke if it would make someone smile, which stemmed from his caring nature.

Earning his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University, Knapp's profession made its way into the theme of the brewery, serving pints out of beaker glasses and flights out of test tubes.

But probably the biggest influence from his time at Purdue could be found in the brewery's name.

In his late high school and early college days, Knapp wanted to be a DJ, his brother Adam McKinney said. Looking around at the music covering the walls of the brewery and crafted into pun-inspired names of his brews, it's clear to see where his younger dreams intertwined with his more adult dream.

"He said if he ever went professional as a DJ his stage name would be DJ Knapptronix," McKinney recalled. "He was a Theta Chi brother, and he loved to run the music at the house, dabbling with turntables. He wasn't the greatest, but he loved music, and it was always up to volume 30. But somehow you could still hear Brad over it all."

Knapptronix's doors have remained open after Knapp's death, and Nation said the family isn't sure what the future holds for the brewery. But they plan to keep the business running for as long as possible.

One last Knapptronix brew

Before Knapp's death, he'd ordered a list of ingredients needed for another beer. While he rarely ever wrote anything down, Nation said he did manage to write down some notes for the new concoction.

In honor of Knapp's memory, Johnson said he has offered to help bring Knapp's final beer to the brewery's taps, noting that a set date hadn't been discussed.

"He had a little bit of a recipe, or a baseline, which we will use, and I'll likely have to do a bit of interpretation based off his notes, but we're going to do our absolute best we can," Johnson said. "Any of us brewers would be able to take what he had and make a really good product to represent Brad, and we want this to represent him well."

Although Knapp had named that final beer, Nation said they will likely rename it once it's brewed to honor Knapp, who ultimately chose to open his brewery to fill a gap he saw in the local brewing community regarding sour beers and IPAs.

"Brad felt it was so important to support the other local breweries in town, because they all did so much for him, too," Nation said. "The brewing community is unlike anything I ever knew — from home brewers to professionals, the outreach has just been remarkable. It really is a different kind of friendship."

Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal and Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes.