Coop Ale Works

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

By Chase Healy, Coop Ale Works

Life is too short to drink cheap beer.

Anytime I look back on my life as a craft brewer, I am reminded of those eight words. As a kid, I would read them on the bumper sticker proudly stuck on the wall of my neighbor's garage. I didn't know it at the time, but I was growing up around a family of craft beer drinkers. As I grew older and became interested in beer, I remember being asked what style of beer I wanted, not what brand. I grew a strong passion for craft beer, but knew that there had to be more to it. That's when I discovered homebrewing. During the fall of 2005, I was a student at the University of Oklahoma and surrounded by a sea of fizzy yellow beer. To combat this swill, I decided to brew my own bock. I called it the Healeymeister and for a first-time brew, it tasted great. So great, in fact, that my roommates and I drank it all in a matter of days. Well, all but one bottle which sits at my desk in the brewhouse.

Brewing soon became an obsession. I went from bottling to kegging, all-grain to extreme beers to simple beers to standard recipes as fast as I could. As my experience and skill grew over a period of two years, I began to dream – as any homebrewer does – about being a craft brewer. I knew it was something I wanted to do, but there was one essential question. How does a 23-year-old kid in Oklahoma become a craft brewer? I soon realized that I had two choices – move or start my own brewery.

Fortunately, I ended up never having to make that choice. In March, 2007, I was introduced to a group of guys that were starting a brewery. As they began to bring their idea into fruition, they did many test batches and I made sure to help as much as I could to the point that brewing soon became my duty for the team. Over the next two years, we would do everything we could to get the brewery off the ground.

Our name became COOP Ale Works and our goal was to provide fresh craft beer to Oklahoma. After years of hard work, we finally served our first pint of beer on March 3, 2009. With the beer now flowing, our work as a brewery had only just begun. As a small brewery in Oklahoma, we have had a big chance to educate people about craft beer. From something as simple as a tour of the brewery to supporting local groups and charities, our beer has done just that.

So why am I a craft brewer? I'm not sure I ever had a choice. After all, life is too short to drink cheap beer.

You can learn more about COOP Ale Works - www.coopaleworks.com

< back