Good Beer Hunting

Today’s guest is one of those people that many industry folks know and love, and drinkers, depending on who you rub elbows with online, maybe have encountered on Twitter from time to time. She has a job that only really exists in a large brewery — at one time it was called, the “digital and consumer outreach specialist” for example — but her influence is so much broader than the title implies. In Chicago, she’s known as the woman who started the Brewers Unleashed event series where brewers from across the MillerCoors family of breweries come together downtown in the Miller Coors headquarters bar overlooking the city, and share some of their latest and most interesting beers. She’s used that event as a way to bring in beer geeks, brewers, and other professionals together for a good time. She’s known as one of the most visible personalities on what beer fans call “beer twitter” — where she converses with colleagues and competitors, makes fun of the more absurd parts of beer culture, and generally tries to keep everybody looking up the it’s just so damn easy to get down. And in larger industry circles, she’s known as an innovator for the unique ways in which she’s helped shape the culture at Tenth & Blake, MillerCoors import and craft division. She has a key role there in helping the team stay connected and engaged in craft beer, in all beer really, thorough education, hands-on home brewing challenges, and ensuring they get out into the world and experience the ruckus of craft beer first hand. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a number of folks that Lisa has brought in to the beer-loving fold. And about a year ago Lisa was named on of 26 innovators making a difference in beer by All About Beer magazine, alongside people like Ray Daniels of Cicerone, Mariah Calagione of Dogfishhead, Bob Pease who is now President of the Brewers Association and many others. So while Lisa has been a friend for some time now - we had yet to dig in and record an interview. As she transitions from her current role at Tenth & Blake into a new role at MillerCoors, this seemed like the perfect time to look back on a greta start in a new industry for her, and what she’ll be up to next.

I feel like the past 18 months have been a sort of reconciliation for craft beer drinkers and brewers, with a lot of folks focusing on beers that are highly drinkable, or sessionable, but still quite flavorful, exciting, and ultimately easy to find. There's been a surge in the market of craft Lagers, Pilsners, Session IPAs and Sours, along with some renewed appreciation for beers like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. And in about a month we'll be seeing an ode to Fat Tire in a collaboration 12-pack from New Belgium. So even as some craft brewers and their fans are finding more and more obscure, niche areas to explore, a lot of folks in craft beer are backing up a bit and asking themselves, "What's good?" And, "Can we get more of that, please?" So with that kind of a swing back toward the middle, you'd expect a classic craft beer like Sam Adam's Boston Lager to be in a bit of a resurgence. But as the nation's largest craft brewer (right behind the recently re-defined-as-craft brewer, Yuengling), Boston Beer Company hasn't been seeing the love—at least when you look at the numbers. The numbers for Sam Adams mimics the glacial decline of macro lagers more than it does the consistent double-digit growth of smaller craft brewers. Is it just that Boston Beer has gotten so big that it simply isn't part of the consideration set anymore? Maybe. Is the profile of Boston Lager outdated? Maybe. But I'd like to offer a different view—one that sets aside this specific beer for a second, and takes a look at the entirely of the Boston Beer business. Boston Beer is so much more than Sam Adams. And its future seems geared toward diversity—not just a single beer they've been making since the 1980s. In the past few years, they've taken a run at IPA with Rebel, and it instantly became one of the biggest launches in craft beer history. They followed that with a spread of different IPAs all playing off that success. They've recently introduce a series of nitro beers that are sure to get the word "nitro" on the minds of consumers in a big way for the first time since Guinness. Boston Beer is also the owner of Angry Orchard, a cider company they started from scratch, and now owns about 60% of the cider market in just three years. And now makes more than a million barrels and growing. Even before that, they launched Twisted Tea, a brand that sells 640,000 barrels' worth of booze a year. That's nearly the volume of Lagunitas, and it's still growing by double digits. Through their Coney Island Brand, part of their Alchemy & Science wing, they entered the FMB space with a line of hard sodas. They've also recently launched a line of alcoholic sparkling waters called Truly. All this to say, it'd be foolish to talk about Boston Beer as Sam Adams anymore. Boston Beer is a mature, well-diversified company that's placing big bets on the next thing in alcohol that it feels it has the opportunity and expertise to pursue. Through that lens, they're not the slow-moving, classic craft beer that we should all take pity on as it slowly loses share. Rather, they're one of the leading companies in the U.S. when it comes to new alcoholic beverage entries. And by that account, they're killing it. Now, that might take some of the sheen off an idol for you—especially if you were holding up Jim Koch as some sort of purist in craft beer. Although I think he's also that. But the larger view of Koch should certainly take an honest look at the things this guy—and his company, of which he still holds all the controlling shares—puts in to the world on a regular basis. So yeah, when it comes to something like Boston Lager, this guy is as pure as they come. And when it comes to new opportunities, new ventures, new ideas—this guy is as cunning as it gets. And you don't really have to worry about reconciling all that, of course, because Koch is nothing is not indifferent to other people's opinions. And I kind of love him for it.

I feel like the past 18 months have been a sort of reconciliation for craft beer drinkers, and brewers, with a lot of folks focusing on beers that are highly drinkable, or sessional, but still quite flavorful, exciting, and ultimately easy to find. There’s been a surge in the market of craft lagers, pilsners, session IPAs and sours, along with some renewed appreciation for beers like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and in about a month we’ll be seeing an ode to Fat Tire in a collaboration 12-pack from New Belgium. So even as some craft brewers and their fans are finding more and more obscure, niche areas to explore, a lot of folks in craft beer are backing up a bit and asking themselves — what’s good? And can we get more of that, please? So with that kind of a swing back towards the middle, you’d expect a classic craft beer like Sam Adam’s to be in a bit of a resurgence. But for the nation’s largest craft brewer, right behind the nation’s oldest Yuengling, who is now categorized by the BA as a craft brewer, Boston Beer hasn’t been seeing the love — at least in the numbers. The numbers for Sam Adams mimics the glacial decline of macro lagers more than it does the consistent double-digit growth of smaller craft brewers. Is it just that Boston Beer has gotten so big, that it simply isn’t part of the consideration set anymore? Maybe. Or is the profile of Boston Lager outdated? Maybe. But I’d like to offer a different view — one that sets aside this specific beer for a second, and takes a look at the entirely of the Boston Beer business. Boston Beer is so much more than Sam Adams. And it’s future seems geared toward diversity — not just a single beer they’ve been making since the 80s. In the past few years, they’ve taken a run at the IPA with Rebel, and it instantly became one of the biggest launches in craft beer history. They followed that with a spread of different IPAs all playing off that success. They’ve recently introduce a series of Nitro beers that are sure to get the word nitro on the minds of consumers in a big way for the first time since Guinness. Boston Beer is also the owner of Angry Orchard, a cider company they started from scratch, and now own about 60% of the cider market in just three years, now over a million barrels and growing. Even before that, they launched Twisted Tea, a brand that sells 640,000 barrels’ worth of booze, that’s nearly the volume of Lagunitas, and it’s still growing by double digits. Through their Coney Island Brand, part of their Alchemy & Science wing, they entered the FMB space with a line of hard sodas. They’ve also recently launched a line of alcoholic sparkling waters, called Truly. All this to say, it’d be foolish to talk about Boston Beer as Sam Adams anymore. Boston Beer is a mature, well-diversified company that’s placing big bets on the next thing in alcohol that it feels it has the opportunity and expertise to pursue. Through that lens, they’re not the slow-moving, classic craft beer that we should all take pity on as it slowly loses share. Rather, they’re one of the leading companies in the US when it comes to new alcoholic beverage entries. And by that account, they’re killing it. Now, that might take some of the sheen off an idol for you — especially if you were holding up Jim Koch as some sort of purist in craft beer. Although I think he’s also that. But the larger view of Jim Koch should certainly take an honest look at the things this guy and his company, of which he still holds all the controlling shares, puts in to the world on a regular basis. So yes, when it comes to something like Boston Lager, this guy is as pure as they come. And when it comes to new opportunities, new ventures, new ideas — this guy is as cunning as it gets. And you don’t really have to worry about reconciling all that, of course, because Jim Koch is nothing is not indifferent to other people’s opinions. And I kind of love him for it.

I was in North Carolina for a quick minute helping launch a start-up, and I had about a 2-hour window on my last night in Raleigh to record a podcast episode with one of the city’s best known breweries — Trophy. I visited both their locations — known as little Trophy and big Trophy — and we really hit it off. From as far away as Chicago, I could tell Trophy had something special. Sometimes you can just see it. And my first visit didn’t disappoint. Clean, well-fermented beers with character. A great vibe in the pub. And their early, hard-earned success off the back of a 3bbl system is about to get some relief with a new production facility on the other side of the city. So later that night the boys came by the hotel to record. It was the end of a long day of working and drinking, so this one’s a bit on-the-fly, but it’s such a great conversation with two of the most charming people you’ll ever meet.

For anyone who’s been saying attention to the role of craft beer over the past decade or more, you’ve seen the impact of these small breweries they’ve grown. They’ve become economic drivers and political forces. They’ve broadened the palates of the populace and taken it’s roar seat at the broader culinary table. And they’ve turned our attention to the ingredients of craft beer — hops, grains, yeast, even water, with a sense of appreciation for their qualities and origins. Troubadour is attempting to create a niche for craft malts, malts with character, processes that add variability and uniqueness, and supporting farmers in a way that spin up that virtuous cycle, which is critical to longevity and viability for a niche business. And it’s starting to work. Brewers are highlighting and brewing toward his malt characters. They’re telling customers about the malt in their beer with the same intrigue they once shared over hops. And some larger malsters are making their way in to the market to produce more characterful base malts. Grain is about to have an ah-ha moment. Or at least a little tilt of the head that indicates the market is curious. We’ll see.

I’ve spent the last three days working with the New Belgium crew on some cool ideas — and one of the best parts of the strategic work I do with breweries is that I get some serious QT with great people behind some of the country’s most important beers. There’s some things that just sort of emerge on day three after spending every minute of the day together, that you’d never get to in a short brewery visit. We’re all people after all, and it takes awhile to get beyond all the shop talk and the actual work you’re trying to get done, before you can start to relax and share stories that have no real purpose beyond just being funny, or personal, or killing time. And these are the stories of which I’m so often most appreciative. So by day three, I had a chance to get Lauren Salazar to sit down for an interview. By day three, she was finally free for an hour between blending, sensory, operational meetings, education, and some of the strategic work we were doing ourselves — so we set up the mics in the Armstrong hotel in downtown Fort Collins, Colorado and dug in. Lauren is one of the reluctant pioneers of sour and wood-aged beer in America. It’s not a role she ever specifically sought out, but after 18 years in the cellar working alongside Eric Salazar and Peter Bouckaert, she’s emerged as one of the most progressive and artful blenders in the country. Younger drinkers today might take beers like La Folie for granted — it’s everywhere now, and available in some markets year-round. But that’s actually astonishing. And her work at New Belgium has directly influenced many of the newer sour beer producers in the US. And she’s still working on new projects that lead the way.

Recently I was lucky enough to be in Columbus, Ohio for a night, a place where one of my best storytellers, Kyle Kastranec, calls home. He’s the guy who’s been writing that 3-part novel about the Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus brewing scenes over the past couple years. They’ve been some incredible moment-in-time documentaries showing how the beer industry in Ohio is returning to its glory days, but also innovating and venturing into new territory all its own. And now that he’s got those three seminal pieces under his belt, he’s on to some deep dives around the country. One of the breweries he profiled some time ago was Hoof Hearted, based in Marengo, Northwest a bit from Columbus in the middle of nowhere really. At the time of his story, this crew was brewing in a barn on some property they got for free. And now, by some miracle, they’ve opened up a Danish-inspired art gallery of a brewpub in an up and coming, very hip neighborhood of Columbus proper. I was excited to make my first visit, and I couldn’t have been more impressed but he vision for the brewpub, created in partnership with a city restaurant group. Awhile back, you may recall that Stone Brewing was considering Columbus as their second home, which would have put them in the same town as the BrewDog American production brewery. Monte eventually chose the East Coast instead, but while they were still up in the air, a developer in Columbus was helping create a complex of sorts that would call Stone Brewing home, alongside restaurants, and even another start-up brewery (which Stone actually requested, according to our guest today). After this plans fell through, the developer still liked the idea of bringing in that start-up brewery, and so Hoof Hearted was presented with an opportunity few others will ever see — a chance to make a step change into a completely new level of the brewing business. Now they brew in both locations, and still can and release beers at a barn in Marengo. So how did one of its co-founders keep his head on straight though all that? I’m not exactly sure he did, but it was fun to talk about either way. He’s another one of those guys just trying to hold on.

Distribution of craft beer, or any beer for that matter, in Chicago, has always been a divisive topic. We’ve famously been called a “whores market” for the entrenched pay-to-play ethos of Chicago. We’ve seen big names like Dogfish Head, Three Floyds and other change distributors, joining the Miller Cluster when it was time to go big, leaving behind the smaller outfit that built them up, even as other upstarts languish with lack-luster distribution due to the state’s franchise laws. And on top o all that, we’re one of the few markets that has a craft specialty distributor called Windy City Distributing. We spoke with their director of Business Development, Wes Philips, on a previous episode. But in the past few years, since being sold away from the founders of Two Brothers Brewing, and into the Reyes group, the organization has been growing by leaps and bounds. That growth also tracks with some of their bigger house brands, like Stone and Lagunitas, sweeping across the country and into international markets. All of this growth and success, puts a strain on any organization — and it certainly did with Windy City at times - from maintaining a sizable team, to culture, and ultimately how they might behave in the market. So today, I wanted to talk to Bob collins, the President of Windy City. Not to congratulate them, per se. Although they’ve earned enough praise over the years. But rather, to take advantage of Bob’s experience long before his time at Windy City, at places like Union Beverage and Goose Island, to shed some light on how Chicago’s market got the way it is, and how he trains his team to work against the tide, as much as with it at times. It’s not every day you get the president of a distribution company to sit down with the mics on. And there’s a big reason for that — distributors have a lot of people to answer to, both in the brewing industry and in legal circles. So as I’ve said before, someone like Bob can’t always answer every question I want them to, or at least not in the way I or you might want them to. But generally speaking, I think Bob did a great job here of shedding light anywhere he could. I certainly learned a ton. And for the rest, you’ll just have to read between the lines along with me.

Last year, Sprudge.com co-founder Jordan Michelman was on-hand to witness our first festival, and this year he came back for more. Spurge is the world’s largest coffee culture website, and Jordan, like many other folks in specialty coffee, see a lot of opportunity in the overlap of other craft cultures, like beer. So this year, in addition to attending the festival and hanging out with us, he wanted to get together and co-host a hangover party at GBH Studio. So we invited anyone who could muster the strength the next morning, or anyone who still hadn’t gotten to sleep with all that beer and espresso in their system. We gave them a little coffee, and some of our favorite beers from the festival, essentially a little hair of the dog, and some biscuits and jam from our friends at Bang Bang Pies, and we turned on the mics. It was a great idea Jordan had that enabled us to capture some of our fresh thoughts after the festival, and dig deeper in to some of the opportunities Uppers & Downers is creating with roasters and brewers in the region. We brought up a variety of the folks like Kickapoo, Ipsento, Whiner Beer Co and 4 Letter Word Coffee, and plenty of out-of-towners still in the audience to share their thoughts as well. We had folks from New York, Indiana, Wisconsin, even Japan in attendance - all people who made the pilgrimage to Uppers & Downers this year. To those crazy people - thank you.