Raising a new glass
“There’s nothing wrong with being small,” Paul Traver says. He and his partner, Bob Morris, are ready to prove it. The two have just launched their Toledo-based venture, Great Black Swamp Brewing Company. Several varieties of their handcrafted beer are already available in local pubs, with more to follow.
Likemindedly determined
Traver and Morris are more than determined entrepreneurs. They know beer from the bottom up, with the love of enthusiasts. Both are deeply involved in the craft of brewing. “We’ve been brewing for twenty years, each of us,” Rogers says. The two met some five years ago, when Traver moved to the Oregon area. The two avid homebrewers met through Salacious Homebrewers In Toledo, a club of likeminded hobbyists. Together, they agreed that it was worth trying to turn their passion into a business.
Rogers and Traver acquired their equipment and Monroe Street brewing space in the spring of 2010, and began distributing the fruit of their labors in December. They have five different beers available for distribution to local businesses, with names that match the company’s swampy theme: Sand Piper Golden Ale, Mosquito Red, Bull Frog Stout, Bay Front Pale Ale, and Wild Duck IPA (India Pale Ale), which our writer sampled and found rich and refreshing. “IPA is the ‘in’ beer right now,” Rogers says. But Great Black Swamp hopes to have something for everyone.
Peddling the samples
Once the brews had been crafted, it became a matter of doing the work. “Taking five samples around to bars and letting them taste them,” as Traver says. They found a friend immediately in Miss Cue Billiards and Darts on Reynolds Rd., where Traver plays regularly. “They’ve been more supportive of us than anyone,” Traver says. The manager told them “I want to be your first account,” and three of their beers were on tap at the pool hall as soon as they were available. Home Slice Pizza and the Bier Stube were early customers as well, while The Distillery and Shawn’s Back Door soon followed.
Traver and Rogers believe they’ve tapped into the right moment. “It might be the worst financial time imaginable” to start a new business, Traver says. But it’s a great time for support of local business and Great Black Swamp is committed to its local identity. Their hands-on, personal relationship with every aspect of the business, from design to marketing to distribution to the brewing itself, is beginning to pay off. And they have a product that people want.
“Craft beer is picking up,” Rogers says. “We’ll be in pretty good shape” to capitalize on it. But in the end, the company is a labor of love. “We’re homebrewers,” Rogers says. “We want to make beer. That’s all we do.” www.greatblackswampbrewing.com. For distribution info [email protected].