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Glendale Tech on Tap: From Idea to Tap – The Story of Starting a Craft Brewery Business
October 26, 2016 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Drink a pint with Kirk Nishikawa, co-founder of Brewyard Beer Company in Glendale. Kirk will share his story of entrepreneurship, passion for beer and the hunt for money. And yes, the Moose Den serves Brewyard’s beer!
Other topics he’ll address includes:
- The motivation to start a business.
- The tools to develop a business plan.
- The hunt for money.
- Searching for a location.
- Working with the City of Glendale.
- Building out.
- Brewing on a large system for the first time.
- Opening their doors.
About the Brewyard
Sherwin and Kirk became friends way back in high school when huge baggy pants, Cool Water cologne and Tommy Hilfiger Jackets were still in fashion. In high school, they shared a love for cars. Sherwin was known as the “go to guy” when it came to fixing them, and Kirk was the “go to guy’s”, “go-to guy”. This partnership eventually progressed to a point where they were meticulously restoring classic cars together.
After cars, they formed a very very very amateur garage band with their friends. After the garage band it was tinkering on Sherwin’s house and home brewing craft beer.
For their day jobs, Sherwin worked as an ASC Master Certified Mechanic for over 20 years and Kirk an Architect for 8 and restaurant manager for 4.
Sherwin’s love for beer and passion for brewing is what initially inspired Kirk and many of his friends to become beer fanatics in their own right. As Sherwin got more and more sophisticated with his brewing, he began to enter home brewing competitions and collected a, how you say, “plethora” of bronze, silver and gold medals. It was only a matter of time before an ill-advised drunken promise locked both Kirk and Sherwin down a path to opening a brewery together. It started out as a joke really, then a dream, then a realistic dream. As the pieces of the puzzle started to come together, they decided to quit their careers and go all-in on building out their brewery.
On December 5, 2015 they opened the doors to Glendale’s very first micro-brewery, Brewyard. Since then they’ve enjoyed welcoming folks in to be a part of their craft brew-loving extended family.
About Kirk
Kirk Nishikawa, 37, was born in Los Angeles, CA. He has a BA in architecture from UC Berkeley. He was a Non-Profit Community Developer for 1 year, practiced Architecture for 8 years and served as a Restaurant Management for 4 years. He’s been home brewing with Sherwin Antonio for over 9 years.
Event Details
Light happy hour snacks will be provided. No host bar. Brief presentation, long post reception. Thirty minute talk starts at 5:30. Casual environment with good company and great conversation!
Venue
The Moose Den is a chill sports-centric subterranean haunt with burgers & more, plus shuffleboard, darts & other games. Thank you for hosting, Moose Den!
About Tech on Tap
Glendale Tech on Tap is a monthly meet-up created to strengthen the ecosystem of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in Glendale. You can raise a glass to tech the second Tuesday of each month at the Moose Den from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.