Sacred Profane Brewing Launching Summer 2022

I'm not Todd, but have also been following this thread for awhile. I don't recall any questioning of ability. I do recall a lot of unfounded and caustic posts that were, well, exactly what women and BIPOC folks in the brewing industry have been talking about for years now. I think the article takes a little creative liberty by calling it a questioning of chops, but the sentiment remains the same.

 

I’ve been following the thread since it’s inception and there were a bunch of posts that were hostile toward Miss Allan specifically and her opinions on various beer and industry issues. The posts of which I speak came from one or two BAs in particular. There were no comments questioning brewing ability, quite the contrary.

On another note, the dark lager looks beautiful.

 

I really think that any "high-profile" brewer with bold opinions or brewing concept is going to get argued about on the BA forums, and some of those comments are going to be negative. See discussions re: Greg Koch, Tony Magee, Mikkel and Jeppe Bjergsø , Shaun Hill, etc.

Obvious the reason she is "high profile" creates a unique dynamic here, but I think equating any criticality with misogynism like the article implies is a little to simplistic.

 

Again, I’m rooting for her and the brewery to succeed. I think we could use more places like this. But I ask, is there anyone here on BA rooting AGAINST her and Sacred Profane? But I don’t think she’s doing herself any favors when she says stuff like:
“It’s like there’s no way I could possibly specialize in something they don’t know anything about,” Allan said of the forum commenters.
One thing we know about is that craft beer drinkers love variety, so it’s not exactly out of bounds to speculate whether or not a place serving two beers can satisfy enough of the beer nerds to be successful long term. I happen to think it can, but it does seem like a legit concern that has nothing to do with either her being a woman or her ability to brew excellent lagers. I also thought her quote about people questioning her ability to be professional because she has tattoos a bit strange. I mean, aren’t tattoos mainstream now? Nearly every female teacher I work with has one or more tattoos.

 

This portion of the article stood out to me:

She started work as a brewer at Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 2012. As her love of brewing deepened, Allan wanted to educate herself more in the field.

Allan said the brewery gave her male colleagues funds for continuing education to boost their brewing skills, while advising Allan to apply for scholarships. “Because they didn’t want to waste the money on me,” she said.

Jack’s Abby Chief Executive Officer Sam Hendler rebutted Allan’s claim, and provided documentation of payment for her memberships to brewing associations, a brewing course at Cornell University and expenses to attend a hop harvest in Washington State for educational purposes.

Allan would not address Hendler’s response, but had said her treatment at Jack’s Abby drove her to win scholarships for courses that would further her career.

 

Completely separate from Sacred and Profane (well maybe not completely), but I wonder if people would feel differently if it were different styles.

Say, just a New England and West Coast IPA. Or just a Hefeweizen and Dunkelweizen.

If they're successful, I'm curious if more brewer's might try this. Just one or two beers that you absolutely CRUSH. I could see it being a trend, and a successful one at that. Less overhead, no need to package the beer, creates buzz and foot traffic because you can ONLY get the beer at the source...it's an interesting concept and is a stark contrast to the Other Half's and Tree House's of the world.

 

At this point, my biggest concern is getting to Portland to try these beers.

 

*Sacred Profane

You point out that there is no need to package the beer if consumed only at the source, but the image on the Sacred Profane T-shirt contains a beer can. I point this out because I hope they do package beer for take-away, and the image on the shirt suggests they might do so.

 

You don’t have to go that far, it’s located in Biddeford.

 

I've been following this thread because I have exactly this curiosity myself. It seems like a concept that has some real potential. And honestly, one of the few ideas I've heard recently that seems like it might be able to out a dent in ipa hegemony.

Personally, in the case of Sacred Profane, I think the more important thing might be the rest of the experience beyond the two beers. Can they build a space that people are drawn too regardless of the beer? If they can, I think they'll be able to thrive and drive interest in the beer.

It's also an interesting model for a distributing brewery. I've got my suspicions that there's going to be a lot of excess brewing capacity around the country in the coming years, and someone with the technical expertise and dedication to detail could probably build a single beer brand of a style that they love that could be produced economically and become a very competitive product.

Can't wait to see how this concept goes over

 

You could start a new thread with a poll.

I am not certain how the BA subsegment of the craft beer market will respond but it sure seems to me that for the broader craft beer community there is a strong desire/demand for variety. The small, local craft brewery taprooms in my area have lots of varying beer brands (and beer styles thankfully) for their customers to choose from.

A little while back I started a thread which I entitled "Sometimes less is more"

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/sometimes-less-is-more.667197/

I was wondering if any other brewery had a taproom where only two beers were served on draft. In other words are there any other breweries out there that practice the same beer business model as Sacred Profane. Some BAs mentioned McSorley's in NYC but that place is just a bar, it is not a brewery.

Cheers!

 

I remember her alluding to the fact that she was treated differently at JA (i don't think she ever specifically named them). But when did the second part come out?

 

It’s in the article that was linked above. The poster below pasted it.

 

I think SF founders / owners are right in the pocket of the current hype craft lager scene. I think this is somewhat of an outlier in regards to a business model, but it will definitely be interesting to see if any trends emerge from it.

regardless, they clearly have a passion for beer, and I can’t wait to try their beer.

 

Thanks, and my bad. Guess I can’t complain about other people’s reading comprehension anymore.

 

If I'm mistaken, sorry, but I believe the initial concept was to have these beers packaged in 12 packs. That may have changed, maybe that's a little ways down the road, who knows. We're not far off from finding out in either case.

 

Ugh! I keep doing that, thank you for correcting me.

Regarding the packaged beer:

I did recall them saying they’d packaged beer, but I think other breweries striving for this concept could potentially opt not to package it. I’m also genuinely curious how that would work, especially since it generates hype.

For example, I adore Notch (no secret on these forums), but many of their beers are simply next level on draft. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve traveled to the brewery just to have a new (or old favorite) on draft.

I also think of instances like Pliny the Younger prior to its bottling (and I realize this isn’t a perfect analogy since that’s only a once/year release).

 

I'd also say (and you and I have talked about this) that there are some Notch beers that are just so much better on draft than in cans. I imagine the versatility of being able to have SP's beers on draft with specific pours is a huge draw. At least it would be for me.

 

If there was an annual BA contest for "Understatement of the Year" I would 'vote' for you here!

I have no experience with Notch beer (draft or canned) but there are several considerations in play here:

Quality of the canning line

If a brewery purchases a 'top of the line' canning line and just as importantly properly maintain/operate the line the resulting beers can be very, very good. As a point of example a small, local craft brewery near me (Tired Hands) fairly recently replaced their existing canning line (which was quite new) with a new 'top of the line' Codi canning line and their canned beers are every bit as good as the draft product at the brewery.

Distribution system

I am uncertain whether all of the Notch cans you purchase are on-site purchases but how the canned beer is 'managed' after it leaves the brewery will be impactful. The only brewery in my area that demands their beers be maintained cold throughout the long supply chain (including retail) is Lawson's. I personally feel confident in buying those canned beers since they are continuously stored cold.

Drinking draft beer at the 'source' is always the best option. And for certain beer styles how they are poured will matter: I enjoyed my draft Workhorse Czech Pilsner I had last night at the brewery which was poured via a Lukr side-pull faucet.

Cheers!

 

I was recently thinking about how Notch might be the place to visit rather than buy cans. I finally had a chance to try several of their packaged beers, and while they were good, there are several other breweries I enjoyed cans more. For example, my favorite Wild East makes excellent beers, but their serving techniques are not there yet. The same goes for Schilling. I had a couple of mediocre Lukr pours at the brewery earlier this week, while everything I had from the can was outstanding and more articulated compared to Notch.