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Beer, Mead and Cider with Michael Fairbrother – BeerSmith Podcast #319
2025/2/11
BeerSmith Home and Beer Brewing Podcast
M
Michael Fairbrother
Michael Fairbrother: 我对酿造啤酒、苹果酒和蜂蜜酒都感兴趣，并分享了我进入家庭酿造行业的经历。我将酿酒视为一种艺术创作，通过创造人们喜爱的风味来表达自己。我从1996年5月开始酿酒，并于2010年开始商业酿造。我认真研究酿造蜂蜜酒、啤酒和苹果酒的知识，并勇于尝试和犯错，从中学习。要想在酿造行业取得成功，仅仅优秀是不够的，必须做到卓越。我在获得多次奖项后，克服恐惧，最终在2010年6月正式开办了我的蜂蜜酒酿造厂。我的蜂蜜酒酿造厂从最初的小规模生产发展到如今的大规模生产，这其中经历了规模的不断扩大。蜂蜜酒并不一定都是甜的，它可以有多种不同的口味。我早期酿造的一些蜂蜜酒非常受欢迎，并销往全国各地。通过与大型经销商合作，将产品销往美国各地以及澳大利亚和加拿大。与大型经销商合作存在风险，需要谨慎处理合同条款，以保护自身利益。通过努力工作和与经销商建立良好关系，成功地拓展了全国范围内的分销网络。与经销商合作需要积极主动地推广产品，让消费者品尝到产品。由于债务负担和对再融资的预期落空，我的业务曾一度面临困境。如果重新开始，我会更重视组建销售团队，以确保业务的持续成功。与大型经销商合作时，付款周期长，可能导致现金流问题。经销商有时会违反合同约定，例如以寄售的方式付款，这在美国是非法的。在与大型经销商合作时，小型酿酒厂的议价能力较弱。由于市场变化，我的蜂蜜采购量大幅下降。由于税收政策的差异，我将业务扩展到啤酒和苹果酒酿造。在产品命名和市场营销方面，需要考虑消费者的认知和接受度。我在100英亩的农场上建立了一个酿酒厂、啤酒厂和餐厅，打造一个集酿造、餐饮和旅游于一体的目的地。由于融资问题和市场变化，我的农场项目一度面临困境。我经营着蜂蜜酒酿造厂、啤酒厂、苹果酒厂和一家餐厅。我的啤酒厂专注于经典啤酒风格，避免使用过多的添加剂。我的啤酒厂生产各种风格的啤酒，并根据市场需求不断调整产品种类。我的啤酒厂的一些畅销啤酒包括美国淡啤酒、苏格兰爱尔啤酒和皮尔森啤酒。我与我的酿酒师合作，共同创造出高质量的啤酒。开设餐厅是为了完善我的农场项目，打造一个集酿造、餐饮和旅游于一体的目的地。我建议创业者专注于一个目标，并寻求外部帮助。创业需要大量资金，并建议避免向高利贷借款。我正在研发一些新的蜂蜜酒，包括一些桶酿蜂蜜酒和添加不同风味成分的蜂蜜酒。我认为精酿啤酒市场正在发生变化，大型啤酒公司正在淘汰一些小型品牌。消费者的饮酒习惯正在发生变化，精酿啤酒市场需要适应新的趋势。在经历了多次起伏之后，我的最终感悟是永不放弃，并寻求外部帮助来改进业务管理。
Brad Smith: (无核心论点，主要为引导访谈和总结)
supporting_evidences
Michael Fairbrother: 'It's the way I can be an artist...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'It was May of 1996...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And I was really serious into understanding everything...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And I knew that, you know, being good isn't good enough...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And I had won three back-to-back Meatmaker of the Year awards...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'I'd converted my garage into where the metering was going to start from...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Because most people, if you tell them you're going to offer me...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah, the Kurtz apple pie continues to be our bestseller to this day...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And I think you were distributing through a lot of the major distributors...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'You're going to never make enough money to stay in business...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And what that means to a small business owner is...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And for me, it was always somewhat disappointing...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'The ability to try to run everything the same...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And how would I do it differently...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah, it's a lot of ups and downs...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah, it's typically net 30 freight on board...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'So there's a lot of lessons...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah. So 2020 was about 40,000 pounds of honey that year...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah, I figured out through a quirk in the state taxation system...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And the mistake we made was we called it a braggot...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah, so it's a 100-acre farm...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And then the guy that was in charge of my account left the bank...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah, no wine...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And we've got decent...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah. So, um, it's a split between...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'But I do care. What are some of the more popular styles, though?...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah, so I met him probably when he was close to 21...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And, um, And here we are...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Yeah, I thought it was going to be a lot easier...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Pick your goal and stick to one, maybe...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'And it takes a lot of money...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Well, you continue to produce great meads...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'I think you know, we've talked about it before...'
Michael Fairbrother: 'Never give up. Never give up...'
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