MicroBrewr 027: Family, church, and craft beer in a small valley town

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Brett Tate wanted to tell his family’s story. So he did it with craft beer and Dust Bowl Brewing Company in his hometown, Turlock, California.

Brett’s family left the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma and made a new life in California. Dust Bowl Brewing’s entire brand is a tribute to that story.

Turlock is a small valley town where Ripley’s Believe It or Not once counted the most churches per capita in the US. Now Dust Bowl Brewing is helping to revitalize the community with their brewery and their restaurant, and soon an expanded brewery.

Brett has a lot of great advice about:

Working with distributors
Managing a “team” of employees
Hiring a star brewer who can do more than make great beer

I got to meet part of the Dust Bowl Brewing Company team at Smoke on the River in Sacramento, California. Here’s a photo of sales manager, Scott Chaffee and me.

Nathan Pierce and Scott Chaffee, Sales Manager from Dust Bowl Brewing Company (left), at Smoke on the River, Sacramento, California, September 6, 2014.

Listener question:

From Peggy Pierce: Is your water purified?

Book recommendation:

Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Beer from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery [2nd edition] by Sam Calagione.
Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Entrepreneurship from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery [1st edition] by Sam Calagione.
The Brewers Association’s Guide to Starting Your Own Brewery by Ray Daniels.
Beyond the Pale: The Story of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. by Ken Grossman.

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

An upcoming beer style:

Mega IPA

Other resources:

Delta Sierra Beverage, Modesto, California.
Mussetter Distributing, Auburn, California.
Donaghy Sales Inc., Fresno, California.
Morris Beverage Distributors, Petaluma, California.
Why every brewery should serve food by Nathan Pierce, September 10, 2014.

You can reach Brett Tate and Dust Bowl Brewing Company at:

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