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Paul Shipman
interviewed by Emma Taylor on November 3, 1995
"There is a high correlation between the people who are on the Internet and the people who are interested in these beers."
Paul Shipman is one of the co-founders of the Redhook Ale Brewery. In 1981, its first year, Redhook produced one thousand barrels of beer in Seattle. Today, Redhook is on tap and in bottles all across America.
Tripod: Can you tell me how Redhook began?
PS: My partner and I saw a need for a small brewery in Seattle to make European style beers, and there were no such breweries. We were the first micro brewery in the Pacific Northwest, and one of the very first in the country.
Tripod: How much did you know about brewing before you began?
PS: I was in the wine business, so I had basic ideas about the way beer was made and the marketing.
Tripod: Do you spend a lot of time tasting beer in Europe?
PS: Oh yes. Definitely.
Tripod: What's your favorite beer over there?
PS: Well I've got several. Generally, the ales in England are big favorites of mine, ones that stand out are the beers of Young's Brewery.
Tripod: What is involved in creating a new beer?
PS: Basically, you have to keep making batches, and work out the flavor and the hops, and how much malt, and how the whole brewing is done, and the choice of yeast -- these are really the critical variables.
Tripod: So do you do a lot of tasting yourself?
PS: Oh, yes.
Tripod: What advice would you give to someone who wanted to start their own micro brewery?
PS: What I'd say is, there's a lot of micro breweries operating today, and so in order to start something today, I think that probably the best opportunities are in the brew pub area, which can be highly localized, and where the cost to create the business is not too great. Because in terms of the brewers like ourselves, the market is by now actually very well established.
Tripod: As Redhook becomes more widely available, is it hard to maintain the character of a micro brewery?
PS: It hasn't been hard for us, because we make our own beers, and that gives us the control over it. Among the people who make their own beer, we're the largest. Many of the recognized names in this business, like Pete's Wicked Ale and Sam Adams, they have their beer made by other people. By making our own beer we really control it, and that's a tremendous edge for us.
Tripod: Will you always make your own beer?
PS: Absolutely. Anything we do in the US. Outside the US, you never know.
Tripod: How widely is Redhook available now?
PS: Well, we're very available in the Rocky Mountain States and along the West Coast. We're just getting into other parts of the US, like New England. Have you seen the beer in your area?
Tripod: Yes, we have it on tap here.
PS: Oh, great. We're coming into the New England area and into the Mid-Atlantic area. Of course we have our brewery in New Hampshire. We intend to ultimately serve the entire country.
Tripod: Do you find that the fact that you're a micro brewery draws a certain kind of drinker? Students, for example?
PS: Well, that's a big part of our audience. And the other part of it is that the college and young adults are very interested in micro brewery beers, that's a critical audience for us, one that we're very attentive to.
Tripod: Do you do anything to encourage new brew pubs?
PS: Well, yeah. I try to provide leadership to the industry, and promote the success of all the players. Particularly those who make their own beers at the brew pubs.
Tripod: How did you first become interested in brewing?
PS: Well, I lived in Europe when I was a college student for a year. Actually, mostly in France -- I spent a year in France and several months in England, and that was my primary exposure, and then I went into the wine business after that. And so I think that one piece of advice that I would give to somebody who is starting out and who wanted to develop a career in this business, is to work in the fields of beer distribution and small breweries and brew pubs. This is clearly a growing area, and there are many entry level possibilities in these types of companies.
Tripod: What about the Redhook Web site? Does this help a micro brewery get its name out?
PS: Absolutely. No question about it. We know that there is a high correlation between the people who are on the Internet and the people who are interested in these beers. They're people who like to experiment, who like to discover new things, and we pay very close attention to the comments on our home page, for ideas for new products, for ideas on where we should be going in the market, and just for commentary about the company. It's our number one feedback medium.
Tripod: I think I've seen more Web pages about beer than I have about anything else.
PS: It's amazing, isn't it?
Tripod: So where does the name Redhook come from?
PS: My partner, Gordon Bowker, named Redhook, and it was a name that was completely invented. Interestingly, Gordon Bowker also started Starbucks Coffee, and he named that as well. So for a period in his career he was actually a professional product namer!
Tripod: What do you think of Ice Beers-- is it all a hoax?
PS: Yeah, that is a variation of the national style of beer. And it really is, I think. The national brewers are always trying to find beers that appeal to a very large audience, and give some excitement and interest to their world. The big brewers are also going to make products that are competitive with micro brewery products. So the beer business is just about as competitive as I can ever remember.
Cheers! Visit the Redhook Ale Brewery on the Web, at http://www.halcyon.com/rh/rh.htm
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