If his voice and his story sound vaguely familiar it is because he was our very first guest on the Market The Brew Podcast 52 episodes ago. Since then, he has grown both professionally and personally. One of the biggest changes came recently and the podcast notes show him with his new wife as they honeymooned on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Great weather, picturesque views, amazing food and something he doesn’t make, yet, fine wine… During the first podcast we learned of their Beer Amnesty Week in which you would bring in a 6 pack of BAD beer (macro brews) in exchange for a 6-pack of their beer…no questions asked. They would then find unique and interesting ways to use the BAD beer, such as a slip and slide or a beer pool on the roof, just to name a few.  We also learned how his mother was upset about his decision to switch from pre-med to brewing until he started distilling vodka.  After the University of Wisconsin, he spent several years working for a brewery and decided that is what he wanted to do and took off to Edinburgh Scotland to get his master’s degree in brewing and distilling.  Well, if you want to learn more about our guest, re-listen to the first podcast. If you want to hear what he’s been up to since his first appearance on the podcast listen in and Danielle and Travis chat with Zac Treimert of Brickway Brewing and Distillery in Omaha, Nebraska.

We have shared stories from many accomplished brewer’s whose journey started with a home brew kit they received as a gift. Many can still remember the first beer they brewed and like today’s guest, kept a journal of all the beers they have brewed since receiving that first kit. All have taken different but similar paths in their careers to get where they are today. Our guest is still at the beginning of his journey. Building big beers from his small, but growing home brewing system. From family and friends serving as beer tasters to eventually becoming brewing assistances and servers at local beer festivals.  Today’s guest has a small group of friends that has stayed together since those early days of brewing helping this small homebrewer grow. Each year he tries to get into more beer festivals. He relates that most reluctantly agree to let him serve and are surprised when people are talking about how good their beer is. All have invited him back to serve his beers at their festivals. But, like every homebrewer, you lose money brewing for festivals because as a homebrewer you can not charge for your beer.  So, our guest, like so many before him, is working on his business plan. Keeping a list of potential investors, and building a fan base until he can eventually build his own brewery.   Listen in as Danielle and Travis chat with Home Brewer Tyler Sallee owner of Nosey Neighbor Brewing as he shares his brewing journey to date, and his plans for the future.

This brewery is located in a county that until recently had been a dry county in central North Carolina. But in July 2008, voters decisively passed a referendum allowing beer, wine, and mixed beverage alcohol to be sold in the city for the first time in nearly sixty years. Almost 7 years later a schoolteacher and a Lowes manager who became friends, started to brew together and would eventually open the county’s first brewery EVER.   When they first opened the goal was to use inexpensive Gildan t-shirts with a 1 color logo on back to promote the brewery within the city. Later those shirts would evolve into the same branding available in several colors. Realizing their customers had one of each color of the same shirt, they had to start developing new designs that customers and travelers would want to buy and wear. Crafting the first couple of new designs after several of their more popular beers they began to see the sales of those shirts grow. They needed to develop new designs on a regular basis and turn inventory of those designs faster. Listen in as our guests share how they adopted the “buy less but buy more often” philosophy and soon began to sell through smaller quantities of apparel with new designs.

This brewery is located in a county that until recently had been a dry county in central North Carolina. But in July 2008, voters decisively passed a referendum allowing beer, wine, and mixed beverage alcohol to be sold in the city for the first time in nearly sixty years. Almost 7 years later a schoolteacher and a Lowes manager who became friends, started to brew together and would eventually open the county’s first brewery EVER.   When they first opened the goal was to use inexpensive Gildan t-shirts with a 1 color logo on back to promote the brewery within the city. Later those shirts would evolve into the same branding available in several colors. Realizing their customers had one of each color of the same shirt, they had to start developing new designs that customers and travelers would want to buy and wear. Crafting the first couple of new designs after several of their more popular beers they began to see the sales of those shirts grow. They needed to develop new designs on a regular basis and turn inventory of those designs faster. Listen in as our guests share how they adopted the “buy less but buy more often” philosophy and soon began to sell through smaller quantities of apparel with new designs.

Front Page Brewing Company opened its doors in beautiful, historic Downtown Bartow, FL in 2020.  Founded by Johnnie and Bill Levin, Front Page was created to provide a gathering place for the local and greater communities to enjoy brewed on-site quality craft beer and socialize.  After semi-retiring from corporate life, Johnnie was looking for something to take on in the next chapter of her life.  As a long-time fan of craft beer and breweries, this was a perfect opportunity to explore.  After completing the Univ of South Florida - St. Pete Brewing Arts certification program, she realized that she’d found her new “home” and Front Page Brewing Company started coming to life.  Opening on March 14, just prior to the start of the state and nationwide shutdown, certainly proved to be an unexpected challenge, but with the support of a wonderful city and community, Front Page Brewing Company was able to weather the storm and continues to grow and thrive.

The Founders of Third Space Brewing, a thriving small business in their hometown, are Milwaukee natives with a passion for creating great beer. They first met at their third space–Camp Minikani, a summer camp located along the shores of Lake Amy Belle in Hubertus, Wisconsin.  Andy Gehl, Co-founder and Director of Sales and Marketing, is a recovering attorney with a passion for craft beer. Andy does a great job heading up sales, marketing and community outreach for the brewery. Kevin Wright, Co-founder and Brewmaster, holds a certificate in brewing from the world-renowned University of California-Davis Master Brewing Program.  Kevin Wright is certainly qualified as he graduated at the top of his class in 2009 before going on to win the JS Ford Award.  An award bestowed each year to the person who scores the highest on the Diploma in Brewing exam, given by London’s Institute of Brewing and Distilling. After graduation, Kevin spent seven years brewing award-winning beer at Hangar 24, a popular Redlands, CA brewery. Eventually moving home to partner with his Camp Minikani buddy to open Third Space Brewing. Located in an old industrial area of Milwaukee the brewery is close to the American Family Stadium, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, and also a location where their beer is sold. During the summer you will often see social media posts of their beer cans in the hands of fans attending games. Beer school came about when Kara Olds, Event Coordinator for Third Space, was talking with a coworker about the lack of accessible education on alcohol/beer in the Milwaukee area. That, combined with Kevin’s wealth of beer knowledge and his love of teaching, made sense to start the Beer School for anyone wanting to learn more about beer.  Kara told us that “For us, it's a great opportunity to engage with our customers and showcase interesting beer from around the state.”

In 2020 the USA Today rated Milwaukee as the 2nd best beer scene in the US second to St Louis, MO. One of the breweries that helped Milwaukee make this list is The Explorium Brewpub. Mike Doble, like the beers he brews, is deep and complex on the inside and wrapped in a playful and unpretentious exterior.  If you live in the Milwaukee area you are familiar with Mike as his name and his brewery are in the news quite often. As a self-proclaimed Type A personality, he has trouble sitting still. He is very active both personally and professionally on social media and makes no apologies for anything that he says or posts. During the Covid shutdown most people made the transition from office to work from home. The service industry took a huge hit with regulations and reductions to their usable space. As most brewery owners were trying to figure it all out, Mike was planning a second location. Listen in as Mike Talks about opening his second location.

You might notice this episode’s guest Christian Layke as he and his business partner Brett were the guests on our last podcast that posted on June 14, 2018. A lot has happened in the world since that last episode, and we have invited Christian back to talk about the past 4 years and to talk about their future. Listen in as Christian shares some exciting new news for the brewery with us.

Having spent the past 20 years managing a foodservice that oversees large events at sports and entertainment venues across the country, Andrew learned that it's about more than just a baseball game or concert. It's about creating an overall exceptional customer experience. Andrew has taken this belief and combined it with his passion for craft beer to help breweries monitor their tasting rooms, increase their in-house revenues, and learn to differentiate as the craft beer industry soars past 9,000 breweries. In addition, Andrew has successfully built a community of 14,000+ Craft Beer Professionals dedicated to the growth and betterment of craft beer across the United States.

Living in Milwaukee has led us to discovering some great beers and even better breweries. We wanted to find a way to share all of the places we have found with our family and friends, which led us to our Instagram page @TheKlevensBrewTour. This page has introduced us to incredible people in the craft beer community and we look forward to connecting with more interesting people through the Market the Brew podcast.