The North Shore Dish Warrior Brewing’s Mission to Support Veterans By Virginia George
Grateful. Thankful. Blessed. These three words adorn the walls and throw pillows of homes across the Midwest on a normal day, but the winter holidays cause many of us to slow down and reflect a little more. November is not only the host and home of an American holiday dedicated to giving thanks, it also harbors Veterans Day. Not to be confused with May’s Memorial Day, which is dedicated to honor the service members who have lost their lives in service to our nation, Veterans Day is a day dedicated to honoring all veterans who have served. The history of Veterans Day hearkens back to November 11, 1919, the one-year anniversary of the end of World War I. It has been an official holiday since 1938, and in 1954 President Eisenhower changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day. Celebrating more than the end of a conflict, Veterans Day invites Americans to give recognition to and share appreciation for the more than 19 million men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. I have had the opportunity to sit with men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces and their spouses, and have seen the marks their service has left behind. Some are left with physical scars, and most are left with mental ones—the loss of friends, the visual devastation of a once beautiful land, the feelings of inadequacy because your service didn’t lead to lifelong trauma, and feeling a little guilty that you walked away scot-free. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Matt Caple, co-founder of Warrior Brewing Company in Duluth, and hear his story of how Warrior Brewing is living and breathing life into the veteran and nonprofit community in the region. As we sat in the empty taproom one afternoon, Caple, a U.S. Army veteran, said “I knew when I got out of the army, my service wasn’t done.” Before Warrior Brewing, Caple founded the Lake Superior Warriors, a nonprofit organization with the mission of helping disabled military veterans find healing and camaraderie through hockey, and in 2019 he was looking to combine his passions: the Lake Superior Warriors and brewing beer. That’s when he met Ben Gipson. Warrior Brewing co-founder Gipson (U.S. Air Force) shared not only military service, but a passion for brewing beer. They each had more than 10 years of home-brew-
Matt Caple, co-founder of Warrior Brewing Company in Duluth. | VIRGINIA GEORGE NORTHERN WILDS
NOVEMBER 2023
29
