California, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Scotland, Eire. To say that Elsewhere Brewing Co-Founders Sara and Sam Kazmer have been across the block could also be a little bit of an understatement.
For a brewery constructed on bringing the beer kinds of the world inside their taproom, Elsewhere Brewing has some critical pedigree.
Not many individuals journey the world, actually, all in a quest to find find out how to craft their excellent brewery.
However Sam and Sara did simply that, trekking to nearly twenty international locations and three totally different continents.
What they found crafted a brewery with old-world charisma embracing new-world vibes. All en path to a one-of-a-kind taproom brewing beautiful beers which have turned our heads for the final two years.
Fairly merely there’s nowhere on this planet like Elsewhere.
From the Pacific Northwest to Prolific World Vacationers
Maybe it’s not shocking to study that each Sara and Sam fell in love with craft beer whereas residing in Washington State. An space identified for prolific producers, the Pacific Northwest is in itself a pilgrimage for a lot of craft brewers and aficionados.
Sara and Sam merely referred to as this state house.
An Military veteran, Sam began to discover his ardour for beer whereas recovering from a parachuting accident. With a while instantly on his arms whereas on the mend, Sam began homebrewing, finally taking an Military apprenticeship at Narrows Brewing in Tacoma.
He fell in love with beer. And so did Sara.
Though she had not too long ago began a gradual nine-to-five job in advertising and marketing, Sara discovered herself extra drawn to hanging out at 7 Seas Brewing close by. She finally give up her job to bartend and handle the taproom.
“This sounds loopy however as we thought of it extra, [beer] was according to what we needed to do,” says Sam.
Sara chimes in, “We fell in love with it…the folks that labored in beer and the individuals [beer] attracted…we needed to work with individuals like that within the lengthy haul,”
So when Sam formally medically retired from the Military, the 2 took his pension and deliberate a visit all over the world.
The aim?
To expertise different beer cultures, work out what resonated essentially the most, and finally morph all the pieces into a spot to name their very own.
West Coast to Oaxaca
The Kazmers didn’t jet off internationally proper from the leap. Really, they stayed fairly near house.
“We needed to take a look at the beer business within the West we hadn’t skilled but,” says Sara.
That and so they needed to discover the outside.
Backpacking throughout nationwide parks in Banff, Canada, and California, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, Sara and Sam finally made their method south to Mexico with the aim to go even farther down.
A month in Oaxaca and Mexico Metropolis let Sara work on her Spanish because the duo ready to go all the way down to South America, interested in what craft beer was like on a special continent.
’Unusual Brewing’ and Hazmat Fits in South America
Again then, in the event you did a fast Google of ‘craft beer in Chile’ or ‘hops and malt in Argentina,’ your question returned subsequent to nothing.
“What the heck is happening down there?” says Sara. “We needed to study their meals and tradition.”
With a little bit of Spanish beneath her belt now, Sara began firing off emails to totally different breweries. “Wherever we obtained essentially the most responses we [went],” she says. “I might write to them in Spanish and clarify that my first language is English.”
What they discovered was an industrious group of brewers battling the percentages with little entry to top-of-the-line gear and components. Mainly, a whole 180 from craft beer within the Pacific Northwest.
“It appeared like South America was in its infancy within the craft beer business,” says Sam, who began a weblog to chronicle their adventures. “They have been doing issues that North Individuals have been in all probability doing within the Eighties, so it was cool to go down there and see their method of creating it work, producing high-quality beer in some locations and bringing this business to their very own tradition.”
Within the U.S. we always speak about new hop merchandise like Illusion, SPECTRUM or thiolized yeast. However in South America, Sara says they’d typically discover breweries nonetheless utilizing dry yeast.
And even carrying hazmat fits once they brewed, similar to in Colombia. “On the time, they thought brewing beer was some harmful act,” says Sara. “It was wild to look at a man stirring a half barrel mash with a hair web, goggles, and an enormous lab coat.”
In all of their travels from Colombia to Chile to Peru to Argentina, Sam and Sara agreed that Unusual Brewing in Buenos Aires was by far and away the very best brewery they visited.
Began by a gaggle of fellows who met whereas finding out at UC Berkeley in Northern California, Unusual Brewing “had essentially the most spectacular system, cleanest beer, and well-designed model,” says Sam. “It’s a brewery that will do properly in any metropolis right here [in the U.S.]”
But when Sara and Sam thought craft beer was an anachronism in South America, skipping over to Europe despatched them right into a straight time machine, beerwise.
From A long time-Previous Brewing to Centuries-Previous Brewing
From a continent nonetheless catching as much as fashionable craft beer, Sara and Sam traveled to 1 nonetheless fully ensconced of their centuries-old traditions.
Touring round Europe proved to be a a lot totally different expertise.
Starting in Belgium, Sara and Sam spent a month home sitting two horses, a canine, and a few cats in a city referred to as Limburg. Exploring the whole nation, the pair visited the Orval monastery, tasting a session model of Orval on draft alongside a five-year-old bottle, and had some Saison DuPont at a bar throughout the road from the brewery that “actually blew our minds,” says Sam.
They wandered in all places from Delirium Cafe and Cantillon in Brussels to the lambic museum in Lambik, “consuming each beer conceivable,” says Sam. Reminiscent of a ten-year-old bottle of Kriek on 3 Fontenaine’s patio.
“And, after all, consuming numerous frites with samurai sauce,” says Sam.
In Germany, the Kazmers discovered a really totally different beer perspective.
“Our time in Koln, Bamburg, and Bavaria actually formed the journey: consuming numerous Päffgen kölsches on the beer backyard; swinging as much as Düsseldorf to discover the same Alt beer scene; exploring Franconia’s distinctive smoked beer scene in Bamberg and getting a full-blown tour of Weyermen malt’s facility,” says Sam, who discovered the very best hefeweizen he’s ever had at a random place in between Nuremberg and Munich referred to as St. GeorgenBräu.
Within the Czech Republic, the Kazmers discovered a really totally different beer perspective, consuming darkish lagers galore. Which might encourage them to brew their very own model later.
In England, the Kazmers discovered a really totally different beer perspective.
“Our time in England was an exploration in cask ale,” says Sam. The 2 traveled the nation following the Marketing campaign for Actual Ale’s (CAMRA) 2018 information for breweries and pubs specializing in cask ale. “We spent a number of days mountain climbing by means of the rolling hills whereas recharging at numerous pubs serving excellent pints of greatest bitter, delicate, and pale ale,” says Sam. “A superbly poured greatest bitter in an English countryside bar nonetheless serves as one in every of my favourite consuming experiences.”
In Sweden… Do you see the place we’re going right here?
Each place Sara and Sam visited slowly however absolutely formed their brewery-to-be of their thoughts.
They picked up bits and items—a Belgian pale ale or tripel from a Trappist brewery, a hefeweizen from a picket barrel on a patio beneath large chestnut bushes, a darkish Czech lager loved in a beer backyard because the accordion performed beneath the lime bushes, an English greatest bitter relished in a pub on the English countryside—and tucked every away in a again pocket like a penny grabbed off the bottom for a wet day.
Till a 12 months and a half later, once they returned to the States, Atlanta particularly, pockets metaphorically filled with beer, friendships, reminiscences, and vim and vigor to open Elsewhere.
From In every single place to Elsewhere
After nearly twenty international locations, in all probability a whole bunch (properly, possibly not that many) of breweries, bars, pubs, even individuals’s properties, and numerous beers, Sara and Sam got down to open Elsewhere Brewing within the Grant Park neighborhood of Atlanta.
“We have been touring all over, spending a lot time in different individuals’s homes elsewhere, that after we obtained again, we needed our place to be a house elsewhere,” says Sara.
As a result of it wasn’t simply the beer kinds themselves that Sam and Sara got here to admire; it was the moments and, extra importantly, the individuals in them.
“The pubs in England and cafes in Belgium have been so heat and welcoming,” says Sam. “I don’t assume we left one pub in England the place we didn’t make new associates or have somebody purchase us a pint.”
In keeping with Sam, Europeans take their pubs very severely, consciously making an effort to be heat and alluring. “We admire that,” he says.
Elsewhere honors that custom, creating an area and consuming expertise welcoming to all.
As a result of a home isn’t a house till you set individuals inside it making reminiscences, proper?
So Elsewhere is a spot you may go in the event you can’t go wherever else. A little bit house you may make for your self with different individuals trying to do the identical as you: drink a beer they won’t have the ability to in any other case.
Can’t get away to Belgium to get an genuine abbey-style beer? Go drink a Tripel at Elsewhere.
Can’t fly to Plzeň to strive a pilsner on the supply? Go drink Proletarian at Elsewhere.
Can’t go to St. GeorgenBräu for the very best hefeweizen Sam’s ever had in his life? Go drink a Hefeweizen at Elsewhere
“The concept…is to convey all issues from elsewhere to your neighborhood,” says Sara. “A little bit style, getting these essences of journey by means of the decor, by means of the meals, or by means of the beer, however be snug at your native neighborhood watering gap.”
Formally launching in October 2020, Elsewhere Brewing introduced one thing new to Georgia.
Getting Grounded in Georgia
Though the Kazmers relished their time within the Pacific Northwest, reality be instructed it was already a saturated beer space. Since Sam’s household lived in Georgia, it made sense to open up Elsewhere on this Southern state.
That and the truth that Georgia hadn’t fairly hit the height of craft beer prefer it had within the PNW. The state had solely not too long ago up to date its outdated liquor legal guidelines, lastly permitting breweries to promote beer out of their taprooms.
Atlanta had been rising steadily for the previous few years and the thought of Southern hospitality appealed to Sara and Sam.
Oh, and the climate. “We’re lucky to be in a spot the place individuals are thirsty for chilly drinks ten months out of the 12 months,” laughs Sara.
However she’s in all probability downplaying issues just a little. As a result of Elsewhere is making beers fairly just a few stratospheres above
Hefeweizens, Darkish Lagers, Continental Lagers, and Solely Two Core IPAs
We’d name Elsewhere Brewing a European brewery at coronary heart with the thoughts of an American one.
They brew hefeweizens, Czech darkish lagers, and pilsners alongside simply two core hoppy ales (plus possibly yet one more “simply passing by means of,” because the brewery calls it).
“We’re continental European classics and American craft beer classics executed the best way we just like the beer, which is mostly drier, lighter bodied, and one thing you may session,” says Sam.
Elsewhere doesn’t chase traits.
They usually received’t be swayed by widespread persuasion.
They simply brew the kinds of beer they prefer to drink. They usually brew them very, very properly.
The widespread present: “Drinkability, dry, sessionability,” says Sam. “We like beers which can be decrease in alcohol; we like beers that end dry and crisp and beers you may have fairly just a few of.”
However additionally they don’t focus on only one factor.
“We consider in having a various portfolio, as a result of the extra numerous your beer program, the extra numerous your clientele,” says Sara. “I do know so many individuals that solely drink stouts, solely drink IPAs, or solely drink pilsners. If you are able to do all of them properly, why would you not put all of them on?”
She explains that at Elsewhere they don’t really feel the necessity to placed on six totally different IPA choices. As a substitute, they give attention to simply two core ones—an East Coast New England-style referred to as Vaunted and a West Coast model referred to as Viridity, now one in every of their hottest beers.
It’s an method that individuals surprisingly admire.
In reality, one in every of Elsewhere’s different greatest sellers?
Gest, a Czech darkish lager.
“Actually, my distributor won’t ever depart me alone about Gest,” says Sam, noting that once they fell in love with that model of beer in Europe, you can hardly ever discover it wherever within the States. “We have been going to be one of many first breweries brewing Czech beer within the South.”
Now, they’re brewing one in every of our favourite variations. We named Gest one of many “27 Finest Beers We Drank in 2022,” as a result of it’s an old-world model with new-world panache, consuming barely roasty with an indulgently clean mouthfeel. This beer transports you. And afterall, isn’t that the whole ethos of Elsewhere?
Proudly taking you to a different place all by means of one or two pints?
Pleased with Pilsners
Whereas Viridity and Gest could also be two of Elsewhere’s prime beers, Proletarian, an industrial pilsner, is maybe the very best vendor.
“It’s the working man’s beer,” says Sara, who notes she will be able to drink Proletarian it doesn’t matter what and at any time of the day. “We’re working onerous and cracking a beer on the finish of the day to really feel good, take the sting off… To me, that beer checks all of the bins—everyone loves this beer.”
And extra importantly, for each Sam and Sara, Proletarian is the beer they’re most pleased with.
In all probability as a result of this contemporary pilsner represents the core of Elsewhere: taking one explicit model, always brewing it, and tweaking it till they assume they’ve the proper recipe.
Then tweaking it some extra.
Sam loves this beer due to the best way it’s developed over time. “Initially we needed it to be like a Narragansett or Coors Banquet,” says Sam. “However because it developed, it began to develop into extra like a traditional German helles carrying American blue-collar garments.”
And it’s nonetheless growing, getting higher over time because the recipe continues to evolve.
Which is why the brewery’s pilsner as soon as once more takes a prolific model and tilts it simply barely into the twenty-first century.
This isn’t a centuries-old recipe they’re defending through the years. As a substitute, Proletarian is a beer with a contemporary mentality.
“We’re not simply making change for the sake of change, however we prefer to experiment and…this can be a beer I didn’t wish to be f**ked with in any respect and now we wish to hold doing extra of this alteration,” says Sam.
It’s the identical method Elsewhere takes with Sam’s favourite beer—Carouse. Thought of a European-style pilsner, Carouse has additionally developed. ton over time, in response to Sam, from the grain to even leveraging up to date hop merchandise.
That’s all because of the magic thoughts of Elsewhere’s Brewmaster Josh Watterson and his personal journey of kinds for perfection within the large extensive world of beer.
Swiping Proper on a Brewmaster
Sara and Sam discovered Watterson form of the old school method.
By writing a categorized advert and posting it on Probrewer.com.
“We obtained twenty responses, ten individuals we needed to speak to, and one in every of them was Josh,” says Sam.
Previously the brewmaster at Vista Brewing in Driftwood, TX, Watterson racked up a number of awards throughout his illustrious profession for his lagers, IPAs, saisons, and extra.
He despatched Sara and Sam a pattern—a German kölsch, saison, brett beer, lambic-style beer, and shock shock, a West Coast IPA and darkish Czech lager.
And though the Kazmers could have discovered Watterson in archaic trend, they undoubtedly needed to swipe proper on him nearly instantly.
“We felt like we met our match on Tinder for a brewmaster,” says Sara. “He was making precisely what we thought of making [beerwise] and it was all good.”
Watterson got here on first as a brewery guide, serving to with all the pieces from designing the brewhouse to writing recipes, and naturally brewing.
Now he runs all the pieces full time because the director of brewing operations and head brewer.
“He’s the explanation why Elsewhere is so profitable,” says Sara. “We obtained fortunate.”
The place Will Elsewhere Go Subsequent?
Proper now, Sara and Sam plan to open a second location within the Westside Paper mixed-used growth in Atlanta in Could 2023.
“Our subsequent location may have extra of a British pub meets warehouse vibe,” says Sara, who notes that this taproom will focus extra on barrel-aged beers and drier-style ciders.
However finally sooner or later, the Kazmers dream about opening their very own place someplace up within the Southern Appalachian mountains.
This third taproom could be “a extra rustic expertise the place individuals can unplug, keep for just a few days, and have entry to nice meals, nice service, and nice beer,” says Sam. “We’ve all the time had a dream in our head we’d be up within the mountains doing a brewery…like what you see in Germany out in the course of nowhere consuming nice beer.”
Afterall, Sam and Sara’s adventures are woven into the material of Elsewhere; they wish to encourage that very same sense of exploration in others.
They’ll even be main a visit all the way down to the Patagonia area of Argentina for an all-inclusive outside, culinary, and beverage-focused trip in early February 2023, aiming to share their travels with others. And plan extra excursions sooner or later.
From overseas and away throughout a number of continents and cities to their very own yard, the Kazmers have began a brewery that does one thing only a few can: encourage past its 4 partitions.
Whether or not you’re at Elsewhere in an enormous metropolis or in the course of nowhere, there isn’t a different place we’d slightly be as a result of there’s nowhere else on this planet like Elsewhere.
