Rachel Rappa didn’t make beer. She imagined into life what grew into a large-scale kombucha brewery on Long Island in New York. 

But the similarities between what she experienced growing her fermented sweet tea business to the craft beer industry are startling. She dealt with distributors, retailers, employees, seasonality, limited access to growth capital and packaging issues, just like we do. 

She started as an artistic homebrewer and ended up owning 20BBL tanks and brewing primarily core styles. That could be the origin story for 80% of the craft breweries in America. 

As you’ll hear, I really wanted to ask her about the advantages of Direct To Consumer sales, which turned out not to be the savior so many craft brewers think it is. 

What really struck me about Rachel’s story was her journey to personal redemption. In the 3rd segment we really dive into why she finally closed her dream and why she’s now experiencing a depth of happiness deeper than she’s ever known. Her advice earned from her experience should inspire everyone everywhere to linger a little longer in front of the mirror today.

So sit back, listen in and let Rachel Rappa and the story of New York’s Coastal Craft Kombucha teach you how NOT to start a Damn brewery. 

⁠Coastal Craft Kombucha website⁠⁠⁠

⁠Coastal Craft Kombucha Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Coastal Craft Kombucha Closing Announcement⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠

When Dennis Espinosa partnered with his mom to open Main and 6 in Jacksonville Florida he had the highest of hopes. 

In 2017, like pretty much everyone in craft beer, he only saw victory ahead. 

Most people would agree that he was set up for success. He started with award-winning beers, bought the building and hired an designer to make it special. He won more awards for his beer, actually a ton of them from 2019/2020. 

In the brewery’s 5th year, he won the coveted GABF Brewery of the Year. And was closed down less than 10 months later. 

There are a lot of reasons for why his brewery died. Some we’ve heard before but some will surprise you. So listen in as we share the story of Dennis Espinosa and Jacksonville’s Main and 6 Brewing Company so we can learn How NOT To Start a Damn Brewery.

Main & 6 Brewing website⁠⁠

Main & 6 Brewing Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Main & 6 Brewing Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Main & 6 Brewing X⁠⁠

⁠Main & 6 Brewing Closing Announcement⁠⁠⁠⁠

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Simpson Motorcycle Helmets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠

In 2023, the Australian Beer market was shocked by the announcement that a beloved brewery that had been awarded close to 40 medals for their beer was shutting down. 

After 9 years blazing the path of Australia’s craft beer scene, Exit Brewing was planning to exit the brewing industry. 

Around 2010, Grum & Frase had been inspired to start a brewery after spending time in Europe immersed in their beer culture. 4 years later they released their first beer, a saison. As their company grew, they expanded to an off-site taproom, followed by national and then international distribution. 

But, like most of us, they couldn’t seem to find whatever rock profitability was hiding under. They tried rebrands, new beers, new partnerships. Frase left to get a real job. 

I sat down with Grum to find out what happened, what went wrong and what the future of the Australian Craft Beer scene looks like. Hint: Grum exited it. 

So open your minds and ears and listen to the story of Craig "Grum" Knight and Melbourne Australia’s Exit Brewing.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exit Brewing website⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exit Brewing Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exit Brewing Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exit Brewing X⁠

Uitgang Bar website

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exit Brewing Opening Announcement⁠⁠

Exit Brewing Closing Announcement⁠⁠⁠

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Simpson Motorcycle Helmets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠

When Jason and Heather decided to open their brewery in Indiana they, like most of us, decided to do it their way. They looked at what existed and targeted providing their community with something new. 

Jason made beer styles that he respected in traditional ways. That meant lower abv beers with flavor and consistency. The couple decided to specialize in their food offerings and target an underserved demographic in their market. That meant building one of the only vegan breweries I’ve ever heard of. 

While their niche within a niche might be smaller than the one you set out to fill, in a way, every craft brewery does exactly this. They look at what they perceive as the boring and stale market that currently exists and dream up something new and exciting that will attract customers and their credit cards. 

Jason hit all the road blocks head-on and did so very publicly. After fighting against Covid, toxic masculinity and a suboptimal location, he and Heather finally lowered the curtain on Escape Velocity Brewing in the summer of 2023. 

There’s a lot to learn here so open up and listen in. This is the story of Jason Behanna and Lafayette, Indiana’s late Escape Velocity Brewing. 

⁠⁠⁠⁠Escape Velocity Brewing website

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Escape Velocity Brewing Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Escape Velocity Brewing Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Escape Velocity Brewing X⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Escape Velocity Brewing Opening Announcement⁠

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Simpson Motorcycle Helmets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠

When Doug Appeldoorn got the inspiration to open his brewery, he wasn’t just any old home brewer. 

He and co-founder Pietro first started a brewing collective that hosted events to champion creativity, inclusivity and the homebrew community of Toronto, Canada. 

They followed virtually every home brewer’s dream and found a permanent space to create a brewery with the dream of taking their homebrew community with them on their journey to go pro. They hosted events for them, maintained taps for their beer and sponsored their everts. All while trying to grow their own fledging craft beer brand. 

After opening in 2018 it didn’t take long for the financial part of running a brewery to take it’s toll on Doug. While his story and the story or People’s Pint hits some of the same notes we’ve heard already, I can assure you that his is a unique perspective that I’m proud to have the opportunity to share with y’all. 

So please, settle in and enjoy the story of Doug Appeldoorn and Toronto’s People’s Pint Brewing Company.

⁠⁠⁠

People's Pint Brewing Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠People's Pint Brewing Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠People's Pint Brewing X⁠⁠

⁠GTA Brews Homebrew⁠⁠⁠ Club

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Simpson Motorcycle Helmets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠

That may have been the moment that solidified the future of Oregon’s Flat Tail Brewery. 

But the story of success, failure, embezzlement, money laundering and rebirth on the timeline of Dave Marliave’s craft beer career has so much more to teach us. 

So I sat down with Dave to discuss what he’s felt, what he’s learned and how you can protect yourself from thieving partners and monopolistic distributors. 

While the public demise of Flat Tail still swings in the breeze as one of craft beer’s bloodiest white collar true crime cases, the rise of New Spring and Dave’s impressive technical achievements are an inspiring look at how we can all make this industry better. 

And here is the story of Dave Marliave, the late Flat Tail Brewing and the new New Spring Brewing. 

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⁠Flat Tail Brewing Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠

Flat Tail Brewing Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠New School Beer article about the lawsuit⁠⁠⁠⁠

New Spring Brewing Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠New Spring Brewing Instagram⁠⁠

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Simpson Motorcycle Helmets⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠

I think most of you would think that if I gave you 2300 shareholders that would invest 2.2 million dollars in your brewery that you could make it work. 

If I said you could secure another 400 grand from a state loan and 600K the SBA that your 3.2 million dollars would give your brewery a runway to space travel. 

And if I said you could go back in time to when there were only a few hundred US microbreweries you’d think I was crazy. Remember that with inflation, that’s like having 10 million dollars cash and you could still be the 3rd or 4th brewery in your state. 

Well, back in the 90’s, Guy Hagner raised that money and Guy Wagner built that brewery. He opened with a world-class facility, a licensing deal for one of the best pilsners in the world and he closed 7 months later. 

He’s never spoken publicly about the story of Franconia Brewing until now. The is a special interview that draws similarities to the current market and, if you’re paying attention, the business model of craft beer overall. And with that, I’ll get out of the way and let Guy share his story. 

Where Guy's Brewing Now⁠

Franconia's Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Article about Franconia Closing⁠⁠

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Simpson Motorcycle Helmets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠

It’s important to me to dig deep and wide into the US craft beer scene. And while I plan to maintain at least 80% of my content domestically, we can’t solve the problems of the business of craft beer with a US based myopia. 

So I’ve been searching the globe for stories of craft beer closures in other countries. 

That’s how I found myself in Steve Dunkley’s orbit listening to his story and the story of Manchester’s Brewery Nouveaux. 

Steve started small as Hell because in the UK you can open a brewery in your garage. You can bottle by hand and you can deliver your beer on a bike. And, apparently, on public transportation. 

He created a brewery that researched and resurrected historic styles, incubated other breweries and opened an oasis for the weird. 

And if he had it to do all over again, he’d stay in his garage. 

Now, what does it say about the industry when the artistic, creative brewers that bring brains heart and soul to their craft and even they can’t make the business of beer work? Listen to the story of Steve Dunkley and Brewery Nouveaux and you tell me. 

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Simpson Motorcycle Helmets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠

Hedgehog Brewing was founded by Jonathan Harris and his brother Chris in April 2019 just outside of Austin, TX. 

After home brewing voraciously for years they’d honed their recipes, harvested their own yeast and set about making their unique mark on craft beer. They focused on fermenting beers with wild Hill Country yeast with a core of the business in farmhouse beers. They also did well with their IPA

Jonathan echos the sentiment we hear a lot on this show: “Imagining recipes and brewing beer is rewarding, running a brewery fucking sucks.”

Hedgehog pivoted repeatedly over the years. They started as distro-only and then opened a public taproom in 2021. They realized that their nano system couldn’t generate enough revenue so they started contract brewing select parts of their lineup off-site. 

Please enjoy this story of Jonathan’s fight to find profitability at his brewery for 4 years before finally hitting the lights and shutting it down. 

Hedgehog's Kickstarter Campaign

Hedgehog's Twitter (X)⁠

Hedgehog's Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Hedgehog's Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠Craft Beer Austin's article about Hedgehog Closing⁠⁠⁠⁠

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Simpson Motorcycle Helmets⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠

Zach Rabun opened Mockery Brewing in Denver’s ubiquitous RiNO district long before it was cool. Most of you know that it's now become one of the best-known beer destination in the states.

After working at Coors and Denver area brewpubs, he set a concise theme for his brewery: 

First, take a detailed, educated look at traditional beer styles and rules. And then make a Mockery of them. 

This kind of contrarian thinking creates great art and great experiences for the consumer. But, as we hear on this show a lot, niches get stitches and there’s not an obvious pathway to profitability with this model. 

Zach is about to walk us though his craft beer story. Where his inspiration came from and how it felt to finally let his brewery go after fighting for it for years. And he’ll hint at what might be next. 

So plug in, zone out and get ready for the story of Denver’s late Mockery Brewing.

⁠Mockery Brewing Twitter (X)

Mockery Brewing Facebook⁠⁠⁠

⁠Mockery Brewing Instagram⁠⁠⁠

Westwood article about Mockery Brewing Closing⁠⁠⁠

Episode Sponsored by:

⁠⁠⁠Accubrew⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Brewery Direct⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Simpson Motorcycle Helmets⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Made To Measure Communications⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Somnifix⁠⁠⁠

(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

⁠⁠⁠Where to get my Damn Book⁠