loading...
In this interview we asked Chris about what made him go from an environmental professor to a proud owner of a brewery. Chris studied environmental science and made a career teaching it for 15 years at Endicott College. Risking everything and against the advice of friends and experts in the field, he put a business plan in place to create his brewery in a historic train station known as the Union Depot in North Canaan Connecticut.
Chris spent a year at the University of Southern California in LA, which he felt was not the right fit for him. He transferred to UCONN and graduated with a degree in Biology. Immediately after university he spent some time working and doing research on how forests grow in New England. After that he decided to earn a PhD at Idaho State University, which took about seven years.
Chris continued his education by doing a year and a half postdoctoral in which he studied global climate change and urban ecology. He managed a small team of 4-5 people who worked together to understand which city models would be best for natural ecosystems in the future.
Chris taught environmental science for fifteen years at Endicott. As a professor, he had intermittent vacations that allowed him time to travel and explore other hobbies. For example, he brewed his own beer at home and instructed at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut during the summers.
After consulting family, friends and some people in the industry, Chris went against their advice to not pursue a business in beer brewing. Throughout his life, Chris has always asked himself: “What new adventure is there for me to explore?” Feeling that his heart was leading him to the new adventure of opening a brewery, Chris did just that. Starting his company has been the biggest undertaking of his life, so he made sure to be extremely thorough during his planning stages. He did a thorough research on the industry and surrounded himself with people that would assist and support him.
According to the Brewers Association (BA) there are six types of craft beer market segments: Microbreweries, brewpubs, taprooms, regional, contract proprietors and alternating proprietors. BA categorizes Great Falls Brewery Co. as a taproom brewery, which is defined as “A professional brewery that sells 25%+ of its beer on-site and does not operate significant food services. Beer is brewed…and is often dispensed directly from the brewery’s storage tanks. Where allowed by law, taproom breweries often sell beer to-go…”
Oregon has one of the highest number of breweries per capita because of its regulations, but opportunities in other states with stricter regulations might retract. BA says that states like MN, DC, TX, and NY have recently made changes to make direct sales easier.
Source: Brewers Association.
Microbrewery taprooms are the hottest business model, according to Brewers Association.
$75,000 per year.
This varies depending profitability.
Owners earn about 11% of total earnings.
An apprenticeship is advised.
Some Brewery courses include one.
Recommended Business,
Finance, Entrepreneurship
or/and a Brewery degree.
If you are very young
and you haven’t spent much time thinking about what you’d want to do,
continue to get education.
A love for beer, as Chris puts it. Whether you become a brewer of beer or you run the business side, you have to have a passion or interest in beer. An understanding of the brewing process like boiling, fermenting, conditioning and filtering (just to name a few) and a general understanding of chemistry, physics, microbiology and engineering will provide a solid foundation for this career. Creativity, resourcefulness, and ability to be analytical are some of the qualities of an entrepreneur, as is a willingness to keep learning.
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.
Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
– Helen Keller
