One More Beer, Please (Book One): Interviews with Brewmasters and Breweries: American Craft Breweries, #1

By Jon Nelsen

Does the thought of a freshly hopped local IPA send chills down your spine? Perhaps you crave a deliciously simple ice cold pilsner crafted to perfection?

 

As a beer geek, you know we live in the undisputed best moment in history!

 

The craft of brewing beer has never seen more innovation and growth, yet for the purist the selection of traditional old world ales has never been greater.

 

This one of a kind book asks breweries some poignant questions about their operations, products, their take on the industry, and what's coming next!

 

In One More Beer, Please (Vol. 1), over 100 breweries answer questions like:

 

◆ What is the actual difference between a Porter and a Stout?

◆ How do you open a brewery and what does it cost?

◆ Who in the industry is doing it best?

◆ What beers do brewers actually drink?

◆ Do IBU's still matter?

and so much more....

 

Beer is personal to me and if it is to you too, please pick up these books today and show your love for the amazing industry that brought us hours of delightful day drinking and evenings that felt like you never wanted them to end.

 

Written by someone who truly loves beer, this book peeks behind the curtain and gets candid answers about all things craft beer.

 

The people behind these companies are leaders and trailblazers. Get to know more about American breweries and what makes them some of the greatest job creators and innovators on the planet!

 

★ BUY TODAY, and savor this book with your favorite ale today! ★

• Language: English
• Publisher: Life Level Up
• Release date: Oct 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393672029

Jon Nelsen

Jon Nelsen regularly consults with businesses, cities, and private individuals in marketing, advertising, and transitioning to clean energy. While he wants to help do his part to help other people find their footing in life and make decisions that benefit people and their businesses, he’s also determined to bring value and information to everyone through his books. He began with Q&A interview style books about the American craft brewery revolution and the boom in privately owned Bed & Breakfasts. He now focuses on writing step-by-step guides that educate on psychology and smarter financial choices. His ‘power to the people’ movement focuses on education, friendly and helpful service, and easy-to-follow steps designed to help individuals and professionals’ level up all aspects of their lives from careers, to home, to even energy. Nelsen studied Finance and Psychology at Liberty University before realizing that writing would probably be an easier career choice. Boy was he wrong. However, he knows why you’re broke and wants to know how you feel about it. While he didn’t start out living the dream, his writing helps others discover theirs. He currently resides in beautiful, sunny, warm… erm… well, beautiful Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania with his growing family.

Book preview

One More Beer, Please

One More Beer, Please

Q&A With American Breweries Vol. 1

Jon Nelsen

Life Level Up

One More Beer, Please

Q&A With American Breweries

Vol. 1

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Published by LIFE LEVEL UP

King of Prussia, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A.

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Copyright ©2020 Jon Nelsen. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher/author, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

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All images, logos, quotes, and trademarks included in this book are subject to use according to trademark and copyright laws of the United States of America.

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Jon Nelsen, Author

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One More Beer, Please

Q&A With American Breweries

Vol. 1

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Jon Nelsen

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QUANTITY PURCHASES: Schools, companies, professional groups, clubs,

and other organizations may qualify for special terms when ordering quantities of this title.

For information, email [e-mail].

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All rights reserved by Jon Nelsen and LIFE LEVEL UP

This book is printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Introduction

2Toms Brewing Company

127 Brewing

14 Cannons Brewing Company

18th Ward Brewing Co.

Albright Grove Brewing Company

Alpha Michigan Brewing Company

Alternate Ending Beer Co.

Anderson Valley Brewing Co.

Angry Fish Brewing Company

Appalachian Grail Brewing Co, LLC

Art History Brewing Inc

Asher Brewing Co

Artillery Brewing Co.

Ass Clown Brewing Co.

Atypical Brewery & Barrelworks

Back Unturned Brewing Co.

Bruz Beers

Bloomer Brewing Co.

Bear Island Brewing Company

Bristol Station Brews & Taproom

Black Fire Brewing

Buffalo Creek Brewing

Bosk Brew Works

BirdsView Brewing Co.

BrewPlan, Inc.

BrewLAB

Boring Brewing Co.

Barrel Oak Farm Taphouse

Brush Creek Brewing Company

Bonn Place Brewing Company

Barrio Brewing Co.

Birdsong Brewing Co.

Bath Ale Works

Burn'Em Brewing

Baxter Brewing Co, LLC

The Brewery of Broken Dreams

The Brewing Lair

Bay Cannon Beer Company, LLC

Bone Hook Brewing Company

Broad Ripple Brewpub

Bradley Brew Project

Bearded Owl Brewing

Beardless Brewhaus

Beech Mountain Brewing Company

Belfast Bay Brewing Co.

Belford Brewing Company

Busey Brews

Belgian Mare Brewery

Beyond The Mountain Brewing

Bright Ideas Brewing

Bucket Brigade Brewery

Big Sky Brewing Co.

Collision Brewing

Capital Brewery

Crasian Brewing Co.

Costa Ventosa Winery & Vineyard

Cycle Brewing

Crane Brewing Company

Canyon Club Brewery

Calfkiller Brewing Co.

Chuckanut Brewery

Crooked Ewe Brewery & Ale House

Cueni Brewing Co.

Cabin Boys Brewery

Crawford Brew Works

Cold Iron Brewing

Cousins Ale Works

Country Monks Brewing

Chateau De Pique Winery & Brewery

Cerveceria Del Pueblo

The Chamber By Wooden Robot Brewery

Charter Oak Brewing Company

Chilly Water Brewing Company

Crystal Lake Brewing

Copper Hop Brewing Company

The Common Beer Co.

Crooked Hammock Brewery

Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery

Copper City Brewing Company

City Built Brewing Company

Claimstake Brewing Company

Craft Beer Cellar

Chesterton Brewery

Dam Brewhouse

Dancing Gnome Beer

Dust Bowl Brewing Co.

Devil’s Club Brewing Company

Deviant Wolfe Brewing

Differential Brewing Co

Danny Boy Beer Works

Doghaus Brewery

Dr Hops Kombucha Beer

Downey Brewing Co

Divine Science Brewing

Dungeon Hollow Brewing Company

Deanitude Brewing Company

Definitive Brewing Company

Deep Draft Brewing

Dry City Brew Works

E9 Brewing Co.

Conclusion

Introduction

I think it’s safe to say I am a craft beer fanatic. From the very first sip of craft beer, I knew it was something special.

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This three book set resulted from lots of hard work, both for me and for the many many breweries who took the time to respond and answer my questions. I wrote this because like many of you I have a dream of one day opening a brewery I can call my own. Also like many of you, I have more questions than answers and this was my attempt to get as much of a peak behind the curtain of American craft beer as the breweries would allow.

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I asked simple open-ended questions and the variety of answers I received make these books some of the most informative on the subject of American Craft Beer. I received responses from national breweries to small breweries in a shed. Answers from homebrewers turned pro, to college educated brew masters and everyone in between. In fact, I even received answers from Abbey Monks brewing to support their real mission of ministry. Best of all, it wasn’t just brewers who answered me back. I heard from owners, bartenders, marketers, and even spouses.

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Some breweries had just opened, some had just closed, and some have been going strong for decades with no end in sight. This book was written during the height of the 2020 covid crisis and while it was alluded to in some responses, most of the breweries made the choice to focus on the bright future of craft beer rather than the doom and gloom of the present. I want to thank all the great American breweries who helped me compile these books and took the time out of their busy schedules to allow me to share their thoughts with the world. 

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Breweries provide places to relax and escape everyday life, opportunities to see old friends and meet new ones, a place to bond over a shared love of the better things in life, and taste something that is only limited by creativity of the one crafting it. Craft beer in America provides jobs in almost every town and support to the communities they serve. Every brewery has a story to share and I hope you will not only listen to what they say, but support the breweries who are facing a constant battle to provide the highest quality product when it seems quality is forsaken for cheap and boring.

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I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Each book contains discussions with at least 100 breweries and endless insight into their thoughts, strategies, preferences, product development and history. I tried to leave their thoughts and words as they put them and preferred authenticity rather than highly edited responses. Please be sure to grab a copy of all 3 books as each one contains some interviews that I thought were truly mind-blowing. The responses you see on these pages are exactly how they wrote it, and with no major. The exception being editing a few swear words and references to big beer companies. So grab a beer and enjoy the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business. 

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Jon Nelsen

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IF YOU LOVE CRAFT BEER:

lifelevelupbooks.com/beer

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Drink local and Drink Often

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Buy The Set of Beer Books

Q&A WITH OVER 300 AMERICAN BREWERIES

2Toms Brewing Company

3676 N Wells St

Fort Wayne, IN

Tom Carpenter

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Typically, how much beer do you guys make in a year? 

400BBL

How much beer do you personally consume on an average workday? 

2 glasses

What's your favorite food to eat with beer and why? 

Pizza, just seems to pair well with just about any beer.

About how much does it cost to open a brewery? 

$500K - $1.5 M (If you want to have a life and potential make money)

What are today's worst beer trends? 

I believe all beer trends benefit the industry in some way. We need to welcome more people to beer and craft beer is all about creativity.

What is the real difference between a Porter and a Stout?

I believe a stout has body and should be higher abv.

How much do you think IBU's matter when it comes to picking out a beer? 

The calculation of IBUs is flawed and should not be used in picking a beer.

When coming out with a new brew, how much experimentation do you try to get in before you say it’s ready for production? 

We roll all experiments right into full production. No pilots.

Is there a popular beer you make that you just don’t really like but everyone else loves? 

Nope, I only make beer that I like to drink.

What are the biggest reasons for the continual growth of craft breweries? 

Experimentation and innovation

What sets your brewery apart from most others? 

We love to innovate with flavor forward beer styles. We pay high attention to the use of ingredients, including water chemistry and yeast choices.

In the past few years we have seen a massive surge in the popularity of Hazy IPA’s and Sours, what do you believe the next popular beer style will be? 

Cocktail/mix-drink inspired beers.

127 Brewing

3090 Shirley Dr

Jackson, MI 49201

Jeff Tolonen

Owner, Brewer, Janitor 

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Typically, how much beer do you guys produce in an average year?

About 150 BBL

How much beer do you personally consume on an average workday?

2/week. A lot less than when I wasn’t doing it for money

What's your favorite food to eat with beer and why?

Anything greasy or salty. hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, peanuts

About how much money does it cost to open a brewery?

We did it for $87k no debt.

What are today’s worst beer trends?

New England ipas.

When you first opened the brewery, what was the biggest obstacle? What advice would you give someone thinking about opening a brewery to avoid some of the pitfalls you experienced? Largest obstacle? Time. Advice?

Don’t do it. You will strain every single relationship you have.

What beers are you best known for and why?

Ok ipa and pothole porter. Ipa is solid and high abv and the porter is easy drinking

What sets your brewery apart from most others?

Nothing really. Just another neighborhood brewery.

How do you decide on new beers to brew?

Whatever the head brewer can dream up

What are the biggest reasons for the continual growth of craft breweries?

People like to drink beer and get together. And they like supporting local economy. There is no secret sauce

What are the biggest obstacles to continued craft beer growth?

Regulations and the beer distribution companies are gangsters. If the small guy self distributes the big guys push us out.

What are the biggest problems you run into in producing beer?

Temperature and space to put things

How do you reach beyond the hardcore beer drinkers and into the general public to sell your beer?

We make beer people will like, beer snobs like me don’t like everything we make but they are in the minority

How did you first discover craft beer and what made you want to enter the business?

Home brewed for 15 years. Temporary insanity made me want to enter the business

How do you attempt to increase beer production while still staying true to both your brand and your unique styles?

We don’t sacrifice quality or our brand for the money. Probably why we don’t make that much

What’s the style most fun to brew?

Having to brew takes the fun out of it but when home brewing, I like Scottish ales because of the massive diverse grain bill

Is there a popular beer you make that you just don’t really like but everyone else loves?

Jazzberry -raspberry wheat

End of a long brew day, what are you drinking?

Water

When coming out with a new brew, how much experimentation do you try to get in before you say it’s ready for production?

None. If we brew it, it goes on tap.

What style of beer is your best seller and why do you think that is?

Ok ipa and pothole porter

Does glassware really make a difference?

Not to us.

What's the real difference between a Porter and a Stout?

Mouthfeel. Porters are light weight on the tongue stouts are heavy

How important is IBU when it comes to picking out a beer? Do customers need to pay attention to it?

Only in the ipa world. And not in the New England or hazy ipas, just real ones. Ipas should be defined by the boiled in bitterness not the amount of aroma or flavor hops

14 Cannons Brewing Company

31125 Via Colinas Ste 907

Westlake Village, CA 91362

Nic Bortolin 

Co-Founder/Head Brewer 

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Typically, how much beer do you guys make in a year?

2,500 bbls

How much beer do you personally consume on an average workday?

One or two pints AFTER work

What's your favorite food to eat with beer and why?

Pizza. Because we have a pizza kitchen!

About how much does it cost to open a brewery?

Double what you budget for.

What are today's worst beer trends?

Hazy's and hard seltzers 

What is the real difference between a Porter and a Stout?

Stouts use Roasted Barley. We go a step further with the difference and only make a Baltic Porter.

How much do you think IBU's matter when it comes to picking out a beer?

Zero. One of the most over-hyped/least understood aspects of craft beer.

When coming out with a new brew, how much experimentation do you try to get in before you say it’s ready for production?

Our pilot batches are 10bbls. But we're never done tweaking! 

Is there a popular beer you make that you just don’t really like but everyone else loves?

Peanut Butter Cup

What are the biggest reasons for the continual growth of craft breweries?

The overall hyper local movement. Just as farmer's markets are a rising trend, every neighborhood needs their own craft beer.

What sets your brewery apart from most others?

Ambiance. 

In the past few years we have seen a massive surge in the popularity of Hazy IPA’s and Sours, what do you believe the next popular beer style will be?

Low ABV

18th Ward Brewing Co.

300 Richardson Street

Brooklyn, NY 11222

Jordan Beldner

Owner

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Typically, how much beer do you guys make in a year?

N/A- We only opened in Sept 2019 and this virus has taken away two of those months....

How much beer do you personally consume on an average workday?

1-2 Beers

What's your favorite food to eat with beer and why?

Pretzel. Boring I know but its the truth

About how much does it cost to open a brewery

Over 500K for us in total. We have a 3BBL system. We are in NY so our overhead for literally everything is higher

What are today's worst beer trends?

I don’t think there are worst beer trends. I am not a fan of some but what I don’t like, someone else is really passionate about. That works for me as a beer lover.

When you first opened the brewery, what was the biggest obstacle? What advice would you give someone thinking about opening a brewery to avoid some pitfalls you experienced?

Construction, Permits, etc.....Took a lot longer than it should have. What advice would you give someone thinking about opening a brewery to avoid some pitfalls you experienced

How do you decide on new beers to brew?

My brewer and I talk about what we want to do next. He has free rein do what he wants and try what he wants. I’ll give him suggestions based on sales or something I want to see.

How did you first discover craft beer and what made you want to enter the business?

I opened a craft beer bar, Northern Bell, in Brooklyn 7 years ago. Loved the selection at my fingers and thought it would be fun to do that.

What beer would you brew if cost, production, and sales were no object?

I don’t have an answer for that. We are small so we can do whatever we want.

Does glassware really make a difference?

Only difference is size. I feel that a person doesn’t need to drink a 16oz 10% IPA. Drink an 8oz, it will feel better.

What beer is your brewery best known for and why?

We don’t have a signature beer just yet. We constantly try new things. We might repeat something based on style necessity but nothing has become a must have on our line at all times type of beer.

End of a long brew day, what are you drinking?

I love a Pilsner. I love an ice cold pilsner at the end of a long day.

Albright Grove Brewing Company

2924 Sutherland Ave

Knoxville, TN 37919

Nick Barron

Owner/Brewmaster

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Typically, how much beer do you guys make in a year? 

We did just a little over 100 BBL's last year, but didn't open until end of August 2019

How much beer do you personally consume on an average workday? 

Usually just one full glass at the end of day

What's your favorite food to eat with beer and why? 

Hmm. probably burgers

About how much does it cost to open a brewery? 

Wildly depends on a lot of factors, but low end would be $400k and range well over $2M 

What are today's worst beer trends? 

Not sure if I'd peg a bad trend, but hopefully quality control becomes higher and higher on the list for breweries

What is the real difference between a Porter and a Stout? 

Roasted barley is the signature ingredient in Stout.  Porters usually have roasted malts, which aren't quite as coffee forward as roasted raw barley

How much do you think IBU's matter when it comes to picking out a beer? 

Not much really.  Does give the consumer an indication as to what they will be getting and what to expect on bitterness, but doesn't have as much to do with the beer's flavor as an independent number.  And usually those IBU's listed on most packages are calculations only, the real number is probably very different

When coming out with a new brew, how much experimentation do you try to get in before you say it’s ready for production? 

Not too much, usually thoroughly working through the recipe development, and then trialing it out on our 10 bbl system for release in our tasting room to see how the public responds to it before moving to package it in cans for distribution.

Is there a popular beer you make that you just don’t really like but everyone else loves? 

Nope, love them all

What are the biggest reasons for the continual growth of craft breweries? 

Connection; brings passion for what we do that's palpable to consumers

What sets your brewery apart from most others? 

Innovation and quality

In the past few years we have seen a massive surge in the popularity of Hazy IPA’s and Sours, what do you believe the next popular beer style will be? 

Hopefully pilsners!

Alpha Michigan Brewing Company

303 E Center St

Alpha, MI 49902

Mike Bjork

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Typically, how much beer do you guys make in a year?

180 BBLs per year...

How much beer do you personally consume on an average workday?

Classified!

What's your favorite food to eat with beer and why?

Pizza as it pairs well with almost any beer! Also we get it from the local Senior center so it helps us support them too!

About how much does it cost to open a brewery?

Depends on the size of the brewery - 1BBL or 100BBL. Type of equipment, number of vessels, etc.

What are today's worst beer trends?

Seltzers and overly fruity brews

When you first opened the brewery, what was the biggest obstacle?

Besides the normal money obstacle it was ensuring that the beers we brewed tasted the same batch after batch. That is the biggest issue - tho I don’t drink B**, it must taste the same in MI or PA or CA or anywhere!

What advice would you give someone thinking about opening a brewery to avoid some pitfalls you experienced?

Get expert advice on how to set up a brewery! Know going into it what your business model will be! Taproom, distribution, canning, bottling, kegging etc??

How do you decide on new beers to brew?

That’s the fun part! We, myself and my partner, simply talk and say what about trying a ????! We then brew it - unfortunately (LOL), every time we do a new brew, people like it and want us to keep it on tap! So we brew about four seasonal beers each quarter and two new beers each quarter.

How did you first discover craft beer and what made you want to enter the business?

My son home brewed, my partner and I never brewed before we opened the brewery! We were sitting around, drinking a beer, and said lets open a brewery! Fortunately it took a year to get our Federal and State licenses during which time we were making small batches of different beers and doing multiple free tastings to get feed back on the beer. By the time the licenses were received, we had a core of 6 beers we planned to future when we opened.

What beer would you brew if cost, production, and sales were no object?

Some of double or triple IPAs, Imperial stouts, higher ABV brews!

Does glassware really make a difference?

Yes, as it is in the eye of the beholder! Different beers breath differently in different glasses. However, a great beer will taste great no matter the glass - paper or plastic even!

What beer is your brewery best known for and why?

We are know for our top four beers, all different style and our brewery is known for naming our beers after/about things in the community (People, places and things)

End of a long brew day, what are you drinking?

Brule River Red!

Alternate Ending Beer Co.

1055 NJ-34

Aberdeen Township, NJ 07747

Alexis

Marketing

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Typically, how much beer do you guys make in a year?

We are still in our build-out phase, but we hope to start with about 1,000 bbls in Year 1.

How much beer do you personally consume on an average workday?

Ironically, I have not been drinking as of late. However, when I was working at Other Half and operating the centrifuge, I would take at least three sips (or gulps) of every beer I processed, which was about 5x per run. And usually, I would end my work day with a shift beer at the bar.

What's your favorite food to eat with beer and why?

My favorite food to eat with beer is pizza. There is nothing like a warm doughy bite of bread, cheese and well-made sauce followed by a gulp of a nice crisp pilsner!

About how much does it cost to open a brewery?

I think this is very subjective to the type of brewery or brew pub that fits your vision. I’ve heard of breweries costing around 600k and some costing 10MM, but I think 1MM is a fair number to plan for (just expect to go over!)

What are today's worst beer trends?

I don’t think there are bad beer trends. To each his own, and being that beer is truly an ancient practice, it’s important to try new things and push the boundaries of our industry.

What is the real difference between a Porter and a Stout?

I don’t know if this the correct answer, but when I think of a porter, I think of an easier drinking version of a stout with a lower ABV.

How much do you think IBU's matter when it comes to picking out a beer?

I don’t think you should pay attention to an IBU number written on a can or in a description, rather pay attention to your senses.

When coming out with a new brew, how much experimentation do you try to get in before you say it’s ready for production?

That’s a tough question…we have been working on one stout recipe for 7 years. However, I feel like I can write a