The Schnitz will be available for one night only — Sept. 26
One coach. One night. Two kegs.
When Battle Creek alumni return home Saturday, Sept. 26, to celebrate the man known simply as “Coach,” they’ll have one night — and likely a pretty short window — to raise a glass brewed specifically for Bob Schnitzler. “The Schnitz” is a limited-release lager created for the Battle Creek All Sports Reunion and tribute to Schnitzler. Only two kegs were brewed. It will only be served at the event and when it’s gone, it’s gone. “This is a one-and-done deal for Coach,” Divots brewmaster Jeremy Kirby said. That might be fitting for a tribute organizers say won’t happen again. But there’s another reason The Schnitz fits the night: The guy brewing it is one of Schnitzler’s former Battle Creek students. Kirby graduated from Battle Creek in 1994, right in the middle of a stretch when championships seemed to be piling up in nearly every direction. The Braves won state championships in football and boys basketball in 1992, the Bravettes won state track titles in 1992 and 1994 and Battle Creek crowned its first individual state wrestling champion in 1993. “He’s a legend,” Kirby said of Schnitzler. “He’s one of the biggest names in the community after all these years. If you went anywhere and said you’re from Battle Creek, they’d ask me what was in the water in there in the ’90s.” This time, it’s what’s in the keg. Kirby, the son of Mike Kirby and the late Terri (Tillotson) Kirby, left Battle Creek after graduation, earning an associate degree from Northeast Community College before heading west to Cal State Northridge, where he earned a degree in English. “I’m a well-read brewer,” he joked. The brewing came later, although the interest started in college when Kirby began home brewing and found himself drawn as much to the people surrounding craft beer as the beer itself.
“I really kind of fell in love with it and mostly fell in love with the people,” he said.
Eventually, he decided to learn how to do it professionally.
In 2007, that took Kirby all the way to Berlin, Germany, where he spent five months in brewing school learning every step of the process.
“It covers everything involved in making and packaging beer from grain to glass, as they say,” he said.
His brewing career bounced around almost as much as his education had, taking him to Colorado; Columbus, Neb.; and Smith Mountain Lake, Va.
Then Battle Creek helped bring him back. Donna Herrick, who owned Divots and had been Kirby’s school nurse in Battle Creek, called him in 2016 about an opening. By then, Kirby and his wife, Sara, had young children, and both had parents still living in the area.
“We wanted to be here for kind of the golden years of having the grandparents around and stuff like that,” Kirby said.
This winter will mark 10 years for Kirby at Divots. Jaime Gray approached Kirby with the idea of creating a beer specifically for the Sept. 26 event. Kirby didn’t need
MEET THE HOSTS
Five Battle Creek standouts will help host the Sept. 26 tribute to longtime coach Bob Schnitzler. WADE PRAEUNER 3x Husker football letterwinner All-State football RACHELLE KUCHAR 7x track & field gold medalist 2x team state champion Husker track & field MATT HOSKINSON All-State football 3x national champion, Husker football Battle Creek’s first state wrestling champion CARLA PRAUNER All-State basketball Basketball state champion Played basketball at Doane PAUL BRUNGARDT JR. All-State football All-Class football All-State basketball Husker football player 3x Husker letterwinner much convincing.
“I was more than happy to accommodate,” he said. “I got family roots in Battle Creek and was a student when Schnitzler was coach there.”
Kirby describes The Schnitz as an easy-drinking, amber-colored lager brewed with German hops.
“Of course, very German, just like its namesake,” he joked.
But the goal wasn’t to create a beer only serious craft beer drinkers would appreciate. With former Battle Creek athletes and community members coming together to celebrate Schnitzler, Kirby wanted something nearly everyone could enjoy.
“There’s a lot of craft beer aficionados out there now, but there’s also a lot of not craft beer aficionados,” he said. “We wanted to make something that would kind of appeal to everybody.”
The beer may disappear quickly Sept. 26, but making it wasn’t quick.
Kirby said the project has been in the works for about six months. The beer itself takes roughly six weeks to ferment, age and condition before it’s ready.
The Schnitz is in the tank now. As far as Kirby knows, Schnitzler hasn’t tasted it. Neither has the public.
“We’re saving it for the event,” Kirby said. “And it’s just a small batch, so it’ll be only available at that event.”
Two kegs. Kirby may have left Battle Creek after high school, but his ties to the community remained. His father still lives southwest of town, both of his grandparents were originally from Battle Creek and some of the friendships that made the biggest impressions on him began there.
Now he gets to contribute in the way he knows best.
“It’s kind of nice to give back to the community and just be able to contribute when the time is needed,” Kirby said. “It kind of brings value to my work.”
On Sept. 26, Kirby’s contribution will be poured into glasses as Battle Creek alumni gather to tell stories, settle old debates, remember championships and celebrate the man at the center of so many of those memories.
There will be only two kegs and only one night to drink them.
And in Battle Creek, there has only ever been one “Coach.”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event to get this beer, and we hope everyone can come out and enjoy it,” Kirby said. “He’s quite a legend, so we’re trying to make a legendary beer for him.”
The new City of Battle Creek website can be found at battlecreekne.com.
