1 Million Cups met on Wednesday, Dec. 7 for their monthly presentation at Pioneer Technology Center (PTC). 1 Million Cups is a free monthly program that was developed by the Kauffman Foundation to allow entrepreneurs, innovators, funders and other community members to get together, network and hear a presentation from a speaker about their business.

This month’s speaker was Rod Alexander with Skydance Brewing Company.

Rod Alexander is the PGA Director of Golf at Wentz Golf Course. He was approached by Jake Keyes who wanted to talk about a business proposal about opening a brewery. Alexander loved the pitch and Keyes’ story.

Jake Keyes is registered with the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and a descendant of the Osage Nation and Otoe-Missouria tribe. He was raised in Little Axe by a single father who had a knack for brewing. When Keyes was a child, we would get into his father’s brews and throw stuff in them. His father eventually figured out what was happening to his batches and took the opportunity to educate his son on the art of brewing.

“He learned how to make all these recipes that we now make at the brewery,” said Alexander. “Jake has taken what he learned from his father, and has expanded it to become one of the better brewers in the state.”

Skydance Brewing Company was founded in late 2018 and is located in Automobile Alley in Oklahoma City at 1 N.E. 7th Street.

The primary beer brewed by Skydance is an IPA (India pale ale) called “Fancy Dance” and it is their number one seller. It is sold across the state at the Paycom Center, Ody’s, Old West Liquor Store, Ponca Plaza, and several restaurants.

Not only do they brew IPAs, but they also have stouts and sours.

Skydance has won best beer competitions in Tulsa and Oklahoma City; and was voted one of the top five breweries in the state of Oklahoma.

Labels for the beers are made from various native artists as a way of showcase the native tone that Skydance strives for. The labels are printed by A+ Printing in Ponca City.

“For us, we’ve been fortunate enough to tell our story, to tell Jake’s story, through beer,” said Alexander. “I’m a big believe that everyone has a story to tell and everybody just tells it different.”

The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a big challenge for the company due to businesses having to close. This didn’t stop Keyes and the workers at Skydance, as they had the initiative to announce on Facebook several pop-up locations for people to pick up their beer.

Skydance does things differently from other brewers and only produces three core beers. These beers include the aforementioned Fancy Dance, an American blonde ale called Rez Dog, and an amber called Indian Time.

Skydance releases a new beer every week on Friday. They do several special releases for a limited time and have not duplicated a single recipe.

“With the limited amount of breweries in the state, and the native theme that we have, and the way we went with that. Is the reason we are successful,” said Alexander.

Following his presentation, Alexander was presented with an orange cup. This cup is given to speakers at 1 Million Cups events. Although he was unable to make the presentation in time, Jake Keyes was also given an orange cup.