Enid Brewing Co. officially opened Friday evening, bringing a brewery and craft beer bar to Enid.
A large crowd turned out when the company opened its doors Friday evening at 126 N. Independence, and co-owners Justin Blasier and Brady Sidwell were excited to finally be open for business.
Blasier said it was a dream come true for the two of them, and it’s a venture they’ve put their heart and soul into for a long time.
“The phrase I’ve been saying a lot lately is, ‘I’ve been standing on the shoulders of giants,’ because it’s not just Brady and I. It’s my friends and my family, and his friends and his family, and everybody that’s kind of put their heart and soul into this place,” Blasier said. “It’s not just ours, it’s Enid’s really because the community has rallied behind us, not just to support us, but to actually physically come in here and help us build this place.”
Enid Brewing Co. will continue opening celebrations noon to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, and from noon to at least 6 p.m. Sunday. Saturday will include live music from Riley Jantzen and food from Moody Q, and Sunday will feature Johan’s BBQ World LLC with music performed by Billy Beck.
Following opening weekend, the company’s hours will be 4-9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4-11:30 p.m. Fridays, noon to 11:30 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m Sundays. Blasier said they’re closed Mondays and Tuesdays to give staff a weekend.
“It’s a relief (to be open). Like any big project, there’s a lot that goes into it and you always get a few surprises along the way … right here towards the end of the finish line there’s been a few things to kind of trip us up, but we’ve managed to get everything squared away and now we have a beautiful weekend as well, which is great,” Sidwell said.
The company has 10 brews on tap, all brewed locally with all of the base grains grown in Oklahoma, Blasier said.
“Our equipment out-performed itself, it did wonderful. The yeast and the hops and everything, malt, everything came together perfectly for all the recipes and we were able to really jump on it … we kept using our taste buds and our equipment to decide when the beers were done,” Blasier said.
Along with the 10 brews, Enid Brewing Co. also serves wine and a cider. Right now they can’t feature other Oklahoma brews on guest tap because they have a small brewers license, but hopes are to include guest brews in the future. The business is family friendly with non-alcoholic beverages for those under 21.
“It’s just so neat to see grain that farmers in this area have grown and a product that is made right there in downtown Enid with local city water, that we have actually made with our hands and equipment and to see people enjoying it,” Sidwell said.
The duo previously said they believe Enid Brewing Co. is the only operation in the United States that is an active seed-to-grain elevator-to-malt-to-brewery business.
Sidwell said he’s also excited to further continue his family farm heritage. Even the wood from the bar in the business is actually from the home his father, the late Raymond Sidwell, grew up in on the farm.
“We’re excited really to tie in the heritage of our agriculture in north central Oklahoma into a product like this that’s all locally made. We’re in the middle of the grain belt here and grain country, especially wheat and barley. We’e excited to bring that to life,” Sidwell said.
Blasier said he hopes Enid Brewing Co. becomes a place for people to connect in the community.
“We hope we can take that same spirit of community (that helped us) and bring it to the public now, and let this be a place that people can gather, hang out and chat and actually connect over an actual grain to glass beer and connect people through the whole agriculture side of things all the way up to the actual beer,” Blasier said.
For more information on the business, visit enidbrewing.com or its Facebook page titled Enid Brewing Co.
Story provided by Enid News & Eagle
Written by:Ryan Miller