Received a few messages about the below post. 2 were on the opposite sides: “Is it really that easy?” and “It looks so hard that it’s not even worth it” No and No. I’ll make a few notes below (and remember these points can apply to so many things not just brewing)
Even more inquiries from folks on how to open their own small business and not just breweries, all kinds of concepts. Besides beery questions the other major one is “How do you run a small business, make the right decisions (morally/ethically/environmentally, etc…) and STAY in business.
Well, It’s possible and should be done but it ain’t easy.
If you know us your aware that we are pretty straight forward and adamant about our business practices. Some of which include not buying stuff made in china, organic malts, environmental accountability, support of local causes, the list is long. To me, the reasons for these choices are self explanatory yet I realize that’s not the case for everybody. Which brings me to the fundamental thread in all of these. We aim to treat people (insert earth, business, etc…) right and just (and that means understanding we are all not on the same path). Pretty simple really. It’s easy to make business decisions without *too* much contemplating because we’ve already a “code of ethics” if you will. Essentially a checklist of criteria, if it meets it great if not it’s a no go.And make no mistake about it, we are not compromising on these things regardless of the fact they don’t make sense to some people (we’ve heard it all).
That may mean less of a profit (organic grain and eco-friendly supplies sure cost more) and less time (it takes longer to plan efficiency and “pre-cycle”) amongst others. And it can be very stressful and frustrating knowing there are cheaper, less time consuming short cuts that can be had. We could send our beer out blindly and not take the time to educate consumers on what’s in their pint. But in the end what matters? I know what does for me (and I am speaking for me Jaime as a person and COAST as a company). The question is does it matter to everyone else? For the most part, I think it does. And that is so reassuring and inspiring. So if your thinking of making the jump to your own small business:
It’s possible and should be done but it ain’t easy. But it is worth it. To do this though you have to make some sacrifices and understand that there are consequences for all of those actions. I can’t say I am totally happy about sacrificing the last 4 years of running COAST for all the growing up our kids have done in that time. David especially has missed out on more than he should have and those 4 years were really important ages of our boys. Financially, multiple home mortgages and loans does not feel good. Period. The kids better damn well get some scholarships because the brewery is the only thing we have and I don’t think USC takes breweries as college payment. Oh yeah and we finally were able to take our honeymoon this year……..14 years later!! I also don’t think hospitals take beer as payment for the heart attack/back surgery it’s inevitable David have BUT still……we get to teach our kids about hard work and following your dream (and David was seriously meant to do this with his life). We get to walk away from a business transaction realizing it helped BOTH parties. We get to know we did the best we could. And for that it’s worth it.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way….on to the beer. Event Horizon (Cascadian Dark Ale/Black IPA etc…) is out this week. A bit more roasty and tad bigger body this time around. We are having fun exploring that style, lots of interpretation. Bottles of it should be out next week. We got a “blank” seasonal label so you should start seeing more seasonal stuff in 22’s. Rye Knot Brown is the next seasonal up, another week or so. Perfect timing for what looks to be cool weather coming.
Our trusty intern Shane has been with us for almost 2 years and graduated from the American Brewers Guild this year. He’s ready to leave the nest and got the competitive brewing gig at Stone Brewing in Sunny San Diego. We wish him all the luck in the world! Please note we are not accepting any other interns (at least for a long while). We put a LOT of energy into that and need lots of time to recover. Plus it will be hard to fill his shoes, we haven’t seen someone with that much beer enthusiasm in a long time (hey, he reminds me of 15 years ago David).
Planning for Brewvival 2012 is on it’s way. We look forward to another wonderful festival with good beer and good people.
Let me publish this before I keep going……..Cheers!
