Stickman Brews recently opened their doors in Royersford, and head brewer Ethan Buckman’s friendly approach guides a farmhouse-style production that utilizes open-top fermentation.
Twenty-four-year-old Ethan opened Stickman Brews with his older cousin Jim and Jim’s wife, Kate Buckman. The young brewer has five years of experience, which started by brewing and selling beer out of his college dorm room in Pittsburgh. After receiving good reviews and holding an internship at Church Brew Works, which led to a full-time job offer, he dropped out of school to pursue his career.
While residing in Pittsburgh, Ethan spent time at Church Brew Works and Hofbräuhaus, where he was exposed to time-tested brewing techniques. He had different responsibilities as a shift and assistant brewer, including management of sours, and eventually landed a gig as head brewer at Mustang Brewing Company in Oklahoma. After about a year, Ethan moved back east to work as the cellar master for Amalthea Cellars in New Jersey, and then as the head brewer for Free Will Brewing Company.
His five years of varied experience is informing the creation of his new, welcoming brewery, and comes from a place of excited dedication. Ethan said, “When I was 16 years old, I wrote a thing about how I wanted to own my own brewery for a business class that I took in high school. So I’ve wanted to do this for awhile.” After building his resume and knowledge, Ethan felt prepared to get his ideas off the ground with the help of his family. He said, “Jim kind of has an entrepreneurial tilt to him, Kate has a business background and they said they were in, too.”
In late July, they began construction in an old Sly Fox location in Royersford. On December 18, Stickman Brews opened and started offering their farmhouse-style beer on draft and in test-batch bomber bottles.
Ethan explained that all of their brews are produced in the Belgian, or farmhouse, style, with open-top fermentation. That method utilizes an unsealed lid to cover the beer during fermentation, so “the atmosphere can slowly get in, and what’s inside the tank can slowly get out.” Ethan continued, “We will have a subtle house flavor here eventually, where all of the different spores from the bacteria and wild yeasts that we use are floating in the air, and they’re slowly over time working their way into every beer whether we add it or not. It’s really about our techniques as to how much they come out or don’t come out.”
Their beers are definitely wild, and their offerings typically reflect an abundance of styles. Stickman has eight beers on tap, plans to add two hand pumps and will have 20–30 bottled beers available within the next year. Upon opening in December, they sold out of their first round of bomber bottles in about two weeks.
Flights allow you to sample a few of their rotating wild ales in one sitting, while pints and growler fills allow you to really enjoy their complex composition. Beer From A Farm, the closest thing that Stickman Brews has to a year-rounder, utilizes bold hop flavors, but finishes like a pleasant saison. Other signature beers on tap are the lively Wishbone saison, the roasty Crushing Student Debt double brown ale, and the hop-forward Plant Matter triple. All of their brews have a distinct aroma and flavor, which matches the atmosphere of their wide-open warehouse space. In addition to beer, food options like sausage and soup are available, and food trucks make welcome visits on the weekends.
Although it all seems to have come together somewhat magically, Ethan says otherwise. “What’s odd about the brewing industry is that running the place like a business makes it seem like you’re thinking outside the box.” He continued, “It is a cool job, it is romantic and all those things, but it’s still a business and it’s still a job. If you just make some simple business decisions that are informed, all of a sudden you look like a genius or you’re really forward thinking, but it’s like, no, we just ran some numbers … We really like to brew, but we also really like to not be homeless!”
Ethan has a very driven mindset when it comes to business and is a friendly guy who giggles throughout conversations as he pours his beer. He also has a clear vision for Stickman Brews. He said, “The whole idea behind the brewery is ‘what if there was an American farmhouse brewing culture?’” He continued, “We’re not going to just throw fruit into the beer, and we’re not going to use spices or anything like that. There is just absolutely no b.s. in anything that we are making.”
By that, Ethan means his beers will almost always only contain exclusively the necessary ingredients of a beer. In other words, water, malt, hops and yeast. Occasionally, Ethan will combine fermented beverages to experiment with blending.
This practice of limitation of ingredients really loops back around to the brewery’s barebones name and aesthetic. Ethan recalled hanging out with some college buddies, making fun of the pretentious brewery labels and attitudes, and proclaiming, “I’m just going to draw stick figures on all the labels if I ever open a place!” He concluded, “So that’s what I did,” with a hearty chuckle.
Find Stickman Brews at 326 N. Lewis Rd., #240, in Royersford; phone: (484) 938-5900. Follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.
- Photography: Jay Breslin
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