Interview with Opposition Brewing Co.

This week's interview is with Founder/Brewmaster Nick Ellis of Opposition Brewing Company in Medford, Oregon. They began brewing in September 2012 as Apocalypse Brewing Co. and in October of last year they took a bold step and changed their name to Opposition Brewing Co.. The current setup is a 1.5 Barrel Brewhouse but due to the popularity of the beer, there are already plans for expansion. The following is a brief interview with Nick about the brewery, their beer and about some of the locally sourced ingredients they use.


1. How did you get started brewing?

I started as a homebrewer.

2. Did you attend any brewing schools or work/volunteer at a brewery?

No. Just at home for fun.

3. How did your brewery get it's start?

I was laid off from my corporate job and needed something to do. The layoff came at the height of the great recession so I knew there wouldn't be any jobs available in my current field in my locale. After some discussion with my wife, we decided to roll the dice and turn my homebrew hobby into a full time job.

4. The Apocalyptic theme is really cool. How did that come about?

We began as Apocalypse Brewing Company. It was an inside joke between my wife and I. Unfortunately 10bbl Brewing out of Bend believes they own the rights to the name because of a similarly named beer they make. We fought them as long as we could, but they're a large corporate brewery with millions of dollars and teams of lawyers. We simply couldn't afford to fight them anymore and decided on our own to change our name.

Full details of the saga can be found here: http://www.oppositionbrewing.com/winningthewar/

 

5. How many beers do you usually have on tap?

We have 7 of our own brews on tap at any one time and one guest tap.

6. What is your most popular beer?

Sixth Seal, a Northwest Pale Ale, is our biggest seller and our hoppiest standard beer.

7. How are your beers available? Draft only? Growlers? Bottles?

We're currently a nano-brewery taphouse operation - our product is available by the pint and growler. We don't currently bottle or distribute our beer.

8. Are your beers on tap at any bars?

We occasionally pick up a handle in town but given our limited production volume, we're generally only available here at the taphouse.

9. Do you partner with any local farmers for ingredients?

Yes. Some of our hops are sourced from local farmers. When we do utilize things like fruit in beer, we try to source that locally as well. All of our hops are PNW grown (we only use whole cone hops) and our base malt is all Oregon Select which is grown on the Oregon side of the Klamath Basin.

10. What do you enjoy most about owning a brewery?

The freedom to be creative with our product, the ability to be my own boss, and the challenge of running a small locally focused business.

11. What is your favorite beer style to drink or brew?

While I enjoy drinking all styles of beer, my goto is generally an IPA of some kind. We don't have a favorite type of beer to brew... we like brewing them all!

12. Where do you see your brewery in the next 3-5 years?

We're currently in full expansion mode and hope to be in our 7bbl brewhouse in the next 12 to 18 months.

13. Are you active on social media? If so, what is your twitter name or Facebook page and do you think social media is an aid to your brewery?

We leverage social media entirely for advertising and connection with our patrons. It's an invaluable tool for us and we would not be where we are today without it. Twitter: @OppositionBrew   -   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oppositionbrewing

14. Will you be attending any festivals or "brewfests" this year where people can sample your beers?

Absolutely. We attend as many local festivals as we can. In the coming months we'll be participating in the Pear-A-Fare and the Medford Beer Week (June 6-14, 2014) festivities.

I'd like to thank Nick for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer questions for the interview. For more information about the brewery you can visit their website at www.oppositionbrewing.com or better yet stop by the brewery, have a few beers and "go ahead, raise a pint, and embrace the chaos!."