On November 11, 2011, Kevin Jones and Paul Holle opened a brewery in the middle of a blizzard. They'd borrowed $38,000 from family and friends, set up shop in what was then the Clarion Hotel, and picked the date mostly because the numbers lined up: 11/11/11. Ketchum didn't have much of a craft beer scene at the time. Jones and Holle weren't sure anyone would show up.
Fifteen years later, this weekend, the same two founders are running cornhole brackets and stein-hoisting heats across Champions Meadow. No blizzard this time. Just the last real warmth of September, a stein full of German lager, and a town that has quietly turned their scrappy bet into a fixture of its calendar.
That arc, from a two-person gamble to an institution the whole valley shows up for, is worth understanding before you walk down to Champions Meadow this Friday and Saturday. It explains why this particular Oktoberfest feels less like an imported festival dropped onto a mountain town and more like Ketchum throwing a party for its own history.
The Two Guys Who Bet on a Beer Culture That Didn't Exist Yet
Sawtooth Brewery's founding story is one Jones has told at local business events over the years, including a pitch session at the Ketchum Innovation Center where he summed up the division of labor simply: "I'm the drinker and Paul is the brewer." They'd left their jobs, pooled what they could borrow, and spent the first four years operating out of the hotel space now known as Hotel Ketchum. The pitch was straightforward: the Wood River Valley loved beer, but it didn't have much of a local brand to rally around yet.
That bet took years to pay off in any obvious way. But it did.
From One Taproom to a Valley Institution
By 2016, the single hotel taproom had become three places at once. Sawtooth opened the Public House in Ketchum that February, followed by the Tap Room in Hailey that July, then consolidated all production in Hailey by November. The brewery now runs on a 15-barrel brewhouse and produces more than 3,000 barrels a year, with distribution across Idaho, Montana and Utah.
None of that growth changed who shows up to run Oktoberfest. Jones still handles the business side. Holle still brews. The event they started small has scaled right alongside the company, and this year marks its 13th run, meaning the festival has existed for almost as long as the brewery itself.
Champions Meadow, September 18 and 19
This year's Ketchum Oktoberfest runs Friday afternoon through Saturday evening at Champions Meadow, the same open green that hosts a rotating slate of the valley's outdoor gatherings throughout the summer and into fall. The mechanic is simple and a little old-fashioned: you buy a stein, and that stein is your ticket. Once you have it, you pick a beer, grab some food, and you're in for the weekend. No separate wristband, no scanning an app.
Saturday brings the cornhole tournament, registration starting at 10 a.m. with games running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Running alongside it is the Beer Olympics, a bracket of stein hoisting, speed chugging, axe throwing and flip cup that has developed its own quiet rivalry over the years. Last year's team, Dirk Zondag, Rhett Broderick, Justin Ross and Jonny Titelbaum, is defending its title this weekend, which means there's an actual storyline for anyone who wants one beyond the beer list.
The Idaho Mountain Express described the annual gathering plainly in its coverage this month, noting that the celebration brings "beer and cheer" to Champions Meadow each fall. Sawtooth Brewery has its own shorthand for it too, calling it fall's best party.
Here's what that actually looks like if you're deciding whether to walk down:
- When: Friday, September 18 through Saturday, September 19, 2026, with the cornhole tournament and Beer Olympics concentrated in Saturday's afternoon hours
- Where: Champions Meadow in Ketchum
- Ticket: A Sawtooth Brewery stein doubles as your admission, and you can buy one on site if you don't already own one
- What to bring: Cash or card for food, a team if you're entering cornhole or the Beer Olympics, and a jacket for once the sun drops behind Bald Mountain
Why This One Is Different From a Franchise Festival
Plenty of towns host an Oktoberfest built around a national brand's marketing calendar. Ketchum's version is built around two guys who nearly went broke trying to convince the valley it needed a local brewery in the first place. The event grew because the company grew, not because a corporate events team decided the valley was a good market to target. That's part of why the same crowd that shows up for the farmers market or the last long weekend before the highway construction crews pack it in for the season also shows up here. It's not a festival that happened to land in Ketchum. It's a festival that came out of Ketchum.
If you already live here, that distinction probably matters less on Saturday afternoon than whether Zondag, Broderick, Ross and Titelbaum can hold onto their Beer Olympics title, or whether this is finally the year someone dethrones them. But it's worth knowing that the party sitting at the tail end of Ketchum's summer calendar has the same two names behind it that were shivering through a blizzard back in 2011, still running the show themselves.
For a longer look at how the rest of the season is shaping up around this weekend, our recent rundown of Ketchum's last four weeks of summer walks through what else is on the calendar before the leaves turn.
Whether you're heading down for the cornhole bracket, the stein hoisting, or just to see if the reigning Beer Olympians can hold their title, Champions Meadow this weekend is a reminder of what makes this valley worth paying attention to year-round. If you'd like a front-row seat to what's happening in Ketchum, Sun Valley and the rest of Blaine County before it hits the wider market, Corey on the Go would love to keep you in the loop. Be the first to see new listings by getting in touch here.
