Craft beer businesses ready to tap into tourism market

In the craft beer industry, the attitude has long been the more, the merrier. The sentiment holds true in Topeka’s burgeoning craft beer scene.

Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant, brewing award-winning beer since 1995, was the sole Topeka craft beer maker until Happy Basset Brewing Co. and Norsemen Brewing Co. joined in 2016. Now, a fourth small-batch brewery, Iron Rail Brewing, is scheduled to open on S. Kansas Avenue this fall, and The Brew Bank, a bar specializing in Kansas craft beers, will open next year.

With the growing beer options, the obvious business question is: “Is it too much?”

“No,” Jared Rudy, co-owner of Norsemen Brewing, and Jay Ives, Blind Tiger owner, said almost at the same time.

The pair, along with Adam and Melissa Rosdahl and Emily Rudy, gathered recently in the back office of Norsemen Brewing, 830 N. Kansas Ave., to discuss the city’s growing beer world. The Rosdahls and Emily Rudy also are co-owners of Norsemen Brewing.

Competition won’t hurt the craft brew scene in Topeka, they said. If anything, having more options will hold each brewer accountable for creating a quality product.

“We’ll make sure we’re a town known for good beer,” Adam Rosdahl said. “Like people say: ‘Oh, Denver, great beer there. Oh, Seattle, great beer there.’ We want people to say, ‘Topeka, great beer there.’”

Craft community

To reach their branding goal, the brewers plan to continue supporting each other.

When the four co-owners of Norsemen Brewing set out to commercialize their homebrew hobby, Jared Rudy says, they brewed at the Blind Tiger, 417 S.W. 37th St., to get a feel for the larger system and learn the ropes.

“I’d much rather see someone wearing a Blind Tiger T-shirt or Happy Bassett shirt drinking here or vice versa than seeing Budweiser or Coors,” Emily Rudy said.

The support goes beyond sharing a beer.

Obtaining supplies can be tricky for a single independent brewery, Jared Rudy says. Having multiple breweries in an area opens the door to joint purchases, distribution sharing and the possibility of such collaborative beers as Beermuda Triangle, a brew Happy Bassett, Blind Tiger and Norsemen Brewing jointly created last year.

There’s plenty of market space to share, the group says, pointing to national statistics on craft breweries, which last year generated about $26 billion. In Kansas, breweries had a $480 million economic impact in 2016, according to the Brewers Association.

Last year in Kansas, 36 craft breweries were in operation for a state of roughly 2.9 million people, according to Brewers Association statistics. Neighboring Colorado, with almost twice the population, had nearly 10 times the number of breweries, or about 350.

Kansas and Oklahoma, with its 27 craft beer makers, lag behind neighbors in the number of craft breweries. Nebraska had 49, and Missouri had 91 in 2017, according to Brewers Association data. Texas supported more than 250 craft breweries last year.

Not all breweries are successful, Jared Rudy says. To survive, breweries need to be unique in beer and atmosphere.

“When it comes down to it, this is a business,” he said. “I think if you fail, it’s not about competition. It’s about the business plan.”

Iron Rail partner Brent Boles agreed. He sees the new brewery supporting businesses in downtown, like Norsemen Brewing has in North Topeka.

“Breweries are becoming the neighborhood bar. They’re a neighborhood hangout,” Boles said. “We have people now leaving Topeka to try the beer in Lawrence, Manhattan, Kansas City. The community of breweries gives them a reason to stay.”

Tasting tourism

Craft beer enthusiasts often seek out local brews on vacation and even plan trips around beer. Drawing beer drinkers from outside Topeka — Ives calls them "beer trekkers" — will be key to local breweries’ survival. 

A Brewers Association study from 2014 found more than 10 million people toured craft breweries that year, and more than half of that group came from outside the destination. The organization reported 18 percent of craft beer drinkers visit three or more out-of-town breweries each year.

Melissa Rosdahl recalls day trips to Lawrence, home of four craft breweries, and Kansas City, which also has a growing beer market. Now, people are traveling to Topeka for beer.

On a nearly daily basis, Blind Tiger serves someone from outside the area, Ives says. Recently, a man from Wisconsin who creates Viking costumes asked Norsemen Brewing if he could stop by in his Nordic attire.

“They’re already coming here, and with another brewery to choose from, I think it makes Topeka more attractive,” Melissa Rosdahl said.

The Brew Bank, tentatively looking at a spot in the 800 block of S. Kansas Avenue, hopes to add to that tourism. While not a brewery, the bar will feature dozens of craft beers from across Kansas.

Co-owners Dusty Snethen, Melissa Snethen and Ryan Cavanaugh came up with the concept for The Brew Bank because they couldn’t access a variety of Kansas beers at a typical bar.

“Our hope is people will come in here, try a beer and say, ‘Hey, I want to go check that brewery out,’” Cavanaugh said. “Maybe that’s down the street at (The) Iron Rail or somewhere else in Kansas.”

At 715 S. Kansas Ave., Iron Rail Brewing is an easy walk from The Brew Bank’s planned location. Boles says he sees The Brew Bank as a complementary business.

“They’re like a coffee shop, serving the beverage,” he said. “We (brewers) are like the roaster.”

Contact courts and enterprise reporter/web editor Luke Ranker at (785) 295-1270, @lrankerNEWS on Twitter or facebook.com/lukeranker.

Want more stories from our 2018 downtown Topeka section? Read individual articles at cjonline.com/downtowntopeka and see the whole section here.

TOPEKA BREWERS

Here is a list of the breweries doing business or being planned in Topeka. Three are in the downtown area:

Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant

417 S.W. 37th St.

blindtiger.com

Happy Basset Brewing Co.

6044 S.W. 29th St.

happybassetbrewingco.com

Iron Rail Brewing

715 S. Kansas Ave.

ironrailbrewing.com

Norsemen Brewing Co.

830 N. Kansas Ave.

norsemenbrewingco.com

The Brew Bank

800 block of S. Kansas Avenue (tentative)

facebook.com/brewbanktopeka