I Built This Brewery Episode 5: Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling Company

Founding partner of Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling Company, Chris Kesler, first tried his hand at homebrewing the same month he turned 50-years-old. After quickly falling in love with brewing, he joined as many local and statewide brewing associations as he could and eventually entered a New England IPA into a Make the Cut home brewing contest. His beer, out of over 200 entries, was awarded 2nd place and he was hooked on brewing.

As he decided to dive deeper into the craft beer industry, Kesler determined that he wanted to hire brewers and focus his attention on the business side of the industry.  He enrolled in the University of Vermont's Business of Craft Beer Certificate Program in 2018. 

Kesler was already a successful entrepreneur with a web, graphic design, and marketing business, so launching a brewery wasn't too far fetched.  His plans to launch Black Flannel Brewing were a bit delayed because of the Coronavirus Pandemic, but he finally opened the doors in 2020. 

Listen in to this episode of I Built This Brewery as UVM Business of Craft Beer Program Director Gregory Dunkling talks with Chris about his vision for Black Flannel Brewing and Distilling Company and what he's learned along the way.

I Built This Brewery Podcast, sponsored by the University of Vermont's Business of Craft Beer Program, is a show where brewery owners from across the country share their stories of how and why they started a brewery. We explore their backgrounds before beer, the adventures of opening a brewery, and garner their best piece of advice for future brewery owners.

Share in the conversation with UVM's Business of Craft Beer Alumni:
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