This is a continuing series highlighting the oldest craft brewery in each state with members of the organization that helped build the brand. Brewer Magazine will share business and personal insights each Monday to help learn how these veterans of the industry have grown.
Billy Hannan, Owner/Operator, Broad Ripple Brewpub — Indianapolis
Date the brewery opened: November 14th 1990
What beers were tapped on opening day? Monon Porter, Pontoon Pale Ale — which drank more like a Blonde — a Cream Ale, and a hoppy IPA-style beer
BREWER: Why did the brewery open in the first place? What was your biggest “Year 1” struggle?
HANNAN: The original owner, John Hill (with wife Nancy and my father-in-law, still alive and well) had come across brewpubs on a trip out west and felt that there was a niche in the market to be exploited. They had also opened the Corner Wine Bar, a restaurant similar to English wine bars in 1982, which had a small English-style pub attached to it called The Wellington, so opening a restaurant was not new to them. But obviously opening a brewery was. John was a contractor by trade and was able to convert the existing building (an auto parts store) into a restaurant himself. John also wanted a place where he could enjoy English-style beers like the kind he drank as a young man in his native Yorkshire, England. The hardest part at the beginning was navigating all the new laws that the city and state had to write, as there had never been a brewpub in Indiana before. A law such as the brewery and the restaurant having to be two separate businesses with two separate entrances, meant that John had to build the premises in a way he may have done differently. He also had to learn how to brew and then hire people and send them to the Siebel Institute in Chicago to learn the chemistry of brewing while helping them to brew. Back then, unlike now, there was no one out there who knew how to do it. The first brewer used his new found skills to take a job with Miller and the next three all went on to open their own brewpubs. The fifth stayed a short time before returning to the place where he learned his craft on the administration side, and the sixth, Jonathon Mullens, is still thankfully with us, as he’s well thought of in the local brewing industry.
BREWER: Go ahead, pat yourself on the back; what was one of the key “good ideas” that were had early on which help drive growth or sustainability to the brewery?
HANNAN: Having faith that the people of Indiana would appreciate craft beers, particularly English-style beers. The IPA that we brewed, for instance, was never given a formal name, it is simply called IPA, because at that point it was the only one ever brewed in Indiana, and most people would not have heard of the style or ever drank a beer so bitter and strong. Also, our ESB, which is our flagship beer, is simply called ESB. It was the first Indiana brewed beer to earn a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival (1991). John also founded the Brewers of Indiana Guild which has gone a long way to change the many conservative drinking laws that were in place in Indiana at that time, for instance, alcohol of any kind — with the exception of locally produced wine — could not be sold to go on Sundays. But the B.I.G. got that changed, which now benefits local supermarkets as well.
BREWER: OK, now admit a defeat; what was a decision or a circumstance that hurt the brewery? How did you solve that issue or find your way through it?
HANNAN: The brewery end of things has always done pretty well, but the restaurant side has had its ups and downs. In the mid-90s, when I first joined the business (October 1995 – I waited tables, hosted, and washed dishes), sales had slowed quite a bit from the early days so the decision was made to expand the kitchen, install a pizza oven, and expand the menu. This worked well, and we went through a sustained period of growth. Also a few years later, a walking trail, that had once been where the Monon Railway Line was located was opened. John was on the committee that organized it. It was a huge success, and now with it running right past our door, more and more people could see us. The Brewpub is located in a quieter area of Broad Ripple, not the main strip, and even though most people had heard of us, not everyone knew exactly where we were located, and now that all changed.
READ MORE: A Checklist to Boost Your Brewpub’s Customer Experience
BREWER: What excites you in your brand (be it liquid, equipment, strategies or something else) this year and how did you decide to pursue this avenue?
HANNAN: Our brewer Jonathon has real passion for the art of brewing and is never at a loss for coming up with new beers. But unlike brewers who feel that you have to add ingredients that no one else has ever added to a beer, Jonathon, and all associated with the Broad Ripple Brewpub, have always stuck to producing truly palatable beers. No one is going to try one of our beers and say, “it’s nice but I couldn’t drink a full pint of it.” The return of Happy Hour in Indiana (banned since 1985) and also a law that the Brewers Of Indiana Guild had a hand in repealing, means that we have an added incentive for people to come and try our beer on a nightly basis at a reduced price. We’ve always kept our beer at a relatively low price, lower than most, if not all, of the other breweries in the area, so Happy Hour prices are a real bargain.
BREWER: Being a veteran company in the craft beer industry, what “words of wisdom” do you like to share when a new brewery owner approaches?
HANNAN: Make sure you produce a really high-end, and palatable product. The idea that just brewing your own beer is enough to attract patrons is a mistake, and one that we especially saw in the days when other local brewpubs started to appear. Craft brew enthusiasts have sophisticated palates and won’t come back if your product is substandard or just too out there. Also think about location. Most people these days like to be able to walk to their local brewpub, and if there isn’t enough residents living nearby, you will struggle to get enough people through the door to sustain you.
Be the first to comment