Business & Tech
Coming Sunday: Iowa Entrepreneurs ‘Hop' on National Trend with Nanobrewery
America's thirst for big brewers' brands is waning. But that's good news in Iowa, home to a growing crop of homegrown micro- and nanobreweries.
Four central Iowa entrepreneurs are thinking small.
After their friends and family turned thumbs up to their home brews' rave reviews, they pooled their savings to take advantage of America’s growing fascination with hand-crafted beers.
They’re like a growing number of entrepreneurs across the country, said Bailey Forrest, a co-founder of 515 Brewing Company with three of his friends, Brandon Criger, Ryan Rost and Dave Ropte.
“Every home brewer has that thought, ‘Maybe I could do this,’ “ Forrest said.
More than 300 similar ventures have launched nationally in the last 18 months, according to the Brewers Association, the national trade group that represents small, independent brewers.
The four men’s goal isn’t to start small and grow big, but to contribute to Iowa’s burgeoning “buy local” culture.
“As we got more and more serious and started reaching out, we found an incredible sense of community among craft brewers,” Forrest said. “The craft brew community is amazing. They’re our competitors, but there’s enough pie for everybody. We all want Iowa beer to be good beer.”
On Sunday, Patch looks at the growth of the craft beer industry in Iowa.
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