Our History

In early 2013, Ray left his career in corporate finance to pursue an entrepreneurial endeavor. At the time he did not know what that business was going to be. For several months he traveled across the country meeting with potential partners and investors pitching various business ideas. It wasn’t until the fall of 2013, when Ray was at Barry’s house homebrewing, that the idea of Lucky Envelope Brewing began. Originally the concept was to open a brewpub, which would combine Barry’s passion for brewing with Ray’s desire for an east-coast style sports bar. The two of them quickly realized that a restaurant was out of their depth and scaled the idea down to a brewery. Several hours later, phone calls had been made and e-mails had been sent to equipment suppliers.

What began as some numbers scribbled on the back of a napkin turned into 1.5 years of planning, fundraising, seeking out a location, and building out the space. Lucky Envelope Brewing opened its Tasting Room doors on May 7th, 2015.

Lucky Envelope’s brewing philosophy is centered around “Culturally Inspired Beer” with recipes drawing from modern and historic brewing styles and techniques. Lucky Envelope uses both traditional and non-traditional ingredients to create beers which range from classic lagers to tea infused sour ales. They often use unique ingredients such as lychee and buddha’s hand as they explore the intersection of their heritage and craft beer culture.

The name Lucky Envelope comes from the Chinese tradition of the elderly generation giving the younger generation red envelopes filled with paper money. The color red is meant to ward off evil spirits and bring good health, while the money inside is supposed to bring prosperity. The Mandarin word for the envelope “hongbao” translates to red pouch while the Cantonese word for the envelope “laisee” translates to lucky money. Many refer to the envelopes as red envelope, or Lucky Envelope. For Barry and Ray, lucky envelopes bring back good memories whether it was a Chinese New Year celebration, graduating from school, or celebrating a life milestone.