‘If I don’t do this, I’ll regret it’: How Julian Hackney won fans with Young at Heart ginger beer
Julian Hackney in his kitchen, where he brews up ginger beer for his Young at Heart brand.
Photo by Kayla Duvel
BURLINGTON — Julian Hackney’s journey in becoming the founder of Young at Heart ginger beer has been pretty serendipitous.
The 36-year-old operates the business out of his Burlington apartment, where he produces small batches of ginger beer that are sold wholesale to local businesses and through the Burlington Farmers Market.
“I just love ginger beer,” said Hackney when asked about what inspired his leap into entrepreneurship, which was sparked by pandemic boredom.
But the pandemic was not Hackney’s introduction to ginger beer.
Son of proto-punk legend Bobby Hackney Sr., Hackney discovered the drink as a child when watching his father perform at reggae festivals.
Hackney had been experimenting with his own batches of ginger beer for nearly a decade before Young at Heart was patented.
“This was just a passion, a hobby that gives me fulfillment, that makes me feel good.”
Another hobby also stems from his father: Hackney plays guitar in the rock band Rough Francis with his two brothers Urian and Bobby Hackney Jr. and bandmate Tyler Bolles. The rock band was formed back in 2008 after Hackney and his brothers found an old record from his father’s 1970s band Death.
In 2021 Hackney began turning his drink-making into a business venture when he sold bottles of ginger beer to coworkers at City Market, where he was a long-term employee.
He said the work environment at City Market made it possible for him to pursue a career in the beverage industry .
“There were so many community resources, like a really strong network of people who were there to help and band together to share equipment, to share resources,” Hackney said, explaining that the sense of camaraderie “took away a lot of fear for me.”
Hackney remembers thinking, “If I don’t do this, I’ll regret it.”
After Young At Heart’s launch in 2021, Hackney set his sights on joining the Burlington Farmers Market the following summer.
First, though, he felt he needed to get the okay from longtime beverage mogul Dave Rooke, of Rookie’s Root Beer, who with his wife Jenny had laid something of a claim on selling non-alcoholic refreshments at the market.
“I was scared to talk to Rookie’s because I didn’t want them to view me as competition … but I sent Dave Rooke a message on Instagram and asked if he had any time to educate me,” said Hackney. And Rooke said yes.
Rooke had previously decided to pull out of the farmers market for that summer and had already halted the production of his own ginger beer.
“As soon as I made the connection, I was like, ‘Oh, you guys don’t view me as competition or a threat, you’re here to help,’” Hackney said. “And we’ve had a great relationship. I still talk to Dave regularly. It’s been really great.”
Hackney is famous for his brightly colored brews and outlandish flavors such as non-alcoholic margarita, pomegranate cherry passionfruit, turmeric and strawberry rhubarb that are a hit at the farmers market.
“One of my favorite flavors I’ve done is a wild cherry, like a sour cherry,” he said. “I like doing something like that where you can only get (the ingredients for a short time), like the cherry trees you can only get for a week and then they’re done. I like the fleeting nature of things. I think it’s really fun.”
He’s even sourced raspberries and cherries from his neighbors’ bushes — with permission, of course.
When explaining his process, Hackney said, “There are so many ways to over-complicate things.” He said that he uses only organic yellow ginger from Peru in creating his brews.
“I’m only using the highest quality ingredients I can find,” said Hackney. “I don’t waste anything ever.”
Each batch is brewed and stored in kegs, which Hackney likes to name. Hackney’s kitchen is lined with a stainless steel fleet of kegs with names such as Marcia, Rita, Bob, Tyrone and Judy, each filled to the brim with ginger beer.
“The kind of people we want to see in our current business market are people like Jules,” said Rooke, who’s become a mentor. “He’s got his foothold here in the community, and that’s why I helped him. A lot of random people come to me and I won't help them, but I really enjoy helping Jules.”
Young At Heart’s presence, especially online, has grown since 2021.
Hackney communicates with customers and fans on social media. He has thousands of followers who faithfully hype him up in the comment sections of his TikTok and Instagram posts.
One fan considers him a “fuckin’ ginger BOSS.” Others jabber about Hackey’s attendance at upcoming events.
“This is the wholesome content I crave, so stoked to come and try,” wrote one.
“I got the first pour! What an honor!” commented another.
Hackney recognizes how lucky he’s been to have found year-round success in selling wholesale and at the farmers market while performing with Rough Francis and raising his toddler.
Right now, folks can find Young at Heart brew on tap at City Market in its downtown location — a very recent addition — as well as at Vermont Comedy Club, Taco Gordo, Deli 126, Four Quarters Brewing, Radio Bean, Piesanos and Mule Bar.
“When you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, I think you get signals confirming your direction,” Hackney said. “It just felt like what I was meant to do.”
