, become a regional beer, distributed selectively throughout the country. Before the beer can become a regional power player, however, it has to prove itself on the local level — a challenge that started last month with the inaugural release of Home.
To go from something that was just an idea abroad to making it a reality back home, a great deal of research was required. He started to notice that many regional beers had signature traits."Mexican lagers typically had a distinct corn profile and lighter body," explains Marchio."Asian lagers, primarily from Japan, Vietnam and South Korea, were more dry and likely to feature rice. Indian beers tended to be more sweet, with a caramel malt presence.
The name Home is intended to create a familiar feeling, a sense of place."I want folks to pick up a can or a bottle, take a sip and think to themselves, 'feels like home,'" says Marchio. He adds that he believes the name has staying power and an elegant simplicity. Despite being only $12 per four-pack of 16-ounce cans, or about 30 percent cheaper than most of the IPAs that sister company Knotted Root is known for, Home actually has far better profit margins than those hop-laden IPAs."We are trying to be extremely competitive, price-wise," says Marchio. The beer is currently being brewed in ten-barrel batches, which is a little more than 300 gallons of beer at a time.