Our story is a lot like our beer; unconventional. It’s the story of a semi-lost 20 something year old with a young family, who fell in love with the art and science of brewing beer, instead of finishing college, like he was supposed to. He may well still be brewing in his garage at this very moment, if his retired father, Gary had not believed in his son, and offered to join him in business.
Greg, with one small child and another on the way, somehow convinced his wife, Natalia that moving across two states and buying into a failing brewery was a good idea. If nothing else, Greg is persuasive. Three months into the social experiment, Gary, Greg’s dad had the inspired idea to bring in Greg’s good high school friend, Ross as a partner. Granted Ross was an English major (which has nothing to do with beer?), but hey, the guy can talk to anybody.
And well, they did what anybody would do in their shoes. Worked all hours of the day for wages below poverty level. Talked to the people, found out what they wanted and made it. Poured beer at festivals all over the state. Shook hands. Begged for placements at bars. Picked up spare change off the sidewalk. Made big mistakes. Figured out how to correct them. Learned a few things the easy way. Learned a lot of things the hard way. And were grateful that at least they had access to nearly free beer.
In the process of struggling to make something out of very little, they figured out what Iron Horse Brewery really stood for. They weren’t making beer to please the critics of the world, they were making craft beer for people. There are a lot of rules and regulations about how things should be, and when it comes to their beer and their lives, they don’t care about rules. They care about innovation, taking risks, and authenticity.
With that core belief intact you have the Iron Horse Brewery of today; Greg continuing to push the envelope, Ross using a vernacular more appropriate to classical literature than selling beer, Gary suggesting barrier-busting, painfully optimistic future plans, Natalia still working in the business for the sole purpose of keeping Greg in check, and an amazing staff that keeps Iron Horse Beers moving into the hands of the people.
We believe that the individual is the single most powerful influence on our collective ability to deliver high quality, delicious, local made beer. No bosses here. It makes decision making weird sometimes.
The quality of the beer we make and the tools we use to make them. Everything else is approached with a little humor and irreverence, because the world is hard enough as it is.
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November, 2004Gary's business expertise and Greg's understanding of marketing seemed like a good fit to go along with Jim's excellent brewing.
October 2006That didn't last very long. Jim decided to leave for his next adventure. The parkers bought out Jim's interest in the company.
July 2007New Design > Skull and Cross and bones. Plus 22oz bombers. Yum.
February, 2008We opened a tiny little, aptly named Micropub in Downtown Ellensburg
March 2011We moved across town from our original prospect street location to vantage highway, where we currently reside.
October, 2012We expanded into Oregon and Montana. Some of us had too much opening up those markets.
February 2013We officially closed the tasting room on Prospect street.
Read MoreOctober 2013Dane Williams joins Iron Horse Brewery, bringing with him a decade of macro beer experience and the equivalent in jargon.
January 1, 2016The idea of shipping Irish Death, or sending beer in the United States seems outlandish at this point.
Nov 09, 2017It's been a hot minute, so we decided to overhaul the look and feel of Iron Horse Brewery and introduced some new members of the Death Family.
Read MoreNov 1, 2019Iron Horse Brewery cancels the 6th Annual St. Patrick's Day Half K, 3 weeks before Washington State decided to shut things do. We were on it!
March 2, 2020Advances in technology and logistics, Iron Horse Brewery is able to legally ship beer in the United States now! Not all states are eligible.