Culminating at NHC in Baltimore, and likely influenced by a whole lot of everyone’s great homebrew, we decided to start actively moving forward on the new venture. Over a few beers on a Sunday while I was getting Mike’s advice on a separate project I’m working on, the conversation started to creep into brewery talk. Luckily for me, Mike was having similar thoughts, despite never sharing my previous brewery ambitions. Combining Mike’s passion for sour beers and my academic-like obsession with hoppy beers started to seem like an idea worth pursuing. Simply put, it was clear to me that Mike was a good dude.Īfter numerous tastings and other opportunities to hang out, the idea of potentially working with Mike on a brewery started entering my mind. Beyond beer, however, and I’m sure I’m speaking on behalf of the hundreds and hundreds of brewers that have sent Mike emails, interacted with him on forums, and talked to him at beer events, is Mike’s passion for the hobby, openness and willingness to help, and desire to continue learning and experimenting. ![]() Introduced to Mike through Sean Gugger, a good friend, and great brewer, I happily accepted an invitation to a bottle share at Mike’s house, of which I remember leaving a day early from my parents in Virginia because when the Mad Fermentationist has you over for beers you don’t miss it! I remember being struck by a few things that night, the first is being humbled by Mike’s overall beer knowledge, brewing skills, and pallet. Why did I want to open this brewery? Was this the right time? Is there ever a right time? How much stress am I willing or able to endure and still be happy? These were the types of questions I was marinating in for some time until I ultimately decided I wasn’t going to give up on starting a brewery, but I would listen to my gut feeling and back out of the current project and just see what the future might bring.Įnter Michael Tonsmeire. So when my main funding source fell through at the last minute, rather than putting my head down and getting what I needed to push the funding through, I decided to hit pause and do some serious thinking into the whole project. I was worried that the stresses of running the business would have a negative impact on the creative and inspiration side of brewing, which is, to me, what it’s all about. Going into the project by myself, I was nervous that the workload would be more than I could handle. Despite all the pieces of the puzzle coming together as good as I could have wished, I had an uncomfortable feeling about the whole thing. Funding looked like it was falling into place and everything looked extremely positive. The location and building seemed like a great fit, there was even ample parking! I was lucky enough to have the city on board and supportive of the venture, even awarding me with an extremely generous grant to get things off the ground and help with a big portion of the tasting room build. The brewery would be close to a train station and right next to a popular farmers market with a great craft brewing demographic. ![]() I had a lease agreement for a great location in Maryland, close to Washington DC. It turns out it’s a complicated and complex formula.Įarly in 2016, I thought I had the equation solved. I’ve spent an enormous amount of time running different scenarios out both in my head and on paper on what it might take to accomplish the goal while still keeping my sanity. Tickets: $15 until 11:59pm on 10/19/23 $20 day of (cash or venmo only).Like a lot of homebrewers, I’ve given a lot of thought to opening a brewery. Show seating & Pre Show HappyHour begins at 7PM. He recently toured the UK, France, and Spain and has opened for many national headliners here in the US like Nate Bargatze, Howie Mandel, Tiffany Haddish, Michael Che, Dave Attell, Mike Birbiglia, Brad Williams, and many more.įeatured comedians include, Arzoo Malhotra, Jared Stern, Shawn Leverett, Daphne Londo, and host, Mike Quindlen, founder and creative director of the Ellicott Silly Comedy Festival. Now Sengstack is headlining at the top comedy clubs in NYC, appearing on major streaming platforms like Peacock, and performing at major comedy festivals around the country. ![]() Headliner, Donnie Sengstack, began his comedy career in Baltimore and DC where he gained recognition and a plethora of awards. Celebrating Draughts and Laughs 20th show!
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