As part of my work on the
article in this month's Kansai Scene magazine about the craft beer scene in the region, I did an email interview with Baird Brewing managing partner John Chesen. Before we get to the interview itself, meet John, in his own words:
Bryan and I were classmates in grad school (1993-95 at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC) and I was his first investor when he started Baird Brewing Company in 2000. I joined the company in July 2010, having spent most of my career in satellite telecommunications and in manufacturing.
Now on the main interview, a small portion of which was included in the article. Keep in mind that this interview was conducted in April 2012, and obviously some of the discussion is about events which have already taken place.
Can you
tell me about Baird's background up until now in the Kansai region?
Arguably
the seed for Baird Brewing Company was planted in the Kansai region. Bryan Baird spent is first three years in
Japan in Izumisano, South Osaka, after graduating from Williams College in
1989. It was in Izumisano that he first
fell in love with Japan, in particular its dining and drinking culture.
Fast
forwarding to the present we’ve got a strong and growing number of retail
partners in the Kansai region. In Osaka,
these include two beer bars, Qbrick and Eni-Bru, and a superb bottle shop,
Asahiya. Recently Café Absinthe has
become a Baird customer.
In
Nishinomiya, Beer Café Barley, which opens every day (except Tuesdays) at 1:00
PM, is a long-time Baird supporter.
Kyoto,
too, is home to some wonderful craft beer bars that always have Baird on tap:
Tadg’s, Beer Café Bakujun, and Beer Friends. Third-generation Kyoto noodle shop Omen serves Baird beer at each of its
three locations, and Baird bottles are always available to take home from sakeya Yamaoka Saketen.
Last
year in July we participated in the Japan Craft Beer Festival in Osaka. It was a lot of fun, so we’re looking forward
to being there again this year. Next
month, on May 13th, we’ll participate in the Kyoto Ji-Biiru
Matsuri. In addition, Osaka-based craft
beer enthusiast and entrepreneur Ajen Birmingham has organized a couple events
featuring Baird beer in the last several months. His next event, called Beer Base Live, will
take place on September 22nd in Umeda.
What plans, if any, does Baird Brewing have
to expand its presence in the Kansai region?
We
currently own and operate four Taproom-restaurants. The original one is in Numazu (Shizuoka Prefecture),
where our brewery is located. There are
two Baird Taprooms in Tokyo (Nakameguro and Harajuku) and one, at Bashamichi,
in Yokohama. We would love to have a
Taproom in Kansai! Before we can embark
on new Taprooms, though, we need to build a new brewery. All of our current resources – human and
financial – will be focused on that project for the next year to eighteen
months. Our new brewery should expand
our capacity by a factor of five, so once it’s operational we’ll be looking for
thirsty folks in Kansai with whom to enjoy a pint or two.
While
planning and analysis are important, serendipity also plays a big role in
Taproom planning. We tend to move quickly
when the stars align around city, neighborhood, people/partners, and food
concept. A good example is our
Bashamichi Taproom in Yokohama, which opened in January of last year. In the space of about ten days we decided on
Yokohama; hired an accomplished and passionate practitioner of Texas-style
barbeque, Chuck Morrow, to be our pitmaster/tencho; and found a amazing three-storey
building in the bustling nightlife district of Bashamichi. The Taproom opened for business three months
later. We’ve got a hunch that a similar
alignment of the stars will happen before too long in one or more cities in
Kansai.
What do you think overall about the growing scene in Osaka?
We’re
thrilled about the recent growth in interest in craft beer in Osaka. Minoh Brewing and Isekadoya Brewing are
playing catalytic roles, as are the pioneering Kansai craft beer bars and
retailers mentioned earlier. This energy,
investment and passion notwithstanding, we think the Kansai region is
significantly underserved relative to actual and potential demand for craft
beer, and that tremendous room for expansion exists.
On a
more sober note, sustainable growth in craft beer in Kansai and elsewhere in Japan,
and the substantially greater retail investment required to support it, depend on
the there being more good Japanese craft beer and significantly greater
consistency in terms of product quality. Far too many Japanese craft beers are good to excellent one time and
mediocre to horrid when one drinks a beer from the next batch two weeks later. Operational inconsistency is the kiss of
death for any company or industry, especially those that manufacture food or
beverage products. Unless brewery
processes for controlling quality, (particularly on the “cold” side of the
house where fermentation and packaging take place) are more rigorously
understood and implemented, the current Japan craft beer boomlet risks losing
momentum, just as the first, late-90s one did, as initial consumer excitement
is overwhelmed by inconsistent, occasionally awful beer.
How
might the growing Osaka scene compare with the Tokyo/Yokohama scene?
Awareness
of and interest in craft beer started much earlier in the Tokyo/Yokohama region
than in Kansai, and the gap is growing. It
seems like a new craft beer bar opens every couple of weeks in the Kanto
region. Moreover, craft beer’s
penetration of the upscale dining market -- restaurants with a 10-page wine
list but a single (industrial lager) beer option -- is accelerating in Kanto,
albeit from a near-zero base.
Kansai,
though, is waking up, and we’re excited about some of the new projects now
under way. (Word has it that craft beer
entrepreneur Ai Tani is now building a new place near Umeda that will offer
draught beer on-premise and bottles for take-home. Ajen Birmingham is also rumored to be looking
start a place.)
It may only
be a matter of time before Kansai’s legendary zest for good living, no where
more in evidence than in its enjoyment of good food and drink, propels the
availability of craft beer in the region to the same, or higher, levels as
those in Kanto. We intend to play an active
role in realizing this potential.
What
are some of the biggest challenges facing the craft beer movement in
Japan?
The retail
revolution needed to introduce more people to craft beer in Japan is in its
infancy. More entrepreneurs are needed
to start craft beer bars and, even more important, to include craft beer in existing
and new restaurant formats, from fast casual to fine dining.
In
addition, large beverage distribution intermediaries -- tonya and gyomu oroshi --
need to study the unique attributes and handling requirements of craft beer and
then make it more widely available in the marketplace. This part of the craft beer retail revolution
took decades to happen in the US market, but most of the AB-InBev and
Miller-Coors distributors in America now have specialty craft beer sales groups;
in fact, as sales of industrial lagers like Bud and Bud Lite continue to
stagnate or decline, craft beer is now the sole source of revenue growth and
profit growth for these distributors. The
craft segment is fast approaching 10% of the US beer market. We’re betting that the same thing can happen
in Japan.
Finally,
as previously mentioned, Japanese brewers of craft beer must make more good
beer and do so with greater consistency.
The “brew it and they’ll think it’s cool and drink it” phase of industry
development needs to wind down at a much faster pace. Japanese consumers are simply too sophisticated
and too discerning. Fortunately, there’s
more good beer this year than last year, and consistency of product quality is
improving. Japan is a country that
reveres craftsmanship as well as freshness, variety and character in food and
drink. We’re confident that these deeply
rooted cultural influences spell a bright future for Japanese craft beer.
What
challenges might be unique to the Kansai area?
Kansai
may be more culturally conservative that Kanto and therefore more measured in
the pace with which it evaluates and embraces new ideas. It’s impossible to say if this is a factor in
the relatively late start and slow pace of the region’s embrace of craft
beer. It’s clear, though, that there’s
been awakening, and we’re delighted to be participating.
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That's it for the interview. I'll soon post a couple more interviews that fall under this "Kansai Special" label. Thanks for reading!
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