Brewer Seeks Fermentable Sugar Daddy
June 26, 2008
“I have three kids and no money. Why can’t I have no kids and three money?”
-Homer Simpson
There will soon be a Granite City Brewery in Troy . The city of Troy gave them the okay and they plan on opening in 2009. They have over 20 breweries with another 2 more on the way not including their Troy location. They are not a brew on premises brewery. They brew off-site and then ship the wort to their restaurants. They then ferment the beer on site. They call the process Fermentus Interruptus™. I’m not sure on how I feel about this way of doing business. I’m a glad to see a place that gives you a different option from the big breweries opening up and could introduce new people to craft beer. The buy local side of me is upset. It turns craft beer into fast food. Why couldn’t someone from Michigan have been the one to open a new brewery in Troy?
What is interesting about the story of Granite (according to their web-site) is the two founders. One of them was a executive and the other a brewer. They started off with just one brewery and expanded into what they are today. The lesson you can learn here is that people who have money and a good business sense need to get with brewers that have the knowledge and artistry of brewing skills.
What we need is a something similar to a matchmaker who finds investors for brewers and soon we will have more breweries. Now, I know how to find brewers. I don’t know how to find people that can pony up the dough for a microbrewery. I’m a poor working class slob. What I can do is help investors find brewers so please take part in trickle down economics and give a brewery a chance.
Where do you find brewers? You can look on the Internet. Of course everything is on the internet now, even me. In particular you need to be looking at home brewing blogs. Beer bloggers think and talk way too much about beer. We have bored everyone with beer talk to the point where the only place to go is the blogosphere. Wouldn’t you want to give someone a break that loves something so much that he spends most of his free time brewing or writing about beer? Home-brew contests are another great place to find good brewers. All you have to do is look at results of the contest and you know whether they brew good beer. Pick the person who has the most medals. It’s that simple. There are professional brewers right now who are working under master brewers that could use a chance to show what they can do.
Of course, easier said than done. Times are tough, especially in this state, and money is tight. However, America still has 10 million millionaires according to a recent report. History has shown that when times are tough people like to drink more beer. Granted, people drank lagers that they could get for a cheap price.I would rather drink two 6.4% ABV beers than four 3.2% ABV beers. Craft beer is not a fad and can change along with American’s taste. Best of all there is still opportunity for growth. There are so many cities in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana that don’t have microbreweries. Chelsea and Monroe are good examples of towns in need of a microbrewery. All these towns need is someone to do it.
Posted in Beer News
June 26th, 2008 at 7:35 am
I’m very eager to open a brewery somewhere here in Ohio (or even better a ski resort town somewhere out west); the biggest obstacle for me (as stated in the article) is finding investors willing to wait a couple years for the business to become profitable enough for a decent return on their investment. If there is one thing I’ve heard from the brewer/owners I’ve talked to is that you’ll work 24/7/365 for the first 3 years or so and hardly have any money left over. From what I’ve seen, investors want to put their money in and be able to pull it back out as quickly as possible so they can move on to the next project.
June 27th, 2008 at 7:29 am
“Beer bloggers think and talk way too much about beer. We have bored everyone with beer talk to the point where the only place to go is the blogosphere.” COME ON!!! We can never have too much beer talk!
Nice reply over the soon-to-be happenings in Troy! I agree that it would be nice to have a local guy/gal (or group) step up, but at least we have one more choice for good beer.
With that said, if Granite City stays with the basic fare of a chain brewer, that won’t bode well (at least for me). Some chains (i. e. Rock Bottom) do allow, even encourage, the local brewer to come up with that special recipe, but the MO of Granite won’t allow that to happen. I love the local brewpubs who not only can brew an awesome pale ale, an incredible Belgian, or a perfect Bohemian Pilsner, but can also brew something experimental that rocks your world!
Explore beer,
Craig
June 27th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I’ve been to the one that opened here in Maumee… my impression was that it wasn’t anything special and pretty standard fare for a chain microbrewery. Their beers are all pretty tame, most likely to appeal to the larger crowd. I have been pleased with their food, but some of the people I’ve went with were less than impressed. They also serve various other beers in bottles (i.e. Bud Light and the like), something that I would never dream of doing at a microbrewery I owned.
In the end, I still became a “mug club” member, mainly because it is a close place to go if I want to try something a little different than what most of the other places around here offer, or I’m stuck at the mall with my girlfriend and she wants spend hours walking through stores. I also got a discount on the membership; I think it is 1/2 price on a certain day of the week.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Great insights Nate, I hope you well in finding some investors. We will be there when you open. Also, thank you for the review.
I am sure some of Rob’s friends can attest to the fact that we talk too much about beer. They would comment it on that fact but the last thing they want to read about is beer.
June 27th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Hey Kevin,I love all the Homer Simpson quotes you use.I can really relate to this one.
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:44 am
Thanks Chris, I am on my way to having one kid and no money. After that I am sure that quote will have more meaning.