Five Questions With… Carmen Schoelen, Mustang Brewing
Tim and Carmen Schoelen
The old saying goes something like this: Behind every good man is a good woman. Turns out, the saying holds true in the beer business as well. I had a chance recently to speak with Carmen Schoelen, the vice president at Mustang Brewing Co. For several years now, Schoelen has essentially been operating behind the scenes at Mustang. When it comes to publicity — being the face of the company — she takes a back seat to her husband, Tim. But as you’ll see in my latest Five Questions With… segment, she does not take a back seat when it comes to the business of beer.
1. The Thirsty Beagle: Tell me what your official title is at Mustang, and what your day-to-day responsibilities are. Do you have a regular job as well?
Carmen Schoelen: My official title at Mustang Brewing Co. is vice president. My day-to-day duties range from bottle washing, brewing beer, designing labels, delivering beer (yes I can lift kegs), to driving from state to state meeting with distributors, meetings with local companies, sales, setting up and running promotions, relationships/contacts with bands we sponsor, all the (point of sale) for Mustang, such as designing shirts, pint glasses, and other items for giveaways. Even though we’re in our second full year of operations, we are growing so fast that we still function as a start-up. There are only a few of us to complete all the jobs that need to get done. I am also a talent coordinator at C&C Productions and a full-time mother of two children (a son, 12, and a daughter, 7). Both are very involved in school and sports.
2. TTB: So, I’ve heard the story of Mustang’s creation from your husband’s perspective — tell me about your thoughts and feelings when you guys decided to start the company? Were you all-in and enthusiastic? Or maybe apprehensive, like “What if this doesn’t work?”
CS: I was very supportive of starting the company from the beginning. I believe you should do what you love and love what you do. Tim and I both love being the people we are and that includes taking risks. More than anything I wanted to know my husband enjoyed his job and was happy going to his job everyday, whatever that might be, and taking a chance like starting a brewery was worth it to me. Failure never really crossed my mind. Tim and I have an agreement that we will keep doing this until it isn’t fun anymore. I’m having a blast and this has led me into other areas of interest, such as music.
3. TTB: It seems like almost every brewer, distributor, liquor store owner and bar manager is a man. What kind of challenges have you encountered being a woman in a heavily male industry?
CS: One of the biggest challenges is being taken seriously or being seen as a vital part of the company. Many times Tim and I have sat down in a meeting or gone to a tasting where Tim is the person they direct all questions or comments to and ask if I work for him. I also get, “Are you a promo girl for the company?” quite a bit. Most of the time I smile, answer their questions, and they figure out that I do know what I am talking about and I am one of the founders of the company. Being a woman in the beer industry isn’t bad. I’ve had the opportunity to introduce many woman to craft beer that normally would have just passed on trying any type of beer.
4. TTB: You mentioned to me that you wanted to be able to sell a beer that you actually wanted to drink as well; did you like/drink much beer before you started Mustang? Have you found yourself warming up to any particular styles of beer?
CS: I wasn’t much of a beer drinker before starting Mustang. I would have an occasional Tecate, but typically wine or liquor if I drank. For me to go out and get other people drinking it our beer, it had to be a beer I would enjoy drinking. That is how we got the Golden Ale recipe.
5. TTB: Are you surprised at all about the way the company has grown and how fast it has expanded? Has it met or exceeded what you realistically expected?
CS: I am more excited than surprised at the growth of our company. My expectations were high and we have exceeded those with our growth, two silver medals and one gold medal at the World Beer Championships, and the support from our friends, family and fans. Now, I have new expectations and goals for Mustang. I love to stay busy and we are constantly looking at ways to improve and let more people know about our beer. I still meet people from Oklahoma City that have never heard of Mustang Brewing Co. So even though we are looking at ways to continue expanded, there is still a lot to accomplish here in Oklahoma.
There you have it, folks. Thanks to Carmen for taking some time to answer my questions.
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Comments
HaHa! Beer Detective surely you must be kidding, no way can all those things happen. I would like to know where they are brewing now. I called the Mustang Chamber of Commerce and they had no clue what I was talking about when I asked about a brewery in town.
Im not much of a baked goods fan so should I start a bakery? Similar logic applied.
Serious question will Mustang ever venture from the light ale/lager region and produce beers that invoke excirment and flavor? Or is the model built on 20 lagers?
World Beer Championships are an interesting “industry”. Seems you pay to get your beer judged. Multiple class awards per session.
My perspective has been changed. It’s actually kind of humorous.
fools…
Mustang Winter Lager is good, the Pawnee Pale is fantastic. The Schoelen’s have built a quality business around quality beers and good people. The beer business in Oklahoma is a growth industry, in large part, because of people like the Schoelens and their hard work. Stop worrying about how they do their business and start working on how to compete with them. Stop talking and start catching up.
Beer Detective – Your “detective” skills are a bit lacking. We proudly disclose our brewing partnerships on our website, packaging and all promotional materials. If you “detect” a bit further, you’ll discover that the largest craft beer company in the US, Boston Beer Company, was started the very same way. We thought, “If it worked for them, why can’t we use the same model?” We’re doing pretty well so far. We started in July of 2009, We sold 12,000 cases in 2010 and will sell over 27,000 in 2011. We currently brew in OK, WI and TN. Our pilot brewery and small-batch facility is located in OKC. Regardless of where it’s brewed, it still has to come into OK for distribution and delivery. Carmen has been a big part of our success. We’re darn proud of her AND our business model. If you would like to become better informed, feel free to visit us at 4020 Will Rogers Parkway. We would be happy to provide a tour and fill you in on the details.
“Beer Detective”, the facts have been stated. If you would like to discuss my career further, I would be more than happy to sit down with you and tell you very slowly how it all works.
“Jim”, my husband is the beer fan; I was supportive of his decision. I don’t have to be a beer expert to be supportive. If the beer isn’t exciting enough for you, don’t drink it. Our numbers show that plenty of beer drinkers are very satisfied with the flavor of Mustang Beer.
Wow – didn’t mean to ruffle so many feathers with the Mustang camp. I was making a joke on my first post rather than openly and bluntly calling “bs” on Carmen’s statement that she actually brews commercially for the company.
I’m working on my PHD in Austin but when I come home for Christmas I’d love to come tour your Oklahoma City brewery. The funny thing is that when Tim started doing tastings a few years ago – we met. I was at school in Norman and bar tended at a pretty popular spot. Tim told my boss and I that he was brewing Mustang in Mustang and had a bigger facility under construction. (I didn’t believe him)
My former OU med student roommate who works at the Health Science Center has plenty of info to dispute the Tulsa World press from this fall. Seems if you tell a lie often enough it becomes true.
Comparing yourself to Boston Brewing Co. and General Electric doesn’t make you successful – hard work and honesty do! Just do it truthfully.
BD –
While I appreciate your passion for craft beer, you are either misinterpreting or misrepresenting our conversation in Norman. Whether it be in person, print, online or even directly on our packaging, not once have I been disingenuous regarding where or how we brew. In fact, I’ve gone out of my way to explain it as something that differentiates us in the market and has led to our dramatic growth. We call it a “brewing company” not a “brewery” for a reason. For the record, until we leased our current location last year, our pilot system was located just outside of Mustang off of Highway 4 (towards Tuttle). Some Mustang city zoning policies prevented us from locating in Mustang proper, which is how we ended up in OKC. A quick review of our website or Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/mustangbrewingcompany)can fill you in on events from then until now.
Regarding your OU Medical Student roommate, I proudly worked for OUHSC up until this past June when I left to chase my dream at Mustang full time. It would be humorous to know what kind of insight a student could share that isn’t already public knowledge. Your quest for a PhD leans towards you being an intelligent person. I recommend you make sure it is fact rather than hearsay.
Arguing about this online puts neither of us in a positive light. Out of respect for Nick’s blog and professional courtesy, I suggest we discuss this offline or in person. My personal information is as follows:
Tim Schoelen, President & Managing Partner
Mustang Brewing Company, LLC
4020 Will Rogers Parkway, Suite 300
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
tim@mustangbrewing.com
Phone: 405.943.0100
I look forward to the opportunity of meeting with you in person when you are home in December.
I suggest the Beer Detective keep “working on that PHD” until their inheritance becomes available. The skill set they have developed so far(hating), has little value outside celebrity blogging and college sport fan pages. Keep up the good work Mustang, the beer is delicious!
I’m a bit confused with this Q&A. Is the brewery in Mustang, Oklahoma? Website says they are basically contracting others to do the brewing for them.
Does Carmen drop the kids off at school, catch a plane, fly up to Steven’s Point, wash some
bottles, brew a batch, fly home, do some sales, and make deliveries? Truly amazing!
Just the facts please.