Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Shirah.
Matthew, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Hailing from trailer parks in OK and NC, Travis and I worked our way out of the sticks and into the corporate world early in our careers. With multiple degrees in microbiology and biochemistry, Travis vacated his career as a vaccine developer. Today, those same meticulous, scientific tendencies now extend to the Scofflaw laboratory where hours of research, discovery, preparation and work are put into each recipe. I decided to stop climbing the corporate ladder in New York City and get back to the south to do something I thought would be more rewarding and maybe even a little less demanding. I was wrong about the demanding part.
We built a functional brewery and lab in my mother-in-law’s basement. I am certain that, at the time, she thought we had constructed a meth lab in her basement but was reluctant to criticize and let us have our way, though she did keep all the blinds closed. We locked ourselves in that basement for two years and came out convinced that we would could give GA something that it didn’t even know it wanted.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Money is always an issue, and the craft beer space is becoming increasingly competitive. We have been on a torrid growth pace since day one and the struggle has been focused on not being consumed by the issues that rapid growth presents. We used all the resources that we could muster, all family and friends, to get Scofflaw Brewing launched. Fortunately, the laws have changed so that we can sell draft and cases at the brewery, which has allowed us to generate some of the cash flow we need to purchase equipment and create jobs. We have been lucky enough to partner with a couple of local banks that saw our potential and have helped us as we grow. We have also been fortunate enough to put a significant amount of money back into the community. We are in a unique position in that we can produce one-off products that create incremental revenue that we can use to put towards causes that we care about. We have contributed over $60,000 to various causes this year. The only cause I have not contributed to is my paycheck, which I still defer so that we can continue to give and grow.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Scofflaw Brewing Co. – what should we know?
You will notice that we do not fit into the standard brewery mold. In these strange times, folks seem to be working hard to be too many things to too many people. I don’t believe in that. We make a lot of India Pale Ales, which is a specific style of beer, but what we work hard to do is to develop a wide range of products that focuses on producing approachable beer, regardless of the name, type, or style you attach to any one of our beers. Our objective was, and still is, to be ourselves, take it or leave it, and to fill in the gaps between the self-proclaimed beer experts and the everyday consumer that is not interested in all the silliness that sometimes surrounds craft brewing. We are not interested in being pretentious, elusive, hard to find, or rare, or anything similar.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The Great State of Georgia deserves the credit. Atlanta deserves the credit. The Bolton neighborhood deserves the credit. We interact with folks from the westside everyday. We support them; they support us. It is symbiotic. We started as a small neighborhood brewery and accidentally became what we are today. This is purely a result of Travis’s hard work, keeping a keen eye on what the Georgia consumer REALLY wants, and the support of the community where we live and work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.scofflawbeer.com
- Email: info@scofflawbeer.com
- Instagram: @scofflawbeer
- Facebook: @scofflawbrewingco
- Twitter: @scofflawbrewing
Image Credit:
Samantha Taylor
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