Episodes
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Does purchasing an existing brewery actually make functional sense? It could include all sorts of equipment and infrastructure that you don’t want or need – and it may not be in good shape. Our guests for Episode 027 help you to untangle these and other related Equipment & Infrastructure challenges by sharing their stories, experience, and resources. Join Jon Carpenter with Openso Consulting and Owen Woods of ABS Commercial with your hosts for an hour of thoughtful insight…which includes reassurance that our craft beer community still supports and helps each other.
GUESTSJon Carpenter, Brewmaster/ Craft Beverage Consultant, Openso Consulting
Prior to founding Opensō, Jon Carpenter has been involved in every aspect of an operational brewery, including engineering & design, new product development & operations, staffing/training, and construction/ installation/ startup of equipment, systems, brands, and facilities.
Owen Woods, Brewery Design & Sales Consultant, ABS Commercial
Owen has a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and Technology with a concentration in Fermentation Science and a minor in Chemistry from Oregon State University. He began his professional brewing career in 2011 as a production brewer with Deschutes Brewery in Bend, OR. From there, he moved to the Deschutes Portland Public House and Brewery as the assistant research and development brewer. His next two stops involved working with smaller, family owned breweries prior to moving to New Orleans to work at Faubourg Brewery. As a Sales Consultant for ABS Commercial, he applies his knowledge of brewery equipment to help new and existing breweries with their unique equipment needs.
About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning. Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Finance is always a critical component of business discussions, and this is no exception. We talked about the numbers in episodes 19, 20 & 23, and we do so again here with Purchasing an Existing Brewery. Our guests address determining the value of an existing brewery, what kind of financial due diligence they would recommend, how an existing business can shift the focus of the SBA and lending institutions, and more. Coming from three different spaces in the craft beer industry, Derek Wasak of Plato Brewing & Consulting, Kary Shumway of Beer Business Finance, and Scott Birkner of Dogwood State Bank share their thoughts and experience around navigating the financial aspects of purchasing an existing brewery in today’s market.
Derek Wasak, Founder & Managing Director, Plato Brewing & Consulting
With over 15 years of brewing industry experience, Derek Wasak can help you start up, expand and succeed. He has worked at and with breweries, brewpubs, and start ups of all sixes from 3 – 120bbl brew houses and cellars from 2-100+ Fermenters.
With a specialization in start ups, equipment selection, facility design, and advising breweries of 5000 barrels or less, Derek has the knowledge, skills, and experience to help your brewery in planning.
Derek has spent the last 11 years as head brewer and director of operations at smaller breweries where he has designed and built out entire brewing facilities, beer portfolios, managed operations, and distribution on a day to day basis. In 2020, he made the decision to step away from brewery operations to start Plato Brewing, utilize that experience to pursue consulting full time, and help breweries plan their businesses. Derek is passionate about what he does and enjoys helping others realize their dream of opening a brewery.
Kary Shumway, Founder, Craft Brewery Financial Training & Beer Business Finance
Kary is a CPA, former CFO for a beer distributor, and current CFO for Wormtown Brewery in Worcester, MA. He has worked in the beer industry for more than 20 years as a certified public accountant, and extends his experience to help others through his small businesses.
Scott Birkner, Vice President & Business Lending Specialist, Dogwood State Bank
Scott began his finance career immediately following college, where he worked for Unity Bank and held several progressive positions, from a loan underwriter to a Regional Sales Manager, and then commercial lender. Following this, he became a SBA Business Development Officer, where his portfolio projects ranged from $500,000 - $15,000,000. Scott comes to Dogwood State Bank with over 20 years of SBA Lending, having served as a Senior Business Development Officer for HVC Bank, United Western Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Bank of North Carolina (now Pinnacle), Yadkin Bank (now First National Bank), and United Community Bank. Scott specializes in financing business acquisitions, start-ups, expansions, refinances, partner buyouts and commercial real estate on a nationwide platform. He is passionate about forming relationships with his clients and anticipating their needs throughout the duration of the loan process. Scott is a member of the CVBBA (Carolinas Virginia Business Brokers Association) Brewers Association, America Craft Distillers Association, American Distilling Institute and many State Guilds. He is a frequent speaker, panelist and moderator at business broker events, commercial real estate events, lending conferences, seminars and SBA industry training.
About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning. Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Missing episodes?
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Welcome back to Season II of the Start A Brewery podcast! We begin with a requested topic: Purchasing an Existing Brewery. This covers several episodes, starting with a strategic overview of legal issues and general strategies for this approach. Candace, Brook Bristow, and Jeff O’Brien offer the perfect storm of stories, best practices, situations to avoid, plus stuff that attorneys wrangle often….but the potential purchaser is usually navigating for the first time. Dive in to set yourself a solid foundation for this new podcast season!
Guests
Jeff O’Brien, Chestnut Cambronne, PA
Jeff O’Brien is a partner with Chestnut Cambronne and serves as outside general counsel to a wide variety of small and closely held businesses as well as real estate investors and developers. He has significant experience working with craft breweries, distilleries, and a variety of other liquor and hospitality focused businesses on an array of issues including entity formation, financing, real estate matters, intellectual property protection, operational issues, securities law, and distribution contracts. Jeff also advises clients in the industrial hemp and cannabis industries and is a member of the Minnesota Industrial Hemp Association’s Board of Directors.
Jeff’s practice is regional and national in scope. In addition to Minnesota, Mr. O’Brien is admitted to practice in the States of Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, and before the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, the District of South Dakota and the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Non-Resident Lawyers Division (NRLD), and he regularly assists businesses across the United States on matters pertaining to Federal securities law, with an emphasis on exempt offerings under Regulation D and Regulation CF.
A frequent lecturer and writer, Jeff has presented and written articles on a variety of business and real estate topics. He has a blog site, Jeffrey O’Brien Today, and a craft beverage law website which contains his articles, podcasts and other resources pertinent to craft beverage law.
Jeff has been listed as a Minnesota Super Lawyer eight times, including 2023. Previously he had been named a “Rising Star” by Minnesota Super Lawyers every year from 2008-12, a designation reserved for only 2.5% of all attorneys in Minnesota. He was named as one of the “40 Under Forty” in 2014 by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal and a Minnesota Monthly Top Lawyer for 2023.
Jeff regularly appears as the “Lawyer Extraordinaire” on Jon Justice in the Morning (NewsTalk 1130 AM) and The BS Show podcast with Bob Sansevere.
Brook Bristow, Bristow Beverage LawFounder and Managing Attorney Brook Bristow has practiced law since 2007 in both transactional and litigation roles. Representing hundreds of clients from start-ups to national brands, Brook counsels members of the food and beverage industry. He regularly advises on federal and state regulatory compliance, licensing, contracts, intellectual property, and federal label and formula approvals, among other topics.
He has some street cred, having served as co-founder of Greenville Craft Beer Week, president of the Craft Beer Attorney Coalition, president of the Upstate Brewtopians homebrew club, and as the inaugural Executive Director of the South Carolina Brewers Guild. He is also Cicerone Program Certified Beer Server. Brook holds a B.A. in Advertising from the University of South Carolina, and a J.D. from Mercer University, where he served on the Mercer Law Review. He is licensed in the state of South Carolina. He enjoys Central Coast Zinfandel, Aged Rum, and can brew a passable IPA.About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
What did you think of Start A Brewery Podcast Season I? In reflecting on the very first (23) episodes, Candace L. Moon & Laura Lodge, hosts of the podcast & Founders of Start A Brewery, ask that very question! They encourage listeners to share both their likes & their constructive suggestions for Season II. Episode 024 is a fun visit to different episodes in Season I, with shout outs, testimonials, storytelling, industry insight, and a look behind the scenes with these two never-ever podcasters who know an awful lot about beer.
Candace L. Moon is a San Diego-based attorney who has spent the last eleven years dedicating her law practice to the craft beer industry. She has worked with more than 450 craft breweries and craft breweries-in-planning nationwide, handling many different legal areas including alcoholic beverage law, contract review and trademark law. Candace is the co-author of Brew Law 101 – A Legal Guide to Opening a Brewery (CA version).
The co-founder of the Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival, Laura Lodge has been engaged in the craft beer industry since 1997. She’s the Owner of Customized Craft Beer Programs, designing events, resort retail programs, and educational programs based on craft beer, and is also the author of Distribution Insight for the Craft Brewer.
As veterans of the craft beer industry, both Moon and Lodge have taken on education roles within the industry over time, including formal higher education. Candace teaches brewing business courses classes at San Diego State University & UC San Diego, while Laura has been a regular guest at Metro State University Beer Industry Program classes in Denver, speaking about events and distribution.
Likewise, both have been tapped to educate as featured speakers in their areas of expertise at numerous industry conferences, occasionally presenting together. Such conferences include the Craft Brewers Conference, the Craft Beverage Expo, the California Craft Brewers Conferences, the New England Brew Summit, the Rocky Mountain Brewing Symposium, the Mid America Beverage Exposition & Conference, the Craft Beer Professionals Conferences, NanoCon, and the Pink Boots 10th Anniversary Conference among others.
Start A Brewery pulls together in a more formal way the networking connections and educational material that Moon & Lodge both have grown and championed for years in the beer industry.
The Craft Beer Attorney has long had an established Preferred Provider Network, built to offer all clients a full complement of knowledgeable, competent professionals for their start up and growing breweries. In addition, Candace has built informally & then more specifically a network of attorneys nationwide that are knowledgeable about craft beer and can refer each other when inquiries come in that are outside of their licensed jurisdiction or they simply don’t have the bandwidth to handle additional clients.
Customized Craft Beer Programs has always emphasized education, whether it be facilitating education by industry leaders or Laura teaching herself. When developing craft beer programs at destination resorts, education took on the form of developing food and beer pairings with the staff, encouraging Cicerone Beer Server Certification, and offering opportunities for resort guests to taste and learn from staff and brewery personnel. Recruiting savvy professionals as educators to present at the Big Beers Festival, at the Rocky Mountain Brewers Symposium, for specialty Brewmasters Weekends at resorts, and for other events has long been a focus.
Over the past five years, both Lodge and Moon have pooled industry connections to facilitate and participate, respectively, with the creation of the Craft Beer & Brewing New Brewery Accelerator Workshop. In addition, an informal group of industry professionals has gathered together at CBC and GABF for the past few years to be social with the additional outreach of inviting brewers with questions to come by for complimentary advice and referrals from the group. Nicknamed “The Resource Group”, this core group of friends provided insight, support, and the first educational contributions for the Start A Brewery website.
About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
If there was ever an insider’s look at brewery financing, this is it. Rick Wehner of Brewery Finance and Scott Birkner of Dogwood State Bank hail from lending organizations that are very different in their approaches. Their opinion about business plans, however, has a lot of common ground. For a good hard look at credit, partnerships, different kinds of financing, working with businesses in trouble, and a whole bunch of valuable commentary – take a listen.
Rick Wehner, Founder, Brewery Finance
Rick started his leasing career shortly after college when he went to work for his father’s equipment leasing company, learning the leasing business from the ground up, starting in the file room and slowly working his way through most of the different departments.
Rick eventually went on to start his own equipment finance company along with his brother, and he quickly married his passion for craft beer and his experience with equipment finance by forming Brewery Finance. He’ll be the first to tell you that he is more of a “beer guy that works in finance,” than a “finance guy that works with breweries.”
Scott Birkner, SBA Lending Specialist, Dogwood State Bank
Scott Birkner began his finance career immediately following college, where he worked for Unity Bank and held several progressive positions, from a loan underwriter to a Regional Sales Manager, and then commercial lender. Following this, he became a SBA Business Development Officer, where his portfolio projects ranged from $500,000 - $15,000,000.
Scott comes to Dogwood State Bank with over 20 years of SBA Lending, having served as a Senior Business Development Officer for HVC Bank, United Western Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Bank of North Carolina (now Pinnacle), Yadkin Bank (now First National Bank), and United Community Bank. Scott specializes in financing business acquisitions, start-ups, expansions, refinances, partner buyouts and commercial real estate on a nationwide platform. He is passionate about forming relationships with his clients and anticipating their needs throughout the duration of the loan process.
Scott is a member of the CVBBA (Carolinas Virginia Business Brokers Association) Brewers Association, America Craft Distillers Association, American Distilling Institute and many State Guilds. He is a frequent speaker, panelist and moderator at business broker events, commercial real estate events, lending conferences, seminars and SBA industry training.
About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
What does it mean “to leverage your brand”? And how would you do that? Our guests in Start A Brewery Podcast Episode 022 have answers, and do an wonderful job of connecting the discussions in Episode 006: Understanding Your Market & Creating Your Brand Identity and Episode 021: Creating Your Marketing Plan as well. Covering a wide range of topics – from brand strength to brand refresh, social media influencers, and consistency (the episode theme), Taylor Seidler of SeaThirst Creative and Jenny Mann of DIY Social Media for Breweries and Jenny Mann Photography bring examples, stories, and some really actionable insights to the table.
Taylor Seidler, Creative Director, SeaThirst Creative
Now living in Western North Carolina, Taylor started her award-winning design life as an editorial designer at a Boston alt-weekly, moving on to be creative director for a beer magazine & website. Now she’s focused on branding, marketing, and finding the best spots for a hike or canoe trip.
Jenny Mann, Founder of DIY Social Media for Breweries and Jenny Mann Photography
For over 11 years, Jenny has been a huge advocate for craft beer, while working for some of the top breweries and craft beer bars in the San Diego beer community. Her experience includes homebrewing, beertending, developing brewery tours and draft maintenance programs, education, management, sales and marketing. She is a Certified Cicerone and has photographed over half the breweries in San Diego. After seeing the need for beer-specific social media in the craft-beer industry, especially over the last two years, she built a business and online community designed specifically to navigate and guide small-to-medium-sized breweries and brewpubs through the wacky and everchanging world of algorithms and social media to help them get their messages and products out to the masses. Jenny travels all over the country coaching and speaking in front of local brewer guild memberships, helping brewing companies create thoughtful, informative, timely posts to keep fans and followers in the know.
About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Marketing plan? Who needs one? Well…you do. From understanding what exactly a marketing plan is & what it’s for to marketing budgets & target customers, our guests in Episode 021 bring it all to the table. SWOT analysis, road maps, local vs. outside market approaches, marketing budgets, and more….it’s here. It’s not just for the business plan or for the lenders; this is where you make the game plan for your business.
Many thanks to RadCraft for sponsoring Episode 021 and to All About Beer for partnering with us in this podcast endeavor!
Guests:Ann Obenchain, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Brewers Association
Ann Obenchain is the Vice President of Marketing & Communications for the Brewers Association. Ann develops and leads the strategic direction of the association's marketing and communications activities, and serves as spokesperson with the media for events, including the Great American Beer Festival, Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America, World Beer Cup, and Homebrew Con.
Julie Rhodes, Owner & Strategic Business Consultant, Not Your Hobby Marketing Solutions
With over 2 decades of experience on the business side - supplier sales, digital marketing, and distribution management - of the craft beverage industry, I provide strategic sales and marketing advice to small to medium-sized beverage alcohol brands through webinars, whitepapers, digital courses, one on one consulting, and group coaching programs.
Bill Wetmore, Sales & Marketing Director/Head of Beer Strategery, Fat Heads Brewery
A highly skilled professional with nearly 20 years of beer leadership experience (marketing, sales, and general management), across dozens of national import and craft brands, Bill is a strategic thinker who combines excellent communication, problem-solving, and motivational skills, with a firm focus on long-term business development, team empowerment, budget achievement and bottom-line results.
About StartABreweryStartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
From business projections to everyday financials! Dovetailing nicely with our previous episode, Getting Into the Numbers, Part II recaps a bit of the groundwork prep you’ll need to start generating numbers for your business plan and then hits seasonal projections… before heading into a thorough discussion of best practices and strategies to help new and existing breweries stay in touch with their financials. It comes as no surprise that communication is the #1 culprit in a lot of distressed situations, and our guests get into some ways to tackle that challenge as well. A deep dive with both strategy and actionable elements throughout.
Audra Gaiziunas, Brewed For Her Ledger
Audra is the owner of Brewed For Her Ledger, LLC. Prior to owning her own company, she served as Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s Controller 2009-2010 and Mother Earth Brewing’s Chief Financial Officer 2011-2014. She has been working exclusively in craft beer for 11+ years and joined the Brewers Association’s Finance Committee in January 2020.
A graduate from the prestigious Kenan-Flagler OneMBA program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Audra possesses over a decade and a half of experience in senior leadership roles in craft brewing, manufacturing, services, non-profits and startups. She earned her undergraduate degree in accounting and business management (double major) from Loras College (Dubuque, IA) in 1997. Her passions include home brewing, mobile marketing, crafting stories from numbers, and paying it forward.
Kary Shumway, Beer Business Finance and Craft Brewery Financial Training
Kary is a CPA, former CFO for a beer distributor and current CFO and Partner of Wormtown Brewery in Worcester, MA. He has spent the last 20 years using finance to help improve financial results in our businesses. Now, he’s helping other breweries, wholesalers and cideries to do the same.
His financial training programs have been developed on a new learning platform in order to deliver the best experience. The programs are designed specifically for non-financial people who have the responsibility of either managing or contributing to the success of business.
About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Proforma, Sales, and Cash Projections, oh my! Episode 019 literally “Gets Into the Numbers”, with a ton of guidance about approaches to the tasks, available templates, and other resources to help you with the financial side of your business plan. Our guests discuss the strategy around conservative plans & projections and what lenders/investors are looking for…and break it down into terms that our hosts can understand. Audra Gaiziunas and Kary Shumway both are chock full of experience, offer different perspectives around how to work into the numbers, and provided such a wealth of information that we are recording again for Getting Into the Numbers Part II.
Audra Gaiziunas, Brewed For Her Ledger
Audra is the owner of Brewed For Her Ledger, LLC. Prior to owning her own company, she served as Dogfish Head Craft Brewery’s Controller 2009-2010 and Mother Earth Brewing’s Chief Financial Officer 2011-2014. She has been working exclusively in craft beer for 11+ years and joined the Brewers Association’s Finance Committee in January 2020.
A graduate from the prestigious Kenan-Flagler OneMBA program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Audra possesses over a decade and a half of experience in senior leadership roles in craft brewing, manufacturing, services, non-profits and startups. She earned her undergraduate degree in accounting and business management (double major) from Loras College (Dubuque, IA) in 1997. Her passions include home brewing, mobile marketing, crafting stories from numbers, and paying it forward.
Kary Shumway, Beer Business Finance and Craft Brewery Financial Training
Kary is a CPA, former CFO for a beer distributor and current CFO and Partner of Wormtown Brewery in Worcester, MA. He has spent the last 20 years using finance to help improve financial results in our businesses. Now, he’s helping other breweries, wholesalers and cideries to do the same. His financial training programs have been developed on a new learning platform in order to deliver the best experience. The programs are designed specifically for non-financial people who have the responsibility of either managing or contributing to the success of business.
About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
What does it mean to set goals and create projections for your business plan? How do you pull those numbers out of the sky? And running your brewery, regardless of any other variable, requires setting goals to optimize your business success. Mark Boelman of Triple Bottom Line Brewery Consulting starts off Episode 018 with practical goal setting advice, and Tim Myers of Strange Craft Beer Co and Matt Del Vecchio of Duck Foot Brewing follow by sharing their personal experience. In addition to initial goals, Tim and Matt share how they work with their team now to set goals and communicate for day to day operations.
Many thanks to Harvest Hosts for sponsoring Episode 018 and to All About Beer for partnering in the creation of this podcast!
Guests:
Mark Boelman, Principal, Triple Bottom Line Brewery Consulting
Mark is an industry veteran with an MBA in accounting and finance who led the business side of Left Hand Brewing Co for many years. He founded the Craft Beer Accounting Group, a network of 100+ regional brewery CFOs, Owners, and Controllers, is a National BJCP judge, and an avid (award-winning) homebrewer.
Tim Myers, Founder/Head Brewer, Strange Craft Beer Company
Tim Myers is a father, husband, and brewer, in that order. He started Strange Craft Beer Company in May 2010, brewing one barrel at a time in Denver’s first taproom brewery. In the past 11 years, Tim has helped over a dozen breweries open, taught brewing classes at Metro State University, and served on the board of the Colorado Brewers Guild.
Matt Delvecchio, Founder/ Head Quack, Duck Foot Brewing Company
In 2012, Matt Delvecchio, at the time a financial planner living in New York, was diagnosed with Celaic Disease, a gluten-intolerant disease. Instead of letting this get him down in the dumps, he researched ways to make beer with virtually no gluten, and thus, duckfoot was born upon Matt’s arrival in Encinitas, CA. Matt enjoys spending time with his wife, and two children, and working on ways to give more gluten free beer to the people!
About StartABreweryStartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Continuing the two part conversation about the necessary – nay, essential - systems for your brewing business, our guests take a hard look at the key people who make up your brewery business team. Who are they, how did you find them, and how much of a voice do they have in the direction and decision making for your business? The conversation hits highlights about business structure, communication, sharing of business progress, supporting your team, and ultimately how many hours there are in a day. Larry Chase and Matt Hughes have lived experience from so many different perspectives around this topic, and their wisdom is helpful on just as many levels.
Guests:
Matt Hughes, USI Insurance
Matt has been a commercial insurance and risk consultant for 18 years. In addition, he has been a brewer for Wynkoop Brewing Company & founder/ former head brewer for Goldspot Brewing Co.
Larry Chase, Great Game of Business Certified CoachBeer flavor variety brought Larry to craft brewing in 1997. Today he supports and coaches owners who want to build a culture of ownership and employee involvement.
About StartABreweryStartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Beginning a two part conversation about the necessary - nay essential - systems for your brewing business, our guests dig into their areas of specialty to talk through both the philosophy and mechanics interwoven behind the scenes. Mary Brettmann offers insight around the critical financial/Accounting hub of information gathering for effective decision making, Ethan Tsai speaks to the production side of brewing with the realities of the 5S approach to success, and Nancy Trigg talks through the tap room, staff and customer service systems that are so important. While brewery owners of all levels will find good information in this episode, start up, young, and expanding breweries may expand their vision and practical understanding of solid brewing business best practices.
Guests
Mary Brettmann, President, Beverage Business Builders. Mary has 25+ years of experience in the corporate world. In prior lives, she has been a state auditor, a sales controller, an international treasury professional, a business owner and - finally - a craft brewing CFO for a fast growing regional craft brewery. She calls both California and Minnesota home, plus has clients all throughout the country. She enjoys digging in and creating change with every client.Ethan Tsai, PhD, is a Brewing Operations Consultant, formerly GM of brewing operations for Cigar City Brewing and Tivoli Brewing Company in addition to teaching/assisting in the creation of the Brewing & Fermentation Science Program at Metro State University in Denver.Nancy Trigg, Owner, Trigg Performance Collective. With 20 years as a high-performing operational leader (7 in the brewing industry), and equal experience coaching and mentoring from within organizations, Nancy blends coaching and business advising to be a great partner to leaders of all levels, helping to optimize both business and individual performance.About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
While podcast episode 014 focuses primarily on Contract Brewing, 015 takes us down the path of Alternating Proprietorships. Jamil Zainasheff shares his experience brewing his recipes for Heretic in an Alternating Proprietorship arrangement before he had his own location, and Candace offers a wider lens with regard to contracts and the legalities of different Contract/Alt Prop combinations of services, licenses, and facility usage. Chock full of tips, tricks, and best practices, this episode is an extremely practical and useful way to expand your perception of what it takes to open a brewery.
Guests
Jamil Zainacheff, award-winning homebrewer, author, beer judge, and host of “The Jamil Show” and “Brew Strong” shows on The Brewing Network, and Founder of Heretic Brewing Co.
Candace L. Moon, Co-Founder of Start A Brewery and Founder/Attorney at The Craft Beer Attorney
Candace L. Moon is a San Diego-based attorney who handles many different legal areas including alcoholic beverage law, contract review and trademark law. (also Co-Host of the podcast)
About StartABreweryStartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Episode 014 explores the business approach to opening a brewery based on contract brewing and alternating proprietorships. Alisa Bowens-Mercado of Rhythm Brewing tells her story of the search for contract brewing, while Phil Markowski of Two Roads and Matthew Osterman of Sleeping Giant share the backstory and intent behind their purpose built contract brewing facilities. Relationships are key, as we learn, and all three guests share tips, tricks, and best practices throughout this episode.
Phil Markowski, Master Brewer/Co-Founder, Two Roads Brewing Co.
Master Brewer Phil Markowski comes from an engineering background. After dabbling in home brewing and winning a few competitions back in the 1980s Phil made the bright decision to go into the craft beer world as a career.
A long career at various breweries has led to dozens of medals from the GABF and WBC, along with many other medals at regional and international competitions. Phil also wrote the book on Farmhouse Ales, literally, and is thrilled to be in his dream job: working with friends to create a brewery from scratch with state-of-the-art equipment.
Alisa Bowens-Mercado, Owner/Brewmaster, Rhythm Brewing Co.
Rhythm Brewing Co. is a New Haven, CT based brewery, founded by Alisa Bowens-Mercado. Realizing the lack of craft lagers on the market, Alisa decided to create her own. Her flagship beer, Rhythm, is a modern American-style lager with an ABV of 5.5%. Brewed with South African hops, Rhythm is unfiltered, flavorful, and has a slight bite that leaves you wanting more.
Music, Dance, and Beer have played a significant role in Alisa’s life. Both of Alisa’s Grandmothers’ were beer drinkers, and on special occasions, they would sip, dance and converse about “Finding your Rhythm in Life”.
Matthew Osterman, President & Founder, Sleeping Giant Brewing Co.
Sleeping Giant Brewing Co. is the result of President & Founder, Matthew Osterman creating the type of contract brewing facility that he and his business partner were looking for when they needed one. Listen for the colorful story of his homebrewing journey in his college dorm through the advent of Sleeping Giant and its current role in the Denver and regional area.
About StartABreweryStartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Episode 013 continues the discussion with Chris Leach of Wild Goose Filling, Alex Smith of ABS Commercial, and Brian Mollohan of Ruby Street Brewing about all things equipment. Where 012 was more shopping information and considerations, 013 takes us further into customized equipment, the entirety of costs associated with brewing equipment, and all things cans….including growlers vs. crowlers. Listening to both episodes will give you confidence in both shaping your vision and searching for the right vendors to work with to get you there.
Episode 013 is sponsored by ABS Commercial.
Brian Mollohan, Owner, Ruby Street Brewing
Brian Mollohan founded Ruby Street Brewing after years of homebrewing and building custom brewing systems for friends. Ruby Street is a family owned manufacturing business that specializes in building small scale nano and pilot brewing equipment. Ruby Street is unique in that all equipment is built to order with flexible designs, customizable options, competitive pricing and unrivaled customer support.
Alex Smith, Midwest Sales Consultant, ABS Commercial
Alex’s first foray in to fermentation was actually at a wine growers internship through the University of Georgia Sustainable Ag program. Realizing he had neither the patience of palate for wine, he soon pivoted to beer and never looked back. Since then he has worked in almost every aspect of the beer industry from retail to production and everything in between. Over 5 years ago, he helped open our sister company, Raleigh Brewing Company, where he served as yeast manager, head brewer and productions manager. Now with ABS commercial he wears just as many hats, covering sales, technical consulting and on-site brewing support. Alex resides in Denver, CO and heads up the Colorado wing for ABS Commercial. When not in the office or on the brewhouse, Alex can be found roaming the mountains with his wife, Natalie and their two dogs, Gracie and Wren. He also enjoys wrenching on and riding bikes, fermenting foods and tinkering with whatever needs tinkering.
Favorite Beers: A roasty schwarzbier, a juicy IPA or Schlenkerla Urbock
Chris Leach, Regional Sales Manager, Wild Goose Filling
Chris Leach is the East Coast Sales Manager for Wild Goose Filling. He comes from a background in the hospitality industry, attending the Culinary Institute of American and working in all facets of the restaurant industry. Chris shifted course in 2006 to the beer industry brewing at Keegan Ales in upstate NY before moving into consultative sales. His sales experience includes off-premise retail, distribution, cidery/distillery representative and packaging equipment. Chris has been working with breweries to design, configure and implement over 300 packaging lines over the past 5.5 years.
About StartABreweryStartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
In Episode 012 our guests weigh in on one of the most popular topics of conversation when talking about any brewery: brewing equipment. In addition to in depth advice about brewing system capacity, the group gets into what kind of questions to ask equipment suppliers, how to evaluate equipment, considering used equipment, when and how to consider mobile canning vs. purchasing your own canning line, and more. Keep an eye open for a Part II of this topic, as rumor has it there are lots more areas to discuss!
Episode 012 is sponsored by Wild Goose Filling.
Guests:Brian Mollohan, Owner, Ruby Street Brewing
Brian Mollohan founded Ruby Street Brewing after years of homebrewing and building custom brewing systems for friends. Ruby Street is a family owned manufacturing business that specializes in building small scale nano and pilot brewing equipment. Ruby Street is unique in that all equipment is built to order with flexible designs, customizable options, competitive pricing and unrivaled customer support.
Alex Smith, Midwest Sales Consultant, ABS Commercial
Alex’s first foray in to fermentation was actually at a wine growers internship through the University of Georgia Sustainable Ag program. Realizing he had neither the patience of palate for wine, he soon pivoted to beer and never looked back. Since then he has worked in almost every aspect of the beer industry from retail to production and everything in between. Over 5 years ago, he helped open our sister company, Raleigh Brewing Company, where he served as yeast manager, head brewer and productions manager. Now with ABS commercial he wears just as many hats, covering sales, technical consulting and on-site brewing support. Alex resides in Denver, CO and heads up the Colorado wing for ABS Commercial. When not in the office or on the brewhouse, Alex can be found roaming the mountains with his wife, Natalie and their two dogs, Gracie and Wren. He also enjoys wrenching on and riding bikes, fermenting foods and tinkering with whatever needs tinkering.
Favorite Beers: A roasty schwarzbier, a juicy IPA or Schlenkerla Urbock.
Chris Leach, Regional Sales Manager, Wild Goose Filling
Chris Leach is the East Coast Sales Manager for Wild Goose Filling. He comes from a background in the hospitality industry, attending the Culinary Institute of American and working in all facets of the restaurant industry. Chris shifted course in 2006 to the beer industry brewing at Keegan Ales in upstate NY before moving into consultative sales. His sales experience includes off-premise retail, distribution, cidery/distillery representative and packaging equipment. Chris has been working with breweries to design, configure and implement over 300 packaging lines over the past 5.5 years.
About StartABreweryStartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Episode 011 brings together decades of ingredients and processes experience for a thorough discussion of “What are you brewing?”. Neil Witte, Erik Fowler, and Niko Tonks are all brewers who in time have specialized in quality, yeast, and hops. The scope of their work within the industry and connection to both the brewing and business side is apparent as they offer practical advice about everything from recipe costing, house yeast, secondary hops markets, and ultimately to the proper way to brew and serve a nitro beer.
Erik Fowler, Director of Education & Craft Hospitality, White Labs
Erik has been with White Labs since 2014. Before coming to White Labs, he worked for a prominent regional brewery, a nano-brewery, and several beer and wine focused retail outlets. He has led education classes on yeast handling, sensory techniques and QC. Erik holds his Cicerone® certification as well as a certificate in the Business of Craft Beer from San Diego State University.
Neil Witte, Associate Director of Exams for the Cicerone Certification Program, Founder/Owner of Tap Star & Craft Quality Solutions
Neil Witte is the Owner/Founder of TapStar and Craft Quality Solutions. He's a 23-year beer industry veteran, draft beer specialist and one of 19 Master Cicerones.
With TapStar, he takes the industry draft quality standards he helped develop as a co-author of the Brewers Association Draught Beer Quality Manual. and certifies quality standards at draft beer retailers. He then promotes those retailers who serve the highest-quality draft beer with consumers.
With Craft Quality Solutions, he travels the country helping restaurants, bars, breweries and distributors through such services as draft system design, installation, troubleshooting, and service; distributor draft department consulting and training; on-premise sales team draft system training; and brewery field quality and sensory program consulting and training.
About StartABreweryStartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseNiko Tonks, Central Region Sales Manager, Yakima Chief Hops
Niko Tonks is the Central Region Sales Manager for Yakima Chief Hops. He started his brewing career at Live Oak Brewing in Austin, Texas in 2011, co-founded Fair State Brewing Cooperative in Minneapolis in 2013, and joined YCH in the fall of 2022. He has extensive experience with technical brewing, recipe development, and R&D brewing. He lives in Southern Minnesota and enjoys a fine pilsner beer.
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Episode 010 harkens back to Episode 003: Foundational Elements, and continues with the critical decision making of Ownership, Kitchens, and what kind of brewery approach you will be using. Beginning with a thorough discussion of strategies and pitfalls of various locations, our guests work their way through approaches to design, working with contractors, architects & other professionals, functionality above and beyond such as solar or water sustainability practices or equipment, and more. Dustin, Andy & Derek offer best practices as well as examples of challenges created by issues at this juncture on their journey.
T. Dustin Hauck, Principal, Hauck Architecture
With over twenty-five years experience in the profession, Dustin has participated in all aspects of architectural practice. As principal of the firm, he is the driving force behind all of the firm’s projects and designs, responsible for project management and document production. A local resident of San Diego, California, since 1985, Dustin began his architectural career in 1996, and founded Hauck Architecture twelve years later. His background includes a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University, study at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland, and hands-on experience in the construction industry while assisting his family in their many construction endeavors. Dustin’s combination of thorough analysis, client considerations, and attention to detail constitute the foundation of Hauck Architecture’s approach to every project, whether it’s a green home design, a sustainable restaurant renovation, production brewery, or ADA code compliance upgrades.
Derek Wasak - Founder, Lead Consultant - Plato Brewing and Consulting Inc.
Derek is a 14 year veteran of the craft beer industry, an award winning Head Brewer, and has direct experience planning, designing, building, and operating multiple craft breweries. Most notably, he has worked at Smuttynose Brewing (NH), Stone Brewing (CA), Duckfoot Brewing (CA), as well as others in Southern California ranging from 1000 bbl-180,000bbl/yr+. Derek is a graduate of UMass Lowell, Siebel Institute, World Brewing Academy, and Doemens Academy and specializes in brewery business planning, equipment and space planning, expansion planning, and project management. After spending most of his career as Head Brewer he decided to step off the production floor to start Plato Brewing and Consulting in 2020 to utilize his operational experience and help others realize their dream of opening a Brewery as well as save them time and money throughout the process.
Andy Hooper, Director of Business Development for Barnum Mechanical
Andy is the Director of Business Development for Barnum Mechanical, a design-build engineering contractor. He is an award-winning Brewmaster with over 15 years of experience in brewery design, sustainability, wastewater treatment, and process engineering. He holds a B.S. in Biochemistry from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and holds a Master Brewers’ certification from the U.C. Davis Master Brewers extension program.
About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Episode 009 carries forward the critical decision making from Episode 008 into the biggest of pictures about your business, digging into the food component (kitchen) as a major factor in determining whether you’re planning a tap room (only), a brewpub, or a packaging brewery. With decades of experience individually, our guests together represent a very diverse collection of perspectives on this topic. From the headaches to the financial benefits of a kitchen, and diving into the situational possibilities for production breweries and tap rooms without food, this discussion covers a ton of useful ground for the start up or expanding brewery.
MATT POTTS, FOUNDER/CEO OF DESTIHL:
Matt Potts is the Founder, CEO and General Counsel of DESTIHL®. Matt also served as DESTIHL’s original Brewmaster from 2007 until January 2022 when he passed on the mash paddle. Matt received his Bachelors in Ag Science from the University of Illinois in 1991, his juris doctorate in 1993 from DePaul University College of Law and became a licensed attorney in 1994. While practicing law, he started homebrewing at the end of 1995, and he & his wife, Lyn, eventually opened their first brewpub, Elmwood Brewing Company (‘EBC’), near the law office in 2001.In 2007, Matt attended Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago, securing his Associate in Brewing Technology certificate, and then started up a new brewpub and full-service restaurant concept, DESTIHL Restaurant & Brew Works, in Normal, IL. In 2013, DESTIHL opened its first production brewery in Bloomington, IL, reaching capacity by late 2015. In 2017, DESTIHL Brewery opened its new destination, regional Brewery & Beer Hall facility in Normal, which is now expanding its capacity to over 60,000bbls/year and has a brewhouse capacity of over 150,000bbls/year.
DESTIHL’s award-winning beers are now distributed in almost 40 states, plus Canada and Sweden, including its industry-changing Wild Sour Series, which was one of the first sour beers packaged in cans, its DeadHead® IPAs (including 2021 Gold and Bronze Medal winners in the coveted Juicy/Hazy IPA & Imperial IPA categories) and many other beers. DESTIHL started doing some contract brewing in 2018, but due to so much word-of-mouth growth for these services, it is now launching a new, separate division of its brewery called CANOPOLIS™, which is focused on contract brewing.
Matt served on the Board of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild from 2010-2020 and Chairman of the Guild’s Government Affairs Committee from 2017-2020, which was instrumental in securing many changes to Illinois laws over the years to secure production cap increases, self-distribution & beer transfer rights and many other important rights and protections for the growth of all Illinois breweries.
Chris Black, Co-Founder Falling Rock Tap House
Chris Black is a 40-year veteran of the Craft Beer Wars. From his start working at an early Beer Bar to stints working for Importers, Distributors and Breweries, to his ultimate goal of owning one of the World’s most well-known Beer Bars, The Falling Rock Tap House in Denver, CO for 24 years, Chris has experience in all three tiers and a passion for helping people set up a great experience for their customers. Essential elements include Good Design and Layout, Sound, Lighting, Seating and most importantly, setting up your Draught System properly.
Tom Hennessy, Founder Colorado Boy BrewingTom Hennessy has opened seven breweries of his own and helped open over 130 more with his Colorado Boy Brewery Immersion Course. He is the founder, along with past partners Tom White, Greg Atkin and Rick Post, of Scalo Northern Italian Grill in Albuquerque, Pranzo in Santa Fe, and IL Vicino Wood Oven Pizza in New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas. His video Frankenbrew, from 1995 has become a cult classic in the brewing world. His three previous brewing books include The Brewery Operations Manual, The Affordable Brewery, and Colorado Boy SOP. Tom lives, brews and writes in his mountain town of Ridgway, Colorado, with his wife Sandy.
About StartABreweryStartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license -
Episode 008 covers one of the most obvious and essential initial topics in Ownership and Organizational Structure. Yes, you need to explain your decisions and the resulting organizational outline in your business plan, but the importance of this gets into tax implications, decision making for the company, succession planning, following legal guidelines for investors, etc. And as Mary points out during this episode, you need to know your partners well, because you’re going to spend a lot of time together and you need to be on the same page.
Guests:
Mary Brettmann, CPA, President, Beverage Business Builders
Mary holds an active CPA license in Minnesota and California & has 25+ years of experience in the corporate world. In prior lives, she has been a state auditor, a sales controller, an international treasury professional, a business owner and finally a craft brewing CFO for a fast growing regional craft brewery. Mary’s current mission is to teach the industry what she’s learned and to help people get to the next level in their journey. And so in 2015 Beverage Business Builders was born. Mary calls Minnesota – and now California - home, but has clients all throughout the country.
Jeff Mendel, Partner/Director, Left Hand Brewing Co.
Mendy, aka Jeff Mendel, is one of the original owners of Tabernash Brewing Co, which merged with Left Hand Brewing Co. in 1998. Mendy has been on the Board of Directors for Left Hand since that time in addition to being fully immersed in all things with the Brewers Association. He is currently on the Events Committee for the BA, was co-Founder of the Colorado Brewers Guild, has been the Director for the Institute for Brewing Studies, and Director of the Microbrewers Conference and Trade Show among other leadership roles in the industry.
Jeffrey O’Brien, Attorney/Partner, Chestnut Cambronne PA
Jeff O’Brien is a partner with the law firm of Chestnut Cambronne PA, practicing in the areas of business and real estate law. He represents several craft breweries and distilleries, helping them with financing issues, real estate matters, the launch of their businesses, intellectual property protection, operational issues and all of their other legal needs. He is a frequent commentator on issues pertaining to liquor law. Jeff is licensed in the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota.
About StartABrewery
StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.
Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.
The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license - Show more
