Some more thoughts...

Wow, a couple of places close and I end up with a million emails. I don't know all the answers, but here are my thoughts on all that has happened in the past year: First and foremost, brewing is a commercial endeavor. This is very important for everyone to understand. What I mean by this is those of you on these lists are a very small percentage of the population of Minnesota. Even if all of you went to one of the pubs every day, it is not enough business to keep it open. Not one of them. So I understand when you say that the beer here or there (let's take Water Tower for example) is not that inventive, keep in mind that you are the minority. I should have put that in capital letters, but I'm sure you get the drift. At my time at WT, I brewed a Rauch beer, Barleywine, and a handful of other memorable beers. Guess what? It doesn't pay the rent. Hey, Old LS made it to the second round of GABF. That put's it in the top 10 or 12 barleywines in the country. Am I proud? Yes, but does that sign my paycheck---nope. We brewed 425 10 Bbl batches in six years---that's an average of 700 Bbls a year. That's a lot of beer. Was it enough? Probably, if I would have wanted to stay. But I didn't like the direction we were going, so I resigned. I've quit better jobs, so it should not be that big of a surprise. They couldn't (or didn't want) to find some stupid enough to take my place, so the brewery is closed. Hey, there was a brewery in Fargo that had one of the most talented brewers I know that went out of business. I know it wasn't because of the beer, but rather because of the market. John Haggerty and I used to laugh that if we lived in Washington or Oregon, we'd be rich. It's really not that funny, but kind of sad. So what is the answer? I don't know. If I did, I would be rich. In my six years back in Minnesota, I haven't seen the market change that much. That is discouraging. So when an owner has invested $1M or so in a brewpub, and wants to have karoake (which actually has another story involved), who am I to argue. After all, I am just a brewer. If I have to brew lighter beers to keep the lights on and to make sure I can make rent, I will. That's my job. But I'll always try to slip something in under the radar. Hence the reason for Brewer's Specials. So next time you visit a brewpub anywhere, consider this: are the beers well made? That is the job of the brewer. That and to make the owner some money and to be able to pay his own bills. David Berg President, Minnesota Craft Brewer's Guild Head Brewer, Bandana Brewery http://www.mncraftbrew.org ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com