I miss visiting tasting rooms in the area but know that soon we will all be convening again and toasting to better days ahead. I interviewed the owners of Unified Beerworks about their business. Hope you enjoy! Stay well.
When were you bitten by the entrepreneurial bug?
My husband Jeff and I had worked in corporate America most of our lives, and the older we got, the more we had an itch to do something on our own, and for ourselves. We had no idea what that 'thing' would be, until craft beer really started to take off in NYS. Not only did creating delicious craft beer appeal to our artistic and scientific sides, but the strong community network within craft beer that extends to the customer base within each town or city...that was the icing on the cake. No other industry is quite like craft beer, and we're so happy to be part of it.
Is there one product you sell that represents you or “started it all”?
Well, for Jeff it was one of his New England style IPAs he'd been working on perfecting in our early home brewing years, and for me, it was the first sour I ever made...both actually came out pretty good, even for home brew! Those were our roots, where everything we now have in our taproom stemmed from. It's crazy to think that the random 5 gallon kettles, kitchen equipment, even a sleeping bag were the beginnings of our little brewery.
Any advice for someone thinking about starting their own business?
Make sure you're passionate about your idea. Once you dive in, it's 100% 24/7. There's not much for vacation, sick time, sleep, or exercise, but it sure is satisfying having something you've poured your blood, sweat, and tears into, and have people become your faithful customers because they believe in you as much as you believe in your creation. Also, NEVER QUIT. There will be A LOT of hurdles, some small, some the size of Everest, but remember, where there's a will, there's a way!
What makes you passionate about what you do?
The people. Everyone from our customers to our staff, to our industry friends and vendors...we're all in this together, and if someone is really in need, we're there, or someone is there for you. Don't get me wrong, we absolutely love brewing beer, and creating something that makes someone's eyes light up, but if it wasn't for the people, our brewery wouldn't exist.
If you had it to do over again, is there anything you would do differently?
Not a thing. We've grown from every hurdle encountered, and every mistake we've made.
How has COVID-19 affected you?
This pandemic has been such a strange time for our business. We had to immediately shift from a taproom where friends and family gather to share beer and food from our food trucks, laugh together, and enjoy live music, to an eCommerce outlet for curbside pick-up and deliveries. It has been difficult for us to lose face to face contact with our customers who've become friends, but we're trying to stay in touch with everyone through social media, emails, Zoom and Facebook happy hours, or by simply waving out the window. We are very much looking forward to this being over, and we hope everyone does their part to wear masks, wash hands, and socially distance, so we can all go back to normal soon. This isn't easy for any of us, but if we stick together and support one another, we'll get through it!