Clemson grads work toward brewery startup

If two Clemson University alumni have their way, Wild Oak Artisanal Ales will see a summer 2015 opening in Boynton Beach, Florida.

College friends Chris McElveen and Matt Manthe may have left the South Carolina hill country to seek their fortunes in sunny Florida, but they took with them a lot of Appalachian region brewing savvy. You see both McElveen and Manthe worked for the successful Thomas Creek Brewing Company in Greenville, SC, between them learning just about every skill needed to start their own brewery. At Clemson, McElveen majored in marketing, while Manthe got his degree in microbiology — also a winning combination for brewery startup.

Their goal as stated in the name Wild Oak is to make beers that have a wild edge to their fermentation and that spend time in an oak barrel. While their industry models might be California’s The Bruery and Belgian Gueuze makers, their brewery will have a decided South Florida twist. McElveen says they will use as much local flavoring ingredients as they can get their hands on, and that includes culturing local yeasts.

It was great to run into them the other day at the excellent 7venth Sun Brewery in Dunedin, FL, where the Wild Oak guys were just finishing up on a collaboration brewing session. One thing that seems so true about craft brewers is their willingness to help their brethren, as is witnessed by 7venth Sun collaborating with Wild Oak to give a boost to Wild Oak’s brewery development plans.

We wish them lots of luck and success in their endeavor and look forward to trying their beers sometime before long.