Marten Brewing Co. was recently featured on the Cascadian Beer Podcast to talk origin stories and the team’s expansion into the growing world of kombucha with UnderGround Beverages.
Cascadian Beer Podcast, and its host Aaron Johnson, has been exploring the province, and some of Washington, to visit brew pubs and festivals in the Pacific Northwest.
Earlier this month, Johnson made the stop to downtown Vernon to speak with owner Stefan Marten and brewmaster Joe Strickland.
The 17-minute long episode was published on Oct. 19, 2019. Johnson, who has about 70 episodes under his belt, asks compelling questions that explore the inspiration behind the brew pub, design choices and movement into kombucha.
Marten said the brewery opened its doors in 2015, but the idea of opening one wasn’t new to him or his wife, Pearl.
“We’ve always wished someone would come join us,” Marten told the podcast host about being Vernon’s only craft brewery.
As for the brewery’s transition into the fermented tea world, Marten said his wife had started dabbling in drink making at home and the staff would drink it as a “hangover cure.”
“We can’t drink beer all day,” he said. “A lot of staff started drinking it and we decided we’d put it on tap and we got a really good response from the locals.”
Now the interest in UnderGround Beverages has grown, Marten told Johnson. The brewery has expanded its kombucha reach across the province and “just recently, we’re going across the nation with it,” he said.
You can hear the whole podcast online here.
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Caitlin.clow@vernonmorningstar.com
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