November 13, 2026
Vorlauf and Sophia
Two cats, an old barn, and 12 years of brewery life in upstate New York.
In the summer of 2014, brothers Dan and Dylan Badger were getting ready to open Ausable Brewing Company, a small farm brewery in upstate New York. The brewery was built in a renovated old barn, and they figured a couple of cats might help keep mice away from the grain. A friend had kittens, so they brought two home. One was friendly and affectionate, and the other was a little bit more feisty. They named them Sophia and Vorlauf, the latter after a step in the brewing process.
The cats turned out to be pretty good at their jobs. But over the years, they’ve also become part of the brewery’s daily life, hanging out with customers, making themselves comfortable in the taproom, and sometimes causing a bit of trouble.
We spoke with Dylan Badger, co-owner of Ausable Brewing Company, about growing up alongside the brewery, the two cats’ very different personalities, and some of the things they’ve gotten up to over the past 12 years.
Two kittens and a brewery
How did Vorlauf and Sophia come to Ausable Brewing, and how did they get their names?
Dylan: We got Vorlauf and Sophia as kittens right before we opened back in the summer of 2014. A friend had a cat that had kittens, and we figured it would be helpful to have some rodent control on the farm property to help keep mice out of our brewery (built in a renovated old barn) and protect our grain. It just made sense, but also they were super cute.
One of the kittens was immediately more friendly, and we named her Sophia. The other was a little less friendly and more likely to scratch you, and (we thought) a boy. So we gave him (actually her… more about that later) a more aggressive name, but also one that ties into the brewing industry: Vorlauf. The Vorlauf is a crucial part of the brewing process, where you circulate the wort (pre-boiled beer) back on itself through the mash until the grain becomes a filter and produces more clear wort. So we gave Vorlauf that name, partly because it sounded cool, but also as an ode to the fact that they were going to be brewery cats.
When we first received Vorlauf and Sophia, we were told one was a boy, and one was a girl. A friend who had lots of cats on his farm came over the first day we got them and told us which one was a girl and which one (he thought) was a boy. So when we named them, we thought Vorlauf was a boy. But when we got them spayed and neutered, we were told that everything went well, except for the fact that the vet performed two spayings. So it turns out we had two girls. But the name Vorlauf stuck, and it honestly fits her personality. She’s still much more likely to scratch you than Sophia. And Sophia is a huge lover, purring on customers’ laps and asking almost anyone for a pet or ear scratch.
The early days
What was it like having two kittens around when the brewery first opened?
Dylan: At first, we didn’t think that having a couple of brewery kittens would be a big deal. They were meant to be working cats, keeping our rodent populations down on the property. And they certainly did that as soon as they grew up enough to start hunting. In fact, they became stone-cold killers. But they also became a big part of the brewery itself, with many of our early customers meeting the cats in year one. So not only did they become an important part of our workforce, but they also became our unofficial mascots.
One of the biggest memories from early on was from that first Fall we were open. The cats were inside, sitting on the bar top or perhaps someone’s lap, when a big Golden Retriever came in. It immediately went after the two cats, and while Sophia was able to dart for the door and make it outside, Vorlauf ended up finding a spot where we hadn’t finished trimming out a window, and she was able to squeeze inside our wall. The rest of the night we tried coaxing her out, but she wouldn’t budge; she just stayed hiding in the wall. When we came back the next day, Vorlauf had come out of the wall, and once we opened the door, she immediately ran outside. But ever since then they’ve both had very different responses to dogs. Vorlauf will run and hide whenever there are dogs around, whereas Sophia will hold her ground, ready to attack. Plenty of dogs have come to know Sophia’s wrath. It’s almost as if she enjoys picking fights with them.
” Plenty of dogs have come to know Sophia’s wrath.
Life at the brewery
What are Vorlauf and Sophia like these days?
Dylan: These days, Vorlauf and Sophia both avoid the brewery when we’re busy. But Sophia often comes out to say hi once it starts to slow down towards the end of the night. And we know they both roam the beer garden at night, looking for scraps. We have a barbecue vendor here every Friday, and on Saturdays it’s fairly common to find rib bones picked clean in random places throughout the beer garden. Vorlauf doesn’t really come around while we’re open in the summer. But once things cool down and we have small crowds inside our tap room again, they’ll both wander in looking for a lap to sit on.
Also, they’ve both grown into efficient killers. They’ve left us the bodies of everything from mice and moles to birds, rats, rabbits, and even a weasel! I remember the year they eradicated rabbits from our property. That year, tufts of rabbit fur drifted through the beer garden all summer long. And Sophia is a bit of a show-off. More than once, she’s gotten a kill while we’re open, and proceeded to parade it out in front of a bunch of customers, then sit down and triumphantly feast in front of a big crowd.
Familiar faces
How do customers get to know them, and are there any memorable encounters?
Dylan: As mentioned before, they don’t come around as much until the Fall, when things slow down a bit. But all summer long customers are asking about them. “How are the cats?” “Are they both still alive?” Then they’re always thrilled when we tell them Sophia and Vorlauf are both still doing well. But a lot of customers only know Sophia, since she’s the more friendly one. They also look very similar, and even people who know them well struggle to tell them apart by looks. But personality wise, they are very different. So if there’s a cat that comes right up to you wanting to be petted or sit on your lap, it’s most likely Sophia. But if one of them is skittish, trying to come inside but hesitating, or sitting near you but not actually on you, that’s most likely Vorlauf. And the most cat-like reaction from Vorlauf is to allow someone to pet her for about a minute, then decide suddenly that she doesn’t want to be petted anymore and she’ll give you a little claw swipe.
One funny story is that they were mildly famous on Reddit for a very brief period. One of our close friends took a picture of them and posted it on Reddit. Then another friend recognized the cats on Reddit randomly, and they weren’t the only ones who recognized them!
12 years together
What have the cats added to the brewery over the years?
Dylan: They’re certainly a big part of the brewery at this point. Our Fall customers expect to see them and get some quality time with them, and our summer customers ask about them regularly. There are kids that always look for them, dogs that know to be careful around them, and countless pictures that have been taken of them over the years. They’ve become our unofficial mascots of the brewery, and it will be a sad day when they aren’t around anymore. But for now, we just get to keep enjoying the little quirks of Sophia and Vorlauf, the brewery cats. We may even throw them a birthday party next summer, whatever that means.
” We may even throw them a birthday party next summer, whatever that means.
Thank you Dylan for sharing your story with us. You can visit Ausable Brewing Company, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
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