Forging ahead

Marshall Brewing on the eve of its 10th birthday

“Man, if you’d have been here an hour ago you’d have seen a grown-ass man in a cupid outfit delivering some donuts,” said Eric Marshall, Marshall Brewing Company founder and brewmaster.

Tap room manager Kyle Johnson deadpanned, “Just another day at the brewery.”

It’s hard to overstate the impact of Marshall Brewing on Tulsa beer drinkers. Ten years ago, there was no such thing as local craft beer, and today there are several breweries, taprooms, and festivals here. Ten years ago, the closest thing to a local beer was Choc, which was brewed quite a clip down the road in Krebs, Oklahoma. Ten years ago, then-26-year-old Marshall dreamt up one of the craziest business ideas in Oklahoma history: to brew and sell craft beer, just like they did in almost every other U.S. state.

The story of Marshall Brewing’s growth is intimately bound to the state’s restrictive policies on selling and serving beer.

“For eight years of our existence, people couldn’t come here and buy one of our beers from us,” Marshall said. “We have that ability now. And now, several of these new breweries are focusing solely on people coming into their front door to buy their product.”

Marshall, along with the Craft Brewers Association of Oklahoma, was at the forefront of the fight to reform the state’s liquor laws. Marshall helped found the CBAO as a way to mobilize the Oklahoma brewing community so they would share a common voice with regards to legislation.

Fast-forward to present day. The business precedent set by Marshall, along with the legislative changes, planted the seeds for a strong craft beer culture in Tulsa. New breweries and tasting rooms, like Cabin Boys Brewery, American Solera, and Heirloom Rustic Ales, are opening at an increasing rate.

Marshall is also acutely aware that the very brewing scene he set the groundwork for has, as a result, created fierce competition for market share. So his brewery is digging in with new offerings on the eve of their 10th birthday. Marshall has started by updating its labels and packaging with a new visual theme.

They have also recently started bottling their Dunkel, a dark-hued, light-bodied, quaffable beer with notes of caramel, butterscotch, and vanilla. Marshall explained that their Dunkel has long been a favorite of Tulsa beer drinkers, but until now it had only been offered on tap.

For the birthday celebration later this spring, Marshall will be producing a bottle release of four varieties of an English old ale that will be aged in rum, port, rye whiskey, and Islay scotch barrels. They will also break ground on a much bigger taproom, which they hope to open in mid-summer.

The occasion makes for good reminiscing.

“I remember the first time I saw somebody I didn’t know at Sam’s wearing our t-shirt,” he said. “To be able to create something that people in this town are proud of is pretty awesome.”

Marshall Brewing Company
618 S. Wheeling Ave.
Mon.–Wed., 4–8 p.m.; Thurs., 2–8 p.m.; Fri.–Sat., 12–8 p.m.
marshallbrewing.com