Editor
Mt. Carmel Brewing Company owners Mike and Kathleen Dewey spoke to the Clermont Chamber of Commerce on July 20 as part of the chamber’s Breakfast Forum series.
Mike Dewey told the chamber about how he and his wife, Kathleen, started the company and built it up to where it is today. The 11-year-old business, which was Kathleen Dewey’s idea, is a team effort, Mike Dewey said.
When they came up with the idea in 2004, there was nothing else like this in the Cincinnati area. In addition, Mike Dewey had a passion for craft beers and home brewing. Before they began making beer, Kathleen Dewey worked in real estate and Mike Dewey worked in construction.
Not many people know exactly what craft beer means, Mike Dewey said, but the true definition is what the couple has stuck with and is committed to maintaining, despite the definition drastically changing since.
“We have, for 11 years, stuck to the goal of being small, independent and traditional,” Mike Dewey said.
They started in the basement of their house, a story that makes Mt. Carmel Brewing Company unique across the country. That’s one of the reasons that they haven’t moved their brewery, Mike Dewey said.
They were fortunate to get a variance from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control, which gave the Deweys the chance to start and grow their business to see what it would become.
The Deweys spent 2005 and 2006 learning about the trade. They knew a lot about beer but not much about distribution and retailers.
“We were very eager to learn a lot about what we didn’t know,” Mike Dewey said.
At the time, they only added one account every few weeks and took it slowly. Also in 2005, Mike and Kathleen Dewey started a family, which is not something they recommend doing while starting a business but was something they were fortunate to have done, Mike Dewey said.
In the early years they also did something that no one did—they went after chain stores and were able to become an approved distributor for Kroger, due in part to Kathleen Dewey’s persistence.
For the first four years Mt. Carmel Brewing Company was the only production brewery in town. For the next four years, Mt. Carmel was one of two. Now, Mt. Carmel is one of 22, Mike Dewey said.
In 2010, the business had grown to the point that they could no longer self-distribute all of their beer so they partnered with Heidelberg Distributing and Ohio Valley Wine & Beer, Heidelberg’s sister company in the Cincinnati area, according to Heidelberg’s website.
“This was probably the biggest game changer in our company history. The following day was probably the quietest day in our company history. I think we all just went home and took a nap,” Mike Dewey said.
Mt. Carmel Brewery currently distributes in Ohio and Kentucky and that’s where the Deweys want to stay. However, the beer market is growing and that forces change, which for Mt. Carmel has meant changes in their business model, marketing, packing and brewing.
Since 2012, there has been a shift in where they sell the most beer from wholesale to on-premise, and that is the fastest growing segment.
“The taproom is really a lot more fun than wholesale and its success has been because of the support we’ve had locally,” Mike Dewey said.
He added, “All in all, the taproom is what brings a lot of our community together.”
They’ve also found that beer is a great vehicle for helping out in the community. The brewery works with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Brewhaus Bakery Co. Brewhaus uses a small portion of the spent grains the brewery produces for the dog treats they make. The rest of the grain the brewery produces a week, all 25,980 pounds, goes to a farmer in West Union to feed his cattle.
“The journey we’ve had I can sum up in pretty much one sentence: It’s absolutely, probably the most difficult thing Kathleen and I have ever done together and yet the most rewarding. So, we look forward to continuing to be a part of this community and helping this community thrive because we started this company in Union Township for a reason, and that is because it’s a great place to live and work,” Mike Dewey said.
Chamber President/CEO Matt Van Sant thanked the Deweys for sharing their story.
“You guys are really big supporters of Clermont County and we’re grateful,” Van Sant said.
The Clermont Chamber began the Breakfast Forum series to hear from Clermont County companies or Clermont County residents who own a company about how they got started, what made their business successful, how technology has impacted their industry and company and how they are involved in the community.
“What we’re trying to do is educate our members, show them, demonstrate to them that being part of the community is a critical part of the success of our community,” Van Sant said.