A Letter from Our Founder Joel VandenBrink

Dear Two Beers Brewing and Seattle Cider Company supporters:

As many of you know, Two Beers Brewing Co. began in my 600-square-foot apartment in the fall of 2006. My first homebrew was barely five gallons and was a recipe from Bob’s Homebrew Supply near the University of Washington. It was supposed to be a Winter Warmer. I proudly boiled, fermented and bottled it. It turned out to be more of an Amber, and I learned my first lesson in brewing. It’s unpredictable, fun as hell and in the end, there’s always someone to share a beer (or two) with.

From our 170-square-foot active space in N. Seattle to the 29,000 square foot space we occupy today, our growth has been the labor of love and sacrifice by a team that all believes in what we are doing. We’ve grown Two Beers Brewing to become one of Seattle’s most beloved local breweries, supporting our community through great beer and partnership with organizations such as the Washington’s National Park Fund, The Mountaineers, WTA and more. Then Seattle Cider Company came along and helped change an industry, proving that cider doesn’t have to be sweet, can be made with amazing local ingredients and can be enjoyed every day. It’s been amazing, thrilling, scary and humbling all at the same time.

And while we continue to grow, keeping up with demand for a company our size can often be a challenge.

As Two Beers Brewing Co. enters its tenth year and Seattle Cider enters its fourth year, it became clear that my desires for both companies far exceeded our ability to grow them sustainably – something I have always held as a high priority. I want nothing less than Two Beers Brewing Co. and Seattle Cider Co. to be premier companies in their fields, and have the continuous ability to keep up with the ever changing demands of a very crowded industry.

The challenges of being an entrepreneur are endless and every entrepreneur makes 100 decisions a day that they hope are the right ones. We are constantly thinking of our community, our employees, our product, the bills we need to pay, how to grow, how to innovate, how to be better at what we are doing, etc. It never ends. It’s a thrill. It’s a constant challenge. It’s incredibly rewarding. And when someone says they put their “blood sweat and tears” into their business, it’s not a cliché, it’s literal.

In March, I was contacted by a French cidery. Their desire was to partner with an American cidery to help grow both the American cidery and their French cidery. At first I was hesitant, but the more I talked with them, the more I liked the idea. They believed in everything we believed in. They understood our desire to grow Two Beers Brewing Co. and Seattle Cider Co. without changing any of the good we were doing.

We have all read articles about local breweries being purchased by a large brewery in Colorado or Saint Louis. We have also read articles about venture capital firms purchasing breweries in hopes of making a quick dollar and reselling them. None of us want this. We feel the immediate loss of something special. The disappointment of another “sell out” of a local dream. To many of us, it takes the thrill out of supporting them. We want to know our dollar matters. That our support in our local brewery makes a difference in the community we live and work in. Eventually all entrepreneurs are faced with the ultimate “live or die” tradeoff – partner with an organization that can help you achieve your goals, or continue to go it alone.

Agrial is a farmer owned co-op based in France. They are the owners of some of the largest apple orchards in all of Europe, as well as partners with one of the few craft breweries in France. What makes a co-op different from a major corporation is the undying dedication of the farmers who collectively share in its success, and the greater good they mutually serve. “Ownership” means something very special. They share the same values we do. They roll up their sleeves, dig in the dirt, harvest and create like an arm-linked community of entrepreneurs. As of this month Two Beers Brewing Co. and Seattle Cider Co. have entered into an equity partnership with them. We will eventually be exporting our products to Europe, Asia, and Africa, and we will be importing their products into the United States.

This is a huge opportunity for the businesses that I will continue to dedicate my time and energy to. I will maintain my role as CEO and all of my employees will continue to work with me. Our products and our distributors will stay exactly the same and our dedication to Seattle and beyond can only increase with the strength of such a strong partner alongside us.

I am very proud of everything we have accomplished thus far and I am incredibly excited for what the future holds for both Two Beers Brewing Co. and Seattle Cider Co. Thank you for your support in the past and on into the future. We are nothing without you! We will continue to give back to you in the ways that we always have, and are eager to find new ways to give that we couldn’t before.

Thank you in advance for taking this leap of faith with us to make a great dream even greater. In the end: life is just a little more honest after two beers. I’m excited to share a few more with all of you as we enter into this exciting adventure.

Cheers!

Joel VandenBrink

Founder & CEO

Seattle Cider Company & Two Beers Brewing