Exploring Life & Business with Jamie Kidwell-Brix of Earthen Ales and Tank Space on 8th

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Kidwell-Brix.

Hi Jamie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m Jamie Kidwell-Brix, owner and brewer at Earthen Ales and Tank Space on 8th in Traverse City, Michigan. I have been a professional brewer almost a decade. Before brewing professionally, I began homebrewing after college, not knowing that my hobby would eventually become my career. In the meantime, I pursued a masters degree in urban planning from the University of Michigan, which (while I didn’t know it at the time) kickstarted my path to opening a brewery. I continued to homebrew, but also was lucky enough to get a job working for the City of Ann Arbor working on local sustainability issues. I met my partner, Andrew, also a homebrewer who sat in a nearby cubicle at the City.

After a growler from Shorts Brewery was shared, we quickly started brewing together, and really escalated our knowledge and love for brewing (and each other). Flashforward many years, and we just open our second location, Tank Space on 8th, in Traverse City and celebrated our eighth year at our first location, Earthen Ales.

My background in urban planning really grounds our business. We like to say we brew beer with a sense of place – inspired by our surroundings and by the history of beers. We are probably best known for brewing a diversity of beer styles. I believe I’ve brewed over 200 different beers since we opened our doors. Both locations have their own brew systems, and I love exploring different styles and serving equipment. Our new location has two side pull taps and two European-style serving tanks located in the taproom which we use to serve beer directly from the tank – “tank beer.” This helps keep the beer as fresh as possible!

Throughout our eight plus years of business, I’ve worked to hone my skills as a brewer in the industry and advocate for women in the fermentation industry as well, as a member of the Fermenta board.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I came to owning a brewery as someone who loved making beer, and along the way, I learned also to be a business owner. I’m not sure there is such a thing as a smooth road in small business ownership, but I wouldn’t have it any other way — and I wouldn’t be who I am today without some challenges along the way. On one hand, the craft beer industry is very welcoming, and we had support from the beginning from other brewers and brewery owners. On the other hand, there are not a lot of female brewers, so I’ve made it a point to connect with other women in the industry, including hosting International Women’s Collaboration Brew Days.

The beer world continues to evolve as well, between economic factors and new trends in beer styles, so keeping up is a challenge as well!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We started Earthen Ales to explore brewing beers with a sense of place, including beers that evoke our home here in Northern Michigan. I particularly like taking a traditional style and making a small twist to tell a story about a place. Probably the best example of this is one of our most popular beers, Juniper Rye: adding juniper berries and malted rye to a standard IPA recipe produced a beer that has the aroma of hiking in a pine forest!

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I grew up in Texas on the gulf coast, and when I saw the Big Lake for the first time, I knew I could be happy here. From a brewing perspective, I love that Traverse City is surrounded by farms growing local brewing ingredients (plus great water!) As someone who grew up in the South, I also love having winters, but blizzards and ice storms aren’t exactly good for business.

Contact Info:

• Website: earthenales.com tankspacetc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthenales/ https://www.instagram.com/tankspacetc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tankspacetc/ https://www.facebook.com/earthenales/