Short Summary
"So you want to start a brewery, huh? It's going to take DOUBLE the time and TRIPLE the money you think you'll need!" - Every brewery owner we've ever spoken to, ever.
Unfortunately, we've learned that they're not wrong. People close to our project will know that we struggled for more than one year to secure our building, extending our opening timeline by months. And with every vendor quote, permit, and insurance bill, our expenses grow.
We're lucky to have funded Around The Horn Brewing Company through a combination of our savings, investments, and an SBA loan, keeping Andrew, Rachel, and Shirley as the owners of the business. But as we get closer to opening, our personal savings have dwindled; therefore, we're turning to our friends and family to help fund the finishing touches on the brewery, including:
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a crowler machine (enabling us to send our patrons home with delicious, freshly canned beer that will maintain its quality and carbonation levels longer than it would in a growler)
- barstools, tables, and other furnishings
- emergency backup generator rental funds (because it doesn't seem like these PG&E blackouts are going away anytime soon, and we want to be able to keep our lights on to serve you all beer!).
Our Brewery Story
Around The Horn Brewing Company has been a joke since 2014, a vision since 2016, a plan since 2017, and a reality since 2019.
Rachel discovered her enjoyment of craft beer after college; having consumed way too many watered-down domestics during beer pong and frat parties, she found an appreciation for the richer tastes of craft beer. In 2014, after embarking on a brewery tour of San Diego together, Shirley and Rachel joked that they should open a craft brewery in Groveland. It was, after all, the perfect place for this type of venture: Groveland has the traffic; it has the loyal community; it has great water; and most importantly, it doesn't already have a craft brewery! Over time, this "joke" evolved into a sort of dream, a "wouldn't it be great to do this?" musing. By 2016, Andrew had joined the mix. Growing up, he and his family visited the Eastern Sierras yearly. In Groveland, he found the same escape from the fast-paced life of Los Angeles that he so cherished in the Sierras. Therefore it wasn't hard at all for Rachel to convince him to buy into this dream of opening a brewery in Groveland.
Their plan was officially set into motion in 2017. Two months after getting married, Andrew and Rachel moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Rachel started graduate school at Vanderbilt University, pursuing an MBA with an emphasis on entrepreneurship with the goal of opening the brewery. In her spare time, she interned at a local brewery (shoutout to Bailey and Steve at Jackalope!), worked in an awesome little beer bar (thanks, Filling Station!), and had a gig as a brand ambassador for the New York-based Brooklyn Brewery. Meanwhile, Andrew cut his teeth working at three of Nashville's breweries (TailGate, Honky Tonk, and Southern Grist.) Soon he became the taproom manager for Southern Grist, where he gained valuable knowledge from the brewery's founders. After a few years working on the retail side of the business, Andrew found his way into the brewhouse. He was a brewer's apprentice at Southern Grist while completing the intensive Professional Brewing/Distilling Technology Program at the Knoxville Brewing & Distilling Center. (Fun fact: he scored 104% on his final exam for the program. Freakin' nerd.)
After their graduations, Andrew and Rachel relocated full time to Groveland, and with Shirley immediately jumped into finding a location for the brewery. In December of 2019, they officially became the proud owners of 17820 State Highway 120, aka the old Subway building, aka the old Big Oak Restaurant & Bar building. They will spend the first part of 2020 transforming the building from a former corporate franchise into a homegrown, community-focused brewing operation.
Our Name
The name for our brewery was born at an airport while waiting for a delayed flight. Rachel knew that if the trio were to open a craft brewery in Groveland, it would be Gold Rush themed. While Googling terminology from the California Gold Rush, she stumbled upon the phrase "around the Horn" and was immediately taken back to her days as a fourth-grader learning California history.
"Around the Horn" has a few meanings, including in sports and in business, but we prefer the one used in the 19th century to refer to a journey (by boat) around Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America. During the Gold Rush boom, fortune seekers from New England often traveled by ship "around the Horn" to reach California. It's likely that many of the miners who sought gold in Groveland made their way here by going "around the Horn." Seems fitting, right?
And, oh yes, we'd be remiss if we failed to mention one other important detail of our name: Shirley and Rachel ARE Horns, by marriage and by birth, respectively.
Why Groveland?
Early in our planning stages, people would often ask, "Why do you want to open a brewery in Groveland?" which was then often followed by, "If it doesn't work out in Groveland, will you open it somewhere else?" The answer to the latter question has always been "no." For us, this brewery is just as much about Groveland as it is about beer.
For starters, Around The Horn's building is located just 25.5 miles from the entrance to Yosemite National Park. TWENTY FIVE POINT FIVE MILES. That's barely half an hour away! We can't resist the appeal of waking up every morning to the fresh mountain air, knowing that the beauty that inspired the likes of John Muir and Ansel Adams is just minutes away.
In addition, some of our nerdier founders (read: Rachel) have always been fascinated by history and love the (sometimes tumultuous) stories of Groveland and the surrounding towns. As millions of people pass through Groveland each year on their way to Yosemite, we want to give them another opportunity to learn about this glorious little town. That's why Around The Horn Brewing Company's brand emphasizes the Gold Rush and Yosemite. (Our slogan is literally "Born in Yosemite. Brewed in Gold Country.")
And finally, the third reason is really pure selfishness: we love craft beer. There is no craft brewery in Groveland. So, we decided to start one.
The Perks
Below you'll find descriptions and photos of some of the merchandise perks available for you to purchase. We can't guarantee that the item you receive will look 100% like this (since some of them aren't printed yet) but they will be very, very close (for example, a t-shirt we say will be black will, in fact, be black.)
Stickers: You'll receive one of each of these 3.875-inch circle gloss stickers. One prominently features the main Around The Horn Brewing Company logo. The other shows a stylized version of Yosemite National Park, along with our slogan "Born in Yosemite. Brewed in Gold Country."
Pint Glasses: While you wait for Around The Horn to open, enjoy a cold one from the comfort of your home with one of our logo pint glasses. This 16-ounce glass shows a stylized version of our logo on one side, and our slogan on the other.
T-shirt: This basic black tee includes the Around The Horn logo on the front and a callout to Groveland, California on the back. This item is available in a women's fit v-neck cut in sizes small to 3XL (below left) or a men's crew neck cut in sizes small to 3XL (below right). *In this mockup the men's shirt looks a bit grey, but we assure you it is a true black.*
Hat: Would this be a crowdfunding campaign involving Andrew Sabatine if it didn't include a hat? For those who are less familiar with our head brewer's fashion philosophy, it's "pick hat first, then pick rest of outfit." These "dad hats" aka baseball caps will include an Around The Horn patch with our logo and location. If you pick this perk, we'll reach out to you separately to find out what hat color you prefer, as there will be two or three options.
Community Donation
In addition to helping us open the doors of Around The Horn Brewing Company, your contribution can also help the greater Groveland community. We've partnered with the group leading the Leon Rose Ball Field Renovation project and will be donating part of the money raised in this campaign to that effort.
The Leon Rose Ball Field is a baseball field located in Groveland that was previously used by Tioga High School's baseball and softball teams. Unfortunately, the field has been closed for a number of years and has fallen into disarray. But now, a motivated group of locals has received approval from the Groveland Community Services District to renovate and reopen the field. When the field is reopened, the high school sports teams will once again be able to play there, and there are also plans for an adult softball league.
As you browse through the perks available for you to purchase, you'll notice that some of the packages include a $5, $10, or $20 contribution to the Leon Rose Ball Field Renovation. At the close of this Indiegogo campaign, we will send a check (for the total of all of the contributions) to the organizers of the project. If you would like more information on the Leon Rose Ball Field Renovation or wish to help the project in other ways, please visit their Facebook page.