Brewbound Podcast

Braxton Brewing co-founder Jake Rouse views collaborations as a “really unique opportunity to learn.” In just three years, his company, based across the river from Cincinnati in Covington, Kentucky, has already established collaborative brewing projects with the 2018 Breeders Cup, Graeter’s Ice Cream and Sweetwater Brewing, among others. Those initiatives have allowed the company to not only learn from their partners but also to build brand awareness with consumers who are less familiar with the Braxton name. “Across the entire country, brands are really struggling,” he said. “If you are not local in a market, it is really, really hard to gain the attention of a buyer and more importantly to gain the attention of a customer.” By partnering with Sweetwater Brewing, which is based in Atlanta, Rouse said both companies were able to benefit by leveraging the strengths of their brands in the markets where each one is strongest. “Our brand is going to carry more weight up here, in Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Dayton, and you’re going to help us a ton in Tennessee, Lexington, Louisville, and it worked incredibly well,” he said. In episode four of the Brewbound Podcast, editor Chris Furnari sits down with Rouse to discuss his journey as a beer entrepreneur, collaboration and partnership strategies, and managing rapid growth. Throughout the conversation, conducted in mid-August 2018, Rouse also discusses Braxton’s company culture, how the company has professionalized as it has grown, why it launched a $15.99 15-pack, and the loneliness of being a founder. Also in this episode: Brewbound assistant editor Justin Kendall shares the latest news and runs down our segments. You can listen to episode four of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes. The episode is also available on Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Furnari and Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode five, featuring Three Weavers co-founder Lynne Weaver, will be released on Thursday, Oct. 11. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Lost Abbey co-founder Tomme Arthur has been making world-class beer for the last 22 years. When he launched San Diego’s Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey in 2006, there were around 1,400 breweries in the United States. It’s 12 years and nearly 5,600 breweries later, and the industry in his own backyard – and across the country – is somewhat unrecognizable. “For me, it has been personally difficult because there are so many people operating breweries that I don’t know at the same high level that I used to,” he told Brewbound. “It’s made it a little bit challenging for us as a brewery to be as collaborative as we used to be, because I don’t know everybody by a first name basis, or their stories, or I haven’t connected with exactly how they came to be.” The sheer amount of new craft breweries that have opened their doors since Arthur entered the business has created growth challenges, and it’s also caused Arthur to think critically about the ways in which the craft beer industry is evolving and innovating. “If everyone is making a beer that has no sense of space or place, how are we supposed to identify why it’s regionally important or otherwise?” he asked. “There has, all of a sudden, become this ‘it doesn’t matter where it comes from, it just has to participate,’” he added. “And as long as you participate, you’re going to get paid. And I don’t feel like the industry should be a part of a thing that says, ‘I just need to catch my dollars on this, so I can move along to the next thing.’” In the third episode of the Brewbound Podcast, Arthur joins Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall in a wide-ranging discussion on the state of innovation within the beer category, the challenge of creating new drinking occasions, and the characteristics of breweries that will succeed and survive a potential shakeout. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper also joined the audio broadcast to discuss his possible presidential bid in 2020, the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs on small businesses, an emerging cannabis industry and the evolution of the craft beer category since he opened Denver’s Wynkoop Brewing in 1988. Following those interviews, Furnari and Kendall introduce two new segments — “First One’s Free,” and “Beer Twitter.” You can listen to episode three of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes. The episode is also available on Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud, among other listening platforms. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode four, featuring Braxton Brewing co-founder Jacob Rouse, will be released on Thursday, Oct. 4. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Before opening Atlanta’s New Realm Brewing earlier this year, co-founder Carey Falcone spent nearly eight years meticulously crafting a business plan that would set his company up for long-term success. In doing so, Falcone visited dozens of breweries around the world, taking notes about the elements of each company that he loved the most and wanted to replicate. “We were really thorough about just about every aspect of this building, from the glasses that we would choose for our beer to the soap that we would choose to clean the glasses,” he said. “We really laid out an incredibly detailed, strategic plan. We built a one-, a three-, a five- and a 10-year plan. Everything from the materials that we would use, to the people that we would bring in to be a part of this, to the focus on the quality and everything being very core values-based. We detailed all of it.” In the second episode of the Brewbound Podcast, Falcone joins Brewbound editor Chris Furnari in a discussion about his career in the brewing business and the launch of the Atlanta-based beer company. Throughout the conversation, Falcone talks about his experience as a first-time entrepreneur, New Realm’s core values, the process of getting the brewery off the ground, and how he convinced former Stone Brewing Company brewmaster, Mitch Steele, to move across the country to join a startup in the South. Falcone also discusses the impact that recently enacted direct-sales laws in Georgia have had on New Realm’s business, the decision to purchase a distressed brewing facility in Virginia ahead of the company’s original expansion plans, and how he envisions the craft beer category evolving over the next decade. Also included in episode two is a rundown of the latest industry news and the official introduction of Brewbound Podcast segments. You can listen to episode two of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud, among other listening platforms. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode three, featuring Port Brewing, Lost Abbey and The Hop Concept partner Tomme Arthur, will be released on Thursday, September 27. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected]

Brewbound is excited to announce the launch of its namesake podcast series, which will feature interviews with the beer industry’s top founders and executives, as well as promising newcomers. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall, will be published every Thursday. Future installments will include a rundown of the most important weekly news items, a featured interview with a prominent beer industry professional, and a rotating set of segments at the end of every show. To kick off our first episode, Mass Bay Brewing Company (Harpoon Brewery) co-founder and CEO Dan Kenary joins the program to discuss the state of the beer industry, the myriad challenges facing craft brewers, and the dangers of taking on too much debt to grow, among other topics. Throughout the conversation, Kenary shares his experience launching and scaling Harpoon and discusses some of the more important business decisions he’s made over the last 30 years, including the purchase of a distressed brewery in Vermont for 25 cents on the dollar. He also shares his thoughts on the emergence of taproom-focused business models, direct-to-consumer sales, the trend toward hazy IPAs and how he envisions the craft category developing over the next few years. You can listen to episode one of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes. Future episodes will be made available via Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, Soundcloud, and other listening platforms. Episode two of the Brewbound Podcast, featuring New Realm Brewing Co-Founder and CEO Carey Falcone, will be released on Thursday, September 20. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected]