All Photos by Carly Nichols
The explosion in the craft beer market across the nation is undeniable. The number of breweries across the U.S. grew by nearly 18% from 2014 to 2015. There were 121 breweries in Wisconsin at the end of 2015, compared to 97 at the end of 2014, according to statistics from the Brewer’s Association.
While 24 new breweries is no small feat, especially considering the amount of money, time and effort it takes to start a brewery in Wisconsin, it pales in comparison to a state like California, which had 87 new breweries open in the same period of time.
Three people looking to streamline the process of starting a brewery, and help Milwaukee regain our position at the top of the beer universe, are Michael Anderson, John Graham and Kyle Vetter of The Crafter Space, a craft beer incubator that recently ended the first round of their Barley to Barrel program.
We met up with Anderson and Graham at Draft & Vessel, one of their favorite local beer bars, to discuss the state of craft beer in Milwaukee and how they are going to improve it.
What are your backgrounds and what got you into craft beer?
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Michael Anderson: My background is in technology startups, and in that space the idea of incubation has really grown. I was interested in taking that idea into other industries. So for us, the question was how can we make it easier for entrepreneurs to open a brewery or start a beer brand?
John Graham: My interest came from a day in Denver. I was there for work and I got to spend the afternoon in the River North area, where there is everything from small nano-breweries to brand-new state of the art facilities. I went from place to place and at every bar they said, “Have a beer, but here’s a sheet of other places within walking distance, and on the back there are some more that are just a little further away.”
I came back home and was kicking myself thinking about why we don’t have that in one of the homes of beer in the United States. I then went to the Water Center for a presentation from Rich Meeusen and he was explaining why he built the center the way he did. It was to bring small and large businesses together in an attempt to catalyze small businesses. I thought, “Why don’t we incubate craft beer in that fashion?”
Anderson: One of the things that got us so fired up is that Wisconsin and Milwaukee have this really unique heritage. We are absolutely the cradle of American beer. We come from this cool German culture where there used to be a brewery on every corner. Neighborhood breweries were the norm. Now you look around the country and our craft beer culture has shrunk.
Successful cities have anchor industries. I think our anchor industry is brewing. So how do we make Milwaukee the Napa Valley for craft beer?
Can you tell me a little more about the Barley to Barrel program?
Graham: The idea of starting a brewery incubator doesn’t really exist right now, in other cities there’s some small ones, but nothing like what we want to do. We said that before we go out and build a business model around this incubator that doesn’t exist we have to test it to see if our idea works.
We wanted to get our aspiring brew masters together and put them through a program that we can execute without a space, while we have day jobs, and while I’m the only one that’s physically here. Given the resources that we have, this is the product that we can offer.
We went through each of the steps of opening a brewery, and the business end of it. Now that we’ve proven the model we’re looking forward to the next steps.
Anderson: One of the coolest things about this process is how supportive the community is. The people that stepped up were people like Jim McCabe from Milwaukee Brewing Company, Russ Klisch from Lakefront, Henry Schwartz from MobCraft, Tommy from Enlightened and Kevin from Third Space, among others. These are people that are already at the forefront of craft beer in the state.
I think if you step back and think about that you realize that these are guys that are taking an evening away from whatever they want to do to talk to people that are going to be their competition. That says a lot about what the community of craft beer makers is like right now.
What do you think is holding Milwaukee back from being at the forefront of craft beer?
Graham: I think that there are several things that are involved. While we have the history of big beer here, that has stifled growth potentially in the craft community. Everybody knows somebody that works at Miller or has worked there.
The other cities that we talk about, Denver, Portland and San Diego, don’t have a history of macro-beer, so they’ve been able to grow up without any preconception, and establish a culture of craft beer however they want it to be. Here we have to come out from under the light American style light lager to determine our place. Those other cities haven’t had that.
Anderson: To piggyback off of that a little bit I think that the fact that we are a very German-centric culture, and beer is intrinsically tied to Germany, influences the roots of our craft beer. I think we have a very Germanic view of what beer should be, and I think the more we free ourselves from that perspective, the more beer is going to stand out and it will be more interesting to people.
And on more of an individual level, what holds people back?
Graham: Well there are a lot of things involved. There are regulatory issues, and issues with supply chain. You have to be able to construct your supply chain in a fashion that allows you to have your ingredients when you need them. Distribution of your product is a huge issue. You can either marry a distributor until they decide to let you go or you can do it yourself.
Anderson: And sometimes distributors will keep all of you product in a corner somewhere. The system is very stacked against the little guy.
Graham: Funding is an issue also. If you want to start a new brew house you might need to raise around $1 million.
Anderson: When you talk to entrepreneurs in any area, anyone you talk to will tell you the number one issue they have is funding. My personal opinion is that everyone should stop for a second and reconsider that. I don’t think funding is the number one issue that people have.
Everyone says, “I’ve got it all figured out, and if you just give me money everything is going to happen.” The reality is that a lot of times it’s the basic stuff. What’s your story? One of the things that we go over in the program is doing a quick pitch. That was one of the hardest parts of the program. At the end of the day, having a story and a brand is really what makes a brewery, or any business, sink or swim.
There are so many people who brew really good beer who are never going to succeed, and there are a lot of people who brew really shitty beer who are going to make millions, if not billions, of dollars. If people take a step back, and find out who they are and what their story is, the money comes.
What’s the next step for The Crafter Space?
Anderson: We are singularly focused on getting a space. I think that space will be something that has never happened before. It could even be a contract brewing facility that will take a lot of the hurdles away from people who want to start a craft brewery.
We also want to have the most unique taproom in the world. When you walk in we want it to be like walking into four or five different breweries, and you’re talking to individual brewers who are saying, “I just tapped this today, and I don’t have a name for it. What do you think?” You’ll be sitting with the brewer coming up with a name for a beer with him.
