From a 15-Gallon Homebrew Pot to the South Pacific

The story of Mic and Molley — two people who turned a hobby, a dream, and a healthy disregard for the corporate world into a brewery at the bottom of the world.

The Eye-Opener That Started It All

Mic Heynekamp had done everything right. Master's degree in geology from New Mexico Tech. Research funded by Exxon. A solid, sensible future lined up in Houston. Then he went to an internship orientation, looked around at a room full of people in fancy suits, and thought: this isn't me.

He drove back to New Mexico went on a climbing trip with friend all also about to enter the corporate world. Upon coming down from the peaks he entered Carver Brewery in Durango Colorado

He returned to New Mexico, told Molley, his partner, fellow homebrewer, and soon-to-be accounting graduate who by chance was working on a business plan for her senior project — and they made a different plan. They'd been brewing beer at home for years, 15-gallon batches served at Friday potluck dinners with one rule for their friends: be brutally honest. The feedback was good. Really good. Good enough to bet everything on.

Socorro Springs is Born: New Mexico, 1999

 

In 1998, Mic and Molley spotted an opportunity right at their alma mater — New Mexico Tech in Socorro needed a good brewery and a gathering place. In the historic Baca Mercantile building they built their first brewery out of old dairy equipment, homebuilt ingenuity, and a never-ending drive to improve, using Tom Hennessy's legendary "Frankenbrew" approach. Socorro Springs Brewing Co. opened its doors in 1999, rapidly grew, and by 2005 had outgrown its original space — so they built a new one themselves.

Sustainability was always on their minds, sharpened by the 2006 wheat crisis and the relentless New Mexico droughts. With their eyes on the mountains of Colorado and a second career as an airline pilot keeping things interesting, Mic and Molley began planning their next move.

Colorado, 2009 — The Mountains Call

The name Eddyline came from their other great love: whitewater kayaking. From the Rio Grande in New Mexico to the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon and every river in between, any chance they got they were on the water. An eddyline is the boundary between fast-churning water and the calm pool beside it — the place where you catch your breath, drink a cold one, and plan your next move. Crossing into a good pub felt exactly the same: a chance to escape the current, look at where you've been, where you're going, and celebrate with friends.

In early 2009, Mic and Molley abandoned his 2nd career  as a regional airline pilot and opened Eddyline Brewery in Buena Vista, Colorado — a town surrounded by fourteeners, whitewater rivers, and people who take their beer as seriously as their adventures.

By 2011 they'd opened a second location and did something no Colorado craft brewery had done before: packaged their flagship CrankYanker IPA in 6-packs of 16oz cans. CrankYanker had a long lineage — born as a Friday potluck homebrew, reborn as Socorro Springs' Pick-Axe IPA, and now reinvented again, inspired by cranking up a long mountain bike climb.

In 2012, their River Runners Pale Ale won Gold at the Great American Beer Festival and they were off to the races. A 2013 Silver at the World Beer Cup confirmed what they suspected: they needed more space. Construction began on a 9,000 sq ft facility featuring a 30-barrel brewhouse and a rotary canning line — Eddyline's biggest investment yet, and a sign of just how far two homebrew potluck hosts had come.

New Zealand, 2010 — Love at First Sight

After opening Eddyline, Mic and Molley — along with their three children — first visited New Zealand in 2010. They'd been searching for locations that emphasised self-sufficiency and sustainability, and New Zealand had been top of the list ever since Mic's geology courses and family connections had put it on the map. What they found exceeded all expectations: dramatic mountains, wild rivers, the friendliest people they'd ever met, and a craft beer scene that was barely out of nappies.

Three weeks later they were back in Colorado and couldn't stop talking about it. They returned in 2012 and decided to apply for a business visa — a high-stakes gamble with less than a 10% acceptance rate. They waited. And waited. Eventually they gave up waiting and pulled the trigger on the major Eddyline expansion in late 2013. In spring 2014, right after the new foundations were poured and there was absolutely no turning back, the business visa approval arrived. Stay or go?

Nelson, 2014 — Starting Over (Again)

They went. Kids enrolled in school, a builder who believed in the idea, and full steam ahead — Eddyline NZ became their sixth brewery project. In early 2016 they opened to a packed house, returning to their roots: a small pub-style brewing system, wood-fired pizzas, and the trusty CrankYanker IPA (which the Nelson locals immediately renamed the "Cranky Yankee"). A loyal community built quickly.

Awards followed. National recognition grew. The brewery system was pushed to its limits. In late 2018 they transferred ownership of the Colorado operations to their long-trusted team, Brian England and Melissa McFee, and turned their full attention to New Zealand.

In early 2019, spotting a bigger site just up the road from their original 8 Champion Road location, they got back to work. Three months later, brewing commenced at 15 Elms Street, Stoke, and Eddyline launched 440mL cans into the national market. The original Richmond location continues today as Eddyline Pizzeria, in great hands under manager Mike Giampietro.

Nelson Today — Brewing at the Bottom of the World

Eddyline NZ is 100% owned and operated by Mic and Molley. The Taproom & Taqueria pours fresh from the brewery floor with New Mexican-inspired food — a nod to where it all began. They've built one of New Zealand's most sustainable independent breweries: 68kW of solar panels, 100% CO₂ capture from fermentation, water usage cut from 10:1 down to 4:1, and Cranked Whisky — a single malt spirit born from beer, aged in custom barrels on the shores of Tasman Bay.

In 2026, their son Moab Heynekamp did what any self-respecting brewery kid would do: finished a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and opened his own place. Teddy's Tacos in Wellington serves authentic New Mexican food — imported Hatch NM red and green chile, the real stuff — alongside 24 taps of Eddyline's best. The name? Named after one of their finest IPAs, winner of the 2022 Malthouse IPA Challenge: That Eddy's Drop. Teddy, for short.

Multiple award wins at the worlds largest beer competitions: GABF, WBC, AIBA and the NZ Brewers Guild. A whisky. A taqueria. A pizzeria. A Wellington taco joint. Not bad for two people who just really didn't want to wear a suit.