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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

Local breweries set separate goals, cater to different crowds

It's tough to distinguish the small post-lunch crowd from employees on the clock at Upland Brewing Co., as both sets mingle around the bar swapping stories, gossiping and discussing beer. The customers are all on a first name basis with those behind the bar, contributing to the local feeling of the restaurant and brewery. The food is hot, the beer is cold, and the place has an overall feeling of community.\nThe same restaurant setting can be seen on Friday afternoons at the Bloomington Brewing Co., another craft brewery located in Bloomington. People are finishing their lunches over light-hearted conversation in the smaller, but equally friendly atmosphere of the Bloomington Brewery. A blond-haired man walks up to the bar and strikes up a conversation about the latest brew created and served at Bloomington Brewery, a java porter. The beer is a dark stout, with a smooth coffee taste and smell. The man's name is Floyd Rosenbaum, head brewer here, and he can talk all things beer for hours. \nAlthough the beer here costs much more than a Budweiser or Miller Lite, customers don't seem to flinch at the price.\nA growing group of consumers have gained a fascination with the flavorful intricacies of beer brewed by craft brewers. This change in consumer taste, combined with a desire for local affiliation, has led to a boom in the craft brewing industry nationwide. The industry has experienced steady growth since the late 1980s, although the late '90s saw large numbers of closings. \nCurrently there are about as many craft breweries closing as there are new ones opening, said Ed Herrmann, the brewmaster at Upland. Despite the number of closings, the volume of beer sold by craft breweries is still steadily growing by about 4 percent a year, he added. This means craft breweries with a sound business plan -- and with beer consumers crave -- have room to survive and grow nationwide. \nIn Bloomington, these two breweries are part of this surviving category, though they have very different business plans and goals, marketing strategies and future plans. \n"Comparing Bloomington Brewing Co. and Upland Brewing Co. is kind of like comparing apples to oranges," said Jeff Hamlin, chief operating officer of One World Enterprises, the company that owns Bloomington Brewing Co., and other restaurants in town.\n"We are classified as a brewpub, selling a large percentage of our beer in the actual brewery. Upland is considered a microbrewery, with a lot more outside sales," he said.\nThe tale of one of the breweries began in the '90s, when business partners at One World Industries became bored with their pizza business and began looking at the microbreweries popping up nationwide, Hamlin said. After petitioning the local legislature to change laws that prevented a company from brewing alcohol and distributing it on the same premises, Bloomington Brewing Co. moved into its current location on 10th Street. The brewpub was ready for business in December 1995. \n"It took us about three years to reach the levels of beer volume that we currently sell," Hamlin said, "but currently we aren't really trying to expand beer sales." \nBloomington Brewery sells about 50 percent of its total sales volume in the store, while the other half is sold to local bars and patrons in the form of kegs, Hamlin said. The Brewery does not bottle its beer because One World Industries does not plan to sell it outside of Bloomington.\nUpland has also experienced prolonged success since it opened in 1998, but has a very different business plan. Unlike Bloomington Brewery, Upland is set up as a microbrewery, meaning its equipment has the capacity to produce much larger quantities of the fermented beverage, Herrmann said. Until a few years ago, the brewery did not even have the restaurant it has now. The building simply housed the brewing equipment and a small tasting room for patrons to sample the beer. This capacity to produce more beer and consumer appreciation for the beer has allowed Upland's sales to grow at an average of over 20 percent a year. Last year alone brought a 50 percent growth in sales volume, Herrmann said. \nUpland distributes its beer across the entire state of Indiana and may eventually expand outside the state.\n"As soon as we can get ownership to buy a bigger tank farm, we could definitely expand our sales area," Herrmann said, "We've been at full capacity for the entire spring and summer, and we can't even fill all of our orders now." \nUpland sells only about 10 percent of its volume at the brewery, a stark contrast with the Bloomington Brewery. The rest is shipped out in bottles, kegs and jugs throughout Indiana.\nDespite the difference in business plans, both Upland and the Bloomington Brewery retain the local flavor that keeps consumers loyal. \nLocal ties, along with the company's flavorful beers, are what allow successful breweries to stay in business, Hamlin said.\n-- Contact City & State Editor Mike Wilson at mhwilson@indiana.edu.

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