It All Comes Back to Beer

One of my biggest hobbies for the past few years has been visiting breweries in New England. My journey has taken me from Rhode Island to Maine.  It has become a goal that I visit a new brewery every trip I take.  At this point I would say I've been to at least 50 different breweries. 

In all honesty, most of the breweries are very similar. They have the same equipment undergo the same process, they all utilize the same basic ingredients: water, yeast, hops and grains (usually barley). Its hard to explain why then, visiting 50+ different breweries has been so interesting

  

I think the draw for me has always been that the breweries are prime examples of people following their passion.  Even the stories of how each brewery started is similar: a small group of people (primarily men) loved beer and started home brewing.  Their passion grew, and they invested everything they and their families had to become a brewery.   Most of these breweries started with a staff of friends and family, united over beer, free pizza and that shared passion.  As I visited more and more of these businesses I realized that what was drawing me was not the free tastings (although those are great!) or learning about the brewing process (although that inspired me to try home brewing).  I love visiting breweries to hear the stories from these entrepreneurs who fearlessly followed their dreams.  They turned their hobbies into a career, and although they worked relentlessly, they were so excited about what they were doing, even 20+ years after they started.

In reading The Art of Innovation, I realized that much of most breweries are prime example of a hot team.   The teams usually work in tight, cramped areas, and are unified by their passion for the product.  It is hard to find examples of teams that have better moral or a stronger sense of identity than breweries. Each brewery has character and community. Kelley's concept of T-shirts to unify the team have extended to not only the brewers and staff, but to the customers that feel as though they are a part of the breweries community.

I have also been so intrigued by how each brewery starts with the same essential ingredients, yet manages to take such creative approaches to how and what they produce.  With added ingredients ranging from bacon, jalapeno, to pine needles and garlic, brewers are fearless.  They try, they fail, and they create again.

These brewers are my entrepreneurial inspiration.  Each tour, each tasting, is another experience to put in the "entrepreneur" box that I have been collecting.  While I have seriously considered the idea of starting a brewery, I know that it is not realistic for me.  At the same time, it is my dream to develop a brewery culture where ever I work.  To be surrounded by my passion, and by others who share that passion.  To be in an environment where creativity is vital and failure is all a part of the process.  Until that day, I will live vicariously through the breweries I love.