Matthew Steinberg opened the doors to his brewery, Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company, in Framingham on August 31, 2016, seizing, in part, on an opportunity created when lauded local brewery Jack's Abby Craft Lagers decided to open a new space in the neighborhood.
We are thrilled to be growing, but it comes with a price, for sure.
"I immediately thought about how many of the small towns and cities throughout the world, especially in Europe, have a wonderful beer scene because of the few or many breweries within a small geographic area," he told me. "After discovering that Jack and his brothers wanted another brewery in town to raise the awareness of Framingham, it was clear that I had to get my brewery open in this space."
Since then, Exhibit 'A' has been growing and receiving great praise for its lineup of quality brews. But it hasn't been all smooth sailing. Recently, Steinberg and company made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend the production of a popular double IPA, Hair Raiser, due to the price and headaches associated with obtaining one of its hop varieties.
I caught up with Steinberg to learn more about that, plus what it's like operating so close to one of the state's most popular breweries.
Alex Weaver: I understand you suspended brewing one of your popular beers due to the hop shortage. Why? And when is it coming back?
Matthew Steinberg: We never planned to permanently suspend brewing of Hair Raiser. We just had to do a bunch of math to figure out how much we could brew and how often we could brew it. Galaxy is a fairly prominent hop in Hair Raiser and we only have so much Galaxy. It's nearly impossible to get more. Lucky for us, I have many friends in this business and I have been fortunate to purchase some small amounts from these generous brewers. We plan to continue to brew limited amounts of Hair Raiser. A batch will be released every 3-5 weeks or so. This should get us close to the time when more Galaxy "may" come available. We are all hoping for the best.
The next batch of Hair Raiser Double IPA is being canned and kegged on May 2 for a much anticipated release on Wednesday May 3. Cans and draft will be available in the taproom only for the moment, but we may release some to the market if we can spare some cases.
AW: Any other unexpected challenges the company has faced since opening?
MS: Costs associated with growth before we have a chance to settle in have been one of the biggest challenges. Operating a brewery is very expensive. We have already added tanks, a ton of new equipment, hired brewers, tap room staff, a sales manager, etc. These are not unexpected challenges, but in our first year, we already have grown beyond what we expected in year two! We are thrilled to be growing, but it comes with a price, for sure.
AW: What's it like operating a brewery and taproom half a mile from one of the state's most popular in Jack's Abby?
MS: The biggest upside is people and traffic to our breweries; we share guests and customers. We understand what each other's businesses are about. We work together to make Framingham a beer destination. Their staff members send people to us everyday and we do the same. Another upside would be the enormous amount of Jack's Abby cans that find their way into our staff beer fridge. They are super generous people and we love being hood-mates with them!
I suppose the a downside would be that they have a restaurant. On Friday nights, we tend to slow down a bit during dinner hours, so we are working with area food trucks to have them be here on Fridays in addition to Saturdays to give our guests food options while they are here enjoying our space and beers. Our first Friday night truck is this Friday with Teddy’s Lunchbox, who specialize in great tasting wraps and sandwiches.
AW: Bonus round: Anything else you want to add?
MS: We are so excited about the climate of the brewing industry right now. Some of the best beers on the planet are coming from this region and are being brewed by our friends. It’s an amazing time to be in the beer industry in New England right now. We are proud to be among them and enjoy working everyday to make the best beer we know how to brew.
Images provided.
