Good Nature Brewing

Good Nature Brewing

Brewery In Progress - Estimated Opening: January 2012

Location: 37 Milford St, Hamilton, NY

Livin' the dream!

I am BEYOND jealous of Carrie Blackmore and Matt Whalen of Good Nature Brewing.  I'll have to be honest though, Jason handed me the article written about them from The Post-Standard and it took me a good day or two to actually pick it up and read it, just from pure jealousy.  Then, I got over dumb myself, read the article, fell in love and have reinstated my own brewery dreams as a possibility.

Where to begin... I guess first with a sincere congratulations!  It takes a lot of guts to start a new business, let alone a brewery, and Matt & Carrie definitely have some guts.  Good Nature Brewing will be Madison County's first brewery and will focus on using local ingredients and will create unfiltered, natural brews free from additives and adjuncts.  I'm happy to see that they are utilizing Foothill Hops, that's where Jason and I actually bought our supply of hops and they're fantastic and local.  I'm also super excited about how much help Good Nature Brewing is receiving, not only from the general public but from the government as well.  Madison County provided them with $35,000 in seed money (omg...) which could turn from a low-interest loan to a grant if they hire "a low- to moderate-income employee within a year" (Potrikus, The Post-Standard).  I mean, $35,000 to start a brewery!  Come on!  That's maybe the coolest thing since sliced bread...  Ohhh the possibilities...  **takes a minute to daydream about opening a brewery...**

Whalen & Blackmore at a beer tasting.

(courtesy of Good Nature's facebook page)

Good Nature's proposed brewery space.

(courtesy of Good Nature's facebook page)

Anddd I'm back.  Here's OverCarbonated's advice to the happy couple and Good Nature Brewing:

(1)  BEER:  Don't be afraid to take risks.  So far on your website I can see that you've perfected a Pale Ale, IPA and Mocha Porter, all of which I'm sure are fantastic, but they are pretty standard in the brewing world.  While it's important to master the basics, I would also push the envelope on brewing and try some crazy combinations.  For instance, Jason and I threw some pineapple into a batch of our IPA, just for the hell of it.  I'm not sure if our friends were just being courteous but our PiPA seemed to go over pretty well.  Get a little crazy!  Do some small test batches and test them out in your tap room; a good reaction means perfect it & brew it bigger.

(2)  BREWPUB:  Ever think about combining a small restaurant to your brewery?  A wise man (Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head) once wrote:

"In my research I learned that brewpubs had one-tenth the failure rate of restaurants that open without breweries.  I knew this statistic would be critical in raising capital...  I decided that I wanted to own a brewery in a restaurant as opposed to a straightforward beer-production factory because I felt there was great brand-building value in direct interactions with the customer...  They were paying us and providing feedback on our beer, and yet they enjoyed a level of input into what we brewed that is unheard of in the world of large-scale commercial brewing." (Calagione, Brewing Up a Business, p. 23-4)

I'm not sure if the thought has crossed the minds of Good Nature Brewing but I hope it does.  Opening a small restaurant in your brewery does not have to be extensive.  It could be mostly sandwiches, paninis, salads, cheese plates, what not...  But it'll attract a following and provide an outlet for people to really spend time at your establishment, enjoying your beer and munching.  For instance, Clark's Ale House in Syracuse (reopening soon, yayyy) serves beer and primarily one killer sandwich, and it's just enough.  I think it would be worth it so I'm hoping that this is part of their business plan.

(3)  BRANDING:  Build on an idea, build your brand and execute it perfectly.  There's nothing sadder than traveling (which I do often) to visit a brewery or brewpub to disappointed by the look and atmosphere of the establishment.  Your logo, pint glasses, shirts and website look fantastic right now so you're definitely heading in the right direction.  Let that energy flow into the look and feel of your brewery:

"Branding is the way you differentiate your products from those of the competition... It's every tool and technique you use to translate your company's philosophy to the consumer" (Calagione, Brewing Up a Business, p. 71)

(4)  EMPLOYEES:  If you're looking for any low-income employees... holler at me.  Turns out working in a restaurant, having an expensive taste in beer and running a small-scale beer blog doesn't ring in the bucks, who knew.  But it's not about money, it's about living the dream, and honestly, I am beyond excited for the possibility and potential your brewery has.  Make sure you hire the right people who have the same amount of honest excitement as you and really believe in what you are creating.

Live long and prosper,

OverCarbonated