Today we’d like to introduce you to JD McBride.
Hi JD, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
While stationed in Colorado Springs, serving with the US Army, I first experienced craft beer. It wasn’t just about the beer for me, but more so the community aspect that craft beer displays that really drew my attention. It wasn’t until I was stationed in Hawaii that I began homebrewing as a project to look forward to while recovering from knee surgery. Those first couple of batches were fun and turned out pretty tasty, and thus, my passion for brewing grew. I found it peaceful and calming to create a new batch of beer and then be able to share that with friends and colleagues. It also allowed me to an opportunity to learn a new trade and with that, I like to continue to honor the brewing traditions of so many before me.
In 2018, while preparing to retire from the military, the question came up of what I wanted to do after the military. Knowing I didn’t want to be around government work any longer, my partner (Stacy) and I decided that opening a craft brewery was an option. Both of us loved visiting breweries in the areas where we lived or visited – Hawaii, Washington, Colorado, California, Virginia, or overseas. Though the beer was different, that same sense of community was apparent. Having served 20 years in the service, and either moving or through 4 combat deployments, we never really did take advantage of being part of the area/community. During the search for where we’d land, we were visiting a battle buddy of mine, who retired out of Fort Hood. During that visit to Temple, we found a property that suited our needs, as well as noticed that Temple didn’t have any locally owned, community breweries. Retiring in 2019, the search was on for a place to locate the brewery. Our first option was, of course, Downtown Temple. I always felt that the heart of a city is shown through the succes and efforts of a Downtown. Temple has great bones and the opportunity is definitely there. At first, there were not many options, and so we began looking throughout the rest of town. Not having come from a family of money, our dream was built and funded on our own. Because of this, our options were limited and soon we found ourselves looking out of town. One day we were being shown a place by one of the commercial realtors, and she mentioned that there was a building in Downtown that, with some extra work, would suit the requirements for our brew system. With some zoning issues to work through, we finally got the green light on our location. This was exciting for us. We live in Temple, we chose this place as home, and we wanted to have our brewery be the community brewery we’d visited in so many other cities. Fast forward a few months, while about 70% complete with our building improvements, COVID-19 hit. Of course this was unexpected for everyone – however, we were so far into things that we couldn’t turn back. May 1st of 2020, we were able to sell our first beer – unfortunately, that had to be on a to-go basis based on the State shutting most businesses down. The fanfare was limited due to so many restrictions going on, but we still had a good turnout from our community. This support continued through a modified taproom opening, another mandated shutdown, and then a phased capacity opening through the end of 2020. Through all of the ups and downs, here we are 2 1/2 years later, still brewing and serving beer. We continue to do what we can to work and support our community through partnerships helping our Police and Fire Departments; fundraising events for local Veteran Focused non-profits and we are working to do more.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ha! No, it definitely has not been a smooth road. With the pandemic, government-mandated shutdowns, navigating local city government permitting, rising costs of goods, inflation, and being a “built not bought” small business the challenges keep coming. However, we have a great team of individuals who help us keep moving forward and great support from our customers that have allowed us to keep going.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My family upbringing and my time in the military are significant contributors to what has been built today. My family has always enforced and encouraged hard work from a young age. Taking this through into the military, I was able to complete 20 years and retire at the age of 38, and before turning 40, I was a business owner. One joke I make with people when they ask how we survived one of the worst times for a small business, I always respond with, “I’m too stubborn to quit”. We had a mission and goal in mind, and we made that happen. My partner Stacy, is my rock. She is definitely the brains of the operation, or as I like to say “Stupid Smart”. She has the formal education that helps us manage the back end of the business, such as payroll, accounting, employee relations, and much more. This absolutely would never have been a reality without her.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?So I grew up in Juneau, Alaska. Not the norm for most people. I always remember, during the summers, a bunch of us kids would head out to Mendenhall Glacier, where we would swim in the lake where the glacier sat. Tourists were always astonished that we could handle swimming in a body of water that held a literal giant ice cube. It was always fun engaging with them and sometimes swimming out to floating ice chunks and bringing them in for people to touch. It was truly a unique way of growing up. Those were the good old days.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.firebasebrewing.com
- Instagram: @firebasebrewingcompany
Image Credits
Jason Deckman
Christopher Winston
