EVERETT – Tasty beer has inspired thinkers from Plato to Homer Simpson, but Todd Owsley’s passion for great, undiscovered beers has turned into his livelihood.
The Arlington resident is the founder of Superior Beer Distribution LLC, which brings brews with labels such as Walking Man, Rattlesnake Mountain and Baron to alehouses and stores across the region.
Owsley’s motto, printed on the pickup truck he uses for deliveries in King and Snohomish counties and all the way up to Bellingham, is simple: “Never drink inferior beer.”
“I try to focus on making sure the beer is good,” Owsley said in explaining how he chooses which beers he distributes. He’s serious, too, having turned down a couple of potential clients because he didn’t think their product was up to snuff.
He also focuses on those that put the “micro” into the term microbrew. The segment of the industry known as craft brewing is dwarfed by the nation’s biggest beer sellers, but it’s growing. In 2004, retail sales of craft brews in the U.S. hit $3.5 billion and production increased more than 7 percent from 2003 to 2004, according to the national Brewers Association.
That growth well outpaced the rest of the beer industry, which saw the biggest companies lose ground. But the smallest breweries still have trouble getting distribution for their product.
“In the small craft brewing industry, you’re not taken care of by the big boys … they don’t care about you,” said Andy Eason, a partner at Mukilteo’s Diamond Knot Brewery, which distributes its own product.
Owsley credits Diamond Knot’s partners for pointing him in the right direction during the five or six years he explored different possibilities for a business in the beer industry. His interest in the creation of beer dated back further, however, as he was home-brewing by 1990.
The 37-year-old native of Kansas came to the Northwest during his nine years in the U.S. Navy, during which he specialized in anti-submarine warfare. He then entered the financial services industry, most recently working as a financial adviser with Washington Mutual.
With the support of his wife, Owsley decided to quit his job and follow his dream. He created a business plan and leased an office and huge refrigerated room inside the former Crown Distributing warehouse building in Everett.
Much to his surprise, success came relatively fast. Three months after starting Superior Beer last December, the self-financed business was breaking even, Owsley said.
Customers cite Owsley’s thorough knowledge about what he sells as one of his competitive advantages. He usually watches the brewing process and talks to the owners at length personally when considering a brewery for distribution.
“Todd really takes the time to choose good products,” Eason said, adding that Owsley also is hard to beat for customer service. “He’ll drop everything he’s doing on a Friday night to bring you a keg.”
John Campbell, owner of Lang Creek Brewery in Marion, Mont., said Superior Beer is the first distributor to sell his brand in the Puget Sound area since the 1990s.
“He’s the kind of distributor we wanted. He’s new, he’s small and he can give us focus and attention,” said Campbell, who touts Lang Creek at the nation’s “most remote” microbrewery.
In order to get Lang Creek’s product to bars and stores here, Owsley’s been known to drive to Spokane, where he meets Lang Creek’s truck, and haul back the beer himself.
At Seattle’s Baron Brewery, co-owner Mike Baker said Superior Beer’s opened up a whole new market for Baron, which previously sold beer just in Seattle. The brewery’s owners couldn’t afford to go further afield themselves.
“There’s no way we could do it. Our company is a two-man operation,” Baker said. “So it was great to find a person to fill that void.”
Since Superior Beer began delivering Baron’s beers to the Flying Pig Brewing Co. in Everett, that location has become the biggest seller by volume of the Seattle brewery’s product, Baker added.
While Superior Beer is making money, Owsley said he’s plowing most of the small profit-making back into the venture. He seems determined to avoid the pitfall of expanding too fast.
“Right now, I’m at the point where I’m maxed out by myself,” he said. “That’s why I haven’t been taking new accounts for a month unless they called up and absolutely begged.”
Owsley also just hired his first employee and may hire two more before the year ends, he said. That will help him handle new business that comes from his agreement to become a sales agent for Bottles of Grapes, Inc., which distributes wine from dozens of producers, including many small wineries in Washington.
While he’s happy his business is off to a solid start, Owsley said he’s also pleased to be advancing the cause of small brewers in his new career.
“The more people get educated about good beers and like good beers, it helps everybody,” he said.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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