Kicking 2024 Off with Indeed Brewing
With a slew of closures in the craft beer world in 2023, it’s always great to watch a brewery flourish. Indeed Brewing Company, with taprooms in both Minneapolis and Milwaukee, had a huge 2023. Not only were its flagship beers, Flavorwave IPA and Pistachio Cream Ale, big hits in its market, but it donated over $50,000 to various nonprofit organizations in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
PorchDrinking chatted with chief business officer Ryan Bandy, who was appointed to the role in 2023 after over 10 years with the brewery, including as director of experiences.
For those unfamiliar with Indeed Brewing, it’s high time to visit Minneapolis or Milwaukee, though as a native Wisconsinite, I strongly suggest waiting until after February. Opening their first taproom in 2012, the Indeed team has experienced the massive boom of craft beer, as well as weathered the storm of 2020 (especially having opened their second taproom late 2019). They’ve seen breweries come and go in the Northeast neighborhood of Minneapolis, and have watched the craft beer world change immensely in the past eleven years.
Bandy is one such person who has been with Indeed for nearly its entire run—originally starting in packaging and moving through the brewery in taproom management, marketing, sales and now as Indeed’s chief business officer.
Community-Focused
Chatting with Bandy about the brewery’s growth and what’s next was a breath of fresh air. We often hear of breweries where expansion means distributing to more and more markets or adding taproom locations. However, for Bandy and the Indeed crew, the goal is to expand depth-wise instead of width-wise. The Minneapolis and Milwaukee communities where Indeed is located are rich in culture. So why not dive in even more to the communities they have invested in already?
To me, this signifies a brand that knows who they are and what they are good at. As someone who grew up outside of Milwaukee and with lots of family there, I know how important community is to residents of the area. The businesses that support others and make it a goal to dive deep into the area will typically do well. It’s similar in Minneapolis. People want to see good people at the helm, providing a great product. Focusing specifically on these two communities allows the Indeed team to know their consumers, meet their customers and create a brand loyalty that would be difficult if they were trying to open another 15 taproom locations.
Local Flavor
Now, this isn’t to say that they aren’t innovating and trying out new beers. After the success of their Pistachio Cream Ale, which is now a flagship for them, an Imperial Pistachio Cream Ale is in the works. Additionally, the Minneapolis location allows for sparkling THC drinks, which have done very well. The Milwaukee brewery is much more of Indeed’s research and development brewery, so even if you’ve been to the Minneapolis location, the Milwaukee location will have some taproom exclusives that are worth the visit.
Giving Back
To cap off its community focus, Indeed is also known for its charitable efforts. Each year, the team decides on 24 charities (one per month per taproom) to donate earnings to. The decision is made by employees at all levels who nominate charities within the community, which has led to a variety of organizations receiving aid. It’s a great thing to see. One month may be an animal shelter and the next, a domestic violence nonprofit. Since the start of this program, Indeed has donated $750,000 to multiple charities through its Indeed We Can initiative.
As a final author’s note: A great thing about the Milwaukee location is that it is within an easy walk of a couple different breweries; to pair with Indeed, I would highly recommend a stop at Broken Bat Brewery and MobCraft, and get some food at Camino while you are at it!
Featured image provided by Indeed Brewing Company
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