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Edgar Preciado is making the leap from collaboration beers with breweries, most notably the late Indie Brewing, to his own brewery connected with Border X Brewing in Bell…
Beer Thug Life Brewing. There is a WeFunder underway so you can donate to the life.
The name and logo seem just like any other….
…but underneath the hood, it is not one brewery but a contract brewery for start-ups. Instead of sneaking in a batch inbetween others. This Chicago facility brews exclusively for others. And the key component is that it will also feature a tap room for those beers to be sold at.
It would be great if each major beer city had an establishment like this. Not only would it prospectively weed out the brewers who are not up to snuff but it would also alleviate the out-of-town drive to the Bay Area or parts way east of the city for LA brewers who want to brew beer before they have a facility.
Just re-name it Grand Central.
Some in the beer snob camp have a moral aversion to contract brewing. I do not find it as odious because I understand that there may be people of brewing skill who do not have access to the funding needed to become a fully operational craft brewery. And call it the Trader Joe’s effect but I don’t mind private label brands. To me, the beer comes first. The only downside that I have trouble with is that many of the “brands” don’t disclose the full nature either out of fear that beer fans will consider it not “crafty” enough or because Marketing 101 tells them not to. OK, the other downside is that the current contract brewers seem a bit below average.
Enter Octopi Brewing who are positioning themselves as “a one-stop shop for new beer brands, established breweries and hospitality chains.” They not only have new German brewing equipment but they also will assist in brand development too. You get brewers and designers.
If this and BrewHub in Florida take off, maybe a California version won’t be far behind.