Matt and I were fortunate to speak with Beer Lab Hawaii Co-founder Nicolas Wong earlier this week. Nicolas shared his interesting past and how he was introduced to the craft brewing industry. Along with his unique insights into running a craft brewery on the island of Hawaii, here are some of my favorite takeaways.
· Nicolas and his partners all have engineering backgrounds and were working at the federal naval shipyard at Pearl Harbor. When Travelling for work they would often frequent craft breweries. Not only did they love craft beers but the people and atmospheres involved with them made them loyal customers. They decided to bring their own unique craft brewing experience to Hawaii.
· Nicolas and his partners bootstrapped the operation and used their own capital to start the very impressive business. They run a very lean operation. Utilizing their engineering background has helped them immensely in this facet of the business. It has helped the business immensely and allowed them to be so agile during covid.
· At the brewery, they run on a 7 BBL system and are constantly looking to innovate and create unique brews with a variety of ingredients and hop profiles. Beer lab never produces the same batch of beer twice. They are constantly changing and looking to diversify their beers. Although, they do have a staple series called Omakase. The Omakase series is New England style IPA’s that they have made unique with varied ingredients native to the island of Hawaii.
· Beer Lab Hawaii runs on a taproom model and sells only on the island of Hawaii. When Nicolas and his partners ran the numbers to develop their business plan, they realized if they wanted to last, distribution off the island would not be a possibility to start. Nicolas explained that it is a 25% increase in the cost of goods when brewers are attempting to source ingredients and materials in Hawaii.
· At Beer Lab they do their own distribution and believe it helps when someone from their brewery is going out and creating relationships with their customers. Nicolas also mentioned that in the state of Hawaii brewers are allowed self-distribution as long as the brewery is producing under 65,000 barrels.
· Beer Lab Hawaii has done some interesting collaborations with established or growing brands in their state. Nicolas gave us an example of a clothing company where they exchanged a beer they brewed for the company in exchange for clothing and merchandise. They have also collaborated with local restaurants to produce brews they would enjoy.
· The Beer Lab Hawaii has commenced an interesting project called the department of Zymurgy. The project involves all things fermented. They help homebrewers source ingredients on the island as it can be difficult. They began curing salami and became the first place in Hawaii to cure their own meats. Lastly, they began pickling veggies to go along with their tasty beers and salamis.
· During the brewing process they are tracking each volume per batch. If the volume of beer produced isn’t what is expected they review as to why this has happened to correct the issue.
· A very impressive part of the culture at Beer Lab Hawaii is how they empower everyone in their business in decisions and the tasks that they perform at the brewery. This form of leadership is impressive and I’m sure creates an environment that everyone feels included in the business.
To learn more about Beer Lab Hawaii, visit their website at:
https://www.beerlabhi.com/
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