We recently asked Gabe Grass how his idea for starting GrassLands Brewery came about and how things were coming along as he goes through the various development stages. We’re hoping to have updates as the process continues. Maybe we can convince him to do some guest beer reviews too.

Here’s his story….

Let me start with a quick introduction. My name is Gabe. I’m 30 years old. I’m happily married. I enjoy surfing, being with family, sports, and all things outdoors. Oh yeah, I brew beer. Sometimes really good beer, or so I’ve been told. It’s nice to meet you.

Personally, I’ve never had an entrepreneurial bone in my body; that is, not until I started brewing. As you might guess, I’m not very unique in this aspect – there are thousands of folks out there just like me who taste their own homebrewed creation and contemplate: What if? Well, my “What if?” is slowly, but surely, turning into a reality.

I’m not really sure when it happened, only that it did. I decided at some point in the last three years that I wanted to start a craft brewery. I wanted to call it GrassLands. I wanted to bring people together through my own personal creation. I also had no idea what I was doing…but I was passionate about it and I still am.

Starting a brewery isn’t something that should be taken lightly. As a future small-business owner, I’m all too aware of the disturbing business-survival statistics. About half of all small businesses fail within their first five years of operation. This is a common staple of small business statistics, and usually it’s due to poor planning, inadequate capital and simply just a misunderstanding of the market and/or its consumers. In Florida, the state in which GrassLands hopes to launch, more businesses closed than opened in 2009. That’s pretty intimidating to say the least. However, for the craft beer industry, things are certainly looking up. Florida has a number of big-time brewers, a number of up-and-comers, and a bunch of breweries-in-planning – just like GrassLands. In fact, GrassLands is one of over 1,200 breweries-in-planning throughout the country. Fun, yet scary factoid.
So with all that in mind, I decided that I would be my next boss and became an entrepreneur. I launched grasslandsbrewery.com, which allows me to stay connected to the market and eventual consumers while documenting the planning of GrassLands, and I’m enjoying every minute of it. Furthermore, social networking and social media has made GrassLands extremely accessible. Every day I connect with people I’ve never met who are not only excited about GrassLands, but they’re also offering to get involved in some shape or form to ensure the brewery becomes a reality. Mindboggling. Humbling.

So about the (eventual) brewery. GrassLands serves as both a tribute to my family’s name and my passion for environmental stewardship and animal conservation. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not a crazy activist or anything like that, but I do value shedding light on environment and animal conservation issues. GrassLands’ mission is to craft high quality and unique ales with 100% natural ingredients (organic where possible) while utilizing environment-friendly and sustainability/conservation-focused business and brewing practices wherever and however possible. Once GrassLands is officially in operation, it will host regular events and make annual donations to nonprofit organizations that have similar missions of impacting the environment and animal welfare. I look to Sierra Nevada’s business and brewing model and I’m completely inspired by their innovation in sustainability. GrassLands’ slogan: Earth First Ales – reflects GrassLands’ commitment to brew great beer while also having a positive impact on environmental and animal conservation efforts.
Where are we now? Currently, GrassLands is in a pseudo-holding pattern – figuring out the best launch location and going through logistics like brewing capacity, spatial needs, investors, financials, business plan, etc. etc. etc. While we’re waiting to take the next big step, I’ve been fine-tuning my recipes. GrassLands has enlisted the assistance of a number of craft beer enthusiasts from around the country to provide feedback on future flagship ales – a group I lovingly refer to as the GrassHoppers. Their input will help to solidify the foundation of GrassLands when it comes time to launch.

I want GrassLands ales to not only push the boundaries and expectations for each beer style, but also be of the highest quality. One of my guarantees is that we’ll never sacrifice quality for quantity at GrassLands – so however many varieties and amounts of hops, malts and adjuncts make GrassLands’ Fiery Plains Imperial IPA or Le Roi Rouge Imperial Red award winners, we’re committed to ensuring that our recipes never stray from what made it great in the first place. Perhaps it also helps that I’m a perfectionist when it comes to brewing.

So while we’re not steaming ahead full-force, GrassLands is slowly but surely transforming from a dream into a reality. Sometimes it’s overwhelming to think about the long and most likely tumultuous journey ahead, but I’m completely excited to be on it along with my supporters. It’s been a fun ride so far, and even though my stress level will most likely exceed capacity in the somewhat near future, it’ll all be worth it. I hope to meet you soon, everyone. Prost!

Gabe Grass @GrassLandsBrew
GrassLands Brewery