From Odell:
Happy 30th Anniversary Odell Brewing
A Note from Doug Odell
Odell Brewing unofficially turned 30 years young on May 1st of this year. That was the date, in 1989, that we signed our first lease at 119 E Lincoln. However, our start actually occurred a year earlier when Wynne and I committed to start this brewery. We figured, what was the worst that could happen? If we failed, we knew we would have other opportunities. Fortunately, we did things right, the stars aligned, and here we are today.
Our initial choice for the brewery was Western Washington since we were living in Seattle at the time. But if you can believe this, we decided that the Pacific Northwest was saturated with craft breweries. I remember there were about nine at the time in Washington and Oregon. Now there are well over 600 breweries in those two states.
My sister Corkie suggested this beautiful, charming, college-town, just north of Denver where she was living. She promised us that it was exactly what we were looking for and even offered to help get the brewery up and running. So we packed up with our 15 month old daughter in tow, and moved from Seattle to Fort Collins. Corkie was right, Fort Collins was perfect for us.
It was just the three of us for the first few years, brewing, kegging, and selling those kegs out the back of my pick up. When things started to take off, we began hiring people to work with us. We quickly realized that these people were what made the brewery special. That still holds true today and will continue to be true for the future of Odell Brewing.
Then of course, we couldn’t have done it without you, all of our customers who turned into our community. The relationships that we’ve built over pints is what continues to inspire us to do what we love, brew beer that we want to share with others.
Sometimes I can't believe it has been 30 years. When you have something as good as Corkie, Wynne and I have had at our brewery, life just flows. Being able to build an evergreen company that invests in its people and community feels amazing. Thank you for coming along on this journey with us, we couldn't be more grateful for all your love and support. It's been an amazing 30 years and cheers to 30 more.
Cheers,
Doug Odell
P.S. If you have any fond memories about the brewery, the beer, or co-workers, from over the years, we'd really love to hear them. Please email everything to cheers@odellbrewing.com with "Cheers to 30 Years" as the subject line.
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