We Brew Beer

Christine Bump and Bill Heaton are the founders of Pittsfield Brew Works, a small brewpub in Western Massachusetts. Both Christine and Bill had been brewing for about five years before opening Pittsfield Brew Works in February 2005.

Bill explains how he and Christine got into brewing: “We both have similar stories. We both began home-brewing at our respective colleges. When we entered the ‘real world’, our hobbies evolved into what we both chose as our career paths. Christine is a chemist and became intrigued about the chemistry in beer and brewing. I was an artist and fascinated by the creative process of beer brewing.”

Although they love the friendship and community interaction of running a pub it has not always been smooth sailing. In addition to finding a suitable location, raising capital and finding the right staff with good work ethics, they also had problems finding a name for their company.

“We originally were going to use the name Black Sheep Brewing Company. We both knew of the brewery in England of the same name. (Theakston family?), but figured, ‘Hey, we’re a tiny brewpub in Western Massachusetts that is only going to sell our beer at our pub. No problem.’ Well, about two months before opening our brewpub, we began receiving letters from an intellectual property rights ‘lawyer’ from Salt Lake City. He claimed we were infringing on the rights of the English brewery, and if we signed his papers we agreed that we were infringing their rights. Upon much investigation we found out that this ‘lawyer’ was phishing us. Basically, he did not work for the English brewery, but spent his time trolling the internet for similar business names and then would dispatch infringement letters to the businesses. If you signed the letter, the ‘lawyer’ would legally be enforcing the legal names of whatever business and be entitled to a fee for protecting the rights of companies that didn’t even know [they] were protected. Anyway, short story long, instead of getting into a battle, we changed our name to Pittsfield Brew Works.”

Pittsfield Brew Works has five barrels and has made 20 different styles of beer in their first year. “We are very proud of our cask beer. We have two beer engines and have a nice rotation of beers on them,” Their most popular brew is Dohonney’s Gold, a Kolsch.

As for some advice to those considering starting their own brewpub: “Do your homework. Read as many books, articles, magazines, and trade publications you can get your hands on. Talk to as many breweries, brewers, restaurant owners, and the like that you can find. You can’t be shy in this business. This is your business. This is your life. Work extremely hard on your business plan. BE REALISTIC in your numbers. The only way to know if you have a chance, is to research, research, and more research, unless you have money to burn. If you want to be a brewer at a brewery, read as much as you can. Brew as much as you can. Today’s consumers are more educated about beer than ever before. They demand a great product and won’t be back if it is mediocre. The reality of being a brewer is long hours, low pay, and wet feet. If you don’t really love it, don’t do it.”