E-Malt.com News article: USA, WA: Postdoc Brewing Company operational in Redmond since end of February

Nine beers a-flowing and a load of smiles and congratulatory pats on the back.

That was the scene at the Feb. 27 grand-opening gathering for the Postdoc Brewing Company in Redmond, which featured a large crowd spilling into the brewery and tap room and Mayor John Marchione cracking a cask, Redmond Reporter communicated on March 6.

Four Union Hill neighbors — Tom Schmidlin and his wife Julie Lindemann, along with Jonny Chambers and his wife Debbie Chambers — opened their 4,000-square-foot space (3,000 for the brewery and 1,000 for the tap room) in December 2014 and things have been running smoothly the whole way.

“I’ve been dreaming about having a brewery for over 20 years,” said Schmidlin, a homebrewer for two decades. “It feels great. We’ve put a lot of hard work into it and we’re realizing the fruits of our labors. I work way harder now than I ever did at any other job, but I enjoy it a lot more, so it’s definitely worth it.”

Added Jonny Chambers, who hails from Portadown in Northern Ireland: “After many nights, after a few beers, we decided that we’d be dead someday and may as well just do it.”

Schmidlin, who holds a doctorate in biochemistry — with a focus on yeast and protein — from the University of Washington, inspired the name for the business since brewing is his form of postdoctorate studies. A beer man through and through, Schmidlin is a founding member of the Washington Home Brewers Association and was part of the team that successfully worked with state government to enable homebrewers to take their product outside of their abodes. He’s also a certified beer judge and snagged the 2006 Wynkoop Brewing Beer Drinker of the Year honor.

The foursome acquired the building in February 2014, the equipment arrived last summer and was installed in December. Schmidlin and Debbie work at Postdoc full time, and Jonny and Lindemann are part-timers when they’re not at their day jobs as an IT director for the UW’s School of Dentistry and a project manager, respectively. Jonny was formerly a sales director at Microsoft for 13 years.

Postdoc offers a wide range of beers: Alpha Factor IPA, Cram Session Coffee Porter, Hogus Maximus (triple IPA, 11.1 percent alcohol by volume), Homeroom Belgium Rye, Kilty MacSporran Scottish Ale, Macropus Rufus Imperial Hoppy Red, Postdoc Porter, Prereq Pale Ale and Seamus O’Brien Irish Stout.

Brewing has poured onto the Redmond business scene over the years and Postdoc joins other homegrown spots like Mac & Jack’s Brewery, Black Raven Brewing Company, Bushnell Craft Brewing Company and Hi-Fi Brewing.


11 March, 2015