Discussing SWB’s Blue Print for New Brews with CMO Brian Miesieski
In any industry, innovation is key.
For us, in an industry like craft beer, innovation is an opportunity for our brewers be creative – not to mention to make some badass (and sometimes weird) beers along the way. Coming up with brand-spankin new brews is nothing new for SweetWater, especially with someone who has years of beers under his belt – figuratively and literally – like our Special Hops Commander & CMO Brian Miesieski (don’t worry about pronouncing that last name, we just call him “Jetski”).
“We’ve always set out to not float the mainstream”, says Brian. “We want to put out the best beer, be imaginative, and have fun along the way. Whether it’s diving into cutting edge science with our new Elevated H.A.Z.Y. available on Delta Air Lines flights or collaborating with other great innovators like Good Supply, Jack Herer or B-Real, at the end of the day it has to be a brew that we’re proud to put in front of our fans.”
He also tries to argue that it’s not ALL fun and games when it comes to innovating (but, to be fair, there’s still a good amount of fun and games). “It’s also critical that anything we create is quality – which is why we have strict quality codes, bottle and can condition all of our products, and keep everything cold from the brew house to the retailer to the consumer.” SweetWater Brewery is also loaded with a state-of-the-art lab that includes a PCR thermo-cycler and alkalizer. We didn’t quite understand what the lab dudes were talking about when they name-dropped that equipment – but they help us maintain high quality liquid.
If you’ve heard us say that we’re making it up as we go along – that’s pretty much true when it comes to new innovations, echoes Miesieski. “It’s a constant, fluid process. While we look at the cross section of a number of areas of research, inspiration can come from anywhere and anytime – but there actually is a true science and method to the madness, from R&D to marketing to sales strategy.”
And if inspiration can strike our brewers in any way and in any room (don’t ask how Nick Nock got the idea for an asparagus ale called “IPGreen”), it’s also true that there’s no one secret sauce to creating new brews time and time again.
“There are a couple key areas that we think help make us successful innovators,” says Miejetski. “First off, we have great, creative people. And secondly, we have the ‘don’t float the mainstream’ motto written on everything we do. Just when we think we’re about to go into the endzone, we flip it on its head, beat it up and have extra diligence.”
And if you’ve read this far: you’re in luck, because Jetski is letting us announce our full lineup of innovations for the rest of the ye-
“Nope,” says Jetski (sorry, we tried). “After a few H.A.Z.Y.’s, I might spill the beans. But what I will tell you is we do have new friends to the North (wink wink) – and as we go beyond the mainstream we’re also going to continue to go beyond beer.”
For all our new and potential innovations, swing by our Tap Room to try out and tell us what you think. We even have a beer we call “Feedback”. We promise it’s not IPGreen.
