Beer Stories

Talisman Brewing Co. – Big Beers Out of a Little Ogden Shop

Talisman Brewing has grown steadily through a word-of-mouth campaign and their social media presence.

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Dusty Williams – Founder and Brewmaster, Joann Williams – Co-founder and COO. Photos courtesy of Talisman Brewing.

Talisman Brewing Company has been growing steadily out of Ogden, UT, through a word-of-mouth campaign and an awesome following on social media. They are growing even more in popularity through their loyal customer base, which made the choice to leave a full-time desk job a good decision. Joann Williams and Dusty are owners of Talisman Brewing, and while Joann still puts in full time hours at a professional job, Dusty broke the plan and decided to work full time at the brewery.

In 2017, Talisman submitted their Iron Age Oatmeal Stout in the 2017 Best Craft Beer Awards and took home the gold. They did not stop there with unique flavors and specialty brews. Currently, one of their highest percentage beers comes in at 11.3%. It’s Utah’s first triple IPA. In addition to the knock-your-socks-off IPA, Talisman carries, “…up to 10 permanent flavors in addition to a rotating test batch, a barrel-aged line, and a quarterly seasonal beer,” according to Williams.

Challenges come with the competition of larger and domestic breweries dominating the space at grocery and convenience stores. However, “We have been extremely blessed that our distributor has been so helpful in getting us placements and promoting us,” Says Williams.

Small breweries such as Talisman struggle with a lack of manpower compared to larger breweries, along with the type of breaks larger companies get with bulk packaging and materials used to make their products. This is where Talisman’s loyal following of repeat customers comes in handy. By making a number of outstanding beers, they are able to compete with these other breweries and grow larger themselves.

Joining the loyal following of Talisman fans should not be hard. They have their products in a number of Harmons, Smith’s, Associated Foods and specially selected Maverik locations. At State Liquor Stores, Bel’s Fury and Promontory are readily available, or there’s always the option of visiting the local pubs and restaurants in Ogden for some beer on tap and in bottles. Williams says that the best way for their fans to get better access to their beers is to request it from their local grocery stores.

Talisman Brewing Company is located at 1258 Gibson Ave, Ogden, Utah – 385 389-2945.

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