Jan. 13, 2013 - When Schubros Brewery opens its much anticipated San Ramon, CA Taproom at 12893 Alcosta Boulevard on January 19th, it will be a watershed moment for the company. “We’ve been selling now for a half-year, but more than anything else, the Taproom marks our transition from startup to fully functional. It’s a clear statement -- “With the community’s help, we’re now up and running, and San Ramon is homebase.’” said Ian Schuster, Schubros’ President.
A year ago, Schubros Brewery first gained recognition when they unconventionally turned to hometown San Ramon and surrounding communities for help in raising startup capital, introducing their ‘YIMBY -- Yes In My BackYard’ campaign. Through those financing efforts Schubros gained the support of over 20 local investors, raising the funds necessary to get started brewing. “It was a real victory for grassroots finance,” stated Schuster.
Since then, they have surged ahead. From 2 entrepreneurs and an idea, Schubros poured its first pint this past Father’s Day, and quickly made its presence known. 7 people now support the company’s growth, as they expand their coverage area and introduce bottled beer to their originally all-draught product line. “Now that we’ve surpassed our 2012 goal of getting on shelf or tap at 100 locations, we’re looking to start off 2013 with growth in mind. Not just survival anymore,” stated Mike Hall, Chief Sales Officer.
“And that is why our taproom will prove so important,” explained Jon Piening, Chief Infrastructure Officer. “As we grow, this will be the anchor of our community engagement and focus -- a tangible location where we can talk to and meet our customers; get to know them and learn what they like and don’t like. Something to keep our hearts and mind always in San Ramon, even as sales stretch beyond it.”
“It's a 'BYOF' (Bring Your Own Food) tasting room, built to foster interaction within our community and keep our local flavor,” added Brewmaster Mike Johannsen. “Our new Research and Development Center is being built right on the other side of the taproom wall. I’ll be trying out new beers, which we’ll need only ship about 4 feet over to where we’ll test them out. Patrons get one-of-a-kind beers, and we get near instant feedback.”
Beyond the physical manifestation of the taproom, Schubros has also made its community mark in many other ways. They are giving 1% of their core beer revenues to various local charitable causes, and have already raised thousands of dollars for local education via auctioned and raffled off “Beer-Food Pairing Dinners.” Furthermore, Schubros has been very active with the military community, partnering with the Blue Star Moms, Gold Star Moms, and Sentinels of Freedom to assist military service-members and their families. Even more recently, they teamed up with the USS Hornet (a retired US Navy Aircraft Carrier) in Alameda to host the 113th Army-Navy game in the aircraft hangerbay, in what is already looking to become an annual tradition.
San Ramon meanwhile, and northern Alcosta boulevard in specific, has seen a recent surge in beer-culture. Six months ago when Schubros opened, there was only the Hopyard in Marketplace that stood out as the clear outlet for the beer connoisseur. Since then however two further casual dining restaurants have opened, Firehouse No. 37 and a new Buffalo Wild Wings, each with over 30 beers on tap. “With craft sales twice what they were 5 or 6 years ago, the surging popularity of good beer is undeniable,” explained Schuster. “And that was despite the recession. I can’t wait to see what happens when the economy starts to grow again.”
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