The Iron Horse Brewery that opened its doors in December of 2004 was a bit different than today. It had a very mom and pop feel, and featured a look that was as traditional as it gets. Those who knew of it visited regularly, but the regulars were few. For many, the brewery was a thing shrouded in mystery... college students-which comprise a fair percentage of Ellensburg's population for most of the year-would occasionally see a bottle on a store shelf and ask where it came from. The likely response: "Yeah, I think some dude makes that in his basement or something..." The word just wasn't getting out, and things didn't look good for the tiny brewery that made exceptionally tasty ales. Well, a couple of hoodlums in their late-twenties jumped on the opportunity to own and operate their own brewery, and what resulted is the Iron Horse Brewery you know and love today. They tweaked some recipes, changed some names, threw some ridiculous theme parties to encourage locals to actually see the brewery with their own eyes, and good things started to happen. Locals started to dig what the guys were doing. A few bars took a chance and put Iron Horse back on tap, and the beer started flowing. The word started getting out.