Following on from Brewing Up A Business I continued my reading on the beer business. Beer School is written by Steve Hindy & Tom Potter, founders of the Brooklyn Brewery. Whilst still a business book it’s a lighter read than Brewing Up A Business with a more anecdotal writing style. Having faced visits from the mob & armed robberies they certainly have anecdotes to tell. Still, they use all their stories to illustrate business principles. Hindy & Potter are both good writers and their method of each chapter being written by one of them with the conclusion being added by the other works well.
The initial path that the Hindy & Potter chose of having their beer contract brewed for them is not the path I’d like to take. Whether or not it’s advantageous commercially or not I’d prefer to start smaller, initially brewing the beer myself and growing gradually. I also prefer the method used by many of linking the brewery to a brew pub. Twin revenue streams make financial sense and the ability to interact with your customers on a nightly basis is not only invaluable but should also be rewarding.
If you are reading from the beer business perspective then you should read both Brewing Up A Business and Beer School but if you’re reading purely from an interest in beer then you’ll probably find Beer School more a more fun read. Having just read two books from people who have succeeded in starting breweries I could benefit from reading about someone who failed but most people tend not to trumpet their failures.
Now back to the brew in front of me.
With the Bay Area sweltering in 100 degree heat at the weekend, Ealish (official PlanetSeth wife) and I headed to the coast to cool down. We hoped to find a quiet spot with some shade where we could sit & read but fortunately it was so busy that we ended up at the