Blacklist Brewing Twin Cities

http://www.blacklistbrewing.com/index.php/beer-art-project-2013/faq

Brian Schanzenbach, Founder/Master Brewer ... has brewed professionally for for over 7 years, mostly at the Brewhouse in Duluth, MN.

I don't know if you'd consider it a production brewery, but it is more than home brewer turned pro.

 

Just looking for a bit more clarification. Saying things like "brewed professionally for 7 years, mostly at...". Needs a bit more detail when you are asking people for cash. This guy may have worked there for a month or seven years. I just want to know who is asking me to pony up.

 

Hi Guys, Jon again. Brian is clearly more capable of answering questions regarding his experience but has his hands full with the next generation of brewer, Lil' Oliver "Von" Schanzenbach. So I will answer what I can to see if that satisfies your need for street cred.​

He originally did an internship at Lake Superior Brewing prior to Seibel, has done guest brews with Thirsty Pagen and a couple other breweries. (Hence the mostly at Fitgers because those experiences are minimal and he was at Fitgers for over 6 years.) Prior to Seibel he got an undergrad in microbiology from UMD, and has since earned the nickname "Yeast Whisperer." He has played a large part in establishing the sour and barrel-age program at Fitgers, which has taken a medal or two away from the almighty New Belgium at the Chicago barrel-aged festival. He manned the tun through two expansions of the facility and help establish new methods for both quality and efficiency. "Yes, you do need a protein rest" He is the unofficial protege of the Hoops Brothers, Dave and Mike, who will, and have, vouched for his skill as a brewer and his integrity as a person on several occasions. ​

Fitgers itself is one of the most productive brewhouses in the midwest so definitely has the cred as a "production" brewery to the extent that is a positive thing. (not much push button brewing or emphasis on cost cutting) While Brian's experience there was a positive one, the owners decision to continue expansion via restaurants has cut down on many of the beers Brian was passionate about to satisfy the base beers, so it was time to move on to his own gig.​

Our competitive advantage is we are trying to establish a "niche of a niche" and scale. As more people are exposed to craft beer, via the now well saturated market, a percentage of them will gain a taste for the exotic and specialty beers that Brian pours his heart into. We see our selves as taking an angle on brewing that defies being commoditized and will continue to expand the boundaries of Midwestern craft beer. Our scale will always allow us to push it further then our larger brethren, who will follow suit eventually. We are not investing much into marketing any one particular beer but rather the idea of innovation and our own creativity to make something unique. If we are successful it will be a beacon that all the slightly repressed brewers out there can point to and say "See, there is a market for that. Let me make some." ​

Thanks again for your interest.​

Jon​

​

 

Good information. I'm interested. I've never been able to justify a Bruery RS membership, but I like the fact that this is local. The Fitgers pedigree goes a long way with me too...

Before I consider signing up, I'd need to know a couple things:

1) Where exactly are the pick-up locations? I see you have tentative arrangements worked out, but unless you want me to tentatively pay, I'm hoping for a commitment.

2) Are these really things that I can't get unless I'm a member? If it turns out you only get 20 people to sign up, are these beers going to show up in quantities, and at a market price lower than $25?

3) Also, there is the art thing. The beer and the art are different products. Why not start two companies and collaborate occasionally? Why does it have to be the same company? Is there precidence for this type of built-in collaboration? I can't help feeling like I'm paying for art when I'm buying beer. Are you REALLY trying to limit yourself to hardcore beer fans that are also interested in undisclosed art endevours? Is it ok to just want to try the beer, or am I not your target market?

To echo John, I hope that doesn't seem harsh. I really am interested, but it is hard to commit to any one of the dozens of new start-ups at this level. Your willingness to address these questions certainly means a lot.

 

i would love to do this, because the beers sound interesting and potentially great. am not willing to pay the full pricetag. seems to me a perfect opportunity to split a membership and share the beers. who's with me? i'll write the check.

 

Tough sell for me. Not really interested in the art. Not willing to make a special trip into Minneapolis to pick up one bottle (knowing it will probably be in the least convenient location for me). Being able to get three bottles a month is more attractive, but I also have to buy the art that I don't want. Need a three bottle a month for a year with no art option that is less than $600. I would roll the dice at that.

 

We should be concerned about the future of a lot of the new MN breweries. It seems like a lot of entrepreneurs (that have very little experience)are currently getting involved in starting new MN breweries. Most of the new guys seem occupied with finding a space and buying equipment. How many of the newbies are actually planning a brew schedule and securing ingredients to brew with? We at Summit are already planning for next years brews. We have had some problems (this year) getting the hops that we need to brew everything we want to make. Breweries are opening across the USA at a rapid rate. If a company that purchases the amount of raw materials as Summit does from local purveyors is having a difficult time getting all of the ingredients that we need, how do guys that are new to the market (or purchasing game) think they will be able to buy the amounts of raw materials they will need to brew on a commercial scale?

 

John - You are bringing up excellent points, not just towards this particular new brewery, but to all the new ones trying to get off the ground. I really think a new brewery needs an exceptional brewer with real-life professional experience, a good marketing plan AND a person with extremely strong business skills and acumen with an understanding of this particular industry. All three of these things are going to play big roles in the inevitable shakeout that will come. It is an exciting time to be a beer advocate in Minnesota, isn't it?

 

Hi Guys, Jon again. Let me try to get as many responses in here as I can.
Blacklist will not exclusively be the Beer + Art project. We will make other beers that have a similar thought process to them but will reflect market value in scope and process. Not all of them will be art related. The art collaborations are to help establish the values of the company, and yes we value the art and culture surrounding beer. Given the nature of Kickstarter we figure it would be a good platform for that purpose.

Yes, you will only get these varieties via the membership for the calendar year they are offered and existing members get first right of refusal to remaining bottles when the year ends at a lower per unit price. The membership can be purchased after kickstarter, assuming we succeed or find alternative funding. Potentially we will offer the several bottles with no art, but altering kickstater rewards midstream is a no-no according to them. The Kickstarter drive is definitely for those who are willing to take a chance on being involved on something new and find value in that. We would really like people to commit but we want to be up front with y'all and say that this project is evolving. We are further along in our conversation with artist and hope to be able to disclose more details regarding that aspect very soon.

We have been advised that we can not specify the definitive location until all terms are agreed upon. We really don't expect large quantities of members so don't think we will be much of a burden on of retail partners but we don't want to force anyone into a relationship that isn't mutually beneficial and therefore can't say til "the ink drys." We get it, it's a tough pill to swallow and if that prevents you from contributing to the Kickstarter we hope that we can offer you more definitive terms after the initial campaign with a membership outside of Kickstarter, but that is only if we get the daring souls needed to get the ball rolling.

Thanks again for your interest and keep the questions and comments coming, we truly need as many perspectives as we can get to see where this animal is heading. Success or failure with Kickstarter we are testing waters and trying to push new models in the industry that will ultimately make local craft beer stronger. If we are successful expect to see the reserve membership model to be adopted by your local brewery too, in addition to their current one of course. To address the points John made. We are looking at the landscape of breweries and seeing all sorts of models developing. The large scale breweries, the tourist traps, the one man operations. They all have their methods and version of success. Just like your Ma and Pa restaurant and McDonalds can occupy the same street and still be successful because comparison cannot be made and the market supports that. Does it support us? We don't know yet? I'll contemplate it over a pint of Saga.

 

You do realize the bar you are setting for your beer, right? Great won't be good enough...

 

Beer "quality" is subjective to say the least. Even if you follow the strictest style specification and execute it perfectly it doesn't mean it will be liked. The bar we are trying to establish is one of open-mindedness and creativity; "quality" will always be in the eye of the beholder and their perceived benefit. If our beer won awards would it make it better? While beer bling is great it holds marginal value to us when it represents a really good version of something we've already had 100 good versions of made by 100 other breweries. A horse race for sure, often a photo finish, but not the race we feel will expand what beer can be. The beers we reflect upon most frequently are those that we experienced in memorable or positive surroundings, so as far as we are concerned it is an ingredient in a great beer. The extra dollars pay for some of that ingredient, the rest is on the house.

 

Great is good enough for me.

 

" I don’t have time for businessmen when there are some actual breweries trying to establish themselves in my community."
-jonbierman, August 2010

http://east-lake.net/post/928072450/stub-and-herbs-is-making-some-big-changes-us

 

Nice first post. But, I'll play.

Since August of 2010 a lot has changed. Here is a recap...

Fulton brews keg beer in MN. They are great guys and have been able make a successful product. Truth be told, I think SCoV is ok. A bit too sweet for me. And, the bottled product isn't worth the $8.99 that I typically see charged for it.

Breweries are opening in our community at a rapid rate. Best of luck to the Blaclist guys. It seems like their heart is in the right place.

I was let go at Stub and Herb's and was hired at Goose Island. I was one of very few people that stood in the room when John Hall announced the sale of GI to InBev (it was a strange feeling to be a beer geek in the room at that time). I worked for the largest beer supplier In the world (InBev)for a few months before applying at Summit. I didn't think that Summit would want anything to do with me. I wasn't very supportive of them at Stub and Herb's either for many years.

I wish the Blacklist guys the best of luck. Who knows, I may end up working for them someday. Crazier things have happened.

 

Furnacecowboy... This guy has been around before in the old forums stirring up some shit. It says he just joined yesterday, but I swear he used the same name before, I remember that name. I think he was against the surly bill and a bunch of people were getting into it with him... I think someone actually thought he was Frank Ball.

 

I thought that the username sounded familiar. I tried to find cached pages of that discussion, but I didn't have any luck.

 

FurnaceCowboy was once thought to be Frank Ball, I remember that and was also trying to put my finger on the username.

The nice thing about Kickstarter is you don't need to know anything to try and gain capital, and it really suprises me every day what people are willing to "waste" their money on. Blacklist seems like a legit project, and I like the idea. I plan to pledge, for a couple different reasons...which is really nobody's business other than mine.

As far as the "wasting" money on Kickstarter part:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/498841754/wild-brewing
This guy posted on BA a while back, and the kickstarter did nothing more than buy him homebrewing equipment. While I was looking at Blacklist, I noticed that this guy reached his goal...which is a huge waste of money to anyone who pledged. When I first saw this, I gave it a 5% chance of being funded so imagine my suprise!!!

 

Hey Guys thought I'd relay an update from our kickstarter:

This weekend was Brian, the brewer's, wedding and with the out pouring of family support and generosity we wanted to return the favor. We decided to sweeten the pot for both current and new Founding Member Blackers. (Huh...? See what we did there?) We are doubling the bottles for 6 months of the year. So whatever bundle of malty joy you were expecting for the months below, double it.

• March - Double IPA with Spruce Tips and Fennel
• May - Honey Suckle Lambic
• June - Imperial Hefe with Grapefruit Zest
• July - Imperial Wit with Rhubarb
• August - Sour Apple Beer
• October - Lingonberry Lambic

So grab a friend or two and team up, share the experience, share the love and join the Blacklist Beer + Art Campaign today!

 

Damn I wish was a rich man. Id be alright if Omar didn't keep robbing my dealers.

 

lol. Nicely played.