On the evening of Thursday, July 10, 2025, our red-eye flight from Fairbanks, Alaska to Minneapolis-St. Paul to Raleigh, North Carolina was delayed.
A passenger became ill, and the plane had to taxi back to the Fairbanks terminal.
Before our early morning landing in Minnesota, our airline notified us that our connecting flight to Raleigh was delayed.
That delay gave me some hope. Hope that I might be able sample an August Schell beer in the airport. Guidance for this pursuit came from Scott Hislop, the Senior Distributor Sales Manager, for the August Schell Brewing Company.
As soon we disembarked from the plane, I stopped at each bar/restaurant in the terminal. I checked the tap handles and asked friendly employees if they carried August Schell. Their kind response was “sorry, no.”
As my wife followed her crazed husband, in the distance, in the middle of the corridor of terminal one, I saw the words Stone Arch. That was the name of the one place Scott had referenced for sampling an August Schell beer.
Stone Arch employees were busy with breakfast customers. It took a few minutes for me to flag down one of their employees who handled beverages.
Finally, a nice young man paused as I flagged him down. His hurried steps came to a halt. I explained what I was trying to accomplish. He could not have been nicer.
First, he confirmed that Schell’s Light an American lager was on tap. Additionally, he showed me two sixteen ounce cans that were available, but I opted for the draft.
A couple of minutes later, he returned with a perfectly poured glass of Schell Light. This clear, pale lager, was full of carbonation bubbles and a thin head of foam.
While I’m not a fan of light beers, this one hit the spot at 7:20 a.m. on Friday, July 11.
I was reminded of the song “Roadhouse Blues” from the Doors’ album Morrison Hotel: “Well, I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer, the future’s uncertain and the end is always near.”
At my old age, I have never purposely abused my affection for beer. Out of respect for the beverage, I’ve worked to be doggedly rigid in my self-control when consuming beer, I’m basically—‘one and done.’
But, I will admit that for a long, long time lurking in the back of my mind were the lyrics from “Roadhouse Blues.”
So now, I can mark the drinking of an early morning beer off any unimportant bucket list.
Yet, there is a more important point, and that is Scott Hislop.
In our fast paced, impatient world, Scott took the time to respond to my original email. To me that is admirable.
I can’t tell you how many times I have sent a complimentary email to published authors. Rarely, do I receive a note of thanks back.
Scott’s response is a valuable lesson for any company small or large—that personal contact, the opportunity to build even a brief relationship with a potential consumer or customer is important.
That quick encounter with me also shows Scott’s loyalty to August Schell and its customers. No matter if they are devoted Midwestern supporters of August Schell, or a grumpy, rapidly aging geezer from Virginia passing through the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, Scott understands the value of communication and building a relationship.
Finally, my pursuit in sampling an August Schell beer was grounded out of respect for their perseverance.
Located in New Ulm, Minnesota, August Schell is the second oldest family run brewery in America. From their beginnings, the brewery has continued to survive. In that survival, you will find risk taking combined with the ability to respect the foundation of the past with the will to adapt for the future.
Thanks Scott, and August Schell.
might be baloney 