Business: Call to Arms Brewing Co.
Address: 4526 Tennyson St.
Hours: 3-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 3-11 p.m. Friday, 12-11 p.m. Saturday, 12-9 p.m. Sunday
Founded: 2015
Contact: 720-328-8258, calltoarmsbrewing.com, @calltoarmsbrew
Dz:10
Interview with Jesse Brookstein, marketing and events coordinator
Q: How did you get involved in this business?
:I started working at a beer distributorship in upstate New York in 2001. From there, I worked as an intern at Brewery Ommegang in 2005 before moving to Colorado in 2006 to continue my career in craft beer. I began working at Twisted Pine Brewing Co. in early 2007, and later that year joined Avery Brewing Co., where I worked for six and a half years and watched the company grow from 12 employees to the current 170+ they employ. It was at Avery that I was lucky enough to meet my two current business partners at Call to Arms, Chris Bell and Jon Cross.
Q: What distinguishes you from other businesses in your category?
:The Call to Arms ethos rests atop two mottos: “A modern craft brewery steeped in Old-World tradition,” and “Quality, community, camaraderie.” My business partner Chris and I are both from the Northeast, and we really wanted to incorporate the Old-World feel of a lot of bars and taverns back east into a modern Colorado craft beer taproom. Our other business partner, Jon, is a Colorado boy through and through, and his vision was one of large bay doors to allow the sunshine to come through as well. What we ended up with is a taproom that has the moodiness of an English pub while still incorporating the beautiful weather we all enjoy here in Colorado. We also approach the “Old-World meets new” mentality in our beers and taproom equipment. Against the dark stained wood of our bar you’ll find our state-of-the-art, stainless steel growler filler which offers the highest quality to-go beer you can buy, and many of our beers are pulled from the pages of long-lost beer journals to which we add modern, Call to Arms twists to the recipes. As for our second motto, we pride ourselves on the quality of beer we brew, our commitment to the Berkeley neighborhood and surrounding city in which we live and operate, and the camaraderie that exists in our craft beer industry. We promised ourselves we would never tap a beer we didn’t all love and approve of, and that’s led to several batches of beer going down the drain, which to us is a mark of pride. Any brewery that tells you they’ve never dumped a beer has likely tapped a beer they didn’t truly think was worthy of serving their customers. In terms of community, we’ve instituted several programs in our first 19 months of business including our Good Samaritan Program (CTA GSP) that rewards people with beer and merchandise for their volunteer hours at local nonprofits; our Community Chairholder Program (CTA CCP) where friends, family and neighbors can sponsor a piece of furniture in the CTA taproom in exchange for a a plaque featuring their family’s coat of arms, a specially engraved mug and special events throughout the year; and our Community Supported Artisans (CSA) program where we team up with local businesses Il Porcellino, Raleigh St. Bakery and 12 other artisan vendors to offer our goods to up to 30 participants for 12 weeks. As for camaraderie, we team up with our good friends at Cannonball Creek every year to host our shared Peace & Assist event, where we team up with in-the-works or new breweries to help showcase their beers and taprooms to customers that might not otherwise have visited the brewery or drank their beer. We were actually the first brewery to use the event to raise awareness for our brand, and we’ve since worked with two other breweries and will again be teaming up with a new partner this year for our four P&A event.
Q: What do you like best about your line of work?
:More than anything, I love that I have the opportunity to work in one of the most sincere and honest industries in the world. It’s no secret that breweries collaborate fairly regularly (so much so that Colorado now hosts the glorious Collaboration Fest every year), but that camaraderie goes far beyond brewing beer together. We share ideas, we share raw materials, we help one another troubleshoot when we’re having difficulties, we promote one another on social media and drink one another’s beers when we’re out and about. Some of our best friends in the world work at or own breweries that folks outside the industry might view as our direct “competition.” And beyond that, craft beer is so incredibly caring and giving in regard to local needs and nonprofits. Perhaps we aren’t able to drop the millions of dollars that Budweiser can offer, but small breweries are constantly working with local organizations in a genuine quest to better our surrounding communities.
Q: What is your business’ biggest challenge?
:As with any small business I’d say we need to work hard every day to raise even more awareness of our brand. I talk with a lot of local residents and business owners on Tennyson Street, and even though we (or any local business) might sit right in someone’s backyard, there are still hundreds of people who have yet to discover our business, let alone grasp the full extent of what we’re trying to offer through our beers and local programs. Beyond that, and as mundane as it may sound, our greatest challenges are often bureaucratic, such as delays, poor communication or obscure taxes that have a massive impact on any small business’ operations.
Q: Something people might be surprised to learn about you or your business:
:Though Call to Arms is less than two years old, my two business partners and I have 30 years of combined experience in the beer industry, and worked at a combined seven breweries over the years.