Observations: part1
(The Marriage of Calapooia and Vivacity Spirits)
Here are some observations, I have seen, merging 2 businesses. Some of the observations are biased, but it was what we experienced during the project. As things progress and we have the luxury of hind sight, with time, some of these observations may change.
I am going to break this down into more manageable bites because I believe it will run a bit long and we are not done with the project yet. (Actually, I am cheating because we are really 7 months into the process.) I am also combining 2 blog thoughts so if its a bit choppy, sometimes, please forgive me.
The Move
After 8 years in business and 3 years of active searching; Vivacity Spirits has found a new place to call home. At the start of the new year, 2020, Vivacity will now call Calapooia Brewery, in Albany, Oregon, home.
Our Hopes and Dreams
Our Pub will become your living room away from home. While sipping on our craft beverages there will be peace in the world, the skies will open up and the angels will sing. We will all become enlightened and one with the universe. Just come on in, take a deep breath, relax and enjoy a beer or cocktail with your new family.
Unicorns and Rainbows aside, we are excited about the possibilities before us. With a brewery on site, Whiskey is in our future and we will now have another outlet for our Spirits. We will have a lot more room to move about and store barrels. We plan to expand the distribution of our beers and Spirits, eventually, beyond the State of Oregon. I would say “World Domination” but that makes me seem greedy.
Some Harsh Reality
The temptation is to believe the first paragraph, completely (one can only hope), that this is the answer to all our dreams (and in some ways it is), but the reality is that this move is going to be a lot of hard work. We are going to have a steep learning curve. The objective is for Caitlin and myself to learn everyone’s job. That way we can fill in anywhere when needed. It will be stressful, it will be educational and (despite my whining) I will be enjoying every minute of it. This move will be a catalyst for forward movement and innovation for Vivacity Spirits and Calapooia Brewery moving into the future.
This move will also come with some unique challenges. Some foreseeable some not. We will be going from 4 employees to about 20 (we will be leaning, heavily, on the Calapooia crew for support, until we can find our stride.)
We have moved all our inventory, the still and the boiler to Calapooia, not to mention all the infrastructure needed to be put in place to support the move. We are bringing the building up to current code (ADA bathrooms) and building storage/offices in the warehouse for Vivacity Spirits. Dealing with the city and all the different crafts has been an “eye opener” to say the least.
A Change in Our Mindset
This expansion will require us to change our mindset, if we want it to be successful. We will need to think on a much larger scale, farther out than before and, again, trust our new Calapooia family for assistance.
Where we sit now
Right now, we seem to be in a holding pattern. With all the construction we have not been able to set up the still (soon though). At present, Vivacity Spirits has 8 offerings: Our Fine Vodka, Bankers’ and Native Gin, Traditional and Cranberry Rum, Pinot Noir and Muscat Brandies, and Turkish Coffee Liqueur.
At Calapooia; we have a new Brewer, Tobe Holliday. He has been busy making himself at home and has already come out with a few new beers, not to mention bringing back some oldies but goodies (can you say, “ESB?”). We are excited to see where he will take us next. We have expanded the menu, at the Pub, and have been doing renovations to the building.
On top of all this, we are in the midst of the Corona Virus Pandemic, so all bets are off. The future is waiting for us to venture forth and write it.
What’s Next
Proceed as if success is inevitable.
That’s not the same as go blindly forward. It does mean look forward, assess the landscape and make your move. Then assess what happened, look at your options, make adjustments and make your move again. Repeat.
With the merging of a Brewery and a Distillery comes Whiskey. We have plans for 3 new Whiskeys: a Bourbon (of course), our Vivacity Whiskey and a Scotch style. Unfortunately, they are a few years in the future (can you say barrel aging?) We are also planning to increase our Rum production.
For the Brewery, we intend to hold the line with our flagship beers and plan to unleash the creativity that is Tobe “The Brewer”. We have expanded our taps board and plan to fill it with some exciting new beers.
We are thinking of renaming the building, “Water Hill”. Don’t worry, the Calapooia Brewery and Pub and Vivacity Spirits aren’t going anywhere. They live at Water Hill. We feel it’s just an easy reference for the building as a whole.
As soon as we are able, we plan to host a variety of events, some old favorites and some new, to become, favorites.
Cheers!
Chris