Our mom always told us, don’t cry over spilled beer. Or dried beer. Or flat beer. Do something about it. We’re pretty sure that was the message. As you might guess, a brewery that produces roughly 25,000 barrels of beer annually is going to receive a fair amount of (e)mail – mostly positive, which is always… Read more »
Catch up with the family. Brad Swanson Position at IHB: Server Least favorite style of beer: Nitro Beers Bottles, cans or draft: Draft Favorite past-time: Mountain biking and rock climbing Who do you look like: Leonardo DiCaprio, with less hair and more beard Least favorite superhero: Batman, Christian Bale not Ben Affleck Favorite Samuel L Jackson movie: Pulp… Read more »
Morgan really got the ball rolling on abbreviations used in IHB Beer Slang, but here are some more specific terms and sayings that can strike love, fear, and humor into us in the IHB production circle. 1. Nut Rolls BSG (Brewer’s Supply Group) would send us a special candy bar hidden in a pallet of… Read more »
As Iron Horse Brewery looked to 2019, it was apparent that being agile in an ever-changing marketplace would need to be a priority. Couple that with a brewery that has a flagship brand (Quilter’s Irish Death) representing close to 80% of the volume mix, it’s essential to have a fluid cycle of innovation. One of… Read more »
Packaging = the most valuable, yet under appreciated tasks at a production company Grab a handful of bottles, put them in a box, continue until the box is full, close the box, tape the box, date stamp it and repeat. A bunch more times. Working in the beer industry might sound like a glamorous job, but… Read more »
There are a lot of abbreviations and quick lingo that one must learn in a brewing environment. Here at the production facility we are moving as quickly as possible to get our godly juice (beer) out to our consumers to enjoy. Those time requirements don’t allow us enough time to even use full words. Below… Read more »
When talking about why we date our packaged beer you get yourself into a very deep hole of brewing science to explain something that seems so simple. I will try my best to bring a little bit of light into that brewing science hole. When you look at a date on a can, bottle, or… Read more »
Going for it. Slam through it. All in. Balls to the wall. F#%k It. Send it. They’re not just words. They’re a lifestyle. And it’s calling you. You want to hit the slopes with your friends and take that big jump you’ve been eyeing? Sure, it’s three times anything you’ve ever done before and your… Read more »
Over here in the Iron Horse Brewery trailer department, we spend a ridiculous amount of time behind our computers, looking at charts, analyzing graphs, reading the reddit.com/r/beer forum, making these calendars, or just visiting this site. This time of year is particularly cumbersome because of all the “planning” and “best-guessing” that is happening for the… Read more »
Observations from one of our cousins in packaging Beer is a lot like people. Sometimes you love it right away, sometimes it’s an acquired taste, sometimes you simply despise it. Same with people. When I was a juvenile delinquent, I loved the average beers, Coors light being my favorite. Now it’s Rainier if I need… Read more »
This picture speaks a thousand words about what a day in the life of a brewery worker is like. Chaos. Chaos is what we deal with day to day in a brewery. Cans flying overhead, emotions running high. To explain the picture above to the layman is a hard task in itself. The contraption you… Read more »
Things were much simpler in 2008 when Greg and Ross decided they wanted to find a way to engage with customers and support the community through an entertainment vehicle they dutifully named “Iron Horse Brewery Trivia Night”. Back then, things like laws and rules didn’t exist. It was just man (all humans, not males) and… Read more »
Being a person in the 21st century is tricky. One dimensional personas are a thing of the past. You aren’t just the “nice girl,” you’re the soft spoken lady who owns a cupcake shop until Friday rolls around, the Harley comes out of the garage and you own the roads. You’re not just the “outdoorsy… Read more »
Faster, it’s an impulse that subconsciously drives a lot of my decisions even when it shouldn’t. It’s not always a good thing, but more often than not it is. Faster represents living a life with fewer limits and concerns. Faster is the devil on your shoulder that encourages you to risk more and fear less…. Read more »
*Warning to all breweries big and small, keep your seams tight* Here at Iron horse Brewery we have been canning on our own system since Fall of 2015, starting with the Cask ACS canning system then we eventually upgraded to the Cask ACSX2, fancy right? We and our consumers were not only excited by the… Read more »
*Originally written by Jay Skeen who quit us. Cats suck, and they’re a girl animal. For being the finer sex, women seem to have picked the rudest god damn animal in the world as a companion. And my justification for this point of view is this; when a dog sits where he’s not supposed to,… Read more »
IPA, IPA, IPA, IPA According to the Craft Brewers Association and just about everyone else, IPAs are going to continue to dominate the craft beer segment for the next 324 years. This might not be true. Or maybe it’s completely true. I don’t know, only time will tell. Regardless, I love IPAs and 30% of… Read more »
The alarm rings. It is 7 a.m. again this morning. I wake up with a big yawn and a nice ball scratch. As I am grabbing my morning tea I take a peek outside to see what mother nature has done that previous night. FUCK! It snowed, and it snowed a lot. Today shall be… Read more »
What in the heck does Nic even do? He sure seems to be here a lot and looks like he is always driving around in circles on the forklift so what the heck is he doing?? Well as the Warehouse Manager/Shipping Coordinator I serve several important functions for Iron Horse Brewery. The first thing… Read more »
There’s a new, special, fancy, unique, one-of-a-kind beer available at [ the pub ] and this is how it came to be. Three years ago, former IHB Brewer Paul Baker came to me and said, “Hey, I got this barrel that we should put some stuff in.” I said, “Okay.” Well the barrel was a… Read more »
*Originally written by Carson McDonald who quit Have you ever visited Iron Horse Brewery’s production facility? Have you ever contemplated the intricacies of how exactly the beer you know and love is brewed, packaged, and distributed? Do you care? Well, you are reading this, so maybe you are at least interested. Production brewing is a… Read more »
Ever wonder where we came up with Mocha Death? You either? Yeah well, who asked you anyway. Whatever year it was I can’t remember but a long time ago we used to make an anniversary beer that was not only for Iron Horse but also for the Beer Shoppe in Yakima, found here and here…. Read more »
So I’ve worked at Iron Horse for right around six years and I have seen some shit happen that makes you want to walk away and cry in a corner. There is a lot that can happen when working with beer. Spills, wrong mash-in’s, valves being left open, the wrong tank being packaged… the list… Read more »
As a consumer cracking open a 12oz can of Irish Death and enjoying the dark elixir with each sip you may ponder how exactly the beer got into it’s package. I am here to tell you the untold story of your loyal packager and just what one goes through to get these wonderfully delicious brews… Read more »
Perhaps you don’t care about why not. Maybe you shouldn’t. However, I am going to attempt to convince you that you should. Iron Horse is running out of beer right now and it will be felt all over, but it will be felt in the worst way by our own pub. I won’t digress into… Read more »
There are very few downsides to being tall. Indeed, cars are horrible contraptions made by the jealous vertically challenged, planes are a tall person’s worst nightmare, and hobbit holes are just out of the question, but the perks of extreme height far outweigh the downsides. Fact: when you are tall you are 62% more… Read more »
*Originally written by Hannah Hanson who quit Because we recently acquired a new German Brewhouse, Head Brewer Tyson and Brewhouse Supervisor Jake traveled to Deutschland earlier this month to “learn about it”…leaving the rest of the production staff behind. Iron Horse Brewer Hannah Hanson documented the creation of a revenge brew on Twitter. Made with… Read more »
For the last 7 years our 3rd quarter seasonal release has been an “anniversary ale” in which we celebrate another year of “still being here.” I’m going to overuse “air quotes” in this paragraph. Just an “fyi.” This year is no different, except we realized it was the brewery’s 10th year in “business.” While the… Read more »
Hello. I want to High Five you. But first I want to tell you about High Five Hefe. Below is the press release. Please read it, or don’t. Or do. Either way, now, I high five you. Extra bonus: Here’s a picture of the pilot cans, which are not the real cans, but the pretend… Read more »
*Originally written by Tess McIntyre who quit Iron Horse Brewery and Coffee Co will be hiring for 7 positions in the near future. Positions are within the fields of retail, marketing, and production. We are looking for motivated 21+ candidates that have a strong interest and desire to work within the craft field.There will be… Read more »
An email thread that exemplifies the complicated and unfocused process of finishing the new label for our new brew “Decision Maker” . . . Jared (12:14 pm, July 25): See attached. We need to get this into label approval by tomorrow. Natalia and I are happy with it, so really you should be too. colon… Read more »
*Originally written by Paul Baker who quit Hey everyone. I’m Paul, one of the brewers here. Once I was a historian, then I found out that A) Nobody wants a Russian historian and B) Beer is awesome. So I’m going to combine them. There are a lot of things in the history that are beer… Read more »
“Every beer is your own beer,” he said. “You don’t have to drink what some brewmaster has decided what beer should taste like.” The statement above was made by an entrepreneur that has recently created a liquid flavor enhancer for beer (think Mio). I take incredible offense to that statement. While he is correct, you… Read more »
Alright, it has come to my attention that I may have come off a bit harsh in my last rant so I must put in a disclaimer. While my rants are based on truthful opinion, I am overly dramatic in my words for entertainment purposes. I do not really care that much about a person’s… Read more »
I’ve been told I had to write a blog by this guy. In spite of the sweet denim unitard, I have acquiesced and am writing something, which is pretty obvious because you are probably reading as we speak. I asked for some subject ideas and was told to write about stuff that bugs me and,… Read more »