In today’s installment of our Proudly Not Made By Robots feature, we’re talking about…me. I find it rather weird to write about yourself, so I asked for some help on writing this piece. My lovely wife, Christina penned the feature with my partner Mike offering input. Have a peek at what they had to say below. I appreciate your sentiments greatly!

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Today, we profile Caleb Pollard, a founding co-owner, in our Proudly Not Made by Robots feature.

Caleb is the visionary, the passionate advocate, and President and Chief Mover of Units for Scratchtown Brewing Company.

Originally from Nehawka, NE, Caleb’s roots can be found on a generations-old family farm. His love of family, land, and connection to community started there and has only grown over the last 10 years in Ord and while building Scratchtown.

For the many who know Caleb (and Caleb has never met a stranger), you have heard his impassioned arguments about the power of rural; the importance of collaboration and community; and how every individual can make a difference when they choose to.

For those of you who haven’t met Caleb yet, he would likely echo these sentiments when he tells you the story of Scratchtown. He would also tell you that Scratchtown has afforded him the opportunity and honor to pursue a dream with his three business partners (and their wives) that he will never regret. It has become a place where neighbors and friends can come together and break bread, our bread just happens to be beer.

Caleb continues to grow Scratchtown by managing the operations end of the brewery, through marketing and sales, and developing collaborations and connections throughout the state.

He is the glue that holds our SBC family together. He challenges each of us to be the best version of ourselves and will never stop dreaming about what is possible. His ambition, hard work and at times, sheer determination have helped build our brewery into something we are so proud to be a part of.

See what else Caleb has to say:

What is your favorite SBC beer? Non-SBC beer? SBC beer = Favorite ever was the first bottled batch of Chardonnay barrel-aged Silver Tongued Devil Belgian Tripel. When Mike and I had the first taste after bottle condition, I had goosebumps. That was a magical beer. Non SBC=beer? O’Dell Friek when I’m feeling fancy, Miller High Life is my go-to everyday beer.

Think back to your most memorable brewery experience: where and why? Most memorable was the day we received our license to operate. I spent the 2.5 hours driving home oscillating between emotional freak-outs (we don’t know what we’re doing!) and pure joy (our dream was coming true!). It was a roller coaster. But I knew we’d made the right move when I arrived – we had a taproom full of friends, family and colleagues waiting for us. The eruption of cheers and joy was incredible.

What do you do at SBC? A little bit of everything, but now am focused more on operations, compliance, event planning and sales/marketing. I do my best to keep our production team and customers happy.

What is your favorite SBC event? Our beer suppers. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do since before we started. Having Mel’s talents at Jubilee was the linchpin in making it happen.

What is one hobby you enjoy in your free time? I LOVE to cook, and enjoy sourcing fresh ingredients to make delicious meals. I love to garden as a result and try to feed my family as much as I can from what I hunt and grow.

If you had a year to go on an adventure, where would you go and why? I’d take an RV for a cross-country adventure through national and state parks across this great USA. I’ve always loved a good road trip story and would love to experience it with my wife, kids and dogs.

Who is your favorite Star Wars character? Chewbacca. He’s a steadfast and loyal friend.

What bit of advice would you give your 18-year old self? It’s okay if you don’t have your life figured out. You won’t when you’re 39, either!

What do you like best about working at SBC? I sincerely love the atmosphere in our taproom. The dynamic we have with our local regulars and our out-of-town guests is incredibly unique. It’s a place I always hoped we could create and I am immensely proud of that. I also enjoy the smiles our beers put on our customer’s faces. I know I work with one of the most talented production teams in Nebraska!