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Russian River Brewing Company does it “for the lifestyle” and I totally agree with that. I see no problem with a lifestyle business and in fact, would love to see more people build their businesses around how they want their lives to look instead of how they think business needs to look.

I am so glad I got to visit the RR brewpub on my trip up to California. I’m incredibly conflicted here, though. Their beers were some of the best I’ve had, so I desperately want them to distribute nationally (or at least to New Orleans :-P)... but I also deeply respect the decision to build the business around their lifestyle instead of their checkbook. It’s definitely what I would do, as I’ve modeled my life around doing what makes me happiest, and not necessarily what makes me more money.

This reminds me of the Belgian monks selling Westvleteren beer as mentioned on the Church of the Customer blog.

Besides being what people describe as an excellent beer, Westvleteren has developed into a cult brand based on its rituals. All of the items mentioned above are ritualistic. Make an appointment. Call the Beer Phone. Two-case limit. No label. A regular release schedule. A unifying belief system. However they’re defined and practiced, rituals embody culture. They are symbolic expressions of a company’s values.

Joe W: The first thing I thought when I read that quote was Westvleteren as well. It could well have come from one of their monks!

There’s a good WSJ article about Westvleteren that has some interesting Getting Real-esque lessons to take away from it.

Forget growth goals, what about altruism?! It is their responsibility as beer connoisseurs to spread their malty goodness to those of us who don’t live out West. :)

I for one am glad they haven’t gone national. I don’t want to share Temptation ale with the rest of the country.

Vinny really embraces the brewing and home brewing communities. It’s great to see him getting pub here.

I think it’s great they choose to enjoy the lifestyle and love what they do without growing. Growth isn’t everything. You can be great without being the biggest.

I’m also happy they’re staying small. Those guys brew amazing beer. I recently had the opportunity to sample Damnation and Salvation – the memories of which make me salivate.

Too much growth kills breweries. Boundary Bay Brewery, for example, used to have very good beers all across the board. After their 10th anniversary (for which they brewed the amazing Decade ale), everything started to slip in quality as they try to ramp up production in the relatively tiny space they have. There’s too much demand for their beer and the quality is suffering for it.

Fuck staying small. I hate it when people don’t think global.

What’s he driving if he fills once a week and can bike to work? Must either do LOADS of other driving… or be driving some sort of super car to work despite the distance.

He takes (or has taken) the time to write long reply emails to complete strangers, too.

:)

Great story about a great business model. I love the lifestyle business choice and have recently gone that way myself.

Back to the beer though, I’m wondering if Seattle has anything like this. Maybe Hale’s Ales, but I think they distribute on a national scale. There are so many beers and breweries around here, it’s tough to know the business model of each one.

@Tommy Seattle has a ton of microbreweries, but I think Portland is even better. My favorite is Hair of the Dog. I tried to design a website for the guy, but he’s of the same mind…stay small, produce a good product, and don’t worry about the rest.

http://hairofthedog.com/

Schell’s Brewary right here in the center of Minnesota has taken a similar approach. They have stuck with local brews and kept alive “dead” local brands for the local clientele and have become successful at that. A major brewery they will never become, but if you can say you are the oldest American-owned brewery, that must count for something.

Nice! RR is literally a 10 minute walk from my front door. Its good to see them getting some PR. I can attest to their beer and to their pub which is almost always busy, even on a Monday afternoon (no Monday morning blues for those folks).

The business model they have is what businesses should aspire to, imo.

Cheers!

Very inspirational indeed. Wish I knew how to brew beer, too :)

One thing, though: is filling your gas tank once a week consider something good?! Or was it some sort of micro-entrepreneur slang? If not, talk about distorted sense of doing good to the planet.

Their story fits right in with other companies in the book “Small Giants” (excellent book) which is a study of companies that focus on being great at what they do instead of growing for the sake of growth.

@Justin

QUOTED : ... It is their responsibility as beer connoisseurs to spread their malty goodness to those of us who don’t live out West. :)

Nay good sir! It is time YOU made the pilgrimage to the meca. ;) I mean, its not like Jerusalem or Rome go out on tour.

I’ve enjoyed a beer or two with JF.

Reminds me of a company in Bo Burlingham book “Small Giants”

ANCHOR BREWING – San Francisco, CA. The original American micro-brewery. Owner Fritz Maytag was working on an IPO to raise the capital needed to increase production and avoid a capacity crisis. But he called it off. “This is not going to be a giant company,” he said, “not on my watch.”

http://www.smallgiantsbook.com/profiles.html

I live on the East Coast and would love to be able to try this beer some day, but I respect the brewery for living a life and not a wealthy life.

@Tom, just because they choose to do business this way does not mean they are not wealthy. In fact, they may even be wealthier because of it.

so many have notions of world domination when it is better to find a niche in the market or a reasonable geographic area