Episode 013: Alternating Proprietorships

Episode 013 - Alternating Proprietorships

*Photo: Jude La Rose, Jeremiah Zimmer, and Jason Maxwell

Jeremiah Zimmer is an experienced homebrewer. He has over 10 years of work history in branding, marketing and sales.

About two years ago, Jeremiah and his partners Jude La Rose and Jason Maxwell launched Hop Butcher For The World. For those in Chicago – Hop Butcher is the former South Loop Brewing Company. Jeremiah resides with his wife Melissa, their two daughters (Delaney and Evelyn) and their dog (Bear) in the western suburbs of Chicago when he’s not out and about (self) distributing cans and kegs of Hop Butcher For The World’s various brews.

Jeremiah’s A-ha beer moment: Gumballhead by 3 Floyds Brewing Co.

Marketing Strategy

Alternating Proprietorship

The TTB which is the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau provides this definition:

An “alternating proprietorship” is a term used to describe an arrangement in which two or more people take turns using the physical premises of a brewery. Generally, the proprietor of an existing brewery, the “host brewery,” agrees to rent space and equipment to a new “tenant brewer.” Alternating brewery proprietorships allow existing breweries to use excess capacity and give new entrants to the beer business an opportunity to begin on a small scale, without investing in premises and equipment. End definition

TTB’s Industry Circular Number: 2005-2 titled Alternating Proprietors at Brewery Premises

Notable quotes from the interview

“Right now we brew as an alternating proprietorship out of Aquanaut Brewing Company which means we do brew in someone else’s brewery but do brew the beer ourselves, we brew our own recipes and we transfer into package out of and ferment within our own tank. So I liken that to paying rent to use someone’s kitchen but bringing your own pots and pans.”

“We actually sat down with a Small Business Administration bank rep and he had made the comment that he doesn’t understand why more breweries don’t do this. That they don’t use this approach.”