The Start A Brewery Podcast

The 007 episode is a break to check in with three industry veterans about their craft beer journeys. Key elements of the discussion include how mission statements & values shine through their existing businesses and, overall, how business plans have or have not played a part in the various breweries they have been with over time. Their experiences showcase the differing approaches to business through the years, down to writing a business plan “for an audience of one”, as Sam puts it.

Mark Youngquist, Owner/Brewer, Dolores River Brewing Co.

Cofounder of Rock Bottom Breweries, the Colorado Brewers Guild, and founder of the Dolores River Brewery, Mark has been actively involved in the brewing industry for over 35 years, and is a ICF certified coach specializing in leadership, business development and entrepreneurship to those looking to explore their passions and dreams.

Mark began brewing in 1987 at BridgePort, founded the Rock Bottom Breweries in 1990, resurrected the Boulder Brewery in 1991, and was a founding member of the Colorado Brewers Guild. He opened the Dolores River Brewery in SW Colorado in 2002 and is a mentor with the BA mentorship program.

Sam Calagione, Brewer/Founder, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery (& affiliated businesses), Boston Beer Co.

Sam Calagione has been focused on brewing beers with culinary ingredients since 1995 when Dogfish Head first opened as the smallest craft brewery in America. Today, Dogfish has grown into a 400+ person company and is one of the most recognized breweries in the country. Dogfish Head is based in Delaware with Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, an off-centered brewpub and distillery, Chesapeake & Maine, a geographically enamored seafood restaurant with a James Beard nominated cocktail program, Dogfish Inn, a harbor-front beverage-themed motel and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, a production brewery and distillery featuring a Tasting Room & Kitchen. Dogfish currently sells beers, spirits, and canned cocktails across the U.S. In July 2019, Dogfish Head proudly merged with the Boston Beer Company. Sam’s innovative style and collaborative spirit has earned him a reputation as one of the industry’s most adventurous entrepreneurs and brewers. Sam has authored four books and was named the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional in 2017. Sam, Mariah, and their family reside in coastal Delaware.

Mitch Steele, Brewmaster & Co-Founder of New Realm Brewing Co.

Mitch is the Brewmaster and Co-Founder of New Realm Brewing Co. in Atlanta, GA. He has been brewing beer professionally for over 34 years, studying brewing science at the University of California Davis and home brewing prior to becoming a professional brewer in 1988. Since 1988 Mitch has managed brewing operations and innovation with four different breweries, including 14 years with Anheuser-Busch followed up by 10 years at Stone Brewing in San Diego county, where he managed all brewing operations as Stone Brewing grew from a 50,000 bbl operation to one of the top 10 largest craft brewers in the country, operating 4 separate breweries in 2 countries. In 2012, Mitch authored the Brewers Publications book IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale and in 2014, the Brewers Association awarded Mitch with the prestigious Russell Scherer Award for innovation in craft brewing. In addition to his duties at New Realm Brewing Co., Mitch currently chairs the Brewers Association Supply Chain Sub-Committee, was just elected to the Brewers Association Board of Directors, and sits on the Board of Directors for the GA Craft Brewers Guild.

About StartABrewery

StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.

Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

This session is an excellent Branding 101, including finding those differentiating elements, how to avoid the hop cones and barley in your logo (unless you grow them), and understanding how this translates to your brand family development on the shelf at retail. Indeed, looking from the retail shelf backward, the group discusses being intentional with your decisions at this stage as your foundation for growth later.

Guests:

Emily Hutto, Founder/CEO of RadCraft: Emily Hutto is an experienced journalist, marketing professional, and public speaker who specializes in the craft beverage supply chain. After years of freelance writing and authoring the book Colorado’s Top Brewers, she founded RadCraft in 2012 to serve the communications needs of maltsters, hop farmers, brewers, and distillers.

Misty Gordon, Founder/Owner of Misty Gordon Creative: Misty Gordon is a Multimedia Graphic Artist and Creative Director specializing in creating strong, visually stimulating design and providing cohesive marketing collateral across multiple platforms. After years of working in the advertising industry in various markets, Misty opened Misty Gordon Creative in 2010 to address the needs of the craft beer industry.

Julie Rhodes, Owner/Educator, Not Your Hobby Marketing: With over two decades of experience on the business side of the craft beverage industry, Julie Rhodes founded Not Your Hobby Marketing Solutions in 2019 to assist small to medium sized beverage producers with their sales, marketing and distribution plans. She’s an educator, strategic business consultant, journalist, and advocate who enjoys analyzing market data just as much as skiing and sci-fi movies.

About StartABrewery

StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.

Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Episode 005 - Your Business Plan: Mission Statement, Perspective, Values & Vision brings together the very different perspectives of a mediator (“ombudsman”), employment law attorney, and diversity educator to discuss the questions “Who are you?” and “What do you collectively as a team and a business represent?” In exploring what mission statements are, why they are important, and how to help others create them, the group gets into the importance of walking your talk for your own team, for your community, and to continue to maintain best practices as an employer of choice.

Guests:

Ren Navarro, Owner/Operator, Beer. Diversity. With nearly a decade of experience in the alcohol industry, a passion for encouraging personal and professional growth, and her trademark wit, Ren is here to educate, enlighten, and engage. Since launching Beer. Diversity. in 2018, Ren has become a known name at breweries, wineries, distilleries, and beyond. She has given talks on diversity and inclusion at several colleges and countless festivals, panels, radio shows, and podcasts throughout North America. In addition to being a diversity educator, she is a craft beer consultant for bars and restaurants in Ontario, Canada, and an educator for countless businesses throughout North America.

Jon Hyman, Esq., Chair of the Employment & Labor Practice Group and Co-Leader of the Craft Beer Practice Group, Wickens Herzer Panza. Jon serves as outside in-house counsel for businesses. He has extensive experience on more specialized labor and employment law issues, such as wage and hour compliance, social media, cybersecurity, and other workplace technology concerns, affirmative action compliance, and union avoidance and labor relations. Jon is also co-founders and co-practice group leaders of the Firm's Craft Beer practice. In that capacity, he helps brewers, brew pubs and restaurants, and businesses that serve the craft beer industry navigate their specialized business, legal, and regulatory issues. He is also the author of the renowned and award-winning Ohio Employer Law Blog (www.ohioemployerlawblog.com, an American Bar Association Blawg Hall of Fame inductee), which he updates daily to provide businesses and human resources professionals breaking news and other updates on the ever-changing landscape of labor and employment law. Jon is licensed in the states of Ohio.

Jason Gladfelter, Owner, Vombuds (a Virtual Ombudsman). Jason is a beer geek with a conflict management profession (or is it the other way around?) who developed Vombuds, a virtual ombudsman, to help small businesses with their internal dynamics. He is Professional Human Resources certified, has a conflict resolution degree, and has been a conflict management consultant for 15 years in both India and the US. He is an admitted beer dork/homebrewer and is Level one Cicerone Server.

About StartABrewery

StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.

Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doors and living it.

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Start A Brewery Co-Founders, Laura Lodge and Candace L. Moon, welcome listeners to their new podcast about all things with regard to starting (or growing) a brewery. Episodes will launch every other Tuesday and track the process from the original vision (The Dream) through developing a business plan and into Plan, Act, Open & Grow, mirroring the structure of the website.

The following music was used for this media project:
Music: Positive Fat Bass Intro Loop by WinnieTheMoog
Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6093-positive-fat-bass-intro-loop
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

What did you think of Start A Brewery Podcast Season I? In reflecting on the very first (23) episodes, Candace L. Moon & Laura Lodge, hosts of the podcast & Founders of Start A Brewery, ask that very question! They encourage listeners to share both their likes & their constructive suggestions for Season II. Episode 024 is a fun visit to different episodes in Season I, with shout outs, testimonials, storytelling, industry insight, and a look behind the scenes with these two never-ever podcasters who know an awful lot about beer.

Candace L. Moon is a San Diego-based attorney who has spent the last eleven years dedicating her law practice to the craft beer industry. She has worked with more than 450 craft breweries and craft breweries-in-planning nationwide, handling many different legal areas including alcoholic beverage law, contract review and trademark law. Candace is the co-author of Brew Law 101 – A Legal Guide to Opening a Brewery (CA version).

​The co-founder of the Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival, Laura Lodge has been engaged in the craft beer industry since 1997. She’s the Owner of Customized Craft Beer Programs, designing events, resort retail programs, and educational programs based on craft beer, and is also the author of Distribution Insight for the Craft Brewer.

​As veterans of the craft beer industry, both Moon and Lodge have taken on education roles within the industry over time, including formal higher education. Candace teaches brewing business courses classes at San Diego State University & UC San Diego, while Laura has been a regular guest at Metro State University Beer Industry Program classes in Denver, speaking about events and distribution.

​Likewise, both have been tapped to educate as featured speakers in their areas of expertise at numerous industry conferences, occasionally presenting together. Such conferences include the Craft Brewers Conference, the Craft Beverage Expo, the California Craft Brewers Conferences, the New England Brew Summit, the Rocky Mountain Brewing Symposium, the Mid America Beverage Exposition & Conference, the Craft Beer Professionals Conferences, NanoCon, and the Pink Boots 10th Anniversary Conference among others.

​Start A Brewery pulls together in a more formal way the networking connections and educational material that Moon & Lodge both have grown and championed for years in the beer industry.

The Craft Beer Attorney has long had an established Preferred Provider Network, built to offer all clients a full complement of knowledgeable, competent professionals for their start up and growing breweries. In addition, Candace has built informally & then more specifically a network of attorneys nationwide that are knowledgeable about craft beer and can refer each other when inquiries come in that are outside of their licensed jurisdiction or they simply don’t have the bandwidth to handle additional clients.

​Customized Craft Beer Programs has always emphasized education, whether it be facilitating education by industry leaders or Laura teaching herself. When developing craft beer programs at destination resorts, education took on the form of developing food and beer pairings with the staff, encouraging Cicerone Beer Server Certification, and offering opportunities for resort guests to taste and learn from staff and brewery personnel. Recruiting savvy professionals as educators to present at the Big Beers Festival, at the Rocky Mountain Brewers Symposium, for specialty Brewmasters Weekends at resorts, and for other events has long been a focus.

​Over the past five years, both Lodge and Moon have pooled industry connections to facilitate and participate, respectively, with the creation of the Craft Beer & Brewing New Brewery Accelerator Workshop. In addition, an informal group of industry professionals has gathered together at CBC and GABF for the past few years to be social with the additional outreach of inviting brewers with questions to come by for complimentary advice and referrals from the group. Nicknamed “The Resource Group”, this core group of friends provided insight, support, and the first educational contributions for the Start A Brewery website.

About StartABrewery

StartABrewery is a collaboration amongst a fun group of craft beer industry veterans who are often invited to speak at beer business / brewing education programs. Each has offered to share their knowledge and experience to support the craft beer community as a whole by helping fledgling breweries in planning.

Conceived and coordinated by Candace L. Moon, The Craft Beer Attorney, and Laura Lodge of Customized Craft Beer Programs, StartABrewery is provided as an educational resource for those dreaming of opening a brewery, those who are taking steps to make their dream a reality, and those who are opening their brewery doo...