While not unique to the brewing industry, this notion of living a lifestyle that blurs the lines between work and play would certainly apply to the staff and customers at the brewery. “It is very much a lifestyle. Our spouses are included in it, and we eat, drink, breathe and sleep the craft beer industry… we have a lot of fun, sometimes to the detriment of the business! We’re very easily distracted!” Distracted or not, Mispillion River has a strong relationship with their community. Their benevolence affords them a leadership role within the community and, in fact, allows them to foster
real change in the lives of their neighbors. “We quickly realized that we had the opportunity to be leaders, make changes and be an asset to the community because people are so willing to come to a brewery. We do an annual fundraiser every year for the family of a State Trooper who was killed in the line of duty in 2009. In the past two years, we’ve raised around $50,000 for them. Anytime there is something going on in the community that we can help with, we do.” The creative and community-minded energy that surrounds Mispillion River Brewing demonstrated in everything they do, right down to their lively and animated website. Next time you are passing through Milford, Delaware pop into the tasting room and soak it all in. The adventures never end!
Hmmm. A new target consumer group for marketing purposes? Bigelow laughs, “Actually, the gym down the street did start sending people our way when they heard about the beer.” Reining the conversation back to more traditional brewery matters, she points out that future expansion will come in the form of entering into the restaurant industry. “We are currently in the process of building a brew pub, so that will be happening in the next year. That’s where we see expansion making sense. Production-wise, we will be expanding but that won’t be happening as quickly.” Speaking with Lauren Bigelow, one gets the impression that Eric Williams’ original dream to operate a fun place to work is coming true. It would certainly appear that smiles, laughter and a sense of family are as important production ingredients at Mispillion River as hops and malts. Bigelow confirms, “Fun is very important to us. It’s difficult for us to separate the work from the rest of our lives because we are all together constantly. We are all best friends. We all do everything together.”
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NOVEMBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2019
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