Burn ’em brewing creating quite a buzz south of the state line

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — Less than a year ago, four guys from La Porte County, Ind., strolled into Blue Chip Casino with five kegs of home-brewed beer and a dream.

Just 90 minutes later, a little upstart company nobody had ever heard of — Burn ‘Em Brewing — was one of the hits of Brewfest. Those five kegs? Empty — and the event still had two hours to go.

“It was our coming out party,” said Zach Blackwood, one of the founding members of Burn ‘Em.

“It was crazy. People were chanting ‘Burn ‘Em, Burn ‘Em,’” said Matt Zakrzewski, another founder.

Now, just 10 months later, Burn ‘Em Brewing is set to open its brewery at 718 Freyer Road in Michigan City.

The four lifelong friends — Rob Austin and Steve Murray, in addition to Zakrzewski and Blackwood — along with a few other investors are prepared to enter the exploding craft beer market with their entry.

So far, the reviews have been “overwhelming,” according to Austin.

Despite the fact Burn ‘Em is yet to sell a single beer, through tastings and other events like Blue Chip’s Brewfest, the Burn ‘Em boys have created quite a buzz in the craft beer world.

When they open in a few weeks, it’ll be for distribution only. But once they resolve some zoning issues, there are plans for a small taproom, hopefully some time in the summer of 2014. Until then, their beer will be available at bars and stores, including in Michigan City — Maxine’s and Ryan’s Irish Pub to name a couple. In all, just through pure hustle, Burn ‘Em has secured between 70 and 80 accounts, and is building buzz with consumers through social media.

Its Facebook page, for instance, quickly reached more that 1,500 likes. In fact, that’s where the guys said fans should go to keep updated and what beers are available and where at any given time. They also are on Twitter, @BurnEm_Brewing.

When they open for distribution, Burn ‘Em will feature four “big batch” beers that will be common in bars and stores: Joey Wheat, MCA (IPA), Dark Side of the Brew (oatmeal stout) and Red Zeppelin (red ale). Burn ‘Em will also feature “small batch” capabilities, where it will feature its 30 or so recipes on a rotating basis. These tend to be more adventurous beers with unusual flavor profiles. One of those is Fallen Swine, which is made from real smoked pork loin bought at Lange’s in Michigan City.

MCA is a tribute to the building in which Burn ‘Em will be based. Michigan City Associates was a general contracting business owned by Murray’s father. He died in a car accident in 2011, just a year or so after Murray’s mother died.

A life insurance policy has been a huge part of the funding for Burn ‘Em, in which Murray’s siblings are also co-owners. In fact, his sister is an attorney and has been able to provide plenty of guidance as the group quickly moves toward its opening.

Murray was a bartender at the wildly popular Greenbush Brewing Company in Sawyer when he became interested in brewing his own beer. It was something his dad had always done at home, recreationally.

Murray wrote a recipe and presented it to Greenbush’s owners. They loved it, and still bottle it to this day. He had other recipes, too, and soon was promoted to a brewing position. He made it known to his bosses that someday he intended to open his own brewery.

So when the time came for Greenbush to upgrade its equipment, they offered Murray first dibs, saving Burn ‘Em thousands in start-up costs.

That kind of camaraderie, the Burn ‘Em boys say, is something unique to the craft beer community. As opposed to some other industries, which can be quite competitive with one another, those who own microbrews form a tight-knit community and often help one another out. Even Shoreline Brewery in Michigan City, with which one might think there’d be a territorial issue, has been supportive of Burn ‘Em.

Burn ‘Em will be doing things a little differently than many in that it will offer its beers almost exclusively via 16 ounce cans. Growlers will be available, too, but they chose cans versus bottles for one, simple reason.

“People can take cans to the beach,” Austin said.

The cans will feature designs created by local artists.

The quartet has been friends with each other for years, and all attended New Prairie High School together. They’re not all equal partners, some are invested more than others, so Murray isn’t concerned about business hurting their friendship.

“That’s the one thing everyone warns us about,” Murray said. “They say going into business with friends is the worst thing you can do. But we’re all really great friends, and we’ll be able to manage it if people start fighting.”

With the craft beer business booming — craft beer now takes up approximately 11 percent of the market space, up from only about six percent a few years ago — Burn ‘Em, led by this savvy group of 25-year-olds, is excited to stake its claim.

“This is so personal for us,” Blackwood said. “We’re all pushing for an educated public and to get people to drink better beer.”