Linus Hall of Yazoo Brewing

BC: What advantages does the new brewery offer?

Linus: Moving allowed us to correct problems with equipment and overall layout that we had in the original location. Many of our fans were bummed when we moved out of the funky old Marathon building. It was a great place to enjoy a beer but not a great place to brew one. I made every mistake in the original building that was possible. For example, the brewhouse was in a back corner, and this put all other activity on hold every time we moved spent grain across the brewery and out the door.

BC: If you could pinpoint one essential detail that you learned from the early days, what comes to mind?

Linus: As much as I love brewing, the hardest part was realizing that this is a business. If you’re going to make it as a brewery owner, you have to take care of the business side and step away a bit from being the brewer. It helps to hire great people to assist in the brewing process.

BC: What’s the most difficult aspect of developing a new beer recipe?

Linus: Well, these days it’s almost impossible to come up with a beer name with a hop pun that hasn’t already been taken. But the big challenge is figuring out a way to incorporate a new brand into your portfolio. If you are growing quickly, it can be a lot like juggling five balls. You add one more, and you drop all of them. We’ve found limited run seasonals to be a solution, as these are out the door and gone.