I guess it is best to start with the news first – Lonesome Oak will be going into slumber mode starting on September 16, 2024. We have the chance to return to Detroit where we can be with my (John) family and gain some new experiences and new adventures. We will return and we will reopen our doors again – but first we need to take this opportunity to return to Detroit and reconnect with friends and family and get inspired for the future.

Lonesome Oak is then in my mind a band and we strive to release content that excites and connects and can be enjoyed by all (of legal drinking age). But sometimes the band needs some time away to get inspired before that next tour or that next album. 

Last Taproom: Saturday August 10 – 17-21 UHR - Lonesome Oak

Last Event: September 14 OKER INSEL FESTIVAL – ab 15 UHR

Moving to Germany with Vanessa and creating Lonesome Oak has and will forever be one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I brewed my first beer in a kitchen in Virginia with my friend Blake in 2014 – with a small kit, an even smaller knowledge set, but a huge level of excitement about getting to make our own beer. My first thought while brewing that beer was about the name we would give it, and about what a label could look like – and then, how we could share it with friends and family. It was at that moment that I, like many before and many after, was struck with the realization that I really loved it. The grain, the preparation, the art, the science, the smells, the people – all of it. I knew from that point that I wanted to have a brewery – I just did not know how one exactly went about doing that. Fast forward to today, 2024 – and we now have the privilege to open our doors once a week and offer our beer to the community of Braunschweig and beyond. We have even had the chance to bring our beer to a beautiful beer bar in Belgium - Wild Lab Liege – a place I admire so much in regards to their approach to the beautiful world of brewing, blending and agriculture.

Having our own brewery in Germany has truly been life changing in the best sense (it has also added more grey hair to my head that I would like to admit) - but the friends we have been able to make and the people we have been able to meet through this small project was something we did not anticipate, and we are thankful for it daily.

I never felt connected to where I grew up, I did not feel like I was adding to the community, I just felt like a tourist – enjoying it, respecting and appreciating it - but not really being a part of it. With Braunschweig I have felt welcomed from the beginning, and with our brewery I for the first time ever get to feel a part of a community. I am so proud to have our brewery here, and so thankful that I get to call people like Paul and Max from National Jürgens Brauerei my friends – those two have been the biggest supporters of Vanessa and I since day one – and I will never forget that – their kindness and openness and immediate offer to help and lend advice. We also have gotten to meet so many creative and bold business owners, from Johannes and the F2 team – our first ever account (sorry we never have extra beer to deliver :D ), to Yvonne's Kiosk - the best kiosk in Braunschweig owned by "Yvi" who is such a supporter of Braunschweig and Braunschweig beer, and the awesome Haifisch bar crew – who serve NJB and Lonesome from tap (thank you!) – and offer such an amazing and welcoming space. We also cannot forget to mention the creative and brave duo of Sophia and Lukas from Liquid Story / Liquid Bar – who we are always inspired by, and are so thankful to know. 

We have had so many good experiences involving beer, from visiting breweries with friends and families, to sharing beers during life events – and the fact that we got to do that ourselves – offer our beers and create a space for people to connect and meet friends new and old – well that feels fucking cool, and we are so thankful. Thank you. Thank you for taking the chance on us, thank you for telling your friends about us, thank you for the kind words you shared with us. I / we remember all of it – and it will forever stay in our hearts. We will be back – and cannot wait to welcome you into the next phase of Lonesome Oak when we return.

 Love - Lonesome

Vanessa, John