Teddy estimates he was a Grade 5 bagpiper, while Ewan was a Grade 2-the highest level of amateur. “Not that Teddy’s not, but this is a whole other level.” “’s been a very good leader for us,” Jennifer Dutter said. After a few months of consideration, he, too, joined the group and is passing on the knowledge he gained in his youth. But last year, he’d become a patron at Walking Distance, while, coincidentally, his wife had been pressuring him to play again. And they have a second leader, now, too.Įwan Hamilton also played the bagpipes as a teenager in his native Scotland. Three of those people, all adventurous, middle-aged women and former clarinet players, practice in the Tuesday night group regularly. A week or so later, he put out a survey to Walking Distance’s followers: “If you want to learn to play bagpipes, fill this form out.” “It just kind of snowballed from there,” he recalled. ![]() ‘I’ll play the bagpipes every hour,’ I thought.” It forced him to practice again, but something else happened as well-something completely unintended.Ī handful of people were intrigued and asked him, “How’d you learn?” “I wanted to go big, because Covid had just happened. Patrick’s is my favorite holiday,” he said. It wasn’t long before another goal crossed his mind. He learned the foundations of brewing as an electrical engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh and, with the help of co-owner Doug Olsen, opened Walking Distance as a side project in October 2021. “It took ten years, and at that point, I realized I didn’t want to be a politician or a woman,” he recalled. He realized playing bagpipes was also a way to wear a “skirt,” and decided that’s what he was going to do. “The logical step was that I would have to wear dresses, but my mom didn’t want me getting bullied,” he explained. Teddy Valinski, co-owner of Walking Distance, played bagpipes in high school, and, as you might expect after meeting him and hanging out in the taproom for half an hour, the origin of his passion turns out to be pretty comical.Īs a five-year-old in New Jersey, watching Hillary Clinton rise to political prominence, Teddy set a goal: He wanted to be the first woman President. Their raspberry ale is called “THBBFT”-the sound of a razzberry.Īnd, as you bask for a moment in that welcoming vibe, one of the pipers looks over and asks you, “So-how many embryonic pipe bands have you met?” There’s an old bingo board overhead (which is actually used for bingo), vintage board games, and a few heavily upholstered chairs in a corner. Walking Distance is a brewery focused around community and a warm sense of whimsy. Off to the side, a poster covered in red X’s tracks the fate of the few remaining contestants on The Bachelor. ![]() On a nearby table, Rock Em Sock Em Robots stand poised to rumble. are five amateur bagpipers, rolling through tunes on their practice chanters.Ī disco ball spins slowly overhead in the renovated carriage shop, its white reflections drifting like snowflakes on the ceiling. ![]() It’s a crisp, clear Tuesday night, and gathered around a table in Marysville’s otherwise deserted Walking Distance Brewing Co. And now, for something completely different.
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