Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Sjolin.
Hi Chris, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
It started, as many things do, with a circle of friends and a dream of a place to gather. We were builders, writers, bakers, engineers, crafters of all different kinds, drawn together and made better – and more creative – by the gathering of minds and a tasty beer.
Cooper Mountain Ale Works is built on this spirit of friendship, collaboration, and learning. Our beers are designed to explore a range of styles and reflect a spirit of discovery. We are inspired by the classic beers of Belgium, Ireland, and Germany, and we tinker, as is our nature, to produce beers that will please a range of palates,
Beginning in 2014, we slowly built out our recipes and brewing knowledge before purchasing the existing Fanno Creek Brewpub in 2020.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Moving from the safety and comfort of our garage brewery to a full scale restaurant and commercial brewery in 2020 was certainly an adventure. Looking back, there is no way to overstate how little we understood the world we were stepping into, and truly no other way that we would rather have done it. We learned so much about ourselves and our community as we built toward a sustainable business model that incorporates the art, music, and culture that we need at the center of our endeavor. From live singer songwriters playing to 6 patrons, to packing our space with 170 people for our yearly Zane Lamprey comedy show, we’ve experienced the highs and lows of business ownership, and came out the other side with a commitment to bringing more to our community.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Bringing a European inspired brewery to the Portland Metro isn’t the surefire business plan that most consultants would advocate for. In our neck of the woods, hops are king, and everything else is really a distant second place, if not an afterthought. Not so in Europe, where many beer styles have remained balanced between malt, hops, and yeast character for centuries. When looking around at what was missing from our local beer scene, it was readily apparent that there was a hole in the market that we had the ability to fill with UK, Belgian, and German beer styles that were largely ignored by our larger regional breweries.
What were you like growing up?
With a background in Software Engineering spanning 20 years, founding brewer Chris Sjolin has run the gamut of small town custom shop all the way up to running engineering teams for Nike. As a former athlete, Chris knows what it takes to reach the top of a podium, and never fails to show up for the company or for the members of our team.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.coopermountainaleworks.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coopermountainaleworks
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coopermountainaleworks
