Meet Jake Voegeli of Manhattan Brewing Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Voegeli.

Hi Jake, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The three of us owners, Garrett Paulman, Adam Krebsbach, and Jake Voegeli, all met while working at another brewery together. Combining their 20+ years of experience, we opened up Manhattan Brewing Company in July of 2020. We’re focused on brewing and serving high-quality craft beers in a family-friendly atmosphere in the heart of downtown Manhattan. This town is our home, and we want to bring the best possible beer experience and education to the wonderful people of Manhattan. We want to create a place for everyone to come out and have a good time with friends and cultivate a craft beer culture Manhattan can be proud of.

We have tried to stay as nimble as we can so we can pivot easily and make decisions quickly. As we have gotten older, we have grown the business to include a tap room and event space in Wichita, a catering business throughout Kansas, and (just recently) an event space above the brewery in Manhattan.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not, we had struggles right out of the gate. When we opened our doors in July of 2020, the world was just getting started with a global pandemic. Right away, we had to spend all the money we saved by purchasing a canning line to get our beers in distribution throughout Manhattan and eventually throughout Kansas. The following year, round two of COVID hit and we stayed open by using the Historical Tax Credits we earned by renovating a historical building. We have been forced to learn so much about bureaucracy and the political side of the business. Inflation really took a hit on our bottom line by increasing the cost of all of our raw ingredients. These costs could not all be passed on to our customers, meaning our bottom line took the biggest hit.

Just recently the tariffs on Canada has put an even bigger strain on raw ingredient costs such as barley and aluminum, with more tariffs coming, our business will struggle with pricing more and more.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Manhattan Brewing Company?
We brew beer in the heart of Manhattan, KS. We are proud to brew beer for the people of Manhattan because that’s who we are and that’s who we care about. The brands I am most proud of our Tasty IPA, Townie American Wheat, and Wabash Cream Ale. These are three of our year round beers and all are absolutely delicious.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
All of our family and friends have helped us along the way, but the biggest help has been the community of Manhattan. They rallied around us during COVID and made sure we kept our doors open.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mhkbeer.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manhattanbrewing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manhattanbrewing
• Twitter: @manhattanbrew