SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 2017
2
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2017
It’s commonly accepted knowledge that much of the craft movement exploded on the Pacific side of North America and rolled its way east. Absolution Brewing Company co-founder, Steve Farguson cut his teeth on the San Diego craft scene in the early days, watching and learning from the innovators and staying ahead of the curve. His business partner, Nigel Heath, flew over to the Los Angeles area from his home in London, UK, with a view to checking out the California brewing scene. His first impression was predictable — macro-beers were everywhere and people seemed to be indifferent about what they were drinking. Farguson and Heath noted that Los Angeles seemed to have missed the whole West Coast craft beer scene. They were determined to fix that situation. Joining forces, they scouted out an area in L.A. that could facilitate such a challenge and began brewing beer, with the expressed goal of educating the people of L.A. about something the rest of California was already celebrating —great craft beer. Spotlight on Business spoke with Absolution co-founder, Nigel Heath about the West Coast craft beer scene, their successes, and their determination to rid the Pacific West of bland beer, one pint at a time.
By John Allaire W hen I first came to Los Angeles from London in ’94, I thought I was going to last here about two weeks because everyone was drinking the bland yellow fizzy stuff. I couldn’t believe that, seven years ago when Steve Farguson and I got together in L.A., the second-larg- est city in the land, with its massive disposable income and a pretty intelligent population, they were all drinking machine made mass produced fiz bombs!”
up arms. It’s all about market share, and being from the area where the movement basically germinated means the stakes feel higher than in the rest of North America. Breaking L.A. of its macro- beer habit has taken more work than one would think at first blush. “The whole craft revo- lution that started in San Diego sort of leap-frogged L.A.,
Arguably, that ‘yellow fizzy stuff’ has been the catalyst for craft beer revolutionaries, and their main reason for taking
3
NOVEMBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
directed upwards towards ‘big beer’.” This means a huge win for those who were riding the craft wave when it first started on the west Coast as well as for the newly initiated. For the consumer, there is a huge smorgasbord of choice.” So we’re back to market share again. In a huge market like the Pacific Coast, how does a brewery distinguish itself from the dozens of others vying for a place on the increasingly sophisticated consumers’ palette? “We’re an English-American crossover brewery using the best of Old World recipes and the best of new-world ingredients. Our Head brewer will be the first to tell you that he never gets any instructions from me to cut ingredients costs or buy the cheapest of anything. He has a free hand to buy the best ingredients anywhere on the planet. Which is definitely dif- ferent from the ‘big boys’.” Absolution is proud to stress that they use natural ingredi- ents and no preservatives. Heath explains that, as a lifetime connoisseur of finer ales from all over the world, he contin- ues to ensure that quality natural ingredients are the key to successful brewing. “The beer that I grew up drinking as a young man in England was all natural drawn from a cask and the only CO2 present was from Mother Nature. The beer was a natural food product. There were no chemicals, addi- tives or stabilizers.”
The whole “new world ingredients and old world tech- niques” sets Absolution apart from many other smaller
landed in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and north… one in eight pints in San Diego was a craft beer pint when we started seven years ago. North of L.A., they were pouring 10- 12% craft beer pints. L.A. was less than 4%. So basically only one in every 25 pints poured in L.A. was something other than mass produced big beer.” “When I first came to Los Angeles… I thought I was going to last here about two weeks because everyone was drinking the bland yellow fizzy stuff.” The gloves came off, and Absolution was born in 2013. Heath and Farguson assembled the team, acquired their space in the Torrance area of greater L.A. and began the battle to fight the fizz. And spoiler alert: the craft movement is taking a stronghold in L.A. The number of craft brewer- ies in the area has gone from 0-60 (almost literally!) in a little over half-a- decade. And how did this happen? Heath explains that co-operation amongst craft brewers played a significant role. “The thing about the craft beer industry is, it’s really a frater- nity. So we help each other out if they’re short of supplies, equipment or what have you. Sure, all business exists in a competitive environment, but most of the competition is
model. Absolution’s answer is to ensure scale in any one location doesn’t exceed a volume that becomes unsustain- able without automation. “Our model is about the 6,000-barrel brew house. And the model allows for us to replicate that in multiple loca- tions, rather than the 6,000 becoming a 50,000, becoming a 100,000-barrel brew house, and then the machines take over.” Heath stresses that they are adamant about main- taining the ‘artisan’ production model, and the only way to grow within this model is to create a series of smaller brew locations. For the time being, all the beer is being produced and shipped out of their South L.A. location. But Heath explains that their future growth revolves around how successful their distribution becomes in markets away from Southern California. “Everything is handmade every day.” Texas and Arizona are currently on their distribution map, but Absolution is looking to give beer lovers east of the Rockies a chance to sample a ‘Shelby Snake Bite’ or navigate a ‘405 No Coast IPA’. “Up north and even the East Coast are basically all on our radar for future distribution and poten- tial expansion… And our last phase includes international markets. We have a number of distributors, particularly in the Far East, that are showing great interest in carrying our beer. But again, that would be our last phase. We’re looking at getting a stronghold in the U.S. markets first.” Looking at Absolution’s website, you’ll note that there is a vast range of beer styles, from a Milk Stout to a number of IPAs representing different ranges on the bitterness scale. Heath points out that their own personal palettes initially drove the decisions on styles. “My unofficial title is CTO. That’s Chief Tasting Officer!” he says with a chuckle. “We like to experiment but we do have a core set of beers that are distributed.” Those beers are: ‘TheAngel’s Demise English-Style IPA’, very popular because the hops and alcohol are well balanced and give a much smother mouth experience; the ‘Cardinal Sin’, an Irish Red Ale; ‘Purgatory’, a lighter Bavarian style Hefeweizen; a West Coast hop-forward IPA called the ‘405 No Coast IPA’; a unique lager called ‘The Convert’ and the South Bay Blonde, which is light, easy drinking with hints of citrus. Stouts and Porters and an extensive barrel-ageing program fill out the remainder of the list. The Absolution website sums up their company best, ‘Farm to glass’ artisan beers and ales. Old World style and New World ingredients. Absolution means freedom, the nail represents unity and hard work; put them together and you get Absolution Brewing Company.”
brewers on the Pacific Coast. Heath points out that the ales of previous centuries have been lost, in many cases for economic and mass production reasons. “It’s not the cheapest way to make beer. But we believe truly in the ‘artisan’ aspects. So my Head brewer and our brew team are looking, smelling, listening, and tasting every brew, the way things used to be made.
Making beer through complete automation, you lose all that personal art and skill.”
Absolution’s attitude toward artisan craft brewing with natural ingredients, no preservative and old-world tech- niques has resonated with larger corporations in other related industries such as Whole Foods with similar ethos and commitment to ‘real’ ingredients. “Literally we have water, grain, yeast and hops. That’s it,” Heath says. When he conducts brewery tours, one of his favourite lines is that, because there are no chemicals, Absolution beer is hang-over free! Of course, the jury is still out on this one, but Heath explains with a bit of a chuckle, “All joking aside, if you buy cheap wine, it’s the non-nat- ural ingredients that give you the splitting headache the next morning. My ‘go-to’ beer here is the Fallen Archangel, which is an English Imperial Double IPA. Very smooth. Not the West Coast mouth-wrenching hop bom The skill comes in the balance of the alcohol and hops, so you don’t get alcohol burn on the back end and you don’t get that palette destroyer, when you can’t taste food or coffee for the next week!… I’ll have three Archangels (10.2% ABV) and go for a run on the beach the next morning and still feel right as rain.” Ok, I’m sold. But back to the battlefield and the war between ‘craft’ and ‘big’ beer, one could look at Absolution’s logo and labeling and draw from it that they are hammering the last nail in the coffin of mass-produced beer. While ‘big beer’ may not be shaking in their yellow fizzy boots just yet, the market share is definitely shifting. In many jurisdictions, this has caused major breweries to re-assess their strategies moving forward and, in fact, has led to their absorption of some of the smaller craft brew- eries. It has become a “if you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em” scenario, which is adding fuel to the battleground fire for the sophisticated consumer and the independent craft brewer alike. Distribution channels and supply chains are being purchased by large corporations, effectively blocking many independents from their lifelines. Absolution has done an end-run around these potential blockades, for the time being anyway, by using independent distribution channels and suppliers. This speaks directly to their ‘hands-on’ and ‘old world’ philosophy of producing and operating independently. “We’re not compromising. As our volumes have increased, we have resisted automat- ing brewing. Everything is handmade every day.” As the brewery grows, this naturally puts pressure on the compa- ny’s commitment to their original business and production
Join the revolution and beat the fizzies, one pint at a time!
ABSOLUTION BREWING COMPANY
2878 Columbia Street, Torrance, CA 90503
info@absolutionbrewingcompany.com (310) 490-4860
www.absolutionbrewingcompany.com
as spotlighted in the NOVEMBER 2017 issue of SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
www.spotlightonbusinessmagazine.com
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker