MicroBrewr Podcast

William Hubbard and Mike Johnson are helping to build the Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It follows the cooperative brewery business model. Cooperative breweries are an increasingly popular way to build a local brewery that helps build the community. We’ve previously talked a bit about the subject on MicroBrewr Podcast and blog. Other […] The post MicroBrewr 093: Sharing profits and building community with a cooperative brewery appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Alex Standiford in Akron, Ohio started Fill Your Taproom to help breweries attract more customers. He does that through website development, social media management, branding, and email marketing. “It’s not about trying to get people to buy your stuff. It’s about building the relationship and then providing the information that empowers them to make a […] The post MicroBrewr 092: Email marketing for breweries appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Michael Altman was in the industry for years when he bought a brewpub. Now he’s been operating Iron Springs Pub & Brewery in Fairfax, California for 12 years. Before they opened he had to have back surgery and totally reinvent his role for the brewpub. “You really need to live, breathe and be the beer.” […] The post MicroBrewr 091: Let them do the job you hired them to do appeared first on MicroBrewr.

TRANSCRIPT: Welcome to MicroBrewr podcast. Where we talk about everything craft beer related, but especially for if want to start your own microbrewery or take your existing brewery to the next level. As usual, I’m Nathan Pierce, the host of MicroBrewr Podcast. So I just want to give you a short update today. This is […] The post MicroBrewr 090: State of the podcast appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Over a few beers, Tim Obert’s friend from college, Clint, told him that whiskey is actually made from cheap beer. They got to thinking, why not make whiskey from high-quality craft beer? Thus was born Seven Stills of SF, in San Francisco, California. “I wish I would’ve taken on investment sooner.” [Tweet This]   Whiskey […] The post MicroBrewr 089: Make whiskey from high-quality craft beer appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Andrew Huerter comes from a family of brewers. His parents were founding members of the Kansas City Beer Meisters homebrew club and his dad won a blue ribbon for one of his beers. Now Drew is following in their footsteps. He worked at a handful of breweries and before helping put together BrainDead Brewing in […] The post MicroBrewr 088: A brewing pedigree from Kansas to Texas appeared first on MicroBrewr.

At 55 years old Ken Carson tried to get a job at a brewery, but nobody would hire him—even for volunteer. So with no brewing nor restaurant experience, he started Nexus Brewery in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “I fell in love with the concept of beer and community.” [Tweet This]   Ken did have some business […] The post MicroBrewr 087: Differentiate your brewpub with unique menu items appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Nick Gunn and his wife were working for her family’s winery. They had the idea to start growing apples for cider. One of the cideries to whom they were selling apples decided to close down and they offered to sell the business to Nick and his wife who moved Wandering Aengus Ciderworks to Salem, Oregon. […] The post MicroBrewr 086: The future of apple cider in America appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Cody Martin worked in civil engineering and environmental engineering. After touring some breweries and seeing that they use familiar equipment, he asked his wife if he could start a brewery. She found work in Texas and he started Martin House Brewing Company in Fort Worth, Texas. “Starting a brewery is a full-time job.” [Tweet This] […] The post MicroBrewr 085: Starting a brewery is a full-time job appeared first on MicroBrewr.

As soon as Mark McTavish could acknowledge alcohol, he gravitated toward hard cider. Later, he attended beverage management school and opened a craft beer bar in Toronto, Canada. Now in the U.S., Mark owns a cider distribution company and 101 Cider House in Los Angeles, California. “As a cider maker, you’re not really making anything. […] The post MicroBrewr 084: A healthy alcoholic beverage: hard cider appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Fran Toves’ son challenged her to enter cider into the homebrew competition. After her 3 entries made it to the top 10, she figured it time to take the product to market and started Common Cider Company in Drytown, California. “There is no need to start a cider company with a million dollars.” [Tweet This] […] The post MicroBrewr 083: Market branding for a cider company appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Brian Kovalchuck has a background in finance and marketing and came to beer late in his career. After he helped with the turnaround of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Brian became CEO of the gluten free Bard’s Tale Beer Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “I wish I had been in the beer business a long time. It’s a […] The post MicroBrewr 082: Gluten free beer for a large market appeared first on MicroBrewr.

The guys at Portland Kettle Works had the idea to start a nanobrewery. They needed one of their employees to run it, so Chris Sears stepped up and took charge of Labrewatory in Portland, Oregon. “If Portland is anywhere close to being saturated, the rest of the U.S. has a long way to go.” [Tweet […] The post MicroBrewr 081: An R&D laboratory for craft beer appeared first on MicroBrewr.

A friend asked Marta Jankowska and her husband whether they wanted to use his warehouse space and go pro with their brewing. The warehouse space fell through, but they were far along in the process, so they decided to go for it and opened ChuckAlek Independent Brewers in Ramona, California. “Your time is so much […] The post MicroBrewr 080: Brewing the American Dream winner for 2015 appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Wim Bens was born in Belgium and moved to Texas when he was 7 years old. He applied to American Brewers Guild just to have the option. Now, 3 years after opening Lakewood Brewing Co. in Garland, Texas he can barely keep up with demand. “If you start doubting what you’re doing, then you shouldn’t […] The post MicroBrewr 079: The importance of budgeting for working capital appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Bill Morgan has brewed on 2-BBL systems all the way up to 250-BBL systems. Craft brewing has taken him around the world and back. Now he’s gone full-circle, brewing on 4-BBL system and loving the flexibility it provides at The Blind Pig Brewery in Champaign, Illinois. “Is it really craft beer if it’s available in […] The post MicroBrewr 078: Around the world and back with the craft beer industry appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Michael Peticolas learned about homebrewing from his mother. After achieving all the goals he set for himself in the legal field, he decided to pursue his passion of beer with Peticolas Brewing Company in Dallas, Texas. Michael says he feels very fulfilled with having achieved his list of goals. He saved a lot of money […] The post MicroBrewr 077: The importance of writing your goals appeared first on MicroBrewr.

After a microbiology degree and studies at the world’s premier culinary college, Seth Gross was working at a restaurant and hanging out at the nearby Goose Island Brewpub. Pretty soon they offered him a job. Today Seth owns his own brewpub, Bull City Burger and Brewery in Durham, North Carolina. “I have people who will […] The post MicroBrewr 076: Carrying the torch of authentic beer styles appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Mark Doble opened Aviator Brewing Company, Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, in November 2008. In less than 7 years he has started a brewery, a trucking company, a restaurant, two bars, and soon a new brewery with a distillery. All of these business are still operating. “Not having to work at a corporate job anymore, that’s […] The post MicroBrewr 075: Recruit the right people for the right job appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Noble Brewer is an online craft beer club featuring homebrewers’ best beers. It’s not exactly legal to sell homebrew by mail, so Claude Burns at Noble Brewer connects the homebrewer with a commercial brewery. Then they ship great homebrew from their base in Oakland, California. If you want your homebrew to be featured in one […] The post MicroBrewr 074: Contract brewing for homebrew craft beer club appeared first on MicroBrewr.

David Olsen dives into things all the way. He decided that he wanted to homebrew, so he read about 15 books and took some short classes at UC Davis. Within 6 months he was winning awards at homebrewing competitions. He started Craft Artisan Ales, in Pacific Grove, California, with contract brewing because it was an […] The post MicroBrewr 073: Contract brewing: quality product with low barrier to entry appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Dave Hoops has been brewing for decades. He brought what he learned in California to Minnesota and helped change the brewery laws there. Now his West Coast style beers have been working well for Fitger’s Brewhouse Brewery & Grille, in Duluth Minnesota. Minnesota does not allow breweries to self-distribute to outside accounts. So Fitger’s has […] The post MicroBrewr 072: Batch 4,000 and brewery law reform in Minnesota appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Ashley Kinart began homebrewing to learn about the brew process so she could better answer customer questions at the craft beer bar where she worked. She eventually realized that it really interested her, so she enrolled in the World Brewing Academy at Siebel Institute of Technology. Four years later she became the brewmaster at Capital […] The post MicroBrewr 071: Four years from brewing school to brewmaster appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Jeff Mease worked in his parents’ grocery store when he was a kid. “I had grown up in a family business,” he recounts. “By the time I was legal, I didn’t have any fear of business.” Indeed, when Jeff was just 19 years old, he started a pizza business that is still Bloomington’s favorite pizza […] The post MicroBrewr 070: Brewery law reform and scaling up in Indiana appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Mark Robertson got bored of his job, so he opened a brewery. Pensacola Bay Brewery, in Pensacola Bay, Florida follows their local heritage with a fun pirate motif. But they’re not all scurvy. After 5 years, Pensacola Bay Brewery is going strong, expanding operations, and willing to share what they’ve learned. Mark hesitates to disclose […] The post MicroBrewr 069: Arrrgh! What to do when yer job gets boring appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Two years ago, Adam Charnack and his partners got a $254,000 SBA-backed loan to start Hi-Wire Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina. Today, they’re expanding to a second brewery with another SBA loan. “The SBA involvement in craft beer,” says Adam, “has been a part of the success of craft breweries being able to open and […] The post MicroBrewr 068: An SBA loan can help open or grow your brewery appeared first on MicroBrewr.

UPDATE: Mistakes and clarifications have been corrected, per Jenny Kassan. You planned the brewery of your dreams. You researched the market and you know it will be profitable. But you don’t have a million dollars under your pillow to start it. Now how to find investors for a brewery? Jenny Kassan, an attorney and consultant […] The post MicroBrewr 067: How to find investors for a brewery appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Kris Kennedy works in the Small Business Lending Group with First Community Bank in Roseville, California. They were the first financial institution listed as an allied trade member of California Craft Brewers Association. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s loan program makes it easier for small businesses to get funding from traditional lending institutions. Kris teaches […] The post MicroBrewr 066: How to get an SBA loan for a startup brewery appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Moores Insurance Management, in St Paul, Minnesota is an independent insurance agency. They’re not an insurance company; instead they act as an advocate for small businesses, to assess risk and help pick the best insurance plan for your situation. Jack Moores has been working in the industry for 5 years. He’s the risk advisor for […] The post MicroBrewr 065: Finding the right small business insurance for a brewery appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Dave Lavinsky went to business school at University of California at Los Angeles. After he won a business plan writing competition, he wrote a few for other businesses. Then he started Growthink, in Los Angeles, to help entrepreneurs and business owners develop their business plans so they can raise capital and grow their business. 3 […] The post MicroBrewr 064: How to write a business plan for a brewery appeared first on MicroBrewr.

At the height of the great recession, Kevin Selvy had a hundred-page business plan and started Crazy Mountain Brewing Company in Edwards, Colorado with $500,000. He calls it an irresponsible amount of money and estimates that nobody should do it with less than $1.5 million. Nonetheless, he met his 3-year sales estimates within 3 months. […] The post MicroBrewr 063: A hundred-page business plan and barely enough money appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Measured Methods is a multi-purpose agency focusing on craft breweries and other artisanal crafts. They’re based in Burlington, Vermont, but they can provide a variety of services for breweries anywhere. They focus both on the front end, such as branding and anything a customer would see, and also back end, such as processes and supply […] The post MicroBrewr 062: Cohesive brand development for your brewery appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Tim Mather was just getting into craft beer when he and a friend created the highly-popular mobile app for beer drinkers, Untappd, based in Los Angles, California. “Neither of us really knew anything about beer,” admits Tim. “I knew that I wasn’t too big into macros. I was just starting to get into larger craft […] The post MicroBrewr 061: Use social media to directly interact with your customers appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Allan Wolfe is a beer writer who started UnEarthed Creative in Chicago, Illinois. His online marketing firm helps small businesses in the new world of online marketing. They specialize in marketing for small breweries. “If you’ve got the best beer, but nobody knows it exists, what’s the point?” says Allan. “As the craft beer industry […] The post MicroBrewr 060: How to make a website that people find appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Beer festivals are an important part of a startup brewery’s marketing plan. Stephanie Carson and SuperFly Fabulous Events in Asheville, North Carolina put on 11 beer festivals every year. I asked her, how much do beer festivals play a part in a startup brewery’s existing marketing plan? “I think it’s everything,” says Stephanie. “A startup […] The post MicroBrewr 059: How to get the most out of a beer festival appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Laura Ulrich is the small batch brewer at Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California. She has worked there for 11 years, after working in the bottling line at Odell Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. “Twelve years ago,” says Laura, “There wasn’t a focus on having the degree in brewing.” She says she would have […] The post MicroBrewr 058: Be confident to get where you need to go appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Jamie Baertsch did an internship with Wisconsin Dells Brewing Co., in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, and she stuck around until they started paying her. Today she’s the brewmaster, winning awards for her beer, and planning the expansion to a production facility. Wisconsin Dells Brewing Co. is the brewing part of Moosejaw Pizza brewpub, which experiences 50% […] The post MicroBrewr 057: Create new revenue streams for your brewpub appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Nadia Vazirzadeh had only a bachelor’s degree in biology, zero knowledge of beer, when she started working on the quality control team at Golden Road Brewing, Los Angeles, California. “I knew I wanted to do something the rest of my life that I loved,” she says. “I still had people trying to convince that, ‘Don’t […] The post MicroBrewr 056: Applying organic chemistry to brewing appeared first on MicroBrewr.

If you’re like me, you don’t have a million dollars to start the brewery of your dreams. If you have brewing skills and can create recipes, contract brewing could be a way to create a product and establish a customer base with minimal initial investment. That’s how Jayne Lewis and Danielle Allen started Two Birds […] The post MicroBrewr 055: Use contract brewing to de-risk with minimal cash injection appeared first on MicroBrewr.

We all have a dream to start a brewery. Many of us don’t have the money required to start the brewery of our dreams. Lynn Jacobs and her husband, Jeff, started Great Storm Brewing in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with no debt. Best of all: They started making a profit immediately. Great Storm Brewing opened in […] The post MicroBrewr 054: Start a debt-free nanobrewery appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Teri Fahrendorf had been brewing professionally for 19 years when she went on a road trip. She visited 71 breweries, brewed at 38 of them, and blogged the whole way. Throughout the trip, she did meet a few other women working in craft beer. They always asked whether there were others. So they started the […] The post MicroBrewr 053: Pink Boots Society empowers women in beer appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Joe Short started Short’s Brewing Company in Bellaire, Michigan in 2004. Today Short’s Brewing is one of the fastest growing of Michigan breweries. Their young, savvy marketing program includes a podcast. “A large part of making people aware of us,” says Joe, “is the fact that we are always able to just tell our story […] The post MicroBrewr 052: Share your brewery’s story with a podcast appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Podcasting is exploding. Even breweries are using podcasts to share their story or as part of their marketing plan. John Lee Dumas, founder and host of Entrepreneur On Fire, in San Diego, California is the expert on podcasting and starting a podcast. He sheds light on using a podcast for a brewery. Podcasting can be […] The post MicroBrewr 051: Augment your brewery’s marketing plan with a podcast appeared first on MicroBrewr.

Drew Dillman from Craft Conscious, in Cincinnati, Ohio, interviews all sectors of the craft beer industry. Rather than beer tastings or reviews, he pulls back the curtain on the business of beer. Nearly 100 audio interviews are in iTunes and many more full video interviews are on the website. “It’s something new every single time,” […] The post MicroBrewr 050: Have passion and be persistent appeared first on MicroBrewr.

You’ve decided that your brewery is going to be a cooperative. Now you need to find others who will share the burden and resources. You can work together to start your own brewery. That’s what Christian Borglum and others are doing with San Jose Co-op Brewpub in San Jose, California. San Jose Co-op Brewpub is […] The post MicroBrewr 049: Planning California’s first cooperative brewpub appeared first on MicroBrewr.

You pinched every penny. You begged, borrowed, and stole to start your brewery. People are enjoying your beer at the taproom, and now you want to expand your reach. You still don’t have capital to buy a dedicated canning or bottling line. Matt Woempner, from Mobile West Canning, in San Diego, California, explains how mobile […] The post MicroBrewr 048: Package your beer cheap and easy with mobile canning appeared first on MicroBrewr.

If you’re thinking of starting a brewpub, the cooperative business model might be the way to go. Chris Hamje has been at Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery, in Austin, Texas, since shortly after they opened. He explains how the cooperative model plays out for their operation. “There’s a lot of precedence for a worker-owned […] The post MicroBrewr 047: Proof of concept for a brewpub co-op appeared first on MicroBrewr.

The cooperative business model is gaining popularity. Even many craft breweries are forming as co-ops. If you want to form your brewery as a co-op, Janelle Orsi, Executive Director of Sustainable Economies Law Center, in Oakland, California can answer your questions. The cooperative business model is still relatively unknown. A worker-owned “co-op” is usually democratically organized, […] The post MicroBrewr 046: Start your brewery as a worker-owned co-op appeared first on MicroBrewr.

You’ve spent months working toward opening your brewery, now you’re finally ready for the public. How do you come out with a bang? Henry Thornhill and friends recently opened West Cork Brewing Company in Baltimore, Ireland. They share how to put on a successful opening night. West Cork is renowned for its high quality food. Now […] The post MicroBrewr 045: Launch your brewery with a strong opening night appeared first on MicroBrewr.

There are so many stories about breweries in trademark disputes. The last thing you want is to get sued or pay legal fees to protect yourself. Paul Rovella is attorney and partner at L+G, LLP Attorneys at Law in Hollister, California. He tells us all about trademark issues for your brewery. Although “common law” provides […] The post MicroBrewr 044: What every brewery should know about trademarks appeared first on MicroBrewr.

TRANSCRIPT: Welcome to MicroBrewr podcast. We talk about everything craft beer related, with a focus for people looking at starting their own microbrewery or wanting to take their existing brewery to the next level. As usual, I’m Nathan Pierce, the host of MicroBrewr Podcast. This is going to be just a short review of the […] The post MicroBrewr 043: BONUS Happy New Year appeared first on MicroBrewr.