I first got the idea to start my own taproom and brewery in June of 2014. It was at 30,000 feet on a flight to Sacramento for my previous employer. I have always wanted to own my own business. I have had a couple small ventures in the past from computer repair and software development to running a photo booth. An entrepreneur at heart, I started formulating a plan for a taproom and brewery. I slouched back in my seat and started coming up with names as I watched the Land of 10,000 Lakes slowly fade off into the distance.
I soon punched a few names into the note app of my smart phone:
- Viking Brewing
- Two Rivers Brewing Company
- Full Throttle Brewing
- 10K Brewing
Viking Brewing was the first name I picked (after Minnesota’s NFL team) but leveraging in-flight WiFi I quickly found that the name was already taken. Two Rivers Brewing Company was up next. I knew that I wanted the taproom and brewery to be located where I live in Anoka. There just wasn’t anything like it in the Northwestern suburbs. The name comes from Anoka being a river town where the mighty Mississippi and Rum River meet. This name was taken as well. I also wasn’t thrilled about geographically locking in the name either. My favorite name was Full Throttle Brewing. I am a huge motor head and love everything about cars. I also loved the idea of a car/motor themed taproom which would do really well in a town where bikers and car shows are common place. The only reservation I had is its confusion with the popular energy drink. 10K Brewing, my last option and was not even my favorite at the time but I really loved how the name screamed, Minnesota. I also like the nice ring to “10K Brew”. My heart wasn’t set just yet.
I started to brew more over that summer. At least 2 batches per week. Any free time I had went to researching brewery laws, statutes, brew equipment, you name it. My business plan started to come together. In October I was on a flight back out to Sacramento when the name really hit me, 10K Brewing. Brewed in the Land of 10K Lakes where we have Nice Beer, and Nice People. My heart was now set and the logo instantly started coming together in my head.
You can see my hand drawings in top left corner. It was clear that we were going to need a graphic designer. When searching for logo ideas, I came across Amy Rogstad and the work that she had done for tap handles and state logos. As we put our ideas together this was around the same time my sister Ashley came on board as part owner and Marketing Director for the taproom and brewery. Ashley suggested that the Minnesota state outline needs to be the focus of the logo. I completely agreed because our focus is that we are a Minnesota company. After a few weeks and about a hundred re-works we came to the logo you see at the top of this page and all over social media.
The name 10K Brewing stemmed from my love of Minnesota. I have lived here my whole life and I never truly appreciated how much I loved it until I spent 60%+ of my time away from it traveling for my previous job. There is just no place else where I could find such beautiful land with such nice people.
Our beer is “Brewed in the Land of 10K Lakes”, and that means something to us. It means Minnesota values. “Nice Beer. Nice People.”
Thank you for reading. See you at the brewery this summer!