Tyson

I'm Tyson, the founder and president of Skaalvenn Distillery. I'm a disabled veteran of the Minnesota Army National Guard and the Minnesota Air National Guard where I proudly served for 13 years. I've always been a blue collar guy, no college education, I've usually worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, and have never known what it feels like to have a lot of money. I decided to start a distillery back in 2013 as I had just returned from a year long deployment to Kuwait and had some money saved up to finally try to start my own business with my wife Mary. I handle most of the day to day tasks at the distillery, including building the website, operations, marketing, repairing equipment, and developing new products for the distillery and the cocktail bar. In spring of 2024 I was diagnosed with lung disease, and in June of 2025 I had a double lung transplant with a lot of complications from surgery. As result it has slowed down my physical ability to work in the distillery and cocktail bar, but I am still very much active in the company and trying to recover to where I once was.