January 26 Tweet Rodeo

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

Fulton Beer, unassumingly tucked in a two-car garage behind a bungalow in a South Minneapolis neighborhood bearing the same name, is easily the embodiment of a home brewer’s dream come true.

The brainchild of a carpenter, lawyer, MBA student, and medical device researcher who characterize themselves as “the Village People of brewing, but much less musically inclined,” the long-time friends have spent years perfecting their homebrew creations on relatively simple equipment. Recently, they’ve logged many hours on the road between Minneapolis and the Sand Creek brewery in Wisconsin where they contract brew their ales on a commercial scale.

Fulton’s inaugural beer, a generously hopped yet balanced IPA called Sweet Child of Vine, has made more than a few positive ripples in the Twin Cities beer community since its launch in October. The brewery is decidedly focused on brewing “approachable” beers easy enough for craft beer novices to enjoy while offering the complexity and nuance demanded by hardcore aficionados. However, the group wants to be known for more than just its beer.

With aspirations including strong community involvement, sustainability, and an innovative program (aptly named Ful-10) designed to help other startups get the financial backing they need to get off the ground, Fulton is attempting to paint a slightly different picture than your average brewery.

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

We caught up with Peter Grande, Jim Diley, Brian Hoffman, and Ryan Petz (pictured above from left to right) of Fulton on a bitterly cold evening as they prepared to make another brewing run to Wisconsin, and discussed their company, brewing philosophies, and whether starting Fulton Bakery might serve as a potential backup strategy.

AARON MASTERSON: How did you guys meet and get started as a company?

RYAN PETZ: Brian, Jim, and I all went to St. John’s University and graduated in 2005, and we got started brewing around the same time. Not long after, Peter married Jim’s sister, so, that makes the four of us.

PETER GRANDE: July 23, 2005 to be exact. [laughter]

BRIAN HOFFMAN: Yeah, we started brewing about a year before we graduated, and Jim’s then-girlfriend (now wife) bought him a Mr. Beer Kit just as a fun, one-time thing. And that obviously turned into a slippery slope.

PETZ: Next thing she knew, we were brewing in her basement, and eventually out to her garage, which was one of those typical alley garages you always find in South Minneapolis. First time we ever brewed it was 20 below, and that was during the day. We were trying to keep the garage door closed as much as possible because it was so cold, but you have to have a little ventilation of course, so tons of steam was billowing out from the crack under the garage door.

GRANDE: The four of us were huddled around the turkey burner just trying to stay warm, but we’re all thinking, “Man, this is awesome! We’re making beer!”

PETZ: Then we ended up moving over here to Pete’s garage after our equipment overtook the space.

MASTERSON: So when you first started, what kinds of beers were you making? What styles or recipes did you gravitate to?

PETZ: Our first recipes we came up with were extract beers. We made a pilsner and an Oktoberfest. Or actually, you and Jim made one even before that…

GRANDE: Well, the first one Jim and I did together was actually a Sierra Nevada clone, and Jim didn’t really need me to help him brew it, he just wanted me to help cut the top off the keg and drill some holes. But I ended up brewing with him that day, and it actually turned out awesome, so I was hooked after that. But there actually was an ESB prior to that where we used Jim’s mom’s five-gallon enamel pot, and we made a whole sticky mess in the kitchen. So after that, if we wanted to brew we needed to get our own kettle and turkey burner out in the back.

MASTERSON: At what point did you guys look at each other and say, “We need to take this to the next level and start a company”? What was that conversation like?

GRANDE: Probably the first time we tried one of our beers that was actually halfway decent. [laughter]

PETZ: I mean, every home brewer kind of has that dream, and thinks, “Heck, this is good enough to sell.” But that was a long time before it actually became a business. We kept up those talks for a long time, and it had always been kind of a distant goal for us, but then we got more serious about it really just in the past year. We started working at it last spring, founded the company in June, and had our first sales in October.

Katie Cannon / Heavy Table

MASTERSON: What are your backgrounds?

HOFFMAN: I was a biology major and I now do research for Boston Scientific, specifically heart failure, pacemakers, defibrillators, that kind of thing. My focus in college was more on plants, so that’s at least somewhat transferable to what we’re doing now.

GRANDE: I’m a carpenter…

PETZ: … not to mention a plumber, an electrician, a welder, and, well, you name it.

Continue reading Fulton Beer of Minneapolis »

[10 Comments]