Today we sit down with Lamar Neagle and Sam Zisette, two of the co-founders of Ballard FC. Ballard FC is a USL 2 team based in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, and had its inaugural season in 2022.  USL 2 is the fourth tier of the US professional soccer system, MLS being the top tier, USL 2 being a semi-professional fourth tier.

We talk about: 

• Forming a brand new organization from scratch, taking an idea to reality and a team playing in from of a packed out Interbay Stadium in its inaugural season;
• How soccer builds community;
• Startup founders being the jack-of-all-trades!
• How to get the word out - social media, traditional media, events;
• Thoughts around how to build a squad.

Cheers to the new USL 2 season, and "Up the Bridges!"

Links:

Ballard FC - https://www.goballardfc.com/
USL2 - https://www.uslleaguetwo.com/
Reuben's Brews - https://reubensbrews.com/

I first met Kyle Larsen in the UK when he was head brewer for Siren Craft Beer.  In quite a crazy coincidence, Kyle - originally from Seattle - was working at a brewery very close to where I was originally from in England. We kept in touch, and as he moved back to US he opened his own brewery Kings and Daughters. A wonderful brewer, with a wonderful brewery, we've brewed a couple of collaborations already and it's always fun sitting down and having a beer with him.

In this podcast, we talked about:

• Goal setting
• Cultural differences when working overseas
• Brewery niches
• Low alcohol beers, versus non-alc
• Soft IPA - including recipe tips
• Alternating proprietorships
• The need for craft beer to adapt

Links:

Kings and Daughters Brewery - https://kingsanddaughters.com/
Siren Craft Brew - https://www.sirencraftbrew.com/
Reuben's Brews - https://reubensbrews.com/

Having met co-founder Jeff at a Brewbound conference back in 2019, it was only time before Reuben's Brews and Monday Night Brewing brewed a collaboration beer together. Jeff Heck and Peter Kiley came to Seattle in December 2022 to brew, and so we couldn't resist the chance to sit down and talk beer.

In this episode we talk about a number of things, including:

• Jeff and Peter's personal journeys into craft beer
• That craft breweries should focus on areas they can prove they have discernible value
• Are brewery taprooms - and maybe breweries themselves - on a path to become "alcoholories" who focus on more than just beer?
• The changing perception of authenticity in craft beer

This was great fun to record, and we hope you enjoy it.

Links

Reuben's Brews - www.reubensbrews.com
Monday Night Brewing - https://mondaynightbrewing.com/