Good Beer Hunting

You’ll sometimes hear people describe craft beer as a sort of zeitgeist all its own, coming out of nowhere to upend a century old domination of the big corporate brewers, rising like punk rock to legendary status by following its own rules, and changing peoples expectations for what beer can be.

And a lot of that’s true. But, it didn’t happen in a vacuum. Way back in episode 18 with Gary Fish of Deschutes based in Bend, Or, you’ll hear a much more contextual perspective. That is, that craft beer, at least in its current form, is part of something much bigger that’s changing about the way we eat and drink. The slow food movement that has transformed so many of the world’s dining experiences form city to city, bringing things like farm to table into our common vernacular. Phrases like know your farmer, which sounds a lot like know your brewer. And localvore, which sounds a lot like drink local. All these things were setting a stage that craft beer now dances on. It just happens to be a part in the play where beer is stealing the show a bit.

And that brings us to today’s guest, Rick Muschiana. I first met Rick when he was working at Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. Back in episode 10 we talked to founders Jason and Kristen Spaulding about their unique community and sustainability focused brewpub. Rick helped them grow that operation, playing a role in marketing, sales, and operations.

He then went on to lead Michigan sales for Virtue Cider in Fenville, Michigan.

And then he took the plunge into his own concept, focused on a sort of Nordic those of cuisine alongside great beer, wine and more in a restaurant and garden concept called Sovengard in Grand Rapids.

And in Sovengaard, you’ll find the culmination of Rick’s former professional experiences, but also something more fundamental - and that is the influence his parents had on his perspective on food, beverage, and hospitality. They remain an influence to this day.

The result is a place in Grand Rapids unlike any other.

You’ll sometimes hear people describe craft beer as a sort of zeitgeist all its own, coming out of nowhere to upend a century old domination of the big corporate brewers, rising like punk rock to legendary status by following its own rules, and changing peoples expectations for what beer can be.

And a lot of that’s true. But, it didn’t happen in a vacuum. Way back in episode 18 with Gary Fish of Deschutes based in Bend, Or, you’ll hear a much more contextual perspective. That is, that craft beer, at least in its current form, is part of something much bigger that’s changing about the way we eat and drink. The slow food movement that has transformed so many of the world’s dining experiences form city to city, bringing things like farm to table into our common vernacular. Phrases like know your farmer, which sounds a lot like know your brewer. And localvore, which sounds a lot like drink local. All these things were setting a stage that craft beer now dances on. It just happens to be a part in the play where beer is stealing the show a bit.

And that brings us to today’s guest, Rick Muschiana. I first met Rick when he was working at Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. Back in episode 10 we talked to founders Jason and Kristen Spaulding about their unique community and sustainability focused brewpub. Rick helped them grow that operation, playing a role in marketing, sales, and operations.

He then went on to lead Michigan sales for Virtue Cider in Fenville, Michigan.

And then he took the plunge into his own concept, focused on a sort of Nordic those of cuisine alongside great beer, wine and more in a restaurant and garden concept called Sovengard in Grand Rapids.

And in Sovengaard, you’ll find the culmination of Rick’s former professional experiences, but also something more fundamental - and that is the influence his parents had on his perspective on food, beverage, and hospitality. They remain an influence to this day.

The result is a place in Grand Rapids unlike any other.

Our resident composer for the podcast and our commercial video work, Andrew Thiboldeaux, is writing original scores devoted to beers he finds fascinating. These are interpretations of the experience of drinking them. But they're also just great tunes.

Our resident composer for the podcast and our commercial video work, Andrew Thiboldeaux, is writing original scores devoted to beers he finds fascinating. These are interpretations of the experience of drinking them. But they're also just great tunes.

Our resident composer for the podcast and our commercial video work, Andrew Thiboldeaux, is writing original scores devoted to beers he finds fascinating. These are interpretations of the experience of drinking them. But they're also just great tunes.

As much as we talk about the acquisitions of craft brands, it's not often we get to hear directly from the people involved, and how they think about and manage these acquisitions. How do breweries transition to their new realities? How do they get integrated into a portfolio? How do they enable growth, but also look to safety, quality, and sales with a critical eye? It's a lot to handle, and a lot of big questions remain. For AB InBev's High End, things seem to move really, really fast. For MillerCoors and its Tenth & Blake team, which is in charge of its craft acquisitions and imports, things seem to move much, much slower. Leinenkugels, for example, was a craft acquisition back in the 1980s, and they're still working patiently by comparison to most. Terrapin is another, still operating mostly regionally despite having partial MillerCoors ownership since 2012 (more recently, they took the majority). Compare that to the now-international presence of a brand like Goose Island under ABI's ownership, and the national move being made by specific beers like Elysian Space Dust and others, and you start to see a very different strategy at play between these two corporate brewers. But what is that difference, and what's it inspired by? Today we're going to talk to Pete Marino, who's taking on a new leadership position at Tenth & Blake and we're going to try to explore this very subjective question. Also in the room will be Lisa Zimmer, a guest you might remember from way back in episode 79 when she was working in the Tenth & Blake group. She's since move up to MillerCoors proper, but her perspective on the legacy of Tenth & Blake combined with Pete's more recent point of view is productive.

As much as we talk about the acquisitions of craft brands, it’s not often we get to hear directly from the people involved how they think about and manage these acquisitions.

How do breweries transition to their new realities? How do they get integrated into a portfolio? How do they enable growth, but also look to safety, quality, and sales with a critical eye?

It’s a lot to handle, and a lot of big questions remain.

For AB Inbev's High End, things seem to move really, really fast. For MillerCoors and its Tenth & Blake team, which is in charge of its craft acquisitions and imports, things seem to move much, much slower. Leinenkugels, for example, was a craft acquisition back in the 80s, and they’re still working patiently by comparison to most. Terrapin is another still operating mostly regionally despite having partial MillerCoors ownership since 2012 and recently took a majority.

Compare that to the now international presence of a brand like Goose Island under AB Inbev’s ownership, and the national move being made by specific beers like Elysian Space Dust and others, and you start to see a very different strategy at play between these two corporate brewers. But what is that difference and what’s it inspired by?

Today we’re going to talk to Pete Marino, who’s taking on a new leadership position at Tenth & Blake and we’re going to try to explore this very subjective question.

Also in the room will be Lisa Zimmer, a guest you might remember from way back in episode 79 when she was working in the Tenth & Blake group. She’s since move up to MillerCoors proper, but her perspective on the legacy of Tenth & Blake combined with Pete’s more recent point of view is productive.

As much as we talk about the acquisitions of craft brands, it’s not often we get to hear directly from the people involved how they think about and manage these acquisitions.

How do breweries transition to their new realities? How do they get integrated into a portfolio? How do they enable growth, but also look to safety, quality, and sales with a critical eye?

It’s a lot to handle, and a lot of big questions remain.

For AB Inbev's High End, things seem to move really, really fast. For MillerCoors and its Tenth & Blake team, which is in charge of its craft acquisitions and imports, things seem to move much, much slower. Leinenkugels, for example, was a craft acquisition back in the 80s, and they’re still working patiently by comparison to most. Terrapin is another still operating mostly regionally despite having partial MillerCoors ownership since 2012 and recently took a majority.

Compare that to the now international presence of a brand like Goose Island under AB Inbev’s ownership, and the national move being made by specific beers like Elysian Space Dust and others, and you start to see a very different strategy at play between these two corporate brewers. But what is that difference and what’s it inspired by?

Today we’re going to talk to Pete Marino, who’s taking on a new leadership position at Tenth & Blake and we’re going to try to explore this very subjective question.

Also in the room will be Lisa Zimmer, a guest you might remember from way back in episode 79 when she was working in the Tenth & Blake group. She’s since move up to MillerCoors proper, but her perspective on the legacy of Tenth & Blake combined with Pete’s more recent point of view is productive.

There are so many paths people take to follow their passion, often surrounded by the support of friends and family. No matter what excites us enough to go pro for the thing that we love, there's still a shared experience in the fact that entrepreneurship is intimate. It's not uncommon to find partners in business to also be partners in life. Friends, spouses, parents, and siblings are all taking risks—every day and together—to create something they deeply care about. From a surprisingly early age, Chris and John Trogner assumed this would be their lot in life. A duo served well by their love of brainstorming and invention, teamwork between this pair has led to youthful mischief (a homemade cannon), practicality (a skateboard ramp), and what they're now best known for—beer. This summer marked 20 years in business for Troegs Brewing Company, now one of the 50 largest breweries in the United States. Behind a quickly growing production limit and expanding staff are these two brothers, overseeing an evolving company that is adapting to the industry through new additions at their Hershey, Pennsylvania headquarters and their lineup of beers, which offer new experiences and inspiration through their beloved Scratch series of experimental batches. Stories of how people came to start a business in beer are plentiful, each with their unique anecdotes and nuance. Sitting down this summer with the founders of Troegs provided an opportunity to not only talk shop, but learn more about the personal and familial ties that have helped them become so successful. Behind all the company has accomplished, it's still about two brothers who care deeply about beer and the people who help them share it with the world.

There are so many paths people take to follow their passion, often surrounded by the support of friends and family. No matter what excites us enough to go pro for the thing that we love, there's still a shared experience in the fact that entrepreneurship is intimate.

It's not uncommon to find partners in business to also be partners in life. Friends, spouses, parents, and siblings are all taking risks - every day and together - to create something they deeply care about.

From a surprisingly early age, Chris and John Trogner assumed this would be their lot in life. A duo served well by their love of brainstorming and invention, teamwork between this pair has led to youthful mischief (a homemade cannon), practicality (a skateboard ramp), and what they're now best known for - beer.

This summer marked 20 years in business for Troegs Brewing Company, now one of the 50 largest breweries in the United States. Behind a quickly growing production limit and expanding staff are these two brothers, overseeing an evolving company that is adapting to the industry through new additions at their Hershey, Pennsylvania headquarters and their lineup of beers, which offer new experiences and inspiration through their beloved Scratch series of experimental batches.

Stories of how people came to start a business in beer are plentiful, each with their unique anecdotes and nuance. Sitting down this summer with the founders of Troegs provided an opportunity to not only talk shop, but learn more about the personal and familial ties that have helped them become so successful. Behind all the company has accomplished, it’s still about two brothers who care deeply about beer and the people who help them share it with the world.