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Barley to Barrel participants sit through part of the 10-week class
Milwaukee’s craft brewing scene has picked up steam over the last couple of years, with at least 14 breweries opening in the Milwaukee area since 2016. But with increased competition in the market, opening and operating in the craft beer business is an increasingly arduous endeavor. Look no further than D14 Brewery, which shut down in October after being open for a little more than four years.
Barley to Barrel, a craft brewery incubator that launched in 2016, wants to help aspiring brewers navigate in this growing industry. During a 10-week class, a hand-selected group of people hoping to launch new breweries or work in other parts of the industry are immersed in the business. Participants learn marketing, trademarking, sales, distribution, packaging and fundraising from industry veterans such as Lakefront Brewery’s Russ Klisch and MKE Brewing Co.’s Jim McCabe, among others.
The most recent Barley to Barrel began in September and culminated with a release party on Wednesday, Nov. 14. At the party, participants showcased beers and the accompanying packaging they made with partner breweries Gathering Place Brewing, Company Brewing, Eagle Park Brewing Company and Explorium Brew Pub. Teams were judged on both taste and design, and each individual participant presented their idea for a brewery or brewing service to the crowd.
Incubator programs are rooted in the tech startup world. Programs like gener8tor have proven successful at mentoring some of the most successful technology startup companies in the Milwaukee area, such as Bright Cellars and Ideawake. Barley to Barrel hopes to apply these principles to the craft beer world. “We take the abstract nature of a tech incubator and fuse it with the idea of a food hall that allows everyone to benefit from shared environments and shared customers,” said John Graham, co-founder of Barley to Barrel.
One thing Barley to Barrel is not is a class on how to brew beer. “We don’t focus on the production of beer, with the exception of the day that we actually brew it,” said Graham. “We talk a lot about the overarching concepts that support the business.”
Barley to Barrel alumni have gone on to work at breweries like Third Space Brewing, and own breweries such as Copper State Brewing Co. in Green Bay, Wis.; Brewfinity Brewing Co. in Oconomowoc, Wis. and Stock House Brewing Co. in Wauwatosa, Wis.
Aside from the educational aspect, alumni cite access to experienced craft brewers and connections to peers as major benefits of going through the class. “The program immersed you in the industry, if just for a few months, to really give you a feel of what it takes to open a brewery,” said Jason Pinkowski, a Barley to Barrel alum who co-owns Stock House Brewing Co. “It was a combination of incredible support, as well as truly honest facts about how much work it is to get open and stay open.”
While there are many hobbyists out there who would love to learn how to run a craft brewery, Graham said Barley to Barrel’s success hinges on only accepting people who are serious about working in the industry. “There are a lot of beer geeks that would be interested in this program, and we would love to be able to serve them that sort of experience,” he said. “But with the concept of the incubator being the foundation of what we’re doing, we want people who want to start a brewery and truly have an idea; people that are ready to go and eager to do this.”
The program has changed quite a bit over the four classes it has put on over two years. Class sizes have shrunk, with more partner breweries brought in to give individualized attention to the aspiring brewers. Graham and his partners have also learned more about what it takes to succeed in the industry. “Is it that everyone is worried about permitting?” he asked. “Do they not know how to find a piece of real estate? Do they not know how to order equipment? What are these road blocks, how do we help our aspiring brewers overcome them and also learn from what those needs are to improve the process?”
With so many breweries opening in the city over the last few years, questions of a craft beer bubble have been raised. Graham thinks that there is room for more, as long as they are up to the challenge. “I think that the community is open to more breweries entering the market so long as they are of truly the highest caliber,” he said. “For a long time, everybody talked about quality being so important, and that’s ever more the case. It’s always been the mantra to, yes, make more beer, and yes, get more craft beer drinkers, but you have to make good beer.”
The problem with bad craft breweries, according to Graham, is that it affects the perception of the craft beer community more broadly. “The worst thing would be to have a new craft beer drinker go into a place that didn’t have good products and take a flight of four or six beers and not enjoy any of them,” he said. “There are so many things competing for that same share of throat, that to have somebody make a poor-quality craft beer could be the difference between them—in the most extreme case—saying yes or no to craft beer in general.”
Graham hopes Barley to Barrel can put Milwaukee’s craft brewers in a position where this won’t happen.
A Barley to Barrel Tap Takeover event will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 5-10 p.m. at Ray’s Growler Gallery (8930 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa). The four Barley to Barrel beers will be on tap and participants will discuss their experience in the program.
