What was your background before you turned to brewing?
I went to art school for college, then had to figure out a way to make a living. So I became a carpenter/cabinet maker and did that for about 15 years. I became a homebrewer in the mid-’80s and was enamored with the small breweries that were popping up around the country and thought that was something I’d like to do.
Does any of your art background transfer to brewing?
I’m very process-oriented. You look at all the things I’ve done, as an artist and a cabinetmaker, making something is what drives me and got me into brewing.
You’ve grown to be one of the larger craft breweries. How do you balance your growth with your ideals about beer being a local or regional activity?
We’ve always prided ourselves on being, first, a local brewery. Then we became a regional brewery. Four or five years ago, we began making our Smokestack line, which is our higher-end, bigger, more esoteric-type beers. The Smokestack line in general is higher alcohol, bigger beers; it makes sense for us to ship those farther.
Speaking of local tastes, I find it remarkable that your wheat beer is your most popular beer. Not many breweries lead with a wheat beer.
Right. That started for us back in the early ’90s, and it just fit the Midwestern palate. And ours is about as no-frills as they come. It’s a very simple recipe. It is very approachable, and that’s why we sell 100,000 barrels of it.
