Good Beer Hunting

A panel discussion on the topic of storytelling for breweries, how it evolves as it grows, and how the story of craft and the story of a single brewery can align and diverge.

Breweries have historically united to tell the story of "craft beer" as they work together to build the category and create an educated consumer. But in the past few years, the emphasis has shifted to the uniqueness of the individual journey, and how one brewery differs from another as they both collaborate and compete for the same customers.

A short presentation and panel discussion with GBH's storytellers and representatives from breweries as we discuss the similarities and differences between these approaches — and try to determine what's at stake for the next generation of storytelling in American beer.

Panelists:

Michael Kiser, GBH Founder + Creative Director

Erin Jones, Marketing Director, Burial Beer Co.

Josh Hambright, Central State Brewing, co-founder

Matthew Curtis, GBH storyteller, podcast host

Kyle Kastranec, GBH designer and storyteller

Generously hosted by our friends at Bluejacket.

A panel discussion on the topic of storytelling for breweries, how it evolves as it grows, and how the story of craft and the story of a single brewery can align and diverge.

Breweries have historically united to tell the story of "craft beer" as they work together to build the category and create an educated consumer. But in the past few years, the emphasis has shifted to the uniqueness of the individual journey, and how one brewery differs from another as they both collaborate and compete for the same customers.

A short presentation and panel discussion with GBH's storytellers and representatives from breweries as we discuss the similarities and differences between these approaches — and try to determine what's at stake for the next generation of storytelling in American beer.

Panelists:

Michael Kiser, GBH Founder + Creative Director

Erin Jones, Marketing Director, Burial Beer Co.

Josh Hambright, Central State Brewing, co-founder

Matthew Curtis, GBH storyteller, podcast host

Kyle Kastranec, GBH designer and storyteller

Generously hosted by our friends at Bluejacket.

Today's breweries come in all shapes and sizes. Different tap lineups and business models. Each has a unique ethos and purpose told through individual stories and names. Somewhere amongst all this, there is Free Range Brewing, a business based on the ideas of agriculture and locality situated in one of the largest cities in the United States. Just a couple miles from the literal downtown marker of Charlotte, North Carolina, the almost-two-year-old brewery has found its niche with a constantly changing, eclectic lineup of farmed and foraged beers that includes Saisons with pine and juniper tips, IPA made with a 200-year old sourdough culture, and a rotating collection of Carolina Common—an in-state twist on the California Common. Those kinds of beers may not be wholly unique in a country with more than 5,000 breweries, but they do stake a claim for a special niche in Charlotte, a city often overlooked for its beer because of its proximity to well-known Asheville, just a 90-minute drive away. The story of how brothers Jeff and Jason Alexander decided to get to this point in their personal and professional lives details how powerful the pull of good food and drink can be, especially as a way to bring together family, friends and, ultimately, drinkers. With no professional experience, little training, and on something of a whim, Jason Alexander has transferred a once-budding appreciation for ideas of fresh and local into a tangible business plan. And he's making a kind of beer-based, farmers-market mentality work amongst one of the fastest growing areas of Charlotte.

Today’s breweries come in all shapes and sizes. Different tap lineups and business models. Each has a unique ethos and purpose told through individual stories and names. Somewhere amongst all this, there is Free Range Brewing, a business based on the ideas of agriculture and locality situated in one of the largest cities in the United States. Just a couple miles from the literal downtown marker of Charlotte, North Carolina, the almost two-year old brewery has found its niche with a constantly changing, eclectic lineup of farmed and foraged beers that includes saisons with pine and juniper tips, IPA made with a 200-year old sourdough culture and a rotating collection of Carolina Common - an in-state twist on the California Common. Those kinds of beers may not be wholly unique in a country with more than 5,000 breweries, but they do stake a claim for a special niche in Charlotte, a city often overlooked for its beer because of its proximity to well-known Asheville, just a 90 minute drive away. The story of how brothers Jeff and Jason Alexander decided to get to this point in their personal and professional lives details how powerful the pull of good food and drink can be, especially as a way to bring together family, friends and ultimately drinkers. With no professional experience, little training and on something of a whim, Jason Alexander has transferred a once budding appreciation for ideas of fresh and local into a tangible business plan. And he’s making a kind of beer-based, farmers market mentality work amongst one of the fastest growing areas of Charlotte.

Today’s breweries come in all shapes and sizes. Different tap lineups and business models. Each has a unique ethos and purpose told through individual stories and names. Somewhere amongst all this, there is Free Range Brewing, a business based on the ideas of agriculture and locality situated in one of the largest cities in the United States. Just a couple miles from the literal downtown marker of Charlotte, North Carolina, the almost two-year old brewery has found its niche with a constantly changing, eclectic lineup of farmed and foraged beers that includes saisons with pine and juniper tips, IPA made with a 200-year old sourdough culture and a rotating collection of Carolina Common - an in-state twist on the California Common. Those kinds of beers may not be wholly unique in a country with more than 5,000 breweries, but they do stake a claim for a special niche in Charlotte, a city often overlooked for its beer because of its proximity to well-known Asheville, just a 90 minute drive away. The story of how brothers Jeff and Jason Alexander decided to get to this point in their personal and professional lives details how powerful the pull of good food and drink can be, especially as a way to bring together family, friends and ultimately drinkers. With no professional experience, little training and on something of a whim, Jason Alexander has transferred a once budding appreciation for ideas of fresh and local into a tangible business plan. And he’s making a kind of beer-based, farmers market mentality work amongst one of the fastest growing areas of Charlotte.

The three-tier system is something that's continuously up for debate in our country, surfing on arguments about who it serves poorly and who it services well, who it protects us from and who it favors. It's a complicated value chain mandated by the federal government to exist, but also regulated by states, and increasingly getting sliced up into more unique and critical ways of bringing your favorite breweries to market. One part of that value chain that's been quietly evolving is the role of the importer. They work between the brewer and distributor, and traditionally bring you beers from oversees from places like Belgium, the UK, and Germany. You may have heard our interviews from Shelton Fest two years ago when we interviewed two of their operators to demystify this part of the business, and shine a light on the value that importers bring even when they're working with domestic instead of foreign breweries. For its part, Shelton Brothers just announced their next festival will be in Atlanta on August 18-19. Then there's the domestic side of the import business, sometimes even called a domestic importer. It's really a convoluted way of describing an importer who moves products domestically through their existing infrastructure, state-to-state instead of country-to-county. As more and more small local breweries are finding ways to grow sustainably and gain access to market when the shelves are tight and tap handles are scarce, the role of the domestic importer is helping some of these niche breweries find niche audiences wherever they might be. Today's guests are excited to talk about a very unique scenario in this vein. Artisanal Imports, known for importing brands like Sunner Kolsch, St Feuillen, and De Proef, are now partnering with U.S. brands. They've been working in U.S. cider for some time now with Farnhum Hill and EZ Orchards, which are among the best in the world. But niche, hyperlocal breweries is a new step towards diversifying their business and finding new territory to explore. In Chicago, they've partnered with Dovetail and Whiner Beer, two newcomers with unique portfolios. Today we're going to hear about what's behind that move, and why it might be a new model for small brands going forward. It's a full room on this one, so I do my best to keep it all straight. We've got Hagen Dost and Bill Wesselink from Dovetail Brewery, Brian Taylor of Whiner Beer Company, and Lanny Hoff of Artisanal Imports. Listen in.

The three tier system is something that’s continuously up for debate in our country - surfing on arguments about who it serves poorly and who it services well, who it protects us from and who it favors. It’s a complicated value chain mandated by the federal government to exist, but also regulated by the state, and increasingly getting sliced up into more unique and critical ways of bringing your favorite brewery stop market. One part of that value chain that’s been quietly evolving is the role of the importer. They work between the brewer and distributor, and traditionally bring you beers from oversees from places like Belgium, the UK, and Germany. You many have heard our interviews from Shelton Fest two years ago when we interviewed two of their operators to demystify this part of the business, and shine a light on the value that importers bring even when they’re working with domestic instead of foreign breweries. For it’s part, Shelton Brothers just announced their next festival will be in Atlanta this August 18th and 19th. The domestic side of the import business, somethings even called a domestic importer, which is really a convoluted way of describing an importer who moves products domestically through their existing infrastructure, state to state instead of country to county. As more and more small local breweries are finding ways to grow sustainably and gain access to market when the shelves are tight and tap handles are scarce, the role of the domestic importer is helping some of these niche breweries find niche audiences wherever they might be. Today’s guests are excited to talk about a very unique scenario in this vein. Artisans Imports, known for importing brands like Sunner Kolsch, St Feuillen, and De Proef, are now partnering with US brands. They’ve been working in US cider for some time now with Farnhum Hill and EZ Orchards, which are among the best in the world. But niche, hyperlocal breweries is a new step towards diversifying their business and finding new territory to explore. In Chicago, they’ve partnered with Dovetail and Whiner Beer, two newcomers with unique portfolios. Today we’re going to hear about what’s behind that move, and why it might be a new model for small brands going forward.

The three tier system is something that’s continuously up for debate in our country - surfing on arguments about who it serves poorly and who it services well, who it protects us from and who it favors. It’s a complicated value chain mandated by the federal government to exist, but also regulated by the state, and increasingly getting sliced up into more unique and critical ways of bringing your favorite brewery stop market. One part of that value chain that’s been quietly evolving is the role of the importer. They work between the brewer and distributor, and traditionally bring you beers from oversees from places like Belgium, the UK, and Germany. You many have heard our interviews from Shelton Fest two years ago when we interviewed two of their operators to demystify this part of the business, and shine a light on the value that importers bring even when they’re working with domestic instead of foreign breweries. For it’s part, Shelton Brothers just announced their next festival will be in Atlanta this August 18th and 19th. The domestic side of the import business, somethings even called a domestic importer, which is really a convoluted way of describing an importer who moves products domestically through their existing infrastructure, state to state instead of country to county. As more and more small local breweries are finding ways to grow sustainably and gain access to market when the shelves are tight and tap handles are scarce, the role of the domestic importer is helping some of these niche breweries find niche audiences wherever they might be. Today’s guests are excited to talk about a very unique scenario in this vein. Artisans Imports, known for importing brands like Sunner Kolsch, St Feuillen, and De Proef, are now partnering with US brands. They’ve been working in US cider for some time now with Farnhum Hill and EZ Orchards, which are among the best in the world. But niche, hyperlocal breweries is a new step towards diversifying their business and finding new territory to explore. In Chicago, they’ve partnered with Dovetail and Whiner Beer, two newcomers with unique portfolios. Today we’re going to hear about what’s behind that move, and why it might be a new model for small brands going forward.

Despite what some politicians may rally against, there is plenty of value of what a globalized society can bring. The different perspectives and experiences that flow from one border to the next has created a connectivity that enhance ideas the world over. It may come as no surprise, that also lends itself to how people from different countries use hops and malt, too. On assignment for GBH, I traveled in February to Reykjavik, Iceland with the goal of learning more about what that country's beer scene is and what it offers drinkers a world apart from my bubble stateside. It's easy to get caught up in an almost orthodox point of view of the global beer industry, where the Old World - countries like England, Belgium or Germany - and the New World - the United States - are the areas we most believe are worth our attention. But the flip side of that is the influence and cultural cache these places have, and how they're helping to shape the way others think about and make beer. At KEX Hostel in downtown Reykjavik, I met with Hinrik Carl Ellertsson and Steinn Stefansson to talk about their small-time gypsy brewing operation and popular interests in the Iceland beer scene, which, no surprise, seem to be trending toward the hoppy side of things as Scandinavians look to the U.S. for inspiration. With visitors from around the world coming to Iceland for an annual beer festival, we found a spot in the shared space of the hostel where Hinrik and Steinn described what it's like to work in a young industry seeking inspiration from today's biggest names in beer. Some that will sound awfully familiar to American beer lovers.

Despite what some politicians may rally against, there is plenty of value of what a globalized society can bring. The different perspectives and experiences that flow from one border to the next has created a connectivity that enhance ideas the world over. It may come as no surprise, that also lends itself to how people from different countries use hops and malt, too. On assignment for GBH, I traveled in February to Reykjavik, Iceland with the goal of learning more about what that country’s beer scene is and what it offers drinkers a world apart from my bubble stateside. It’s easy to get caught up in an almost orthodox point of view of the global beer industry, where the Old World - countries like England, Belgium or Germany - and the New World - the United States - are the areas we most believe are worth our attention. But the flip side of that is the influence and cultural cache these places have, and how they’re helping to shape the way others think about and make beer. At KEX Hostel in downtown Reykjavik, I met with Hinrik Carl Ellertsson and Steinn Stefansson to talk about their small-time gypsy brewing operation and popular interests in the Iceland beer scene, which, no surprise, seem to be trending toward the hoppy side of things as Scandinavians look to the U.S. for inspiration. With visitors from around the world coming to Iceland for an annual beer festival, we found a spot in the shared space of the hostel where Hinrik and Steinn described what it’s like to work in a young industry seeking inspiration from today’s biggest names in beer. Some that will sound awfully familiar to American beer lovers.