Oakshire Brewing’s Brewmaster Matt Van Wyk Resigns
(EUGENE, OR) – After more than six years at the helm of Oakshire Brewing’s production brewery in Eugene, OR, Matt Van Wyk is resigning to begin a new venture. “I greatly appreciate the opportunity that Oakshire, and specifically Jeff Althouse, gave me and my family 6 years ago. By having the ability to grow my skill set and brewing knowledge while leading the production at this great company, I’m certain that I’m better prepared to open my own brewery and start this next chapter of my career. I couldn’t be more proud of the Oakshire team and what we’ve been able to accomplish together. I will greatly miss them all, but look forward to my next step and the opportunity to focus on very small batch artisan brewing and barrel aged beers,” states Van Wyk. His last day at Oakshire is planned for October 23rd,. Oakshire’s third annual Single Batch Fall Bierfest on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015 will serve as Matt Van Wyk’s send-off celebration.
Tyler West, who has helped Van Wyk lead Oakshire’s Brewing team for 3.5 years, will step into the production and creative brewing leadership role as Oakshire’s Head Brewer. “This past week, as we made internal announcements regarding this transition, two very clear sentiments came back from folks on our team. We’re all very excited for Matt and completely confident in Tyler’s leadership and the talent of our entire production team,” commented Oakshire Founder and CEO Jeff Althouse.
About Matt Van Wyk: Matt Van Wyk, a Siebel Institute graduate and award winning brewer, began his 15-year brewing career in Chicago before moving his family to Oregon to lead Oakshire’s then young and small production brewery. Matt was involved in brewery expansion projects and was instrumental in the development of Oakshire’s creative brewing programs, including a growing barrel-aged program. Van Wyk led the brewing team for 6.5 years as Oakshire grew from 1,000 to 10,000 barrels. During his tenure, he also directed the professional development of the brewing team. Former members of the Oakshire brewing team have continued careers at breweries such as Stone, Victory, Cerveceria del Valle, and Figueroa Mountain.
About Oakshire Brewing: Oakshire Brewing of Eugene, OR, is a community inspired small batch brewing company founded in 2006. Oakshire is locally owned, employs 25 people, and produces a wide variety of beers through its distinct brewing programs. These beers are distributed throughout the Pacific Northwest. Oakshire’s Public House is located at 207 Madison Street in Eugene and is open daily from 11am to 10pm. The brewery and barrel-aging facility are located nearby at 1055 Madera Street and open for tours on the first and third Saturday of each month – reservations can be made by calling the Oakshire Public House at (541) 654-5520.
