A Sway With Beer – Door County Pulse – Cyber Tech

Matt Sampson spends numerous time serious about beer. That’s the best way it’s whenever you’re the proprietor and brewer at a small brewery. 

A local of Lisle, Illinois, Sampson’s journey to the nook of Baileys Harbor that’s dwelling to Sway Brewing + Mixing wasn’t a direct line. 

Sampson did his undergraduate work on the College of Illinois. That’s the place he met his future spouse, Brooke Rawlins. The couple moved to San Diego, the place Sampson earned his Ph.D. in chemistry on the College of California San Diego. That’s proper: it’s Dr. Matt Sampson. 

“The craft beer scene in San Diego is likely one of the most well-developed and the most important, particularly at the moment,” Sampson mentioned. “I actually fell in love with craft beer.” 

Just a few of his science-lab buddies have been home-brewing, so that they confirmed him the ropes. His small, one-bedroom condo had a balcony, which was good for a brewing system akin to a turkey fryer with a propane burner. 

Whereas Sampson was learning and brewing, Rawlins was beginning a web-based enterprise together with her mother, Vicki. When the couple moved again to the Chicago space, Rawlins’ purpose was to open a brick-and-mortar retailer, so she turned her eyes to Door County, the place she had spent many summer time holidays. 

In 2016, she opened Sister Golden in Fish Creek. The store is an eclectic mixture of paintings, dwelling items, jewellery and extra. 

“That was sort of her long-term dream,” Sampson mentioned, “That’s what introduced us up right here.” 

On the time, Sampson was a little bit burned out on lab science and on the lookout for a change. 

“I used to be pondering of opening some sort of beer-related enterprise,” he mentioned. “Whether or not that be a craft-beer bar or a brewery. There was even a brewery-slash-coffee store in my head at one level.” 

However again then, Sampson had no concept about the right way to run a beer enterprise. As an alternative, he relied on one other talent set he developed in California – images. Not lengthy after the couple moved north, the homeowners of Door County Brewing noticed a few of Sampson’s digicam work. 

“I did some aerial drone images and so they needed to function these pictures on a sequence of bottle labels,” he mentioned. 

The labels can be a part of a brand new model referred to as Hacienda. Rawlins noticed a possibility for Sampson to do extra than simply pictures. 

“She satisfied me to put in writing them an electronic mail to sort of pitch them a job,” Sampson mentioned. 

Along with images, he supplied to help with advertising and marketing and assist out across the brewery. They mentioned sure, so he started selling Hacienda in addition to cleansing the kegs and packaging the beer. Ultimately, Sampson was managing manufacturing for each Hacienda and Door County Brewing, studying all points of the enterprise. 

A number of the authentic Hacienda beers have been aged in oak barrels over longer durations of time, producing a drier and – in Sampson’s phrases – extra drinkable beer that was additionally a bit decrease in alcohol. 

“I actually gravitated towards these beers,” he mentioned. 

As Hacienda branched out to different types, Sampson noticed a path to realize his personal brewing dream. He slowly transitioned to his personal undertaking, brewing these drier, more-drinkable beers he loved – and shortly Sway Brewing was on its approach. 

At present, Sampson brews the wort for his lagers, pilsners, ales, and saisons on the Door County Brewing brewhouse. Then he transports the mixtures down the road to Sway – housed within the authentic Door County Brewing location – for fermentation, getting older and packaging. He brewed the primary Sway beers in spring 2022 and some months later, opened a small outside beer backyard. 

When the restaurant above the Sway manufacturing area closed later that 12 months, Sampson purchased the constructing and added a taproom. He stored the espresso, tea and breakfast bakery gadgets. That’s how Sway Brewing grew to become Sway Brewing + Mixing. 

A key a part of the Sway expertise is Sampson’s involvement with each step of the method. Many smaller breweries have transitioned to contract brewing, sending recipes to bigger regional breweries to make. Sampson is likely one of the few owner-brewers within the space. 

“I don’t should have anyone inform me what to brew or what we have to do,” he mentioned. “We begin with very minimal gear, rustic gear. As lengthy as your course of is sweet, you’ll be able to nonetheless make actually good beer. It takes longer and it’s extra of a headache, however I can nonetheless make actually good beer.”

As beer is brewed, fermented and aged, the mixtures are continuously tasted and examined. If one thing must be tweaked, Sampson’s chemistry coaching helps him extra particularly determine what must be added or enhanced. 

Making higher beer at Sway begins with focus. 

“I wish to set restrictions on myself,” Sampson mentioned. “When anyone actually focuses on a core set of issues, or some breweries that simply concentrate on one factor, I believe that may make higher beer, as a result of then they will actually go deep into the right way to make these beers the absolute best.”

Sway makes use of solely Wisconsin hops. If a selected beer requires a hop that isn’t grown in Wisconsin, Sampson doesn’t brew that beer. For barley, which isn’t considerable in Wisconsin, he tries to remain as near dwelling as doable. He additionally highlights native fruits and foraged substances corresponding to spruce. 

The title Sway Brewing displays Sampson’s philosophy of taking issues as they arrive. 

“Not taking life too critically,” he mentioned, “sort of going with the move. Not being too heavy-handed within the brewing course of, maintaining issues easy, and creating beers which can be simple consuming and balanced. 

“It’s like a endless course of to attempt to make the right beer, however it’s by no means doable, proper?”