Interview- Scott from East End Brewing Company

In January on a trip to Pittsburgh to visit my in-laws, I went on visit to the East End Brewery. I had read about it awhile back and was really impressed with Scott's approach to brewing and sustainability. When I started interviewing brewers, Scott was one of the first ones I sent. I had debated sending him another email since I didn't want to seem pesky, but I'm really glad I did. Scott, quickly responded with some great answers. I'm glad I have the chance to make it back at least once a year and support a brewery with a great approach and great beer.

1. How did you get started? Were you a homebrewer first?
I was a homebrewer for about 8 or 9 years before quitting my day job
and turning my sights to brewing full time. Like any homebrewer,
starting with that first batch, there's that nagging voice in the
back of your head saying "maybe I can do this full time?".
I suppose I just listen to those voices in my head more than
the average person.

2. What were some of the challenges of getting started?
Ugh... where to begin?  I've repressed most of those memories.
  Building any business from scratch is challenging, and a beer-making
business even more so I think - the regulatory side can be
exhausting.  I did nearly all the installation personally
(plumbing, some electrical, evena bit of welding), nearly all the
graphics for the beers, the licensing with the state and the feds,
and of course all the recipes for the beers.  The big challenge was
figuring out how all this stuff works since I've never brewed
commercially before, but the DIY approach I took
left me quite educated... delayed by 8 months, but educated.

 3. You have a lot of great information on your website about 
 sustainability. Could you briefly explain what you do to be
sustainable in your brewery?
Everything we do here has an eye toward what I believe to be our
responsibility to conserve resources.  The brewery was constructed
in a re-purposed building, and almost entirely out of used equipment.
We're also set up to reclaim our cooling water used in each brew day,
and that hot water becomes the makeup water for the following day's
brew.  Our regular operation generates almost ZERO SOLID WASTE -
spent grain goes to a local dairy farmer, kettle trub and spent hops
go to a community garden for composting, and 100% of our
packaging - kegs and growlers, is reusable.  About once a month,
I take a kitchen sized bag of trash to the curb, and that's mostly
made up of trash people bring in to the brewery with them.

 4. What are the most important reasons for being sustainable in
your opinion? It's just the right thing to do.  I'm looking forward to
thenext step in this brewery's life where we can take some BIG leaps
forward on the energy conservation front - possibly a waste oil
burner for heating brewing water, roof top solar water preheaters...
I could go on.

 5. In a traditonal "lager" town of Pittsburgh, have you found it
hard to establish a fan base for the types of beers you brew, or
has there been a good reception?
While I agree that PA in general has a wonderful history of lager
brewing, Pittsburgh is definitely a "Pittsburgh" town - and by that,
I mean that people here really give first priority to the local guy, and
that has opened some doors for me with bar owners and getting them
to put the beers on tap.  Of course, that door comes slamming shut
if the beer isn't up to snuff, or if it just isn't moving well.  People
will support the local guy, but if they don't do what's right for their
business, they won't be in business for very long.  So, it's up to me
to make the beers interesting to their customers, to help them be
successful with it.
6. How is the hop shortage going to affect your brewery or
your beers? 
It's going to be ugly... and it's not just a matter of price increases
either.  It's a matter of not being able to get certain varieties of
hops AT ALL.  This, from a brewer whose flagship beer is
Big Hop IPA, which happens to make up about 60-70% of
total brewing production.  I'll be out of hops for it before the
summer is over, and I really don't know what I'm going to do.

7. What should people know about East End Brewing?
Well, most people assume we're a brewpub, as that's the norm in
this area.  While we have open tastings 4 days a week, I can't sell
you a pint of beer here.  And the only food in the place is what I
packed for lunch today, and I don't recommend that. That said,
if you'd like to try the beers and take some home with you, we're
open during Growler Hours Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from
5-7pm, Saturdays from noon to 5pm.  We've always got an ever
changing lineup of 6 or 7 on tap plus a couple bottle conditioned
offerings.  The place isn't very well marked, so check out the map
on www.EastEndBrewing.com before coming out.
Or call me at 412-537-2337 and I'll "talk you in".

8. What advice do you have for homebrewers?
Enjoy yourself - and brew frequently.  Try not to do to so many
extra steps that you come to dread your brew day, that way
you'll stay with it.  Oh, and be careful: You might just find
yourself in a chilly unmarked warehouse someplace, trying
to figure out how to put a whole bunch equipment together
to make beer!

Thanks for your time. I appreciate your participation.
And I really enjoyed my visit to the East End.
I live in Minnesota, but my in-laws are from Pittsburgh,
so I plan on stopping by the next time in town.

My pleasure Eric, and I hope to see you soon!
Cheers,
Scott

www.EastEndBrewing.com
BUY A GOOD FRIEND A GOOD BEER (TM)

Interview with Roots Brewing Company

Number 5 in my brewery interview series is with Craig Nicholls, one of two founders of Roots Organic Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon. They been around for 3 years and were Portland's first all-organic brewery. Craig took some time to answer some questions:

First off, how long have you been a brewery?
We are having our third year anniversary This weekend 3-15. So 3 yr. old

How did you get started?
Both My partner And I got started home brewing, me (Craig) about 22 years ago, Jason about 15 years ago. We both worked for big breweries. I did my intern at Rogue Brewery, worked Bridgeport , Opened Alameda brewing in 96, left in 99, worked for three other breweries until I opened up Roots in 2005. Jason worked for McMenamins for eight years.

Did you go into brewing with the goal to be organic or to market to that niche?
Yes, Organic has been the plan for the last 7 years.

Has it been difficult for you to be able to find organic grains and hops?
Partly because of what we’ve done, it has gotten easier because we’ve created more of a demand and the maltsters are making more for us and everyone. So no it has not been difficult to access grain. Hops on the other hand are a bit sketchy, but we’ve always contracted so it has not affected us to much.

What are some things you do at your brewery to be sustainable or minimize your environmental impact?

All our spent grain goes to the pig farmers or compost, we compost our entire food waist in the restaurant, we use green chemicals in the brewery and in the restaurant, we use all organic ingredients or all natural when available and we recycle everything possible.

I noticed you were involved with Center for Environmental Equity, what are some other causes you've been involved in?
The Leukemia Lymphoma society, Locks of Love

How has the response to your organic beer been? Do you think there's a high demand for organic craft beer? Where do you see the market for organic beer going?
The response has been overwhelming as we had expected it to be. This is the time of change and the demand for organics has never been greater. The market is the way of the future.

Where do you see your distribution headed?

Its already going big time. We’re in the whole state of Or. Wa., and Cal. , and on our way to Id. , Alaska , and Az.

I suggest you check out their website, http://www.rootsbrewing.com/. In addition to making great organic beer, they are also presenting the North American Organic Brewers Festival in Portland this summer June 27,28,29. They also are involved in some great causes through their brewery and hosting art shows at their brewpubs. Definitely taking on a social element that I would want to emulate if I ever started a similar operation.

Thanks to Craig for taking the time.

Salud!

The Bearded Brewer

Interview with COAST Brewing Company

I recently read a post on beeractivist about a new organic brewery in South Carolina started by a husband and wife. The brewery is called COAST Brewing Company in Northern Charleston, South Carolina. After reading the article, I decided to contact them for an interview about organic brewing and their involvement with Pop the Cap, a beer advocacy group. Owner Jaime Tenny was nice enough to respond to my questions about organic brewing and their operation.
Without further ado, here is Interview Number 3 (or 4 if you count Chris O'Brien) in my series of interviews with organic brewers:

How long have you been a brewery and how did you get started? We became official in March but it took until September until we were ready to brew. We did 99.8% of everything ourselves.

Why did you make the choice to be a "green brewery?
There was no other option for us. It is how we live our life and we couldn't operate a business any other way. At least we couldn't without a clear conscience.

What are some of the things that you do to be sustainable in your brewing and business practices?
It's not just about using organic grain.We think about the most energy efficient/green way to do something before hand, that's half the battle, and probably the most important one. Our spent grain goes to a local farmer, locally made biodiesel for our boiler, recycle and reuse EVERYTHING. Pretty simple stuff in my opinion.

What has been the most challenging part about starting a brewery, and in particular a green one?
Money. No difference in starting a green brewery vs. "non-green" exept for money. Since there was no other way for us, we simply had to make the better, greener choice but it all comes down to money. Cash flow is a major issue with breweries so spending more money on a better ecological choice is hard to justify up-front. So, since (in our opinions) we had no other choice it was easy. We either did it green now or we didn't do (or have plans to do it later when it can be done right). And of course, being flatout exhausted in the process. And I have no idea if what I just said will make any sense to anyone else.

In addition to organic materials, your website states that you also try to support local ingredients, what are some examples of this?
Well, that is the hardest part. Brewing ingredients are extremely hard to come by locally for us. There are no southern maltsters and hops don't grow well around here. So our only choices are any other additional ingredients. Some things in the works are local herbs (heather, coriander, are a few of what we are growing ourselves this year). Honey, easy to get locally.We are going to start experimenting with local grits to see what may come out of that. Local fruits like blueberries,, peaches etc...problem is I am not a huge fruit beer fan. We have just started looking into the possibility of working with southern wheat/barley growers to see if they can grow malting quality organic grains and then get them malted at Briess or the like. Fuel issues then become something to consider.

Could you talk a little bit about the activism you and your husband have been participating in regarding beer?
I am President of Pop the Cap SC. We are a grass-roots craft beer advocacy group. We worked to get the abv limit raised and it was passed in May 2007. That has literally changed the face of craft beer in SC. We now are focusing on better beer laws for breweries in SC. We have a bill coming out shortly addressing a few things. The ability for one business in a tier (manufacturer, distributor,retail) to be able to own more than 1tier. Onsite tasting and retail sales directly to the consumer. This would be absolutely huge for microbreweries to actually be successful! Honestly,we really need this or we just won't see any growth in SC brewed beer.

What advice do you have for organic homebrewers, or homebrewers in general? Don't stick to a certain recipe, explore on your own. Think about brewing organic for all the above reasons.

Where do you see organic brewing going, especially with the recent surg in popularity with a lot more organic beers on the market?
Who knows in this crazy market. I think the craft beer segment is blessed to have as much support from both local folks and people really into good craftbeer. So I hope they will continue to support their local brewery,especially if they brew organic. I think in time organic won't be looked at as different, you might not even know your drinking organic beer."It's really good beer, and oh, it happens to be organic as well"... and then the ball gets rolling. I also hope it will bring organic grain costs down a bit so we can stay competitive.

For more info on check out their website at: http://www.coastbrewing.com/
Salud!
The Bearded Brewer

Interview With Chris O'Brien

Last year I got the book Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save
The World by Chris O'Brien. I highly recommend this book, it takes
a look at the history of brewing, going back to its origins and discusses
the changes that have happened over time as brewing has changed from a
mostly female oriented small scale craft to the large mega-corporate brewing of today.
The book talks a lot about sustainability and some innovative things some
brewers in the industry are doing to be sustainable and organic. The book
really spoke to my social and political ideals, as well as my love of beer.
The book was the inspiration for me to change my own approach to the beer I
buy and make, and it eventually led me to create this blog. I've been reading
the blog Chris writes, www.beeractivist.com for some time, and decided to email
Chris and see if he'd be willing to answer some questions about homebrewing,
beer, organic and sustainable brewing. Here's what he sent back:

How did you become interested in the craft beer culture, especially
getting involved in it to the extent that you have?

I started homebrewing as a grad student in upstate New York. My reasons
for beginning the pursuit were, if not noble, at least practical. I was
living the typical meager student lifestyle. Ramen noodles, macaroni
and cheese, and cheap beer provided the bulk of my nutritional intake. I
quickly realized the pittance I was earning as a coffee barista wasn’t
enough to make ends meet. So I reviewed my expenses and looked for
places to cut costs. To be honest, it wasn’t much of a surprise when I
discovered that the majority of my discretionary spending went to beer.
But beer, like love, is a necessity, so cutting down on it was out of the
question. However, like dating, it is awfully expensive. Whatever was a poor
student to do? Woe was indeed me. My nights were sleepless, my pockets
empty, and my head in a cloud. I implored the gods, begging them to reveal a
solution. They sent me a sign. Walking home one evening from the Troy Brewpub, I
noticed a fancy little shop that had hitherto escaped my attentions. It must
have been the curvaceous carboys in the window that caught my eye. Stainless
steel brew pots behind them twinkled in the glow of the store lights. I
entered impulsively and illicit thoughts of homebrewing immediately  filled
my head. But, I wondered, would brewing beer all by myself at home be as
satisfying as getting it at a brewpub? Doing some quick calculations, I
figured I could cut my beer expenses in half by brewing myself. Not only
that, but taking the craft into my own hands promised to considerably
improve the quality of my quaff. The fact is, I rarely sprang for the
good stuff, and instead usually settled for run-of-the-mill industrial beers
that actually tasted kind of horrible. Thinking about it now, I can’t
begin to count the number of nights I took home a bag of whatever cheap
cans of beer happened to cross my path. So it was with a gleam in my eye
that I bought a pile of recreational brewing gear and some helpful
magazines, ran home, and went at it. I have been homebrewing ever since,
and an all around interest in craft beer took hold over my life from
there.

How did the Seven Bridges Cooperative get started?
As a homebrewer seeking to lighten my footprint on the planet, I soon
discovered Seven Bridges, a company that sells all organic brewing
supplies.  As a cooperative, I decided to buy my way into the small
company as an owner-member and I've now been involved with that for
about seven or eight years.

What increases have you seen in the organic home brewing market over
the past several years?
Seven Bridges has grown steadily every year and now I've seen a number of
other homebrew suppliers offering organic ingredients. None of them seem
to be certified as organic but nonetheless it's a good sign that demand  is
rising. This past year, Seven Bridges hosted the first ever AHA-sanctioned
organic homebrew contest. Two winners, one from east and west of the
Mississippi, got to brew their beers commercial organic breweries,Otter
Creek in Vermont and Santa Cruz Mountain in California.

Through your travels and experiences, what have been some really
innovative things you've seen breweries do to be sustainable?
Crannog Ales in British Columbia is probably as sustainable as they  get.
It's a farm-based organic brewery where they grow much of their own
hops on-site and they will only distribute within a small region around the
brewery so as to keep transport impacts low. In an effort to reduce
waste, they only offer kegs and growlers - no packaged beer. They feed spent
grain to their own farm animals. They also wrote a free how-to guide on
growing organic hops. All around, the couple running this place really
seems to have a deep commitment to sustainability. But larger scale
brewers are making a difference too. Sierra Nevada has an on-site solar
array, their own organic hop yard, a fuel cell set up for capturing
brewery wastes and converting them back into energy, and with the
soon-to-be installed second solar array they hope to be almost entirely
reliant on renewable energy generated right at the brewery.

Where do you think organic brewing and sustainability in brewing is
headed?
"Sustainable" business in general is just better business. Mega-brewers
have been innovating so-called sustainable practices for decades. For
example, Anheuser-Busch is the world's largest aluminum can recycler.
Business in general will continue to adopt what essentially amounts to
efficiency measures because they make financial sense. They happen to
be better for the environment too but that's not what motivates most
companies. Some brewers are exceptions and they are actually doing it
out of genuine interest in environmental causes. But ultimately, laws need
to change. Corporations need to be stripped of the power they have to
determine the course of the planet. We can't rely on companies to make
the right decisions on their own, especially considering the urgency of the
environmental crises we face. We need to legally respect the inherent
worth of nature.

What would you say to people who are skeptical and feel that organic
brewing is just a marketing gimmick or a hot trend?
Taste one of the four 2007 GABF medal winning organic beers and get
back to me.

For those of us who currently have our sights set on being sustainable
in our home brewing and trying to brew organically, what advice do you
have for us?
Try growing your own organic hops at home. It'll save you some money.
Its fun and sustainable, and you can try 'wet hopping' which seems to be
all the rage lately.
How can fair trade (which I realize is much more of an issue in coffee)
be incorporated into the craft brewing industry?
You named it, brew coffee beers with fair trade beans. A number of brewers
are already doing this, such as Shorts Brewing in Michigan and Big Boss
in Raleigh, NC. Other fair trade ingredients that can be used in beer
include cocoa, vanilla and orange. What I'd really like to see though is some
traditional African beers being made available in the U.S. through fair
trade. The best thing might be to have some recipes licensed by
traditional African brewers but brewed right here in the US, with a
licensing fee going to the originators. That'd be truly innovative but I
don't know of anyone even thinking along those lines in the beer scene.
Brewers don't seem particularly aware of fair trade at all, but maybe
with time some one will get turned onto it.

Interview with Bison Brewing Company

I'm excited that I have two interviews with organic brewers so that I can now technically call it a "series." So, here is the second of my series of interviews with brewers; Daniel Del Grande of Bison Brewing located in Berkeley, California. Since I live in Minnesota, I have not had this beer, but Bob's Woodshed has some great reviews of their beer: http://bobwoodshed.org/beer/ and the scores at Beer Advocate seem to be really solid. Daniel was nice enough to take the time to answer some questions for me about his brewery, organic beer, and some things we can all do to be more sustainable.

First off, how long have you been a brewery?Bison was founded in 1989 by brewpub pioneer Bill Owens. I bought it in 1997. We have focused on bottling our organic beers exclusively the last 4 years when the restaurant closed, but have been brewing organically since about 1999.

How did you get started or founded? Did you know you wanted to start a brewery with the goal to be organic or wanted to appeal to that niche? We had started small scale bottling and when organic brewing malts began to become available, it made sense to sync my personal life with the business. It is easy being green in Berkeley, CA, and easy being organic, so it all just made sense to me. Back then, there was really only Wolaver’s organic beers brewed domestically under contract all around the country (great business model, too bad it didn’t work out for them). So in 2000, we brewed some Bison Blonde organic (but uncertified) and put it on tap, then bottled it as “Bison Light.” By now I was “certified” organic, but I only did a couple beers….slowly I added the Belgian, then the Red, then the IPA and finally, I could buy ingredients to do the Chocolate Stout once all the roasted malt was available organically. Some of my malt comes from Germany. Quality of malt does vary more with organic. Ultimately, being organic is important to me and my customers. But if the beer sucks, you won’t buy it again, even if it is organic. So I focus quite a bit on quality. A couple years ago, I decided to do all bottle conditioning for quality reasons, but given my size, I was not able to keep uniform carbonation levels so I stopped because I thought, overall, it actually hurt my quality. Anyways, I feel pretty good about converting my business like that. It was a risk, and at first consumers didn’t understand what it all meant. “What is that USDA symbol on your label? What does it mean to be organic?” It was a fun educating people, and the process continues. For example, I tell customers (you guys) that obviously the most green thing you can do is patronize a beer on draft, but if you have to buy bottles, buy organic to be just that more ‘green’.

As a homebrewer, its only been the past year or so that organic materials have become easily accessible. On a larger scale, has it been difficult for you to be able to find organic grains and hops?
Yes, as described above. It took about 3 years before I could declare my whole product line fully organic certified…..I had to wait once I could make my most popular Chocolate Stout organically. Homebrewers could get the grain theoretically, but think of it from the shop owners perspective….should they carry twice the # of malts for the few homebrewers that want to do organic? Check on line. There is at least one homebrew shop that does mail order of organics. Tough call. At a minimum, you should be able to ask your homebrew shop to buy you a bag of organic 2-row. In any event, brewing it at home and reusing bottles, or better yet, kegging, is way greener for the planet than buying beer at the store, so take that into account and pat yourselves on the back.

What are some things you do at your brewery to be sustainable or minimize your environmental impact?
1. Every beer I make is certified organic and sports the nifty USDA logo. Every other “organic” brewer that I know of ALSO brews non-organically because of convenience. My conviction is to go as far as possible.
2. Paperless office (I bought Adobe Professional to jockey documents on my laptop….well worth the price).
3. Home office (short commute).
4. Instead of buying and building a resource intensive new brewery, I recently did a brewery co-op with a brewery. My idea is that it is more green to use an existing brewery and bring it closer to full capacity and optimal efficiency than to start a second, private location. It is like a newspaper printing press which can print many different newspapers using the same equipment and people, but the Bison beers has its own exclusive “editor” and “sales and marketing” staff and distribution network….just like a different newspaper editorial board…..
5. Bought a VW Jetta TDI from Detroit so I could run biodiesel during my sales calls (and personal life).
6. Sold my old Isuzu Box Truck which was terrible on fuel efficiency. Now I rent a diesel truck about once per week (not biodiesel, but better mileage).
7. I use recycled paperboard and soy based ink for all my 6-pack carriers…..BTW, recycled cardboard boxes are the norm, so I can’t really take any credit for that.

I have looked at carbon credits and schemes like that, but feel it is just a license to pollute, so I haven’t gone down that road.

What tips do you have for organic homebrewers or just homebrewers in general?
Brewing is 80% cleaning, 10% fermentation temperature control, and 10% recipe…..sometimes homebrewers mix that up.

Where do you see organic brewing going, especially with the recent surge in popularity with a lot more organic beers on the market?

First, there are almost no organic hops available, so hopefully farmers around the world will see the demand and start planting and converting their fields (a 3 year process). I wish the quality was there with today’s organic hops, but it just isn’t. So I have to use conventional hops, but as you know, it is a small %. Important thing is to send a market signal to those darn farmers. I think that is why the USDA gave us a few years allowance to use conventional hops, to develop a market for hops. We will see.

You are right, there are a lot of new organic beers on the market. I am fortunate to be one of the pioneers and think I’ll have staying power, but generally, consumers have to be willing to pay an extra $1 a 6 pack to support organic brewers….if we continue to make sub standard economic return on the business, you will see some existing organic brands convert back to conventional or go away. ALL beer is under pretty intense pressure to increase prices due to world supply and demand of malt and hops. Organics just need a little extra consideration when you are shopping. Heck, people spend $3.25 for a hot latte in a paper cup that took 2 minutes to make, yet the same person won’t spend $10.99 for six organic beers that took 3 weeks to brew, keep cold, package in colorful cardboard packaging, keep cold, and deliver to a market?

Remember, 60 years ago, ALL beer was “organic.” Heck. All agriculture was “organic”. Industrial farming post WW II has harmed our soil health, increased erosion, polluted our rivers and streams, harmed farm workers, and a list of other harms that add up to one big mistake. As consumers, converting to organic has a ripple effect through the economy and environment well worth the small increased price. For some fresh fruits and veggies, there is also a personal health bonus for consuming organic, but not really for beer. Ultimately the goal is to rid ourselves of the widespread reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. I hope all beer is organic again in the next 30 years.

Check out their website for further information: www.bisonbrew.com
Salud!
The Bearded Brewer

Interview with Jon Cadoux of Peak Organic Brewing Co.

I recently contacted Peak Organic Brewing Company, an organic brewery in Portland, Maine. I asked if I could send some questions about organic brewing to post in this blog and I was excited that the founder, Jon Cadoux quickly replied that he would love to participate. So below are his responses to my questions. I'm hoping to be able to make this a common thing, provided that I get the same kind of response from other breweries. Thanks to Jon for taking the time to participate in this interview.

First off, how long have you been a brewery?
We have been brewing for 10 years, in various different capacities. The last 8 of which have been strictly organic. Just started our wider distribution push a year and a half ago.

How did you get started or founded? One thing really led to another. When we started incorporating organic ingredients into our homebrews, we thought the taste and quality was taken to another level. We were just brewing a lot of beer and giving it away. Folks kept encouraging us to actually start bottling so we went for it! I believe that all of our success has been based on taste. Purer ingredients make better beer, and our organic ingredients are the purest around.

You mentioned that you were an organic homebrewer, did you know you wanted to start a brewery with that goal or niche in mind?
Probably answered that above.

As a homebrewer, its only been the past year or so that organic materials have become easily accessible. On a larger scale, has it been difficult for you to be able to find organic grains and hops?
Not really. We’ve been working with the same farms and coops for years now, so the relationships are solid. The organic farmers we work with consistently grow superior barley and hops, so it makes the relationship fun and rewarding.

What are some things you do at your brewery to be sustainable or minimize your environmental impact?
We start at the source. We are one of the few brewing companies in the world who brews exclusively organic beer. This isn’t a line extension for us. Our commitment to sustainable agriculture is simply the backboard of our company. Also, we partner with great like-minded organizations like the Organic Trade Association, the Chefs Collaborative, Farm Aid, the Surfrider Foundation, etc.

Where do you see organic brewing going, especially with the recent surge in popularity with a lot more organic beers on the market?
As environmentalists, the only end goal is that all beer is organic. To reverse the serious effects of agricultural run-off and soil degradation, its not enough for a small % of barley and hops to be grown organically. It needs to be the majority to reverse the damage. Some of the new organic beers are simply delicious, and more and more consumers are getting behind them. We hope that continues to push larger brewing companies to see the light!

Recently your beers started appearing in liquor stores in the Twin Cities. How far does your distribution stretch? Are you in most states or major markets
We distribute on both coasts and some great markets in the Midwest. There is no formula really, we just get our fine ales to places where people are asking for it. We have been fortunate that a lot of beer and fine food writers have been getting behind our products lately. That seems to have a ripple effect. Also, we have had great luck with some of the top chefs in the country. They seem to be influencers as well. Its really all grass roots at this point.

What tips do you have for organic homebrewers or just homebrewers in general?
Tips are to always innovate. Take a recipe and stretch it in some way. We always like to look at all our recipes and think “what is this adding to the craft beer scene”. If the recipe is just a mimic, then its not adding that much. Be creative.

You can check out Peak Organic Brewing Company at www.peakbrewing.com. Soon, I'll be posting about my recent trip to the East End Brewery in Pittsburgh and maybe some thoughts on the book, Ambitious Beer: The Story of American Brewing that I'm currently reading.
Cheers!
-The Bearded Brewer