Fractal Brewing Project opened in 2019 and closed in 2023 in Huntsville, Alabama.

Maybe it isn't a song as old as time but the story is one we hear alot. There's this money guy who loves beer, befriends a brewer and gives that brewer a percentage of his new brewery.

The money guy overbuilds his vanity project and creates a truly beautiful space with all the toys, the bells and even some whistles. But without the proper guards in place, the business itself flies off the rails and hurtles towards disaster after only a few years.

Our interview with Bradley "Robo" Robison covers a lot of ground. From the struggles of craft beer in Huntsville specifically and Alabama overall to how to parry a punch from one of your bartenders.

So sit back, listen in and take wat you can from the story of Robo and the Fractal Brewing Project.

Beer Guys Radio with Robo on YouTube⁠

Fractal Brewing Project Facebook⁠⁠

Fractal Brewing Project Instagram⁠⁠

Reddit about Fractal Brewing Project Closing⁠⁠

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Steven Henderson is a craft beer rockstar. He goes by the moniker Hendo and he’s one of the best-known personalities in the Australian craft beer industry. Well-loved and well-respected. And, from what I can tell, well-deserved.

He started a contract, or gypsy, brewing brewery called Brewcult. He pushed the boundaries of what people in Australia considered craft beer. He won awards for great beer, expanded distribution and travelled the country living the life of a National beer celebrity. 

And then the whole thing came crashing down, leaving a spectacular hole in the Australian craft beer scene. And, of course, a rough patch in Hendo’s personal life. 

But this story ends with a win as we’ll hear in the 5th segment. Hendo has gone back to why he loved the industry in the first place. Selling beer was never his passion, it was making the best beer he could. As Australia’s rockstar brewer, it was only fitting that he would start the Rockstar Brewer Academy. Like me, he’s focused on making the industry better. Unlike me he’s focused on doing it by mentoring and coaching brewers all over the world to make better beer. 

And now, here’s the emotional, inspiring story of Steve, “Hendo” Henderson” and Australia’s late BrewCult Brewing Company. 

Reach out to Hendo

RockStar Brewer YouTube

⁠BrewCult Facebook⁠

BrewCult Instagram⁠

BrewCult Twitter⁠

⁠Story about BrewCult Closing⁠

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⁠Where to get my book⁠

Hey guys, today I have a story for you that’s very special to me. Lost Abbey is a brewery out of San Diego that needs no introduction. Tomme and the team over there have inspired breweries all over the world to push beyond the ordinary and intentionally create new and exciting beers of circumstance. They were a fundamental part of what created my perception of the expectations I wanted my brewery to live up to and I know I’m not alone in that. 

We’ve talked repeatedly on this show about how specialization is dead. Niches get stitches as I’ve started saying. 14% abv beers aged in multiple barrels for multiple years, obscure, even historical styles and yes, even mixed culture sour beers have been shrinking in popularity and, subsequently, profitability. 

The Lost Abbey was one of the pioneers in the American speciality brewery category. So when I heard that they reduced their square footage, equipment and staff I knew that it was a story I needed to dig into and share with y’all. 

Tomme was nice enough to sit with me for two hours, answer my probing questions and share what he’d found out the hard way. There is backstory, pain, business lessons, hope for the future and of course, insights into How NOT To Start A Damn Brewery. 

Reach out to Tomme at [email protected]

Lost Abbey Website

Lost Abbey Facebook

Lost Abbey Instagram

Lost Abbey Twitter

Story about their growing down

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Where to get my book

My wife and I finally sold our brewery on Sept 3, 2021.

My book and this podcast give deep insights into what happened and why.

But I recorded this video available on Spotify and YouTude at DamnBrewery to explain exactly why we sold the damn thing.

If you stab Michael Amann, he’ll bleed craft beer. He started in this industry as a fan, landed an entry level distribution job, worked his way to sales and then decided to open a brewery. 

Maybe lucky for him that didn’t work out but instead, he went where most brewery owners think all the money in the craft beer industry is hiding. The middle tier. He opened Adena Distributing and set about being the grease that lubed the route from a brewery’s fermenter to the customer’s face. 

Adena distributing was the rare distributor that loved the beer, the brewers and the events that promote it. Of course, Michael is telling his story on this show because profitability seems to pass the middle tier by as much as the supplier tier. 

And that is the story he’s here to tell. 

Reach out to Michael at [email protected]

Adena Website

Adena Facebook

Adena Instagram

Adena Twitter

Story about their closing

Episode Sponsored by:

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Brewery Direct

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Made To Measure Communications

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Where to get my book

James Moriarty and the tale of his brewery should be a cautionary one. So many breweries start up with operators that know far less than James did. 

He brewed in multiple facilities for over a decade, went to the Siebel Institute, worked as an engineer assembling and starting up breweries and only then did he leverage that experience to open Urban Brew Labs in Chicago. 

But even that resume wasn’t enough to take his brewery into profitability. 

But James wouldn’t go down without a fight. He pivoted, struggled, brewed, raised money and restructured. Like all of us, he wanted his dream to succeed. 

But even closing his dream in August of 2022 didn’t deter James from a career helping others open their breweries. In some ways it strengthened his understanding of how the business of craft beer works. And doesn’t. Now he, like all of my guests, knows how NOT to start a Damn Brewery. 

And now here’s the story of James Moriarty and Chicago’s late Urban Brew Labs. 

Reach out to James at [email protected]
Urban Brew Labs Website

Urban Brew Labs Facebook

Urban Brew Labs Instagram

Urban Brew Labs Twitter

Story about their closing

Episode Sponsored by:

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Where to get my book

Judd Belstock and his co-founder, Sam Alcaine, started the first chicha and pulque brewery in the US.

They built a beautiful brewery in the heart of one of the beer-y-est cities in America - Denver. The market was large, the customers curious and everywhere you looked, the future for craft beer in 2018 looked as bright as a Rocky Mountain sunrise.

And for a few years, Dos Luces did grow. They expanded their product lines, their distribution and their fanbase. But like the story of many of the breweries I interview and, really, even the ones that pretend otherwise, it wasn't enough to consistently hit profitability.

As you'll hear, specializing in unique and esoteric products brings unique and esoteric challenges with it. After years of standing tall, fighting for market share and struggling to fight off the slings and arrows of the outrageous craft beer business, Judd finally realized it all just wasn't worth it.

Here is the story of the rise and unfortunate fall of Denver's Dos Luces Brewery.

Dos Luces Website

Dos Luces Facebook

Dos Luces Instagram

Dos Luces Twitter

Story about their closing

Episode Sponsored by:

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Where to get my book

Today I’m bringing you something different. This is the story Ted Mack and his brewery, Peoples Beer in Wisconsin. 

Mr. Mack passed away in 2019 so I’m interviewing Clint Lanier, whose new book, Ted Mack And America’s First Black Owned Brewery hit the market a few months ago. 

This is a fascinating story of guts and activism that has inspired generations of modern brewers to pick up their mash paddles and make their mark on beer history. As the first brewery in America that was 100% black owned, it stood for something more than just a simple business, it was activism through capitalism.

Peoples was only open a few years before Mr. Mack watched the walls literally come down. He fought racism, corruption, illegal and unfair competition and the US government before it was all over. 

The brewery closed in 1972 and the similarities to what the team at Peoples faced to today surprised the Hell out of me. 

Clint did a ton of research to get the book right and I thought he did a great job, spending years on this project. He started writing it in…..actually I’ll let him tell it. 

Buy Clint's book

Learn About William's brewery in Atlanta

Check out where Peoples Beer is made today

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Where to get my book

Jason Santamaria  and his partner Chris Doyle started a brewery in Atlanta back in 2014. 

They called it Second Self and they ran it that way. The brewery was a creative expression of the flavors and experiences that shaped their lives. 

What you’ll hear is how as the market grew and evolved, so did Second Self. Pivoting to find new puddles of profitability, struggling against changing consumer preferences and finally ending up as a primarily contract facility. 

I sat down with Jason a week or so before he and Chris closed their doors to hear the whole story. Jason shares how they were inspired to start their brewery, what it was like to build it into a thriving business and the emotions he has presiding over it’s dismantlement. 

This is the story of the late Second Self Beer Company in Atlanta, Georgia. Much love to the co-founder, Jason Santamaria for sharing it and teaching us How NOT To Start A Damn Brewery. 

Second Self Beer Company's website
Second Self Beer Company's Facebook Page

Second Self Beer Company's Instagram

News Story About Their Closing

Cirrus CBD Water

Episode Sponsored by:

Brewery Direct

Simpson Motorcycle Helmets

BrewBids

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(use DAMNBREWERY at checkout for 10% off)

Where to get my book

Today my article on How To Save Your Brewery gets published over at Brewbound.

I reached out to industry positivity guy Aaron Gore to debate my opinions and conclusions.

Aaron is the business development manager at Bevana, a unique business in the craft beer space. And one I think might be the smartest partner for the coming years.

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