Sidetracked Brewery celebrates 7 years

It’s Sidetracked Brewery’s 7th birthday, but their customers will get all the presents.

Owner Joseph Ackerman and his team will host a celebration today, June 22, to mark his time as owner of the brewery, located at 609 S. Green St., Suite 100, in Morganton.

Sidetracked’s birthday party will last all day, beginning at noon. Lelo’s Cuban Cafe food truck will be onsite from 5-9 p.m., and the brewery will offer lots of giveaways for guests.

“Our grand prize will be a $100 party card,” Ackerman said. "So, you can use the card yourself or invite your friends and have a big night.” Patrons will receive raffle tickets for prizes from area businesses and bottles of Sidetracked barrel-aged beers.

The Sidetracked team will begin handing out tickets at noon, and they will be available all day. Ackerman said the drawing will be held around 8 p.m., but customers do not have to be present to win. He plans to livestream the drawing on their Facebook page.

In addition to their varied beer selection, the brewery will feature a special surprise birthday release, just for the occasion. Sidetracked offers 16 beers, all made in-house. According to Ackerman, eight of the brews are regulars, while the other eight vary as the brew house changes things up.

Planned future flavor releases include a dragon fruit, Captain Crunch, and a Strawberry hazy IPA. Ackerman said he also plans to brew his cream ale soon, which is the base for the business’ popular butterbeer.

BECOMING A PARTNER

Ackerman was working for a regional brewery in 2017 when Sidetracked owners Seth Murray and Emily Antonio asked him to organize a “tap takeover” in their Morganton taproom. The couple was in the process of converting their taphouse into a brewery and when they tasted Ackerman’s brews, they invited him to work for them.

“I told them I don't want a job, I want a career,” he said. “I don’t want to come and work for you and just be a brewer.”

Ackerman, Seth, and Emily negotiated how much of the company Ackerman would be allowed to purchase, and at the end of 2017, he came on board as a partner at Sidetracked.

“When I got here, there were only concrete walls,” Ackerman said. “They had the brew system on order before I came.”

The Sidetracked team traveled to Charleston and retrieved their brewing equipment from a container ship. They did the installation themselves and started brewing in March 2018.

Then fate threw a curveball. “The week that our first beer went on tap, they had their first baby,” Ackerman stated. Emily became a stay-at-home mom and Seth, who was happier behind the scenes than behind the bar, quickly discovered his new role as bartender was not palatable.

After about a month, the original owners made their new partner an offer — they wanted to sell Sidetracked Brewery to Ackerman.

He jumped at the chance to have the business and, with the help of some investors, Ackerman and his wife, Jessica, became owners.

“I told the investors I’m not going to sell more than 50% of the shares,” Ackerman said, “So they bought 30% and I kept 70%.”

And that was the case, until recently. Now it seems the Ackermans have more than just a brewery birthday to celebrate. Three weeks ago, the couple bought out their investment partners and are now full owners of Sidetracked Brewery.

Sidetracked Brewery is open Monday through Thursday, 3-10 p.m.; Friday, 1 p.m. to midnight; Saturday, noon to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.