Sixpoint Craft Ales was founded in 2005 in a small 800 square foot garage in Red Hook, Brooklyn. This small craft brewery, founded by Shane Welch, quickly became one of my favorites. Before I left for Australia, I had the pleasure of meeting Shane, touring his brewery, and sharing some pints of the Dr. Klankenstein.

Before I begin, I would like to thank Shane for taking the time to participate in my craft brewery interview series and for the rockin’ brewery tour and sweet buzz! It was the highlight of my NYC trip.

Scottie: Going back to the beginning of your brewing career, do you remember the first beer that you brewed?

Shane: The very first beer that I brewed was a 5-gallon batch of Brown Ale. The beer turned out well – or at least well enough for my father and I to consume every last drop of it on an autumn afternoon. In retrospect, it was quite a beautiful scene: I was a junior in college at the time, and my parents were visiting for the weekend. In an attempt to be the consummate host (and being perma-broke in true collegiate fashion), I decided to pop open a few homebrews that I snagged out of the cellar to offer my guests. Now, my ales were only in the bottle for 9 days, and therefore had a little bit of residual sugar – but that didn’t stop my father and I from tearing through that stash like piranhas. I’ll never forget my father contemplating possible names for that beer – he was genuinely having fun and marveling in the creation I had made. It was spurring creativity and conversation and sharing – what was not to like?

Scottie: What was your “Ah-Ha” moment or experience that made you realize that you could make brewing your profession?

Shane: I was in class at school, but all I could ever do was think about homebrewing.  I was obsessed.  No matter which class I was in, I somehow had to tie the curriculum into making beer. I’ll never forget meeting with my geology professor one day after class and going back to his office, where I took out an assemblage of homebrews in my backpack. We then talked about the famous brewing waters of the world, and how the geologic strata over time had given all of them their signature mineral profile. Once again, groundbreaking conversations consecrated by homebrew!  Oh, and pun definitely intended there. 

Scottie: When did your brewery first open and what was the inspiration for the name and logo?

Shane: The brewery officially opened in February 2005 but the kettles were fired and experiments were being done in late November 2004. The name and logo are no accident – they were carefully thought about over many deliberations about the importance of nomenclature. After a little bit of research and observation, it was readily apparent that a majority of breweries simply named themselves after their region or city they operated in. What a shame, I thought, and how ironic. Here you have small operators trying to distinguish themselves by being different, yet they are all alike because there was monotony in the assemblage of their name. We knew we had to be different. We needed to name ourselves after something that was related to the beer, not a location. We’re a brewery, after all, not a company trying to pimp a locality.

So we called ourselves Sixpoint, after noticing this ancient brewing symbol in old artwork, photographs, and signage throughout travels in Europe. It was the original brewers’ sixpoint star – a hexagram – and it was also prominently featured in plenty of Breweriana as well. Yet we wanted a symbol that meant something, with roots that ran deep, but also have a modern relevance. So we decided to tweak the original brewers’ star and give it a more modern look – and that is when we caught the attention of the nautical star. We liked the idea of having a 3-dimensional quality to it – like a menacing face that is popping out at you. It’s a symbol of honor and tradition, but also one that shines bright in a modern era. And we’ve been rockin’ it ever since.

Scottie: What is the biggest obstacle that you’ve had to overcome?

Shane: To stop obsessing about the quality of the beer all of the time – my girlfriend thinks I’m going to have a heart attack if I don’t relax!

Scottie: How would you describe your brewing style?

Shane: Rooted in science and fundamentals, yet cavalier and forward-thinking, and oozing with original style.

Scottie: How much beer did you produce in 2009?

Shane: 8,200 delicious barrels.

Scottie: What are your projected goals for brewery production this year? Over the next five years?

Shane: This year we should do around 12,000 barrels – as far the next five years goes, I really have no idea. But let’s stay in touch over the next five years and we’ll see where we end up – maybe you can mark down on your i-cal right now that on April 30, 2015 we can reassess over a beer, provided we are still in business at the time.

Scottie: Hell of an idea!

Scottie: What states or markets are your beers currently available in? Do you have plans to expand distribution to other areas?

Shane: Our beers are currently available in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. You can also get it in the Philadelphia metro area. At this time, we do not have plans to increase our sales territory.

Scottie: Do you have any new beers or projects in the pipeline that you would like to share with the readers?

Shane: Yes, our Klankenstein beer project is not only a really unique and interesting science experiment, it happens to be an awesome tasting beer as well. The entire process has been documented on video and will be uploaded to our Facebook page for those that want an in-depth view of the process. For those who want a basic primer, the beer itself is based upon the old traditional German “stein” beer that has long been dormant as a beer style. This style harkens back to the Middle Ages, when brewers could not get sufficient heat energy to bring their massive iron cauldrons of wort up to a rolling boil. Keep in mind all beer was being cooked with a log fire! So, some thermo-savvy dudes realized they could employ the local blacksmith in their favor, and voila, stein beer was born. Fast-forward to the modern day, and Sixpoint set up a custom rig to heat slabs of basalt over 1000 degrees F and then douse the wort with them. It was a spectacular process.

Scottie: Often times I hear people refer to the craft beer industry as a brotherhood (and sisterhood). What brothers and sisters in the industry do you find inspirational and/or admire?

Shane: There are so many that I don’t think I have enough time or space to list all of them! As far as other brewers go, I must say one world-class gentleman is Will Myers, the Brewmaster at Cambridge Brewing Company. I’m not just saying this for his brewing skills, I’m speaking on behalf of his character and generosity. He is just a gem of a person, and I’m grateful to know him. But its not just about the fraternity of brewers, its about the entire industry. Some of my closest brothers are Paul Bussiere, Robert Hodson, and Chris Sheehan over at Union Beer Distributors. They are true believers in what we do and always have been – cradling us from when we were a fledgling company. And of course, I cannot exclude my most important family of all – my staff – which is truly my favorite thing about my job – all of the great people I have the pleasure of working with every day.

Scottie: What people outside of the craft beer industry inspire you?

Shane: Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi, Cathy Erway, Woody Guthrie.

Scottie: Collaboration beers are becoming more and more popular. If you could choose one brewery to collaborate with, who would it be and why?

Shane: We probably won’t collaborate with another brewery for the very reason its becoming more and more popular! Once again, that is where Sixpoint is different. We collaborate with other unique and like-minded individuals, but not necessarily breweries. So whether its hip-hop musicians (Cool Calm Pete, Junk Science, etc) or coffee roasters (Gorilla Coffee, Stumptown, etc) or artisanal chocolatiers (Mast Brothers Chocolate) we’re always forging partnerships with our community, just not necessarily breweries.

Scottie: The craft beer industry saw amazing growth last year (7.2% increase by volume and 10.3% by dollar) while overall beer sales decreased by 2.2%. What would you contribute this amazing growth to?

Shane: I think its a relatively simple and straightforward phenomenon: people are drinking LESS beer, but they are higher quality beer. And that makes sense. The less beer you have, the more scarce it is, so you will be more discriminate in your tastes.

Scottie: What value, if any, do you see in beer bloggers and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Shane: They’re absolutely essential and vital parts of the industry. These people are genuinely passionate about beer, and the internet and social media provides them the interactive platform for them to have a dialogue about it.  Its wonderful.

Scottie: Do you have a Twitter account and/or Facebook page? How do you see these types of sites impacting, and perhaps benefiting, your industry over the next few years?

Shane: Yes, we have a Facebook page and Twitter account. Over the next few years, I see these sites impacting the industry tremendously, but it won’t necessarily be limited to our industry – its effects will be felt across all industries, especially the news industry.

Sixpoint's rooftop garden

Scottie: What is your opinion of the three-tier distribution system and do you feel that it benefits or hinders smaller craft breweries?

Shane: The three-tier distribution system is not set in stone, it had its time and place and that does not mean it will necessarily be intact forever. I think in the most basic sense, once one of the participants in the three-tier system no longer provides value in the supply chain, they will be eliminated or consolidated into one of the other two realms. I think distribution can really help small craft breweries, provide you team up with the right distributor. However, if you have a bad distributor, it can be the death of you – as it is most often a lifetime appointment.

Scottie: Where can people find additional information about your brewery, new beer releases, festivals, or brewery tour info?

Shane: The best way would be to check our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, and also monitor our events by signing up for our email list.

Scottie: We’ll finish with a fun, but perhaps difficult question. If you could only drink one beer for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Shane: The one that I split among friends.

Thanks Shane for your time and for participating in my craft brewery interview series.

CHEERS!

Sixpoint Craft Ales

After fifty years of low quality beer, Americans are finally coming to their senses – and the craft beer industry is witnessing amazing growth! This should be wonderful news, right? Well, overall yes, but with an increasing number of impostor craft beers (those created by the mega-breweries of ABInBev, Coors, and Miller) popping up in supermarket aisles, many open-minded beer drinkers are left stumbling.

Impostor craft beer, as I call it, is a weak attempt at creating “craft beer” with low quality ingredients, lack of imagination, and massive marketing budget. Needless to say, another great venture brought to you by Anheuser-Busch. Thank you very little.

Fortunately, as we all know, there are many amazingly-new microbreweries opening all over the country. One microbrewery definitely worth checking out is Sixpoint Craft Ales out of Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY.

Background:

Sixpoint Craft Ales was founded in 2005 with limited funds in a small 800 square foot garage in Red Hook, Brooklyn. This small craft brewery is a prime example of the growing number of diverse and talented microbreweries across the country. They appreciate both the history of the beer industry and of their community in Brooklyn.

The Meaning Behind the Name:

Our logo – a unique combination of the brewer’s star and nautical star – combines the rich history of each and takes on an entirely new meaning. We pay homage to the ancient craft of brewing, but at the same time recognize our modern role and duty to interpret the art on our own terms. We remind you that we are from Brooklyn, and that we are proud to represent. Above all else, we help you to navigate through the endless ocean of various beers, bringing you back home to quality, back to Sixpoint Craft Ales.

Brewing: What’s their secret?

Sixpoint believes in using traditional brewing practices, such as using a hand-made hardwood mash paddle, yet have the creativity and forward thinking necessary to create amazing and unique brews.

Beer Mantra:

Sixpoint’s President and Brewmaster, Shane Welch, sees Sixpoint and its staff as more than simple producers of beer.

We are producers of beer, yes, but we are also scientists and philosophers and perhaps most important, educators. Teaching people about the science and the art of craft brewing the Sixpoint way is one of our most important tasks, and something we approach with honor and dedication.

Now those are some tasty looking beers!

Scottie’s Choice:

I’ve had the pleasure of trying several brews from Sixpoint (reviews to come) and I was thoroughly impressed. If you have the opportunity, look for their Russian Imperial Stout – it will blow your mind.

Sixpoint Craft Ales is a perfect example of how the craft beer industry is growing in America. If you haven’t had the opportunity of trying their beers, check out their site or follow them on Twitter to see if their beer is available in your area.

Cheers to Sixpoint Craft Ales!