Page 6 • Tuesday, March 20, 2018 • Sublette Examiner • PROGRESS
PROGRESS
Home
Brew
Pinedale brewer
comes home to
perfect job
By Joy Ufford,
jufford@subletteexaminer.com
PINEDALE – Throughout life, Emily
Johnston enjoys the scientific challenges
that test her theories and her creativity.
Both attributes continue to work in her
favor as Johnston, Pinedale’s newest beer
brewer, puts her skills and experiences to
work at the Wind River Brewing Company.
After a whirlwind start less than two months
ago with past brewmaster and consultant
Richie Strom’s guidance, Johnston is brew-
ing up a storm in its bright silver tanks.
“The first day I was here, we brewed –
the day I walked in the door,” she said. On
Friday, her and Strom’s first batches of Out
of Order Porter and Gayle Force English
pale ale will be on tap with mug club mem-
bers awaiting.
Her family is thrilled to have her home,
and new brewpub owners Roy and Kari
DeWitt are thrilled to have Johnston with
them as they start their new business ven-
ture with the long-established brewery and
restaurant.
“I never thought there would be a job for
me here,” Johnston said. “This was really
unexpected.”
A 2010 graduate, Johnston left her fam-
ily and friends in Boulder and Pinedale to
undertake what was likely expected, with
her science fair projects, 4-H and FFA live-
stock awards and ranch life background.
“Maggie Hudlow and I went to the inter-
national science fair (as juniors) with our
project on how to clean up different spills
in the oilfield with bacteria,” she recalled.
“We didn’t change the world but we did
pretty good.”
When Johnston took the project to a na-
tional FFA convention as a senior, however,
she said judges didn’t believe two high
school students had created such a complex
PROUD TO SERVE SUBLETTE COUNTY
Over 44 years of experience
serving Wyoming
engineering | surveying | planning | geotechnical
www.jorgeng.com | 307.367.6548 | 58 S. Tyler Ave. | P.O. Box 1519 | Pinedale, WY 82941
Johnston prepares to test a sample of India pale ale.
project. Next she worked on a pine beetle
project “but didn’t get anywhere with it.”
Johnston, not to be deterred, spent two
years at Northwest College in Powell on a
livestock-judging scholarship, taking a lot
of science and management classes. But
wanderlust struck and she moved to South
Carolina to work in the hospitality industry,
considering a move into the world of wine,
another very technical endeavor, but was
drawn to the craft beer industry.
“With grapes you showcase what you
already have,” she explained. “With beer,
you’ve got all these ingredients anyone can
use and be really creative. There are hun-
dreds of yeast strains, hops and malts – you
can build a recipe and see if it tastes good.
It was a big switch from wine to beer, but
anything with yeast is technical.”
It was during her wine studies semester
in Italy that Johnston decided to go for it.
As she’d learned more about making
beer and its supportive “craft” culture,
she shifted her focus and her address from
South Carolina to Denver where craft brew-
eries pop up on almost every corner – even
under Coors Stadium.
“The craft beer industry’s culture is fun,
laid back and outdoorsy,” she commented.
“I met more like-minded people in the
brewing industry and I wanted to be there.”
Having designed her own independent
studies major at the Metropolitan State Uni-
versity of Denver, she turned to the sciences
of brewing and took a part-time position
at Westfax Brewing Company, where she
found great support.
After Denver, Johnston moved to Mon-
tana and took jobs at two breweries, work-
ing events at Madison River Brewing and
as a “cellar person” at Katabatic Brewing
in Livingston.
“The cellar person does anything and ev-
erything, a lot of cleaning and a lot of grunt
work. The brewer said there wasn’t a lot of
room to move up there but he would teach
me everything he could. I’ve been really
fortunate to work with brewers willing to
help me learn.”
The last step – from Montana to Pine-
dale – came about in equal parts because of
whom she knows and what she knows. Her
entire family has supported her, knowing
she will do what she wants.
Mother Cassie told the DeWitts about
Emily’s background, they immediately con-
tacted her.
“We hired Emily because she has the ex-
perience, passion and skill set to make great
beer,” said Roy. “She’s been a wonderful
addition to the brewery and we can’t wait
to see how she and Richie Strom move our
brewing operations to the next level. We
would have hired her no matter where she
was raised. It’s just a bonus that she’s from
Pinedale.”
However, she wasn’t sure she ready to
leave behind the great fishing trips she had
planned.
“I asked the Montana brewmaster for ad-
vice and he said, ‘you can come and visit
and fish; you’re an idiot if you don’t take
this job.’”
The DeWitts bought the brewpub to grow
its reputation for good food, good brews
and good service. Kari is thrilled to have a
hometown brewer aboard – “We love that
Emily came home to a full-time job doing
what she loves in Pinedale.”
Roy added, “We are ramping up our
production and canning output and plan on
distributing statewide in the near future. Ul-
timately our hopes are to bring long-term
stable jobs to our community.”
With incredible support from all sides,
Johnston is very comfortable moving
through the Wind River Brewing gigantic
tanks, checking gauges and hoses, resetting
temperatures and cleaning everything as she
goes.
“When you’re a small brewery, you do
Joy Ufford
photos
everything, which is great because those are
the things I’m really comfortable with.”
Recently she used her own recipe to start
a batch for a Pink Boots Society fundraiser,
hosting a tour and tasting at “her” brewery.
The foundation, which helps women inter-
ested in any aspect of the brewing industry,
is one of Johnston’s favorite causes.
Each year, Pink Boots creates a unique
blend of hops that brewers are invited to
use and Johnston’s first recipe for the “Pink
Boots Collaborative Brew” should be ready
soon.
“We have high hopes for it,” she added.
“We will have a tasting with the mug club
members and all the ladies that came to the
event last week.”
Johnston noted that different varieties of
hops can lend everything from “piney” to
“floral” to “citrusy” notes – and yes, hops
do grow at her family’s ranch, but they’re
not quite right for modern craft beer.
“Anywhere there’s been beer, histori-
cally, there are hops. Those ‘cluster hops’
at the ranch are primitive without a lot of
cones. But Mom’s a crazy gardener and she
is going to grow some hops now.”
Experimenting with flavors and styles for
excellent brews is a passion for Johnston,
even though “right now when we make a
recipe, it’s for 20 barrels of beer,” she joked.
Johnston is pleased to find a job in
her hometown where she can be cre-
ative and scientific at the same time.