An Update on [ The Beer Park ]

Ahhh, Memorial Day weekend, the day we had envisioned opening the beer park to our friends, fans, and community. Haha, very funny. We’re not even close. 

We’ve learned lots and probably forgotten more. I forgot that when we pursue projects that don’t have a lot of templates, there will be hiccups. There is no template that the friendly folks down at the city of Ellensburg have to use for permit applications on a beer park. This caused a requirement for extended conversations and interpretation of codes to reach a reasonable level of occupancy, what to define it as, how utilities should service the space, among other things, so that the project could move forward. I don’t think anyone was trying to slow it down; it’s probably like what might happen if you showed up at the DMV with a tank that was technically street legal; a little more analysis might be required before a license plate and tabs were issued. 

You may have also noticed that anything that requires anyone with trade skills is in ULTRA HIGH DEMAND! Thankfully we have some good relationships with great vendors, such as Marc Brown Design, 3rd Gen Construction, Chris Cruse, and Central Nursery, to name a few, so we are getting better attention than we probably deserve, but that doesn’t mean they can just ignore their other customers. 

SEPA is another process that slows things down. Well, if one doesn’t submit the application early. Oops. Who promoted me to this job anyway? After I get fired, they should be fired. Hmmm…

What about other retail options? As noted before, stuff costs lots of money, and Tradespeople are busy. We want to focus our resources on the beer park because:

It’s gonna be frickin’ awesome.

1. We don’t have enough money to do both.
2. You can’t stop at B.

I know it sucks for some of you do not have a direct connection to Iron Horse, and it is very tough on us to not be able to bring our beers directly to our fans and neighbors in a glass to share with you. I’m sorry, perhaps I was a bit hasty in supporting the closing of the pub. Please see the last sentence of the last paragraph. 

So, when will this thing be done? At this point, my understanding is the 2nd week in July we’ll be crackin’ in earnest. Can we get it done in 4 weeks? Maybe? Knowing our luck, probably not, but one can hope! If we do, it will likely be a partial open because hydroseeding of grass, but we’ll see. I can tell you that for sure, by the end of the year, we will be pouring you a beer at the barK!

Lastly, if you live in town, you can still order beer. Email brooke@ironhorsebrewery.com and she will get you what you want. 

Any questions? Ask away. Greg@Ironhorsebrewery.com

Greg Parker