Hardly Slummin’ with Slumbrew’s Caitlin Jewell

Since opening two years ago, Somerville Brewing Company–its beers are marketed under the brand name “Slumbrew”–has become one of the most popular craft breweries in Massachusetts. So when I got the chance to interview Caitlin Jewell, Somerville’s co-founder and marketing manager, I didn’t hesitate. It’s a family-owned small business–her husband, Jeff Leiter, is also a co-founder and brewer, and her brother, Chris Jewell, is their road warrior sales manager and distributor liaison. Among other things, I learned they are faring far better than their brand name connotes.

You went from being a homebrewer for 10 years to owning your own brewery. What was the most difficult part of going from homebrewer to owner of a brewery?

Well, we don’t own a brewery so that is the most difficult part. We brew at Mercury Brewing Company in Ipswich, MA. Although we plan to continue brewing most of our beer at Mercury for the foreseeable future, we’re presently looking for a light-industrial or retail space for small batch brewing that is open to the public with a tasting room.

Your official name is Somerville Brewing Company but you go by Slumbrew. Do you have plans to release any other beers under the Somerville Brewing Company name?

“Slumbrew” is our brand produced by Somerville Brewing Company. Slumbrew has also been our nickname for over 10 years so it’s interchangeable. We have a couple additional brands that are in the R&D phase but don’t have any immediate plans just yet.

You have a brewlab in Somerville where you brew test batches and your commercial beer is brewed at Mercury Brewery. How long does it take a test batch beer to reach the market?

There are beers that Jeff has brewed over 100 times to get just right. After brewing for over 10 years, he has an extensive playbook, which is a helpful position to be in. We are agile enough to get a beer from R&D through branding and label approval and production in about 60-90 days, but most of our beers took 1 – 2 years to perfect from concept to store shelves. 

How much beer do you brew in a year?

We’re projecting 2,000 bbls for 2013. 

What is the most difficult part of getting your beer on stores shelves/on tap at bars?

In retail stores, we’re seeing a fast-paced trend to include more craft bottles in the 22oz format, but we are fighting for cold box and shelf placements with so many brands. We do a LOT of in-store tastings to gain better placements and heartshare. Our business is very one-to-one. We say “If you like our beer, please tell someone about us!”

Getting on taps in bars is a challenge because many of the larger breweries have existing relationships or provide “incentives” to keep their place on the tap list. 

What is your most popular beer that you brew?

Looking at a whole year, Flagraiser IPA wins. But Happy Sol Blood Orange Hef is very popular in the warmer months and Porter Square Porter is top of the list in cooler times. Trekker Trippel is on fire in white tablecloth restaurants and has been added as our fourth flagship beer in permanent availability.

The craft beer industry is now in the midst of a canning craze. Will we see any Slumbrew beers in cans in the future?

A girl CAN hope!

Do you plan to release any new beers this year?

These are the ones we can tell you – Lobstah Killah Imperial Red and Top of the World White IPA with peaches. Expect to see our very popular Flower Envy Saison around June too. That was our wedding beer in 2009. It’s so nice to make it commercially now. We have lots of orders this year for June brides.

Slumbrew is currently available in 6 states: MA, VT, ME, IL, LA, and VA. Do you have plans to add any new states this year?

We’re working on CT, RI, NJ, and maybe NH. 

What would your advice be to someone who wants to get into the beer business (i.e. open a brewery and/or brew pub)?

Funding and distribution are difficult to come by. Both of these should be secured before you announce yourself as a “Brewery in Planning” or BIP. Plan for LOTS of late nights and interfacing with LOTS of people one-on-one. If you make great beer but you don’t like meeting new people, this is not for you.

With craft beer growing as fast as it is, do you think the industry can sustain all this growth?

I LOVE this question and this concern. Here’s the thing… There are those that will argue that the recent growth of microproducers in America is not sustainable and naysayers fret that there may not be enough consumers to support this growth. I find this to be absurd. Every day in America, 93% of the beer consumed is produced by only a handful of large producers. If you don’t think 93% of the market share is up for grabs for the small craft producers, then you haven’t spent much time with folks born between 1980 and 1992.

This generation is a remarkably different consumer than in the recent past. To understand them is to understand the future of craft beer. You may think they’ve grown up in a virtual world, but I believe they are highly connected to their real physical communities in interesting and meaningful ways. For this generation, hyper-local often wins over consumerism, recycling is a choice not a chore, and big-box loses to hash-tagged #shoplocal. This generation makes healthier choices than when my 21-year-old self enjoyed a balanced diet of Heineken, Diet Coke, and Ring-dings. Words like sustainability flow out flawlessly and they demand to know what they’re consuming and how it was created. I love that this generation eats and lives healthier than I do and probably ever will, and they have a true appreciation for artisanal foods and beverages.

Where do you go to drink beer in Boston?

Redbones in Somerville, MA RULES. Their list is a great balance of beers – fresh, hyper-local, west coast, and hard to find UK beers. There’s always a cask on and they know how to do cask well. You’ll also find us on the pub stools at Cambridge Common, Kinsale, Somerville Flatbread, Atwood’s, and Mead Hall.