MicroBrewr 020: Beer for every man, woman, and child in Big Sky Country, with Philipsburg Brewing Company.

MicroBrewr 020: Beer for every man, woman, and child in Big Sky Country

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Cathy Smith and her husband opened Philipsburg Brewing Company in Philipsburg, Montana. They found a cool, old building, built in 1888, spent a few years fixing it up, and hired Mike Elliott to be their pro-brewer.

In August 2012, Philipsburg Brewing opened to a crowd of about 100 people—and that’s in a town with a population of about 850!

None of them had ever owned a brewery before, but they’re business is doing fantastic. They say that their biggest mistake was not being ambitious enough. They currently are operating a 10-BBL system, and are planning to expand to larger facility with a 50-BBL system within a year!

Cathy tells us why they walk customers to the door. Mike tells us about his invention for the bar.

They are both great speakers and this interview has tons of fantastic advice, such as:

  • Hire great people
  • Put customers first
  • Give quality in every area
  • Reach out to other breweries

“The brewery business is an amazing business,” says Cathy. “We’re not all competition, we’re all in it together.”

“People will let you pick their brains to a surprising extent,” adds Mike.

You won’t guess their answer to the question, Cans or bottles? They have some great thoughts on the dilemma.

Listener question:

From Adeen McKuin: What’s your favorite beer?

Book recommendation:

Check out the entire list of recommended books, click here.

Your Free Audio Book

An upcoming beer style:

California Common

Light beer

Other resources:

You can reach Cathy Smith, Mike Elliott, and Philipsburg Brewing Company at:

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher. When you subscribe, it’ll let you know when there’s a new episode, you won’t miss a thing!

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MicroBrewr 019: Marketing a flagship beer with Roswell aliens, with Sierra Blanca Brewing Company.

MicroBrewr 019: Marketing a flagship beer with Roswell aliens

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In this episode, I talk with Rich Weber from Sierra Blanca Brewing Company and Rio Grande Brewing Company in Moriarty, New Mexico. Rich started Sierra Blanca in 1996, added the Alien brand in 1997, and bought Rio Grande Brewing Co. in 2006.

Rich had been homebrewing since 1987 and was already working 100 hours a week at his own restaurant, when he started Sierra Blanca. He hired master brewers to mentor him for the first 2 years and has been growing steadily ever since.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of aliens crash landing near Roswell, New Mexico, they released Alien Amber Ale in 1997. Today, Alien Amber Ale accounts for 40% of sales among their 9 beers.

Rich talks about his company and provides some key insight to the 1947 Roswell UFO incident.

He offers some great advice about:

  • Working 100 hours a week
  • Marketing and distribution
  • Branding ideas
  • Gaining knowledge from visiting other breweries

Listener question:

From Marc Stafford: Why do you do what you do?

Book recommendation:

Check out the entire list of recommended books, click here.

Your Free Audio Book

An upcoming beer style:

Session beer

Other resources:

You can reach Rich Weber and Sierra Blanca Brewing Company at:

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher. When you subscribe, it’ll let you know when there’s a new episode, you won’t miss a thing!

Support MicroBrewr

Help keep MicroBrewr on the air. CLICK HERE for ways you can help.

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MicroBrewr 018: Start a commercial FrankenBrewery for $18,000, with Horsefly Brewing Company.

MicroBrewr 018: Start a commercial FrankenBrewery for $18,000

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In this episode, I talk with Nigel Askew from Horsefly Brewing Company in Montrose, Colorado. As a teenager, Nigel made beer for his dad in Zambia. In the 1990s he was homebrewing in Los Angeles. When he moved to Colorado, he took his 1.5-BBL homebrew system. He and friends pooled money and started their brewery for $18,000. A year later, they moved to a larger facility and expanded to a 10-BBL FrankenBrewery. Now they’re getting ready for a 20-BBL system.

Horsefly Brewing Company’s main operating tenet is to be fair and honest. Nigel is super generous with stories and advice. He tells us about piecing together their brewhouse, and finding amazing deals on equipment.

He offers some great advice, like:

  • How to get a fair price from your suppliers
  • Don’t over plan
  • Start small
  • Sanitize and clean

Listener question:

From Kristine Dubie: What are the pros and cons of whole cone hops vs. compressed hop pellets?

Book recommendation:

Check out the entire list of recommended books, click here.

Your Free Audio Book

An upcoming beer style:

Session beer

Other resources:

You can reach Nigel Askew and Horsefly Brewing Company at:

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher. When you subscribe, it’ll let you know when there’s a new episode, you won’t miss a thing!

Support MicroBrewr

Help keep MicroBrewr on the air. CLICK HERE for ways you can help.

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MicroBrewr 017: work with customers to make award winning beer, with Birdsong Brewing Company.

MicroBrewr 017: Work with customers to make award winning beer

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In this episode, I talk with Chris Goulet from Birdsong Brewing Company, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Chris and some friends were so impressed by 21-year-old homebrewer, Connor Robinson, that they started a brewery to showcase his beers.

Birdsong Brewing Co. was just the fourth production brewery in Charlotte. Although they have been operating less than 3 years, they’re making award winning beer using customers’ ingredients, and they’re leading craft beer in the Charlotte metropolitan area.

Birdsong will soon expand into a larger facility with a brewhouse 3 times the size of their current one. “Happy staff make happy beer,” says Chris. So they used lessons learned, to design floor space for efficient workflow.

Chris tells us the story of their award-winning Mexicali Stout. One of Birdsong’s regular customers, Jason, brought in a bunch of peppers from his home garden. The “talented, secret genius brewer” threw them together with locally-roasted coffee to make what would become one of their most popular seasonal beers.

Chris also shares some great advice about:

  • Making agreements with the landlord
  • Educating the customer about unfiltered beer
  • Hiring a well-connected salesperson

Listener question:

From Erik Cotten: Is it local?

Book recommendation:

Check out the entire list of recommended books, click here.

Your Free Audio Book

An upcoming beer style:

Saison

Other resources:

You can reach Chris Goulet and Birdsong Brewing Company at:

If you like the show, please subscribe in iTunes or Stitcher. When you subscribe, it’ll let you know when there’s a new episode and you won’t miss a thing.

Support MicroBrewr

Help keep MicroBrewr on the air. CLICK HERE for ways you can help.

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MicroBrewr 016: Nanobreweries rise up! with Opposition Brewing Co.

MicroBrewr 016: Nanobreweries rise up!

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In this episode I talk with Nick Ellis, founder and brewmaster at Opposition Brewing Co. in Medford, Oregon.

In 2011 Nick was employed as a bookkeeper when he received notice that he would loose his job within a year. So he and his wife, Erin partnered with Dennis and Penni Poncia to start the nanobrewery in Oregon’s Rogue Valley. They began with a 0.5-BBL system, but soon moved up to a 1.5-BBL system. Now they’re getting ready to install a 7-BBL system and are planning to package beer for distribution.

In the beginning, all 4 of them worked 12-hour days, 7 days a week. Now approaching their second anniversary, they’re getting things smoothed out and they each work about 9-hour days, 6 days a week.

We discuss the viability of CSA programs for homebrewers. Following the Community Supported Agriculture model, a box would be delivered to your doorstep on a regular basis. Rather than produce, it would have locally-grown ingredients for making your own beer.

Nick fully debunks any claims that nanobreweries cannot be profitable.

He also shares some great advice, including:

  • Vet and register your name before using it
  • Plan for yeast management
  • Engage your customers with a fun, creative club

Listener question:

From Christina Sierra: Tell me why you brew what you do.

Book recommendation:

Check out the entire list of recommended books, click here.

Your Free Audio Book

An upcoming beer style:

Flanders red

Other resources:

You can reach Nick Ellis and Opposition Brewing Co. at:

Support MicroBrewr

Help keep MicroBrewr on the air. CLICK HERE for ways you can help.

Subscribe on iTunes             Listen to Stitcher