Is this thing on?

Okay; where to begin. I guess I'll take the easy road.


Beer.


I love beer. I'm passionate about beer. I'm even sometimes angry about beer...(check that, angry about antiquated laws concerning beer). 


I brew my own beer. 


Let's hone in on that for a moment. I love brewing beer. I love crafting unique recipes. I like pushing the boundaries of different beer styles. Whenever I got first turned on to brewing beer, I only just recently had my first decent craft beer. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Rogue Dead Guy Ale. I thought to myself: "Dang, this is much better than Miller Lite! Why haven't I tried this before? I was only 27 at the time, it seemed odd. Fast forward to tasting my very own creation for the first time - a honey brown ale made from extract. Something changed in me. I don't know if it's always been there, or simply materialized, but I wanted to brew more and more beer - and brew for a living. 


My profile states that I've never had an entrepreneurial bone in my body and that's me to the "T". I'm your typical Type B person that always seems to be satisfied with the status quo and usually nothing ever gets under my skin...and if it does, it doesn't stay there for long. However, when I started to brew more beer and different beer styles, comparing them to very, very good commercial craft beers, I became motivated to accomplish something not even remotely close to the current path on which I've been traveling.


Yeah, I was in my final years of a doctoral program at Florida State. I have a steady job. But after I began brewing very good beers, I wanted to have my cake beer and eat drink it too, so to speak.


So, I started getting more involved in my local brew club. I started expanding my equipment and the capacity for how much beer I could brew. I started looking into what a career in the craft brewing business looks like - the obstacles, the positives, the unknowns. I started to read more and more about entrepreneurship and the laws, regulations, etc. surrounding the craft beer field. I've almost memorized the entire movie Beer Wars - and I have a hard time not directing people to it...check that, hard time not talking about beer at all.


Long story short, I made up my mind to pursue my dream. GrassLands Brewery. It's fun to think about the road ahead - no matter how bumpy (and it's gonna be bumpy) it is - I'm anxious to take my first ever career plunge and see if I can make it. I don't have any business background. I don't have any financial/accounting/management background or experience. But I'm of the belief that the qualities I do possess (brewing great beer, a ridiculous attention to detail regarding this venture, and numerous talented people in many relevant fields around me who are willing to help) will allow this small (but soon to be large) business succeed. 


With that said, welcome to my first blog, if there's anyone reading! This will be GrassLands' public diary (of sorts) as I document my voyage through the entrepreneurial seas ahead.