Episode 056 - Opening a 2nd Brewery in The Same Location.

Episode 056 Opening A 2nd Brewery In The Same Location

It’s difficult enough to run a single brewery out of a single location. Imagine running 2 out of the same location.

Ok, so you might be thinking of an alternating proprietorship or gypsy brewing operation, but neither is correct. This is Young Blood Beer Company and Saturday Beer Company owned, brewed, and distributed by the same owners under the same roof. Listen in to learn more about the 2 breweries, the why behind the 2, and the challenges and success of the 2 breweries.

TOM DUFEK

Co-founder: Young Blood Beer Company and the Saturday Beer Company

Founder: Plain Spoke Cocktail Company

Tom Dufek is a 17-year veteran of the food and beverage industry, with many years spent behind the bar running beer and cocktail programs in Wisconsin prior to moving into the production side.

Tom co-founded Young Blood Beer Company in Madison, WI with Billy DuPlanty and Kyle Gregorash in 2020. Young Blood provides an oasis for those that seek a life of leisure through experimental IPAs, sours and classic styles. The beer company was named one of the 10 best new breweries in the country in 2021 by Hop Culture and USA Today.

Tom received his Law Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Bachelors of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He lives in the Madison area with his wife Ryann and their French bulldogs, Lady Arwen, First of Her Name and Frank. He’s a life long learner, obsessed with reading and Carly Rae Jepsen.

What is the “Saturday Beer Company”?

The fun part of Young Blood is that we really don’t make the same beer. If we do it is like 2 years later. It can be a downside if someone really likes that beer and can’t get it or has to wait 2 years.

We wanted to have a brand that was a little more consistent. We wanted to make an IPA and a pilsner and a wheat beer and make those 3 really good. These wouldbe available all the time, We also wanted to have a lower price option. Saturday 6-packs are $9.99 on the shelves because a $16 4-pack is not something the average beer drinker will buy.

Saturday Beer Company gave Young Blood the ability to meet the needs of multiple customer profiles at the same time.

Who Names Your Beers?

We have a google Doc of beer names and I think it’s like 14 pages at this point. I have a background in cocktails and I am terrible at naming cocktails. So what I used to do was a name would come to me, or a song lyric or something like that and I’d be that would be a cool name for a cocktail. And so I’d have a running list of cocktail names. And then when I’d have a cocktail I’d be ok, what’s the name of the cocktail? What’s a name that kind of like fits this drink? And that’s how I’d name a lot of my drinks.

We started doing that with beer names. It’s like, really what it is, Billy says something funny and then I’m like, ah that’s a good beer name. And now its gotten to the point where our bartenders will submit names. There are two guys, Mark and Steve, our 2 longest tenured bartenders. They will hand me notepads with beer names on them. We have people, like beer fans of the brewery, who give us beer names.

We don’t care, if they’re good we’ll put them on the list. There are so many on there. We have an unusable section on there. Those that are too offensive. It is really helpful because we make so many different beers that like if we were naming them on the spot inspiration wouldn’t strike. We find humor and inspiration in the conversations we have. Sometimes we put the name on the list and a little note so I will know what it is referencing.

It comes up all the time, like how did that name come about.

Notable Quote from the Interview

“If you didn’t know anything about us, we wanted you to get the vibe that you were going into a real cool bar…we really wanted to focus on the guest experience.”

– Tom Dufek