Founders founders recognize homebrewers’ authenticity

National Homebrewers Conference attendees don’t all dream of going pro, but Dave Engbers and Mike Stevens want to see more homebrewers take the plunge. During their conference keynote address, the founders of Founders Brewing Company asked thousands of assembled homebrewers, “Who’s gonna be the next gamechanger? Who’s gonna be the next Sam Calagione?”

Dave and Mike admitted that, 20 years ago, when they started their brewery things were different. After playing a little too fast and loose, they had an ultimatum from their landlord: pay up, or your brewery’s doors would be chained shut. They had six days to come up with half a million dollars. “Our business model sucked,” joked Mike.

Though it was a painful time for Founders, they pulled out of the financial turmoil and found a clearer vision. After hiring a new brewer, Dave and Mike coined a new brewery slogan: “Brewed for us.” That reflected their renewed commitment to flavor and recipes—flavors they wanted to brew, like Dirty Bastard, Breakfast Stout and Curmudgeon. In fact, the Bolt Cutter 15th Anniversary Barleywine is specifically named after that episode with their overdue debts.

Drawing on these hard-learned lessons, Dave and Mike had advice for homebrewers dreaming of starting their own brewery; actually it’s more of a checklist. According to their experience, you need passion, quality beer, uniqueness and professionalism.

“You can’t fake authenticity. We need to keep craft brewing authentic,” Dave said, “and you [homebrewers] are the only ones who can pull that off.”

“The future is sitting among us,” Mike said, “So what are you going to do?” The crowd shouted “Brew beer!” and he agreed, with a qualifier—”Brew great beer.”