Inspiring Conversations with Ryan Balicki of Copper Hop Brewing Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Balicki. Them and their team share their story with us below:

The idea of Copper Hop Brewing started when owners Ryan and Jeremy were chatting about opening up a brewery while drinking some beer Jeremy had brewed for a joint Birthday party. What started out as just normal “we should open up a brewery” talk quickly escalated to creating a business plan and looking for a location. Fast forward 3 years later, and add a third partner, Shaun, and that’s Copper Hop was born. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Well, we opened up in December of 2019, so the road has been anything but smooth. Covid shut us down almost 3 months to the day after we opened. As a new business, dealing with something like that was tough and super stressful, but thankfully in the 3 months we were open, we gained a great customer base that helped support us throughout Covid. Really, the biggest thing during Covid was how could we maximize our business while protecting our staff and patrons. We did a lot of things to adapt to the constantly changing environment, and in the end, we are stronger for having made those changes. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Copper Hop Brewery is a community microbrewery located in the heart of downtown St. Clair Shores. We have two outside patios (both dog friendly), and an expansive open-air taproom that seats about 90 patrons. We serve beer, wine, and cider, all of which we make in-house. We are currently in the process of expanding, and hopefully, by the start of 2023, we will have a 60-80 seat event space that will be available for private parties and overflow seating. 

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
We took a lot of risks when opening up Copper Hop. In addition to the financial gamble, including mortgaging our houses to finance the build-out, we also left good-paying, stable jobs to chase our dreams of opening up a brewery. One of my favorite quotes is from Robert Kenedy, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly” that is how I have always tried to live my life. Take risks, learn from the failures, and reap the rewards of the successes. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thecopperhop.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/copperhopbrewing
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/CopperHopBrewing
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/copperhopbrewco?lang=en

Image Credits:
Copper Hop Brewing Company
Jay Risner