Darcy Reeves - The Microbrewery Handbook: Practical Tips, Tools, and Lessons Every Microbrewer Should Know

DC REEVES

2020 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data:

Names: Reeves, D. C., author.

Title: The microbrewery handbook : craft, brew, and build your own microbrewery success / D.C. Reeves.

Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2020] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019029944 (print) | LCCN 2019029945 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119598046 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119598039 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119598053 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Microbreweries. | Beer industry. | New business enterprises.

Classification: LCC HD9397.A2 R44 2020 (print) | LCC HD9397.A2 (ebook) | DDC 663/.42068dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019029944

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019029945

COVER DESIGN: PAUL MCCARTHY

COVER ART: GETTY IMAGES | STEWART WALLER

For my wonderful daughter Caroline. No matter where it takes us from here, life's greatest reward will always be you.

THERE ARE THREE important reasons why you would want to read this book:

1. You have a great idea for a craft beer bar, cidery, distillery and/or microbrewery.
2. You have great passion for beer in general and all things beer related.
3. You want a solid lesson about the tricky process of successfully starting a business any business.

D.C. Reeves is an interesting fellow. He has incredible organizational skills. At age 31, he became chief of staff for a major business player in the Florida economy. At 32, while managing the affairs of his very busy boss, D.C. planned and executed his own business startup, Perfect Plain Brewing Company, one of the most successful young microbreweries in the state of Florida. Perfect Plain stays packed with avid beer aficionados. He balanced the achievement of all his business success with taking care of a delightful young daughter, Caroline.

Clearly, then, D.C. Reeves is organized, he is well rounded, and he thoroughly understands both the microbrewery industry and the business side of corporate success, including both large and small corporations. That makes him a good man to listen to. The fact that D.C. is a former journalist, a sports writer for 10 years, is a bonus. It makes this book a fascinating read.

Enough about D.C.'s credentials; let's talk about the book. This book was written to bridge a gap. On one side we have a superb beer technician with a burning idea about a microbrewery, and on the other side we have the box of knowledge and skills requisite to business success in that industry. This book is transportation over that bridge of challenges.

In my 40 years at Waffle House, America's iconic 24hour restaurant company, I saw firsthand confirmation of the old saying Great players don't always make great coaches. In the early years of our growth at Waffle House, we tried fruitlessly to turn great cooks into restaurant managers. We ignored the fact that the skill set involved in being a superb technician does not necessarily translate to the understanding of successful management and leadership principles. This same truth also applies across all industries and to the businesses within each. Just because you can do doesn't mean you can lead or manage. You might have a fantastic idea and still fail miserably because, in the end, execution wins out over brilliance, every time.

I wrote a leadership book called Find an Old Gorilla. The title is crazy, but the premise is this: if you wake up one morning and realize you have to go through a jungle, it would make sense to find an old gorilla and take him or her along because the old gorillas know where all the good paths are and also the quicksand.

So, if you are interested in, are considering the pursuit of, or are actually engaged in the craft brewing and/or the microbrewery business, D.C. Reeves is your old gorilla. He has a track record of demonstrated business success, he understands beer and beer production, he speaks fluent leadership and management (including startup management), and he wrote this book for you.

Bert Thornton
Vice Chairman Emeritus,
Former President and COO,
Waffle House, Inc

WITHOUT THE HELP of so many important people, this journey would not have been taken, these lessons would not have been learned, and this book would not exist.

Our Pensacola community, which has embraced us and continues to motivate us to try bigger and better things. Thank you for believing in us and for becoming a hometown that makes us proud.

My parents: my mom, Connie Bookman, and stepfather, Alan Bookman, my father, Jim Reeves, and my stepmother, Susan Reeves, who have been unwavering supporters in my family, my life and my career.

My brother, J.J. Reeves, and my sisterinlaw, Lindsay Reeves, for wearing our shirts and being amazing stewards of Perfect Plain, even when you're three states away.

My stepbrother, Jack Johnson, his wife, Kimeran, and their children, Barrett and Irelyn. While sitting in my car parked just two blocks from where Perfect Plain would open, Jack was the first person I talked to in 2015 when I decided I'd make a run at opening my own brewery (even if it just seemed impossible then). Thank you for your friendship, support, and confidence in this crazy idea way back when.