High above the sea and above the fog lies the most amazing part of Napa Valley; There, a wide iron gate, is guarding the entrance to Napa, home of a beer business. This is the heart of Barrels & Sons Brewery. Sons, because of this beer there are three sons of famous American families and best friends Carlo Mondavi, Jacob Busch and Elliott Taylor.
Mondavimu is 37 and is the grandson of Robert Mondavi, the founder of the famous vineyards in Napa Valley; Taylor is 10 years younger and is the son of Ronald Lee Taylor's restaurateur; Busch is 28 and has the closest to beer because he is a member of the legendary brewery family and Adolphus Busche, co-founder of the Anheuser-Busch group.
Despite this age, this trio is very mature and has experienced lives that many can only dream of. They come from privileged and hard working families, hospitality is blessed with them, and they all have been filled with enthusiasm and pulsing energy.
Carlo Mondavi, Jacob Busch and Elliott Taylor
But then you look at them and you have the impression that this is a boy group that wants to break through with country hits. T-shirt, worn jeans, hats and cowboy boots. But that's just an image, because there is a business spirit with the taste and smell of beer.
Only when Mondavi met Elliotto years ago they found out that they actually live a bit apart. "We started to meet and I was more and more in love with the wine and wanted to learn from the pros," recalls Taylor. "Then our common friend introduced Jacob and since then we are the best buddies."
But what is the role of beer? Three of my friends went out to enjoy drinks, food and entertainment in the evenings. "And once we arrived at St. Louis, we drank a fine Budweiser, "says Mondavi, who then got the idea.
Jacob Busche asked, "And could not we go to see your brewery?" No, they could not! He replied, because after the sale of InBeva his family did not own it. "I would say the same about our vineyard," recalls Mondavi's 2004 sale. "And I know how hard it is for someone in the family business so hot."
But one single inquisitive query caused an explosion. So we can arrange a brewery! they decided. "We all liked the same type of beer, we were told everyone was concentrating on IPA and over-brewed beer, but no one was doing a classic pilsner. A beer that is great to eat and refresh, "explains Mondavi. "We had the urge to jump in."
When Busch's son announced his father to Busch, he met with skepticism. Last summer, however, three fathers met the main brew Steve above the first test batch. Then for the first time, Peter W. Busch's face showed enthusiasm for the thing and said, "And we are the beer again." When he heard this son from a 33-year-old man, he was relieved. "When he said that, it was proof that our attempts are worth it."
But only then did it really start: resolving the logo, bottling, contracts, buyers. "But by some miracle we've done it all at a low budget," says Taylor. They brought a brewery, a professor at the University of California, who had been working with Busch's family for over 30 years, and who helped young entrepreneurs with recipe debugging. "We had no time, so we worked until we felt like it was beer in our hearts."
Their goal is to brew approximately 2400 hectoliters a year and are on their way to meeting it. "This is a great success for startup beer," Taylor says. The partial successes of the Barrels & Sons Brewery brand are not to be mocked because the plans are getting enough for the three. But rather than cooking ten different species, they want to concentrate only on one. And that's top.
"We want to keep the course, stay small and brew a beer that can be compared to the best in the world," says Mondavi, but he knows how difficult it will be. "Because the best wines and beers do not come out in a year or ten years. It takes them for generations. In the meantime, we want our beer to pour into the best restaurants with the best food and to have fun. "