We have been having a ton of fun visiting breweries throughout the Upper Peninsula for the past week and a half on the page. Before we get into the Marquette area and all the fun that comes along with it, I figured we would take a break for the day and have a chat with a well known name in the brewing industry.
For today’s post I sat down and had a chat with one of my oldest, dearest friends in the brewing industry. I am of course talking about the proprietor of 1 For All Brewery in Livonia, Michigan, the one, the only Joe Walters.
First I will talk a little bit about Joe’s background, he started homebrewing in 1999. Joe’s inspiration to start brewing was the fact that the craft beer at the time was very expensive. He figured he could produce a lot more for the same price that he was paying in the stores. Joe did a ton of research on the equipment that he needed before he started actually brewing. He joined the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild Home Brew Club, and began asking questions to people who “knew a lot more about beer than he did”. Once Joe had the equipment he desired, he became very prolific at brewing. He was putting out 2 to 4 batches per week, which was more than he could drink. He began tweaking recipes and seeing how subtle changes would ultimately change the finished product.
After about 9 years of practice and perfecting his recipes, it was time for Joe to step up to the big leagues and open up his own operation. In 2008, Joe started brewing professionally when he opened up Liberty Street Brewing Company, where for 13 years he was the Head Brewer and General Manager. Liberty Street found immediate success, everyone wanted to taste Joe’s creations. They enjoyed so much success that after a few years they decided to open up a production facility in Livonia to distribute their products statewide. Joe mentioned that this was one of the biggest successes of the brewery, but also one of the factors that ultimately led to the downfall of the company. Joe will advise people these days to not get into the production side of the industry, and to just keep your brewing operation to direct to consumer sales only.
Prior to opening 1 For All Brewery, Joe was also a teacher at Schoolcraft College’s Brewing Program. He taught a course on Fermentation Quality Assurance. His class taught what Joe referred to as the cold side of brewing. This class taught everything from cleaning, sanitation, yeast handling, sampling and testing of the product post-fermentation, packaging and of course safety procedures. Joe spent 6 and a half years as a professor of beer, I have to say that is a pretty cool title to have on your resume.
Since Liberty Street opened in 2008, prior to the major craft beer boom of the 2010’s, I asked Joe what it was like being on the scene before the industry exploded. He replied that he was very proud of that fact and that it was really cool to go to brewing conventions and meeting people like Dave Munro, Larry Bell and others, and having them want to talk to him. He thought it was super cool that iconic names in the brewing industry considered him to be one of them.
I did end up asking Joe about his personal preferences when it comes to brewing beer. The styles of beer that he enjoys brewing are mostly classic styles of beer including Lagers, Pale Ales, Amber Ales, IPA’s, Seasonal Light Beers such as Oktoberfest, and some of the darker styles of beer. One style that Joe is not particularly fond of brewing is New England or Hazy IPA’s because “In order to brew one, you need to do everything opposite of what you would normally do during a brew session.” Another question that I asked was what is the most off the wall recipe that he has come up with over the years, and he replied his recipe for Twice Baked which was a Baked Potato and Hemp Seed IPA that he brewed during the days of Liberty Street. He brewed this beer during my time being employed at Liberty Street, and it was definitely a polarizing beer, either you loved it or you didn’t, I was in the camp of loving it.
After 25 years in the industry, Joe has finally opened up his dream project 1 For All Brewery in Livonia, Michigan. His inspiration for the project was formulated 12 years ago when he paid a visit to the original location of Witch’s Hat Brewing Company in South Lyon. He noticed that they ended up breaking even almost immediately due to low overhead costs and direct to consumer sales. He began running the numbers and formulating a business plan almost immediately. He even went as far to scout out a location for his project and moved into a house that was a 10 minute walk from his dream location, which is where 1 For All ultimately ended up being located.
As of right now everything is going to plan, Joe brews on a one barrel, small-batch system. He is open 4 days a week, Wednesday through Saturday from 2 P.M. until 10 P.M. This allows him to do all the maintenance, cleaning, brewing, janitorial work (basically everything that needs to happen for the brewery to be functional), while the brewery is closed. During operational hours, this division of work lets him be the face of the company and pour beer directly for his customers, and talk about his business operations. According to Joe, the response has been mostly positive, with people really enjoying the beer and the intimate space that he has set up for beer lovers across the board. One complaint he has received is about the limited hours, but if the hours weren’t limited, there would be no beer for Joe to serve.
Some of the beers that Joe serves at the brewery are the aforementioned beers that he enjoys brewing such as light, Lagers, Pale Ales, Stouts, and IPA’s. Other styles that are featured on his taplist include California Common, Seltzers, and a House Made Root Beer. Joe does get a lot of requests for Sour Beers (As does every brewery that doesn’t have one), but Joe will be shying away from doing Sour Beers, he doesn’t want to introduce bacteria into his brewing equipment like he has done in the past.
For the future, Joe plans on experimenting with other styles, and old favorites. He plans on bringing back the Baked Potato and Hemp Seed IPA that I mentioned earlier in the near future. Joe would also like to start doing growler fills on a somewhat limited basis. He did express concerns that filling too many could affect the amount of beer that he would be able to keep on his taplist due to the nature of the small system brewing operation that he has set up. He hasn’t quite figured out how he will implement growler fills into his business plan, but keep an eye out for it in the coming months.
If you are looking to have a good beer with a really cool dude who is very knowledgeable about his craft in an intimate setting, I suggest you check out Joe Walters and 1 For All Brewing in Livonia, Michigan. There is a really good chance that if you are there on a Wednesday afternoon, I will be sitting at the bar working on the page and enjoying a few beverages myself. Cheers!
P.S. If you or someone you know in the brewing industry would like to be featured on this segment in the near future, reach out to me through the comments and we can work on setting it up. I am currently working on ways to be able to do this remotely also. So anyone, anywhere in the State of Michigan is fair game for this segment.
#drinklocal #craftbeer #michiganbeer #beerlovers #brewery
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