For Derek Wyckoff, Brewing An Epic Beer Is as Easy as 1-9-2

The inspiration for 192 Brewing Co., located at the south end of 2nd Street in Mount Vernon, came about as the result of an amateur brewer’s inability to maintain enough supply to satisfy some thirsty friends on a hot summer day. It so happened, however, that the amateur brewer in question also had a professional background in the hospitality trade.

Meet Derek Wyckoff.

Derek definitely puts the “local” in “local boy makes good”. He grew up on Kam Road in west Mount Vernon, on a homestead owned by the Gibson Family (“The last house on the right, just before the bend that takes you to Beaver Marsh Road,” he explains.) A graduate of Mount Vernon High School (he still likes to order the Bulldog Burger at nearby Dari De-Lite), Derek’s first job was picking strawberries for Sakuma Brothers. During his youth he worked for a number of local farms, including Schuh Farms, whose owners he came to know well as a best friend of their son, Andy.

Derek Wyckoff

Derek’s introduction to the hospitality industry started humbly enough. In 1986, he took a job as a dishwasher at Calico Cupboard. “I just wanted a job where I wouldn’t be out in the rain,” Derek explains, “but I fell in love with the hospitality business.” A variety of gigs followed over the years at various local hotels and restaurants. But it was when the owners of the Best Western Hotel on College Way asked him to help open the Baron Suites in Bellingham that Derek found his true passion. “I discovered that I loved opening hotels and restaurants,” he says. “I love the chaos.” The pursuit of that chaos was to keep him on the road for many years with openings and renovations of hotels in Portland, Seattle, Times Square, and even more exotic locales such as Sydney, Australia and Mexico City…not to mention opening the Burlington Red Robin.

Over the years, Derek realized that his professional career was always about serving someone else’s vision. “The closest I came to creating my own ‘brand concept’ was when Marriott asked me to head up a restaurant renovation in Redmond. I spent two years working on a rebranding project that gave me a lot of control, and I came up with a steakhouse concept that required a completely new menu.” As it turned out, this menu included a focus on craft beer — which just so happened to coincide with another of Derek’s passions: brewing. “Me and beer go hand in hand,” he admits.

“I was creating a ‘man cave’ in my home in Kenmore and wanted to add beers on tap. When I got up to ten taps, a friend suggested that perhaps I should brew my own, so one day we stopped by a home brew shop and picked up a kit. That weekend I brewed my first beer. It was basically pouring two cans of stuff in boiling water, putting it in a bucket to let it cool and then adding yeast — but it went really well…and we didn’t go blind.”

The success of this first attempt at brewing encouraged Derek to up the ante and try a partial grain kit, followed by a third batch with all grain — which necessitated additional equipment. At this point, Derek was brewing every weekend. He was also attending brewing festivals in a quest for a better home brew. Oddly enough, it was the allure of these festivals that led him to apply for a commercial brewing license. “I wanted a tax write-off for my festival expenses, so I filed papers to open a brewing business.”

Tax write offs aside, Derek soon found another motivation for brewing on a larger scale: his friends were drinking everything he produced. “I decided I needed to at least recoup my expenses, so I wanted to scale up to something sustainable, if not commercially viable.”
The immediate challenge facing Derek was finding the space in which to pursue his brewing ambitions. Federal law precluded operating out of his garage, so he literally side stepped this restriction by building a shed next to his Kenmore residence. It was small, measuring…you guessed it…just 192 square feet. “It’s still listed by the State of Washington as the smallest brewery based on square footage…so, yes, we’re known for our size,” Derek says with a wink and a nod.

It was around this time that Derek happened upon a “for sale” sign along Kenmore’s beloved river trail for a building that had formerly served as a warehouse. The size and location were perfect, and the city of Kenmore was more than willing to negotiate zoning and variances in order to add a pub to the ranks of local businesses. Despite the expense of on-going improvements to its riverside venue, 192 Brewing Co. (christened for the square footage of Derek’s shed) has been slaking thirsts and delighting palates in Kenmore for several years now.

The success of the Kenmore brew pub, and the prospect of returning to his hometown, prompted Derek to begin searching for a Mount Vernon location for 192 Brewing Co. In particular, he had is eye on the old Bill Bailey Tire location just south of the downtown core. “I’d been fond of this building for years, and as soon as the lease sign went up I contacted Bill Bailey, who I knew. It’s a great landmark.” In July of this year, that landmark opened for business as 192 Taproom & Beer Garden.

Next to location, perhaps the most important aspect of the Mount Vernon venue is its size, which will accommodate a larger scale brewing operation. “We’ve been producing 3-4 kegs of beer per batch from our shed (a batch takes 21 days to process), and we’ve been producing in larger volume through a contract with Lazy Boy Brewing,” says Derek. “Rather than building a mid-size system, we have the space in Mount Vernon to go straight to a big one.” But what Derek appreciates just as much is being a part of the Skagit Valley food culture. “Grain is grown here, you have the brewing school at Skagit Valley College, and there is even a malting facility which I didn’t know would exist when I first thought of locating here.” All of these benefits conspired to make Mount Vernon Derek’s choice for his company headquarters. “I’m following the beer,” he says.

And the beer is what it’s all about. Derek and his brew crew take an adventurous and loving approach to their craft, as illustrated by their flagship brew, Shticky Blonde, which Derek describes as “A kölsh-style beer made with pilsen malts — and we use what would be traditional pilsen style beer with the hops. Spicy and floral notes come right through, which is very traditional with Nobel Old World hops. It’s intended to be an easy drinking beer…great on a vacation day, but an escape no matter where you are.”

Of course, great beer begs for pairing with great food — and Derek’s years in the restaurant and hospitality industry demanded that as much thought go into 192’s menu as its beer selection. “My chefs probably find me to be a pain in the butt because I’m one of those restaurateurs who is always inspired by something I see somewhere or that I’ve just dreamed up based on a craving I had,” says Derek. “I put it together in my head and then text the chefs and ask them to make it.”

As the Mount Vernon Taproom & Beer Garden ramps up its culinary offerings, Derek’s goal is to “do the most we can that is interesting and unique” within the constraints of his kitchen’s size, while also making sure that “old school college food” enjoys a place on the menu along with less traditional selections. For now, if you’re looking to pair your pint of Shticky Blonde with something yummy, Derek suggests 192’s mac & cheese. “It’s heaven.”

One thing you won’t find in Derek’s kitchen, however, is a deep fryer, although Derek does have ambitions where baking is concerned. “We want to be a bakery,” says Derek. “After all, bread and beer go together — they share the same ingredients — so let’s crossbreed and have beer that uses the same yeast as our bread, or bakery items that incorporate beer ingredients. We have a unique farm-to-table opportunity here in the Skagit Valley with grain growers and malt producers whose stories we’d like to tell with our beer and food.”

As 192 Taproom & Beer Garden expands its brewing operations, Derek focuses on a larger vision for his Mount Vernon headquarters: finding a cherished place in the hearts as well as the palates of his Mount Vernon clientele. “When you’re here, it’s about the community,” he says. “We want this to be a community hub, but not charge people for that benefit…and when people are mingling they get hungry and thirsty. Growing up in Mount Vernon, Shakey’s was the place where everyone got together after a football game. It was always Shakey’s. We’d like to bring a little of that vibe back with our space here.”

At Meyer Sign & Advertising, we’re awfully proud to think that the sign we installed over Bill Bailey’s former tire store will serve as a beacon, not just for lovers of good beer and good food, but for anyone who appreciates the importance of good fellowship. And Derek, thanks for locating within walking distance of our company.

We’ll drink to that.

Man cannot live by beer alone. You also need nachos.

That’s a wrap!

 

Bring the whole fan damly!