Interview with Shane Welch of Sixpoint Craft Ales, pt. 1

Much has been made recently of Brooklyn’s rise as a hub of artists and artisans favoring a simple, honest, real approach to their work. Embodying that spirit is Shane Welch and his Sixpoint Craft Ales, a small brewery tucked away in the Red Hook neighborhood of the borough. Known for four fine bread-and-butter beers and ever-rotating specialty brews, this keg-only operation after just four years is receiving rave reviews, running at maximum capacity, and looking to expand. Welch and his staff are driven by a love of beer and brewing, and a creative curiosity that keeps things interesting for beer lovers and themselves.

Base: Now that Sixpoint is four years old—congratulations!—do you still feel like the new kid on the block

SW: Actually no, and we never really did feel that way in the beginning.  We’ve marched to the beat of our own drum from the start and therefore never was the squeaky-geek freshman trying to emulate the seniors.

A fermenter (right) and three of Sixpoint’s five conditioning tanks, where the fermented beer clarifies and mellows for five to seven days before kegging

A map and schedule of the what’s brewing

B: Tell us about the inception of Sixpoint.  Were you really homeless for a time?  What did you do before the brewery?

SW: Homeless twice, actually.  Trying to launch a small-scale manufacturing business in NYC is not the most intelligent financial proposition, so sacrifices had to be made.  In addition, the gods were testing us with a series of calamities and bad fortune (the brewery had a horrible fire) but in the end it was a blessing in disguise.  The struggles galvanized our resolve and we came out stronger than ever. Before the brewery I was living the hippie lifestyle—eating organic food, reading lots of books, backpacking across the globe, and trying to figure out a meaningful and fulfilling life.

On the wall of the brewery

B: It seems like for every microbrew that opens up, another closes down.  In an industry with so many competitors, how has Sixpoint been able to break through the clutter?

SW: Commodity plays are always difficult when there is over-capacity and the market is saturated.  We’re most definitely approaching that point right now, as I believe customers are absolutely inundated with selection – try walking through the Bowery Beer room at Whole Foods – you have well over 100 beers to chose from! Sixpoint actually stands out by not standing out; by reducing its entire message to a single intention and distilling everything its stands for to a single symbol – the Sixpoint star.

The heat exchanger, which cools boiled beer. Cold water and hot wort (unfermented beer) go in; hot water and cold wort come out. Then the beer is off to the fermenter.

B: Have you been surprised by your success?

SW: Yes – I am surprised by the rocketing exponential growth rate, but I’m more pleasantly surprised and DELIGHTED by all of the amazing, helpful, and supportive people in our community and network that have made this possible.  They came out of the woodwork and put us where we are – it is incredible.

The “parts cart”

B: In the world of microbreweries, is it more important to be a well-run business, or to have a really good product?

SW: Ha!  Trick question, sir.  Shouldn’t a well-run business by very definition have a really good product?  The product is a manifestation of how well the business is run.  Why should there be a disconnect between the “finances” of a company and the “quality” of its product?  A good business should be both Spartan and Athenian. Right now, we’re still in a boom time for microbrews.  When the tide goes out, we’ll find out who’s been swimming naked.

The keg washer can do four at a time.

B: Which breweries or brewmasters do you really admire?

SW: Geoff from Brasserie Dieu du Ciel, Vinnie from Russian River, the original Trappist monk wrecking crew from Westvleteren, and Peter Zien from Alesmith to name a few off the top of my head.

Craig Frymark (left), Sixpoint’s Brewhouse Manager, with Base partner Geoff Cook (right)

B: What do you think of brewer Sam Calagione and Dogfish Head?

SW: I hold him in very high esteem for all the right reasons.

B: People often talk about the resurgence of craft products and creativity taking place in Brooklyn.  Do you see yourself as a part of it or as more of a beneficiary?

SW: It is a gigantic revolving wheel of karma, so we are both giving and receiving.

Firkins: 10-gallon casks waiting for uncarbonated, unfiltered, unpasteurized beer, where the brew will finish fermenting and have a light, natural carbonation. Gravity powers the pour, and the beer is served warm, in the British tradition.

B: If you can’t have Sixpoint, what is your drink of choice?

SW: Oolong, Sencha, Genmaicha, or Ginseng tea.

The Sixpoint star, on a conditioning tank of IPA waiting to be kegged up

B: As you brew and distribute greater amounts of beer, are you worried about losing the hip legitimacy that comes with owning a microbrewery? That one day you’ll wake up and realize that you’ve become The Man?

SW: We have regular meetings at the brewery to discuss the correct path of the company and where we want to take it to.  We let a combination of logic, intuition, and democracy guide us in the right direction. We’re confident our customers will understand.  Good customers are like good friends – they will support you through all the changes you go through.  Make new friends and keep the old; one is silver and the other gold.

Click here for part 2 of this interview next week.