Home Brew with Walnut River
In this episode of Bear Tracks, Hayley sits down with head brewer Rick Goehring from Walnut River Brewing Company and discuss the strong community ties between the brewery, the city of El Dorado, and local colleges including Butler. Rick shares insights into Walnut River's history, its partnership with the college, and their commitment to giving back through events and educational courses.
Highlighting an upcoming homebrewing course in October, Rick provides details on how creative and scientifically-minded individuals can sign up.
To learn more or to register, interested individuals can email info@walnutriverbrewing.com or visit the Career and Workforce Education Department on the butlercc.edu website.
Creators and Guests
Host
Hayley Hobbs
Hayley Hobbs, Director of Donor Relations - I am a 2009 graduate of Butler and have been working at Butler Community College Foundation since 2012 where I oversee database administration, event management, marketing and communications, and more. Recent accomplishments include writing a successful Bank of America Neighborhood Champions Grant and being recognized as a 2023 Wichita Business Journal Young Professional in Professional Service. One of my other duties as assigned jobs currently is leading the Centennial Committee as Butler Community College approaches its 100th birthday in 2027. For this and many other reasons, I am excited to be the host of Bear Tracks: The Official Butler Community College Podcast.
Guest
Rick Goehring
Rick’s first career was in corporate I.T. after receiving a college education in engineering, chemistry and physics. However, that work still left him unfulfilled. Rick’s true passion is making great beer and sharing it with others. After nearly 20 years of accomplished homebrewing, including winning numerous local and national homebrew competitions, Rick made the jump. At his wife’s “aggressive suggestion” Rick, started the process of opening a brewery. His first step was to complete the Craftbrewer’s Apprenticeship Program sanctioned by the American Brewers Guild. The 6-month program taught him the science and engineering that goes into producing top-notch beers and running a craft brewery. At the completion of the 6-month course, Rick did a month-long internship at a working brewery where he received hands-on experience with professional equipment. After the internship, Rick found himself involved in setting up an exceptional brewery, but it was working for someone else. He still wanted his own. After gaining the critical knowledge of how a brewery should operate, Rick then took business classes at a local college to learn how to develop a sound business plan. This was vital because it gave him a practical understanding of the operational and business side of a brewery before he sought partners. The mission of this long and difficult process was to convince himself this was a good idea before trying to convince others of the same. Mission accomplished. Rick and his wife Laura live in El Dorado and have two children.
