Desperation Forces Innovation

I pull into the flagship MashCraft Brewing parking lot 15 minutes early, so I sit and wait in my car before calling Andrew to let him know I’m here.

Andrew is the head brewer and co-founder of MashCraft.

I call him at 11 am, and he doesn’t pick up. I wait a few more minutes and try again.

“Hi, Andrew! I’m here.”

There's a pause on the phone.

“…where?”

It turns out that there was a family emergency during the week, and he was rightfully preoccupied and forgot about our meeting. After some back and forth planning, I make my way up to the Fisher's location later in the afternoon.

There are tall windows here — everything is lit up with natural light. It’s the middle of the day during the week, so it isn’t quite busy yet. A few employees chat at the bar, and a couple patrons are scattered throughout the establishment.

Andrew started off in the audio-visual industry, and in 2006 he got a job at a brewery. After a brewer position opened up, he jumped at the chance and worked 10 hours a week learning how to brew. He moved up in brewing hierarchy, at a few different breweries, while working on a business plan for what would become MashCraft.

The flagship opened in June 2014, and they’ve since opened two more locations in Indiana.

It’s clear from the beginning that he has a mind for business. He speaks emphatically about what has worked in the past, how tastes have changed, and how they incorporate understanding of trends into their company.

“One of the best things about craft beer [is that] it’s a really good group of people. Craft beer is so cool — whether you’re at beer festivals, or whether you’re talking across the bar. In the last 8 to 10 years, there’s just been a super high energy level and a great group of people that are just progressing an overall industry and it’s moderately intoxicating.“

“But the dynamics behind the business? If you ask over the last 6 month to a year, things are starting to become very, very difficult. The amount of supply is growing faster than the demand.”

“It’s becoming really hard to stand out.”

“Despite the fact that craft beer is still a niche, and it’s a niche within the overall beer, you have to find your foothold.”

Finding the neighborhoods that would be complementary to the environment they wanted to foster and to be near people who would be excited about what they have to offer was really important to their company.

We talk about how the environment of a brewery, and how the interior design and the atmosphere can influence the way a place makes you feel.

“There aren’t a lot of design elements in craft beer that are scary, but what I do see is a very unforgiving service style. I’ve gone to far too many breweries and bars where that person across the bar doesn’t care whether you’re there or not.”

I ask how breweries in Indiana address inclusivity.

“There’s just an element within craft beer of ‘we’re better because we do this, and if you don’t do this, you’re not as good as us.’ And that’s where I wish there would be a place that laid out descriptions, and a staff that’s willing to take a minute to explain everything. I wish there was more of that.”

He says that one of the only ways to get people into craft beer that aren't already in the scene is being brought into it by someone who is involved.

“And it’s been one of the big things that’s really held up growth.”

In Indiana, I ask, how do you think that could shift? Includes non-beer drinker minorities like women, ethnic/racial minorities, gender minorities, etcetera?

“Desperation is going to force innovation.”