Trek Brewing Company is named for the journey that drives us to create exceptional beers. Like most good stories, the history of Trek is filled with adventure and the promise of a happy ending. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, let’s start at the beginning.

Trek Brewing Company is owned and operated by John and Kristin Ream. John was born and raised in Granville, Ohio, and, thanks to his parents, his craft beer journey started earlier than most. Family vacations included stops at the local breweries and brewpubs. While sampling the unique, local root beers, John was exposed to the welcoming culture of craft beer.

Kristin moved to Granville her junior year of high school. John and Kristin quickly became friends, and not-so-quickly started dating.

Kristin’s craft beer journey begins exactly when most do; in college. She worked as a server at a brewpub, and it was there that she learned to appreciate craft beer.

After getting married, the newlyweds left the great Midwest for an adventure (and an engineering job) in Seattle, Washington.

At a loss for a birthday present one year, Kristin bought John a small brewery kit on a whim. John started home-brewing in their first apartment… and things escalated quickly. When the nerdom of a natural engineer is combined with the sweet libations of beer, good things happen.

After brewing for a few years in the kitchen, John and Kristin began to dream about opening a brewery someday. With constant prodding from Kristin to “get out of the kitchen,” John built an electric brewery in the garage, and started producing a lot more beer. John also became a certified Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) judge, and began entering his beers in competitions. As his medals racked up, so did his passion for brewing. John and Kristin spent most weekends exploring in the Pacific Northwest, and gaining inspiration from the hundreds of small breweries dotted around the region. John became the co-host of a craft beer podcast, and he and Kristin continued to dream about someday owning a brewery.

Eventually, we realized that we could dream about it, or we could do it. We brainstormed, drank a lot of great beer, talked to a lot of great people, drank a lot more great beer, and decided that if home is where the heart is, it might as well be where the beer is too. We moved back to Ohio to give our dream a shot.

Now, here’s where the promise of the happy ending comes in. The formation of Trek Brewing Company is the next step in our craft beer journey. We’re following our dream. Come, enjoy a pint, and dream yours. Your craft beer journey starts here. Come with us… the adventure is just beginning.