An Oral history of the iconic Barley Brown’s Brew Pub on their 25th Anniversary
When an anniversary comes around, you often hear people say, “I can’t believe it’s been that long,” or, “there is no way it’s been that long.” Barley Brown’s Beer falls into both categories. Imaging beer without them is impossible because of the impact Tyler Brown, the founder and every teammate he has had. The no fear attitude showed that balance in beer is good, but not a requirement because the hop forward beers Barley Brown’s present early on inspired others to do the same.
Most people know Barley Brown’s for GABF gold medal winning Pallet Jack IPA, category defining Turmoil CDA, or criminally underappreciated Shredder’s Wheat. Or maybe it’s the outright refusal to open a taproom outside of Baker City or put any of their beer into cans or bottles. Barley Brown’s is founder Tyler Brown, and Brown is Baker City. The story of how Barley Brown’s got started is all over the internet. Auto breakdown, medals, dark IPAs, small system, expansion, and all that stuff has been documented over and over again. Let’s learn something else this time, instead of rehashing it in a straigh-ahead bio, let's talk to the people who helped them make it to the iconic 25th anniversary milestone and how they have inspired others.
No matter what you take away from this article, the Most Important Message is to Visit Barley Brown’s in Baker City, OR
Tyler Brown is a longtime moto-cycle racing enthusiast, and has been an avid participant. Some time in the late 80’s or early 90’s he went to Yakima, Washington for “The Rimrock Grand Prix” and stumbled upon the legendary Bert Grant’s Brewing and was blown away that they were brewing beer on a little system in their restaurant. The race was held in the fall during hop harvest, which added to the romantic ambiance of the valley and nascent microbrew industry, and the trip sparked Brown’s interest in starting a brewpub.
Years later…
Barley Brown’s Brew Pub was built in the former Gwilliams Bakery built in 1940, who added the garage (now the dining room) after World War II. It was called Gwilliams Bakery untill 1976.
Shawn Kelso, current 10 Barrel Brewing R & D brewer and Barley Brown’s first hired head brewer joined the company in 2000:
Kelso and Barley Brown’s then went on a massive medal-winning streak at the Great American Beer Festival that established the tiny eastern Oregon brewery as a national force to contend with, and one of the birth places of Cascadian Dark Ale (aka CDA aka Black IPA.) Though their beer was not available outside of the small town of Baker City, people started taking notice.
Carl Singmaster, co-founder of Belmont Station and prominent local brewery benefactor helped introduce Barley Brown’s to the young but ravenous Portland beer nerds in the early days.
Shawn Kelso recalls things slightly differently:
I had Barley Brown’s beer at Belmont Station for the first time like a lot of people. Later, they brought a Horizontal to town. The hoppy beers were amazing and I am one of the biggest Turmoil fans, even more so Chaos. At the time, Disorder was the cleanest stout I had tasted in my life. But a Horizontal, what? The same batch of Sledwreck winter ale was presented on different barrels and with different adjuncts. Nobody in Portland had space to do a Horizontal, so I had to see what was going on in Eastern Oregon. My first visit was 2009 or 2010. I have been there so many times that I don’t remember a count. Barley Brown’s apparel has always been part of my wardrobe. In 2014 I was at a craft beer bar in Atlanta, GA and was wearing a Barley Brown’s long sleeve tshirt. A guy offered me $50 for it. It was a gift from Tyler, so I didn’t want to take his money, so I said, “buy me a beer.” I had a hoodie to cover up, so I gave the guy my shirt. I later told Tyler the story and he said, “you should have taken the money.” This was not the only time I have given away Barley Brown’s apparel off my back.
In 2012 Shawn Kelso departed Barley Brown’s to join the nascent 10 Barrel Brewing Co. before they Bend, Oregon based brewery was sold to Anheuser-Busch. Kelso was to head up their first out of state location in Boise, Idaho, just across the border from Baker City.
Often when a brewery loses someone as talented as Kelso, it can be a challenge to keep things to the same standard. Tyler Brown however, is a keen judge of character with untraditional methods. Knowing they had big shoes to fill, Brown landed on Marks Lanham, then a brewer at Boneyard Beer.
After a relatively short two year stint as head brewer, Marks Lanham departed to Denver, Colorado where he co-founded Comrade Brewing which has become an equally acclaimed brewery on a national scale. To replace him, Barley Brown’s promoted within elevating Eli Dickison to the role which he has stayed in now for the past 10 years. One of Barley Brown’s 25th anniversary beers is a collaboration between Dickison and Lanham.
Barley Brown’s has only had 4 head brewers in 25 years:
Shawn Kelso 11/2000 to 3/2012
Marks Lanham 2/2012 to 11/2013
Eli Dickison 6/2012 to current
Addison “Add” Collard 6/2012 to current
Kyle Dickison 4/2019 to current
Tyler Brown and Barley Brown’s now have an outsized reputation around the country, but their focus has always been on the local community first, often hiring from within the town.
Brown’s investment in the community runs deep. When he is not volunteering his time on local community boards, he has also served as the President of the Chamber of Commerce, and as the President of Historic Baker City downtown business association. Currently he sits on the board of the Baker County Economic Development Commission, and is chairman of the County Transient Lodging Tax Committee.
Jeff Dense is a professor at Eastern Oregon University and active member of the craft beer industry, and a longtime champion of craft beer and Barley Brown’s brewpub.
Tony Lawrence, founder of Boneyard Beer, is also an old friend of Brown’s who has reteamed for a 25th anniversary collaboration. Both Lawrence and Brown share a love of motorcycles and understanding how things work, from the gears and spokes of a vehicle to the pumps and valves of a brewery. At first the two were connected professionally by their mutual wholesaler Point Blank Distribution and it’s owner the late Aaron Gardner.
Boneyard and Barley Brown’s new collaboration is called “38 Special” and commemorates both Boneyard’s recent 13th anniversary and Barley Brown’s 25th. 13 + 25 = 38 Special. The IPA is brewed with 100% Crosby Oregon estate grown hops Strata, Comet and Chinook at 4lbs per barrel with three separate dry hop days.
Kyle Stone-Chilla is the beer buyer for McMenamins 23rd Ave. Bottle Shop, a longtime industry veteran from the retail side of the business, and has a close relationship with Barley Brown’s.
Breakside Brewery brewmaster Ben Edmunds was first introduced to Tyler Brown by the latter’s former head brewer Shawn Kelso.
After becoming fast friends, Edmunds and Brown collaborated to create what is quickly becoming a modern classic beer in WanderJack IPA. Even though it was meant as a one-off collaboration, it has now become a huge hit and frequent release at Breakside. But WanderJack’s creation is largely misunderstood even by its fans.
Barley Brown’s has remained a draft-only brewery since its inception, not counting a brief flirtation with 12oz cans and 6-packs during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though demand was there, Barley Brown’s quickly quit packaging their beers to-go as soon as bars started opening back up. Perhaps that is because the brewery is all about drawing in the community, often to Baker City. And it has stayed very much a family operation, says Brown.
Tyler Brown’s hospitality to all who make the trek to Baker City is legendary.
From the accommodations to the imparted wisdom, everyone seems to have a very personal connection that goes beyond even the most beloved beer brands.
Barley Brown’s is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this June 2nd and 3rd with a full on street party, and even if you can’t make it to the brew pub in Baker City we encourage you to raise a pint and begin making your next vacation plans.