Brewers' cooperation a recipe for success

It is not uncommon to see similar businesses in fierce competition with each other. All it takes is 15 minutes of TV to see the competition between grocery stores, car companies and yes, even lawyers. But the world of independent brewers is a bit different – congenial and downright cooperative.

That spirit of cooperation was on display at a recent Thursday night Rock & Rails concert when there was a problem with one of the beer lines.

"Dan (Hawk) came up to me and told me that one of the tap lines wasn't working," explained Steve Kaczeus, co-founder and owner of Bootstrap Brewing with his wife, Leslie Kaczeus. "He said he knew I was there just having fun, but asked if I could come in the trailer and have a look which, of course, wasn't a problem. Once I got there, I realized that one of the regulators wasn't working. I knew I had everything back at the brewery (in Longmont), but that would take too long."

That's when he said he thought of Fritz Family Brewers who occupy the old Niwot Bootstrap location. "I called Corey (Corey Buenning, founder and owner of Fritz) and said, 'What are you doing?'" Leslie chimed in jokingly, "That's usually when people hang up on you."

Steve continued, "Corey told me he was having dinner and wasn't at the brewery. But when I told him what the situation at the beer tent was, he told me to absolutely go on over to Fritz and get whatever I needed to fix the line." Steve said that he knew craft breweries were collaborative, but, "It wasn't until we were in a spot where we were part of the industry that we really saw what the culture was like."

Although the Brewers Association lists 429 craft breweries in Colorado, both Steve and Leslie Kaczeus feel that this spirit of cooperation exists because craft brewers do what they do for love of the beer, not to be competitive. Leslie stated, "Our products are so different, it's really not a competition. We could all use the exact same recipe, but the beers will all taste different. One brewer could brew at a temperature one degree higher. Another brewer might use one percent more hops." Steve added, "At the end of the day, craft brewers just like to sit around and drink together and have fun."

Buenning echoed that sentiment. "Most craft breweries open not because they want to make money, but because they love making beer. Brewers are more like colleagues and friends than competitors. They aren't typical CEO types." Buenning said that most brewers are more likely to go to each other for help or advice before they go to a sales rep or distributor. "Other brewers are going to tell you how it is."

The Kaczeus' and Buenning indicated that an additional benefit of brewers supporting each other is the ability to keep the quality of the beer at a high level.

"When we first opened," stated Steve, "we were called the 'Class of 2012' because so many craft breweries opened that year." He said he was encouraged by some of the larger craft breweries including Left Hand Brewing in Longmont. "They wanted to help us in order to keep the quality of craft breweries high. It benefits everybody if we all work together."

As Buenning put it, "If somebody goes to another craft brewery and the beer is horrible, they might think craft breweries are awful and may not give another brewery a try. The small breweries can't be competing for the 10% of the market craft breweries occupy. If we all work together it keeps quality up across the board."

The Kaczeuses recounted the help they got the first year they were in business. "We didn't have a contract for hops that year because we were so new," Steve said. They were worried that they would be unable to produce any product, especially their flagship beer, Insane Rush IPA. Steve said Dale Katechis and Oskar Blues brewery in Longmont stepped up and provided hops so they could keep brewing.

The Kaczeuses also learned about a "hop sharing" program that craft beer giant Boston Beer pioneered. Brewers who have a compelling need for the ingredient can apply to share in Boston Beer's current harvest. "We applied," said Steve "and got the hops. Not only did it allow us to keep brewing, but we were able to get the hops at the volume discount Boston Beer gets."

Several years later, both Steve and Jim Cook, Boston Beer owners and founders, were together at a craft brewing conference. A reporter sitting between the two introduced them and Steve was able to share the fact that they had received hops from the brewery. Steve recalled the conversation. "Jim (Cook) said, 'I'm so glad to know our hops are in your beer and glad to know we were able to help you.' It was really nice to make that connection."

Leslie said it was so much fun when they were in a position to pay it forward. At some point they were able to provide Twisted Pine brewery with hops and Boulder Brewing Company with kegs. And philanthropy plays a big role at Bootstrap. "When we first were introducing our amber beer," Leslie said, "we didn't have a name for it. It was when the Flagstaff Fire was going on (in Boulder County). So we named the beer 'Flagstaff Amber' and donated $1 from every pint to the Boulder County Wildfire Co-op."

Buenning says he's been asked to participate in a number of different collaboration beers, often for charity, "but with a 4-year-old and a brewery, there just hasn't been time." As Fritz Family Brewing just celebrated its first anniversary earlier this summer, Buenning is looking forward to further collaborating with his fellow brewers.

For more information on either brewery, visit them online at https://bootstrapbrewing.com and https://www.fritzfamilybrewers.com.