Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Herman.
Hi Dan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My path to being an owner of Falling Knife Brewing Company has been a long road, winding through the medical device and tech startups and a 20+ year career running alongside it in food service. I’ve been friends with Andy and Tom, my business partners, for over a decade and we met through our love of music and beer.
Conversations about how cool it would be to own a brewery evolved and evolved until we were building the business framework and shopping loans when we said “Wait, are we actually opening a brewery?”
Sharing that first pint of our beer with two of my best friends was the best beer I’ve ever tasted.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, we opened in October 2019, so our path to now has been anything but smooth. If I never hear the word “pivot” until I start teaching my 2-year-old son how to play basketball, I’ll be thrilled. In March 2020, we had to flip our planned business model entirely on its head and continue to make changes to this day.
They’re becoming less drastic, but still important, as far as charting the path for the ship. We have some really incredible people that work for or have worked for us and given us their insight and wisdom to make the best decisions we can. Somewhere around 2025, we can start to use our year-over-year data to know where we are!
As you know, we’re big fans of Falling Knife Brewing Company. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Born in the flames of the last few years, Falling Knife Brewing Company has established a reputation as one of the hottest breweries in Minnesota.
FKBC is located in Northeast Minneapolis with a 149-person taproom and 20-barrel brewhouse cranking out world-class beers across a wide range of styles.
What matters most to you?
Is my family an appropriate answer?
In regards to the brewery, I like when we’re executing at a high level across all departments, professionally and personally.
We do everything we can to take care of our people and their well-being so they can focus on what they’re doing and ultimately find it fulfilling in their lives. It’s something to aspire to that we certainly have fallen short of at times, but keeping an eye on that as we move forward provides a really good perspective on where we should go.
Contact Info:
- Website: fallingknife.beer
- Instagram: @FallingKnifeBC
- Facebook: FallingKnifeBC
- Twitter: @FallingKnifeBC
