Schooner Exact Brewing Company

No Guts, No Glory

Story and Photos by Kendall Jones

Photo at right: Schooner Exact’s Matt McClung is no stranger to beer and biking.

As a mountain bike racer, Matt McClung rode alongside the pros, competing in the expert class where he often ranked top five in the Northwest. The owner of Seattle’s Schooner Exact Brewing Company has never been afraid to hang it all out there, but historically his risk-taking involved navigating single-track MTB trails, negotiating tight hairpins and five-foot drops.

For Matt, stepping away from the comfort and security of his career teaching high school chemistry to build a brewery required a different kind of guts, especially as he and his wife, Heather, prepared to start a family.

Schooner Exact Brewing was born in 2007 as a part time business working out of an Active Space unit in West Seattle, brewing two kegs at a time in the evenings and on weekends, supplying beer to just a couple of accounts in Seattle.

Three years later Matt and his wife Heather took a huge leap of faith; at the end of the 2010 school year, they both quit their day jobs as educators and instantly transitioned to fulltime brewery owners.

Schooner Exact Brewing and Pub where in addition to fabulous beer, the kitchen uses fresh ingredients and house-made everything!

The brewery has grown exponentially and is now one of the most respected young breweries in the Northwest. In 2007, the brewery produced just 50 barrels of beer. Today, the business thrives, supporting not only Matt and Heather, but also about a dozen other employees.

Schooner Exact is on target to brew 4,000 barrels (8,000 kegs) in 2013 and it seems the risk has been met with reward. In February, 2012, Matt and Heather welcomed their first child, Ellie, to their family.

Schooner Exact Brewing is located in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood, where they operate a brewery and pub. In addition to fabulous beer, the kitchen uses fresh ingredients and house-made everything to deliver elevated cuisine that exceeds expectations.

The brewery is quickly earning a reputation about its barrel-aged beers. If you’re lucky, they might have something special on tap for you.

Schooner Exact, 3901 First Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98134

(206) 432-9734 • www.schoonerexact.com