By Chelsey Carr
Donum Dei translates to “Gift of God” in Latin and the brewery has been a gift to the community of Southern Indiana.
Kimberly and Rick Otey opened the brewery on St. Patrick’s Day of 2015.
Despite the opening on a popular beer drinking holiday, Donum Dei is not a traditional brewery.
“The thought process with here is that we wanted it to be family friendly, but we also wanted it to be a place where people could feel like just coming in, relaxing, having a conversation,” Kimberly said.
Jeff Jackson, a pastor at Journey Church in downtown New Albany, said he enjoys how the brewery is sectioned off.
“I’ve had my kids in here on a music night and had a great family time. This isn’t a bar. This is an establishment. They serve food here. It’s light; it’s not dark. It just has a good presence. And it’s a safe place to bring kids. If people are looking for something to do in the afternoon and dad or mom want to grab a beer, it’s still an environment hospitable for kids,” he said.
Another aspect that makes Donum Dei unique is the lack of televisions. Kimberly said many establishments in the area have televisions, which are distracting to customers.
“The tvs are on all the time, so when you go in there, you’re not talking to each other most of the time. You’re watching something because even if you don’t go in there with the thought process of ‘I wanna watch this event, when things start moving, even out of your peripheral vision, you’re gonna turn and look at it, and that’s gonna disrupt your conversation,” she said.
Jackson visits Donum Dei every week. He said he has built a friendship with Kimberly, Rick, and the staff.
“It’s not just an establishment but a place where you know people,” he said.
Jackson had heard of the brewery; he became interested because the name Donum Dei translates to “Gift of God.”
The quality of beer drew him in, but he stayed because of the relationships he formed.
“There is great beer in this area, but the beer here is fantastic. But Rick and Kim are great people. They genuinely care about their patrons. And we care about them. They go over and above; they’re not just here to make money. These are the kind of people you want to support and get behind,” Jackson said.
He said Rick will give tours of the brewery to people, which makes Donum Dei unique because patrons can see how the beer they are drinking is made.
“I think that goes a long way with people, especially in the craft brew industry. You want to not only hear the story behind the beer, but see where it’s made. Plus when you get to know Rick and Kim, you want to be part of their success. You want to see them succeed,” Jackson said.
Jackson was part of a group of people who donated through a fundraising account set up through Kiva for small investment loans. The fundraiser allowed Kim and Rick to purchase more brewing equipment to give them more capacity.
“It was neat to be part of that and join with other people to be part of it,” Jackson said.
Although the brewery is newer, the Otey’s have lived in Southern Indiana since 1994. After Rick’s employer gave him the opportunity to move to Daton. OH. or quit, he chose to leave the company.
“My mom is in a nursing home here, and I am her caregiver. Rick’s mom lives in Illinois, not super healthy, and it just was not the time for us to be moving another four hours away. So we opted to part ways and decided to start our own business. We didn’t know what it was going to be. Every time we thought of something, it came back to a brewery,” Kimberly said.
The Oteys signed their lease in September of 2013.
“We started in on the paperwork, which was a very interesting feat in itself. A small brewery the size of us has the exact same paperwork to fill that Anheuser Busch, Bud, Miller, any of those places have. It’s the exact same paperwork they have to complete,” Kimberly said.
Due to the brewing equipment in the back and the restaurant section up front, it was difficult for the state to classify Donum Dei for licensing.
“What they ended up coming up with, because they couldn’t decide, was the front half of this building is restaurant and the back half is classified manufacturing, and we had to follow different rules according to those stipulations,” Kimberly said.
The plans for construction were not approved until the fifth or sixth try. Construction was then able to begin in February of 2014.
Donum Dei translates to “Gift of God” in Latin and the brewery has been a gift to the community of Southern Indiana.
Kimberly and Rick Otey opened the brewery on St. Patrick’s Day of 2015.
Despite the opening on a popular beer drinking holiday, Donum Dei is not a traditional brewery.
“The thought process with here is that we wanted it to be family friendly, but we also wanted it to be a place where people could feel like just coming in, relaxing, having a conversation,” Kimberly said.
Jeff Jackson, a pastor at Journey Church in downtown New Albany, said he enjoys how the brewery is sectioned off.
“I’ve had my kids in here on a music night and had a great family time. This isn’t a bar. This is an establishment. They serve food here. It’s light; it’s not dark. It just has a good presence. And it’s a safe place to bring kids. If people are looking for something to do in the afternoon and dad or mom want to grab a beer, it’s still an environment hospitable for kids,” he said.
Another aspect that makes Donum Dei unique is the lack of televisions. Kimberly said many establishments in the area have televisions, which are distracting to customers.
“The tvs are on all the time, so when you go in there, you’re not talking to each other most of the time. You’re watching something because even if you don’t go in there with the thought process of ‘I wanna watch this event, when things start moving, even out of your peripheral vision, you’re gonna turn and look at it, and that’s gonna disrupt your conversation,” she said.
Jackson visits Donum Dei every week. He said he has built a friendship with Kimberly, Rick, and the staff.
“It’s not just an establishment but a place where you know people,” he said.
Jackson had heard of the brewery; he became interested because the name Donum Dei translates to “Gift of God.”
The quality of beer drew him in, but he stayed because of the relationships he formed.
“There is great beer in this area, but the beer here is fantastic. But Rick and Kim are great people. They genuinely care about their patrons. And we care about them. They go over and above; they’re not just here to make money. These are the kind of people you want to support and get behind,” Jackson said.
He said Rick will give tours of the brewery to people, which makes Donum Dei unique because patrons can see how the beer they are drinking is made.
“I think that goes a long way with people, especially in the craft brew industry. You want to not only hear the story behind the beer, but see where it’s made. Plus when you get to know Rick and Kim, you want to be part of their success. You want to see them succeed,” Jackson said.
Jackson was part of a group of people who donated through a fundraising account set up through Kiva for small investment loans. The fundraiser allowed Kim and Rick to purchase more brewing equipment to give them more capacity.
“It was neat to be part of that and join with other people to be part of it,” Jackson said.
Although the brewery is newer, the Otey’s have lived in Southern Indiana since 1994. After Rick’s employer gave him the opportunity to move to Daton. OH. or quit, he chose to leave the company.
“My mom is in a nursing home here, and I am her caregiver. Rick’s mom lives in Illinois, not super healthy, and it just was not the time for us to be moving another four hours away. So we opted to part ways and decided to start our own business. We didn’t know what it was going to be. Every time we thought of something, it came back to a brewery,” Kimberly said.
The Oteys signed their lease in September of 2013.
“We started in on the paperwork, which was a very interesting feat in itself. A small brewery the size of us has the exact same paperwork to fill that Anheuser Busch, Bud, Miller, any of those places have. It’s the exact same paperwork they have to complete,” Kimberly said.
Due to the brewing equipment in the back and the restaurant section up front, it was difficult for the state to classify Donum Dei for licensing.
“What they ended up coming up with, because they couldn’t decide, was the front half of this building is restaurant and the back half is classified manufacturing, and we had to follow different rules according to those stipulations,” Kimberly said.
The plans for construction were not approved until the fifth or sixth try. Construction was then able to begin in February of 2014.
