Tulsa's beer pioneer – Eric Marshall, Marshall Brewing Co.

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes. 

It wasn’t that long ago that Tulsa and Oklahoma were living in the dark ages. It was a time when we were a land of 3.2 Bud heavies and Bud Lights, so people had to travel long distances to get certain strong beers. Some may have even died from dysentery on the trail. The year was 2007. 

It was then Eric Marshall, my guest on this episode, returned to his hometown after studying the art of brewing in Munich, Germany. There he was awarded the prestigious International Diploma in Brewing Technology from the World Brewing Academy. 

Within a year Marshall Brewing Company became Tulsa’s first production craft microbrewery. 

It was the dawn of a new age in Tulsa. 

As Marshall six packs of Sundown Wheat flew off the liquor store shelves and McNellie's Pub Ale flowed out of McNellie's taps, other Tulsans began brewing their own beers and launching their own companies. Soon beer options were all over the spectrum from super hoppy to sour beers featuring artistic labels. 

In less than a decade a brewery district had formed just east of downtown and to the west of the Marshall Brewery located on 6th St about midway between Utica and Lewis. 

In this conversation, Eric looks back at those early days of brewing and the revolution his company started in Tulsa. He also talks about how his work went beyond the brewery and to help modernize Oklahoma’s alcohol laws. 

When voters approved State Question 792 in Nov. 2016, it opened the doors to taprooms statewide and created the opportunity for brewers to enter grocery store distribution without reducing the alcohol content of their beers.  

Eric is a proud Tulsan, who graduated from the University of Tulsa. We discuss how much has changed for the better in Tulsa in this phone conversation that occurred on the first day of Fall. 

We start this conversation with how things have been going since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Tulsa. There’s been bumps, but there’s also been some fun like the Marshall beer collaboration with Brian Horton for the release of “Back to Paradise: A Tulsa Tribute to Okie Music.”

I had a great time chatting with Eric and getting to hear his perspective on the industry and enjoyed hearing him talk about his love for Tulsa. 

Following that conversation, Voice digital editor and music writer Kyra Bruce shares the song “Spit (You Out)” by Rainbeaux. More on that later. 

Ok let’s get this going. 

This is Tulsa Talks with Eric Marshall.