EP-297 Ben Self of West Sixth Brewing

Have you heard the phrase “stick to beer”? It’s a version of an oft-cited phrase that people tell each other when one is veering away from their subject expertise. If you brew beer or write about the industry, you don’t need to share insight about other areas of life … let someone else who’s an expert do that. Stick to beer.

In this episode, we aren’t venturing far away from beer, but Ben Self’s background lends itself to it. He’s our guest as co-founder of Kentucky’s West Sixth Brewing, but what came before and even recent years is of interest, too. Ben recently completed a run as chairman of the Kentucky Democratic Party and began a political career years ago by co-founding a progressive tech firm that led him to work with Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee.

This is relevant because while we don’t wade into hot button issues of politics, we do talk about what it means to win and lose and fight an uphill battle to turn a very red state blue. It may not be obvious right away, but you’ll hear me ask about how running a business can be similar when you’re trying to build trust with people you don’t know and convert customers to your brand in the same way a politician may want to find another vote.

So trust me when I say we do “stick to beer,” but there’s a host of other things that have influenced Ben’s worldview, and that overlap can be fascinating.