Interview with Noah Steingraeber, sales manager, marketing director and lead barrel slinger
Q: How did you get involved in this business?
A: Skyler Weekes, founder and CEO, began selling wine barrels out of his ninth-floor apartment via his passion for wine. He studied to become a wine sommelier and his studies took him to lot of wineries during his travels around Colorado, which also fed into his rock-climbing hobby to perfect his “Dynoing” skills, in which he holds a Guinness Book of World’s Greatest title for the largest length in Dynoing. Business grew, and grew … from used barrels for upcycled goods such as planters, tables, etc., to barrels for breweries to age their delicious brews in.
Q: What distinguishes you from other businesses in your category?
A: We’re like pirates, in a way, scavenging the globe for used spirit and wine barrels to make our bounty off of. We get to craft and upcycle used barrels into sinks, planters, wine bottle holders, carvings of art, and/or sell freshly dumped barrels to brewers and distillers to age their crafted adult beverages in. It’s a fun realm to operate in. Can you name any other barrel broker?
Q: What do you like best about your line of work?
A: The industries we operate within. We all get to work or participate within an industry we all desired to be a part of in a way. Sky wanted to be a wine sommelier; he now buys wine barrels from a variety of wineries and is in the process of starting his own. I wanted to work at a craft brewery, and now get to work for not only a single brewery, but for all of them nationally and internationally. Dylan is a skilled craftsman who loved working with wood and wanted to make a career out of it; now he is crafting wood into functional pieces of art that many rave about. What is also fun about our line of work is the entrepreneurial spirit behind it. Each day is new and different, new ways of doing things, trying out and pursuing random ideas … some are dead ends, but some turn out to be grand slams. It defeats the snug structure of a large corporation and keeps you invigorated.
Q: What is your business’ biggest challenge?
A: Sourcing the barrels, freshly emptied to fulfill large orders. And freight/shipping. Shipment costs are a huge deflatory in customers, as barrels ship at a much higher freight class due to their emptiness, large and awkward shape. Another challenge is that we are competing with some big competition out there, such as Diageo — the world’s largest spirits producer — to obtain barrels.
Q: Something people might be surprised to learn about you or your business:
A: We currently source 14 types of barrels from eight different countries. Many craft beer drinkers probably have enjoyed a barrel-aged brew that was aged in barrels we purveyed for their favorite brewery. Also, there are barrels out there that are larger than most people’s apartments, if not homes.
Profile
Business: Rocky Mountain Barrel Company
Address: 11647 W. Interstate 70 Frontage Road North, Wheat Ridge
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Founded: 2010
Contact: 720-484-6685,
Employees: 8
