Brewery Trivia

The Alaskan Brewing Company donates 1% of all proceeds from the sale of their Alaskan IPA to charities supporting the cleanup and continued preservation of oceans and coastlines.

Label Trivia

Franziskaner's name comes from the fact that its original brewery was located across the street from a Franciscan monastery in Munich. The current label pays tribute to these beginnings with its depiction of a Franciscan Friar.

Beer Facts

The Seattlest recently posted an article about the Upright Brewing Company and their new Oyster Stout. They aren't alone, either. East Coast-based Flying Fish Brewing Co and Harpoon Brewery have been brewing their own oyster stouts as well, according to an article from The Washington Post.

The oysters seem to typically be brewed with the beer for a short period of time (15 minutes or so) and then removed. The shells open slightly, allowing some of the liquid into the beer, and the brew retains calcium from the shells.

The articles review the stouts positively, noting that they don't taste at all like seafood. Sounds like an interesting brew, for the bold enthusiast.

Top 50 Breweries of 2009

The Brewers Association recently released the Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies and the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies of 2009. These lists are tabulated based on beer sales volume. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that 76% of breweries that made the Overall Brewing Companies list were, in fact, craft brewers.

Both lists are available here. Pacific Northwest breweries who made it into the Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies were Pyramid Breweries, Deschutes Brewery, Alaskan Brewing Co., Full Sail Brewing Co., Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Co., BridgePort Brewing Co., and Mac and Jack’s Brewery.

Congratulations to the Calf & Kid!!!

Today, Seattle will see the opening of its latest (and our favorite) small business - The Calf & Kid Artisan Cheese Shop. The proprietor, Sheri LaVigne, is a good friend and has been a great inspiration to us as entrepreneurs. She has put an insane amount of work into getting this shop off the ground, and has kicked ass every step of the way. We are so happy and excited that today, she gets to see her dream become a reality.

Fromage lovers, be sure to stop by the shop in the near future for some cheesy goodness. If you're curious, but don't know a whole lot about fancy cheeses, fear not - Sheri knows her stuff and will take the time to find exactly the right cheese to make you fall in love and come back for more.

Anyone who has ever made a go at a small business will tell you that the planning and the building is arduous. It takes phenomenal patience and perseverance, because anything that can slow you down or trip you up will probably happen, and the only way to survive is to deal with it. Sheri took each new challenge in stride, and today, gets to enjoy having it all pay off.

We look forward to experiencing that joy and satisfaction ourselves, one day. Today though, please join us in raising a glass to Sheri and the Calf & Kid, and make time to stop by and visit her in the coming weeks. The shop is located on Minor, between Pike and Pine (next to Sonic Boom).

The Business Plan is revamped!

Writing a business plan seems like a straightforward enough exercise - do the math, show your work, share a taste of the inspiration behind the business that has you excited, and keep things clear and readable.

Sitting down to actually put those brushstrokes to the proverbial canvas turns out to be more of a challenge. Some of the best advice we received from the Small Business Association was to keep in mind that a spreadsheet is not a business, just a backbone - and they couldn't be more right. Finding the words to properly convey the heart and soul of the business we've been dreaming about, planning for, and researching for the past four years is no mean feat; my backspace key is about four strokes away from being worn out after the past few weeks of writes and rewrites.

But the good news is, once you finally hammer the last pieces into shape, once the tabs all start to fit into the slots and the document you're holding actually does what you want it to do - to encapsulate the dream that's been keeping you awake for more nights than you can remember and hopefully make it infectious - it's easy to see why it's such a key piece of any venture.

It's a symphony, really - and I don't say that to highlight the work we've done so much as to salute all those who have come before us. Done right, it's complex math and stirring poetry and effective organizational design all woven into a single tapestry that hopefully manages to paint the right picture for would-be supporters. If you've written one in the past, you know how tired we are. If you haven't, I hope you can get to be this kind of tired someday; it's a really good feeling.

If you're interesting in exploring becoming an investor in the Ankerhaus Pub, please email us a request for the business plan at info@ankerhauspub.com. We'd love to welcome you to the team.

Carbon-friendly Bottles

This post seemed appropriate for Earth Day.

Dr. Vino recently posted an article on Tony Soter, of the Soter Vineyards in Oregon. In an effort to reduce his wine's carbon footprint, Soter is decreasing the packaging mass of the bottles by going from bottles weighing 900g to bottles weighing 600g. These new bottles will be locally-produced (rather than imported from France) from recycled glass, and made using hydro-electric power.