234: From Pro Football to Craft Beer with Katie and Brandon Fields of Inside the Five Brewing Co.

It’s not every day that a former NFL player joins the podcast. And it’s not every day you see one make such a dramatic career pivot from pro football to craft brewing and small business ownership.

But that’s exactly what Brandon Fields did. When he was winding down his football career, he found his passion in brewing, starting out with a home brewing kit. He teamed up with his wife Katie and opened up Inside the Five Brewing Co., which has scaled to three locations and 120 team members as a full-service beer manufacturing empire.

Katie and Brandon wear many hats across each area of the manufacturing process – from the crafting itself to the sales side to distribution – even their kids get involved. Today, they run the business with a welcoming, inclusive, family-friendly vibe that keeps loyal beer fans sipping. Hear about their story from NFL to brewing, what it’s like running a small full-service business, their approach to managing talent, and developing their distinct branding. Also learn how beers like “Snap to the Face” and “Big Fat Boss Baby” get their names.

In this episode, find out:

• Brandon gives us the background on his time playing in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, plus the story behind the beer ‘Snap to the Face’
• What made Brandon decide to move from the NFL world into professional brewing
• The biggest lesson learned from Brandon’s NFL days that he applies to his life now as a small business owner
• How Brandon and Katie learned how to grow and scale a brewing business to three locations and 120 team members
• The most rewarding parts of manufacturing craft beers and experimenting with new beer flavors
• How Brandon and Katie’s kids get involved in the craft brewing life and inspired the names of some of their top beers
• The benefits of being a full-service manufacturer, managing the manufacturing, distribution, and sales
• A reality check on what the transition from NFL to brewing was like for Brandon and what he learned from Katie’s people management approach
• The strategy behind developing Inside the Five’s distinct branding and why it’s about more than just the visuals
• Why it’s important not to force a brand style that doesn’t feel natural
• How Inside the Five’s branding has added to their success by being a welcoming, family-friendly ethos that gets people to stick around for another beer
• Katie’s approach to managing the competition and why it’s key to focus on your own success

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Tweetable Quotes:

• “You have to have that drive, that perfectionist in you to want to constantly do better... But it's that constant, “how can we improve?” Good is not good enough." – Brandon Fields
• “We're beginning to end in terms of product. So if you see it in a bar, our people sold it, made the sales pitch, got it there, gave it to them. So our hands are on it from beginning to end.” – Brandon Fields
• "Figuring out what does branding mean to me? Not just the logo, the slogan, the colors, the font, but what message do you want to send and how do you want people to feel when they're at your location?” – Katie Fields
• "A lot of people ask me about competitors, like when another craft brewery opens. The more the merrier, because our success is not based on what someone else is doing. If we're not successful, it means we need to change something.” – Katie Fields

Links & mentions:

• Inside the Five Brewing Co., a Northwest Ohio full-service brewpub with unique beers inspired by Brandon’s former NFL career

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.