Craftlab: The Podcast

About Really Good Boxed Wine: When Jake Whitman left his last job as head of product marketing at SoFi, he wanted to get back to his entrepreneurial roots. This question prompted his next move: why isn't there any really good boxed wine? Not long after, Jake became the founder and CEO of Cincinnati-based Really Good Boxed Wine, which cuts out the middleman to deliver high-quality wine in an environmentally friendly way. Boxed wine might be synonymous with a low quality wine that's easy on the wallet, but Really Good Boxed Wine seeks to challenge that idea and allow its customers to imbibe sustainably and at their own pace — the box stays good for up to six weeks!

About Anderson Valley Brewing Co.: When Anderson Valley Brewing Co. was founded in 1987, it was one of 20 craft breweries in the United States and operated out of a 10-barrel brewhouse in Boonville, California. Today, the brewery boasts a 26-acre property with a 100-barrel brewhouse, tasting room, beer garden, and the first 18-hole disc golf course built at a brewery.In addition to pioneering the craft beer industry, Anderson Valley is also the first solar-powered brewery in the world. The brewery leads initiatives in power, water, nitrogen generation, waste handling, and packaging to incorporate sustainability in every aspect of its business.

About Roadmap Brewing Co.: Roadmap Brewing Co. goes all the way back to the day Dustin and Hannah got married: her uncle gave them a homebrewing kit. From then on, homebrewing became a passion for Dustin and Hannah, and when Dustin grew frustrated with teaching, opening a brewery seemed like the obvious choice. With the support of his parents, Dustin and Hannah made their brewery a reality. Now, Roadmap produces hundreds of barrels of beer each year for the people of San Antonio, Texas, where the brewery sits just a few blocks from The Alamo and welcomes children, pets, and everyone in between.Dustin's Audiobook Recommendation:Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

About Laughing Sun Brewing: Founded by Mike Frohlich in 2012, Laughing Sun Brewing Co. was built on the concept of creating not only a great local brewery, but also a place where the local community feels welcome and involved. The brewery's walls feature the work of local artists, and its stage is open to local musicians, poets, writers, and thinkers with original compositions and ideas. The brewery has also been named “Best Brewery” and voted “Best BBQ” by its community.About the North Dakota Brewers Guild: The North Dakota Craft Brewers Guild was founded in 2013 to promote craft brewing and to protect the interests of the craft brewing community in North Dakota. Objectives include promoting the highest standards of professional brewing in North Dakota, increasing public awareness and appreciation for the variety and quality of North Dakota craft beer, advocating for state and federal laws that promote Guild Members' ideals and foster brewery profitability, and providing a forum for discussion, support, and initiatives for the common good of North Dakota's brewing industry.Mike's Book Recommendation:Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles by Ray Daniels

About Black Tooth Brewing: Sheridan, Wyoming's most highly awarded brewery sits in the heart of the Wild West, at the base of the majestic Big Horn Mountains. Their inspiration for the name for the company came from Black Tooth Mountain, standing tall at 13,014 ft. elevation. Black Tooth Brewery creates noteworthy, quality craft beer and has been doing so for the last 11 years. Tim's Book Recommendations: Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out: Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch, and How Craft Beer Became Big Business by Josh Noel Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two by Jim Koch Tim's Audiobook Recommendations: In the hundreds of empty miles “nothing but wind and truckers” between his locations, Tim also spends a lot of time listening to audiobooks, and specifically recommended these reads in that format. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

About South City CiderworksWe founded South City Ciderworks in 2015 as an independent urban cider company to make great cider and a difference. Using only fresh-pressed, West Coast apples our ciders are crafted to be well balanced and easy drinking. We support nonprofits focused on helping the community, animals, and the environment. We're here to Make Cider Make A Difference. For more information, visit the South City Ciderworks website here.Jenn's Podcast: “Courage and Other C Words”Welcome to the new start-up cider podcast! Hi! I'm Jenn. And along with my husband Alex I run a small hard cider company just south of San Francisco. I want to take you through my journey of starting South City Ciderworks and delve deep into the details of creating a product, building a market, and educating consumers about cider. But it's not just my story of being a woman in this male-dominated industry that I want to tell. You'll hear from other ladies in the biz as well!I know there are a lot of women out there, grinding it out everyday. So if any of my stories and experiences can entertain, educate, inspire, or empower you as you go through your daily tasks, then I have accomplished my goal! Join me on this wild ride whether you're looking to start a business, work in the alcohol industry, or are just interested in what goes on behind that glass you just ordered at the bar. Slainte!Jenn's book recommendationsThe Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle and Heart Built America's #1 Wine Brand by Bonnie Harvey Beer School: Bottling Success at Brooklyn Brewery by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter Brewery Up a Business: Adventures in Beer from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery by Sam Calagione

About Summit Seltzer Charlotte's first seltzery — and the first seltzery on the East Coast, too. We house ferment our hard and non-alcoholic seltzers, and use purees to flavor and condition them, creating a craft beverage–not the seltzer in a can that you're accustomed to. We're like a brewery, but for seltzer.For more information, visit the Summit Seltzer website here.Kristin's Music RecommendationsKygoLouis the Child Evan GiiaFamily favorite: ABBA

About COOP Ale Works: Our story began in 2009 when three guys with a passion for good beer decided Oklahoma needed a craft brewery that delivers brewing excellence to our great state. What started as brewing a unique porter (Gran Sport) and then our flagship IPA (F5), got us here — cranking out 20,000 cans of beer a day that are distributed across six states — Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Arkansas.We aren't your run-of-the-mill brewery, though. We're all about the flavor and quality. We provide full-bodied beer meant to entice and challenge your palate with high-quality ingredients and consistent taste. We want every beer drinker to find at least one beer in our lineup that suits them.We've come a long way since the beginning, but some things haven't changed. We think of COOP as Oklahoma City's own craft brewery, which is why we remain locally-owned and wholly-dedicated to our hometown and our state. From local nonprofit events to our new 23rd Street Armory project, we're always looking for ways to revitalize and support our community, employees, vendors, distributors and, well, beer lovers everywhere.If you ever see us out and about, stop by, raise a glass and cheers with us! We love good times with good people over good beer. That's why we do what we do. To learn more, visit COOP Ale Works online here. Daniel's book recommendation: Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

About Shelton VineyardFounded in 1999 by brothers Charlie and Ed Shelton, Shelton Vineyards was envisioned as a new agricultural resource for an area once dependent on tobacco farming. Located in the heart of North Carolina's Yadkin Valley, Shelton Vineyards is 180 degrees from any winery you will find on the West Coast.For more information, visit the Shelton Vineyards website here. Ethan's book recommendations: Terroir and Other Myths of Wine Growing by Mark A. MatthewsEthan's podcast recommendations: How I Built ThisWisdom from the Top with Guy RazThe Tim Atkin Cork Talk Podcast XChateau

Show Notes: About the Texas Craft Brewers Guild: The Texas Craft Brewers Guild is a Board of Directors led organization that represents the interests of Texas craft brewers. The members of the board hail from craft breweries in all the major metropolitan regions of the state, as well as from different brewery types and sizes. Large craft breweries, small self-distributed craft breweries and brewpubs each have one or more advocates on the board, looking out for their interests.Formed in 2009 by a band of brewers, today, the Guild has over 300 brewery members throughout the state, including operating breweries, as well as those that are in the advanced planning stages. The Guild also welcomes Allied Trade members – our name for the myriad suppliers and service organizations in the craft beer industry that help make breweries run. For more information, visit the Texas Craft Brewers Guild website here. Josh's book recommendation: Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard

Gavin Toth, founder of Divine Barrel in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a big believer in the beauty of craft beer. “Beer is art, if you ask any brewer,” he says. “[Breweries] are a community of artists, and sharing that love helps us build this community." Divine Barrel became part of that community back in 2018, when Toth launched the brewery along with his two business partners, Ben Dolphens and Scott Davis. Gavin had been a home brewer for 10 years before that. He also has an extensive background in the restaurant industry. Now, his business card says he “manages generally” — a nod to “The Office” and to Gavin's role overseeing all front-of-house logistics for Divine Barrel.In this episode, Gavin talks through Divine Barrel's strategy to always keep the customer guessing — there is never a set tap list — as well as its strategies for growth and people management. Cheers! And thank you for listening.For more information, visit the Divine Barrel website here. Gavin's book recommendation: The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J.R. Moehringer

Societe Brewing was the seventh fastest-growing brewery in the country in 2020. In a year pockmarked by the pandemic, that's pretty impressive. For founder Doug Constantiner, that's always been the goal. From launch, he has always treated Societe as a business first and a brewery second. “We really just want to be a great company,” Doug says in this week's episode. Doug launched Societe in San Diego back in 2012, after a career as an investment banker. “The goal was to make a bunch of money so I can retire early and have a second career,” Doug says. In the end, he didn't want to wait even for an early retirement to start brewing. So instead of business school and a hedge fund job, he pursued craft beer, and he approached it the only way he knew how: like a business. He decided to launch a production brewery with serious growth potential. In this episode, Doug recounts his journey from New York City investment banker to successful brewer. He also explains his recent decision to appoint a chairman of the board and offers his advice to others in the industry on how to treat your brewery like a business. Cheers! And thank you for listening. Show Notes: About Societe Brewing: Societe was founded in 2012 on the idea that beer is the world's greatest social uniter. This mindset inspired our name, and it keeps us focused on every ounce we brew. We see our brewery as a vehicle for bringing people together from all walks of life. Beer by beer, we're working hard to build our community, starting with our rally cry: BEER FOLK UNITE!For more information, visit the Societe Brewing website here. Doug's book recommendations: The Road Less Stupid: Advice from the Chairman of the Board by Keith J. CunninghamThe E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What To Do About It by Michael GerberGood to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap, and Other Don't by Jim Collins

If you've ever had a beer in Austin, Texas, chances are you've come across Hops & Grain. Josh Hare launched Hops & Grain back in 2011. He was an endurance athlete who loved beer, specifically New Belgium's Sunshine Wheat and the 5 Barrel Pale Ale from Odell, and at the time the craft beer industry was in growth mode, particularly in Texas. But, while most breweries start with kegs and grow their brand through a presence in bars and restaurants, Hops & Grain did the opposite, diving headfirst into cans. “We wanted to be the beer that was on your shopping list, and we succeeded in that in a lot of ways,” Josh says. “We were really focused on the brand being identifiable and recognizable but also welcoming. It wasn't loud and splashy. There was a story around each brand.” The brand continued to grow and to cement its place as a leader in the craft beer industry — until the pandemic hit in early 2020. Josh talks candidly about the past two years (“It was brutal,” he says) and what has happened to Hops & Grain as a result. And although he has faced challenges unlike any he ever expected, Josh's story does have a happy ending. “We've got a long way to go, but all signs are pointing to positive,” he says. In this episode, Josh recounts his journey with Hops & Grain and digs into how the past two years impacted not just his business but his perspective on the brewing industry as a whole. He also offers up advice for other brewers on how to run a successful, sustainable business that can stand the test of time. Show Notes: The departure blog post: In this episode, Josh talks about how he struggled to hit publish on the blog post that would announce the closure of Hops & Grain. Read the post in full here. News about Hops & Grain: Eater: East Austin Brewery Hops & Grain's Taproom Has Closed Permanently

About NoDa Brewing: With a collective passion for home brewing and exemplary craft beer, Suzie Ford (president and co-founder), Todd Ford (vice president and co-founder), and Chad Henderson (head brewer and co-owner) teamed up to create a craft brewing identity that would connect to and grow alongside their beloved city of Charlotte. Opening in the fall of 2011, NoDa Brewing Company received a warm welcome and has since expanded to three locations (The OG, NorthEnd, and the CLT airport) and continues to be one of the crown jewels of the Queen City.For more information, visit the NoDa Brewing website here. From Charlotte Magazine:NoDa Brewing takes gold in the World Beer CupFrom the NoDa Brewing blog:Coco Loco wins silver medal at the Great American Beer FestivalTodd's book recommendations: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick LencioniTraction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino WickmanDare to Lead: Brave Work, Tough Conversations and Whole Hearts by Brené Brown