Brew Talks Minneapolis 2022 CBC: Panel 3: Residency Programs Opening the Door to Upstart Breweries

Speaker 1 [00:19] Hey everybody, welcome back to Brew Talks for our 3rd and final panel presented by Dogfish Head and Lily Pad. Thank you guys for coming back. So excited to close this out with you all. Um, our next panel is very exciting. Um, in the pursuit of collaboration, community, and bettering craft beer, Haymarkett Brewing in Chicago hosted a six-week residency program earlier this year. And that featured black owned beer companies including Turner House, Black Horizon, Harold's, Funky Town, and Moore's. The program gave brewers the chance to form meaningful connections with both drinkers and industry members while introducing new consumers to what's happening in craft. So joining us today for a conversation about that program and how to create community in unexpected ways are, we have Damon Patton and Jamal Johnson, both co-founders of Morris Brewing Company. Hi guys, how's it going? Oh,

Speaker 2 [01:18] thank you for having us.

Speaker 3 [01:19] Thanks for being here. Thank you.

Speaker 1 [01:21] And then we have Samuel Ross, co-founder of the Herald's 83 Honey Ale brand and a brewer at Goose Island. Thanks for having me. Welcome. And finally we have Mike Gemma, who's director of operations at Haymark. Hello, or Haymarket, excuse me. Thank you guys all for being here. Um, I think before we start, we got to plug the text line one more time. If you don't have it memorized by now, write it down. It is 617-336-8560. Text any questions you have there. Again, that's 617-336-8560. So I think the best way to start this off is Mike and Sam, to tell the story of how this residency came to be at Haymarket. We have to tell the story of Harold's 83. So how did this collaboration beer get going? How did that start?

Speaker 4 [02:13] Uh, it was right around the time of the Brewers Association's benchmark study on the demographic breakdown of ownership of breweries in the United States, uh, about 2018, 2019, and it showed that there were less than 1%. African American owned breweries, uh, less than 1% African American brewers in the United States, and it was kind of around that conversation point with a mutual friend of Sam's counterpart Jay, um, about another piece of information in the Chicago land area that was astounding to us in a town of 2.7 million people with a third of whom are African Americans. Only about 9 liquor store licenses were held by African-Americans, and that just didn't seem right. So in that conversation, a mutual friend turned me on to uh an introduction with Jay Westbrook, Sam's counterpart and co-founder of Harold's 83 Honey Ale. Um, And we just sat down and had a conversation, and he was an inspiring brewer but kept getting told no because he didn't have enough experience yet in the game. So we said, Well, what do you want to brew? We have a brew pub. We have this opportunity, and what would you like to make? And he said, Well, we can't do this without my friend Sam. So Sam and Jay came to us and said, Hey, we want to make this beer. I'll turn it over to him though on the beer part.

Speaker 5 [03:50] Uh, when the opportunity came to me, I was an inspiring brewer. I was at a 3 barrel place, so, uh, like my brother's down a van, you know, it's hard work in a craft beer, uh, brewery of that size or growing that size, and when they gave me the opportunity to work on a big system, I really gave that, uh, recipe to heart and then we wanted to tell a story. Haymarket Brew Pub, uh, before we came along, always focused on Uh, African American and being in, in the city, they had a Chicago Defender stout, so when it came to me to write a recipe or think about a write a recipe, I knew I couldn't just have a cool name. I want to be historic and that's how Harold. Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago, was elected in 1983, and if you've been to Chicago before, shout out to my man Dom that's sitting around here. Uh, we're known for our pizza, but we're really known for our chicken wings and a place called Harold's Chicken Wings where we argue who has the best location, right, my man for Reyes. So, I tried to combine the two and This is where we're at.

Speaker 6 [05:00] And I know the ingredient in the honey ale has a really cool story behind it. Do you want to share that with everybody?

Speaker 5 [05:06] Oh, the honey, um, is from our neighborhood. I live in the Lawndale neighborhood, which is a Economically growing, uh, but urban neighborhood and apiaries just aren't there. So to have this one, to have a local apiary that lives in my neighborhood and we're connected to them and we go by and we buy their products and we visit our the bees and it's just community, right? And

Speaker 6 [05:34] in apiaries where bees live, I did not know that until we started talking to these guys for this panel. Um, but Sam, uh, the Harold's collaboration really opened some doors for you, and I think your career path is really inspiring to a lot of other people. So can you tell us about how you got to be where you are right now? Oh yeah,

Speaker 5 [05:50] I'm glad you opened it up. So the last two years was a shit show for y'all. It was probably the best 2 years of my life, you know what I'm saying? Like, yo, like. Uh, the day that I interviewed to be a brewer at here at Goose Island, I was in the, I was on the front page of the Sun-Times. So when they was like, hey, Sam, we wanna have you, you got the passion, um, we'll teach you how to brew, we can teach anyone how to brew, and I was like, yo, I'm not just anybody, I represent. This collaboration here, I don't represent these gentlemen, I represent Mike, I represent a lot, so it's like, no, you're gonna teach me the right way. And so I started off at, uh, I started off as a brand ambassador, then I became a brewer, doing 50 barrel turns at 312, and then when my career, I want to figure out what I wanted to do, you know what I'm saying, like Big beer ain't such a bad thing. I make Bourbon County Stout, and so I want to have my career zoned in on the barrel and work uh program and writing recipes of being barrel aged beers.

Speaker 1 [06:53] Well, congratulations on all of that. That's so exciting. Thank you for you, man. Um, so then, Mike, after this happened, what inspired you to turn your taproom into this residency program for Chicago black-owned breweries?

Speaker 4 [07:08] So as we were developing and turning out the very first batch of Harold's 83 honey ale at the brew pub, which was gonna be a draft only offering. Um, it all started kind of towards the end of 2019 and then it was really ready right when the world shut down. It sucked in the sense of we had all these grand plans of the party and a panel discussion on diversity within the craft beer space that we were going to host at the brewpub. We pivoted that to online and while that was decently attended. The beer itself through Sam and Jay's perseverance and passion for the project, it ended up being our third best selling beer in Growlers to go during the pandemic shutdown, but we felt like it was just not enough. There was something left on the table for us to be able to go after and continue on and make it better, and we Said, how do you pandemic proof a beer at a brew pub? You put it into a can and so we went down that path. We let them create the label and we introduced them to our distribution partners and the sales team and we helped along the concept from an idea to putting it on the shelf.

Speaker 6 [08:23] Awesome. Uh, Jamal and Damon, can you set the stage a little bit for us about Moore's? Like, how old is the brewery? What do you guys specialize in? Tell us a little bit about

Speaker 3 [08:32] the take that one

Speaker 2 [08:33] for sure, sure. Moore's Brewing Company, um, was, uh, launched last year, so we're, we're about 10 months old. We're approaching our 1 year anniversary, uh, in, well, next month, so we'll be 11 months old this month. Um, but my bro my brother Damon and I had an idea to do. Uh, craft beer. We've always been, you know, business and entrepreneur lovers. Uh, we've always done other things, but, uh, his beer idea, I think, came at a perfect time for us. The timing was perfect. Um, but, um, so he called, he called me, uh, said we, we should do craft beer because he, he had just delivered. I'll tell, I'll allow him to tell the story, but, um, but once he called me and said that, you know, as a craft beer fan and You know, consumer, um, I immediately started thinking about how we could do it differently, uh, because, uh, it would take a little difference, I thought, to, to make some impact in from a diversity, equity, inclusion standpoint. So, so we, so we started there as a foundation, I guess, to build a brand and be brand forward to, to kinda like, uh, resonate with the target market that we were, you know, pursuing. And I'll allow Damon to uh tell a quick little story about how he Uh, called me actually, uh,

Speaker 3 [09:50] to, to, yeah, I mean, you know, just really quickly, um, I was living in Miami, Florida, uh, I don't know, I moved down there in 2003 and I moved back to Chicago to, to found this company with my brother, um, but down there I had a consultation business working with restaurants, bars, and hotels. I was working with the, uh, uh. A Michelin starred restaurant group back in Chicago who we will remain nameless right now, but yeah, I worked with those guys and then I took the knowledge I kind of got from them and went down to Miami and sold it. I had a consultation business that talked with restaurants, bars, and hotels about how to kind of Uh, improve their steps of service and just be better restaurants. Um, when COVID came, they shut down all the bars, restaurants, hotels in Miami, and I found myself having to reinvent myself. So, uh, sat on the couch for about two weeks, like bleaching the walls and the doorknobs and the light switches and, you know, going crazy in the house watching like I Love Lucy reruns and all types of stupid, but uh. You know, I just couldn't do it anymore. I'm not a kind of sit on the couch guy, so, um, I actually started driving Uber and uh I didn't want to use my car, so I rented one of theirs, and, uh, they give you like, you know, a Hyundai Sonata or something like that, and um I drove for like two days and I was like, yeah, this is not, I'm not going to be able to, uh, people are in the car, they're coughing like all type of wash. I was like, yeah, it's just not working out. Um, so then from there I kind of, I, you know, I tried to take the car back. Uh, I was like, all right, I'm done. I can't be an Uber driver, it's not for me. And uh he was like, well, you have to keep the car for 30 days, like, you know, you're, you're paying for it for 30 days. And I'm like, OK, so what am I going to do with this Hyundai Sonata now, you know, and I decided to deliver for Uber Eats, um, just because I didn't have people in the car and that, that worked out for me. Um, I ended up doing a delivery for a liquor store down there and, you know, I picked up like 15 cases of beer, but it was like. You know, natural ice and like, you know, Coors Light and you know whatever so I'm thinking I'm going to like some white toga party, you know, like a bunch of kids that I'm gonna deliver this stuff to, um, and I'm on Miami Beach and I roll up to this like mass like, you know, on the water and like the iron gates and everything it's huge and the gates open and there's a bunch of black people inside and they're about, you know, maybe 20-30 couples they're having a pool party. And I'm still super confused because I've been to a bunch of parties with black people and I've never seen anyone drinking a natural ice, so I was like, OK, what is going on here? So you know, we're unloading the car and uh a guy comes over and he's helping me unload the stuff and so I'm, you know. Automatically like, so is this beer for you guys? Like, you know, and he's like, yeah, like, you know, and um, you know, I keep unloading stuff and like the last one I'm carrying in I'm like, yo, so where, where are you guys from, you know, and they're like, Louisville, and I'm Louisville, right? So I'm like, Um, maybe I just missed the whole faction of blackness that I didn't really know about before, being in Chicago and Miami and New York and Atlanta and LA and all these other places, and I've never been to Louisville, so I've never seen black people drinking beer like this. Now my father was a huge beer drinker. I mean, we would go to Comiskey Park there in Chicago and I was telling these guys, you know, he played a beer game, so the beer game was you drink every pitch, like, you know, and he would. Go through they stopped serving in the 7th inning, you know, my dad would drink 10 beers, like, you know what I'm saying, so it was a, I come from a beer drinking, you know, household, and I just never saw him drink a natural ice or a Coors Light or the kind that they were drinking. But after having that experience, I drove away from that house and I thought to myself, you know, maybe we could sell black people some beer, and that, that was where I was at the time, um. So I thought about it. I started looking up a little bit and I called my brother, and you know, and I said, dude, I think we can start a beer company. Um, he called me back like 4:30 the next morning. He's like, we're going to start a beer company and we're going to name it Moore's. And I was like, yeah, yeah, that's exactly what we're going to do, and that's kind of How it went, you know,

Speaker 6 [14:13] awesome. Uh, so what were your first thoughts when you heard about the residency?

Speaker 2 [14:17] Um, for us, uh, you know, just starting out, I think the residency, uh, opportunity came about in our like 8th or 9th month, and it was, uh, during Black History Month. So for us it was a, a, a great opportunity to, for a couple of reasons. One, it was a great opportunity for us to network. Work and connect with some of the other black brewers in Chicago and, you know, just to leverage their expertise and see what their motivations were and, you know, just to create some synergies there. um, but additionally, we, we were targeting, you know, to be quite frank, we were targeting the Fulton Market District uh in Chicago, which, which is where Hay Market is, is located. And we were, you know, targeting that area for a few accounts, you know, the, the area has a great, you know, it's a bubbling area for, you know, young, um, professionals, um, so we were targeting that area and we saw it as a great opportunity to, Not only worked with, uh, you know, the other black brews, but, and, and Haymarket has a great, uh, reputation in Chicago as well. So, um, we thought it was just opportunistic, you know, we, we thought it was a chance to get our product in front of people that may not have heard of us yet. Um, we saw it as a chance to grow.

Speaker 3 [15:28] Yeah, we're in about, just really quickly, we're in about 7, Michelin star restaurants in Chicago. And the Fulton Market district had like 5 of our restaurants. So for, um, you know, Mike to come and say, hey, we want to have you guys do something here in Haymarket, I'm like, shit, that's in Fulton Market too, like we got to do it, you know, it was kind of that way.

Speaker 1 [15:47] So what are the kinds of things that you guys did as a brewery to take full advantage of this residency and this takeover?

Speaker 2 [15:53] Sure, we leveraged our expertise in event planning and things like that, right? So with Haymarkett being in the prime area in Fulton Market District, we thought it was a great opportunity to Bring our crowd to that area, um, uh, leverage the space, uh, for great events. So we did, I think we did did about 4 events at, at Haymarket doing the, um, the residency. Uh, we started with a, uh, house music, uh. Event, you know, House Speak is pretty big in Chicago. I believe Haymarket is actually located on International House Music DJ Row or something like that.

Speaker 4 [16:30] Yeah, DJ International, which is, here

Speaker 2 [16:31] we go. I had it wrong. That helped. There we go,

Speaker 4 [16:33] launching,

Speaker 2 [16:35] yeah, so we, we started with house music in addition to the, you know, the dance party. We also showed the documentary on the history of house music in Chicago. So, so just trying

Speaker 3 [16:47] to Astounding success, by the way,

Speaker 2 [16:50] uh, incorporate, you know, um, some education in with, with some, some partying. Uh, we also collaborated with the other black brewers, uh, with Sam's, uh, recipe called the Chicago Uncommon. We launched that on, on the Super Bowl Sunday, uh, so that was great, and we also did, uh, a couple of happy hours and, uh, uh, NBA All-Star event there. So we did quite a, we, we took advantage of, uh, Haymarket Brewery. So thanks, Mike.

Speaker 6 [17:16] Uh, Mike, what did other breweries do with the space during those six weeks?

Speaker 2 [17:19] Uh, I'm

Speaker 4 [17:20] sorry. So the other brewers that participate in here, um, Funky Town held a couple of events, one of which was a game night, and it was a celebration of community around those games, uh, bones and spades, played dominoes and, and played a lot of hip hop, R&B, just. About the culture and and made it their own space and that was kind of the target and the goal of the residency for these events was to make the space your own because 3 of the 4 entities don't have their own brick and mortars and as they were saying, we are in a very hot neighborhood in Chicago for bars and restaurants and that type of exposure was something that we could offer up for all of these brands. Uh, even in the educational side, I mean, Sam, um, Sam and Jay partnered with Mickey Bryant from Black and Brew Chicago, uh, Black and Brew Chicago being a non for profit educational organization in craft beer space trying to educate and promote inclusivity on around the, the craft beer space for, uh, for minority, um, consumers.

Speaker 1 [18:36] Just a little shout out to Funky Town who won our Brewbound Live 2021 pitch. Sam,

Speaker 3 [18:42] big up to those guys.

Speaker 2 [18:43] Funky Town.

Speaker 5 [18:44] Shout out.

Speaker 1 [18:45] So Sam, what's next for Harold?

Speaker 5 [18:48] What's next for Harold's? That's a great question that we send emails about every day, text messages and like people are asleep and we just, it's also a constant thing. With me being in Big Beer, being in the 312 Goose Island, you can go to certain neighborhoods, you can turn a corner, it's 312 on that place, 312 there, 312 there. I just want Harold's 83 to be just a big beer, you know, I want to take the model of that, but Also within Big Beer, uh, some things are opening back up, I wanna go back to the lounges and the clubs, not just necessarily the tap rooms. Like I was talking to this gentleman right here, we're from the same neighborhood, and it's like, yo, I wanna go back to that neighborhood, we can. Those small places, those small, uh, communities, they're like, yo, this is one of your sons, this, I'm one of your own, you know, so, get some heroes 3, honey.

Speaker 6 [19:42] Mike, will Haymarket do this again in the future? And have you seen a halo effect with, uh, new customers visiting Haymarket?

Speaker 4 [19:49] Um, to the latter question, yes, absolutely, we've gotten such great feedback from the residency program that we're actually carrying all of the breweries that participated. All of their beers are continually offered at the brew pub, uh, because of that demand, um. As far as doing it again next year, we're constantly in talks, and that was always the intention with this to not just be a one and done deal but to evolve it and to continue to work together, to continue to be resources for one another, to collaborate and build it possibly in a different fashion or in the same likeness on the beer side, but to just foster community.

Speaker 1 [20:31] And just one last plug for that text line if you have any final questions for our panelists, that's 617-336-8560. Damon and Jamal, as the founders of this new beer company, what lessons did you learn during this residency that you're gonna bring into the continued growth of your brand?

Speaker 2 [20:50] Uh, I would definitely have to say, uh, the power of collaboration, um, the strength in numbers, uh, you know, um, I think, you know, we. Uh, just to measure the impact of the residency and the collaboration with Haymarket and the other brewers, I believe we were probably at, you know, in our beer was being carried in one or two locations in the Fulton Market, Market district, but after, I think we're in like 11. In the, in the, in the area now so that's been impactful for us, um, like I said, it, it opened doors for us, uh, that we were already knocking on, you know, uh, it just helped that door kinda kinda completely open, uh, the, the media and PR that that, uh, that was, uh, uh, done surrounding the collaboration was definitely huge for us, so we leveraged it quite well, uh, we. Ended up in uh the United Center uh after it, you know, so we loved it, you know, we loved it, we, we intend to continue, um, collaborating with, you know, the black brewers in Chicago as well as Haymarket and everyone, you know. So I, I would say the biggest lesson was the power of collaboration and how far it could take you, um, you know, just being able to be in front of people that, you know, you may not have the opportunity to otherwise be in front of. So, um, that's the one biggest takeaway for, for me.

Speaker 3 [22:18] I mean, I guess for me that that takeaway is huge as well. I mean, we have, uh, you know, like my brother said, we were talking to the United Center for Paper probably 3 months, maybe 2 or 3 months, then. We get a picture in the paper and all of a sudden, you know, they're calling us, so it's like a whole different thing. I think other than, than that power of a collaboration, um, it would be just kind of the scalability thing, you know, um, because of the demand, you know, we need more beer. I mean, one thing that's been really kind of prevalent in each one of the African American owned breweries that we're seeing around the country is that not many of them have their own facility. Um, and that's something we definitely are working hard to kind of correct on our end there in Chicago in the Midwest, um, but yeah, I think that's probably the biggest thing that, that, that taking care of the demand once you create it is like the whole game really.

Speaker 2 [23:16] I mean, and just to add really quickly to that, you know, um, I, I think that's a, a big problem, uh, that we, as Damon stated, we intend to correct, you know, because I think the lack of space and, and, you know, it, it really affects your business when you work so hard to create the demand, right? And when you can't get back into the tanks to produce the, at the level that you've created. Um, it could kill your business. So, um, to alleviate that, we're working very hard to get, you know, a facility. Uh, actually, the largest facility in I'm about to say

Speaker 3 [23:52] America, right? The, the thing is, like, you know, now we've seen, like, you know, these 8 to $9 million dollar facility like, you know, we come at this as neophytes. We, we launched on Juneteenth of last year. Like you said, this is our 10th month of operation, so I'm thinking, all right, I need a couple million. I'll build a, you know, we'll build a nice place, you know. And I'm walking in places like nah, like, you know, and now you see a Lamborghini, you know, and then they want you to go hop in a Corolla and be OK like driving home like it's just not, it's not gonna happen like you know now I need $10 million for my facility so that, you know, so it's, it's no. I learn, you grow,

Speaker 2 [24:27] yeah, yeah, just like the facility standpoint, you know, I think that will eliminate, I mean, just my thinking, will eliminate a lot of the problems and will help a lot of the, the, the minority owned brewers grow. Um, just for example, in Illinois, like I said. Uh, if we were able to have a space, we would, you know, commit to making beer for all of the, uh, minority beer owners in Chicago, um, in Illinois, and abroad. I mean, where, where, wherever actually, um, you know, we wanna create something, you know, uh, more than just uh, the flash in the pan type of thing. We wanna grow the space. Uh, we believe that, you know, being brand forward, um, with our brand and our, and, and of course, producing great juice, uh, will grow the space, not just from a manufacturer's standpoint, but from a consumer standpoint. Um, and so far, it, it's, it's, it's really worked well for us, so we wanna definitely prove concept further in Illinois and, and, and take our show on the road. So, um, We expect great things in the future.

Speaker 1 [25:32] Um, just wanted to let everyone know that Funky Town Brewery is watching and they wanted to say hello and what's up, especially to

Speaker 3 [25:38] our brothers was that Z and Rich watching, I'm guarantee,

Speaker 1 [25:43] um, to just wrap this up, it's when we think about these programs, it's definitely like easy to think. About what the craft beer industry would look like if there are these programs in more cities, both behind the scenes and just the consumer base. So Mike, if you want to start and if anyone else has some final words on it, just what advice would you give to people who are looking to replicate this program?

Speaker 4 [26:07] Um, invite and then listen because there are a lot of Goals, desires that people have that They're wanting to take part. And we have the ability. When we're already established. To hand it over really and give them that experience and let them participate at that level. And just be the friend. Just, just be there, guide them along and, and be that resource.

Speaker 5 [26:44] I would say that uh if you're hosting and you plan on uh just following our example, our lead, uh, thank you, uh, uh, just know that we're all different, you know, there's diversity within diversity. Uh, my goals are totally different from Damon and Jamal's, and we understand that, you know, like. Uh, but our same goal is to grow the 1% to 2% to 3% to 4% to have a bigger Part of the market, so if you're going to emulate this program or just know that like, hey, one guy's a shift brewer, but the collaboration let me write as a writer, it gave me an opportunity to do something that Um, maybe it's below my pay grade at Goose Island, but to my brothers, they say, hey, Sam, we trust you, man, like, yo, you, you wanna sign off on this? Go right ahead. And then with that, with that, it's like, hey, I wrote the juice, can you sell it? And that's when Damon and Jamal come in, and then there's Jay, he has another thing with the media and how do we get back to corporate, uh, get back to uh Uh, community and charitable, so we're all different. It's diversity within diversity. So when you, you pull DEIE on, just know we're all different. And have different goals.

Speaker 2 [28:09] It might occur but all right, there we go, um, just really quick, um, I think, uh, it's important to continue this program in other places. I think, uh, other, you know, large brew houses in other cities should definitely reach out to the, the, uh, African American and brown brewers in, in their state, in their city to, uh, do, do similar. Things, uh, just being able to, uh, have access and visibility actually I think is important not just to them but to the community at large. Uh, it pretty much opens up, uh, the beer space or the craft beer space to African Americans and brown people as career paths and, and understanding that there's many different roles that, that work together to make this great thing, you know. Work come um come about and the finished product, right? Um, understanding that there's great, uh, there's art and creativity in, in, in the recipe crafting, you know, one of our biggest things is to, uh, pair, we, we, we, we make our beer to pair well with food, right? Much like winemakers. Um, we think that's a, a big, a big, uh, area that, that hasn't, uh, been exploited to the fullest. We think we can grow the space there. Uh, there's a ton of ideas and a ton of creativity, I think, um, that comes from collaborating. Um, I think, uh, just really quick, I think being more welcoming as well, right? Um, I think, you know, for us, we wanted to be unapologetic and And leaning into the culture with, with, with our brand, um, I, I think a lot of our, uh, counterparts and cohorts, um, that look like us want to do the same thing but maybe a little afraid, um, because the existing industry don't look really welcoming and I was speaking to my friends today about that and it doesn't necessarily mean it's not welcoming. It just doesn't appear to be so, right? And, um, so I think, you know, the industry at large could use a bit of a face lift and so just some, just um some, some engaging in new creative ideas to grow the space. So, and, and to do that, you have to include more people and uh I think there's a lane for us and for everyone and uh I think you should continue to, to exploit it. Uh, thank you.

Speaker 3 [30:43] Yeah, I just uh kinda add to what Jamal, yeah, clap, let's clap, that's. Just kind of to add on what my brother said, I mean, like, you know, there's, there's two options here. I mean, we're new to the space, we're complete neophytes. I don't know any of you guys, you know, I mean, this is my first CBC. I love meeting everybody. Um, but what I'm, what I'm kind of, it can stay homogeneous, you know, we can have a, a, a universe of sameness in craft beer for the next, I mean, you know, what schlitz and paps and. The best started in 1844, so we're talking about 180 years of this industry kind of being the same, you know, um, and I think the pervasive sentiment right now is that it needs to change, and I like seeing the progression. And, and just as my brother was saying, it's, you know, you walk in a room sometimes like, all right, you know, we're raising in a bowl of milk again, that's, you know, it's, it's we're, we're expecting that, but what I have been very happy about seeing is um just how inclusive, just how receptive everyone has been, you know, we haven't really run into a bunch of haters, you know, everybody, I mean, you know, we've got a black man on a beer can, and that. was something I thought was going to be a lot more galvanizing than it's happened to be. People are resonating to our imagery and our uh messaging, and we are really leaning into our culture, um, to kind of make sure that there is some diversity in this industry, and that's, that's what we're trying to do. So just to kind of, you know, coattail ride on what my brother said here, I think if, um, you know, our true allies in the space make themselves known. And uh just kind of listen as, as Mike was saying to what we're trying to tell you we need, which is a fucking facility, quite frankly, like, you know, I mean, if we, if we listen to what is absolutely necessary for the people that are trying to diversify this particular industry and we make sure that those things are available to them, I think we'll have what we want, which is a diverse industry that is not just making the same kind of sameness over and over again for the next 200 years, you know.

Speaker 6 [32:52] Awesome. I mean, that's a perfect place to leave it. Um, guys, I, I can't wait to hear about the next residency program next year. Uh, Mike, you said we're going to do it again, so I look forward to coming out to visit. Um, this has been great. Thank you all so much for being here. Uh, before we land this plane, a huge thank you to our sponsors, Dogfish Head, Lily Pad, and Compass.

Speaker 3 [33:16] Thank you guys.

Speaker 6 [33:18] Uh, Scott Laboratories, Race Beer Division, Omega Engineering, Vicinity Brew, and Brew One Spectrum Azaka. And Spectrum, I said that already. And one more hop that I'm forgetting by the Bart Haas Group. Thank you. Eclipse. Woo, it's been a day. Thank you all so much for watching at home. Thank you all for being here. Can't wait to hang out and have some more beers now that thank you

Speaker 3 [33:40] guys for a great interview.

Speaker 1 [33:41] Thank you. And if you're watching on the live stream, you can watch a replay if you missed any of our panels earlier today.

Speaker 6 [33:48] Everything will be at brewbound.com. And now I really need a beer.

Speaker 1 [33:51] Moor's. That's great. Thank you.