Stephanie's Post-Summer Blog

Summer is officially over but it hasn’t really slowed down here at Old Schoolhouse.  This year in my opinion, has been the best ever, in every department.  First and foremost our staff has been outstanding, they work hard (really hard), they are dependable and passionate about our beer, our music and in general Old Schoolhouse Brewery.   Besides the fact that I work side by side with everyone and know how great everyone is, this has been our busiest summer yet and it didn’t feel like we had to work as hard as we have in the past.  This is because we have our act together a little more each year but mostly we have a stellar staff.  Me, Blaze, Evan, Casey and Laura have all been able to count on our staff more than ever and we’ve all been able to have a really fun filled summer.  In the years past, taking even one day off was really hard to do.  I can speak for everyone and say that we are all grateful for that!  Second, our beer is off the charts incredible; that’s all I have to say about that.  And last, was our epic summer of music!  I worked really hard this year to get the biggest variety of talent here.  And thanks to all of our beer loving, dance crazy Old Schoolhouse fans, it was a success.  Thank you so much to all our fans, without your support nothing we are working towards would be possible.  I also want to let everyone know how much I appreciate the musicians that come through here.  They come here and play here butts off for “tens of dollars” and rock the house (Schoolhouse) week after week and I love them all!  So, let’s gear up for an awesome fall and winter.  This year we are doing something brand new.  We will be open 7 days a week at least through hunting season and after hunting season we will be open Thursday’s and Monday’s.   Please check our website for winter hours.

Jeff Knoch plays folk music at the pub on Saturday night, 9/24.

I have to tell the story about this event.  Years ago, probably 1994 or so, Casey and I attended a small music event at the grange in Kennewick, WA.  There was a folk guitarist there, Jeff Knoch, who we had never heard of before.  It was one of those times where we were in the right place at the right time, the stars aligned, and we had one of our top music experiences ever.  We bought his CD, "Fast Delivery," and played it for many years.  We felt connected to his songs about raising kids, moving, struggling to make ends meet, etc.  Our kids remember the music too as it became part of their childhood experience.

I found that old CD a couple months ago and played it for the first time in a long time.  Casey and I spent another evening enjoying Jeff's songs and reminiscing about our lives back in the 90's.  Much has changed since then.  For one, we have this pub now and have an awesome music venue, so..... we got the idea to find Jeff and ask him to play at the pub.  Turns out he lives in the Pacific Northwest, always wanted to come to Winthrop, and so will be here this Saturday to play for us again after all these years.  Our daughter, Shannon, is making a special trip from Shoreline to hear the songs from her childhood.   Pretty cool, huh??!!

September news at the pub

Lots going on at OSB.

• Our expansion project is well underway.  We've done the excavation, poured the concrete slab, and the guys are out there right now framing the walls.  This will give us enough increased space at the pub to install our three new 15 BBL fermenters.  We also have a new storage unit being built for us at Horizon Flats that will be our shipping/receiving area.  Move in date at that unit is October 1.  Our goal is to have beer in our new 15 BBL fermentation tanks by the end of the year and start cranking up our distribution again.  On schedule so far!
• We'll be attending three brew fests in the next couple of weeks.  First is the Leavenworth Oktoberfest on 9/30-10/2.  Also that weekend is the Fresh Hop Ale Fest in Yakima Valley.  The following weekend, 10/7-10/8, is the Anacortes Oktoberfest where we won the People's Choice Award for our Ruud Awakening IPA last year.  Hoping for a repeat this year!
• The music scene has been so fun this summer.  Casey and Evan completed a new music shelter/stage for our riverside patio.  A contest was soon held to come up with a name for the stage.  Our friend Sarah came up with the winning name:  The Log Jam.  We now have a new logo designed and will be ready for the new 2012 summer season of outdoor music at The Log Jam.
• Friday, 9/23, is Beer with the Brewer night.  Blaze will release our first ever Fresh Hop IPA.  He and Evan, our bottle/keg manager, drove to Yakima Valley several weeks ago to obtain fresh hops, i.e., harvested right from the vine when they were there, then drove immediately to the pub and brewed with these fresh hops.  Blaze is really pleased with how the beer is turning out and will be around at 7 pm on Friday, 9/23, to talk about the process.  
• I'm starting to draft our winter food menu ... lots of good soups and comfort food!  We'll likely start with the fall/winter/spring menu around the first of November so look forward to that.  We're also going to switch our new winter hours:  Thursday 4pm-9pm, Friday 4pm-10pm, Saturday 12pm-10pm, Sunday, 12pm-9pm, and Monday 4pm-9pm.  We'll have live music every Friday night, sometimes Saturday night too, and we'll be able to watch lots of football games throughout the season.  

So, thanks to everyone who has helped make this a very exciting year for us.  More great beer, music, food, and fun to come.