This just in: Oakshire Brewing has added some new baggage: Me.

Matt Van Wyk, currently of Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewery in Flossmoor Illinois is set to join the Oakshire Brewing team at the beginning of April. Excitement abounds, to say the least.

A little about myself: I have been in the brewing industry for about 8 years.  First at the Glen Ellyn Brewing Co. in suburban Chicago and then dual stints at FireHouse Brewing and Two Brothers Brewing also in the suburbs of Chicago.  In the fall of 2003 I followed the renowned Todd Ashman as Flossmoor Station’s Brewmaster.  In the last five years I have been fortunate enough to work for a great company and win several national and international awards including the 2006 Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year award at the Great American Beer Festival.

My wife Jenni and two children Nick (5) Ella (4) couldn’t be more excited to relocate to the Pacific Northwest and start and new journey with you, the fans of Oakshire Brewing.

I can’t wait to get my boots into the trenches over on Madera Street and start making some of the great beer Jeff and the crew have been making for the last two years.  The crazy growth and what has been going on there is exciting-and we’ve got many more exciting things in the works. Stay tuned!

I’ll be taking a little trip to Belgium starting tomorrow and I’ll try share a little piece of that with you as soon as I am able.  I’ll be at the brewery by April 1st. Please stop by and say hi if you get the chance.  Until then: Peace!

Although construction broke ground in late November 2008 we are putting up our first pictures of the initial stages. We will be adding more pictures as the expansion progresses.

Cheers!

Hello Oakshire fans,

We would like to announce that we have finally joined the world wide phenomenon known as blogging.  However, if you are actually reading this it has probably already become quite evident of that fact.

From our blog you can expect to find out about our brews, events, promotions, festivals, and all (nearly) things Shire related.  For now we would like to thank you for your support and look forward to continuing to hand crafting delicious brews for your enjoyment!

Cheers!

Chris Althouse & the Oakshire team