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:

Ben & Jerry’s: The Inside Scoop: How Two Real Guys Built a Business with a Social Conscience and a Sense of Humor by Fred Lager.
Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them by Stan Hieronymus.

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

An upcoming beer style:

Saison

Other resources:

61 Brewers Speak Out: What I Wish I’d Known Before Starting a Brewery by Joe Shelerud, February 9, 2014.
Pintful: Sierra Nevada new NC brewery prepares for it first batch by John Frank, October 8, 2013.
Saison ales growing in popularity, May 27, 2014, Peter Lopez.

You can reach Chris Goulet and Birdsong Brewing Company at:

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