Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Febre.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jennifer. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story starts with a divorce. Faced with having to go forth into the world and earn a living again, after spending years at home with kids, I decided to go big! I wanted to open a brewery. I’d been drinking craft beer with some girlfriends for a while, and I felt that starting a brewery was something my new husband, Alastair, would enjoy helping me with. He had been landscaping for 20+ years, so he had some construction and design skills, and I had worked in advertising prior to having kids, so I took on the concept, design, etc. Both of us were from the UK; Alastair was raised in Scotland, and I spent my childhood in England. So, British beer was a natural niche for us.
We found a young brewer who was also interested in British beer, and away we went!
Since we had such a small budget, we started with repurposed dairy and wine equipment instead of brewery equipment, and we made only cask-conditioned ale for 18 months. We earned a good reputation for quality beer, and eventually added draft beer to our lineup. We have tripled in size since then [not that hard since we started so small], and are continuing to grow.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has been pretty smooth, but we have had some personnel changes along the way, as well as some nail-biting months with low bank balances. We are very grateful to have a wonderful staff and stellar patrons, so we feel pretty comfortable that if we run into real trouble, help won’t be far behind. But honestly, things are finally smoothing out quite nicely.
Please tell us about MacLeod Ale Brewing.
We are a small craft brewery known for making cask-conditioned, or “real” ale. This is the naturally carbonated beer that you get in a British pub, pulled from “beer engines” or sometimes gravity-poured directly from the cask.
I’m proud of a few things…that the quality of our beer is ever-improving; that our beers are of equal quality across our lineup; that we have a wonderful and happy staff; that our customers enjoy their time with us; that we’ve created 15+ jobs; that we are allowing our brewers to pursue their dream jobs! I’m especially proud that we have had a positive impact on Van Nuys by putting it on the Craft Beer map!
What sets us apart is our commitment to the British style, and also our commitment to quality.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I don’t think I would have done anything differently! The things that haven’t gone perfectly have been great learning tools, and the things that have gone well have been a blessing!
Contact Info:
- Address: 14741 Calvert Street, Van Nuys, CA 91411
- Website: macleodale.com
- Phone: (818) 631-1963
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/macleodale
- Facebook: facebook.com/macleodale
- Twitter: twitter.com/macleodale
- Yelp: yelp.com/macleodale
Image Credit:
Kevin McIntyre Photography
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