How it All Began
Back in the mid-2000’s our Founder, Sam Clikeman, was working in Utah in an old Forest Service cabin with no running water, sporadic electricity, no phone service, and his buddy Ned and him decided that they needed to make beer here. Thus they began forging beer with water they pulled out of the creek and brewed over an open fire. Fast forward a few years and this desire for brewing transcended to mead making in Gillette, WY, Sam’s hometown. By almost ceasing beer brewing and focusing on mead alone, the trials really began.
Finally in 2014, Sam decided that he needed to build upon his destiny and start a new adventure. Because there were few meaderies at the time and lots of breweries/wineries/distilleries, he figured a meadery would be an ideal unknown market in Wyoming…Big Lost was born!
During construction though, something odd happened… Sam’s sister Nicole began to date a guy named Bob Hewitt-Gaffney. Because Sam did not have the greatest history with her boyfriends, and because Bob was a carpenter, she would send him down to work with Sam so Bob would get on his good side! Bob had a tenacious desire to build and do things with his hands that his profession as a teacher just couldn’t scratch. Big Lost was perfect! Eventually Bob would morph into Sam’s right hand man and begin to learn the trade of mead making and brewing.
Then a fateful thing happened and Bob decided to propose to Nicole and become a part of the family. It was then that Sam knew Bob needed to become part of Big Lost as an owner. A couple months later the paperwork was done and Bob was the new owner of Big Lost Meadery!
Expansion and Beer and What Not
With mead making well underway and honey flowing like streams through Wyoming, a new concept was hatched. Big Lost needs a new off-site production facility and the cabin must grow! So in October of 2016 our production left the bar downtown and moved to another facility in a former brewery. But with the absence of production downtown we needed to fill that void, thus the brewery was born! A fervent desire to forge beers was pulsing through us. Yet what kind of beer would be created? With all the crazy breweries around the country, we decided easy drinking, malty German beers would be a perfect addition to the repertoire of Wyoming beverages.
Fast forward again to the end of 2018 and further expansion was needed. As the Pillaging abounded further around the country, a larger facility was in demand. So Big Lost refurbished a large warehouse and established a new production facility that would allow or even greater reach of the Wild Man and Crazy Woman! Now fully furnished and revving to go, Big Lost was looking to Pillage in every state across this Union!
As the expansions in Wyoming and our distribution network were growing, a unique opportunity befell the company. An offer to travel to Taiwan was made and Big Lost went exploring across the shores of their homeland. Finding a new distribution partner, our Pillagers were ready to launch into new horizons. Just as the advent of full scale distribution was about to begin in southeast Asia, a little thing called Covid-19 hit and completely demoralized the liquor industry. A new pivot was needed.
Big Lost then ceased beer distribution and refocused on the mead side of the house. Also a revamp of the Asian market was needed. So new horizons were sought after and it was decided to expand again! A new bar, brewery, and Meadery was constructed in Wyoming that could house everything together in one building. Along with it a new concept of food was thought of. But Sam and Bob knew one could not be the great Philosopher Kings that were truly great at two arts! Oh no, a new thing was needed. That’s when Ranch and Roost was found. Aaron and Kelly were of similar mind and were looking to start a restaurant in Wyoming. Thus, Big Lost needed food, but didn’t know how! Ranch and Roost needed a building, but only had food! So a partnership was born that would change everything. Two companies, with a congruent vision.
New Horizons
Fast forward again to 2024 and it was decided that Big Lost and Ranch and Roost should look to build another set up in a new city. After searching across the great landscapes of the United States- five cities were ranked as follows: 1) Dallas-Fort Worth 2) Tampa Bay 3) Nashville 4) Des Moines 5) Sioux Falls. Through some heavy research, lots of visiting, and meandering through our goals; the two companies decided it was actually Sioux Falls that would be the place to stake our flag. So a new building was designed as a way to capture Big Lost in a way that we could maintain our roots, but truly be something special to Sioux Falls.
Finally in 2025 the new Big Lost South Dakota was opened! A fine testament to the enduring tenacity of this idea that is Big Lost and where we can take it. Who knows what the next phases will bring, but it will be like none other we have seen before!