Well guys, it’s Thursday again. It also happens to be the very last Thursday of 2017. Is anyone else stunned by how fast this year has flown by? It seems fitting in our last post of the year to take a little bit of time to reflect on the year.

January 2017

Trek Brewing Company officially became a company in the state of Ohio. We filed our paperwork with the federal tax and trade bureau, and we began our paperwork for the state of Ohio.

February 2017

In February, we began design work of the brewery with Compton Construction, and started work with Treehorn LLC (our graphic artist and website design).

March 2017

We finalized our moving plans to Ohio, finalized our graphic design, launched our website and told the world about Trek. We outlined what started this journey, and we talked about becoming the Third Space in your life.

April 2017

We bid several tearful farewells to friends in Seattle and began the epic 4 day #trektotrek. After arriving in Ohio, we got our feet under us, and the real design work began at the brewery. We talked a LOT about what we want Trek Brewing Company to be, and we shared our ideas about building and serving our community. We went under contract with Seventh Son to purchase their 15BBL brewhouse, and we received our federal brewers permit.

May 2017

We did our first homebrews in Ohio, and began demo at the brewery. We worked hard on finalizing all the pieces of our Indiegogo Campaign. We had countless meetings and began to see our vision take shape.

June 2017

The month of June is a blur of Indiegogo. We launched our campaign on June 1, and on June 30th we finished by blowing our 15k goal out of the water. We raised over $16k toward building a patio at Trek Brewing. In June we continued with the demo at Trek, and we did a few more brews on our pilot system. We also talked about the incredible craft community and the collaboration instead of competition attitude.

July 2017

In July we began clearing out space for the patio. We brought in professionals to finish the demo at the building, and we got contractors on site for HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical. We also determined that we will have an EPIC spot to see the Newark Fireworks.

August 2017

In August we received actual construction permits. John became full time at Trek. We got all of our merchandise from our campaign and shipped all of our Indiegogo orders. We brewed some more test batches, and we began actual construction at the brewery.

September 2017

Floors were cut in the brewery for trench drains. We also cut two holes in the side of the building – one for a loading area and one for a patio door. We also picked a point of sale system – which was a major stress point in my life solved!

October 2017

We made lots of progress at the brewery. Our benches were completed and beautiful. Our fire system was installed. We launched an online store, and stocked it with merchandise. The trenches in the floors were completed, and we began to make changes to the exterior of the building.

November 2017

We finished the floors in the brewery area and in the taproom. We were able to move our pilot system into the brewery. Our stainless steel bar top was installed and completely changed the look of the bar area. Painting started on the outside of the building, and carpentry finished on the inside. We got permits approved for the patio, and secured a whole lot of new equipment for the brewery. We also talked about family and what that means to us at Trek.

December 2017

Painting finished on the outside of the brewery and started on the inside. We received our Ohio brewers permit, and we brewed our first batch of Trek beer at the brewery. We took out the tree and poured the concrete for the patio. We got our 15BBL fermenters in our brewery, along with several kegs. We’ve entered the final stages of getting everything set to open!

This has truly been an epic year for us, and it’s been one heck of an adventure. Thanks for making the journey alongside us. We can’t wait to meet you. We’ll be putting a LOT out on social media in the next few weeks, so stay tuned to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates!

Cheers friends… Wishing you a safe and Happy New Year!