Lost Hollow: An Endeavor Amongst Friends

On 102 E Franklin Street in Greencastle sits a building that has taken many forms throughout the years. It began its life as a greenhouse. More recently, it acted as a brewery; but since 2024, Clay McKinley, Elliot Dunbar, and Alex Eaker have transformed the space into their passion project: Lost Hollow Beer Co. 

Now distinguished by a hand painted mural on the side of the building, Lost Hollow serves several purposes. First and foremost, it’s a brewery. Their beer is a culmination of a dream between three friends who learned about the elaborate fermentation process together. Lost Hollow also serves a wide ranging menu of favorites from fried pickles and chicken wings to burgers with cheese curds to s’mores beignets. The combination of brewpub and dine-in selections makes Lost Hollow a favorite gathering place for Greencastle residents. Just about any weekend, you’ll find local musicians, along with trivia nights, and even a “Beerthday” party, the day between McKinley and Dunbar’s birthdays, which are just two days apart. 

McKinley, Dunbar, and Eaker met “fresh out of undergrad,” while the trio were all living in Indianapolis. Eaker and Dunbar were roommates at the time. McKinley met Eaker’s wife while interning at White River State Park. “I was working at Irishfest at Military Park and I ran into them coincidentally. They said, ‘Hey, we’ve been making beer, do you want to join?’” McKinley said, “and now we’re here.”

“Alex and I had always been into beer, and had always talked about making it,” Dunbar said. This was before COVID, a time when Dunbar said craft beer was becoming more mainstream. With the three living in Indianapolis, where breweries were popping up more frequently, it isn’t hard to see why. Dunbar and Eaker started paying more attention to tasting notes, stories behind different brands, and ingredients, which allowed them to develop ideas for what they wanted their beers to look like. 

“We made beer on the stove and fermented it in the closet,” Dunbar said. 

What started as a hobby among friends fermented into dreams of a full-service brewery. “We found a half-barrel system that made 20-gallon batches on Facebook Marketplace; we were doing 5-gallon batches before.” The three went on a limb and got the machinery from Westfield, and started working out of Clay’s garage in Fountain Square. 

The three were able to formulate a concrete business plan, complete with investors and a chef to collaborate on food. Then, COVID pushing Dunbar to move back to Greencastle, where he started working in whiskey. 

“I don’t know that the three of us brewed beers for probably a year and a half,” McKinley said. That was until Dunbar found out about a former brewery space opening in up Greencastle. 

“In December we saw the building for lease; we signed in March and started in April,” said Dunbar.

From beers to burgers, wings, and cocktails, Lost Hollow is undoubtedly a hit in Greencastle, with their beers becoming a well-known staple in Putnam County. 

“We play to our strengths and try to learn from the other sides…We’re in a Busch Light town,” Elliot said. “People drink domestics here, so we’ve unintentionally focused on more approachable styles.” 

Their Duke Lager and King Korn beers are two of their best-sellers that reflect the classic style and Elliot’s experiences in whiskey. “We focus a lot on grains here. I think part of that comes from whiskey being grain-focused.” 

The group prioritizes working with roasts and local suppliers. “We’ve gotten to know malters in Indiana more,” Clay said. When in search of high-quality caramel and base malts, they’ve found that sources as local as Sugar Creek make for better beers. Dunbar and McKinley also credit customer feedback to their success. “Mainly, we’re asking what our community wants and what’s working well for us. It’s good to interact with the community like that.” 

Although beer is the driving force behind Lost Hollow, their food menu keeps customers coming back.

“We just had to put the chef hat on,” Dunbar said, and the three put their heads together. 

“It took a lot of trial and error to get to this more robust food program. It’s evolved and changed over time, but it’s in a great place now,” McKinley said. 

Take one look at the menu and you’ll see that the three weren’t afraid to take risks. Popular menu items include a jalapeño popper burger with fried onions and bacon jam, loaded fries with ranch and pulled pork, and gochujang chicken wings. 

“If we’re gonna have pub food, we’ll make it good pub food. We want to offer something that is worth the value, matches the experience, and complements the beer. Through trial and error, we’ve gotten there.” 

As for Greencastle, it was more than just the space that made the co-owners want to choose this opportunity.

“When the last brewery closed I knew there was something missing.” Dunbar said. What started as something three friends did on the weekend is now a thriving business bringing people together. 

“We’ve gotten consistent and dialed in these past 18 months. We have a great staff that supports us as owners, and we support them as leaders in their own right,” said Dunbar. 

Lost Hollow at 102 E Franklin Street in Downtown Greencastle is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11a.m. to 9p.m.